Quote:Iran has dug out a majority of the entrances to its underground missile bases that were buried by joint US-Israeli strikes during the height of the war, satellite images show.

A recent probe of 18 missile facilities hit during the war shows that at least 50 out of 69 tunnel entrances have been reopened since the cease-fire went into effect in April, CNN reported.

The fast work indicates that Iran would be poised to fire a lot more long-range missiles across the Middle East if the war restarts amid tense peace negotiations.

Satellite images captured the rigorous work Tehran has accomplished in just seven weeks across various missile bases, with digging equipment and large trucks seen excavating the tunnel entrances.

Workers at one base, located outside Isfahan, could be seen filling up more than a dozen craters left behind by the US-Israel joint strikes, with two entrances cleared by early May.

Heavy machines and truckers were also spotted at Iran’s missile bases near Khomeyn and Tabriz on April 10, just days after the cease-fire went into effect.

Iran’s rush to restore operations to its missile facilities undermines one of the Trump administration’s main goals of the war: to reduce Tehran’s arsenal and ability to attack allies in the Middle East.

President Trump specifically listed “completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them” as one of his five objectives for the war.

The Pentagon and White House said US and Israeli forces had struck 13,000 targets in Iran over the five weeks of war, including more than 450 ballistic missile storage facilities.

Despite the strikes, Iran continued to launch attacks across the region, hitting American bases and critical infrastructure of several Gulf nations.

Experts fear that the same type of attacks would resume if war reignites as Washington and Tehran continue to clash over the terms of a peace deal to end the conflict.

Iran has already started rebuilding its military capabilities, including restarting its drone production and replacing destroyed missile launchers, according to US intelligence.

“The Iranians have exceeded all timelines the (intelligence community) had for reconstitution,” one US official told CNN.

Quote:The US and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend after the Islamic Republic shot down an American drone — testing the limits of the cease-fire in the three-month war.

Tehran retaliated by launching attacks on a US base in Kuwait.

The firefight started when Iran targeted an MQ-1 Reaper drone that was operating over international waters, according to US Central Command.

American fighters “swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” CENTCOM said late Sunday.

The strikes centered around Qeshm Island, which is home to an underground “missile city” and is surrounded by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces.

“No American service members were harmed. CENTCOM will continue to protect U.S. assets and interests in response to unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire.”

Following those strikes, Iran claimed it hit a US airbase in the region.

Air defenses in Kuwait, where a major US base is located, were “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks” on Monday, the country’s army said on social media.

Iran carried out the attack in response to a strike on a communications tower in Sirik County, located in the country’s Hormozgan province, according to the Tasnim News Agency.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force has since warned that if US “aggression” continues, the response will be “entirely different.”

Brig. Gen. Majid Ebn al-Reza, the regime’s caretaker defense minister, warned the US Sunday that “our finger remains on the trigger” and “new surprises are on the way,” without divulging further details.

Quote:An Iranian missile strike on an air base in Kuwait has reportedly injured several Americans, as President Trump weighs whether to accept Tehran’s latest peace proposal or return to war.

The Americans injured some time within the last 24 hours included contractors and active duty personnel, a source told Bloomberg News Saturday, with minor injuries suffered after Kuwaiti air defenses struck an incoming Fategh-110 missile.

The attack also seriously damaged a pair of MQ-9 Reaper drones, which cost about $30 million as debris fell on the Ali Al Salem air base.

President Trump huddled with his security team Friday, and said he plans to make a “final determination” on a deal with Iran that would extend a cease fire for 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and set up further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear material while the US lifts its blockade.

Located about 20 miles from the Iraqi border, the base hosted US troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US, meanwhile, continues to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports, disabling a Gambia-flagged vessel Saturday, a US official told the Associated Press.

The bulk carrier Lian Star is currently adrift in the Gulf of Oman after US aircraft undertook the action, the outlet reported.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told a defense conference in Singapore Saturday that “We’re focused on being postured and prepared to re-engage if we have to.”

CENTCOM posted images Saturday of a Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter landing on the flight deck of USS Tripoli (LHA 7) while transiting the Arabian Sea., as well as a US Air Force F-16 flying over the Middle East during a patrol.

“U.S. forces remain present and vigilant across the region,” it said.

News of the action in the region came as Trump was at his Virginia golf club, while spending the weekend at the White House, and deciding whether to accept Tehran’s latest peace proposal.

He spent Friday with his security team in the Situtaion Room but did not make an announcement regarding the war with Iran.

Quote:The independent outlet Iran International reported on Sunday, citing anonymous sources, that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian submitted a resignation letter to alleged “supreme leader” Mojtaba Khamenei complaining that the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made his job impossible.

In Iran, the “supreme leader” is the all-powerful dictator of the country, who maintains a delicate balance of power between the IRGC, a formal wing of the Iranian military, and the civilian leaders of the country. The president and the IRGC are both directly subordinate to the “supreme leader.” Under longtime dictator Ali Khamenei, the IRGC often intervened in civilian affairs, including hijacking the diplomacy of the country with the approval of the “supreme leader.”

Following Khamenei’s extermination in an American military operation on February 28, however, the balance of power has remained unclear, as the late Khamenei’s son has made no public appearances, nor is there any public proof that he is actually running the country or capable of doing so. This has resulted in mixed messages from the Iranian regime, particularly incongruous messages from Pezeshkian and his cabinet that appear to contradict the messages of military leaders. Most recently, Tasnim News, believed to have close ties to the IRGC, reported on Monday that Tehran was cutting off negotiations with the United States, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied this in the pages of the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

Prior to the conflicting reports about U.S. talks on Monday, Iran International suggested that Pezeshkian, the head of the civilian wing of the regime, could soon depart his office. According to the outlet, a “source familiar” confirmed that Pezeshkian had offered his resignation letter and complained in it about the disproportionate influence of the IRGC in his affairs.

“In the letter sent on Sunday, Pezeshkian stressed that the president and the government have effectively been excluded from major and vital decision-making processes in the country,” the outlet’s source claimed, “and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs.”

The president reportedly complained that, thanks to the IRGC, “he is unable to run the government and carry out his legal responsibilities, and for that reason has requested to step down immediately.”

IRNA, the state news agency, shared comments on Monday from Pezeshkian that appeared to deny the Iran International report without mentioning it directly. Pezeshkian, according to the website, reportedly used a cabinet meeting on Sunday to reiterate – for no apparent reason, as presented in the report – that he wished to continue being president.

“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed his determination to serve the Iranian nation, underscoring resistance and national solidarity,” IRNA reported. “Pezeshkian also said his life was not more valuable than that of the martyred Leader [Ali Khamenei], and stressed the need to remain present and manage problems honestly in the field, trusting in God’s help.”

“These remarks follow recent rumors reported by certain media outlets about the president’s resignation,” IRNA added ominously, indicating that the comments were made after the publication of the Iran International report.

Pezeshkian also published a comment on his Twitter profile that addressed unspecified “hardships.”

“Confronting major challenges without enduring hardships is impossible. Crossing this rugged and winding path is only possible through public awareness and cooperation,” he wrote. “We must explain the existing realities to the people so that all segments of society participate in solving problems. This shared pain will never be healed separately.”

Pezeshkian became president in 2024 in the last sham election to be run by Ali Khamenei, organized to replace his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a mysterious helicopter crash that year. Pezeshkian was presented as the “moderate” “reformist” candidate who publicly acknowledged that widespread protests in the country were responding to legitimate failures of the government, a way to remove pressure on the regime by making the protesters feel represented by Pezeshkian. Once taking office, however, Pezeshkian did not govern any differently than any other president and regurgitated the radical Islamist and violent viewpoints of the jihadist “supreme leader.”

Quote:The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed a strike on a U.S. vessel on Monday, just hours after President Donald Trump said the United States' talks with Iran are continuing “at a rapid pace.” The strike came as Tehran signaled it had suspended negotiations.

The MSC Sariska V container ship, a Panama-flagged vessel with ties to the U.S., was struck with a cruise missile following an attack on an Iranian ship near Oman, according to reports from Al Jazeera, citing Iranian media. The vessel was hit with a projectile around 40 nautical miles southeast of Umm Qasr, according to the United ⁠Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the outlet reported.

Newsweek reached out to CENTCOM by email Monday for comment. When reached by email, the Pentagon referred Newsweek to CENTCOM.

The conflicting accounts from Trump and the IRGC underscore rising uncertainty around efforts to de-escalate the broader Middle East conflict. The diplomatic rift could complicate ceasefire efforts tied to Israel’s ongoing offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah and raises questions about whether negotiations will stall or collapse.

Iranian state-linked media reported earlier that talks were halted in protest over Israeli military action in Lebanon, while Trump said Washington had not been formally notified.

Trump’s remarks came in a series of posts on Truth Social, where he also claimed Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group had agreed to halt hostilities following separate contacts. He described a “very productive” call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said messages relayed through intermediaries secured a commitment from Hezbollah to stop firing.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu...there will be no Troops going to Beirut,” Trump wrote, adding that forces already en route had been turned back. He also said Hezbollah had agreed “that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.”

Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump claimed Monday that “I really don’t care” if talks between the US and Iran break down after Iran threatened to cut off indirect communication in response to Israeli airstrikes on Beirut.

“I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less,” Trump told CNBC in a phone interview. “If they’re over, they’re over. If they’re not, you know, I think they took too much time. Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring.”

A few moments later, Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social: “I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.

“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.“
“Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president added in a follow-up post.

Lebanon’s embassy in Washington confirmed Trump’s remarks, noting that Hezbollah agreed “to the US proposal, which calls for a reciprocal cessation of attacks.”

“Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs would cease in exchange for Hezbollah refraining from carrying out attacks against Israel, with the ceasefire framework to be expanded to encompass all Lebanese territories,” it said in a statement.

“The scheduled negotiation meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday are set to convene to discuss this progress and build upon it.”

Still, Netanyahu said Israel’s stance on striking Hezbollah “remains unchanged” if the terror group does not abandon its attacks on the Jewish State

“Tonight, I spoke with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens—Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut,” he said. “This stance of ours remains unchanged.”

“In parallel, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon,” he added.

Earlier Monday, the Israeli military had issued a relocation notice urging residents to leave the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as the Dahieh district, where Hezbollah is thought to have a strong presence.

“Should Hezbollah continue to fire toward our cities and communities, the IDF will respond by striking terrorist targets in Dahieh,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. “Israel is not at war with the Lebanese people, but with the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”

Soon after, an IRGC-affiliated media outlet reported Tehran would stop communicating with Washington in protest of the restarted conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon  — disrupting weeks of attempts to find a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart formal peace talks.

Quote:A cargo ship suffered a “large explosion” along the Iran-Kuwait border on Monday just as Tehran fired attacks on a US base near the area.

The Panama-flagged MSC Sariska V container ship was struck by “an unknown projectile” just 40 nautical miles south of Umm Qasr, Iraq, near the border with Kuwait, the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said.

Video shared online, including by pro-Iran outlets, showed what appeared to be the MSC Sariska V with a large hole in its side taking on water.

Quote:Video footage which allegedly shows damage to a Panama-flagged cargo vessel, the MSC SARISKA V, after a possible Iranian drone or missile attack earlier off the coast of Umm Qasr, Iraq. pic.twitter.com/fYzjw0IhVc

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 1, 2026

The status of the ship remains unclear, with maritime tracking data showing the vessel, which was bound for Qatar, stationed at Umm Qasr.

The attack on the vessel came after Washington and Tehran exchanged strikes on Sunday, with the US intercepting an Iranian MQ-1 Reaper drone targeting Kuwait, where a major American base is located.

Kuwaiti army officials said its forces were “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks” on Monday just hours before the strike on the MSC Sariska V was reported.

Iran has repeatedly targeted Kuwait during the war and cease-fire, with Americans reportedly injured during one of the weekend strikes.

Tensions remain high along the Persian Gulf as Iran signaled it was ending peace negotiations with the US due to Israel’s latest attacks in Lebanon.

Although the hostilities have left the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil choke point, shut down since March, US Central Command said about 70 commercial ships have gone through the passageway over the past three weeks, the New York Times reported.

The ships avoided detection by turning off their transponders and received help from CENTCOM to avoid Iranian mines and drones.

Quote:The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s dreams of a glittering, futuristic city spanning his nation’s desert have come crashing down.

The futuristic, carbon-neutral Neom project has long been touted as an urban utopia erected upon cutting-edge, sustainable technology.

Its best-known component has been dubbed The Line – a sprawling 170km long, 500m high “smart city” which was supposed to be home to 9 million residents.

The Wall Street Journal previously claimed it had sourced leaked internal documents revealing The Line’s projected costs had exploded to a whopping $US8.8 trillion ($12.3 trillion) by 2080.
But now, reports have emerged indicating that the state-run company behind the project, Neom, has suspended all work on The Line until at least 2030.

The international news platform Semafor reports the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund has had a change of heart.

It’s redirecting cash flows affected by the Iran War and global energy transition towards more critical infrastructure, such as ports and AI data centres.

And Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vanity projects are paying the price.

Adelaide has already fallen foul of the cost-cutting exercises of MbS’s sovereign wealth fund. Its $US5 billion carrot for the breakaway LIV Golf tour has been cut.

Neom Stadium, an integral part of The Line’s first construction phase, was being sold as a prime venue for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. But the future of the 46,000-seat sports field is yet to be confirmed.

And the $1.6 billion Neom Industrial City Connector (NICC) high-speed rail link to The Line has just had its contract terminated.

Then there’s the Trojena mountain resort.

Work on this vast artificial snow field slated to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games has been halted. The swirling engineering marvel was supposed to produce a luxurious, year-round haven 2km above the surrounding desert sands.

Quote:Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday there will be “no calm in Beirut” unless the Iran-backed terrorists of Hezbollah stop attacking Israel with rockets and drones.

Israel shut down schools in towns near the Lebanese border on Sunday after Hezbollah’s latest attack while the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expanded its operation in southern Lebanon, capturing the historic Beaufort Castle.

“The southern suburbs of Beirut are no different from the towns in northern Israel: If there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut,” Katz declared in a video statement on Sunday.

“We will not allow a situation in which our towns and our citizens are attacked while calm is maintained in Beirut,” he warned.

Israel stepped up its airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Monday, issuing evacuation orders for the southern suburbs of Beirut along with several border towns.

“The State of Israel is not fighting the Lebanese people, but the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” the IDF said on Monday.

“If Hezbollah continues to fire missiles at Israeli cities and towns, the Israeli army will respond by targeting objectives in the southern suburbs,” the statement added.

Heavy ground fighting was reported around Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon over the weekend. The IDF said it captured the site over the weekend, an achievement praised by both Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The Israeli flag is once again flying over the peaks overlooking the Galilee communities. Our heroic soldiers have captured Beaufort once again and will remain there as part of the security zone in Lebanon,” Katz said on Monday.

Netanyahu released a video statement putting this weekend’s action in the context of Israel’s long struggle for security in Lebanon and noting that thousands of Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated.

“I have instructed the IDF to expand the incursion in Lebanon. Our forces have crossed the Litani River. They took dominant terrain. They captured the Beaufort ridge. And now my instruction is to deepen and expand our hold on places that were under Hezbollah’s control,” Netanyahu said.

“The capture of Beaufort is a dramatic stage and a dramatic change in the policy we are leading. We have broken the barrier of fear. We are taking the initiative, we are operating on all fronts — in Syria, in Gaza, in Lebanon; we have established security zones beyond our borders to protect our communities,” he said.

The Israeli military posted videos of its forces taking control of the 900-year-old castle and raising the Israeli flag:

Quote:President Donald Trump said Monday he believes the United States could reach an agreement with Iran “over the next week” after personally intervening to halt a rapidly escalating confrontation between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon that Tehran warned could derail the negotiations altogether.

Speaking in a phone interview with ABC News, Trump said negotiations with Tehran were “looking good” after what he described as a brief “glitch” stemming from Iranian anger over Israel’s escalating military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including threats by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike the terror group’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district following intensified rocket and drone attacks deeper into northern Israel.

“Looking good, looking good,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl, adding, “There was a little glitch today, but I turned that one around very quickly, as you probably noticed earlier.”

Trump said the “glitch” centered on Iranian objections to Israel’s military operations against Hezbollah, which Tehran has insisted must be covered under both the current ceasefire framework and any future agreement currently being negotiated between Washington and the Islamic Republic.

“So I spoke with Hezbollah, and I said no shooting, and I talked to Bibi [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and said no shooting, and they both stopped shooting each other,” Trump said.

The remarks came after rapidly escalating tensions throughout Monday threatened to destabilize already-fragile negotiations surrounding a proposed 60-day memorandum of understanding aimed at extending the ceasefire while reopening the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz and creating a framework for broader negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Earlier Monday, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is closely affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that Tehran had suspended indirect exchanges with the United States through mediators over what it described as Israel’s expanding military operations in Lebanon.

Quote:LA law enforcement will be in a state of heightened security for the two Iranian FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium in June, revealing they have been working overtime gathering “information and intelligence,” leading up to the controversial team’s arrival.

At a press conference hosted Monday morning by Nathan Hochman, the DA explained the coordinated effort between entities providing safety in the city for the June 11 to July 19 event, during which Sheriff Robert Luna explained “Iran does bring a different dynamic.”

Luna has been working closely with the Secret Service, Inglewood Police and the LAPD and says they “are prepared for any contingency” and extra staffing will be present for the games.

Iran will play two high profile matches at SoFi, one against New Zealand on June 15 and then against Belgium on June 22.

It’s been announced the Iranian team will be staying in Tijuana, Mexico and flying in and out of LA on the same day as the matches.

“Anyone who seeks to turn the celebration into chaos, you will find no refuge in this city. You will be arrested,” said Police Chief Jim McDonnell  “This is a terrible time to commit a crime in LA,” added Hochman.

Personnel have planned for several years and traveled to different countries to  prepare for the once in a lifetime event, according to Luna.

Police are planning on keeping areas safe with drone enforcement and layered security. Temporary flight restrictions will be put in place above SoFi Stadium.

The Secret Service plans to be throughout the city to “protect dignitaries and heads of state” who will be travelling through and staying in LA during futbol’s biggest event.

Quote:Oil markets jolted higher Monday after Iran threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

West Texas Intermediate crude surged 7% to about $94 a barrel and Brent climbed 6% to roughly $97, reflecting growing fears that a prolonged disruption could choke off global supplies.

While oil prices declined on hopes of a peace deal last week, a new exchange of strikes between the US and Iran reversed the trend.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran had halted communications with Washington and said it would “completely” block the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that serves as a conduit for roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

And US Central Command said Monday that American forces intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles that were targeting US troops stationed in Kuwait.

Investors are increasingly worried that any prolonged disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could tighten global supplies and send energy prices sharply higher.

An ExxonMobil executive recently warned that global oil inventories are approaching “unheard of” lows and crude prices could soar as high as $160 a barrel if supplies continue to tighten.

Speaking at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on Thursday, ExxonMobil Senior Vice President Neil Chapman said the market has thus far avoided a more dramatic spike because countries and companies have been drawing down crude and fuel stockpiles while tapping strategic petroleum reserves.

But Chapman warned that cushion is rapidly disappearing.

“We’re approaching unheard of inventory levels. I mean, really, really low levels,” he said. “You can debate whether that’s going to hit those really low levels in two weeks or three weeks. But once you get to that point, then you’ll see price shoot up.”

Chapman said industry models indicate Brent crude could climb drastically once inventories reach critically low levels and buyers begin competing for dwindling supplies.

“Once you get to the minimum inventory levels and all-time low inventory levels, there’s only one way to go,” the exec said.

According to Chapman, Saudi Arabia has maximized use of its East-West pipeline to move crude to the Red Sea, while previously unsold Iranian, Venezuelan and Russian oil has also found its way onto the market.

Quote:WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said he is still hoping to land a major deal to buy advanced US military drones, saying it would be a potentially “huge’’ game-changer in the war.

His comments came as he warned that Ukraine was set to be brutally pummeled by Russia by air again for the second week in a row.

Zelensky argued that fusing the dramatic advancements Ukraine has made with its drone technology because of its battlefield experience against Moscow with America’s remarkable military capabilities would be “huge” and beneficial for both countries.

“American technological companies, they have a lot of different interesting AI technologies, what we don’t have. And we have a lot of things [that] they don’t have, because [of] our experience,” Zelensky told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

“I think this cooperation can be huge and the most powerful in the world.”

While the US and Ukraine have had some cooperation on drones, there hasn’t been a comprehensive deal signed at the scale Zelensky has in mind, according to the Ukrainian leader.

The war-torn country is aiming to crank out a massive 7 million drones this year alone for both use in the skies and water.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has put an emphasis on building up American drone capabilities and recently told reporters that the Pentagon “learned so much from Ukraine and how they operate.”

Last week, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, met with officials in Ukraine to discuss drones and other issues.

Many military analysts have credited Ukraine’s drone advancements in part for the country’s progress on the battlefield against Russia in recent months. Another key factor was Starlink cutting off Russia from its satellite internet service.

Quote:PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - France's navy has intercepted a sanctioned tanker linked to the Russian oil trade in the Atlantic Ocean and ordered the vessel to head for the French mainland, in a move Russia said ‌was illegal and bordered on "international piracy".

French President Emmanuel Macron, opens new tab on Monday posted a video on X showing commandos rappelling from helicopters onto the Tagor, during an operation that occurred the previous day in international waters 400 miles (740 km) west of Brittany.

The tanker, which had sailed from Russia's Arctic port of Murmansk, was suspected of flying under a false flag, and was intercepted with support from Britain, Macron said. According to the vessel tracker MarineTraffic, the 252-metre-long tanker was sailing under the flag of Madagascar.

France's Maritime prefecture, the state authority for maritime security, said the boarding team's inspection of the vessel's papers had "confirmed ⁠suspicions regarding the irregularity of the flag flown."

To try to skirt Western sanctions, Russia has relied on old vessels, known as the shadow fleet, to ship its oil and gas. France and Britain have both vowed to obstruct such vessels as part of a European strategy to combat the oil revenues that help fund Russia's war efforts in Ukraine.

"It is unacceptable for ships to circumvent international sanctions, violate the law of the sea, and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years," Macron wrote on X.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia did not agree that international law had been followed.

"We consider such actions illegal; they border on international piracy," Peskov told reporters, adding that Russia would take measures to ensure the safety of shipping cargo in response to the incident.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a subsequent statement, said the French action, citing international law, was "yet another example of European legal nihilism and rewriting the rules for ‌their own ⁠benefit."

Zakharova dismissed references to international sanctions, saying such punitive measures were only valid if approved by the U.N. Security Council and not "illegal unilateral measures ... in the imagination of the Franco-British pirate tandem".

On Monday, the Tagor was steaming under naval escort towards an anchorage off northwestern France, according to the Maritime prefecture.

The Tagor is the fourth sanctioned tanker the French have intercepted.

FALSE FLAG

The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions against Russia, but Moscow has adapted to most measures and continues to sell millions of barrels of oil to countries such as ⁠India and China, typically at discounted prices.

Western sanctions and a small number of interceptions have had little obvious impact on the "shadow fleet" at a time when oil prices, pushed higher by the Iran war, offer tankers a big incentive. Instead it is the Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities that are stopping Moscow from capitalising on the spike in global fuel prices.

In April, Russia ⁠deployed a frigate to escort two sanctioned vessels through the English Channel and the Kremlin said Russia had the right to defend itself against what it called piracy.

