Quote:Hong Kong has become a critical financial and logistical lifeline for Iran’s regime — helping move illicit oil, weapons technology and surveillance tools that fuel Tehran’s military machine and domestic repression, according to a bombshell report released Monday.
The 26-page report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, titled “Oil, Arms, and Cash: How Hong Kong Fuels the Iranian Regime,” alleges that dozens of Hong Kong-based companies have helped Iran evade Western sanctions while funneling billions of dollars into the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its terror proxies.
“Simply put, without Hong Kong’s help, Iran would not have the money and the missiles that make it so dangerous,” the report states.
“The evidence is consistent and damning,” the report says, citing “Hong Kong’s easy registration of shell companies, its globally connected banking sector, its secretive corporate services infrastructure, and the indifference of its government to Western law enforcement cooperation.”
The report details how Hong Kong-linked firms allegedly facilitated the shipment of Iranian crude oil to China through shadow fleets using deceptive ship-to-ship transfers and falsified cargo documents.
Since 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated at least 95 Hong Kong-incorporated entities for Iran-related sanctions violations, according to an appendix included in the report.
Among the cases cited was Hong Kong-based Petronix Energy Trading Ltd., which US authorities accused in February 2025 of purchasing “hundreds of thousands of metric tons of Iranian crude oil” for shipment to China.
The report also alleges Hong Kong has become a major hub for funneling Western-made electronics and drone components into Iran’s weapons programs.
Quote:Iran executed a promising aerospace engineering student Monday, accusing him of spying for both the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.
Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, was hanged at dawn after being convicted of stealing classified satellite information from the scientific organization where he worked, Iranian state media reported.
The regime had accused Shakourzadeh — a post-grad student at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran — of funneling details on satellite activities to the foreign intelligence services.
Shakourzadeh was arrested in February last year and forced into making a confession, according to the Iran Human Rights Society.
Just prior to his execution, the student apparently wrote a message saying the charges were fabricated, the human rights group said.
Shakourzadeh, who is the fifth person executed by the regime since the war broke out in February, spent nine months in solitary confinement where he suffered “severe physical and psychological torture,” the group added.
At the time of his arrest, Shakourzadeh was an elite, top-ranked student at the Iran University of Science and Technology.
Quote:The US-Israel war on Iran “accomplished a great deal,” but cannot be considered over until the Islamic Republic’s enriched uranium is moved outside its territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued in an interview broadcast Sunday night.
Netanyahu, in his first American network TV sitdown since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran Feb. 28, declined to say when such an operation would occur or who would be responsible for executing it, telling CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Major Garrett that “you’re gonna ask me these questions. I’m gonna dodge them.”
“I’m not gonna talk about military means, but the pres– what President Trump has said to me [is] ‘I want to go in there,’ and I think it can be done physically. That’s not the problem,” the 76-year-old said. “If you have an agreement, and you go in, and you take it out, why not? That’s the best way.”
The interview aired hours after Trump publicly rebuked Iran’s response to a 14-point peace framework offered by the US, writing on social media that it was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
Tehran’s proposal made no mention of curbing its atomic ambitions, according to the official IRNA news agency, instead focusing on fully reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping before moving on to other contentious topics.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has said Iran has more than 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons grade.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the month-long cease-fire between the US and Iran “is on massive life support” — but that it’s still in effect as he prepares for a whirlwind trip to China.
Trump, who departs for Beijing on Tuesday, railed against Iran’s “stupid” leaders after receiving an inflammatory peace offer asking that Iran be treated like the war’s winner, with no nuclear concessions.
“It’s on life support,” Trump told reporters during a maternal health event in the Oval Office.
“I would say the cease-fire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.'”
The cease-fire has been in effect since April 8, though both countries have launched limited attacks during the shaky truce.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), an outspoken supporter of Trump’s war with Iran, told The Post that he wanted the president to “keep throttling the Iranian economy” with the naval blockade that began on April 13.
“China deserves to feel that pain,” Fetterman added, referring to Iranian oil exports failing to reach the world’s second-largest economy.
The Pennsylvania Democrat hailed Trump’s demand that Iran surrender about 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium, likening the Republican to British wartime leader Winston Churchill.
“Demanding Iran surrender its nuclear material is maximum Churchillian,” Fetterman raved.
A national security official told The Post, however, that Trump hasn’t restarted full-scale fighting for several reasons, including his hope to enlist Chinese President Xi Jinping’s support for a “better deal” that ends Iran’s nuclear ambitions without a drawn-out war.
Quote:The United Arab Emirates quietly carried out military counter-strikes against a key Iranian oil refinery just as President Trump declared a cease-fire last month, according to a new report.
After suffering repeated bombardments from Iran, the UAE fired a series of retaliatory attacks against the Islamic republic, with one of the known strikes hitting the Lavan Island oil refinery in the Persian Gulf, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
The attack, which came just as the US was solidifying a cease-fire on April 8, sparked a large fire in the facility and is expected to leave its output crippled for months, the outlet added.
At the time, Iran had said that the refinery was struck by enemy fire. While the Islamic Republic did not name the source, it launched an attack against the UAE and Kuwait in response, similar to what it had been doing throughout the height of the war.
Strikes hit an Iranian oil refinery on Lavan Island today.
Iran is now retaliating with strikes on targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE. pic.twitter.com/xOptoGRjbB
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 8, 2026
While the UAE has not commented on the strikes, the country has repeatedly asserted its right to defend itself against Iran’s mass retaliation campaign in the Gulf.
Quote:The Pentagon revealed the location Monday of one of the US Navy’s most secretive vessels – a stealthy, nuclear-armed submarine – a day after President Trump rejected Iran’s latest peace offer.
The Navy’s Sixth Fleet shared an image of the Ohio-class submarine and its crew docked Sunday in Gibraltar, a British territory off Spain’s southern coast.
“The port visit demonstrates US capability, flexibility, and continuing commitment to its NATO allies,” the Sixth Fleet said in a press release.
“Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are undetectable launch platforms for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, providing the US with its most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,” the fleet added.
The Navy, which operates 14 nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines, did not share the name of the vessel docked in Gibraltar.
The submarine’s Trident II ballistic missiles have a range of over 4,500 miles.
The Pentagon rarely discloses the locations of its nuclear subs, which is considered highly classified information.
The disclosure came hours after Trump slammed Iran’s latest peace offer as “totally unacceptable.”
Quote:The CEO of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company is warning that the energy sector will take time to recover from the Iran war’s impact on supply as oil output was slashed due to the ongoing disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on an earnings call Monday that the global energy market has lost about 1 billion barrels of oil supply during the crisis, though efforts to reroute shipments to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz and releases from countries’ strategic petroleum reserves have eased some of the supply issues.
“The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the world has ever experienced,” Nasser said.
He said that the world is now losing about 100 million barrels of oil supply per week as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to tanker traffic. If the disruption continues for several more weeks, Aramco thinks that oil markets may not normalize until 2027.
“Reopening routes is not the same as normalizing a market that has been deprived of about 1 billion barrels of oil,” Nasser said, adding that years of underinvestment compounded the strain caused by the conflict on global oil inventory.
“Recent events have clearly demonstrated the vital contribution of oil and gas to energy security and the global economy and are a stark reminder that reliable energy supply is critical,” he added.
The conflict prompted Aramco to ramp up the use of its pipeline that transits the Arabian Peninsula from east to west and negates the need for oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply passed through before the war began.
“Our East-West pipeline, which reached its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels of oil per day, has proven itself to be a critical supply artery, helping to mitigate the impact of a global energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz,” Nasser said on the call.
Quote:Aging, allegedly ailing Vladimir Putin has been mocked over his puffy, strangely altered face after the fearful, paranoid Russian dictator made a rare public appearance in Moscow over the weekend.
The swollen-cheeked 73-year-old despot was spotted at an unusually quiet Victory Day parade to mark the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
Putin’s brief appearance during the event in Red Square sparked ripping online comments over his appearance, with one joking that Western sanctions on Russia were affecting the president’s Botox.
“Putin, what’s with the face?” a pro-Ukraine account quipped on X, noting, “The parade ended at lightning speed — just 45 minutes The Kremlin boss [was] immediately rushed off Red Square surrounded by heavy security.”
Another user shared a picture of the Russian tyrant with a pained expression during Saturday’s rally.
“Putin’s last parade,” the person wrote.
A third X user said, “Putin genuinely looks sick, this isn’t the face of a well man even for his age.”
Someone else said, “Putin must be residing in the bunker for an extended period, possibly even longer than this year. He seems to be in dire need of some Botox touch-ups.”
Others pointed to the pared-down nature of the parade, with no armored vehicles or ballistic missiles, as well as Putin’s additional security precautions.
Quote:KYIV – Nearly 20 countries are interested in drone deals with Ukraine, and four agreements have already been signed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Zelenskiy has managed to leverage Ukraine’s expertise in drone warfare into a series of successful diplomatic deals during visits to the Middle East and Europe.
“Nearly 20 countries are currently involved at various stages: 4 agreements have already been signed, and the first contracts under these agreements are now being prepared,” Zelenskiy said on X.
In April, Ukraine signed defense and drone deals in Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, following long-term security partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates in late March.
Ukraine also signed agreements last month with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on defense and energy.
In his post, Zelenskiy also said Ukraine would launch security cooperation within the framework of drone deals with another part of the world, without specifying which.
Ukraine has already started to receive the necessary volume of fuel thanks to the agreements, Zelenskiy added, without elaborating.
Zelenskiy hopes his drone diplomacy can help secure energy-supply deals with Middle Eastern states as well as markets for Ukraine’s agricultural produce.
Quote:Latvia's defense minister has resigned after two Ukrainian drones targeting Russia crossed into the NATO nation last week, with one drone crashing into a fuel storage facility and damaging several empty oil tanks in the country's east.
The incident, which caused no injuries, was the latest example of drones spilling over from the Russia-Ukraine war into NATO territory, exposing gaps in the alliance's air defenses as drones take on a more prominent role in warfare but European and NATO militaries remain ill-equipped to fend them off in large numbers.
Drones penetrating NATO airspace have not been treated as attacks on the alliance so far, meaning they have not triggered discussions over a collective response from all 32 members, but the spillovers have pushed the alliance's members along Europe's eastern edge to quickly invest in anti-drone defenses.
On Sunday, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina called for Defense Minister Andris Sprūds to leave his post, saying counter-drone systems had not been deployed fast enough.
She said trust in Sprūds' leadership was "exhausted," and that the drone incursions last week were the "final straw."
Why Latvia's Defense Minister Resigned
Sprūds, an academic who had served as defense minister since September 2023, said in a separate statement that he was stepping back to "protect the Latvian army from being dragged into a political campaign." He added that the country would continue to beef up its air defenses.
Silina announced that Colonel Raivis Melnis of the Latvian army, whom she described as having "Ukraine experience," would replace Sprūds.
Sprūds' resignation makes Latvia the latest NATO member on the eastern flank to see turbulence in top defense roles as pressure to spend more, and invest quickly in defense, surges. Romania and Lithuania also replaced defense ministers late in 2025.
I get the idea of getting ready to take down ANY drones entering their country. At the same time, it's not like the former minister were guilty of the consequences of such an attack. It would have been a lot easier to blame Zelensky for letting his drones invade NATO territory than Sprūds. Nonetheless, politics isn't always about who's really guilty of anything but who'll become the scapegoat that will keep the current government afloat for the time being.
Quote:The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday received an emergency appeal from Virginia Democrats seeking to revive a voter‑approved congressional map struck down by the state’s highest court, even as the justices separately allowed Alabama to move forward with its own redistricting plan in a ruling released the same day.
The dual developments underscore how the court continues to shape the nation’s political boundaries heading into the 2026 elections.
The Virginia ruling also blocked new congressional districts that would have given Democrats a stronger chance to win four additional U.S. House seats. The emergency appeal followed a 4-3 decision Friday by the Virginia Supreme Court, which found that lawmakers improperly advanced the amendment after early voting had already begun in the fall’s general election.
The ruling wiped out a rare Democratic gain in the nation’s mid‑decade redistricting fight, a contest supercharged by President Donald Trump’s push for Republican‑led states to redraw their maps and by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that sharply weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Losing the Virginia map deprives Democrats of four competitive seats at a moment when Republicans claim to have netted more than a dozen through redistricting nationwide. The appeal also highlights the political stakes surrounding a Supreme Court that has repeatedly shaped the congressional landscape heading into this year's midterms.
What to Know About Virginia Ruling
Democrats argue the Virginia court “overrode the will of the people” who narrowly approved the amendment last month, saying the state must use the new map rather than revert to districts voters rejected.
The state court ruled the amendment invalid because the legislature began the ballot‑placement process after early voting had started, a procedural violation under the Virginia Constitution.
Democrats counter that U.S. Supreme Court precedent defines an election as occurring on Election Day, not during early voting.
Quote:Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
The admission places a sitting U.S. elected official at the center of a foreign influence case tied to undisclosed coordination with Beijing-linked officials. Wang, a Democrat who was elected in 2022, now faces up to 10 years in prison and has resigned from her post.
Federal prosecutors are moving forward with the case, while local officials assess the impact on the Southern California community.
Who Is Eileen Wang?
Wang, 58, is a Southern California politician who was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and later became mayor through the body’s rotating leadership system.
In Arcadia, the mayor is selected from the five-member council, a structure that elevated Wang to the role after her initial election to public office.
A longtime resident, she became the first Chinese-American woman elected to the council, helping make it majority female for the first time. Before entering politics, Wang was active in local civic and business organizations, including the Arcadia Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, and served as president of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA from 2018 to 2022.
She ran on a platform emphasizing community engagement and public safety and took part in local initiatives during her tenure, including organizing events and supporting victims following the 2023 Monterey Park mass shooting.
Wang resigned from the city council on Monday, stepping down as mayor following federal charges as the case proceeds.
Quote:President Donald Trump said Sunday that federal agencies must prioritize American-made products in government purchasing, touting efforts to tighten enforcement of "Buy American" policies and limit exceptions that allow foreign goods.
"ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BUY AMERICAN — NO EXCUSES!" Trump exclaimed on Truth Social. "For decades, Washington politicians sent your Taxpayer Dollars overseas, and let Foreign Countries rip us off while our Workers, Factories, and Supply Chains were left behind. That betrayal is OVER.
"My Administration is strengthening MADE IN AMERICA Laws, ENDING Waiver Loopholes, and STOPPING the Federal Government from buying Foreign Products when Great American Products are available — And to the D.C. Bureaucrats: NO MORE handing out Waivers like candy!" he continued. "No more rubber-stamping exceptions for Foreign Products while American Workers get shafted.
"We are putting American Workers, American Factories, and American Supply Chains FIRST — Bigger, better, and stronger than ever before! I already signed EO 14392 to crack down on fake "MADE IN AMERICA" claims, and we are enforcing it HARD," he added. "No more games. No more fake labels. No more ripping off the American Taxpayer. AMERICA FIRST means BUY AMERICAN!"
The comments come as the Trump administration moves to tighten domestic sourcing requirements across federal procurement, part of a broader push to boost U.S. manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
In March, Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating fraudulent "Made in America" labels by foreign manufacturers and sellers, Reuters reported.
The order directs the Federal Trade Commission to prioritize enforcement against companies that falsely label products as U.S.-made or make misleading origin claims in violation of existing law.
It also calls on federal agencies responsible for country-of-origin labeling to work with the FTC to consider new regulations and ensure consistent guidance across the government.
Quote:California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing pressure to throw a lifeline to Californians struggling with highest-in-the-nation gas prices as President Donald Trump signed plans to suspend the federal gas tax.
Trump said Monday he plans to “take off the gas tax for a period of time” — though he needs the backing of Congress — calling it a “great idea” to offer Americans relief at the pump.
Newsom has no plans to follow suit in California — where gas prices hovered at $6.16 per gallon Monday, well above the national average of $4.52, according to AAA.
California drivers already shoulder the highest gas taxes in the country, which include an excise tax of 61 cents per gallon, sales taxes and other fees. The federal gas tax is 18 cents per gallon by comparison.
“I support any and all efforts to give Californians relief from high gas prices,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican-leaning independent, told The Post. “A pause in the federal tax would help, but the bigger problem is California’s highest-in-the-nation state tax.”
“I have introduced the Gas Tax Reduction Act to limit this tax and have called on state leaders to suspend the 61-cent-per-gallon tax in its entirety,” he added.
Quote:Savannah Guthrie is the host of a new Wordle game show.
The journalist made the “big announcement” on Monday’s episode of the “Today” show, alongside Jimmy Fallon, the project’s executive producer.
“We’ve been holding in a secret between us for a long time now,” the 54-year-old anchor gushed.
Fallon, 51, replied, “I’m so happy it’s you — we were looking for the perfect host for this. We needed someone who looks like they play Wordle, someone who knows how to run a show.
“We did the pilot, and you were amazing,” the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” host continued, referring to Guthrie, who guest-hosted “Jeopardy!” for two weeks in 2021.
The game show, based on the New York Times’ popular puzzle of the same name, will begin filming this summer.
News broke in October that “Wordle” was in development, with Guthrie set to host.
Since then, Guthrie has been in the headlines primarily for her personal life as her family navigates her mom Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
“When everything happened with me and my family,” Savannah explained on Monday, “they just stopped everything and said, ‘We’ll wait for you.’ Hollywood is, like, a really tough business, and I didn’t expect that. And I just want to say thank you, it means so much to me.”
Fallon insisted cast and crew alike agreed they “couldn’t do the show” without the “fantastic” host.
Guthrie went on to share mixed feelings about the “joyous” news.
Quote:Millions of gallons of sewage-tainted water from Mexico continue to pollute some of Southern California’s most popular beaches, triggering repeated closures and mounting health concerns for nearby communities.
In Coronado, county officials have sounded the alarm, urging visitors to steer clear of the water as polluted runoff seeps into the coastline.
Warning signs posted along the shoreline caution beachgoers that exposure could lead to illness.
The contamination is largely tied to the Tijuana River, which carries untreated wastewater from Mexico into U.S. waters before ocean currents push the pollution north along the Southern California coast.
As much as 30 million gallons of sewage-tainted water can flow into the Pacific Ocean daily from Tijuana, reported FOX11.
The pollution has impacted even some of the region’s most high-profile beachfront areas, including waters near the historic Hotel del Coronado.
Health experts warn that exposure to contaminated water can cause gastrointestinal illness, while airborne toxins linked to sewage pollution may trigger headaches, respiratory issues, and other health problems.
Hydrogen sulfide, a gas associated with sewage, can irritate the eyes and respiratory system and may cause more serious effects at higher concentrations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doctors and community advocates say children in affected communities have been especially impacted, with some reporting worsening asthma symptoms, skin rashes, and other health issues tied to the pollution.
Quote:A Pennsylvania liberal arts college has removed a college professor’s name from a campus building after it emerged he excavated a Native American burial site – but critics say the move is revisionist.
Swarthmore College scrubbed Spencer Trotter’s name from its Trotter Hall building after learning he dug up the site in 1899 and put remains on display on campus, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Trotter, who was part of the college’s biology department, promoted racial hierarchy in his works – which scholars have determined to be “scientific racism.”
Valerie Smith, the college’s president, revealed in December last year that Trotter Hall and Trotter Lawn would be renamed after an 18-month investigation.
The hall has been temporarily named “Old Science Hall” and a permanent name will be announced in the fall.
Smith said the name change “is not merely a matter of renaming spaces” and acknowledged it may be divisive.
“It is an acknowledgment of harm, a commitment to learn from our past, and an affirmation of our responsibility to care for the stories and legacies held on this campus,” she said.
“I recognize that this news may stir a range of difficult emotions and concerns.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in April 2022 that two university professors excavated a Lenape burial ground, but didn’t mention Trotter by name.
The site was donated to the Delaware Nation tribe for just $1 and this process was completed in March 2022. It’s the only officially-recognized Native American burial ground in Chester County.
Quote:An anti-Israel mob clashed with counter-protesters near a Brooklyn synagogue on Monday night — less than a week after a similar demonstration rocked Manhattan.
At least three people were detained after agitators swarmed the area near the Young Israel Senior Services of Midwood, which was hosting an event promoting real estate in Israel and the West Bank.
The anti-Israel mob chanted “Palestine is ours alone,” and several carried a wide banner that read “Israel is killing children.”
During one fight, a person who concealed their face with a medical mask yanked a girl’s hair — and nearly threw her against a parked car in the process, according to a video obtained by The Post.
Shortly after, another man squared up against a squad of young men carrying a Palestinian flag.
“Let’s go motherf–kers, c’mon! C’mon motherf–kers!” the man yelled.
At least two teenage pro-Israel protesters were detained. As the NYPD marched them down the streets, their supporters followed and chanted for the cops to “let them go.”
An anti-Israel protester was also detained, cops said.