Days later Estonia said it would refrain from detaining Russian shadow fleet tankers, worried that such actions could provoke a military response from Moscow.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said ⁠in March that he had granted permission for the UK military to board ships belonging to the 'shadow fleet'. However, shipping data shows that dozens of sanctioned vessels have continued to cross UK waters.

In April, owners of the Mozambique-flagged tanker Deyna paid an undisclosed fine to secure the ship's release after it was detained by France.

Quote:Russia attacked Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and trapping others, authorities said on Tuesday.

Russia unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones across Ukraine, according to the country’s air force, with the main targets including Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed and suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.

Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded at at least 38 locations. Debris from destroyed drones fell on 15 locations, the air force said.

At least four people were killed in Kyiv and 63 people were injured, including three children, Ukraine’s state emergency service said in a statement on Telegram.

Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged in eight of Kyiv’s districts.

In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, at least six people were killed and 36 others injured after Russian strikes hit the city of Dnipro, according to the emergency service.

A second attack as first responders arrived at the scene killed one rescuer.

In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were injured and residential homes, garages and cars were damaged.

A two-story residential building and part of a four-story apartment block were damaged, with people trapped beneath the rubble of the larger building.

The boom of explosions echoed through most of the night and into the early morning.

Kyiv had been bracing for another mass attack for days, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a renewed assault and urged people to remain cautious and seek shelter during air raid alerts.

In the Podilskyi district, there was partial damage to the upper floors of a nine-story building, trapping people under the rubble.

Rescue operations were still underway in the early hours of the morning, even as the air raid alert remained in effect.

In the Solomianskyi district, a 20-story building and a 24-story building were damaged.

Quote:Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's demand that Asian allies and partners boost defense spending appeared to make U.S. support increasingly conditional in a region that has long relied on a balance of power underwritten by American military might.

The Pentagon chief called on U.S. allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific to commit to spending 3.5 percent of GDP on security.

Countries that demonstrate a commitment to a U.S.-led regional defense efforts would be moved "to the front of the line," Hegseth said during a speech Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit hosted annually in Singapore by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

That means "expedited arms sales, deep industrial-base collaboration, expanded intelligence sharing—the list goes on," he said. "The benefits are many," Hegseth said. Yet those that do not "carry their own weight for our collective defense" would be treated less favorably, he warned.

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email outside of office hours for comment.

Why It Matters

The remarks suggest a more conditional approach to U.S. security commitments in the Indo-Pacific, a region where American military power has long served as a key deterrent against China.

The push comes amid rising tensions across the Indo-Pacific. China has rapidly increased military spending and intensified pressure in territorial disputes with Japan and the Philippines, while also expanding its military footprint across the region.

U.S. Support Linked to Spending Commitments

Hegseth's comments echoed President Donald Trump's longstanding complaints that the United States bears a disproportionate share of the burden for collective defense.

Trump has successfully pushed NATO members to endorse a new goal of spending 5 percent of GDP on defense by 2027.

The threshold set out by Hegseth would be a significant increase for most regional allies. None of Washington's major partners in Asia currently meet the 3.5 percent benchmark.

Singapore and South Korea come closest, spending roughly 2.8 to 3 percent and 2.8 percent of GDP, respectively. Japan is approaching 2 percent under its ongoing defense push, while Australia spends about 2 percent.

Philippines Cited as Example of Burden Sharing
Hegseth pointed to the U.S. treaty ally as a successful example of burden sharing, citing Manila's deepening defense ties with Washington and its hosting this year of the largest-ever Balikatan joint military exercises.

Yet despite a roughly 12 percent increase in defense spending last year, Manila's military budget remains well under the 3.5 percent target.

"It is especially difficult for agricultural economies to reach compared to more industrial nations with an established military-industrial structure," Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.

"But for an archipelago of 7,600 islands where you still have to invest in your basic infrastructure for connectivity, education, health care, it is very difficult to hit."

Quote:Key Takeaways

• Rejection of "Militarism" Accusations: Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi countered Beijing's claims of a "new militarism," pointing out the stark reality that Japan possesses neither the nuclear weapons nor the strategic bombers found in China's arsenal.
  
• Firm Stand on Defense Transparency: While emphasizing that Tokyo remains open to diplomatic dialogue, Koizumi criticized China's rapidly expanding military footprint and high level of defense spending for its lack of transparency.
  
• Strengthening Regional Partnerships: Amidst the diplomatic friction, Japan is actively deepening security ties with other Indo-Pacific nations concerned by Beijing's maritime ambitions, including moving forward with critical military equipment transfers to the Philippines.
  

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi on Sunday rejected accusations from China that Tokyo’s recent defense buildup amounts to a "new militarism," while simultaneously emphasizing that the "door is always open" to bilateral dialogue.

While Japan’s postwar constitution strictly limits the nation's military role and renounces war as a sovereign right, Tokyo has progressively enhanced its defense posture in recent years. This strategic shift includes increased defense spending, expanded joint exercises with the United States and regional partners like the Philippines and Australia, and an April decision to relax longstanding restrictions on lethal weapons exports.

In response, China has intensified a vocal campaign accusing Japan of "remilitarization," framing Tokyo’s defense reforms as a revival of historical militarism and frequently invoking memories of Imperial Japan’s wartime aggression.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment.

Clarifying Japan's Strategic Intentions

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue—an annual security summit hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) that convenes defense ministers, military officials, diplomats, and analysts from across the region—Koizumi sought to contextualize Japan's security policies.

"Japan's defense policy and defense buildups are not based on the idea of identifying any specific country or region as a threat—or having a military confrontation with it," he stated.

However, the defense minister did not mince words regarding Beijing's own rapidly expanding military footprint and lack of geopolitical clarity.

"That said, China continues to increase its defense spending at a high level and is rapidly expanding its military capabilities across a wide range of areas without sufficient transparency," he said. "These activities are serious areas of concern for Japan and the international community."

Quote:China on Monday dispatched a coast guard flotilla to waters east of Taiwan as Japan and the Philippines prepare to formalize maritime boundary talks in a move Beijing says undermines its territorial claims.

A Chinese statement said it was “a necessary operation” in response to the negotiations, which would seek to delimit neighboring exclusive economic waters and continental shelves in the Philippine Sea, without Beijing’s participation.

Beijing said the decision undermined its “territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” referring to its longstanding claim to self-governing Taiwan as well as the maritime claims that derive from it.

Why It Matters

The deployment highlights how quickly maritime disputes in the Indo-Pacific can escalate as regional powers move to formalize boundaries without Beijing’s involvement.

China's sweeping “nine-dash line” claim includes Taiwan and most of the South China Sea, and its claimed exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, overlaps with those of Japan, the Philippines, and at least five other governments in the region.

The Foreign Ministry in Taipei said it welcomed the move and rejected Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

China Condemns Japan-Philippines Maritime Talks

The leaders of Japan and the Philippines announced the sea border talks last week in a joint statement that also “reaffirmed the need to further promote peace, stability, and mutual trust through maritime cooperation underpinned by respect for international law.”

The negotiations would take place under the U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty, according to the statement. China, Japan and the Philippines all are states parties to the agreement, which grants a coastal state the right to exploit underwater resources including fish stocks, energy reserves and mineral deposits within a 200-nautical mile (230-mile) zone.

Quote:Satellite imagery has captured an unidentified reflective object at the entrance to Scarborough Shoal's lagoon, reigniting concerns in Manila and among regional security analysts that China may be tightening its grip on one of the South China Sea's most sensitive flash points.

Images captured between May 26 and 28 by the satellite imagery platform SkyFi and shared with the Stanford‑affiliated maritime analysis group SeaLight show the object positioned at the southern mouth of the lagoon. Analysts estimate it to be less than 10 meters (32 feet) in diameter, though it remains unclear whether the structure is fixed to the reef or floating like a buoy, SeaLight said.

If confirmed as a permanent installation, the object would mark a potentially significant development at Scarborough Shoal—known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Island in China—where Beijing has exercised de facto control since a tense standoff with Manila in 2012, maintaining a continuous coast guard presence, challenging Philippine government patrols, ejecting Philippine anglers from the area and occasionally deploying floating barriers at the entrance.

"If this object is confirmed to be a fixed installation, it would raise questions about compliance with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which calls for self‑restraint and avoiding actions that complicate disputes or alter the status quo on contested, uninhabited features," SeaLight Director Ray Powell said in a statement.

Efforts to verify the nature and origin of the object are ongoing, Philippine officials say. Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La security summit in Singapore, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said there was "raw information" that China had built structures at Scarborough Shoal.

"Up to now I have not received any confirmation what that is or what the nature of that thing is," he said during a closed-door meeting with reporters attended by Newsweek. He added that the country's National Security Council has been tasked with leading the investigation.

Quote:A meteorite that rattled New England homes and caused an explosive “double boom” plunged into the middle of Cape Cod Bay, according to experts.

The meteorite fragmented just after 2 p.m. on Saturday, roughly 40 miles above northeast Massachusetts and southeast New Hampshire, NASA posted on social media.

The energy released when the space rock broke up was “equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT” — accounting for the massive boom that spooked residents, the space agency wrote in a statement.

After puncturing the atmosphere, the meteorite fell into the middle of Cape Cod Bay in an event dubbed a “fishy squisher,” officials said.

The meteorite, which plunged into 100 feet of water, is likely strongly attracted to a magnet, offering an opportunity for a space-rock excavator to reach it with a long rope.

“Most meteorites are strongly attracted to a magnet, and these ones are within reach of a 100′ length of rope dangled off of a boat. In case anyone is interested in such factoids,” NASA said.

The phenomenon was observed from Delaware to Montreal and caused a spike in reports to the US Geological Survey, which registered the shaking with the National Earthquake Information Center.

Quote:A veteran forensic scientist suggested that Nancy Guthrie may have been abducted by a local worker who mistook her for being wealthy, given the status of her “Today Show” star daughter.

Barbara Butcher told Fox News Digital Saturday she found it “flabbergasting” someone would just take the 84-year-old, before speculating, “Someone in the area… had found out that Mrs Guthrie was the mother of Savannah Guthrie and said, “Oh, she must be rich.”

Purported ransom notes ordering cryptocurrency payments were sent to media outlets days after the matriarch vanished – but Butcher has questioned the legitimacy of the demands particularly as there were no follow-ups.

“My second thought was that after time, when there was no valid ransom demand or any information forthcoming that it’s probably likely that Mrs. Guthrie died of shock, fright, heart disease, whatever it was, very soon after being taken from her home,” Butcher, a former death investigator for New York City’s chief medical examiner, and the host of Oxygen’s “The Death Investigator, said as she spoke on the fringes of CrimeCon in Las Vegas.

“And that’s just horrifying to me…and so now this kidnapper had nothing and probably, unfortunately, took her body into the desert and buried her there.”
RJ Dreiling, a prosecutor-turned criminal defense attorney, suggested the notes were a tactic used to “throw off investigators.”

“This is someone intelligent enough to completely hide their tracks, including DNA, fingerprints, and electronic data, but also deranged enough to kidnap this woman out of her home and hold her hostage,” he told Hello!

Guthrie is believed to have been taken from her Catalina Foothills, Az, home in the early hours of Feb. 1 –– but still no arrests have been made.

Embattled Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos emphatically said “No, absolutely not” when asked if he considers the case to be cold.

“There’s way too much work that is ongoing with some of the physical evidence we have and we’re not going to give up on it just because it’s been 100 days,” he told KOLD.

“We continue to work with our labs – whether it’s on the digital end or the biological end DNA – and we continue to do that.

“We continue to work with the FBI .. and several labs across the country to get some resolution on this case.”

Nanos said his team is “committed to one thing and one thing only, resolving this, finding out who did this, and hopefully finding Nancy as well.”

“The reality is simply this: We’re policemen. We’re here to investigate a crime,” he said.

“All the other side issues, the pundits and politicians, we’ll let them do their thing.”

Quote:New evidence in the Charlie Kirk assassination is set to be made public at a hearing next month, a Utah judge ruled Monday.

Suspect Tyler Robinson’s lawyers sought to bar news cameras from a five-day preliminary hearing set for July, when the prosecution is expected to lay out evidence against the 23-year-old defendant.

District Judge Tony Graf rejected that motion.

The Kirk case has been the subject of prevalent conspiracy theories, and Erika Kirk has sought to keep the proceedings as open as possible.

Prosecutors say Robinson fatally shot the Turning Point USA founder during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem on Sept. 10 — then confessed to the murder to his lover via text.

Robinson’s team also claimed prosecutors have illegally sensationalized the case, pushed political agendas and villainized him in the eyes of the public, violating a pre-trial publicity order.

Graf did not find the Provo County District Attorney’s office in contempt of court on Monday, but he said both sides would have the chance to present their arguments on June 12.

Graf also ruled that media would be allowed to film and live stream a much-anticipated July hearing in which the prosecution is expected to present its most damning evidence.

Tyler’s attorneys have repeatedly argued that media access would be tantamount to blasting potential jurors with anti-Robinson propaganda before the trial begins.

Judge Graf argued that most of the evidence in question has already been revealed and discussed in the public arena, and that there are other ways to protect Robinson’s rights.

Quote:A crazed gunman is suspected of killing six family members before turning the weapon on himself – and authorities believe the “act of evil” stemmed from a domestic dispute.

Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, was named as the perpetrator behind Monday’s rampage in Muscatine, Iowa, about 50 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, and bodies were found across several locations, KWQC reported.

Two of the victims were Muscatine Community School District students and two were employees of the district, school officials told the outlet.

“Today I simply do not have the words — this act of evil and what it has done to our community,” Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies said.

“Preliminary findings indicate the shootings stemmed from a domestic‑related dispute.”

Cops found four people dead with gunshot wounds inside one home just after noon.

But McFarland had left the property before the police arrived. He was found on a nearby trail with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Muscatine police said.

“While talking to Ryan Willis McFarland, he took his own life,” Kies told reporters.

“Officers and EMS personnel rendered aid. However, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Investigators learned there may be additional victims.

A man was found dead inside a home located about two miles from where the first set of bodies were discovered.

Another man was found dead at a nearby business.

The victims have not been identified but they are “believed to be family members of the deceased suspect,” police said.

Quote:A suspected terrorist who allegedly plotted to assassinate Ivanka Trump sported a brazen smirk in Manhattan court Monday as he pleaded not guilty to preparing to bomb a city synagogue.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dadwood al-Saadi, 32 — who boasted to the feds that he was a close pal of Iran’s late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — grinned throughout the proceeding and at one point began claiming that all’s fair in war.

“I’m not a criminal. … Our children are being killed by your rockets,” al-Saadi said in Arabic, which was translated by a court interpreter.

“I’m not guilty. … I’m in a war situation,” added the suspect, who allegedly planned to bomb the Big Apple house of worship as part of a global reign of terror that spanned nearly a decade.

Al-Saadi also plotted to kill President Trump’s daughter — and even had a blueprint of her Florida home — sources have told The Post. He has not been charged over those allegations.

The accused terrorist, a leader of the terror group Kata’ib Hizballah with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and the terror group Hezbollah, coordinated the bombing of a Bank of New York in Amsterdam, a synagogue in Belgium and the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London, according to authorities.

In all, federal prosecutors said al-Saadi has been linked to 16 planned or executed attacks of international targets in March and April alone.

“Al-Saadi claims to be part of the ‘resistance,’ a group that includes IRGC, an Iran-based designated foreign terror organization,” US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

“All Americans should recognize that we have sworn enemies and when your enemies tell you something and when they act, you should know that they mean it,” Clayton said.

The feds have not identified the “prominent” synagogue that was targeted but said al-Saadi allegedly paid a person who turned out to be an undercover agent $3,000 of a promised eventual $10,000 to carry out the attack.

The suspect has boasted that he was like a son of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the IRG who was killed by a US air strike in 2020, and close to Khamenei, huddling with him just three days before the supreme leader was killed by America at the start of its war on Iran.

Quote:The Secret Service is investigating after a viral video of a nurse appeared to show her saying she wanted to drive to Washington, D.C., and take a knife to President Donald Trump’s throat, prompting calls for an investigation.

In a video shared Sunday by Right Angle News Network, a woman identified as Rhonda Lee said, “God, please kill this motherf—–2. He needs to f—ing die. I’ve never felt like that about anyone.”

Lee, who, according to her LinkedIn, worked at University of Michigan Medical Center beginning in March 2000, but has not been employed there since 2023, continued, “Given my profession, it’s counterintuitive but you know what? F— that guy. He f—ing needs to die.”

Lee added, “I have never been a violent person, but I’m about to drive up there with my god—- neck knife and give that motherf—– a smiley face across his god— neck. F– him. I hate that b—-.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the United States Secret Service, said, “The U.S. Secret Service continuously monitors information streams to support our protective intelligence mission.”

Guglielmi added, “Due to the sensitive nature of this work, we are unable to confirm or comment on specific threat cases. However, anything that could be perceived as a threat to the President or any Secret Service protectee is taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mary Masson, senior director of public relations at Michigan Medicine, said Lee has not worked there since 2023.

“We are cooperating with law enforcement to provide any information helpful to their investigation,” Masson said.

Users on X replied to Right Angle News Network’s post of the video, with one saying, “She needs to lose her license to practice medicine, be arrested and FIRED.”

Another said, “Um, someone with that level of HATE in her heart to post a video for The World to see/hear should NEVER, EVER be allowed to provide in home care for elderly patients or any patients for that matter… In fact, she shouldn’t even be allowed to be around 4-legged animals!! She is what HATE is and looks like!!!!!”

Someone else observed, “What is it about nurses and teachers? They used to be people to look up at. Now they act like psychopaths.”

Nurses from across the country have taken to social media to wish ill or harm on members of the Trump administration, with a Florida nurse posting a video on TikTok calling on foreign governments, including China and the United Kingdom, to attack the United States in order to remove what she described as the Trump “regime”.

A California nurse expressed disappointment that Trump was not killed in the April shooting during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. 

Quote:A former combat medic running for Congress lied under oath as a defense witness for Omar Abdel Rahman aka “the Blind Sheikh,” who incited the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, a watchdog group claims.

Adam Hamawy, 56, an Egyptian-born physician and former Army trauma surgeon, is the leading candidate in Tuesday’s primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, backed by streamer Hasan Piker and left-wing senator Bernie Sanders.

But his association with Abdel Rahman has come back to haunt him. At the terrorist’s 1995 trial for inciting the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, which killed six, Hamawy was a witness for his defense.

He had met Abdel Rahman in 1991 in New Jersey and shared a ride with him to a conference in Detroit that year, named “Towards a Global Islamic Economy,” according to a court transcript.

When asked about the trip during the trial, Hamawy — who has never been accused of wrongdoing in relation to the bombing — testified that the subject of the conference was economics of the Middle East. When asked if he’d ever heard Abdel Rahman speak about jihad against America, he replied: “No, not against America,” according to the transcript obtained by The Post.

However, when shown a transcript of the speech and further prompted during questioning by a federal prosecutor, he then admitted Abdel Rahman had spoken about jihad — an Arabic term often interpreted as Holy War — but claimed it was taken out of context and he didn’t mean jihad “in specific.”

However, in a translation from the text of Abdel-Rahman’s speech at the First Annual Conference of the Islamic Charity Project seen by The Post, he makes a number of inciteful statements. The speech was entitled “The Best Way of Supporting Jihad,” and included lines such as: “We must preserve our land and defend it through jihad in the path of Allah.”

In a video of the conference seen by The Post, Abdel Rahman also tells attendees it would be against Islam to negotiate with “the enemy” — Israel — and “reconciliation, sitting down or negotiations — Islam does not approve of any of it.”

“How can a call for peace be made in Afghanistan, for example, after the fall of 20,000 martyrs?” he continued.

Abdel-Rahman also called on his followers to target Hosni Mubarak, the then-president of Egypt.

“[Ex-president Anwar] Sadat surrendered what Israel wanted in the Camp David treaty [of 1978], and the third treacherous traitor [Mubarak] comes to be the loyal dog of America. And gives everything and leads the caravan of treason to give everything to Israel and, behind it, America.”

In court in 1995, a lawyer for the US showed Hamawy a transcript and asked: “Does that refresh your recollection whether he talked about jihad for the sake of God and conquering the land of the infidels?”

Hamawy initially said the statement was being taken out of context, but then admitted, “It was a struggle in the sake of God, yes. It was a jihad.”

Hamawy also admitted “he [Abdel Rahman] basically, you know, was very critical, of America’s foreign policy against Muslims in general, especially during the Gulf War,” according to the trial transcripts. Hamawy was never charged with perjury or faced other repercussions over his testimony.

“I think the voters of New Jersey have a right to know why Dr. Hamawy felt so strongly in defending a violent jihadist leader — the Blind Sheikh — that he repeatedly lied under oath in the 1995 terrorist trial. Dr. Hamamy’s silence until now suggests he has no qualms about his testimony,” said Steven Emerson, founder and executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a Washington, DC-based think tank that studies extremism.

A spokesperson for Egpyt-born Hamawy pointed to his long career of service in the US military and added, of Abdel Rahman: “At the time, the man in question was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey … Dr. Hamawy condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always. Dr. Hamawy had no contact with this person after they were arrested.”

Quote:The anti-ICE protester who threatened to kill an agent and his family during a heated clash outside Newark’s Delaney Hall has been arrested and charged, officials said Monday.

Nicholas Matthew Scelfo, 27, of Brooklyn, was taken into custody after allegedly hurling threats against an ICE officer, his wife and his children during a protest at the detention facility last week.

“Federal law enforcement officers face danger with great courage, and they should be able to do their jobs without being threatened and fearing for their families’ lives,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who had vowed to see the man arrested.

“We take such threats very seriously and will prosecute those who make them to the fullest extent of the law.”

The “disgusting” encounter unfolded on May 27, when video captured Scelfo threatening one of the ICE officers stationed at Delaney Hall, where protests have been taking place every day.

“I’ll kill your whole f–king family. Your whole f–king family is dead. Your children, your wife, all dead,” the protester, who had protective goggles over his eyes, shouts at the federal agents.

“I have your face, motherf–ker. You’re dead. Dead,” he added.

Scelfo was identified through facial recognition technology, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

The agitator allegedly admitted to making the vile threats following his arrest on May 29, according to the Justice Department.

Patel said Scelfo’s arrest should serve as a warning to others protesting in New Jersey.

“Let this be a message to any criminal actor who may try something similar: you touch a cop, and this FBI will put you down,” he said. 

Scelfo was charged with influencing, impeding, and retaliating against a federal officer by threat, according to the Department of Justice.

He was scheduled to appear on Monday before a  US Magistrate Judge in Newark federal court.

Quote:The anti-ICE rioter who allegedly sank his teeth into federal law enforcement officers during a protest at Delaney Hall last week was previously accused of distributing child pornography.

The New Jersey US Attorney’s Office charged Brendan John Geier, 26, with assaulting federal officers and causing bodily injury, for allegedly “kicking and biting” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)  officers outside the Newark detention center, leaving them with “horrific wounds,” according to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Geier, of Madison, NJ, was previously charged with sexual abuse of children related to the dissemination and possession of child pornography, the Justice Department confirmed to The Post.

Berks County (Pa.) Detectives began investigating Geier after receiving a tip about suspected child porn being uploaded through Skype from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in September 2018, according to the county district attorneys office.

Investigators linked seven digital images of suspected child pornography to an IP address belonging to Geier, who was then a 19-year-old student at Kutztown University.