All three individuals taken into custody had thrown items during the heated protest, according to the NYPD.
The whirlwind demonstration mirrored another protest that wreaked havoc at the historic Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on May 5.
Both were organized by anti-Israel activist group Pal-Awda NY/NJ, which promoted the rallies with slogans such as “No settlers on stolen land” and “Stop the sale of stolen Palestinian land.”
Quote:A gun-wielding career criminal opened fire at random cars driving down a Massachusetts roadway on Monday, leaving two men with life-threatening injuries before the maniac was shot by responding officers.
Gunman Tyler Brown allegedly fired 50 to 60 rounds indiscriminately from an assault-style rifle as he erratically walked down Memorial Drive in Cambridge around 1:20 p.m., Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said during a press conference.
At 1:06 p.m., Cambridge police received a 911 call from Boston police, who said an individual acting erratically and in possession of a rifle was in Cambridge, Ryan said.
Massachusetts State Police and Cambridge police arrived at the scene as Brown was actively firing down the road of stopped cars, authorities said.
Two men were separately struck by gunfire as the madman unleashed the barrage of bullets. They were both rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, prosecutors added.
A Massachusetts State Police trooper in his cruiser and a Marine licensed to carry a gun also arrived on scene and found people jumping from their cars and scattering to safety.
The pair heroically charged toward Brown with their weapons and shot him multiple times. He was treated on scene by officers and brought to a local hospital, where he is receiving care for gunshot wounds to his extremities.
Quote:San Francisco public school officials’ sneaky new plan for massive school closures was hidden even from the district’s furious school board, according to a new report.
The San Francisco Unified School District plans to close an unidentified number of schools by 2030 to deal with some 14,000 empty seats in the rapidly shrinking district, according to a memo sent to parents last month.
Like other urban districts in California and across the country, the City by the Bay has seen years of enrollment declines in public schools which reflect declining birth rates and other demographic changes blamed on rising prices, migratory shifts and more.
Superintendent Maria Su is expected to announce the outline and timeline for the school closures tomorrow at the district’s school board meeting, but members of the board told a local publication they’re peeved a newspaper caught wind of the story before they did.
Su broke the news of the upcoming closures in a San Francisco Chronicle story published nearly two weeks ago by longtime education reporter Jill Tucker.
“We are ready for this,” Su told the paper of her plan to close schools. “And it’s about time. We’ve been trying to do this for many years now.”
The article states that Su spent the past 18 months getting the district ready for closures, but it doesn’t say why she’s only gone public with the plan recently, or why she gave the news to the paper before she shared it with the board.
Quote:The United States has increased the pressure on Cuba's top officials, turning the diplomatic, economic and military screws on Havana as concerns swell about whether Washington will invade the Caribbean nation.
President Donald Trump and his administration have long had Cuba's communist leadership in their crosshairs, but in recent weeks slapped Havana with punishing new sanctions and maintained a near-total blockade on fuel supplies making it to the island that has been in place since January.
Already weakened by a decades-long U.S. embargo, dwindling supplies routinely plunge Cuba's residents into blackouts as garbage mounts in streets in a country that has seen its vital tourist trade dry up.
The U.S. is also thought to have ramped up intelligence-gathering flights off the Cuban coast, while the White House has repeatedly hinted at a possible military takeover of the island since U.S. forces swept into Venezuela and captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas at the start of 2026.
Cuba was heavily dependent on Venezuela's oil exports and is now clinging onto a lifeline of limited fuel deliveries from Russia the U.S. has allowed through to Cuba's ports.
A White House official told Newsweek on Monday that Cuba was a "failing nation that has been horribly run for many years," and Havana's authorities had been hit hard by U.S. action against Venezuela.
The official also referred to Trump's remarks, in which he predicted Cuba "will fall" and the U.S. would "be there to help them out."
Trump joked earlier this month the U.S. could "almost immediately" take over Cuba, suggesting the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, may approach Cuban shores and force officials to "give up" once the U.S. ends its war against Iran.
Quote:Vengeful men on social media are staging punches, simulating stabbings and pointing firearms at the camera phones — which they call “training in case she says no.”
The “she” in question? Women who reject their romantic advances.
While the videos online are being framed as dating satire, advocates against domestic violence fear the trend could help normalize violence against women — as evidenced by shocking real-life events.
20-year-old Alana Rosa from Brazil rejected a man at her gym, Luis Felipe Sampaio, who had reportedly been bombarding her with gifts. After she repeatedly refused his advances, the accused allegedly broke into her home in São Gonçalo, near Rio de Janeiro, and stabbed her nearly 50 times before being stopped by her mother, per France24.
She was then rushed to the hospital and underwent several reconstructive surgeries, while in an induced coma, to recover from her injuries.
Miraculously, Rosa survived the attack. Her mother, Jaderluce de Oliveira, told local officials that the attacker followed similar content online — a detail that alarmed investigators and the public alike.
With her supporters in tow, Rosa attended the first criminal hearing against Sampaio on April 15.
“I think he should stay in prison forever, but I know that won’t happen,” de Oliveira told AFP reporters during a press hearing on the day of the trial.
Rosa’s story is just one example among many in Brazil.
More than 1,400 women in the country died at the hands of a man in 2025 alone, according to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, surpassing the previous record in 2024.
Quote:Guests on board Disney Cruise Line’s all-new Disney Adventure learned their four-night sailing embarking from Singapore was canceled — mere hours after they already boarded the ship.
On Thursday, May 7, after guests boarded, settled in and started their vacation, the captain of the ship announced that there were technical issues and guests were to wait for further information.
A Reddit user who was on the cruise said that they were told they “will set sail soon.”
“Midnight now. We’ve been waiting here since 2 p.m., and they have no update for us,” they wrote in an update in the comments. “What’s even worse is they’ve shut down all kitchens, coffee, etc. Why would they do that?”
About 26 hours later, approximately 2 p.m. Singapore time, it was announced that the cruise would be canceled due to mechanical issues that the engineering team couldn’t fix in time.
Guests were ultimately stranded in Singapore and left to figure out what to do next. At 6:30 p.m., they wrote that they were still waiting for a letter with hotel information before disembarking.
The Reddit user noted that when the cancellation was “really disappointing, especially if vacationing with kids.”
“Good thing is that we did get to experience some parts of the cruise, sad part the shops weren’t open so couldn’t get any Disney merchandise from the cruise,” they added.
With a cruise like this, guests likely planned and booked this trip far in advance, and many traveled internationally to reach the ship.
“The Disney Adventure remains in port in Singapore as our teams continue to address a mechanical issue,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement, per WDW News Today. “As the issue has not been resolved in the timeframe required to start this voyage, this current sailing has been cancelled. We apologize to our guests and are working with them directly to provide support for their travel needs.”
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said Thursday.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz.
UKMTO did not name the ship and said it is investigating.
Fujairah is an important oil export terminal and the UAE’s main port outside of the Persian Gulf.
It has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.
Quote:WASHINGTON — A top Iranian navy commander claimed the Islamic Republic has deployed some of its small submarines, known as the “dolphins of the Persian Gulf,” in the Strait of Hormuz to wreak further havoc on the critical oil chokepoint, according to state media.
The goal is to establish an “invisible guardian” in the beleaguered waterway, lurk on the seabed there and potentially attack vessels attempting to pass.
Iran is known to possess at least 16 Ghadir-class midget submarines in its fleet, which are designed to operate in shallow waters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Those small subs are believed to have crews of fewer than 10 and can each carry two missiles or two torpedoes.
One key drawback is that they are very noisy, which makes them easier for adversarial navies to track, Bloomberg News reported. The subs are a copy of a similar design from North Korea and are known to have maintenance issues, according to the report.
The Strait of Hormuz reaches a depth of about 100 meters at its deepest point, and the Persian Gulf doesn’t get much deeper than that either, complicating submarines’ efforts to conceal themselves from sonar.
Ghadirs, however, are much smaller and displace just 115 tons of water — a standard metric for submarines — compared to the 6,000 tons that Los Angeles-class attack submarines displace, Bloomberg noted.
Iran has created mayhem in the Strait of Hormuz, through which over a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies once flowed annually, in retaliation for Operation Epic Fury.
The regime has made use of drones and attacks from fast, small boats to deter large oil vessels from traversing the critical waterway.
President Trump has ordered a blockade of all Iranian ships seeking to get through the strait in response, as part of an effort to ramp up pressure on the regime.
Last week, he briefly ordered a “Project Freedom” military escort of ships through the channel, before stopping that initiative.
Iran presented a counteroffer to the US over the weekend, but Trump quickly panned it as “unacceptable.”
Quote:An Iranian father who protested the regime was executed after the state canceled his final visit with his family — only to tell them over the phone afterwards that they already killed him, his grieving relatives said.
Mohammad Abbasi, 55, was executed on Wednesday inside the Qezel Hesar prison, in Karaj, as his family was ordered to come see him one last time, according to the Iran Human Rights Monitor group.
But when the family got there to say their goodbyes, prison officials rejected their plea to see Abbasi, sending them home and calling them later to inform them that his execution had been carried out.
“The prevention of a final visit is not only psychological torture of the family, but also an explicit violation of the Executive Regulations of the Prisons Organization and international standards for prisoners’ rights, which emphasize the right to a farewell before the execution of a death sentence,” Iran HRM said in a statement.
“The objective of these legal violations goes beyond punishing an individual; it aims to psychologically paralyze society and create a ‘paralyzing shock’ among protesters to suppress the public will for seeking justice,” the group added.
Abbasi was sentenced to death over his participation in the January protests that saw thousands rise up against the Islamic regime over its totalitarian rule and failure to fix the nation’s economic crisis.
The 55-year-old was accused of attacking a lieutenant of Iran’s security forces during the protests, with the state claiming Abbasi was a long-time dissident acting on behalf of “the Zionist coup,” according to human rights groups.
Quote:Iran is allowing some vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday following talks with Beijing ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Iran cleared the way for the Chinese ships to pass through the strait, allegedly using the new management system set up by the Islamic republic, the semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies said.
China’s foreign minister and ambassador to Iran had allegedly reached out to Tehran to clear the way for its ships, some of which had been traveling through the Strait of Hormuz before the American blockade went into effect last week.
Prior to the war, China served as Iran’s largest oil buyer, with more than 1 million barrels a day exported to Beijing through the Persian Gulf.
While the conflict caused the Strait of Hormuz to close, Iranian and Chinese-linked ships had continued to sail through the passageway at lower volumes, with only a handful of ships crossing every day.