Authorities later found “numerous digital images of suspected child pornography” on a laptop and iPhone seized from Geier’s dorm room, the DA said at the time. 

Second-degree felony child porn charges were filed against Geier on March 12, 2019. He was let out of jail on a $25,000 bail, court records show.

In 2021, Geier pleaded guilty to a lesser, third-degree felony charge of criminal use of a communication facility.

He was sentenced to two years probation, ordered to have “no contact with anyone under the age of 18” and undergo “sex offender evaluation and treatment.”

Geier describes himself as a “shut in” with “high-functioning autism” who enjoys “spending most of his time alone in his room,” in a website he created in 2024 which is largely devoted to Japanese animation and rock music.

He faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars and $250,000 fine if convicted of the assault charge.

An attorney listed for Geier did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Quote:The devastated daughter of the Atlanta train passenger viciously slaughtered by an alleged homeless maniac in a random attack ripped local officials Monday for opening the transit system to free riders — and then failing to properly police its stations.

Margaret Swan, a 66-year-old great-grandmother, had her throat slashed and then was stabbed 18 to 20 times on the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority by the knife-wielding madman in an unprovoked attack Saturday morning, cops said.

Shanae Sams, Swan’s daughter, told The Post that glaring security gaps, lax policing and a temporary free-fare policy on MARTA paved the way for the heinous daylight killing.

“To me, it’s negligence with the security and the patrolling,” the 46-year-old woman said, noting how commuters were given free rides because of renovations across the transit system.

“Anybody has access to get on and off the trains. If you’re allowing free stuff like that, for me, police patrolling was negligent, there was no security, there was nothing,” she said.

“The whole situation is a situation that could have been prevented.”

Swan was sitting alone on the train around 11:20 a.m. when John Elijah Matthews, 25, was caught on chilling surveillance footage boarding and hovering over her before allegedly pulling out a knife and slitting her throat, according to a warrant obtained by 11Alive.

The victim — a mother of three, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of four – screamed and tried to escape, but the suspect allegedly held her down and stabbed her another 18 to 20 times before leaving her dead on the ground in a large pool of her own blood.

“She was screaming for help, and nobody was helping her,” Sams said.

“There’s no words that can explain how we feel right now. We are all lost, confused, angry and scared. It is just too much. Why was there no security? Why is nobody trying to prevent this from happening?” the daughter said.

Quote:Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign guru — now facing heat for allegedly threatening a whistleblowing ex-staffer to US Senate hopeful Graham Platner — has his hands in a series of other congressional bids by far-left candidates.

Wunderkind Morris Katz was ripped for his alleged dirty tactics following a report in the Bangor Daily News Sunday that he tried to browbeat former Platner campaign staffer Genevieve McDonald into denying that the married oyster farmer sexted with multiple women.

The sex scandal is the latest controversy to hit Democrat Platner’s bid to knock off GOP Sen. Susan Collins and has tarnished the gleaming profile of Katz — who is involved with several local lefty candidates this election cycle.

He’s an instrumental part of the populist campaign for Democratic Socialists of America member Claire Valdez, a Queens state assemblywoman vying for an open seat in New York’s 7th House District.

Valdez has been endorsed by her DSA comrade Mamdani, whom 27-year-old Katz has been widely credited with helping catapult to City Hall.

Valdez’s campaign declined to comment Monday when asked about Katz’s alleged threat in the Platner race. Mamdani also did not comment.

Katz is said to be advising Mamdani-backed former City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman from the left in the Democratic primary for the 10th House District.

He was also hired by the campaign of state Assemblyman Micah Lasher, who is running in a crowded Democratic primary for the open 12th House District.

Neither campaign returned requests for comment.

Katz’s firm, Fight Agency, which he runs with other liberal political operatives, has also done campaign work for Nebraska independent candidate Dan Osborn, a mechanic running for US Senate.

Katz is described on Fight Agency’s website as a political strategist who “hates status quo politics and loves long-shots.”

“As comfortable in Philadelphia union halls as he is in auto shops in Nebraska, Morris is always on the lookout for nontraditional candidates that are willing to take on tough fights,” his bio reads.

The political whiz-kid allegedly pressured McDonald, Platner’s former political director, to help stop the Wall Street Journal from reporting that the candidate had sexted several other women after marrying his wife in 2023.

Quote:An election interference scandal has already rocked California as a voting site was vandalized and burned mail-in ballots were found in a drop box.

The incidents, which officials described as isolated but serious, have sparked an investigation and renewed warnings that any attempt to interfere with the voting process will carry criminal penalties.

Election workers discovered vandalism Sunday morning at a vote center located at Cesar E. Chavez Park in Long Beach, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office.

Officials said staff responded immediately and voting operations continued without interruption.

In a separate incident, county election workers conducting routine ballot collection identified a small number of Vote by Mail ballots that appeared to have suffered fire-related damage inside a drop box at the Department of Public Social Services-Civic Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Election officials said preliminary information suggests the damage was limited in scope and occurred during a relatively short window between a scheduled ballot pickup and the following morning’s collection.

The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office has filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department and said it will cooperate fully with investigators seeking to determine how the damage occurred.

Officials are also reviewing both incidents to determine whether any voters were affected.

“Our responsibility is to protect voters and ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot,” said Dean Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

Quote:Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer got the cold shoulder from the two Democratic candidates running for the House seat in the district he calls home.

During the feisty NY1 debate Monday night, Rep. Dan Goldman and Democratic primary rival Brad Lander were asked if they would support Schumer, 75, a Park Slope constituent, if he runs for re-election in 2028.

“I think it’s time for new leadership in the Democratic Party. That’s why I’m running in this race against Rep. Goldman,” Lander said, throwing Schumer under the bus.

Goldman, who is seeking a third term, hedged.

“I have not thought about it. I have no idea whether he’s going to run or not. We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Goldman told NY1’s questioners Errol Louis and Courtney Gross.

Both said they would support keeping Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as the House Democratic leader.

“[Jeffries] endorsed me,” Goldman added.

House District 10 includes downtown Manhattan neighborhoods such as the Lower East Side and Chinatown, as well as Brooklyn’s brownstone and waterfront neighborhoods.

Lander, the former city comptroller and councilman backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, repeatedly referred to Goldman as a “corporate Democrat.”

He also criticized his opponent, the Levi Strauss heir, for refusing to endorse Mamdani for mayor last year, even after the democratic socialist won the Democratic primary, and for using his personal wealth to help finance his campaign.

Quote:California’s high-speed rail board approved a controversial business plan as well as a contract worth up to $3.5 billion Monday after Steve Kawa — a longtime political advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom — was appointed chair of the authority overseeing the bullet train boondoggle.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board approved a track-and-systems construction contract without opposition, clearing the way for Kiewit, Stacy Witbeck, Herzog – A Joint Venture to begin work on the multi-phase $3.5 billion project to lay track and install electrical systems across the Central Valley.

Kawa, who served as his chief of staff when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, takes over the board at a pivotal moment for the long-delayed bullet train, whose cost had ballooned as high as $231 billion if plans hadn’t been altered and scaled back.

The authority successfully pushed through its 2026 business plan despite objections from local officials, with the initial Central Valley segment projected to cost $34.8 billion while the broader “Phase 1” system pegged at $126 billion.

After receiving the gavel, Kawa thanked Newsom for being appointed to the powerful post, which was previously held by Tom Richards.

“I have worked for the governor since the 1990s,” Kawa said. “We have worked on many important issues and programs together. I know how important high speed rail is to him and his belief that this project will result in many benefits and a brighter future for California. I share that belief.”

While the meeting was relatively harmonious, board member Jeffrey Worthe questioned whether the authority was about to lock itself into a massive agreement with a sole bidder on a project already beset by delays, rising costs and doubts over transparency.

“Last month, I was told there’s only one bidder that could bid that project,” Worthe said. “Now we’re going to lock ourselves into a single bidder for $3.5 billion with one bid. … Help me decide why that’s a prudent use of taxpayer dollars. This is not a kitchen remodel, right? I mean, these are massive contracts.”

Staff said the authority received two proposals in a competitive procurement and determined the winning bid was in line with internal cost estimates. But they acknowledged that the price proposal from the rejected bidder was never opened because the company was deemed nonresponsive for not having a California licensed engineer in a prominent staff position.

The new contract authorizes the authority’s CEO, Ian Choudri, to execute an agreement with the joint venture not to exceed $3.5 billion.

Monday’s meeting also exposed lingering tension over the authority’s 2026 business plan, which has already been delayed amid criticism over the project’s soaring price tag and whether the plan meets legal requirements.

Quote:President Trump is dropping his $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, the Justice Department announced on Monday.

Senate Republicans complained about the lack of guardrails on the fund and grilled Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about who could apply for compensation when he met with them on Capitol Hill two weeks ago.

The DOJ said it would abide by a federal court ruling that halted any payouts.

“The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

Trump was getting blowback from his party on the issue. Senate Republicans fretted that the money could be used to pay rioters from January 6th and Trump’s political allies even though people like Hunter Biden were also eligible to apply.

As part of the fallout, Senate Republican leaders delayed action on a $72 billion partisan bill to fund Trump’s immigration crackdown after dozens of Republican lawmakers objected to the establishment of the fund.

Senate Republican Leader John Thune told reporters on Capitol Hill Monday that the issue with the fund would have to be resolved before the legislation could move forward.

Additionally, Trump met with Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House, where the fund was discussed.

Trump agreed to the fund as part of his settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit with the IRS. In exchange for dropping the lawsuit, the Justice Department was to establish the fund with the IRS and anyone who believed they were a victim of the weaponization of the federal government would be eligible to apply for financial compensation.

Quote:A legal advocacy group wants the Trump administration to step in to probe CUNY‘s Black Male Initiative over claims it discriminates against white students.

The Equal Protection Project claims the CUNY program violates federal civil rights laws by giving preference to minority male students while shutting out others.

“It’s not a difficult case – CUNY explicitly is recruiting based on race and ethnicity and preferring certain racial and ethnic groups over others,” said William Jacobson, president and founder of the group, which filed a complaint with the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.

In 2012, the Obama Department of Education determined that the initiative was consistent with federal law.

“The discrimination in the program should have been stopped almost 15 years ago,” Jacobson said. “Only a legally ridiculous 2012 decision by the Obama Department of Education allowed the discrimination to continue. It is time for DOJ to correct this injustice.”
The mission of the Black Male Initiative is to bolster the enrollment, retention, grade point average and graduation rates of minority male students in 22 senior and community colleges within the CUNY system.

It has been in place for 20 years.

In its complaint, EPP claims the program also violates state and city anti-discrimination laws. But since New York’s lawmakers have allocated millions of dollars over the years to fund BMI, Albany and City Hall won’t investigate.

CUNY defended the program as legal and appropriate.

“For 21 years the CUNY Black Male Initiative has focused on improving the educational success of underrepresented students and is open to all students regardless of race, gender or national origin,” a CUNY spokesperson said.

One CUNY source said Sunday the Male Initiative is a well-intended program to address the dearth of young minority men attending and graduating from colleges.

The group admitted in its complaint that the initiative has educational benefits, but they should be applied to all students who need assistance regardless of race, color or ethnicity.

“However, BMI’s goals, programming, and promotional materials repeatedly identify favored racial and ethnic groups and communicate that the program is intended for those groups,” the complaint said.

“If CUNY had a ‘White Male Initiative’ structured similarly to BMI such race-based recruiting would not be tolerated much less funded and promoted. It is up to DOJ to ensure that the civil rights laws are enforced in a race-neutral manner.”

Quote:Mayor Karen Bass is being slammed as un-American for a last-minute decision to pull funding for a neighborhood group who wanted to close their main street for a Fourth of July Parade marking America’s 250th birthday.

The Sunland-Tujunga Fourth of July Parade, the longest-running Independence Day parade in the San Fernando Valley, has been canceled after organizers say the city withdrew support and left them facing at least $20,000 in traffic control and street closure costs.

“The mayor’s office jerked us around for so long,” said Lydia Grant, president of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council.

“It’s devastating. We’ve been doing this parade for over 50 years.”

Organizers announced Monday that it was ”with great sadness” that they’ve be unable to host the parade.

The event, hosted annually by the Sunland-Tujunga-Shadow Hills Rotary Club and the Neighborhood Council, is the centerpiece of the community’s Independence Day celebration.

The parade was set to draw marching bands, equestrian groups, vintage cars, local organizations, elected officials and homemade floats.

Grant said she was especially surprised because Mayor Bass told the group her office would help with the event, as the office had done for decades.

“I was very shocked because the mayor herself said to contact her staff to get it done,” Grant said. “Then they started ignoring us. This has never happened before.”

According to Grant, organizers were initially told costs would be around $15,000, but the final estimate exceeded $20,000.

She said the delays left organizers with no realistic opportunity to fundraise or secure sponsors before the July 4 event.

“They delayed so long that we didn’t have time to schedule or fundraise,” Grant said. “Then the DOT gave us the bill.”

The cancellation hits particularly hard in a community that has already watched several long-standing events disappear over the years because of rising costs.

“We’ve ended up losing most of our festivals,” Grant said.

“We used to have a summer festival, a watermelon festival, National Night Out and the Fourth of July celebration. Slowly, because of the costs, they’ve been taken away.”

Grant said she finds the situation especially frustrating given recent city spending on demonstrations and protests.

Quote:They’re calling it a ringing success.

A majority of New York teachers reported huge classroom improvements after the state’s first phone-free school year — thanks to better student focus, less bullying and more kids just being kids.

About 600 public school teachers were polled and 76% of them gave high marks to the no-cellphone policy implemented in September, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday during a roundtable at Brooklyn’s PS 383 Middle School.

The educators reported a noticeable improvement in student behavior and said they were more engaged in discussions and collaborated better with one another.

“They’re participating in class discussions, and teachers can finally teach,” Hochul told reporters Monday while discussing the responses. “We have finally kids talking to each other.”

Hochul was one of the leading proponents of the measure, which affected the nearly 1 million K-12 kids in the state’s public and charter schools by requiring them to place their phones in monitored bins, lockers or secured bags at the start of each school day.

Albany touted the measure — passed in May 2025 — as “one of the nation’s strongest phone-free policies,” and said it came largely from student pleas for freedom from the social pressures phones put on them during the day.

“‘You have to save us from ourselves,'” Hochul said one student told her. “I realized it was this addictive device that held their attention throughout the day, kept them engaged with it and disengaged from the teachers.”

And the kids themselves also benefitted from the ban outside of the classroom, teachers said, with 60% describing a notable decline in bullying incidents.

Another 80% of teachers said basic social connections between students had improved.

“They are reacting like kids again, feeling that burden lifted from their shoulders,” Hochul said.

Some students even agreed with their teachers’ assessments.

“I noticed a lot of kids talking with each other more, more engaged in conversation,” said one student, Julia, who joined Hochul’s roundtable. “A lot of kids playing sports with each other and doing interactive activities.”

Quote:A San Francisco public school reportedly hosted a workshop on “adult supremacy” — a new woke trend labeling teachers and adults “oppressors” that’s quietly gaining traction in California.

The confab, held at John O’Connell High School during an “Ethnic Studies Everywhere” weekend seminar in April, was titled “Youth as Knowledge Producers: Challenging Adult Supremacy Through Ethnic Studies,” according to an attendee who spoke with The Post.

“Due to systemic power dynamics inherently the relationship between students and educators is an oppressive one. Oppressor (educator) & oppressed (student),” a presentation slide explained.

The workshop was led by Jennifer Sanchez, a third-year ethnic studies educator in the Central Valley, and convened by Teachers 4 Social Justice, a nonprofit that aims to create “empowering learning environments, more equitable access to resources and power, and realizing a just and caring culture,” according to its website.

Teachers 4 Social Justice was founded by local teacher activist Jeremiah Jeffries, who led an unpopular push to rename public schools during the pandemic that was abandoned after sparking outrage from local parents.

So-called adult supremacy “constructs adults as developed, mature, intelligent, and experienced, based solely on their age and ensures that adults control the resources and make the decisions in society,” the presentation further explained.

Success “within the Western context” is “demanding, overwhelming, and dehumanizing,” the presentation claimed.

Friends of Lowell Foundation, which advocates for academic merit at San Francisco schools, compiled the “adult supremacy” slides.

Another slide obtained by The Post cited the work of academic Jackson Matos, who is mentioned as connecting “adultism” to cultural imperialism, marginalization, exploitation, powerlessness and violence.

“We have knowledge and life experience, and it is our job as parents and teachers to impart information on the next generation, on our kids,” one flabbergasted San Francisco parent, who asked not to be named, told The Post.

“Given that a large percentage of students in the district do not meet grade level standards in ELA and math, our focus as a school district is clearly way off track,” the parent said.

Quote:Bill Gates was accused of having more than 20 extramarital affairs in the fallout from his divorce from ex-wife Melinda, the billionaire told Gates Foundation staffers during a sullen town meeting earlier this year, according to a new report.

While Gates, 70, owned up to having two affairs with Russian women referenced in the Epstein files during the February gathering, the Microsoft co-founder left employees stunned when he revealed that allegations related to more than 20 affairs had come up during the 2021 divorce proceedings, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

Gates, who had been married to Melinda for 27 years, had issued a groveling apology at the time, but claimed he “did nothing illicit” during his meetings with late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

While little is known about the affair allegations, Gates admitted to having sex with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova and a former employee at his nuclear power company, TerraPower.

Gates met Antonova in 2010 at a tournament, while the Russian met Epstein seeking financial backers for a bridge academy. Epstein later paid for Antonova to attend software coding school.

The other woman, who has not been publicly identified, was referred to by Gates as a “Russian nuclear physicist” who he met “through business activities” and worked for two years at TerraPower, according to the Journal.

Concerned employees were reportedly told that the woman actually worked for their parent company, which only left the staffers confused.

Neither the Gates Foundation nor TerraPower immediately responded to The Post’s request for comment.

Epstein had allegedly discovered Gates’ affairs and attempted to threaten the billionaire with his knowledge of it, according to 2013 emails between the disgraced financier and Boris Nikolic, Gates’ chief adviser for science and technology.

The emails also tried to suggest Nikolic had assisted Gates in securing medication “in order to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls.”

Quote:Cops on both sides of the US-Mexico border are investigating a sprawling underground passage uncovered in the Tijuana area that is believed to extend toward the US.

The tunnel was found Saturday in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood during a raid carried out by Mexican federal authorities, with support from the Mexican navy, according to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office.

Investigators said the hidden passage stretches roughly 869 feet and sits about 21 feet below ground, making it one of the more substantial cross-border tunnel discoveries in recent years.

The underground route was uncovered after authorities executed a search warrant at a property in eastern Tijuana.

During the operation, officers seized a variety of items, including ammunition, cellphones, bank cards, a digital video recorder and dozens of doses of methamphetamine.

While inspecting the site, investigators located a wood-lined tunnel that officials believe was constructed to reach the US border.

Mexican authorities said evidence recovered during the raid suggests the property may have been used as a logistical center for criminal activity, including the storage and movement of narcotics, weapons and explosive materials.

Following the search, the seized evidence and the property were transferred to federal prosecutors, who are continuing the investigation.

The discovery has also drawn the attention of US authorities.

In a statement, Homeland Security Investigations confirmed agents are participating in an active probe involving the underground passage near Otay Mesa, a major border crossing area between Tijuana and San Diego.

“Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego, in coordination with our Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) partners, are conducting a criminal enforcement operation involving a cross-border subterranean tunnel in Otay Mesa, CA,” a rep for Homeland Security Investigations told NBC 7 in a statement.

“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and ensure the safety of all involved, we are unable provide additional details at this time,” the rep added.

Quote:A leading leftist in the National Assembly has claimed that France was never a white and Christian country, and that the idea is merely a “fantasy” of the so-called far-right.

Mathilde Panot, who leads Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise (France in Rebellion/LFI) party in the lower house of the French parliament, not only championed the idea of a “New France” but appeared to suggest that Old France never actually existed.

Speaking to Le Média, the MP for Val-de-Marne’s 10th constituency said that it is imperative for the political left to “never concede anything whatsoever to the far right” as it is through the acceptance of premises through which the “far right becomes socially acceptable”.

Despite Christian heritage in France dating back to the 5th century with the conversion of Clovis I, she claimed that the right “fantasises about a France that does not exist and has never existed… a France that is supposedly a ‘white’ France, a ‘Christian’ France… a France being ‘invaded’ by—well, by who knows whom. In short, they are completely lost in a fantasy regarding the true nature of this country.”

“The only way to defeat the far right is to remain steadfast in one’s principles and refuse to yield even an inch to them regarding issues of racism, immigration, and—well—all such matters. Anyone who actually cedes ground to them is, in effect, helping them advance every single time—because, by doing so, they are effectively playing right into the far right’s ideological framework,” Panot continued.

The LFI leader made the comments in reference to a growing consensus across the political spectrum against mass migration into France, with fellow leftist leaders such as François Ruffin, who was formerly in the same party as Panot, coming out last month in favour of limiting the influx of foreigners to protect the wages of French workers.

Meanwhile, neo-liberal Macronists, who will be vying for tactical left-wing votes in the upcoming presidential election, such as former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, have both in the past week called for significant cuts to immigration.

In contrast, Panot and her party’s presidential candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have doubled down on multiculturalism, in what they term “New France“.

Mélenchon, who was born in Morocco to Sicilian and Spanish parents, has hailed the idea that France is experiencing “creolization” through the importation of millions of foreigners, primarily from former French colonies in North Africa.

Quote:Six people were stabbed at Arsenal’s Premier League victory parade in London on Sunday — hours after celebrations in Paris for PSG’s Champions League success turned the Champs Élysées into an “arena of urban guerrilla warfare.”

An estimated 1 million fans packed the streets of North London to celebrate Arsenal’s first Premier League title in 22 years, with 24 people arrested, the Metropolitan Police said Monday.

A man in his 20s was among six people stabbed in the mayhem. He was rushed to the hospital in life-threatening condition but is now stable, authorities said. Most of the victims were not seriously injured, police said.

Of the 24 people arrested, 10 allegedly assaulted police officers, with one cop suffering a slash wound to the hand and another hit on the head.

Three others also were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, and another three were nabbed on drug-related offenses.

Cops said two arrests were made for drunken and disorderly behavior, while one hater hurled a homophobic slur at an officer.

Arrests were also made for disturbing the peace, obstruction and ignoring dispersal orders.

Four police vans were left with broken lights and several dents, too.

Arsenal won its league title May 19 — before Paris Saint-Germaine defeated it in the separate UEFA, or Union of European Football Associations, Champions League finals in Budapest, Hungary, on penalty kicks Saturday.

France erupted in glee over PSG’s win, sending those fans running amok.

Nine hundred people were arrested across France on Saturday — a 45% rise over last year’s chaos when PSG’s Champions League also won against Inter Milan. Almost 180 cops were injured in melees, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

A person was even killed on what was supposed to be a night of jubilation celebrating the back-to-back European cup triumphs.

More than 306 people — including 81 minors — were taken into custody over the violence, Parisian prosecutors said.

Quote:It was ripe for the picking.

Banana bandits scored a sweet steal worth a whopping $6.2 million, nabbing the yellow, crescent-shaped centerpiece of “Comedian,” a masterpiece by Italian visual artist Maurizio Cattelan, from the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum in France this weekend.

The fruity theft comes just one year after a gallery visitor was discovered eating the banana that previously starred in the masterwork.