It remains to be seen if the Chinese ships cleared for travel paid a toll under the new system Iran has tried to enforce, or if the vessels would be allowed past the American blockade, which prohibits passage for any ship traveling to and from Iranian ports.
Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Iranian ambassador to China, attempted to portray the deal as a way to highlight Tehran’s potential as an “important partner” to Beijing.
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was one of the main topics between Trump and Xi during Thursday’s summit, with the president claiming that his Chinese counterpart would happily assist in the goal.
“He did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Quote:The FBI announced Thursday it is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of Monica Witt, a former U.S. service member and counterintelligence agent who was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the Iranian government.
Witt, a former active-duty U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist and special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, served in the military between 1997 and 2008, before working as a U.S. government contractor until 2010, according to a news release from the FBI Washington Field Office.
The 47-year-old’s military service and contracting employment provided her access to secret and top secret information relating to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, including the true names of U.S. Intelligence Community undercover personnel.
Officials allege that in 2013, Witt defected to Iran and provided information to the country’s government, placing sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs at risk, according to the indictment.
She allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S. personnel and their families stationed abroad, and conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government.
The FBI said Witt’s defection to Iran has benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has elements responsible for intelligence collection, unconventional warfare and providing direct support to multiple terrorist organizations targeting U.S. citizens and interests.
Quote:BEIJING — Chinese strongman Xi Jinping appeared to embrace President Trump’s stance on Iran Thursday, agreeing the fanatical regime should open up the Strait of Hormuz and never have access to a nuclear weapon – while pledging not to send arms to the Islamic Republic.
The striking display of alignment came with an offer from Xi, who intends to continue purchasing oil from Tehran, to assist the US in the region.
“President Xi would like to see a deal made, he would, he would like to see a deal made. And he did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
NEW: President Trump reveals to @seanhannity that Chinese President Xi Jinping has committed to withholding military equipment from Iran following their high-level discussions.
Trump noted that while China continues to purchase Iranian oil, Xi expressed a strong desire to see… pic.twitter.com/gUXZmblk9y
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2026
“Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with him,” Trump added. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open. He said, ‘If I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.’”
About a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supply flows through the strait annually, and China has historically imported the lion’s share of the petroleum transited via the waterway, which has effectively been shut down due to the war.
An estimated 45% to 50% of China’s crude oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz. By contrast, only about 2% of America’s oil comes through the strait, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
“Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” Xi said at a state dinner with Trump.
Quote:A San Diego-based US Navy amphibious assault ship is preparing for deployment as tensions with Iran escalate on multiple fronts.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a House subcommittee Tuesday that the 843-foot USS Makin Island is gearing up to deploy with Marines from Camp Pendleton.
While he did not specify the size of the Marine contingent or when the ship would depart San Diego, the mission could position the group in operations tied to the US standoff with Iran.
The amphibious assault ship, which carries advanced F-35 fighter jets, has recently been training in local waters alongside the USS Somerset and USS San Diego, routine partners in a three-ship amphibious ready group.
The timing comes as another San Diego-based force has already been deployed.
Roughly two months after the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group left with about 2,200 Camp Pendleton Marines, the Navy says that unit has been operating in the South China Sea.
However, the US Naval Institute reported Monday that the Boxer is now heading toward the Middle East.
At the same time, political rhetoric surrounding Iran has intensified in Washington and Tehran.
President Trump said the United States could resume military strikes on Iran if no peace agreement is reached, and described the current ceasefire as barely holding together.
Quote:President Trump gave Tehran another reason to worry Saturday, posting a video clip on his Truth Social showing him ordering a military attack on an Iranian aircraft.
“Okay, we have it in our sight. Fire – boom!” Trump says, as a US-flagged destroyer blows one with the Iranian flag out of the sky.
In his latest comments on the war, Trump has dismissed Iran’s latest peace offer as “unacceptable,” while speaking freely about the devastation the US military has already inflicted on Iran — and the targets it spared but could reconsider.
“We hit them unbelievably hard. Look — we left their bridges. We left their electricity capacity. We can knock that all out in two days. Two days — everything,” Trump told Bret Baier, host of Fox News Special Report in an interview that aired Friday night.
Iran experts told The Post that resumption of the war is a very real possibility.
“I’m sure preparations are underway for more escalation,” said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute.
“Trump has refused to back down from his maximalist demands in negotiations,” he said, while predicting that “Iran won’t negotiate away its leverage.”
“One possibility is a short but intense air attack,” with lower risks but a lower probability of success, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel with the Center for Strategic International Studies.
“Another possibility is a major military effort to open the Strait,” which he called the most likely, but with a higher casualty risk. Seizing one of the islands in the Strait has “some risk” and won’t end the war but “set conditions for success,” he added.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified to lawmakers this week that the US has an escalation plan in place, if necessary.
“We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets,”
Quote:A suspected terrorist with ties to Iran’s military has been arrested and hauled to New York to face charges of carrying out and plotting nearly 20 attacks across Europe and Canada – with plans to blow up a Big Apple synagogue – to punish Americans and Jews over the Iran war.
Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an accused commander in a terrorist organization linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, allegedly orchestrated the firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London and other foiled counter-attacks in the US in response to the conflict in the Middle East.
“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence. In a righteous and just contrast, his prosecution will highlight the best of our country,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old accused high-ranking official of the terror group Kata’ib Hizballah, and bloodthirsty accomplices “planned, coordinated” and took “responsibility” for attacks that also included a March 9 bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium and a March 13 arson of a Rotterdam temple, the feds said.
The Iraqi national was accused of preparing to bomb a “prominent” Manhattan temple on April 6, but the plot was foiled after he unwittingly sent $3,000 to an undercover law enforcement officer he believed was a Mexican cartel member to carry out the disaster.
He allegedly offered to fork over $10,000 in total, and texted the undercover, “I wanna see good news tonight . . . not tomorrow bro” the night the attack was supposed to happen, court docs claimed.
The specific synagogue was kept under wraps by prosecutors as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday police worked with temple leadership to ensure its security when they became aware of the elevated threat.
Quote:Accused terror commander Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi worked through a new Iranian-backed terrorist group that emerged “essentially overnight” after the outset US-Israel war and urged followers to kill President Trump.
The group — Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HIYA) — appeared in March 2026 after the war against Iran started and in just weeks the group was able to carry out 18 bombings, stabbings, and arson attacks targeting Americans and Jews in Europe, according to prosecutors.
“Essentiall overnight, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya was able to activate terrorist cells across Europe to carry out nearly 20 attacks in the weeks immediately following that start of the Iranian Military Conflict,” reads an indictment in the Southern District of New York filed on Friday.
He is alleged to have been involved in the planning and promoted the attacks carried out by Hiya, prosecutors said.
Al-Saadi on April 20 posted a message threatening Trump to Snapchat with the Hiya logo, which is a raised fist holding a rifle.
Al-Saadi implored Hiya acolytes to “kill this arrogant, criminal, cursed Trump.”
“We direct our message to the free people of America, especially the security services, the Secret Service, and the victims of Epstein Island, where the blood of families was spilled and the lives of children were taken,” the screed read.
Hiya is considered a new front organization for the Iran-backed group Kata’ib Hizballah — the terror group in which al-Saadi is alleged to be a high-ranking official.
Following the March 9 synagogue bombing in Liege, Belgium — the first of 18 attacks across Europe — al-Saadi allegedly posted the HIYA symbol on Telegram along with a message prosecutors describe as urging further violence, according to court documents.
Quote:Russia launched hundreds of drone strikes at Ukraine overnight, hitting a kindergarten and killing at least one, as both sides’ fragile three-day ceasefire came to a sudden end, Ukrainian officials announced Tuesday.
More than 200 drones were launched at Ukraine just hours after a White House-brokered ceasefire expired, despite hopes it would be extended.
“We proposed Moscow to extend the partial ceasefire beyond May 11. Instead, this night Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten, injuring at least six and killing at least one person,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Tuesday.
Of the 216 drones launched by Russia, about 192 were downed or neutralized, according to Ukraine’s air force.
The warring sides’ truce deal, agreed by both countries for May 9 to 11 to commemorate the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, was part of a US-led push for peace amid more than four years of conflict.
President Trump said Friday he hoped the truce would be extended.
“Russia itself chose to end the partial silence that had lasted for several days,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X on Tuesday.
Ukraine responded to the Russian strikes with attacks of its own, targeting the Russian city of Orenburg about 745 miles from Ukraine’s border, reported the Kyiv Independent.
Another Ukraine attack was aimed at the Orsknefteorgsintez, one of Russia’s largest regional oil refineries and responsible for 6.6 million tons of crude oil production annually, the outlet reported.
Quote:At least 24 Ukrainians were killed as Russian missiles rained down on a Kyiv apartment building in the largest barrage of the entire war – with three children left dead, and dozens of people wounded, according to officials.
Rockets and drones started falling on the capital city Wednesday, with at least one hitting the nine-story apartment block Thursday and leaving a huge section collapsed in a pile of smoldering concrete.
First responders spent over a day digging through the rubble to locate the two-dozen fatalities, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming the tragic count by Friday.
It was part of a protracted attack which saw nearly 1,600 Russian drones launched across the country over two days, with 180 locations sustaining damage.
More than 50 of those targets were residential buildings, according to Zelensky.
It kicked off just days after a dubious May 9 to 11 ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump.
But the ceasefire – part of celebrations for the anniversary of World War II ending in Europe – was hardly what both sides agreed to, with fighting continuing throughout despite being somewhat scaled back.
Quote:One of Russia’s largest explosives plants was torched in an overnight drone blitz Saturday by Ukrainian forces, as Kyiv continues its campaign to target military infrastructure deep behind enemy lines.
The Nevinnomyssk Azot factory in the southwest city of Stavropol is one of Russia’s largest producers of chemicals used to make explosives.
It’s been described as a “critical component” of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s war machine — producing more than 4 million tons of ammonium products and nitric acid annually to manufacture bombs, artillery shells and missiles.
Footage on social media showed the sky over the facility ablaze with large orange flames and thick plumes of black smoke, as the sound of explosions rang out over the city.
The strike — the sixth on the facility 150 miles from the Ukrainian border — is part of Kyiv’s campaign targeting Russian military infrastructure with long-range weapons.
“These are entirely justified responses to what the Russians are doing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.
The blaze at the explosives plant comes a day after one of Kyiv’s largest retaliatory drone campaigns of the war, which set the massive Ryazan oil refinery, 180 miles from Moscow, ablaze — forcing temporary ground stops at two Moscow airports.