It’s a feast for the eyes — and the sticky fingers.

A guard for the Centre Pompidou-Metz noticed the banana, crudely affixed to the museum wall with a slice of silvery duct tape as a work of conceptual art, had disappeared Saturday.

The museum alerted the police, filed a criminal lawsuit, and restored the installation — meaning they replaced the bauble with, you guessed it, another banana.

Because unlike, say, $100,000 worth of jewels, it’s that easily replaced.

“No irreversible damage has been noticed,” reps for Pompidou-Metz said in a statement, per the UK Times.

The starchy snack has been swapped out several times since its December 2019 debut at Art Basel in Miami Beach, Florida, where it sold for a jaw-dropping $120,000. But Cattelan purchased the original banana for 35 cents from a 74-year-old fruit vendor in the Big Apple. 

The appetizing pièce de résistance, however, has met an unfortunate end on several occasions, thanks to hungry art lovers, including Noh Huyn-soo, who couldn’t resist sinking his teeth into the treat when it was on display at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, in 2023.

Justin Sun, a Chinese-born cryptocurrency mogul, too, chewed up the banana after purchasing Comedian for $6.2 million at an auction at Sotheby’s the following year.

Cattelan replicated the mouth-watering masterwork for Centre-Pompidou Metz in May 2025, only for it to be gobbled up by a visitor on July 12.

Quote:Construction crews working on a highway in Italy unexpectedly uncovered the remains of an ancient sanctuary — sparking an archaeological investigation.

The discovery was announced by the Italian Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape in a May 19 press release.

The sanctuary was found in Ponso, a town some 45 miles southwest of Venice.

Construction workers from Veneto Strade S.p.A. were building a new road from Borgo Veneto to Carceri when they uncovered the site, which dates back to the fifth century B.C.

The workers were carrying out wartime ordnance clearance operations when the first artifacts were discovered.

Eventually, archaeologists uncovered large rectangular foundation structures believed to be temples, including one that appears to have been surrounded by a row of columns.

Though some inscriptions were in Latin, many more were written in Venetic script — an ancient language used by the Veneti people of northeastern Italy before Roman rule.

Many of the inscribed stones “appear to have been reused in a paved flooring structure whose function is still uncertain, while some remain in their original position,” officials said in a translated statement.

“The paving appears to have been constructed during the 1st century A.D., according to evidence currently under study,” the release noted.

“As excavations continued, new large rectangular foundation structures identifiable as temples emerged, one of which displays characteristics of a peripteral temple, surrounded by a row of columns on all sides.”

Photos from the site show ancient Venetic inscriptions, along with partially buried column fragments and stone blocks believed to be part of the temple complex.

Quote:Two hobbyists recently uncovered one of the largest Viking coin hoards ever found — fittingly, in a Nordic country.

The hoard was found in a field near Rena, about 18 miles north of Elverum in southeastern Norway, according to an announcement from the University of Oslo’s Museum of Cultural History (KHM).

The treasure hunters, Rune Sætre and Vegard Sørlie, suspected they had uncovered a hoard when they found 19 silver coins on April 10.

They contacted local officials at Innlandet County Authority — and the site soon became the center of a major archaeological investigation.

The cache consists of 2,970 silver coins believed to have been buried around 1047. It marks the largest Viking Age coin hoard discovered in Norway since 1950 — and the biggest in the country’s history.

The coins were minted between the 980s and the 1040s and bear the names of rulers including Æthelred II, Otto III, Harald Hardrada, and the legendary King Cnut.

Most of the coins were minted in England or Germany, which officials said reflects the strong foreign influence on Norway’s economy during the late Viking Age.

“Foreign coinage dominates the circulation of money in Norway up until Harald Hardrada (1046–1066) established a national coinage,” KHM professor Svein Gullbekk said in a statement.

“The hoard was deposited right at the beginning of this development.”

KHM described the discovery as “a coin hoard without parallel in a Norwegian context.”

Hanna Geiran, director general of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, said she could “hardly believe my ears when I heard about the find.”

She added, “This is both a national and an international event, and few things capture people’s imagination as much as the Viking Age in Norway.”

It remains unclear why the hoard was buried, though researchers believe it may have been tied to the region’s booming iron trade during the Viking Age.

Archaeologist Jostein Bergstøl of the Museum of Cultural History believes the massive coin cache may represent wealth accumulated through that trade.

“From the 900s until the late 1200s, there was enormous iron production in this area,” he said. “Ore was extracted from the bogs, and the processed iron was exported to Europe.”

Officials also praised the two detectorists for following proper procedures and helping secure the site.

“This is an exemplary case of how it should be done,” said Innlandet County Authority archaeologist May-Tove Smiseth.

Quote:Rayann El Houli, part of the “ISIS Brides” group of Australian women, renounced the Islamic State and “violent jihad” her lawyer claimed during a Monday court appearance.

El Houli, a 34 year-old mother of four children, is one of the Australian “ISIS Brides” women that moved to Syria so they could marry Islamic State fighters before the collapse of the so-called ISIS “caliphate” in 2019. She reportedly returned to Australia with her sister in September. She was arrested months later on Thursday and formally charged with travelling to a declared conflict zone and joining the Islamic State terrorist organization. Both offences carry maximum penalties of up to ten years in prison.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that El Houli appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday to apply for bail, but the application was adjourned to give the defense time to organize expert witnesses to testify before the court. She wore a blue hijab, which, according to her lawyer, Senior Counsel Peter Morrissey, is an “act of good faith” so that she could be recognizable to the people in the courtroom. ABC noted that El Houli was wearing a niqab that covered all but her eyes at the time of her arrest last week.

Morrissey reportedly presented El Houli as a “highly traumatized individual” who wanted it known that she did not support the Islamic State. He further claimed that her client has “renounced ISIS and violent jihad,” and “wants nothin to do with it.”

“Not now, not in the future, not directly, not indirectly. Not for herself, not for the people she loves and specifically not for her children,” Morrissey stressed.

Australian prosecutors allege that El Houli traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State at some point between 2013 and 2014, marrying several members of the terrorist organization during her stay in the country. Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan, citing the prosecutors’ statements,  detailed that she has allegedly expressed support for terrorist acts and views of “killing nonbelievers” in the past, as well as seeking to indoctrinate her children to radical Islam.

Per ABC, it is believed that El Houli’s efforts to return to Australia were carried out independent of other efforts to repatriate Australian citizens from displaced camps following the fall of the ISIS “caliphate.” Australian Police officers have reportedly stated that El Houli was detained by Kurdish forces in March 2019 and held with her family in the al-Hawl camp in northern Syria. According to ABC, El Houli presumptively escaped the camp with her sister and children, and paid a smuggler to get them into Lebanon.

Magistrate Hannan, emphasizing that the charges against El Hoili are “very serious,” said she would need to weigh up risks to the community when deciding whether to grant bail. She also expressed that she would like to hear evidence on the circumstances of her escape from the Kurdish camp, and the accused woman’s lack of participation in anti-terrorism programs.

Morrissey reportedly argued that El Houli was “willing to undertake the programs” but that her “potential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis” has hindered her efforts.

Quote:Federal agents, in a daring predawn raid Wednesday, pounced on the opulent, $35 million Newport Beach mansion of an Iranian tech boss charged with supplying US computer hardware to Iran’s military and nuclear programs.

The California Post was there as the feds arrested Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast, who was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and is expected to appear Wednesday afternoon in Santa Ana federal court.

The businessman, who is a dual citizen of Iran and the US, is accused of selling computer hardware to the Iranian government for use in its military and nuclear operations. Prosecutors allege Ghomi made millions on those deals and invented elaborate schemes to hide the transactions.

“Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling US-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of US sanction laws,” said Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor Bill Essayli.

“We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion,” he added.

Early Wednesday morning, dozens of agents dressed in tactical gear and carrying automatic weapons gathered early at a parking lot in tony Newport Beach near the accused Ghomi’s palatial pad.

From there, agents sped in a convoy to the property at 31 High Water within an exclusive gated community, encircling the mansion’s manicured grounds before calling for him to come out.

“What’s going on?” asked one of the stunned occupants of the mansion, as two of Ghomi’s adult sons and his wife were led outside by agents.

More agents carrying power tools and evidence boxes entered Ghomi’s the Italianate estate, while an interpreter arrived to interview him. 

Ghomi eventually emerged after the interview and was taken into custody by agents who placed him in a silver SUV.

In addition to allegedly violating US sanction laws, federal authorities are investigating Ghomi for money laundering, tax evasion and other crimes.

He is accused of taking in more than $10 million annually in sales from his computer firm while only reporting a maximum income of $20,000 to the IRS.

Quote:President Trump and Iran have one month to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get oil flowing again if they want to avoid a worldwide economic slowdown for the next two years, according to projections released Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Already, global economic growth is expected to be significantly lower this year than it was last year — and it could plunge by more than a third if a key oil chokepoint remains shut, according to the group, which aims to promote freedom, economic growth and social wellbeing in member countries, including the US.

“The global economy entered 2026 with robust momentum, but the outlook has weakened significantly since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, with effects likely to be felt for some time,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in a statement.

“The longer the disruptions last, the larger the economic and social costs become,” he added.

Under the OECD’s predictions, global economic growth would sink to 2.1% this year, down from 3.4 % in 2025 if the strait is not opened for good.
Global economic growth would then plummet to 1.8% in 2027, likely pushing many nations into or close to a recession.

The hardest-hit nations would be in Asia, which are most dependent on crude oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf, whose supplies have been cut off by Iran, the OECD warned.

If the war ends in June and fuel disruptions are quickly addressed and the flow of oil and gas return to their pre-war levels, then the global economy has a chance to rebound and grow by 3.1% next year, the organization added.

The OECD’s prediction comes as negotiations between the US and Iran remain heated over the terms of how to end the war, with attacks continuing in the Persian Gulf this week despite a cease-fire.

US inflation increased at its fastest pace in three years in April, with the personal consumption expenditures price index jumping 3.8% in the last 12 months through April, the largest rise since May 2023, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said.

Quote:Jaw-dropping video shows the moment a massive explosion ripped through Kuwait’s international airport Wednesday, killing one person and injuring dozens more in an act the country’s defense ministry called “criminal Iranian aggression.”

Surveillance footage released by Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows a triangular-shaped drone aircraft dive-bombing the roof of Kuwait International Airport’s Terminal 1 just after 7 a.m. local time Wednesday, sending up a huge plume of fire and smoke.

The video is shown from several different angles, including from a parking area right next to where the drone made impact, where a silver car immediately pumped the gas to get out of harm’s way.

Footage taken inside the terminal shows a handful of people going about their day when suddenly their peace was shattered by the explosion, instantly filling the building with smoke and sending broken glass raining down on everyone inside from all angles.

Among the 63 injured were passengers and airport staff.

The airport had just reopened after closing in February due to previous Iran strikes, Kuwait Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi said.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said it would “neither accept nor tolerate” the attacks — and warned that it reserves the right to respond against Iran’s offensive.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) denied involvement in the attack, and attempted to pin it on a mistake by a US missile interceptor.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) quickly refuted IRGC’s claim, firing back that the rogue Islamic state had fired upon the airport in a “deliberate, calculated and unjustified attack.”

The explosion comes amid weeks of slow-going peace talks to end the war, and as Iranian news outlets reported the country has stopped communicating with mediators about extending a ceasefire in the war with the US and Israel.

Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump shrugged off the House passage Wednesday of a resolution that seeks to end the conflict with Iran absent congressional approval.

The anti-war rebuke from the GOP-held House sets up a high-stakes vote in the Senate, where a simple majority is needed to pass the measure and 50 senators already supported a similar resolution in May.

“Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth SocialThursday morning.

“Who would do such an unpatriotic thing. They know where the negotiations stand,” Trump added.

“The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome. They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories. The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story – They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves. MAGA!!!”

Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky voted with 211 Democrats to approve the resolution.

Six other Republicans — Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey, Morgan Luttrell of Texas, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Andy Ogles of Tennessee — did not vote.

The White House argues the War Powers Resolution, which underpins congressional action, is unconstitutional by infringing on the president’s power to conduct foriegn affairs.

Still, a Senate loss would be a major political blow to Trump.

Courts historically have refused to order presidents to end wars, even if they blatantly ignore the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day deadline to get approval from Congress, as happened with then-President Barack Obama’s intervention in Libya’s civil war.

Quote:About two-thirds of outbound oil tankers used shadow fleet tactics to trickle through the Strait of Hormuz undetected in May — with 900 having already sneaked through during the Iran war, according to analysts.

While only a handful of ships are officially reported going through the Strait of Hormuz each day, dozens more are believed to be sneaking through, with 895 ships in total crossing the passage between March 1 and May 19, according to maritime data company Kpler.

At least 358 of those vessels have done so while employing shadow fleet tactics to “go dark” and avoid detection, with the move gaining wider traction as the conflict in Iran continues.

While only 37% of the outbound tankers had gone dark during the first month of the war, the number shot up to 65% in May, according to shipping analytics firm Vortexa.

The ships are essentially switching off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) before and after transiting the strait, a technique used by Iran’s shadow fleet to transport sanctioned oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

The very nature of “going dark” makes it difficult to estimate how many ships are actually crossing the Strait of Hormuz, with maritime analysts estimating that an average of 7 to 10 vessels are going through every day.

“That shift suggests AIS-off behaviour is becoming an accepted operating protocol, not an exceptional measure,” Vortexa warned.

“Iran-linked vessels helped establish the template before and during the early phase of the crisis. Non-sanctioned Gulf tonnage is now increasingly using similar methods — and, in volume terms, beginning to dominate them,” the firm added.

Given the nature of “going dark,” it remains unclear exactly which routes the oil tankers are using to bypass trouble in the Strait of Hormuz.

Quote:President Trump on Thursday said the Space Force has “very powerful cameras” trained on Iran’s destroyed nuclear sites, scouting for any attempts Iran may take to break out the enriched uranium still buried deep below.

“Every inch of that land has cameras on it,” he said. “We have about nine of them, and they’re on, and we cover it. So, if anybody even got near it, we would know what we had to.”

He further brushed off the idea of the US imminently sending troops into those sites to retrieve the buried nuclear material — saying “we could get it right now” if he chose to go that route.

“I don’t think [Iran] could stop us if we wanted, but there’s no reason to,” he said.

“We have very powerful cameras.”

The president said he considered sending troops on a secret mission to retrieve the uranium “right at the very beginning … before we destroyed their entire military.”

“There was a time, at the very beginning, when we thought about doing that, because they would have not been watching, but they would have found out,” he said.

But the president has since assessed that the buried uranium poses no immediate threat to the US, as the facilities in which they are held sit an estimated 260 to 330 feet below ground with no obvious ways Iran could get it without tipping off the Americans.

He also explained that it would be a complex, lengthy ordeal to free the uranium — even for highly trained US special forces.

“It’s not like it’s not like Venezuela where you go in, you’re there for a matter of minutes and you’re out,” Trump said.

“This is different. You have to be there for two weeks, you’d need massive equipment. You’d have to airlift the equipment, and you know you’re in a war zone.”

Quote:Kill an American service member, and we’re back to war, President Trump said Thursday.

“If they killed US troops, that would be a good reason [to end the cease-fire],” he told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “If they killed US troops, I think I would do that very quickly.”

Trump’s warning comes as Iran appears set on continuing strikes on US troops in the region, as its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday tried to justify Tuesday night strikes on Kuwait that targeted American troops but killed a Kuwaiti civilian and injured dozens of others.

“We had previously warned regional countries about the United States using their bases,” he told IRGC-affiliated media. “Our response is directed at American bases and not the territory of regional countries.”

“Many regional countries opposed the use of their airspace and territory against Iran. Unfortunately, the United States used these facilities against us,” he added.

Since the Feb. 28 war on Iran began, 13 US service members were killed in Operation Epic Fury. Seven were killed by Iranian strikes on US forces, while six died when their aircraft crashed over Iraq while carrying out refueling operations.

But since the US and Iran entered into a shaky April 8 cease-fire, Iran has been unable to kill any US military members — though there have been exchanges of fire.

While the administration has not given the military explicit direction on responding in kind to a fatal attack, it’s been understood that crossing that line may burn up Trump’s remaining patience, a source familiar with US Central Command’s planning told The Post.

Trump on Wednesday downplayed the strikes that saw 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones rain down on Kuwait, explaining that “in that part of the world, ‘cease-fire’ is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

But the moment an American service member dies, his calculus would change.

Quote:Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich.) Lebanon war powers resolution was shut down Thursday, with the majority of House Democrats rejecting the “Squad” rep’s effort.

In the floor vote, 117 Democrats voted against her resolution, and 91 voted in favor, resulting in a 92-324 defeat of Tlaib’s attempt to limit potential Trump administration military options in Lebanon.

Tlaib insisted Israel was carrying out an “ethnic cleansing campaign,” and Congress must intervene to stop the “war crime.”

“The Trump administration is helping in greenlighting these attacks,” she said, as Israel seeks to root out the Hezbollah terror threat in Lebanon as a second front to the war against Iran.

Her Lebanon War Powers resolution divided her own Democratic Party and was rebuked by House Republicans. The resolution would have directed President Trump to remove armed forces “from Lebanon” within seven days after its adoption.

But House Democratic leadership, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), came out against her resolution by citing a practical reality. “There are no US servicemembers involved in combat operations or hostilities in Lebanon,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Republicans, like Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), similarly noted that Tlaib was demanding the removal of US forces “from a country where we are not in conflict.”

The debate over the resolution got personal when Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) accused Tlaib of supporting Hezbollah and suggested she enjoys the company of terrorists.

“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent,” Miller said.

The remark incited a shouting match that saw Tlaib yell at the congressman from across the room as he further charged that Tlaib “advocates for terrorists on a daily basis” and advocated “for a terrorist regime every single day.”

“That is an attack on my character,” Tlaib protested, and the Republican’s remarks were eventually stricken from the record.

Quote:DUBAI — Iran has reaffirmed support for its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and demanded Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, underscoring complications facing an interim deal to end the broader conflict between the US and Iran.

Iran has made a ‌cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington to resolve the regional war, now in its fourth month, and restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted at the start of March, two days after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Hezbollah said its actions were in support of Tehran.

“This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese TV station Al Mayadeen late on Thursday.

“The end of the war on Lebanon must be accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they have occupied,” he said.

The comments came after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected a US-brokered pact between Israel and the Lebanese government to ⁠halt the fighting in Lebanon. The deal did not provide for an Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah had not been party to the negotiations.

Israel has kept up strikes in southern Lebanon, and has said its forces would not withdraw or halt operations in the country amid increasing friction with the US.

Hezbollah said on Friday it had carried out two attacks on Israeli troops in south Lebanon, including near the recently captured Beaufort Castle, while Lebanese security services said Israeli airstrikes hit towns across southern Lebanon.

Fighting flares across region despite cease-fires

Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Hezbollah had “made great sacrifices in the recent war and it is our ally. Therefore, we support Hezbollah and remain firmly committed to our obligations toward it.”

Quote:Retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane said enough with the diplomatic charade — Iran is stalling for time and the best solution is to resume full-scale war.

The chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and former Army vice chief of staff on Friday blasted eight weeks of fruitless talks as a waste while the mullahs play games.

“We have to accept the reality that’s just not going to happen,” Keane said on Fox News. “They have one motive: Stretch out negotiations as much as possible, get as close to the political situation in terms of midterm elections, and there will be less likelihood that President Trump would ever pull the trigger and go back to military operations. I believe that is their unstated strategy.”

Even if a deal somehow was inked, Keane warned it would be worthless — and dangerously so.

“We can’t throw them a financial lifeline … because then they’ll systematically reverse everything,” he said. “They’ve always cheated in the past, and they’ll cheat in the future.”

Still, he championed Trump’s decision to launch the war on Feb. 28 — but said the job isn’t over yet.

“Look, in close to 50 years, only one president has taken consequential action against Iran and their predator behavior — and that’s President Trump,” Keane said. “Five weeks of Epic Fury and a naval blockade devastated this regime militarily and economically. They’re down, but they’re not out.”

When operations paused, the IDF and US Central Command had about two weeks left to finish the job, the general said. Now, after eight weeks of watching the Iranians try to recover, the US has even more targets and better intelligence.

“If we go back to military operations — and I believe that’s the preferred option — we should return to full combat operations,” Keane said.
He shot down any talk of limited strikes just to send a message.

“Iran is going to retaliate regardless of whether you go small or go big. Let’s go big,” he said. “Take down as much of their capability as we possibly can and get these guys as close to collapse as military operations can possibly achieve.”

“And then with economic pressure, we can put this regime truly on the path to collapse.”

It comes as some US military sources told The Post that a full-out approach eliminating Iran’s most influential hardliners may be necessary, as they quietly doubt more military action would pressure the regime to make necessary changes.

That’s largely due to the stubborn nature of hardliner politicians, as well as the ideology of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is more allegiant to the “Islamic revolution” than nationalism and the needs of the Iranian people.

Quote:A coalition of athletes, including several Olympians, have signed a letter advocating against Iran for its history and plans to execute star athletes, as the planned execution of Iranian boxing champion Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani looms.

Sani is a boxing champion, coach and political prisoner who is currently facing an imminent risk of execution in Iran by the Ayatollah.

He was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in March 2020 following his participation in the November 2019 nationwide protests, which were initially sparked by a sudden hike in gas prices.

The Iranian judiciary charged him with “corruption on earth,” which is a capital offense in the country.

The Olympians, headlined by women’s tennis legend Martina Navratilova and British swimming gold medalist Sharron Davies, call on world governing powers and sports bodies to intervene to prevent the execution.

“Currently, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a 31-year-old boxing champion and coach, remains on death row,” the letter states.

“We call on the United Nations, international sports federations, and governments to act immediately to save the lives of Iranian dissidents, including athletes. The world must not stand by while Iran silences its champions. We stand with the victims. We stand for justice.”

The letter also pointed to past incidents of Iranian execution of star athletes in the country, including 19-year-old champion wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, whose execution sparked a global uproar in March.

“Since mid-March, Iran has witnessed a horrific spree of executions of political dissidents, marking one of the most severe crackdowns in the past three decades. Dozens of people have been executed following unfair trials and coerced confessions.

“The theocratic regime, fearing another uprising, has exploited the cover of war to suppress growing dissent. Several victims of these executions were protesters arrested during the January 2026 uprising. Among them were Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old national wrestling champion, and Sasan Azadvar Joonaghan, a 21-year-old karate champion,” the letter states.

“Tragically, Iran has a grim history of executing athletes for their beliefs, including Habib Khabiri, the captain of Iran’s national football team, who was executed for his affiliation with the PMOI, and Forouzan Abdi, captain of Iran’s national women’s volleyball team, who was executed alongside 30,000 political prisoners during the 1988 massacre.

“In 2020, Iranian wrestling champion Navid Afkari was executed after participating in peaceful protests in 2018.”

Quote:The US military shot down four Iranian drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening, US Central Command said — as President Trump told an audience in Wisconsin he had to hurry back to work to “straighten out a little unfinished business in Iran.”

“Moments ago, CENTCOM forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz,” the combatant command said in a statement shortly before 7 p.m. “The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic.”

The US has been enforcing an naval blockade around Iran’s ports to impose economic pain. Tehran shut down maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of US and Israel’s war on Iran on Feb. 28.

CENTCOM said the military went on to strike “Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island to defend against further attacks.

Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis

“American forces remain vigilant and postured to respond to unjustified Iranian aggression in self-defense,” CENTCOM said.

About an hour before the announcement, Iranian independent media reported the sounds of explosions from nearby Bandar Abbas — which state-affiliated media promptly denied.

The statement came shortly after Trump told speakers at his economic event in Wisconsin they would have to be quick.

“We’ll go pretty quickly, because I have to get back to fighting a war, Iran,” he said.

While the US and Iran entered into a cease-fire on April 8, ahead of short-lived peace talks in Pakistan, there have been numerous violations.

Originally meant to be a two-week temporary cessation, Trump declared it an indefinite cease-fire on April 21.

Six weeks later, there has been an increasing number of skirmishes that have so far stopped short of prompting a return to full-scale combat operations.

Quote:Russia attacked Ukraine with a barrage of missiles and drones overnight, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens and trapping others, authorities said on Tuesday.

Russia unleashed 73 missiles and 656 drones across Ukraine, according to the country’s air force, with the main targets including Kyiv, the central city of Dnipro, and the eastern cities of Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian air defense forces destroyed and suppressed 40 missiles and 602 drones.

Hits of 30 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and 33 drones were recorded at at least 38 locations. Debris from destroyed drones fell on 15 locations, the air force said.

At least four people were killed in Kyiv and 63 people were injured, including three children, Ukraine’s state emergency service said in a statement on Telegram.

Residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were damaged in eight of Kyiv’s districts.

In the central Dnipropetrovsk region, at least six people were killed and 36 others injured after Russian strikes hit the city of Dnipro, according to the emergency service.

A second attack as first responders arrived at the scene killed one rescuer.

In Kharkiv, at least 14 people were injured and residential homes, garages and cars were damaged.

A two-story residential building and part of a four-story apartment block were damaged, with people trapped beneath the rubble of the larger building.

The boom of explosions echoed through most of the night and into the early morning.

Kyiv had been bracing for another mass attack for days, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was preparing a renewed assault and urged people to remain cautious and seek shelter during air raid alerts.

Quote:Ukraine unleashed a massive drone blitz on Russia’s largest fuel export hub in St. Petersburg Wednesday morning – sending a stinging blow to Vladimir Putin as he kicks off his ritzy annual economic forum.

The attack on Putin’s hometown – where the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held this week – left thick black smoke billowing into the sky after long-range drones slammed into the Petersburg Oil Terminal after Russian air defenses failed to stop them.

Ukraine also hit the Kronstadt naval base and shipyard in Leningrad Oblast, with footage released by Kyiv showing damage to Russian warships, including the Baltic Fleet corvette Boikiy.

“Important facilities on Russian territory were hit last night,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in an X post, adding that a weapons production facility in Tambov was also targeted.

“I thank our warriors for their precision. Ukraine’s plan for long-range sanctions is being implemented exactly as needed to bring peace closer. Glory to Ukraine!”

Unspecified “Infrastructure objects” in three districts within Russia’s second-largest city – home to more than 5 million people – also came under attack by Ukrainian drones, according to Governor Alexander Beglov.

Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said air defenses downed 59 Ukrainian drones overnight.

“Several facilities have been damaged,” Beglov said. “Clean-up operations are currently underway. Several people have been injured. There have been no fatalities.”

The humiliating strike to the Kremlin erupted just 10 miles from the glitzy venue where Putin is hosting his annual “Russia’s Davos” showcase, which saw high-profile guests arriving as blasts rang out and smoke flooded the air.

The flagship three-day summit draws about 20,000 guests, including business leaders and foreign delegates from more than 130 countries, and is used to promote investment projects and deals as the Kremlin tries to signal fiscal strength amid Western sanctions and the nearly four-year war.

Quote:NATO’s top official warned young Russians on Wednesday that they would likely die on the front lines if they enlist in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary General Mark Rutte said the Kremlin was suffering “absolutely staggering” losses in Ukraine, warning that any new recruit stands the risk of being among the more than 30,000 Russian soldiers killed on the battlefield every month.

“You are being sold a raw deal,” Rutte said in remarks directly addressed to young Russians during a visit to Kyiv.

“Men like you who join the fight — you ⁠won’t be trained. Equipment they’ll provide you with is substandard,” the NATO chief added.

“There is a very high chance you’ll die or be wounded while you’re out there. And odds are, that if you are wounded, you will be left to suffer in the mud and die,” Rutte said.

To put the numbers in context, the secretary general said Russia is actively losing in a month what the whole Soviet Union lost in the decade of fighting in Afghanistan.

“That’s not abstract,” he said. “That will probably be you.”

Russia has been repeatedly criticized during the more than four years of war of using “meatgrinder tactics” to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses.

The tactic, however, has proven less and less effective as Kyiv quickly adapted to the war and fortified its strategic fortress belt in the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has struggled to make any significant gains in more than a year.

Quote:Some of Moscow’s biggest supporters of war are now flat out saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t accomplish victory in Ukraine.

As Russia fails to make any significant progress on the frontlines for more than a year, Putin has seen his support greatly wane, with loyalist and Ukrainian expat Oleg Tsaryov saying Moscow’s claim that the war will be won is nothing more than propaganda, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Tsaryov, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who left following the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 that toppled the Moscow-friendly regime, noted that Kyiv’s latest attacks deep inside Russia and the war’s prolonged existence have made it impossible to shield people from the truth.

“Sooner or later, these worlds of illusion and reality must clash,” Tsaryov said in a Telegram post. “And now it is happening in the most painful form.”

Tsaryov’s sourness on the war is especially notable given that he was the target of an alleged Ukrainian assassination attempt in 2023, which left him severely injured.

Former Kremlin official Aleksey Chadaev, who now runs the Ushkuynik drone-warfare research center, went even further and claimed that the current course of the war will not only lead to a failure of Putin’s goals, “but to a full-scale defeat.”

Rather than continue the war, Chadaev is among the hardliners calling for a cease-fire so that Russia can reassess its standing for whatever follows.

Putin’s ambitions were also dealt a blow in last month’s issue of “Russia In Global Affairs,” the nation’s foremost foreign-policy journal.

In the journal, Vasily Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, argued that it was unrealistic for Putin to achieve his goal of installing a pro-Russian regime in Ukraine.

“The goal of eliminating the anti-Russian regime in Ukraine at the current stage is fundamentally unachievable without the complete military occupation of the entire country, including the western part, for a long period. For Russia this is technically impossible,” Kashin concluded.

Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin slapped down the idea of any face-to-face talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, while admitting his economy is tanking as swarms of Kyiv’s drones keep breaching Moscow’s defenses.

The strongman used his speech to business leaders and foreign delegates at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Friday to trash an open letter from Zelensky requesting a sit-down aimed at ending the deadly four-year war in Ukraine, branding his request “boorish.”

“It is a way to create conditions for personal meetings and talks, or create an environment which makes any personal meetings impossible,” Putin told the crowd during a question-and-answer session.

“I think it’s the second.”

The Thursday letter – Zelensky’s first written directly to Putin since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – mocked the 73-year-old’s advanced age and stalled progress in the war, and slammed his 26-year grip on the Kremlin, labeling the bloody conflict a “personal choice” and a “war without real cause.”

President Trump added Thursday that “it would be great” if Putin and Zelensky sat down for talks.

But the Russian strongman shot it down, telling forum attendees he saw “no point” in meeting with his adversary.

“First, let experts work, work something out, and then we can meet to sign things,” Putin told the crowd, adding that there was still “work to do,” NBC News reported.

Putin also tried to downplay Russia’s economic tailspin while admitting that its deficit might surge this year – desperately claiming “inflation has slowed down significantly,” and expected it to hit about 5.2%.

Quote:BUCHAREST, Romania — A maritime drone that is being used in the war in neighboring Ukraine exploded Friday at a Black Sea port in Romania but did not cause any casualties, the Defense Ministry said.

It said the drone self-detonated in the port of Constanta at around 10:30 a.m., and that the area had already been secured and isolated by the Romanian Intelligence Service, coast guard and the Defense Ministry.

The drone was not part of the Romanian army’s equipment and was not involved in its recent exercises in the Black Sea area, the ministry said. The area was evacuated, authorities said.

The maritime incident occurred a week after a Russian aerial drone that was part of an attack on Ukraine went astray and struck an apartment building in Romania’s eastern Danube port city of Galati, injuring two people in the NATO member country.

Raed Arafat, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, told a news conference that helicopters were deployed to search for more drones and that the authorities issued text message alerts to residents.

“There is a possibility that there may be other drones,” he said. “We are not panicking. These are preventive measures. If there are other drones, we want to make sure there is not another explosion in an area where people are not evacuated.”

More than 1,300 people have been evacuated from several Black Sea beaches and the routes leading to them have been blocked, authorities said.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan said that law enforcement and security services “acted quickly and preventively” before the explosion and that the priority was the protection of lives and the security of port infrastructure.

“With a military conflict on the border, it is obvious that the security environment we are in is a sensitive one, which is why we will maintain a high level of vigilance,” he said, adding that the incident is a “direct consequence of the war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine.”

The two incidents are some of the latest in a series of drone incursions — from both Russia and Ukraine — to hit a NATO member since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Romanian forces destroyed another maritime drone in the Black Sea on Wednesday. Since the beginning of the war next door, the Defense Ministry said that the Romanian navy has neutralized nine of the 156 sea mines in the Black Sea basin.

French President Emmanuel Macron pledged support for Romania on Friday after the incident, saying, “We will do whatever your authorities consider as a necessity in order to protect the sovereignty of the land and the air.”

“You can count on us,” he said.

For its part, the European Union was giving “full solidarity and support to Romania,” European Council President António Costa said Friday.

Quote:The Department of Justice last month announced an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), alleging that the civil rights nonprofit defrauded donors by secretly paying informants associated with extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan.

A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned an 11-count indictment in April charging the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, according to the Justice Department.

The superseding indictment retains those charges while expanding on the alleged misconduct.

According to the DOJ, the SPLC "secretly funneled" more than $3 million in donor funds between 2014 and 2023 to numerous individuals associated with extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, the National Socialist Movement, participants in the Unite the Right rally and the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club.

The original indictment alleged approximately $3 million in payments between 2014 and 2023.

"The SPLC’s paid informants ('field sources') engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website," the indictment states.

Prosecutors further allege the SPLC opened bank accounts tied to fictitious entities in order to conceal donor funds that were allegedly routed to confidential sources.

According to the indictment, the SPLC began operating a covert informant network in the 1980s, and between 2014 and 2023 allegedly paid those sources in a clandestine manner.

The DOJ alleges an SPLC employee instead encouraged the pair to remain involved and offered them a monthly salary of $1,200.

The two subsequently agreed to remain in the organization, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege an SPLC employee instructed the individuals to claim they worked for a company called Rare Books and helped college students with research and writing assignments if anyone questioned the source of their income.

The indictment alleges donor funds were used to pay both individuals through SPLC accounts.

According to prosecutors, the pair were also reimbursed for expenses related to Ku Klux Klan activities, including cross-burning events and associated costs such as wood and fuel.

One of the individuals is also accused of recruiting new members using donor-funded payments. The indictment further alleges the SPLC knew donor funds were used to purchase materials for Ku Klux Klan garments.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, attorney Abbe Lowell, who represents the SPLC, denied the allegations.

Quote:ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Human Services has notified more than 3,400 providers that they will be removed from Minnesota's health care programs after a massive revalidation effort as the state battles with the federal government over $2 billion in funding.

"Minnesota Revalidate"

The backstory:
Since January, the state has gone through the process of revalidating 5,583 Medicaid providers in "high-risk programs." Providers were required to provide the information they gave when they first became providers. The state says they made multiple attempts to contact each provider, including three written attempts and multiple follow-up calls.

Providers had to provide basic ownership disclosures, current licenses, prove they had enough workers, and provide fingerprints for owners. The state would also conduct unannounced site visits at the facilities.

The effort came as the state was under fire from the federal government over its oversight of the state's Medicaid program for fraud. At the time, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had moved to withhold $2 billion in Medicaid funding from the state. As of Thursday, that money remains up in the air.

Sunday was the deadline for the state to complete the revalidation.

Thousands of providers removed

What we know:
Thursday morning, the Minnesota Department of Human Services announced the results of the revalidation effort.

Of the 5,583 providers reviewed, officials said only 2,061 were successfully revalidated. A total of 3,411 providers have been notified they are due to be removed as providers, according to DHS.

Of those providers, the state say they are facing removal due to:

• 2,491 providers are facing disenrollment due to incomplete paperwork and documentation.
  
• 916 providers face disenrollment due to failed verification or site visits
  
• 4 providers face disenrollment due to failed background study
  

The state says another 111 providers were removed from the review because they are no longer providing "high-risk" Medicaid services.

Then an additional 59 providers have been referred to the Office of the Inspector General for further review. The inspector general would be the authority to investigate potential fraud cases.

Big picture view:

Officials said the common reasons for disenrollment notices were:

• failure to disclose management authority
  
• failure to report change in ownership
  
• failure to report changes in or maintain proper credentials such as liability and surety bonds
  
• failure to provide access
  
• incomplete applications.
  

What they're saying:
In a provided statement, Minnesota DHS Deputy Commissioner Shireen Gandhi said:

"More than 1 million Minnesotans deserve to have confidence and trust in the Medicaid providers they depend on for lifesaving and life-affirming care. We are grateful to the providers who successfully completed the revalidation process and will continue to provide quality care."

Quote:A federal judge has blocked key Trump administration immigration policies that froze green card, asylum and work permit decisions tied to the White House’s expanded travel ban.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell, appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, ruled the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) directives adopted after the November 2025 National Guard shooting in Washington, D.C., were likely unlawful. The policies had halted asylum adjudications and placed indefinite holds on immigration benefit applications for people from dozens of designated countries.

The Rhode Island judge wrote, "In ruling on these motions, the Court is reminded of a line often repeated in discussions around immigration policy: If people wish to immigrate to the United States, they ought to 'follow the law' and 'do things the right way.' This case serves as a perfect example of immigrants doing just that."

"Indeed, the agency has violated the very immigration laws that Congress has charged it with administering, as well as the administrative laws that govern the agency’s actions."

The decision marks a legal setback for the administration’s effort to extend travel restrictions into the processing of applications for those already in the United States, including green card seekers.

James Percival, the Department of Homeland Security’s General Counsel, told Newsweek in a statement Friday, “The Left has been running the same gambit with so called ‘animus’ claims since 2017. It is sabotage dressed in legal clothing. It goes like this: (1) the admin is racist, (2) therefore a policy I don’t like is motivated by race, (3) therefore it is invalid. They have used it on virtually every Trump era Department of Homeland Security policy.”

Quote:WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law ‌Jared Kushner traveled to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee on Thursday to consult with experts that could play a role in ⁠nuclear negotiations with Iran, a source familiar with the trip said on Friday.

The source, confirming an Axios report, did not provide additional details.

President Donald Trump is adamant that any deal to end the war with Iran include ‌a ⁠provision that Tehran will not develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran is believed to possess about 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium ⁠that was at sites bombed by U.S. planes a year ago. Tehran has been ⁠adamant that it must maintain the ability to enrich uranium and ⁠denies developing a weapon.

Quote:A woman who accused Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner of physical abuse in a New York Times story published Thursday rounded on the Gray Lady early Friday, claiming the paper’s reporters “methodically delayed and twisted” her account into “a gift to the Platner campaign” — including spiking allegations of sexual assault against him.

Lyndsey Fifield described her interactions with reporters Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck in a pair of lengthy X posts Friday morning, saying she had “bucked all advice from my friends (and resisted my conservative bias) and decided to fully trust the Times journalists.”

“They connected me to two of the other victims so we wouldn’t feel so alone,” she wrote. “I insisted to each of them that I trusted the NYT journalists and that we were doing the right thing despite their (sadly very accurate) sense that something was wrong.”

Between being interviewed and the publication of the story online Thursday, Fifield claimed, the reporters “kept coming back to us saying the editors needed more. I needed to go on the record (okay). We need more screenshots (okay). I met every bench mark they set, eager to provide more sources or evidence as needed.

“After the story went up I began to ask them … wait, where are the stories from the other women? Where are their accusations of sexual assault? Why am I the focus? Why are there 11 paragraphs dedicated to detailing my work history (more than has been published about Graham’s by far)?

“Why does it say ‘nobody could corroborate’ when I offered them sources that COULD corroborate? … Where were the screenshots they’d said they would use? … The editors said it was too much, they explained.”

In addition to Fifield, the Times story quoted another Platner ex, Jenny Racicot, as saying without elaborating that he “does not respect women,” while a third woman, who was quoted anonymously, said — again, without elaborating — that she was “collateral damage to the world that is his.”

Quote:Following threats to withhold federal Medicaid funds from any state failing to crack down on fraud, the Trump administration announced on Thursday that it is cutting off $3 million in federal funding to Hawaii’s Medicaid fraud control program.

And that might not be the end of the administration’s campaign against healthcare fraud—based on Vice President J.D. Vance’s previous statements, New York may be its next target.

Why the Trump Administration Is Cutting Funding To Hawaii

Every state that administers Medicaid (a joint federal and state healthcare program which provides coverage for low-income Americans) must have a fraud control unit ensuring funds are used appropriately. These units are maintained by each state’s attorney general.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General Thomas March Bell sent a letter to Hawaii’s Attorney General Anne Lopez informing her of the funding cuts, which he said were prompted by the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s (MFCU) failure to bring forward a single indictment or conviction over the past four years.

During that same period, Bell argued in the letter, enrollments in Medicaid in Hawaii increased by 40 percent and funding by 27 percent, as the unit received $12 million in federal taxes, or roughly $3 million a year.

More than 360,000 people in the state are enrolled in Medicaid, according to state figures cited by Reuters.

Quote:The Senate approved $70 billion to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of President Trump’s term early Friday, following weeks of delays amid intra-GOP sniping over a $1.776 billion settlement fund meant to help victims of government weaponization.

The 52-47 final vote approving the legislation came just before 5 a.m., after Republicans defeated more than two dozen amendments in a so-called “vote-a-rama,” including one offered by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) that would have redirected payments from the settlement to members of law enforcement who were injured in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The measure goes to the House, which is expected to take it up early next week.

The amendments complicated what should have been an easy vote for Republicans who want to keep the focus on immigration enforcement in a midterm election year.

Instead, they spent almost a full day haggling among themselves over whether to block the settlement fund, even after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers Tuesday it would not go forward.

“This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the fund,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters shortly before midnight Thursday.

Thune himself was among those who criticized the fund, which was created as part of a settlement that resolves Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns to the New York Times, which published them as part of a report on the president’s finances in September 2020.

However, Thune had pushed GOP senators for weeks to keep the bill narrowly focused on border security and avoid adding new provisions that could complicate its passage in the House.

Still, a group of Republican senators pushed all day and into the night to block the settlement’s payouts through legislation.

Quote:A dozen people were shot and wounded when two gunmen started firing at each other at a family-friendly festival in Ohio on Saturday, officials and reports said.

Cops responded to chaos unfolding at the Old West End Festival in Toledo around 5:40 p.m., according to a statement local police shared on X.

In video of the incident, at least 16 shots could be heard ringing out as people screamed and dove for cover.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said originally eight people were shot and left with non-life-threatening wounds, according to WTOL 11 TV.

WDIV later reported that the toll of wounded rose to 12, including two critical. They said the ages of the victims ranged from 61 to 14.

“Everybody hit the deck,” Kevin Berry, who was relaxing in the neighborhood arboretum when he heard the shots, said. 

Other horrific footage captured a man who was shot on the side of his torso walking down the street in his blood-soaked white t-shirt.

“Be still, sit down man,” a panicked witness told the victim. “Call the hospital,” another bystander chimed in before the shell-shocked man finally plopped down on the grass to wait for help.

First responders sprinted down the street and frantically wheeled stretchers carrying bloodied festival attendees into ambulances, according to other graphic videos.

Berry claimed he saw a gun being thrown on the ground about 50 feet away from him as cops already working at the festival swarmed the area.

Officials said that the gunfire came from two gunmen who traded shots at each other and then fled the scene. Both are still on the loose.

Quote:A visibly agitated President Trump stormed off his interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” after a testy exchange with a reporter who grilled him over his claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Trump lashed out at moderator Kristen Welker after she insisted he failed to provide a shred of evidence about his disputed accusations that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him or that the elections in California are subject to malfeasance.

“You’re a one-sided crooked network,” Trump fumed during the interview, which aired Sunday. “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.”

Welker pleaded with Trump to continue, recalling how she trekked over to Wisconsin for the interview, but the president was done.
“I sat in the rain with you for an hour,” he grumbled.

“On and off in the rain, and I’ve given you enough time. You ought to straighten out your press,” he added. “A country can never be great with a dishonest press.”

After airing that testy exchange, Welker revealed that she spoke with Trump afterward and he agreed to do a follow-up interview with her, though it’s not clear when.

Welker claimed that she and Trump acknowledged complications caused by the rain during the interview that aired Sunday.

The interview had started to get testy towards the final six minutes when Welker pressed Trump on a proposed $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that aimed to award cash payouts to victims of federal “lawfare.”

Quote:Law enforcement negotiated with the “bomb-strapped” Bakersfield Chase Bank robber for hours before they made the decision to end the stand-off violently by “blowing his head off.”

Anthony Scott Searles-Harris’ former defense attorney, Arturo Revelo, detailed how law enforcement drove him at “97 miles per hour” to help stop the harrowing situation.

The 41-year-old man had walked into the downtown bank and declared he had a bomb. He barricaded himself and his hostages inside. A witness said the suspect stated that it was a “bad day to be at the bank.”

Revelo said Searles-Harris requested to speak with him, vaulting him into a hostage situation after law enforcement hurriedly picked him up from his home in Tehachapi. The attorney was driven to the scene in downtown Bakersfield and stayed in the command center there for several hours, he said.

During that time, he tried on multiple occasions to speak to Searles-Harris, but was rebuffed. The attorney said he believed Searles-Harris hated him and believed he contributed to a conspiracy that set him up to be convicted for sex crimes. The suspect believed evidence that would’ve proved his innocence wasn’t used in court, he said.

Searles-Harris, whom Revelo described as a “narcissist,” also asked to speak to one of his victims. The victim, now grown and no longer the underage girl he was convicted of misconduct towards, told him to surrender, according to Revelo.

He refused. Revelo said a box of legal defense documents Searles-Harris requested in exchange for the hostages was received, but he never kept up his end of the bargain. The hostages, employees of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, stayed inside with the man.

Searles-Harris eventually gave up two hostages and had discussions with police about food and water, but negotiations stalled.

Quote:President Trump is no fan of the newly minted Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

The $850 million library and museum, which is set to open on Juneteenth on the South Side of Chicago, has attracted the scorn of Trump before, who’s called it a “very unattractive building that is seriously late and seriously over budget.”

The president shared an AI-generated image Saturday of the towering monument looming over a low-income Chicago neighborhood with a gigantic trash bag draped across its roof.

“The Barack Hussein Obama Library, in 10 years, when fully matured!” Trump trolled on his Truth Social platform.

It’s not the first time he’s called the building literal trash.

Last Saturday, he shared a different fabricated image of the Obama Center, that one of a larger-than-life trash can in a parking lot, under the headline “The Obama Presidential Library” on Truth Social.

“I don’t believe in building libraries or museums … like the Barack Hussein Obama one in Chicago,” Trump told reporters at the White House in March, when he unveiled the renderings for his in Miami.