Meanwhile, Russian drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians and wounded 63 more overnight. It launched nearly 300 drones at Ukraine – with direct hits recorded at 15 locations across the country.
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the US and Israel’s war in Iran.
In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.
It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.
Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.
When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”
The Russian leader is also scheduled to visit China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the city of Shenzhen in November.
Continued strikes and returned remains
Ukraine repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers on Saturday following an earlier exchange with Moscow involving prisoners of war.
Russia returned 528 bodies that “according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen,” Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.
Experts will now “take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the deceased who have been repatriated,” it said.
It comes after Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians had been held by Russia since 2022 and fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, he added.
Quote:President Trump doubled down on his savage new nickname for Democrats — and revealed which member of Congress inspired it.
“I came up with a new name. I don’t know if I should,” Trump told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity late Thursday in an interview about his historic meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.
“Dumocrats — because they’re dumb,” Trump said, explaining that his version gets rid of the “b.”
The president said he first came up with the nickname while discussing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — whom he called a “very-low IQ individual.”
“So he’s a dumb guy, he’s a Democrat, and I said, ‘Oh, what a great name for this!’” he said.
Trump last week accused Jeffries of inciting the most recent assassination attempt against him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and demanded he be charged.
“This lunatic, Hakeem ‘Low IQ’ Jeffries, should be charged with INCITING VIOLENCE!” Trump raged on Truth Social.
Trump first unleashed the new tag earlier this week in the Oval Office.
The president joked that Democrats would support a border wall if he suddenly opposed it — prompting Dr. Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to break into laughter.
Quote:The Minnesota “mastermind” of the state’s massive COVID meal fraud claims “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar was in on the $250 million scam.
Aimee Bock, founder of nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly helping restaurant owners file fake or inflated claims during the pandemic to steal millions in child nutrition funds from the government.
She spoke to The Post by video call this week from Sherburne County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing.
“I struggle to believe that she wouldn’t have known,” Bock said of Omar.
Dozens of members of Minnesota’s Somali community have been convicted of fraudulently billing the state’s Department of Education for millions of meals they claimed they served to low-income children during the COVID outbreak — while pocketing much of the money.
Bock has consistently denied knowingly participating in the fraud and insisted she tried to warn state officials. Her group would review the reimbursement paperwork sent by the local restaurants supposed to provide meals, send them out and then distribute the federal funds to them.
“The notion that I’m personally responsible for all of it . . . is so frustrating. I’m the only white person out of 80 or 90 individuals [charged in the fraud]. I’m the only one that doesn’t speak the language,” she added.
Omar was instrumental in loosening the laws that set the stage for the scheme — first by introducing the MEALS Act to Congress in March 2020, which allowed the US Department of Agriculture to issue waivers of school-meal requirements during the pandemic.
The waivers dramatically eased oversight of the federal programs by allowing restaurants to participate without any of the usual site inspections.
Omar would personally step in whenever those waivers ran out, allowing the rampant fraud to continue, Bock alleged.
“There had been a couple times early on that there were some gaps – a waiver would be set to expire on maybe the 15th of a month, and then the renewal didn’t kick in until the 1st,” Bock claimed. “Because of course this was supposed to be a short-term thing . . . we were supposed to be home for two weeks.”
Quote:Gov. Hochul pushed the Long Island Rail Road strike largely to throw shade on Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and pick up votes from the Republican gubernatorial front-runner on his home turf, the head of a top transit union told The Post.
“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that she’s doing this right in his backyard,” said John Samuelsen, the International President of the Transport Workers Union.
“She believes that she can get a leg up in Nassau and Suffolk County by triggering a strike and then allowing the blame to be cast on Blakeman and the Republicans.”
Samuelsen – whose union, Local 100, represents 40,000 subway and bus workers also in contract talks – blames Hochul and her cronies at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the strike by five LIRR unions.
He also said her inability to stop the strike could affect not only her re-election campaign but also other races for Dems this November.
“I believe that if the Democrats don’t start calling Kathy Hochul out on her behavior and her anti-trade-union ethos, they may very well pay the price,” said Samuelsen, whose union has not endorsed any candidate for governor.
The labor leader also ripped the Hochul-controlled MTA for refusing to follow the recommendations of two federal panels that would have prevented a strike and for tapping Gary Dellaverson as the MTA’s chief negotiator in the labor talks.
Dellaverson served as the MTA’s chief labor negotiator in 2005 during highly contentious contract disputes with TWU Local 100 that led to an illegal walkout that paralyzed NYC’s subways and buses for three days during the December holiday season.
Quote:The wife of jailed drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán continues to rehabilitate her image as her husband rots in a notorious maximum-security prison in Colorado.
Emma Coronel Aispuro, 36, wowed her social media followers earlier this week when she recorded a video of her latest gym session in California, executing a set of pull ups to perfection.
The former beauty queen, who married Guzmán at the age of 18, uploaded the workout on her Instagram Stories feed on Monday.
Delighted users urged her on, commenting “hit the gym hard” and “there you go, Emma.”
“I love you, Emma,” another said.
Surprisingly, Coronel Aispuro’s workout video — which is no longer visible on her Instagram account — was released just hours after US District Judge Brian Cogan nixed Guzmán’s almost daily — and barely legible — handwritten letters begging for a new trial and extradition to Mexico.
In the latest letter dated April 28, Guzmán claimed that “the [Mexican] government was responsible for all the violence crimes: I did not harm to no one.”
He penned another letter on April 24 and argued for his release from the prison in Florence where he is serving a life sentence — claiming “the 1st amendment to the 8th amendment was violated” by the federal court in Brooklyn.
The drug kingpin wrote the day before: “My name is Joaquin Guzman that are fighting for extradition release to Mexico.”
Quote:In a landmark German case targeting chocolate "shrinkflation", a court has found that the manufacturer of Milka's classic Alpine Milk bar cheated consumers and broke competition law.
Cutting back on the amount of chocolate while having the same kind of wrapper meant that customers were being misled, Bremen regional court ruled.
The three-week court case was brought by Hamburg's consumer protection office (VZHH), which accused manufacturer Mondelēz of deceiving consumers by cutting the weight of the "Alpenmilch" bar from 100g to 90g.
Reacting to the ruling Mondelēz told the BBC it was "taking the decision of the court seriously" and would "look at it in detail now".
Manufacturers have often resorted to shrinkflation because of rising costs, reducing the size or content of a product in an attempt to maintain the same price. The practice transcends borders. In the UK, consumer group Which? has called it a "sneaky" tactic.
According to Which? chocolate prices have increased due to the global rise in the cost of cocoa after poor harvests in West Africa.
Mondelēz argued that it had informed German consumers about the change on its website and social media channels, and pointed to the rising costs in its supply chains: "As a consequence in the last years we decided to adjust the weight of several Milka-bars."
Last year, German consumers were not satisfied with the company's explanation and voted the Milka Alpenmilch bar "rip-off packaging of the year 2025".
Although the bar's weight had been reduced, there was no noticeable change in its purple wrapping. The new bar was a millimetre thinner, and the price went up from €1.49 (£1.30) to €1.99 (£1.70) at the beginning of 2025.
Mondelēz had maintained that the lower weight was clearly visible on its packaging and denied the allegations made by the Hamburg consumer group. The company's lawyer argued in court that chocolate bars in the past had a fluctuating weight between 81-100g depending on the product.
Quote:British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a revolt within his own party — following political turmoil over his falling popularity that could result in the UK seeing its fifth leader in just seven years.
Starmer, 63, whose Labor Party suffered major losses in last week’s local and regional elections, has seen his allies turn against him and call for his resignation to allow a new successor to rescue the ailing party.
So far, however, no successor is openly challenging him — and so he has refused calls to resign.
Should Starmer succumb to the opposition from ally and foe alike, his name would go on a growing list of unpopular PMs who were quickly ousted from leadership of the world’s fifth largest economy.
Former PM David Cameron, who served from 2010 to 2016, is so far the only leader in the last decade who has served longer than three years.
While the prime minister appeared to stave off immediate challenges during a tense cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his position remained rocky as several of his ministers resigned — and urged Starmer to do the same to save the Labor Party.
“It is clear from recent days that the public across the UK has now irretrievably lost confidence in you as prime minister,” Zubir Ahmed, the latest of four junior government ministers to leave on Tuesday, wrote in his resignation letter to Starmer.
A defiant Starmer, who has repeatedly rejected calls for his resignation, said he would not quit on Tuesday and slammed lawmakers for over the latest challenge against him.
“The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government, and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” his office said in a statement.
Quote:A TV producer left disabled for life when bungling paramedics ‘pressed the wrong button’ on a defibrillator during a cardiac arrest has received an undisclosed payout after suing the NHS.
Meg Fozzard has been left with permanent disabilities as a result of her brain being starved of oxygen after ambulance crews delayed a life‑saving electric shock by EIGHT crucial minutes because they failed to use a defibrillator properly.
Meg — just 26 at the time — had collapsed at her home in Walworth, South London, struggling to breathe and fitting as she went into cardiac arrest in April 2019.
Her terrified partner, Xander Font Freide, dialed 999 and was told to start CPR immediately.
But when ambulance crews finally arrived – after struggling to find the flat – they didn’t believe Meg was in cardiac arrest, despite warnings from the emergency call handler minutes earlier.
A defibrillator showed Meg had a deadly heart rhythm that needed an instant shock.
But because paramedics had attached the wrong equipment – monitoring leads instead of defibrillation pads – the device failed to alert them that a shock was needed.
Even then, crews pressed the wrong button on the machine, known as a LifePak, delaying its emergency mode for another four minutes.
There was an eight-minute delay before Meg was given an electric shock to her heart, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust has since admitted.
Quote:A group of protesters in London despicably called for a controversial rightwing figure to be killed, “like Charlie Kirk,” disturbing video shows.
The crowd was filmed chanting about Tommy Robinson, who organized a massive “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London Saturday which saw tens of thousands of demonstrators turn out.
“Shoot him in the neck like Charlie Kirk!” they can be heard chanting in the clip.
The group spewing the vile message was waving Palestinian flags, the video showed.
The heinous incident happened as two separate rallies consumed the streets of London.
In one organized by Robinson, a sea of flag-waving Brits marched down Kingsway before crossing London Bridge and rallying in Parliament Square with many protesters wearing “Make England Great Again” hats.
The estimated 50,000 protesters draped themselves in British flags — including the Union Jack and St. George’s Cross, alongside Scottish and Welsh flags.
SHOCKING EXCL: “Shoot him in the neck like Charlie Kirk” far-left protesters call for Tommy Robinson to be “hung like Mussolini”.