Trump said his presidential library was “most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby.”

Quote:Former first lady Jill Biden gave a bleak update on her husband’s cancer battle — admitting that the 83-year-old former president has “slowed down” from the heavy toll of treatment for the disease he will be stricken with “for the rest of his life.”

“It’s stage four, and it has metastasized to his bones. So that puts things on a whole different level,” the former first lady said of her husband, former President Joe Biden, and his incurable prostate cancer.

“I mean, Joe will have to live with cancer for the rest of his life, which means he’s on special medicines,” she told “The View” co-host Ana Navarro during a book event covered by Fox News.

Observers had questioned why the 46th president’s cancer wasn’t caught during his time in the White House, and his team revealed that he stopped getting blood tests for prostate cancer around 2014 because of his age.

The former first lady shed light on how it was discovered, recounting how she observed her husband using the bathroom about seven times each night while still president. Yet he only saw a urologist once he left the White House.

“I never imagined it would be prostate cancer,” Jill reflected. “I just never imagined it.”

“You know, it takes a toll,” the former first lady explained about its impact on him. “He keeps his schedule, but he’s slowed down.”

“I mean, stage four cancer is — and he’s 83 — so, I think the mix of everything and the medications that he’s taken has made life a little more difficult these days.”

The former first lady, who has been promoting her new book, “View From the East Wing: A Memoir,” has been forced to reckon with questions about her husband’s health and the debate that gripped the Democratic Party in 2024 about whether he was fit for another term in office due to his age.

She has since admitted that he couldn’t have served out another four years in the White House based on “what I know now.”

Quote:An elite California private school is facing backlash from parents after dedicating a two-page spread in its 2026 yearbook to a student anti-ICE walkout — complete with photos of protesters carrying signs declaring “Ice will melt in hell” and “no one is illegal on stolen land.”

More than 100 students at Harvard-Westlake School in LA participated in the nationwide anti-ICE demonstration on Jan. 30, leaving campus and marching along Coldwater Canyon and Ventura Boulevard carrying protest signs.

At the time, school officials told parents they were not officially endorsing the demonstration but would not stop students from leaving campus.
Now, months later, the protest has been immortalized in the school’s yearbook.

The spread features multiple photos from the demonstration and asks students to answer the question: “what moment from the anti-ICE walk out felt the most powerful and meaningful to you?”

The yearbook feature has angered some parents who argue the prestigious school crossed the line from education into political activism.

“I would say everyone is entitled to political beliefs but the school should not be making political decisions. They overstepped the line,” one Harvard-Westlake parent told The California Post.

“It really does go from education to indoctrination.”

The controversy is unfolding at one of the country’s most prestigious private schools. With annual tuition topping $50,000, the Studio City campus has built a reputation as an Ivy League feeder school and attracts the children of Hollywood executives, entertainment industry heavyweights, political insiders and some of Los Angeles’ wealthiest families.

Quote:A sick protester dressed as Charlie Kirk outside an event hosted by the assassinated activist’s widow, Erika Kirk — then re-enacted his murder as crowds chanted, “He deserved to die.” 

The protester was seen at the Turning Point USA conference in San Antonio, Texas, wearing a papier-mache head made to resemble the slain podcaster, with the demonstrator suddenly collapsing on the floor as if to mock Charlie’s assassination last September.

The protester pulled the stunt in front of attendees at the Turning Point USA Women’s Leadership Summit on Friday — days after someone was charged with threatening to kill Erika Kirk at such an event.

During the sick stunt, a man on a megaphone could be heard shouting at conference attendees, “You are protecting pedophiles. You are protecting Nazis.”

Social media footage also captured fellow protesters celebrating Charlie Kirk’s assassination as they shouted, “Deserved to die!”

The demonstrators then joined the rest of the protesters booing Erika Kirk, 37, who was leading Friday’s summit.

The widow, who succeeded her slain husband as CEO of Turning Point USA, also faced a heckler inside the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter.   
“Erika Kirk protects pedophiles! Erika Kirk protects pedophiles!” the woman screamed before being removed from the event, video showed. 

Kirk took a moment from her speech to address the heckler, urging the woman to change her ways and find real happiness.

“It’s important to remember that happiness comes and goes — and I pray that you find it,” she replied to the heckler.

“That’s an important moment because that just shows duty to faithfulness gives life meaning, and we must pray for our enemies and those that do not feel like their life has meaning,” Kirk continued.

“And that’s a perfect example of that. A perfect example. You pray for your enemies. You pray for those that persecute you,” she added.

Quote:Two California men have been charged over an ISIS terror plot to kill US Special Forces operatives with grenades and drones.

Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, near San Diego, and Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville in Tulare County were arrested Friday alongside Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, from Leawood, Kansas.

Prosecutors allege the three paid $2,000 to someone they thought was from the jihadi group to buy rocket-propelled grenades and UAVs for the attack.

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Kansas, the three men allegedly spent more than a year communicating about extremist plans, including discussions about leaving the US to join ISIS.

Dzayee allegedly proposed using drones to target Special Forces personnel while Shamsaldeen is accused of expressing a desire to carry out a knife attack against a US serviceman.

The DOJ alleges Ghafoor made a series of violent statements, including saying it would be “sick” to have his name placed on a drone used in an attack.

Prosecutors also claim he spoke about beheading a female soldier and stated that he wished he could kill 300 million Americans.

Pentagon officials have not confirmed Dzayee’s military status but neighbors and a former classmate told NBC 7 he served in the Navy and identified photos showing him in a sailor’s uniform.

Several residents, including veterans and military family members, said the arrest was difficult to reconcile with their understanding of his background.

“We looked out — it seemed to me like it was a white van that pulled up and tactical guys jumped out and surrounded the house,” a neighbor said.

“Very odd in this neighborhood. So the neighbors started coming out. We didn’t approach, but we were watching.”

Agents remained at the residence for several hours, searching the home and garage while interviewing Dzayee’s parents.

“You immediately — you see Terrorist Task Force, your alarms go up,” the neighbor added. “I actually walked up to the FBI agent and asked if the house was going to blow up, whether the neighborhood should be concerned, and he assured me, ‘No, we’re arresting someone. That’s all we’ve got.'”

Residents said Dzayee kept mostly to himself.” He doesn’t really speak to folks around here, which is, again, unusual for this neighborhood,” the nearby resident said.

Quote:US actor James Handy, known for his roles in films including Jumanji and Top Gun: Maverick, has been stabbed to death at his home in Los Angeles, police have said.

Handy, who was 81, was found unconscious in the front garden of his home in Tarzana, California, on Wednesday with several stab wounds to the chest.

Michael Gledhill, 44, the son of Handy's girlfriend, has been arrested on suspicion of murder, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Officers responded to a report of "unknown trouble" after a caller dialled 911 and told police: "I am the son of man, I just killed the man of sin."

Handy was born in New York and appeared in a string of films and TV shows over six decades, often as a supporting character or for a small number of episodes.

Despite rarely being the leading star, Handy racked up a long string of credits, including NYPD Blue, K-9, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Logan, Alias, Castle, NCIS, The West Wing, Arachnophobia, The X Files and Murder, She Wrote.

His most recent film role was 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, in which he played Jimmy, a bartender who works with the character played by Jennifer Connelly, Tom Cruise's love interest.

'Superb character actor'
Paying tribute, entertainment writer Jay Bobbin said he was "heartbroken to learn about the passing of superb character actor".

Writer and producer Don Winslow, who created the 2001 procedural drama UC: Undercover, in which Handy appeared, described Handy as a "terrific actor".

"We were honoured to have him on UC: Undercover in a recurring role," Winslow said. "His performances were always special."

Following Handy's death, the LAPD said Gledhill "flagged down nearby responding officers, telling them he was the one they were looking for".

Quote:“It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many. We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in — he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades.”

Head’s breakout role came in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the TV adaptation by creator Joss Whedon of the 1992 movie of the same name. As Giles, the bookish but steely Watcher, he helped guide Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as she came to terms with being the Slayer and supported her missions.

More recently, he played Rupert Mannion, the philandering ex-husband of AFC Richmond owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), on Apple TV’s Ted Lasso.

His credits also included Little Britain and Merlin in the U.K. and a number of stage roles.

Anthony Stewart Head was born in London on Feb. 20, 1954, to documentary filmmaker Seafield Head and actress Helen Shingler; his older brother is actor and singer Murray Head (“One Night in Bangkok” from Chess). He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and had early roles in a 1978 production of Godspell in London, the film Lady Chatterley’s Lover and a number of guest appearances in British TV series.

An early breakthrough came in a series of TV commercials for Gold Blend coffee in the U.K., where he and Sharon Maughan played a man and woman who began a slow-burn romance over a series of coffee dates. Versions of the ads were also made in the U.S. for Taster’s Choice, with Head and Maughan again playing the couple.

His role in Buffy won him legions of fans in the U.S. — but also meant he was away from his family for long stretches as he filmed the show in Los Angeles. “My partner Sarah [Fisher] and the girls — Daisy was four and Emily was six — stayed in England,” he told The Guardian in a 2016 interview. “I’d try to go home to them every three or four weeks. The production team would work dates around me, and every time I got the chance to have six days clear, I’d get on a plane. Anything less than six days was disruptive — I’d have to leave as soon as they were getting used to having me around. I’d hit the ground running, take over from Sarah, take the girls to school and do as much as I could before I had to go back.”

Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin had warm words for "old friend" Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.

Yet while Putin rejected suggestions that the war in Ukraine had pushed Moscow and Beijing together, the quasi-allies remain divided on key interests—including a long-delayed pipeline Russia sees as critical to replacing gas sales lost in Europe.

"I do have a good relationship with President Xi Jinping. He calls me 'old friend,' and I also call him that," Putin said during a Q&A session at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"This is no exaggeration or figure of speech. We have developed a trusting relationship," he said, per a translation provided by APT News. Putin called Russia and China "natural allies and partners" guided by their national interests, adding these interests "coincide in many cases."

Putin was responding to Fu Hua, president of China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, who asked how the two countries had achieved their "high level of close cooperation."

The remarks came just over two weeks after his latest trip to Beijing along with Cabinet members and business leaders.

Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times since the Chinese leader took office in 2013 and have made headlines for outward displays of affection, the occasional embrace—earning their relationship the moniker "bromance."

Newsweek reached out to China's Foreign Ministry by email with a request for comment.

Quote:KYIV — Russian forces deliberately struck a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near Ukraine’s Chernobyl power plant, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, in an “extremely vile” attack that did not lead to a spike in radiation.

The strike significantly damaged a fuel-reception building meters away from where “large amounts of nuclear material” are stored, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which said it had been briefed by Ukraine.

Kyiv’s state atomic agency Energoatom said no spent fuel had been stored in the building at the time of the attack. The resulting fire was extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

Russia has not publicly commented on the alleged strike on the facility, which is located around 15 km (9 miles) from the Chernobyl plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.

“An extremely critical infrastructure facility – and an extremely vile Russian strike,” Zelenskiy wrote on X, adding that Russia had used a Shahed attack drone.

“As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels. But there is certainly an increase in Russia’s brazenness, which long ago went off the charts.”

In a statement, the IAEA said a team would soon visit the site “to inspect the impact.”

In February 2025, a Russian Shahed drone damaged a containment arch over the Chernobyl reactor that was destroyed in the April 1986 explosion and meltdown. Russia, which regularly attacks Ukrainian cities and infrastructure with drones and missiles, denied responsibility.

Quote:A controversial Israel-and-US-hating NYC college professor defended the murderous Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as she clamored to bring down the US empire “by any means necessary” at a meeting of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Corinna Mullin, a radical political science prof once arrested for leading anti-Israel protests that resulted in $3 million in damage to the City College of New York’s Harlem campus, lauded Iran’s “phenomenal” military for depleting US weapons stockpiles in the Middle East, as she urged support for its armed forces.

“Iran has won this war. . . . its indigenous military industry has produced phenomenal results,” she claimed during an unhinged hour and a half “Islamic Revolution Teach-in” she gave to the NYC chapter of the DSA.

“This is having a huge toll on the capacity of the US empire to impose its will. . . . We need to bring the empire down by any means necessary,” she raged.

Mullin, who specializes in teaching anticolonialism, was fired by CUNY in 2025 after eight years on the job.

The termination came after she led an April 2024 encampment at the City College of New York. She fought the move and was reinstated this year, though her name didn’t appear on CUNY faculty pages and it’s unclear if she taught any classes there this spring semester. She also teaches at The New School.

Speaking to more than two-dozen comrades Wednesday evening, she painted Iran’s murderous Islamic regime in a socialist light to justify funding its military — while making zero mention of the riches Iran’s ruling elite has famously amassed through the control of oil and state-owned resources.

“I’d love to see a world with no militaries. But we can’t have peace without justice,” she said. “And so, a state like Iran needs to divert a significant portion of its surplus into military industrialization, so it can defend its workers.”

“The state itself is working on behalf of the working class,” she insisted.

Quote:Iran fired a volley of ballistic missiles toward key US allies that were mostly shot down early Saturday, putting a tenuous cease-fire at risk in the latest military flare-up in the war.

Tehran fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain, both key allies in the region, posing an “immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” according to US Central Command.

US forces intercepted six of them, according to CENTCOM, with the seventh failing to reach its intended target.

The latest military escalation by the Iranian regime came just hours after the US downed four Iranian “kamikaze” drones that the US said were headed toward the Strait of Hormuz — the site of an ongoing blockade that President Trump imposed in April after Iranian attacks and threats brought commercial transit to a virtual standstill.

Earlier, US forces hammered Iranian coastal surveillance sites “to defend against further maritime attacks,” and CENTCOM posted black and white video of the destruction on X.

The Iranian regime claimed the US strikes on radar and coastal facilities in Sirik and Qeshm Island were a “clear violation of the ceasefire” and an “act of aggression against national sovereignty,” and vowed to respond.

Quote:Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to roll out a new program to help Gulf allies rebuild after a series of Iranian attacks – paid for by tapping into Iran’s own assets.

“Treasury will utilize all tools available to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for any future damage caused by Iran,” a source familiar with Bessent’s thinking told The Post Saturday.

Bessent has “directed his team to assess conditions amongst our Gulf allies and request comprehensive estimates of the costs associated with repairing damage Iran has inflicted since the start of the conflict.

“Treasury will further consider whether Iranian assets could be used to support repairs for past damages.”

The source did not provide a dollar amount for the program, and did not specifically mention Iran’s $24 billion in frozen assets – although they have featured prominently in talks between the US and Iran to end the war that began Feb. 28.

Iran’s ability to generate oil revenue has been severely hampered by the US blockade, which President Trump imposed after Iran drove trade in the Strait of Hormuz to a virtual standstill.

The move, revealed Saturday, comes after the US Central Command announced Iran had fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain at dawn. That followed attacks which damaged Kuwait’s airport last week, killing one and wounding more than 60.

Mohsen Rezaei, a security advisor to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn’t been seen in public since assuming power, told CNN Friday talks are at a “deadlock,” and depend on the US unlocking the $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

Quote:ANTALYA, Turkey — Iran’s World Cup soccer team set off from Turkey for their training base in Mexico on Saturday, with some members of their entourage reportedly still without U.S. visas, before three group matches in the United States later this month.

The Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.

It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.

The team’s participation in the World Cup has been complicated by the Iran war.

Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.

The federation accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior” in refusing visas for “key managerial and administrative members” of the team.

The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation’s website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.

The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.

“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read. “This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”

One U.S. official earlier told The Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas “under false pretenses.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the visas publicly.

The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya. The team said that it has already received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara.

The players, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, left the luxury Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya on Saturday afternoon. They boarded a private jet at the Mediterranean city’s airport and were due to fly directly to Mexico.

Quote:A suspected Hamas terrorist was arrested in Greece on Sunday for allegedly plotting to attack an Israeli cruise ship, according to officials.

The 37-year-old Palestinian electrician, who has not been identified, was taken into custody on the island of Crete after officials claimed he placed an online order for “chemical agents” that could be used to make explosives.

Authorities discovered cell phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards after searching homes in Crete and the Greek capital, Athens.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Sunday.

His arrest is tied to that of four other Palestinians in Cyprus who are being investigated for “terrorism-related charges” and “belonging to a criminal organization,” officials said.

The suspect was allegedly in contact with one of the four Palestinians in Cyprus — with whom he traveled to Malaysia for training on making explosives using commercially available chemical agents, according to police.

Cyprus authorities arrested two Palestinians on May 22 after finding material in two homes they claim can be used to make bombs.

Authorities there detained another two Palestinian men on May 29 as part of the same investigation.

Quote:President Trump expressed hope that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “more rational” than his father as he reiterated his insistence that a deal with the Islamic Republic is “very close.”

The president also rejected criticism that he has taken the US into another “endless war” and kept the possibility of snatching Iran’s enriched uranium by force a top priority.

“Younger. I think more rational,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday when asked about how the supreme leader compares to his late father, the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Injured. He’s pretty badly injured. So there’s a certain bravery there,” Trump said of Mojtaba, who was caught in the Israeli strike that killed his father on Feb. 28 and hasn’t been seen in public since the war in Iran broke out.

After over five weeks of fighting, the US and Iran agreed to a cease-fire on April 8 and have spent the past two months negotiating a framework for a peace deal. Progress was called into question Sunday though after Israel said it intercepted a missile attack from Iran.

Trump has been insistent that Iran surrender its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium, which is a few technical steps away from weapons-grade enrichment.

Other Trump administration officials have publicly insisted that the US should get Iran’s 20% enriched uranium supplies as well, though it’s not clear if that’s a dealbreaker for the president.

“I think we’re very close. We have a couple of points,” Trump said on the deal being negotiated with Iran. “They don’t even seem like big points. They’ve conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons.”

Late last month, Trump sought edits to the framework being negotiated with Iran for a broader peace deal.

Trump also stressed that the status quo “isn’t sustainable” for Iran as the US blockade ensures Iran is “losing $400-500 million a day.” Trump imposed the blockade on Iran in April in response to the regime wreaking Havoc on the Strait of Hormuz.

“They’re strong. They’re proud. There are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do. They’ve got no choice. And it takes a little while,” the president replied when asked why Iran isn’t caving. “You know, you’re talking about 47 years of getting away with whatever they wanted.”

Quote:Iran bombarded Israel with missiles Sunday — threatening to reignite all-out conflict between both sides as President Trump warned them to knock it off.

The attack — which involved about four waves of a total of 10 missiles in northern Israel in under an hour— was the first on Israel since a fragile ceasefire took effect in April.

It occurred less than a day after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs, aiming for the Iranian-allied Hezbollah terror group.

“Tonight, the aggressors received their response,” said Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, on social media.

Iran’s foreign ministry added in an ominous statement that future Israeli attacks on either Tehran or Lebanon would result in a “crushing and comprehensive” response.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for at least one ballistic missile strike on the Ramat David air base in northern Israel, according to state media.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage in Israel, but the Jewish State was bracing for more strikes, ordering schools closed Monday — and preparing to increase its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“The [Israel Defense Force] will continue to operate throughout Lebanon and will intensify its actions against the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” said IDF Brig. Gen. and spokesman Effie Defrin to reporters — calling Iran’s attack “a grave mistake.”

Trump told Fox on Sunday he “wasn’t happy” about Israel’s assault in Lebanon on Saturday, which Israeli officials said was in retaliation for Hezbollah continuing to attack its civilians along the border.

He also claimed to The Post, “Things are going very well.”

He added to Axios that he was calling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and “telling him not to attack Iran in response.

“Each of them had their fun. If Bibi strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years,” the president said.

Trump told the Financial Times that the Israeli president will listen to him — because he has to.

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump said.

“I call the shots. I call all the shots. [Netanyahu] doesn’t call the shots.”

Trump had previously told Iran not to retaliate for Israel’s attack on Lebanon on Saturday — a warning that was not heeded.

On Sunday, he said, “What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough. Get back to the table and make a deal.’’

Iran’s military, in a statement shared with regime media Sunday, accused Israel and the US of violating a ceasefire from April.

“Our acceptance of the ceasefire on April 8 was conditional on a ceasefire on ALL fronts; but as always, America and Israel did not adhere to their commitment, they continued the aggression and crimes in Lebanon, and attacked Iranian vessels,” it said.

US officials have repeatedly cautioned Israel against escalating the war as they try to broker a permanent deal between the Jewish State and Iran.

Last week, the Lebanese and Israeli governments agreed to their own ceasefire, but Hezbollah rejected the deal.

Pakistan is also trying to revive Iran-Israel peace talks between with little success, as Iran stipulates a deal must include an end to Israel’s war in Lebanon.

Israel has maintained a military presence in Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah — a hard-line that has consistently complicated the deal to end the war with Iran.

In NBC’s “Meet The Press” interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he is “not demanding” that Lebanon be part of an overall ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu, who is up for reelection later this year, has insisted on pressing ahead with Israel’s offense in Lebanon until he believes Hezbollah no longer poses a threat.

Before Israel’s strikes in Beirut, Iran warned an attack would spark a full-scale war across the Middle East.

The State Department said in a statement to the New York Times that it still supported the process of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon ahead of more negotiations planned for the week of June 22.

It also noted that the US “supports Israel’s right to self-defense and stands with the legitimate government of Lebanon as it works to deliver a better future for its citizens.”In March, Hezbollah unleashed devastating waves of missile attacks that overwhelmed Israel’s Iron Dome. An Iranian strike later that month injured more than 100 civilians.

Quote:President Trump said he planned to tell Israel’s prime minister not to retaliate after Iran launched a missile attack on the Jewish State Sunday —  noting that further escalation will only stall the fragile ceasefire negotiations.

Iran fired at least 10 missiles at Israel on Sunday, hours after the Israel Defense Forces launched its own attack on a Hezbollah command center in Beirut.

Trump told Fox News that he “wasn’t happy” about Israel’s brazen attack on Beirut after he’d told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stand down. But he recognized that Iran’s latest blow wasn’t “going to help negotiations” either.

“What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough. Get back to the table and make a deal,” Trump told the outlet.

The president also boasted about the power of the US military and the ongoing naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked Iran’s oil-reliant economy.

Trump separately told Axios that he was “calling Netanyahu right now and telling him not to attack Iran in response.”

“Each of them had their fun. If Bibi strikes them back it’s just gonna keep going like the last 47 years, or the last 3,000 years,” Trump said.

Reached by The Post Sunday afternoon, Trump also said in a brief phone interview that “things are going very well.”

Iranian officials, meanwhile, appeared eager to ramp up the firefight with Israel and the US.

“Our acceptance of the ceasefire on April 8 was conditional on a ceasefire on ALL fronts; but as always, America and Israel did not adhere to their commitment, they continued the aggression and crimes in Lebanon, and attacked Iranian vessels,” Iran’s military said in a statement shared with regime media on Sunday.

Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, touted the “response” foreign “aggressors” received and promised that Israel would see “a more crushing response and heavier costs” if it retaliates.

Israel doesn’t appear to be standing down just yet. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, a top Israeli military spokesman, said in brief televised remarks that it was approving plans for further action in Lebanon.

Defrin didn’t note any immediate retaliation for Sunday’s strikes, but blasted Iran for committing “a grave mistake.”

Before the strikes in Beirut, Iran warned an attack would spark a full-scale war across the Middle East.

Quote:Iran’s soccer stars touched down just miles from the California border Sunday as they arrived in Tijuana ahead of a politically charged World Cup campaign with two blockbuster matches in Los Angeles.

Photos showed members of national team arriving in the Mexico border city after an overnight flight from Turkey, where the squad had spent the past three weeks training for the tournament.

The team landed shortly after 5 a.m. in the town across from San Diego, which will serve as their base throughout the World Cup.

Federation officials briefly waved as military and police escorts then accompanied the squad to a Marriott hotel in Tijuana, Reuters reported.

Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 before returning to Southern California to face Belgium on June 21.

The team will then travel to Seattle for a June 26 showdown with Egypt. But the journey to North America was anything but straightforward.

Iran’s football federation shifted the team’s base camp from Arizona to Mexico at the last minute amid uncertainty over U.S. visas and concerns in Tehran that the squad limit its presence on American soil, according to Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh.

After weeks of skepticism, U.S. authorities approved visas for Iranian players on Friday—just 10 days before the team’s opening match. The dispute, however, didn’t end there.

Iran’s football federation said several members of its delegation, including key managerial and administrative staff, were denied visas. Pasandideh said 15 of the 70 members of the traveling party who arrived in Tijuana were still unable to enter the United States.

The U.S. State Department said it had issued “the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff.”

“We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the U.S. under false pretenses,” the official added.

Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj blasted the delays, accusing Washington of unfair treatment.

“We do not know how far the Americans’ obstructionism will continue,” Taj stated.

Quote:The Chinese and Taiwanese coast guards engaged in a standoff near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea, Taipei said Friday.

A Chinese vessel, with the hull number 3501, was detected approximately four miles outside the restricted zone Taiwan claims around the Pratas at 7:32 a.m. local time, according to the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration.

Responding Taiwanese patrol boat, Xunhu No. 9, which sailed parallel to the Chinese ship while issuing radio broadcasts ordering it to leave. By 8 a.m., the situation had escalated.

China Coast Guard 3501 ignored the warnings and accelerated from 5 to 9 knots before making a sharp, abrupt turn into the restricted waters, the CGA said. The two ships remained in a standoff at the time of the statement.

"The Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and only the [Taiwan] Coast Guard Administration has the authority to enforce the law in the waters around the Dongshas," the agency said, adding it would "take all necessary measures to curb China's unreasonable actions."

The People's Republic of China is the official name of the government in Beijing. The Republic of China is the official name of Taiwan's government, which fled to the island after losing the Chinese Civil War to Communist forces in 1949.

Newsweek reached out to Taiwan's coast guard and the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

The Pratas, known in Taipei and Beijing as the Dongsha Islands, are situated about 250 miles southwest of Taiwan and 200 miles east of Hong Kong. They are claimed by both sides but administered by Taiwan, which maintains a small marine garrison on the largest island in the group, also known as Pratas.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to achieve unification. Taiwan functions as a de facto sovereign state with its own democratically elected government, military and foreign affairs.

Chinese Patrols Increase

The encounter came just weeks after a state-owned oceanographic vessel operated by Shanghai's Tongji University, the Tongji Hao, sailed in waters off Taiwan's southern Eluanbi Peninsula on May 7 and near the eastern port of Hualien on May 15.

After receiving an intercepting radio warning from Taiwan's coast guard, the research vessel "arrogantly" responded with the broadcast: "There is no Republic of China, only the People's Republic of China."

Chinese fishing and research vessels periodically sail near or into the so-called restricted waters, prompting Taiwan's coast guard to expel them. Chinese coast guard activity there remains lower in intensity than around Taiwan-controlled Kinmen in the Taiwan Strait, but has been increasing—from occasional transits to more than 30 incidents annually, Taipei Times reported, citing the CGA.

Quote:Taiwan’s Representative to the United States, Alexander Tah-ray Yui, said he isn't concerned that the island is being "traded off" in U.S.-China negotiations and highlighted the necessity of the U.S.'s proposed multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan.

Yui made the remarks in an interview with Politico that was published on Saturday as President Donald Trump weighs approving a proposed $14 billion arms package for Taiwan and has left open the possibility of speaking with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.

Newsweek has reached out to the Representative Office of Taiwan in Washington, D.C. for comment via email on Saturday.

U.S. Policy Stays Consistently Aligned

Yui told the outlet that Trump’s recent visit to China, in which he met with leader Xi Jinping “did not change anything regarding the longstanding position of the United States regarding Taiwan.” He also noted that the administration’s officials “all say there’s been no change in U.S. policy on Taiwan.”

Following a security forum in Singapore late last month, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed a similar sentiment saying, “The policy we have on Taiwan is the same as it was at the beginning of this administration."

He continued, "Our stance on Taiwan remains unchanged, just as the president said when we came out of those historic meetings with China.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio also publicly reinforced the administration’s stance following the Beijing meetings, signaling unified messaging across the Cabinet.

The U.S. adheres to its longstanding "One China" policy, acknowledging Beijing's position on Taiwan while maintaining unofficial relations with the island and not endorsing China’s claims. The U.S. is Taiwan's primary arms supplier, and arms sales routinely draw objections from China and threaten to raise tensions.

During his first term, Trump approved about $18.3 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including fighter jets, missiles and other military equipment. Reuters reported last year the total was nearly $10 billion higher than the roughly $8.4 billion approved during Biden's presidency.

Quote:Israel struck several military targets in Iran on Sunday, hours after the Islamic Republic launched a barrage of missiles at the Jewish state.

The Israel Defense Forces said its air force struck targets “belonging to the Iranian terror regime” in western and central Iran in a statement on X Sunday evening.

Iran state media separately reported that explosions were heard in Tehran, Tabriz and Isfahan after Israel fired “air-launched ballistic missiles,” citing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Israeli military hit Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites and non-energy infrastructure, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, said.

Nearly two hours later, the Israeli air force said it was intercepting a missile “from the direction of Yemen toward Israeli territory.”

A missile hasn’t been launched from Yemen at Israel since April 4 — just four days before the Pakistan-brokered cease-fire between the US and Iran went into effect.

Earlier, Iran fired at least 10 missiles at Israel, all of which were intercepted. Iranian officials claimed responsibility and asserted the attack was in response to Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon that morning.

Israel’s strike violated its delicate cease-fire with Lebanon. Both countries agreed to the US-brokered cease-fire last week, but Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah rejected it.

President Trump said he would talk Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu out of conducting a retaliatory strike on Iran, telling the Financial Times that he’s still the one “calling the shots.”

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump said.

Israel, however, has insisted on maintaining its military presence in Lebanon despite US officials’ demands for de-escalation.

Quote:Iranian-backed Houthi rebels vowed on Monday to block any Israeli ship from sailing in the Red Sea – after the terror group claimed responsibility for unleashing a barrage of missiles on Central Israel.

Yahya Saree, the group’s spokesperson, claimed “sensitive targets belonging to the Israeli enemy in Jaffa” had been struck before announcing the blockade.

“We announce a complete ban on the enemy’s navigation in the Red Sea and consider any Israeli movement a military target for our forces,” he said.
The terror group says the attacks are in response to Israel striking Iran and Lebanon.

“We affirm that we will respond to escalation with escalation, and our military operations will intensify in accordance to the field developments, the battle, and in conjunction with the axis of Jihad and resistance,” Houthi leaders vowed.

“We will not stand idly by in the face of the unjust siege imposed on our people and the peoples of the axis of jihad and resistance in Palestine, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq.”

The Houthis have essentially closed the Bab el-Mandeb strait to Israeli vessels, known as the “Gate of Tears” in Arabic for its perilous navigation conditions.

It’s on the southern outlet of the Red Sea, situated between Yemen on the ⁠Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea on the African coast.

It is one of the world’s most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or the SUMED pipeline on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, as well as commodities bound for Asia, ⁠including Russian oil.

An estimated 3.3 million barrels of oil pass through the strait daily.

If the strait is blocked, ships are forced to travel around the southern tip of Africa, known as the Cape of Good Hope, in order to reach Asia, which can add up to two weeks onto journeys.

Iran and Israel’s trading of retaliatory strikes marks the most serious escalation since the April cease-fire.

“The IDF completed a large-scale strike on strategic defense systems belonging to the Iranian terror regime,” Israeli defense forces said.

“Recently, defense systems were deployed across Iran to restore the regime’s capabilities degraded during Operation Roaring Lion. The strike led to the dismantling of these systems.”

Quote:Iran’s joint military command said Monday it was halting offensive operations against Israel after President Trump called for both sides to lay down their weapons in his first public comments since the Middle Eastern enemies traded attacks in the largest escalation of hostilities in more than two months.

The joint command warned that if Israel or its allies carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting,’” Trump had written in a brief post on Truth Social after Iran sent three waves of missiles toward the Jewish state, while Israeli forces targeted truck-based surface-to-air launchers and petrochemical facilities inside the Islamic Republic.

There was no immediate word of any casualties in the most intense exchange since a cease-fire between the US and Iran took effect April 8.

Quote:Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday Israel would “hold fire” after President Trump called on the prime minister and Iran’s leadership to return to a cease-fire.

Netanyahu said the fighting “on the Iran front” had been contained — making clear that Hezbollah targets in Lebanon remain separate, which Iran has tried to link to the ongoing US-Israel-Iran cease-fire.

“If they [Iran] make a mistake and resume attacks we will respond powerfully,” Netanyahu said. “Israel has the right to defend itself and we implement it when needed.”

Earlier Monday, Trump told both Israel and Iran to stop “shooting” at each other in a post to Truth Social, adding in a separate post that a deal with Tehran is around the corner.

“Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way,” he said. “The Blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘Final Deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly.”

The Iranian joint military command was the first to announce it would lay down its weapons, but warned if Israel or its allies carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts” — including against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon — “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

But that Iranian-claimed extension of the cease-fire to Lebanon may cut short the current peace. Israel did not agree to stop fire on its neighbor to the north as Hezbollah has continued lobbing rockets at the Jewish state — and are already preparing for more attacks along that front.

Quote:President Trump explained early Tuesday why he has so far avoided a return to full-scale war with Iran — even after Iran downed a US military helicopter.

Speaking to reporters after the Monday night Knicks game and several hours after Iran downed a US military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, the president claimed the crisis over the oil chokepoint would last far longer without a deal with Tehran.

“If we go and bomb — which we can do very easily if we want to — and we spend another two or three weeks bombing, they’ll have nothing left whatsoever,” he said. “But you won’t have the Strait open for months. If we do the bombing, a lot of people are going to be killed.”

“Who wants to do that? I don’t,” he added.

Still, Trump directed limited strikes on Iran in retaliation for its downing of the Apache helicopter — but US Central Command said they would be “proportional” to the attack.

“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured,” he wrote. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

The president last week said that despite his resistance to restarting the war, he would consider a return to striking Iran should Tehran strike and kill US troops.

Before Monday night, Iran had targeted US troops but had been unsuccessful in striking them since the April 8 cease-fire began.

Should he give up on diplomacy, Trump told ABC on Monday that Washington would have to help rebuild Iran after it wipes out “an entire infrastructure of a nation” — but that the US would receive half the country’s oil in exchange.

“Somebody’s going to have to build all that infrastructure, new bridges, new this, new that, new power plants,” he said. “They’re talking about a trillion dollars, probably more. That’s why we’ll probably get involved in rebuilding.”

Trump has repeatedly stated the US and Iran are close to a deal since April, when Iranian and American leaders held peace talks in Islamabad.

Quote:US military on Tuesday unleashed strikes against Iran in retaliation for its “unjustified” downing of an American military helicopter and its two pilots, US Central Command said Tuesday.

President Trump ordered the “proportional” strikes after determining Iran on Monday shot down a US Apache attack helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving a two-month-old cease-fire hanging by a thread.

Trump, however, signaled he wasn’t seeking a return to full-scale war and downplayed the helicopter attack — telling the Wall Street Journal that it “wasn’t a big deal” and “the pilot is fine.”

The military response also was billed as measured, with CENTCOM describing the Tuesday evening mission as “self-defense strikes.”

“CENTCOM forces began launching self-defense strikes against Iran at 5 p.m. ET today at the Commander in Chief’s direction, in response to yesterday’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter,” the combatant command said Tuesday.

”The mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression,” it added, suggesting that the operation is limited and is not intended to spark a return to daily war with Tehran.

As the announcement was made, Trump told an ABC reporter over the phone that it was “very important to respond.”

“This is a response to what they did with our helicopter last night, and I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” he said.

Minutes later, Iranian state media reported that a “projectile” had struck the Iranian port city of Sirik, which is near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes, which were still underway as of 7 p.m. ET, targeted Iranian air defense systems and radar installations, a senior US defense official told Fox News.

Earlier Tuesday, a source familiar with US military planning said any strikes would likely target Iran’s coasts by the strait — particularly areas Tehran has stored or launched weapons from.

The operation was launched about four hours after Trump revealed the military had determined after an investigation that Tehran had shot down the helicopter, which was first reported as a “crash” with no cause immediately given.

“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”

Quote:Iran attacked US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan with drones and missiles Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz, according to its Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The tit-for-tat strikes are among the biggest exchanges between the two warring countries since the pair agreed to a ceasefire in April and came after Iran shot down an American Apache helicopter Tuesday.

Nearly all of the Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted and there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries to US personnel or damage to US facilities, an anonymous US official confirmed to Reuters.

President Trump had vowed a “very strong, very powerful” response for the downed chopper, “and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday.

The latest escalation threatens a potential deal between US and Iran to end the conflict, which just passed 100 days since the US-Israeli joint strikes on Feb. 28.

Trump claimed that Iran’s military had been “completely defeated,” in a Truth Social post early Wednesday morning — and blamed Iran for stalling negotiations.

“Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” the President wrote.

The latest US strikes targeted Iranian air defense, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites, according to the US military. They lasted around four hours and hit almost 20 Iranian targets, a US official said.

Tehran, in response, accused the US of repeatedly violating a ceasefire agreement.

Quote:President Trump said he is readying new strikes on Iranian infrastructure — after warning that the Islamic Republic will “have to pay the price” for taking “too long” to negotiate a peace deal.

The commander-in-chief said he is “getting close to ordering new strikes against Iranian power plants and bridges” in a phone call with Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst on Wednesday.

Trump also accused Iran in the phone call of “tapping the United States along when it comes to the negotiating process.”

It came as the president took to Truth Social to warn of retaliatory strikes against Iran following the shooting down of a US Apache helicopter on Monday near the Strait of Hormuz.

“They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump wrote in a thunderous post Wednesday morning, after stating that the country’s military infrastructure and leadership were in disarray.

“Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore – They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! ” he added.
...
Trump said he ordered strikes overnight to target runways, radar systems and air defense sites that Iran has tried to rebuild during the recent cease-fire, according to Fox News.

US forces “took out about 55% of what they [Iran] were even able to rebuild,” the outlet said, citing Trump.

Iran responded Wednesday morning with drone and missile strikes targeting military bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait.

Up until Wednesday, the president had still said that efforts to reach a deal with Tehran were in their “final throes,” with a settlement possible in “two to three days.”

Quote:More than 2 million barrels of oil are transiting through the Strait of Hormuz every day despite the naval blockade of the critical passageway, experts said.

About 2.1 million barrels were snuck through the strait in the final two weeks of May, a steady supply that explains why oil markets have yet to suffer the type of shock expected when 15.6 million barrels are suddenly cut off, according to JPMorgan.

“Despite the ongoing naval blockade and the steep decline in commercial traffic, surprising volumes of crude and petroleum products still appear to be transiting the Strait,” Natasha Kaneva, JPMorgan’s head of global commodities strategy, wrote in a client note last week.

Jan Stuart, a global energy economist and strategist at investment bank Piper Sandler, said the 2.1 million barrels accounted for the ships that appeared to pay tolls to Iran for safe passage, CNN reported.

The Islamic Republic has created the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) to oversee a toll system through the waterway, with previous reports suggesting oil tankers could pay as much as $2 million to transit.

The PGSA claimed last week that at least 300 non-Iranian ships had applied for the program, with the majority of them being oil tankers bound for Asia despite warnings from the US and its blockade force in the Gulf of Oman.

An additional 900,000 barrels currently flowing through the Strait of Hormuz every day were also being transported through vessels opting to “go dark” in the waterway, Stuart added.

Nearly 900 tankers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz between March 1 and May 19, according to maritime data company Kpler.

At least 358 of those vessels did so while employing shadow fleet tactics to avoid detection, with the move gaining wider traction as the conflict in Iran continues.

Quote:The US military launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran Wednesday evening, hours after President Trump warned additional attacks on the Islamic Republic were coming to try and force Tehran to re-enter serious peace negotiations.

“U.S. Central Command [CENTCOM] forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” the Tampa, Fla.-based combat command said in a statement on X.

“The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”

There were no immediate reports on specific targets, damage or casualties.

“We’ve hit them hard tonight,” Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst amid the airstrikes.

Asked what he’ll do if Tehran doesn’t make a deal, the president responded: “We’ll bomb the s–t out of them tomorrow.”

Trump also revealed he spoke with top Iranian officials in the Situation Room who begged him to stop bombing. 

At least 49 Tomahawk missiles were fired by US forces at Iran, according to Trump, while fighter jets dropped additional bombs on the country.

The closest target to Tehran was about 40 miles outside the capital city, the president said.

Wednesday’s attacks came after the nations of Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, all of which host US troops, came under Iranian fire. They also took place one day after an initial wave of strikes that followed the takedown of an Army helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz by an Iranian drone.

Hours earlier, the US military said it had fired on an oil tanker attempting to transport fuel from Iran in violation of its blockade on the country’s ports along the crucial waterway. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello, making it the eighth merchant vessel disabled by US forces in waters off Iran.

India’s foreign ministry said three Indian sailors were missing after the Settebello was struck, while 21 others were rescued. Its statement did not mention the US military or the blockade.

Hawkins said American forces warned the crew before firing on the ship.

“We’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday afternoon before urging Iran to sign a peace deal that would include them giving up ambitions of acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“CENTCOM will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard — and we will be,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters in Florida.

“Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal, to codify what they said they’ve been willing to do, and they haven’t been willing to do it,” he added.

Quote:June 9 — Iran’s soccer federation said on Tuesday its ticket allocation had been pulled just days before the World Cup starts, leaving supporters who had ‌already made travel plans unable to attend their team’s matches.

The World Cup begins on Thursday, with Iran playing their first two Group G games in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, and then facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

In a statement, the Iranian federation said it had already begun the ticket sales process for the matches but could no longer provide them to fans.

“This is despite the fact that ⁠many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches,” the FFIRI added in a statement.

“Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries.

“This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organization of the world’s biggest football event.”

Each participating federation at the World Cup receives eight percent of the tickets for each of their matches to be allocated to fans according to their own criteria.

‘Principles of neutrality’

The FFIRI did not say who had made the decision to withhold the tickets but urged FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to adhere to “the ‌principles of ⁠neutrality, fairness, and established regulations” and called on it to prevent off-field issues from casting a shadow over the tournament.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Quote:A top Somalian referee who was set to officiate games at the World Cup has been blocked from entering the US over his alleged links to terrorist organizations.

Omar Abdulkadir Artan, 33, was interrogated by border officials at Miami International Airport for 11 hours Saturday, before he was held in a jail cell and forced to leave the country, according to The Athletic.

Customs and Border Protection officers claimed that Artan was blocked from entering the US over “vetting concerns.” On Tuesday, US officials said that the referee was barred due to an “association with suspected members of terror organizations.”

After landing in Florida, Artan was questioned over Somalian politics and the Al Shabaab terrorist organization, which US Africa Command described in 2022 as “the largest, wealthiest, and most lethal Al Qaeda affiliate.”

AFRICOM said the group “poses the greatest danger to US citizens and interests in East Africa and is a threat to the United States.”

Artan’s name is similar to that of a man who has links to the terror group, which is sanctioned by the US Treasury, the New York Times reported.

The referee, who was named Africa’s best referee in 2025, was quizzed if he had ever met anyone from the organization, which he denied.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, previously said earlier Tuesday there was a “very good reason” why Artan was blocked from entering the US.

“While I can’t go into the derog on that I can tell you it was right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision,” Giuliani told the BBC.

“Anybody who’s communicating with bad actors… are not going to be admitted,” Giuliani told Sky News.

Last June, President Trump announced a blanket ban on citizens from Somalia entering the US. The nation was one of 12 countries initially included in the ban.

Quote:FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended World Cup ticket prices, saying Wednesday “if we are doing something wrong, everyone in North America is doing something wrong.”

FIFA priced tickets starting at $140 for the 48-nation, 104-game tournament that starts Thursday and priced regular seats up to $8,680 for the July 19 final in New Jersey. It raised prices for the final to $10,990 and then $32,970. After criticism, FIFA offered a small amount of $60 tickets to national federations for their regular supporters. He said Wednesday 130,000 tickets were offered at that price, out of 6 to 7 million total.

Infantino said the average ticket price was under $500 for the tournament and was comparable to other U.S. sports during their playoffs, a claim that while true for resale prices does not appear to be accurate for list prices. He said he was unconcerned about investigations by attorneys general in California, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

“We are very relaxed about it because before starting to sell 6.5 million or 7 million tickets we check what we do with the best lawyers,” he said. “We welcome every investigation.”

The NBA Finals have had wildly varied get-in prices, ranging from a minimum of about $500 for the first two games in San Antonio to about $10,000 for Game 3 in New York. Game 4 in New York was much less, dropping to about $4,000 on Wednesday.

The Stanley Cup Final this year between teams in Las Vegas and Raleigh, North Carolina, has included a get-in price of at least $600 for each of the first four games of the best-of-seven series.

Infantino says FIFA is powerless to get US entry for denied Somali referee

Infantino said it was “unfortunate” that Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the U.S. and said people “should chill.”

He said FIFA cannot dictate to governments who to let into their countries, though it is working “behind the scenes.”

“We always try to make the situation as positive as possible and to find solutions,” he said. “Sometimes we manage, other times not.”

“We don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth,” he said.

He thinks FIFA deserves credit for ensuring Iran’s participation

Infantino praised FIFA for working through details that allow Iran to play in the tournament at a time the U.S. is at war with Iran. The Iranian team moved its training camp from the U.S. to Mexico and will fly to the U.S. before matches.

Quote:The Trump administration rejected Iran's accusation that the United States engineered the loss of World Cup ticket allocations for its fans, saying it does not control ticket sales and warning that it will not let the Iranian team exploit the tournament to slip extremists into the country.

The pushback came a day after Iran's football federation claimed its allotment of supporter tickets for three group-stage matches on U.S. soil had been pulled less than a week before kickoff.

"Despite claims by Iran's football federation, the United States does not allocate tickets for World Cup matches," an administration official told Newsweek on background. "Ticket distribution is managed by FIFA and the event organizers, not by the U.S. government."

The official said any limits on Iranian fans stem from existing law rather than a new or targeted measure.

"The current U.S. travel restrictions on Iranian nationals have been consistently applied and remain unchanged," the official said. "The United States has worked closely with relevant authorities and international partners to ensure Iranian players and essential team personnel could participate in the World Cup."

Iran World Cup Tickets: What FIFA and the State Department Say

Iran's football federation said Tuesday that FIFA had revoked the ticket allocation for its fans at the team's three World Cup games in the United States. Under FIFA rules, each of the 48 federations is entitled to 8 percent of stadium capacity per game to sell to its own supporters, adding up to several thousand tickets.