I don’t think incitement to violence on EITHER side is right. Calling for anyone’s death is too far. pic.twitter.com/fq3OErVKtE
— Samara Gill (@SamaramGill) May 16, 2026
A pro-Palestinian march also drew thousands for the commemoration of Nakba Day, memorializing the Palestinians who fled from their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.
London Metropolitan Police arrested 31 people across the two rallies and had a massive force of 4,000 officers to control the crowds, according to SkyNews.
Robinson, an anti-Islam activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, slammed the Palestinian rally and UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:The US government is seeking the death penalty for the suspect charged with killing two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC last year.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday filed a notice of intent to seek capital punishment for three out of 13 total charges against 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez.
Prosecutors allege Rodriguez opened fire on the couple - Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26 - outside the Capital Jewish Museum before shouting "Free Palestine" during his arrest in May 2025.
President Donald Trump has embraced the federal death penalty after his predecessor Joe Biden limited its use. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty.
Pirro's office will seek death if Rodriguez is found guilty of the charges of murder of a foreign official, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and causing death through the use of a firearm.
The suspect has also been charged with other offences including hate crimes and acts of terrorism.
"My office will not rest in our efforts to hold Elias Rodriguez accountable for this horrific, and targeted act of terror against Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim and our Jewish community," Pirro said earlier this year.
Prosecutors allege that ahead of the shooting, Rodriguez expressed support for violence against Israelis, including in social media posts where he allegedly wrote "Death to Israel".
Prosecutors have said he travelled from Chicago to Washington with a handgun after researching an upcoming networking event for young Jewish professionals at the museum.
Lischinsky and Milgrim were leaving when the suspect fired 20 shots, killing them both, prosecutors allege. They were in a relationship and Lischinsky had bought an engagement ring, planning to propose to Milgrim on an upcoming trip to Israel, Israel's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, has previously said.
After the shooting, Rodriguez then allegedly entered the museum, displayed a red keffiyeh, and said: "I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza."
Quote:A US official has struck down security funding allotted for President Trump's White House ballroom project from a proposed spending package, in a win for Democrats.
The Senate rule-keeper ruled against the use of taxpayer funds in the bill on Saturday, after Democrats argued that security money doesn't belong in it.
Trump has said private donors will fund the $400mn ballroom as Republicans have sought to use a portion of $1bn in taxpayer funds for Secret Service security upgrades.
Republicans are seeking the funds to bolster presidential safety following a shooting at a gala Trump attended in April at a hotel. The administration also tried to fast-track the project after the incident.
Republicans, who hold the majority in the Senate, have used complex budget rules - known as the budget reconciliation process - to try to pass bills without Democratic support.
Their latest sprawling package to fund immigration agencies under the Department of Homeland Security also includes a $1bn provision for security funds dedicated to the overhaul of the East Wing of the White House, which includes Trump's plans for the ballroom.
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who has acted as a referee in the upper chamber of US Congress since 2012, deemed the provision out of order on Saturday, Democrats said.
She determined that the provision funds activities beyond the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee and does not comply with a procedure that prevents extraneous non-budgetary provisions, known as the Byrd rule.
Quote:A judge has declared a mistrial in the rape case against Harvey Weinstein, after the jury in New York said it was deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.
It marks the third time a New York jury has considered the case against the 74-year-old disgraced film mogul, who remains jailed on other charges.
The month-long trial was centred around whether Weinstein raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann more than a decade ago. He was initially convicted, but the verdict was overturned. A judge declared a mistrial after a second trial last year.
Dozens of women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including rape, since October 2017. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that prosecutors are currently determining whether to try again in court.
"While we are disappointed that the proceedings ended with a mistrial, we deeply respect the jury system and sincerely thank all of the jurors for their time and dedication," he said.
He thanked Mann for bringing her allegation against Weinstein, adding: "We will consider our next steps in consultation with Ms Mann, and in consideration of Harvey Weinstein's pending sentencing" in a separate sexual assault case.
"As always, we will continue to prosecute crimes of sexual violence – no matter who the defendant is – in a survivor-centered manner that uplifts their voices in the pursuit of justice."
Lawyers for Weinstein said the outcome shows "how deeply public perception and prejudice surrounding Harvey Weinstein have become embedded in society".
"For some people, regardless of the evidence presented, saying 'not guilty' has become emotionally or socially impossible," they argued.
"The Manhattan District Attorney's Office should stop retrying the same case and focus its time and resources on the actual violent crime, chaos, and public safety issues impacting New Yorkers every day," the statement from his lawyers continued.
Quote:The US justice department is reportedly preparing to indict aging Cuban leader Raúl Castro in the coming days over the shooting down of two aircraft three decades ago.
The reported charges, which would need to be approved by a US grand jury, emerged as the director of the CIA travelled to Cuba to meet officials in Havana.
Castro, 94, stepped down as Cuban Communist Party leader in 2021, ending his family's more than half a century in power. He led the country for 15 years, stepping in after his brother, Fidel, resigned.
The potential indictment is the latest move in a US pressure campaign that has included an oil blockade and widespread sanctions.
The charges are said to centre on the 1996 downing of two planes operated by the US activist-humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.
Unnamed US Department of Justice (DoJ) officials told US media the indictment could come as soon as next Wednesday.
Asked on Friday about the reported indictment plan, President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One: "I'll let DoJ comment on it."
He added: "But [Cubans] need help, as you know. And you talk about a declining country. They are really a nation, a country in decline."
Trump has issued an oil blockade against Cuba, which has exacerbated fuel shortages. This week the island's energy minister acknowledged that Cuba has, in essence, run out of fuel oil.
Potential charges against Raúl Castro were unclear, but officials said the investigation centred on an attack on two small planes, which happened on 24 February 1996 while Fidel was president and Raúl was armed forces minister.
Quote:Police officers responsible for protecting the Royal Family at Windsor Castle are being investigated over allegations they fell asleep on duty and left their posts unattended.
The Metropolitan Police said its directorate of professional standards (DPS) had launched an "urgent investigation" into a number of officers on protective duties at the castle in Berkshire.
The allegations were first reported by The Sun and involve officers from the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection team.
The Met said: "The alleged behaviour falls below the high standards expected of officers, particularly in frontline protective roles."
The DPS will assess whether those under investigation should be placed on restricted duties, with a decision expected "before the end of next week".
The force said the Independent Office for Police Conduct had been informed and concluded the matter would be investigated locally by the Met.
Windsor Castle is one of the official residences of King Charles III and is regularly used by senior members of the Royal Family for private and state occasions.
Officers from the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection team are responsible for guarding royal residences and protecting members of the Royal Family.
Quote:US President Donald Trump has cautioned Taiwan against formally declaring independence from China.
"I'm not looking to have somebody go independent," the US president told Fox News on Friday, at the end of his two-day summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has previously stated that Taiwan does not need to declare formal independence because it already sees itself as a sovereign nation.
The US has long supported Taiwan, including being bound by law to provide it with a means of self-defence, but has frequently had to square this alliance with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.
Trump earlier said he had "made no commitment either way" about the self-governing island - which China claims as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking by force.
Washington's established position is that it does not support Taiwanese independence, with continued ties with Beijing being contingent on its acceptance that there is only one Chinese government.
Beijing has been vocal in its dislike of Taiwan's president, who it has previously described as a "troublemaker" and a "destroyer of cross-strait peace".
Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation - though most are in favour of maintaining the status quo in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.
Quote:Taiwan has insisted it is a sovereign, independent nation, after US President Donald Trump cautioned it against formally declaring independence from China.
Trump's remarks came after a two-day summit in Beijing, after which he said he had "made no commitment either way" about the self-governing island - which China claims as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking by force.
After talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump also said he would soon decide whether to approve an $11bn ($8bn) package of weapons to be sold to Taiwan.
The US administration is bound by law to provide Taiwan with a means of self-defence, but has frequently had to square this alliance with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has previously stated that Taiwan does not need to declare formal independence because it already sees itself as a sovereign nation.
On Saturday, presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said it was "self-evident" that Taiwan was "a sovereign, independent democratic country".
She added, however, that Taiwan was committed to maintaining the status quo with China - in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.
Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation, though most are in favour of maintaining their current status.
Quote:A Hamas official has confirmed to the BBC that Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, commander of the group's armed wing, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that Haddad had been "responsible for the murder, kidnapping and injury of thousands of Israeli civilians and IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers".
Israel described him as "one of the architects of the October 7 massacre".
The strike is the latest launched by Israel on Gaza despite a ceasefire with Hamas.
Three eyewitnesses told the BBC that a residential building known as Al-Mu'taz was struck by three missiles launched simultaneously from two separate directions, before a fleeing car was hit.
The air strike, targeting the apartment block in the centre of Gaza City, sparked a large fire.
Rescue teams rushed to the scene but faced significant difficulties evacuating the wounded, witnesses said.
One eyewitness told the BBC that a body and several injured people had been removed from the building.
A second air strike, targeting a car seen leaving the scene, killed three people, according to eyewitnesses and a local source.
Sources said the vehicle may have been carrying Haddad after he had been seriously injured in the initial strike.
Eyewitnesses and a local source said armed members of Hamas dressed in civilian clothing evacuated a severely wounded person through a side entrance and placed him in a vehicle.
Witnesses said the car was hit around 1.5km (0.9 miles) from the apartment block.
A senior Israeli security official said preliminary information indicated that Haddad had been successfully targeted.
Quote:The United Arab Emirates said a drone strike had triggered a fire near its nuclear power station on Sunday, calling the incident a "dangerous escalation".
Officials are investigating the source of the strike. The country's defence ministry said three drones had entered the UAE from the "western border direction".
While two were intercepted, the third drone struck an electrical generator "outside the inner perimeter" of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, sparking a fire.
No injuries were reported and there was no impact on radiological safety levels, local authorities said.
The UAE's foreign ministry called the strike an "unacceptable act of aggression" and said it had the right to respond to any hostilities.
It added that "the targeting of peaceful nuclear energy facilities is a flagrant violation of international law, the UN charter, and the principles of humanitarian law".
The country's defence ministry meanwhile said it would "firmly confront any attempts to undermine the country's security".
Officials have not said from where the drone was launched. The UAE has previously accused Iran of being behind attacks on its energy and economic infrastructure since war broke out in the region in February.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the fire "broke out in an electric generator" and confirmed precautionary measures had been taken at the plant, which is operating as normal.
The UN's nuclear watchdog said it was monitoring the situation closely and that its director general Rafael Grossi expressed "grave concern" about the incident.