The federation said it had already begun selling those tickets before the allocation was withdrawn. It was unclear Tuesday how many tickets in Iran’s allocation were sold, if they live in their home country or are part of its diaspora including about 1 million people in the U.S.

"Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries," the FFIRI said in a statement.

Quote:Ukraine’s army has recaptured more than 230 square miles of territory so far this year, Kyiv’s military chief confirmed Monday as momentum continues to shift against Russia’s more than four-year-old invasion.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said his forces have retaken several strips of land across the 800-mile front in the first five months of 2026, with about one-sixth of the territorial gains resulting from last month’s offensive.

May’s total gain of more than 38 square miles also marked Russia’s first net retreat since a major counter-offensive by Kyiv in 2023, according to DeepState, an independent Ukraine-based battlefield analyst group.

In total, Ukrainian forces struck more than 88,000 Russian military targets in May, killing more than 30,000 soldiers and causing more than $1 billion in damage to Moscow’s military-industrial complex, Syrskyi added.

Syrskyi added that the fighting remains most intense in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia has struggled to make significant advances for nearly two years.

The military chief also singled out the village of Oleksandrivka in the Kherson region and the city of Huliaipole in the Zaporizhzhia region as areas along the front line where the heaviest fighting was taking place.

Meanwhile, Syrskyi said that despite expert consensus that the city of Pokrovsk fell last year to Russia following an intense campaign lasting nearly two years, Kyiv’s soldiers are still fighting inside the logistical hub.

While the real-time state of the battlefield remains difficult to track due to the intensity of the war, Ukraine’s reported victories line up with analysis from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which found that Kyiv was “actively challenging the positional character of the war” as of the end of May.

The think tank specifically cited Ukraine’s ability to deploy drones to disrupt Russia’s supply chain and troop movement along the front as some of the keys to hindering Moscow’s advance.

Quote:Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is hoping for a Hail Mary winter offensive against Ukraine, experts said — as Russia’s economy is in a death spiral and the war-mongering leader is growing increasingly desperate.

After a lackluster spring offensive left Russia losing more territory than it conquered for the first time in three years, the Kremlin is now likely eyeing a large-scale assault come winter to inflict maximum damage on Ukraine, Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow with the CSIS think tank’s Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, told The Post.

“Putin will wait for the winter again to resume the large-scale strikes and create a humanitarian crisis to get concessions in the Donbas issue,” Snegovaya said, referencing the region Russia has failed to completely conquer for more than four years.

The expert warned that the strikes would be even larger than last winter’s, when Russia fired a record number of drones and missiles daily against critical civilian infrastructure.

Russia will also likely expand its attacks further by targeting Ukrainian railways to disrupt supply lines and attacking water infrastructure, added Kateryna Stepanenko, the Russia team lead and deputy director of the Cognitive Warfare Project at the Institute for the Study of War think tank.

Snegovaya, who was in Ukraine last month, said the brutal winter was still at the forefront of the minds of the average Ukrainian citizen — with Putin likely wanting to tap into that terror in a desperate attempt to get himself out of his current situation.

Putin is facing increased pressure inside Russia over the country’s plummeting economy and internet outages, which experts say could be a prelude to panicked actions by the Kremlin.

The Kremlin war machine is also facing rapidly dropping recruitment rates as the war rages on.

Quote:Russia is allegedly recruiting young Ukrainian women, including teenagers, to carry out assassinations against service members in honeypot traps, Ukraine’s top cop said.

National police chief Ivan Vyhivskyi said there have been at least six cases of contract killings arranged on Telegram between Russian operatives and Ukrainian women so far, including one involving a 17-year-old suspect, local Cenzor.NET reported.

“We are talking about planned murders organized by the special services of the aggressor state and carried out by Ukrainian citizens,” Vyhivskyi said, adding that only one of the assassination cases was prevented.

The operations allegedly begin with Russian recruiters scouting young women on messaging platforms, promising them easy money and coordinating their actions remotely, the police chief said.

The young women are specifically asked to go on adult dating websites and search for Ukrainian military personnel, with Russia providing them money to rent apartments for the deed.

Before the meetup, the women are instructed on where they can get methadone, a synthetic opioid used as a painkiller that ⁠can be lethal in high doses, Vyhivskyi added.

The women are also coached on how to lace the servicemen’s drinks with the poison during the meetup.

One such case was reported last week when police found a 27-year-old soldier dead in a residence in the Zhytomyr region, with a powdery substance found in his dishware, according to the national police.

A 17-year-old girl from Berdychiv was arrested in connection with the murder on June 4, telling police she was instructed to poison the man at the instructions of a suspected Russian security services agent over Telegram.

The girl added that she had received a parcel of a clear substance, likely methadone, to carry out the assassination, police added.

The suspect allegedly put the methadone into an alcoholic drink for the serviceman, with the girl leaving the residence after the soldier fell unconscious and died, authorities said.

Ukraine and Russia have previously accused each other of recruiting each other’s citizens to carry out target assassinations against servicemembers through the war.

Quote:Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has cracked down on YouTubers in the Tucson, Arizona, neighborhood of missing person Nancy Guthrie following complaints from neighbors, arresting three people on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Newsweek that it has "received numerous complaints about individuals blocking roadways, trespassing and disrupting the peace in the neighborhood. Deputies initially issued warnings, followed by the posting of no-trespassing signs and the issuance of citations for violations. Despite those efforts, some individuals continued to disregard the law."

The spokesperson added: "After reviewing video evidence showing one of the arrestees urinating in public behind a makeshift tent, Sheriff Chris Nanos has directed deputies to take a stronger enforcement approach."

Alexander Zabel Jr., 54, who runs the "Criminal Network” page on YouTube, was arrested and charged with two counts of obstruction of a highway or public thoroughfare and one count of public nuisance, the sheriff's department said. His YouTube account later shared a clip of the station's report.

Troy Bradshaw, 34, who runs the "DAA JUICE" page, was charged with one count of public nuisance. A post on the “DAA JUICE” X account early Tuesday said he had been subsequently released on bail.

Damien Todd Enderle, a 46-year-old man who helps run local crime blog 857 Tucson, was charged with one count of public nuisance, the sheriff's department said. He was cited and release.

He said he and the other YouTubers were not being a public nuisance in a YouTube livestream on Monday night.

"The officer told me, 'I don't want to arrest you. You're not doing anything. I have to give you a ticket,'" he said. "He said, 'if you sign here, I don't have to take you into jail.'... So I signed the paper. He gave me a charge for public nuisance."

Quote:The man who was repeatedly stabbed in a sickening, caught-on-camera attack that sparked riots in Northern Ireland lost his left eye in the near-beheading – as the Sudanese suspect was identified for the first time as he appeared in court Wednesday.

Stephen Ogilvie, thought to be 44, suffered injuries to both eyes after Sudanese migrant Hadi Alodid, 30, allegedly tried to behead him late Monday night, the Sun reported.

Barbaric video footage showed Ogilvie being pinned under the knifeman — with a horrified witness heard crying, “He’s trying to cut his head off. He’s slicing his head off.”

Ogilvie suffered serious injuries to his right eye and had deep slash wounds in his head, face and back, the hearing in Belfast was told.

Alodid was identified for the first time as he appeared in court Wednesday on charges of attempted murder and possessing a blade.

He was arrested minutes after the assault — and allegedly told emergency services, “I have killed someone. I don’t know if they are dead.”

The migrant — who reportedly exploited a legal loophole to get into the UK — is also accused of threatening to kill a radiographer on the same day as Monday’s attack, the hearing was told.

“I will kill you,” Alodid allegedly told the radiographer.

Alodid appeared on video and stayed silent during the hearing. He was denied bail and will next appear in court on July 8.

Police “strongly” opposed bail and a detective warned that potential future offenses could be “serious and unpredictable in nature.”

Judge Stephen Keown said the risks of granting Alodid bail were “far too great” due to the risks of reoffending and harm to the public.

The judge also noted that Alodid could be a flight risk. The migrant entered the UK via the Common Travel Area — an open-border zone which allows British and Irish citizens to travel freely.

The stabbing sparked anti-immigration protests, which developed into riots across Northern Ireland Tuesday night – with masked yobs hurling petrol bombs at cops and setting homes and cars alight.

Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, said “groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” branding it “outright thuggery.”

Two officers were injured amid the disorder, Jon Boutcher, Northern Ireland’s chief constable revealed in a press conference Wednesday, branding the protests an “act of self-harm.”

Quote:Anti-immigration protests erupted into riots in Northern Ireland on Tuesday after a Sudanese migrant’s shockingly barbaric knife attack — with masked demonstrators breaking windows, setting homes on fire, and torching buses.

Tensions flared after a 30-year-old asylum seeker from Sudan, who was charged with attempted murder, allegedly tried to behead a man in Belfast on Monday night, disturbing video shows.

The bloodied victim desperately kicked his legs before the maniac repeatedly stabbed him in the head and neck, the video shared by Turning Point UK shows.

“Get off him, you f–king rat!” one woman shouted as the deranged attacker showed off his weapon — while a man yelled, “He’s trying to cut his head off. He’s slicing his head off.”

Other horrified locals rushed to intervene, including one who clobbered the attacker with a stick.

The victim, an unidentified local man in his 40s, was left with significant injuries to his eyes and serious slash wounds to his back and face, police said of the “brutal” assault.

Far-right activists on social media called for mass immigration demonstrations following the heinous knifing.

Crowds of agitated protesters, including masked men, hijacked vehicles, torched homes, police cars and vandalized businesses across Belfast, the BBC reported.

Emergency responders swarmed the city after demonstrators smashed doors and set fire to several homes off Crumlin Road in northern and eastern Belfast — displacing longtime residents and filling the air with thick, black smoke, the outlet reported.

Masked demonstrators smashed windows and kicked down doors while yelling they were “getting the foreigners out.”

Wild photos captured a Glider bus engulfed in flames and billowing smoke after it was hijacked and torched.

Northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill, blasted the destruction as “outright thuggery.”

“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” O’Neill wrote on X. “This has nothing to do with community. This is outright thuggery.

“The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work, and raise their families here.”

The motive for Monday’s horrific attack remains unclear, but police so far have “no information to suggest that this was a terrorist-related incident,” Ryan Henderson, the assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said in a press conference Tuesday.

The suspect was living in the UK “under a five-year visa,” Gavin Robinson, the Democratic Unionist Party leader, told the House of Commons — calling for him to be “convicted and deported on the first flight out.”

SpaceX founder Elon Musk also posted on X that “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!” in response to a list of scheduled demonstrations posted by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.

Quote:Peru’s presidential race between right-wing Keiko Fujimori and left-wing Roberto Sánchez is still extremely close with 97 percent of the votes counted, so much so that ballots cast overseas—especially in Florida—could give one of the candidates the winning edge.

As of Wednesday morning, Sánchez was slightly ahead with 50.05 percent of the vote, while Fujimori had 49.94 percent. The left winger’s modest lead, however, could be quickly reversed once all the votes from the Peruvian diaspora are counted, as a majority of voters overseas support Fujimori.

“It could happen (unprecedented in our history) that Roberto Sánchez receives more votes in national territory but loses the election, because in the total (including votes from abroad), Keiko Fujimori surpasses him,” political analyst Jeffrey Radzinsky wrote on X.

“It’s a scenario, just that, we have to wait for the count and respect the results.”

What Vote Counting Can Tell Us So Far

According to Peru’s National Office of Electoral Process (ONPE), 62.5 percent of the vote from Peruvian living abroad has gone in support of Fujimori (132,004 votes), while only 37.5 percent has been cast for Sánchez (79,327).

More than 1.2 million Peruvians living abroad were eligible to vote in the June 7 presidential election’s second round, according to the Latin Times.

Among voters living in the United States, which has the highest number of Peruvians voting from outside Peru, Fujimori’s dominance is even starker. An overwhelming majority of the votes coming from the country was cast for Fujimori, at 76.56 percent, while Sánchez got only 23.43 percent.

At the state level, the vast majority of votes from the United States are coming from Florida, which is home to the largest Peruvian-American population anywhere in the United States.

Quote:Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has addressed accusations that his party plans to cut Social Security and other federal programs.

Following Johnson’s appearance on the Moon Griffon Show on June 8, Democrats accused him of planning cuts to entitlement and benefit programs, while Johnson said Republican efforts are focused on strengthening oversight and addressing what he described as "autopilot" spending.

The Trump administration is intensifying its focus on reducing federal spending and rooting out what it describes as widespread waste, fraud and abuse across government benefit programs.

What Johnson Said

In a clip from the interview posted on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson said: "The largest spending items, the reason we're in trouble is because over 74 percent of federal spending is on autopilot—mandatory spending, that is your entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and things like Social Security—they have to be adjusted and fixed.

"We have a plan to do that next year, and it's critical, because we're at $40 trillion plus in debt. At some point you get into a hole so deep you can't climb out of it, so desperate times call for desperate measures."

The comments quickly drew criticism from Democrats, who argued Johnson was signaling future reductions to major entitlement programs.

Democrats Accuse GOP of Targeting Benefits

Responding to the clip, Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, wrote on X: "Mike Johnson says Republicans have a plan to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—after already passing the largest healthcare cut in history.

"Higher costs, less healthcare. That’s what Republicans are running on this November."

The exchange reflects a longstanding political divide over entitlement spending, with Democrats warning that Republican reforms could reduce benefits while Republicans argue changes are needed to improve efficiency and strengthen program finances.

Johnson's Response

The Republican rejected the criticism and accused Democrats and news organizations of misrepresenting his remarks.

"Once again, Democrats and the media are fearmongering," Johnson wrote in a post on X.

"Everyone knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is rampant waste, fraud, and abuse throughout government programs. Just today, the @GOPoversight released a report that Tim Walz’s failures in Minnesota cost the taxpayer potentially $9 billion in Medicaid-related funds and roughly $300 million in federal child nutrition funds."

Quote:The Trump administration on Wednesday escalated its global crackdown on “birth tourism,” with the State Department detailing a series of enforcement actions targeting foreign nationals accused of using U.S. visitor visas to secure citizenship for their children.

In a series of posts on X, the State Department said it is “defending the integrity of U.S. citizenship” by shutting down networks that help pregnant travelers enter the United States under false pretenses, warning that visas will be denied or revoked if childbirth is the primary purpose of travel.

The posts outlining more than 600 cases underscore a broader immigration push that has intensified scrutiny of visa applicants worldwide, particularly those suspected of misrepresenting their intent during consular interviews.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration has also tightened scrutiny across other visa programs, including H‑1B visas, as part of a broader effort to curb what officials describe as fraud and misuse in the immigration system.

Newsweek reached out to the State Department through its online portal on Wednesday for comment.

Dr. John C. Eastman of The Claremont Institute, who has advocated for changes to birthright citizenship at the Supreme Court, told Newsweek that the cases outlined make an argument for the changes made by the administration.

"The State Department’s recent exposé and revocation of fraudulent visas is further evidence of the need for President Trump’s Executive Order, correcting the misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, which was never intended to apply to temporary or illegal visitors to this Country," Eastman said.

"The birth tourism scam may be the most high-profile abuse, but the problem is much larger, and unless fixed, our very sovereignty and 'consent of the governed' cornerstone principle will be at risk."

David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, told Newsweek on Wednesday: "This is nothing new, and it should have no effect on the birthright citizenship debate."

Quote:Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged greater trade with North Korea and more high-level meetings with its leader, Kim Jong Un, both significant wins for the ruler of one of the world’s most isolated regimes.

Xi made the remarks during summit talks in Pyongyang on Monday, state media reported, as part of his first official trip to China's neighbor in seven years. He promised to "open up a new future" of relations between the two countries.

Kim appears to be benefiting from a quiet contest for influence over Pyongyang between Xi and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. President Donald Trump may also be seeking an audience at a time of global instability.

Officially, Xi’s trip marked the 65th anniversary of China and North Korea’s mutual defense treaty, but Pyongyang now has more than one ally.

Russia has deepened its diplomatic and defense ties with North Korea in recent years, including through the signing of a new security pact in June 2024, which formalized North Korean aid in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Last month, North Korea sent soldiers to march alongside Russian troops for the first time in the annual Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square.

The timing of Xi’s visit is linked to Kim and Putin’s ties, said Christopher Green, a senior consultant with the International Crisis Group.

China tolerates mutually beneficial economic and political ties between Moscow and Pyongyang but "will not allow a situation where it is no longer indispensable to North Korea, because keeping the Kim regime close is part of Beijing's national security calculus," Green told Newsweek.

What Kim Gets From China

China shares a land border with North Korea and has long been its largest trading partner and main lifeline to buffer international sanctions targeting its ballistic and nuclear missile programs.

Monthly two-way trade exceeded $325 million in April, the highest level since November 2017, according to Chinese custom data.

Quote:Philippine authorities have released images of structures at a disputed reef they believe were placed there by China.

The number of newly identified foreign objects has grown to six since the first structure was reported inside Scarborough Shoal's lagoon on May 30, a Philippine coast guard spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Scarborough Shoal—known as Bajo de Masinloc in the Philippines and Huangyan Island in China—is one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the South China Sea dispute.

Beijing has exercised de facto control over the feature since a tense standoff in 2012, but has so far not physically occupied it.

"We flew planes over Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, to see what structures are being built there—whether it's a floating structure or a fixed structure," Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner Jr. told reporters Tuesday in Quezon City. "We will also send ships."

The newly identified objects under investigation by Manila include an antenna mounted atop a rock near the lagoon entrance, a second suspected antenna, a floating structure, an unidentified cylindrical object and three buoys, adding to two that were discovered there in October.

Another object—a mobile, makeshift structure estimated to measure roughly 20 by 20 feet and carrying six occupants—is also being monitored, Brawner said.

Quote:Beijing has in recent months become increasingly vocal in its campaign against Japan's push to strengthen its defense posture and position itself as a more active security partner in the Indo-Pacific.

'Remilitarization'

Chinese military officials have characterized the security push as "remilitarization" in defiance of its pacifist postwar constitution, pointing to a series of defense initiatives, including deeper cooperation with other key United States allies and partners in the region.

At the root of the current chill in China-Japan ties was Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's November remark that a Chinese attack on—or blockade of—Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation," a legal threshold that would permit the Japan Self-Defense Forces to use force alongside an ally, such as a hypothetical U.S. task force.

China demanded a retraction and responded with a range of retaliatory measures, from reductions in some Japan-bound flights by major Chinese airlines to curbs on rare-earth exports that Beijing says are intended to prevent strategically sensitive materials from reaching foreign defense industries.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese and Japanese Foreign Ministries via email for comment.

Pacifist?

Japan's postwar constitution prohibits maintaining traditional military forces designed for offensive warfare and renounces war as a sovereign right.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought a larger security role for Japan amid China's rapid military buildup, rising pressure on Taiwan and escalating tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Abe reinterpreted Article 9 to permit limited collective self-defense, established a National Security Council and eased long-standing restrictions on defense exports.

Buoyed by a historic supermajority in the House of Representatives, Takaichi has sought to build on her mentor's legacy. In February, her government approved limited exports of lethal weapons to partner countries for the first time, albeit under strict end-use restrictions.

Tokyo also reached its goal of raising defense spending to 2 percent of GDP ahead of schedule and has pressed ahead with plans to reinforce remote islands along Japan's southwestern frontier.

Japan's Defense Ministry said Monday it had begun shipping a Type 12 surface-to-ship missile launcher to Minamitorishima, Japan's easternmost island. Earlier this year, the ministry also confirmed plans to deploy Chu-SAM surface-to-air missile units on Yonaguni, just 70 miles from Taiwan, a move Beijing denounced as "extremely dangerous."

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on May 31 said defense authorities play a "crucial role" in maintaining a "free and open Indo-Pacific"—the strategic concept first championed by Abe.

"Military buildups and actions without clear intentions will be the cause of distrust and miscalculation," he stated, in a thinly veiled criticism of China.

Countries should pool their capabilities to build "effective deterrence and response capabilities" through joint training, intelligence sharing, technology cooperation and defense-industrial collaboration, he said during a forum at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual defense summit hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore.

Philippine-Japan Alignment

Few relationships better illustrate Japan's expanding security role than its deepening partnership with the Philippines. Both countries are treaty allies of the United States and face growing pressure from China's expanding maritime presence in nearby waters.

Quote:Vietnam is set to become the second foreign buyer of India's BrahMos cruise missile, a move analysts say underscores a reality shaping security calculations across Asia: warmer ties with Beijing have not erased concerns about China's growing military power.

The deal, long rumored but not officially confirmed, was acknowledged by Indian Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh on May 30 during the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore. Singh also said a similar deal with Indonesia is nearing completion.

China is Vietnam's largest trading partner, and the two countries have worked to improve relations in recent years. Yet Hanoi remains wary of Beijing's expanding military capabilities and maritime ambitions, particularly in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

The deal also represents another success for India's efforts to expand its defense partnerships across Southeast Asia as part of its broader "Act East" strategy.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi and Vietnam's Foreign Ministry by email with requests for comment.

A Supersonic Upgrade

Co-developed by India and Russia, the BrahMos is widely regarded as one of the world's fastest operational cruise missiles.

The export version has a range of roughly 180 miles and can travel at nearly three times the speed of sound, making it significantly more difficult to intercept than conventional subsonic missiles.

Vietnam is expected to acquire a shore-based version of the system, which would strengthen its ability to target hostile naval vessels operating near its coastline.

"The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is unparalleled in its segment, be it speed, stealth or accuracy. It is already successfully integrated into the land, ship, air and submarine-based platforms of the Indian armed forces, making it a tried and tested missile," Commodore (Ret.) Seshadri Vasan, director general of the Chennai Centre for China Studies, told Russia's state-owned Sputnik news agency.

The Philippines became the first foreign operator of the BrahMos system after taking delivery of the initial components and the first batch of missiles in 2024.

The U.S. treaty ally is in the midst of a $35 billion military modernization push, driven in large part by a bitter territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

Quote:Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has hailed a "historic victory" in parliamentary elections, which are considered a test of his party's ability to move the former Soviet republic away from Russia's influence.

U.S. President Donald Trump had endorsed Pashinyan ahead of Sunday's ballot amid allegations of interference by Moscow, with Russian President Vladimir Putin comparing its European Union ambitions to the scenario that triggered his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In a post on Truth Social last month, Trump expressed his “complete and total endorsement for re-election” of Pashinyan, the first time a U.S. president has publicly backed a candidate in a country considered part of Russia’s backyard, following a peace and trade deal signed with the incumbent Armenian premier.

Putin is likely to view the result with concern as Pashinyan seeks closer ties with the EU, a peace agreement with Baku and the normalization of relations with Turkey.

"Russia is concerned about Armenia coming too close to the EU," Fabienne Hara, the Europe program director at the International Crisis Group, told Newsweek on Monday. "There's a shift in foreign policy of Armenia in which they are trying to diversify their partners."

The Nagorno-Karabakh Influence

Sunday's ballot was the first election since Armenia’s loss of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 2023, which ended more than three decades of Armenian control over the disputed region that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

When Russia failed to come to Armenia's aid after Baku seized Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan suspended Yerevan's participation in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), marking its biggest move away from Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union and pivot toward the European Union and NATO.

On Sunday, Pashinyan's ruling Civil Contract party won just under half (49. 8 percent) of the votes. This was less than the 54 percent it got in 2021's ballot, but ahead of the main pro-Russian groups Strong Armenia and Armenia Alliance, which got a better-than-expected total of 31 percent, and so are on track to enter parliament.