Grossi said "military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable", according to a statement shared by the International Atomic Energy Agency on X, and called for "maximum military restraint".
Also on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed three drones which had entered its airspace from Iraq.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:Iran’s president admitted Monday that the Islamic republic has “suffered harm” from the joint US-Israeli attacks as he urged officials to “face reality” of the war — but vowed that his country would not surrender.
President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke before the Government Information Council and condemned popular talking points that Iran is thriving despite harsh economic blows dealt by the conflict.
“Officials should avoid any tone or remarks that create division, but we must also face reality: It is not the case that we have not suffered harm,” Pezeshkian said.
“Anyone in a position of leadership must speak honestly and transparently to their society and their people,” he added.
“Misleading information, false messaging, or portraying a reality in which ‘they are collapsing while we are prospering’ is unacceptable.
‘The truth is that both we and others face challenges,” the Iranian president concluded.
Before the war even broke out, Iran’s economy had been spiraling with the value of its rial currency plummeting and inflation at an all-time high.
With mass layoffs taking place and the price of basic food and goods continuing to soar, the Islamic regime has continued to fail to improve the situation, which has only gotten worse due to the war.
Despite the challenges, Pezeshkian said that Iran would not bow to the pressure as America’s naval blockade continues to stifle the country’s already ailing economy.
“We will not sacrifice our country’s dignity and honor for comfort or convenience,” he said. “We have valid reasons and clear justification, and we are fully capable of defending our nation’s rights with strength, backed by our people.”
Yeah, those guys wouldn't last long if they were working in the private sector.
Quote:Pakistan has deployed 8,000 soldiers, along with a squadron of jets and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia as part of their mutual defense pact in the face of ever-growing escalations with Iran, according to a new report.
The troops and aircraft were deployed in early April, including JF-17 fighter jets and the Chinese HQ-9 air defense system, which are meant to intercept any strikes against Saudi Arabia, officials told Reuters.
Under the mutual defense pact, Pakistan may send as many as 80,000 troops to defend the Saudi Kingdom, which had been targeted by Iranian attacks during the height of the war in March, security officials added.
The deployment further fortifies the thousands of Pakistani troops who were already stationed in Saudi Arabia amid the conflict.
The sheer scale of the deployment suggests that Pakistan is taking an active role to protect Saudi Arabia following Iran’s attack on Riyadh’s energy infrastructure, risking a wider war in the Middle East.
Along with the soldiers and aircraft, including drones, Pakistan also deployed warships as part of the security agreement, but it was not immediately clear if any vessel had reached Saudi Arabia yet.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s governments have yet to issue a statement on the latest, large-scale deployment operation.
The full details of the two nations’ mutual defense agreement, which was signed last year, remain unclear, but both sides have said that their countries are committed to defending each other in the face of an attack.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif implied at the time that the agreement effectively places the Saudi kingdom under Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella.
Pakistan has long provided the Saudis with military support and training, with Riyadh serving as a powerful economic ally that financed much of the equipment that has now been deployed to the kingdom.
Quote:A millionaire anti-war activist who organized the high-profile “humanitarian aid” convoy to Cuba in March has ties to Hamas and the Iranian regime.
The aid flotilla to Cuba attracted much attention as it included Ilhan Omar’s daughter Isra Hirsi and leftist streamer Hasan Piker — who both sung the praises of the ailing Communist ‘paradise’ after their trip.
It was organized by Medea Benjamin, president of the Arc of Justice Foundation, a charity with $51 million at its disposal.
Benjamin, 73, made at least seven trips to Gaza between 2009 and 2012 where she met with Hamas officials, including the group’s then-leader Ismail Haniyeh, publicly posted photos show. Hamas were designated a terror group by the US in 1997.
Both working for activist group CodePink, Benjamin and her friend and fellow activist Tighe Barry, 69, also met Hamas leaders, including foreign affairs minister Ahmed Yusef, who in 2009 handed them a letter to deliver to President Obama, according the group’s website.
Yusef, who has been described as “Hamas’s gate to the West,” was a senior advisor to then-Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who was later assassinated in Tehran in 2024.
Benjamin and Barry promptly delivered the Obama letter to the US Embassy in Cairo on June 4, 2009, during a time when the appointed US administration official was refusing to meet with Hamas.
“CodePink is open about being a conduit between Hamas and Obama, even met with Obama administration official Buffy Wicks at the White House after the letter was delivered,” said a report by Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), a New Jersey-based think tank that studies extremism.
“That’s a remarkable acknowledgment of the intermediary role.” Knowingly providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization is a violation of federal law, legal experts point out.
Benjamin was a co-founder of CodePink, the group started by China-based software entrepreneur and activist Neville Singham’s wife Jodie Evans, and she is still listed as treasurer, according to the latest available federal filings. Barry was spokesman for Code Pink for over a decade, according to public records.
Quote:President Trump said Tuesday that the high gas prices Americans are currently facing are “peanuts” compared to the goal of stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
With average US gas prices hitting $4.533 per gallon on Tuesday, Trump called on Americans to endure the pain at the pump “for a little while” while his administration works to end Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters outside the White House.
“You want to see the world exploded?
“This is peanuts, and I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while. It won’t be much longer,” he added.
Gas prices have remained stubbornly high and continue to increase after Tehran effectively shut down traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint that carries 20% of the world’s oil supply.
Gas prices are currently up by 50% since the US and Israel fired the first shots of the war on Feb. 28.
Trump acknowledged that he knew the war in Iran would have harsh economic consequences, but the president maintains that it beats the alternative.
“I thought the market would go down 25%, and I was OK with that to get rid of a nuclear potential holocaust,” Trump said.
“You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and it won’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
The president’s comments come after the latest stall in peace talks between Iran and the US, with Trump repeatedly warning Tehran to get serious about negotiating or else the war would restart.
“We may have to give them another big hit. I’m not sure yet. You’ll know very soon,” Trump told reporters after revealing that he was only “an hour away” from launching fresh attacks on Tuesday.
Quote:World Cup fans are banned from bringing in pre-revolutionary Iran flags and apparel to stadiums this summer — while the controversial Palestinian flag will be allowed.
FIFA has ruled items with the symbolism will not be permitted at this year’s iteration of the globe’s most-famous soccer tournament, The Athletic reported on Tuesday.
FIFA says the flag violates their code of conduct, which states “banners, flags, fliers, apparel and other paraphernalia, that are of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature” will not be allowed at event venues.
The Palestinian flag is an “officially approved flag of a member association of FIFA,” The Athletic reported.
Emel Karsaz, an Iranian living in Los Angeles who describes herself as a Iranian-American advocate for freedom in Iran, told The California Post on Tuesday that she’s not expecting FIFA’s ban to change much.
She said she believes the Iranian soccer team “is basically representing IRGC” and “not representing people,” and she’s anticipating Iranians to show up to matches with the pre-revolutionary flags en masse.
“I’m sure it’s going to make everyone so angry that I’ll bet you anything there’s going to be a huge protest,” she said.
“The Iranians will do anything in their power to basically come and do the protest and tell the world that they are not our team.”
Iran and US policy expert Karim Sadjadpour, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, echoed Karsaz’s opinion during an interview with The Athletic.
“Trying to prohibit Iranians in LA from bringing the Lion and Sun flag into the stadium is like trying to prevent Americans from bringing the U.S. flag into an American stadium,” Sadjadpour said. “It would cause mass unrest.”
Pre-revolutionary Iran imagery contains a lion holding a sword and a sun over a green-, white- and red-striped background.
In 1980, following the Islamic Revolution, the country adopted a new national image, which features an Islamic emblem over the same green, white and red bars.
Quote:WASHINGTON — The US war on Iran has degraded Tehran’s ability to launch or direct another mass atrocity on Israel like the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, the top officer in charge of the US military in the Middle East testified Tuesday.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that Operation Epic Fury, combined with the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure last year, set back Iran’s ability to wage war by more than four decades.
“Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis have been cut off from the decades-long flow of military supplies, thus mitigating and eliminating any chance of a future Oct. 7,” he said.
Cooper also estimated the US had wiped out roughly 85% of Iran’s ability to produce more ballistic missiles and drones.
The war so far has aimed to wipe out Iran’s “three pillars of intimidation and coercion: their nuclear program, their ballistic missiles and drones, and their proxies — especially Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis,” all three of which have been addressed in different ways.
While nuclear is currently being handled through negotiations, Cooper said the military since Feb. 28 has “significantly degraded Iran’s ballistic missiles and drones, while destroying 90% of their defense industrial base, ensuring that Iran cannot reconstitute for years.”
“Iran spent decades and billions of dollars arming proxies. Today, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are cut off from Iran’s weapons supply and support,” he said. “Said a different way, America, American military action derailed Iran’s strategy that was 47 years in the making.”
His claim about the “significant” degradation to Iran’s weapons stockpile comes after the New York Times last week reported that about 70% of Iran’s pre-war missile stockpile and mobile launchers remained untouched despite the war, citing US intelligence.
But Cooper stated in his written testimony that the US had “damaged or destroyed over 85 percent of Iran’s ballistic missile, drone and naval defense industrial base.”
Quote:Iranian state TV anchors brandished assault rifles on live television as the regime ramped up wartime propaganda amid fears of renewed conflict with the US and Israel — with one unhinged presenter firing off some rounds.
In the startling broadcast on the state-run Ofogh channel, host Hossein Hosseini fired an AK-47 rifle inside the studio after receiving weapons training from a masked member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to multiple reports.
“I’ll aim at that,” he said as he pointed the rifle toward a United Arab Emirates flag displayed behind the anchor desk before pulling the trigger, according to South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo. He was then seen firing a second shot into the studio ceiling.
The bizarre segment aired as Tehran reportedly began offering civilians weapons instruction through public “gun kiosks” and mosque-based training sessions across several cities.
On another Iranian state-run channel, presenter Mobina Nasiri appeared on air clutching an assault rifle while declaring loyalty to the regime.
“They sent me a weapon from Vanak Square so that I, too, like all of you people, can learn how to use it,” he said during the live broadcast.
“Through this broadcast, I announce that I am ready to sacrifice my life for my country,” he grimly added.
Iranian state television reportedly described the drills as part of “public readiness to defend the country,” according to Al Jazeera.
The broadcasts have exploded online as tensions escalate across the Middle East.
The fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US-Israel alliance appeared to hold Tuesday — but both sides are openly preparing for a possible return to attacks.
President Trump said he halted a “scheduled” major strike on Iran after Gulf allies urged Washington to give diplomacy another chance.
Quote:The ruthless Iranian regime executed over 2,100 people in 2025, more than doubling the number of those put to death the year before — and pushing the total number of executions across the globe to a staggering 44-year high, a shocking new report said.
Iran carried out at least 2,159 of the approximately 2,707 executions recorded worldwide last year, blowing past its 2024 body count of at least 972 and accounting for nearly 80% of all documented executions in 2025, according to chilling new figures from Amnesty International.
The unprecedented death toll by Tehran marked the highest recorded since 1981, with the use of capital punishment increasingly linked to political repression and control, the report said.
Nearly half of the executions were linked to drug-related offenses, in violation of international human rights law and standards, according to Amnesty International.
The report revealed that Iran dramatically stepped up its killings after hostilities with Israel erupted in June 2025, recording 654 executions between January and June, and 1,505 between July and December.
Hangings served as the ruthless regime’s go-to method of death, as mandatory death sentences and public executions continued across the Middle Eastern country.
The report does not account for the slew of barbaric executions that have been ordered since January’s nationwide revolt and the start of the war with Israel and the US.
Amnesty International recorded a staggering 2,707 executions across 17 countries in 2025 – a 78% spike from the 1,519 confirmed deaths in 2024.
“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally and has been campaigning globally for its abolition since 1977, when only 16 countries were abolitionist for all crimes,” the report said.
“By the end of 2025, that figure had risen to 113.”
Saudi Arabia exceeded its 2024 total with at least 356 executions, followed by Yemen with at least 51 and the United States with 47. Egypt put 23 people to death, while Somalia, Kuwait and Singapore each recorded 17 killings, according to the report.
Quote:The U.S. Treasury Department on May 19 announced a major expansion of its counterterrorism and Iran‑related sanctions, adding a wide network of individuals, companies, and vessels to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The designations target operatives and facilitators tied to Hamas, HASM, and Iranian procurement networks, many of whom now face “secondary sanctions risk."
OFAC’s update, amid its Economic Fury campaign, includes more than a dozen individuals across Gaza, Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Jordan, and Iran. Those newly listed include alleged Hamas‑linked figures such as Marwan Muhammad Ayish Abu Ras and Muhammad Jamal Hassan Al‑Najjar, as well as individuals tied to groups like HASM—an Egypt-based offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood—and the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
Several designees hold multiple passports or residency documents, underscoring the transnational nature of the networks that the Treasury says it supports.
Iranian Procurement Network Hit With Secondary Sanctions
A significant portion of the update targets an Iran‑based financial and logistics network centered around Ebrahimi and Associates Partnership Company.
OFAC designated multiple members of the Ebrahimi family, citing their roles in facilitating transactions and procurement activities for sanctioned Iranian entities. The Treasury said that these individuals and the companies linked to them are subject to secondary sanctions, increasing the risk for foreign firms that continue to engage with them.
More than two dozen companies spanning Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, Panama, Liberia, Nevis, China, and the United Kingdom were added to the SDN list. Many operate in shipping, petrochemicals, wholesale trade, or logistics—industries that the Treasury says are frequently used to obscure Iranian oil sales and illicit financial flows. Entities such as Aquila Worldwide Marine Developments Corp., Great Sail Shipping Limited, and Starshine Petrochemical Corporation Limited are among those newly designated.
OFAC also sanctioned a fleet of vessels—including crude oil tankers, LPG carriers, and chemical tankers—linked to the newly designated companies. Ships such as the Bright Gold, Luna Luster, Midas, and Quantum Star were added to the SDN list, restricting their ability to operate internationally. The Treasury said these vessels have been used to transport Iranian oil or support sanctioned commercial networks.
Quote:Four Republican senators backed a resolution Tuesday that will force a War Powers Act debate on President Donald Trump's war in Iran.
Among those voting yes on the measure was Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, fresh off his primary loss to Trump-backed opponent Representative Julia Letlow. Cassidy's support was enough to tip the number of those in favor of the measure—which has seen multiple attempts—reach a majority.
"While I support the administration's efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, the White House and Pentagon have left Congress in the dark on Operation Epic Fury," Cassidy wrote on X Tuesday evening. "In Louisiana, I’ve heard from people, including President Trump’s supporters, who are concerned about this war. Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified."
The 50-47 vote means the Senate will now look at whether it wants to force the president to withdraw U.S. troops from Iran, nearly three months into the conflict there, and after seven failed attempts.
Why This Matters Now
A war powers debate in the Senate would underscore a fundamental question at the heart of U.S. foreign policy: how much authority the president should have to use military force without explicit congressional approval.
While presidents have increasingly acted unilaterally in modern conflicts, such a debate could signal that lawmakers are seeking to reassert their constitutional role, and it could force the administration to publicly justify its strategy, legal rationale and objectives at a moment when public support for the war, and its effects, is low.
GOP Senators Vote Against Trump
Cassidy was not alone on his side of the aisle in voting in favor of the war powers debate.
Kentucky's Rand Paul, Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski have all voted yes in previous attempts, but their votes were not enough to force a debate.
Following his primary defeat, Cassidy said he was returning to Washington, D.C., to continue his work of upholding the Constitution, adding that he would carefully consider how he would vote on Trump administration priorities.
While only one extra vote, Cassidy's flip on the matter could reflect a growing unease among Republicans around the Iran war, which stretches on without a clear end, or deal, in sight.
All Democrats apart from one voted in favor of the debate. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who has shown strong support for Trump's efforts in the Middle East, voted against it.
Quote:The Trump administration plans to scale back the U.S. military forces that it would make available to NATO in a major crisis, three sources told Reuters, marking a significant shift in Washington’s commitment to the alliance.
The move, expected to be communicated to allies at a defense meeting in Brussels, would reduce the pool of U.S. capabilities designated for rapid deployment under NATO’s force planning system.
The decision underscores a broader push for European countries to assume primary responsibility for their own defense, potentially reshaping NATO’s crisis response and raising new concerns among allies about the reliability of U.S. support.
Sources said the Pentagon has decided to significantly reduce the U.S. share of those forces, though the exact scale and timeline of the reduction remain unclear.
Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon via email on Tuesday afternoon for comment.
Why Are US Troops Pulling Out of Europe?
The U.S. has long said it is looking at withdrawing a significant chunk of the roughly 80,000 American soldiers stationed in Europe, as Washington turns its gaze toward China's growing power in the Indo-Pacific and contends with the strain of two and a half months of war in the Middle East.
The move highlights a broader shift in American defense priorities and reinforces Trump’s long-standing view that allies should shoulder more of the burden for regional security.
“What we’re basically saying is, as the European pillar of the alliance gets stronger, this allows the U.S. to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing only those critical capabilities that allies cannot yet provide,” Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grynkewich said in a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday. “So we should expect there to be a redeployment of U.S. forces over time as allies build their capacity.”
The planned reduction comes as NATO faces mounting internal strain, with some European governments already concerned that the United States could further scale back its military posture in the region.
Cuts Made In Germany
Trump has already said he will cut 5,000 soldiers from the vast U.S. presence in Germany, and left the door open to slicing this further—although this is seen as largely a reaction to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticizing the U.S.' war against Iran.
Rotation Halted to Poland
Last week, the U.S. also stopped a planned rotation of more than 4,000 American troops en route to Poland.
Quote:China’s military secretly trained Russian troops who later returned to fight in Ukraine, according to a Reuters report citing European intelligence agencies and documents.
The revelation raises new questions about Beijing’s role in the war, potentially undermining its claims of neutrality. The findings could increase pressure on China and shape U.S. and allied responses as scrutiny grows over Moscow’s battlefield support.
Newsweek has reached out to the Pentagon via email on Tuesday afternoon for comment.
Covert Training Program Revealed
Roughly 200 Russian military personnel were trained in China in late 2025 under a bilateral agreement signed by senior officers from both countries, according to documents reviewed as part of the Reuters report. Training took place at military facilities, including locations in Beijing and the eastern city of Nanjing.
The program was conducted covertly, with provisions in the agreement limiting disclosure and preventing public awareness of the exercises, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The arrangement also included plans for reciprocal training, with Chinese personnel expected to receive instruction at Russian military facilities, highlighting a deepening two-way military relationship.
Intelligence officials said that around the number planned in the agreement ultimately underwent training, with some of those personnel later identified as having returned to participate in combat operations in Ukraine.
Focus on Drones and Modern Warfare Tactics
The training program reportedly concentrated on battlefield capabilities that have played a central role in the war, particularly drone operations and electronic warfare.
Additional areas of instruction included armored infantry tactics, demining operations and broader battlefield coordination, underscoring the operational nature of the training.
The emphasis on drones is especially significant given the role unmanned systems have played throughout the conflict, with both Ukrainian and Russian forces relying heavily on drones for reconnaissance, targeting and strikes.
Officials also warned in the Reuters report that some of the Russian trainees held instructor-level roles, raising concerns that the techniques learned in China could be passed along to a broader pool of Russian forces, potentially amplifying the program’s impact beyond the initial group.
Quote:A Russian drone struck a Chinese-owned cargo ship, the Ukrainian Navy said Monday, and it comes just one day before Vladimir Putin heads to China to meet Xi Jinping.
The KSL Deyang ship, which has a Chinese crew on board, came under fire near the Odessa region, the Ukrainian Navy wrote on Telegram.
“I wonder what moved the Russians when they decided to “Shaheed” tonight to patrol a Chinese merchant ship in our sea,” Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dymtro Pletenchuk scoffed on Facebook.
“There were no casualties but this is something new. A terrible mistake has occurred, comrades?”
The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel suffered minimal damage and its crew extinguished a fire, Turkiye Today reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strike on the ship and he claimed, “The Russians could not have been unaware of what vessel was at sea.”
“Russia once again demonstrates that its attacks pose a threat not only to Ukraine, now they are a risk even to its closest partners, whose ships are in the Black Sea,” the Navy said.
Putin’s visit to Beijing will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.
Moscow has been heavily reliant on Beijing for trade after being shunned by the west following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”
Putin is set to visit Shenzhen in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
His visit to China comes just four days after President Trump wrapped up his trip to Beijing.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would “exchange views” with Xi about the Trump visit.
Quote:Russia launched drones, airstrikes and shelling at Ukraine overnight, targeting cities such as Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast, killing one person and injuring more than 30, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.
Drones hit residential buildings, a school and a kindergarten in the major Black Sea export port of Odesa, Serhiy Lysak, the head of the local military administration, said on messaging app Telegram.
An 11-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man were injured in the attack, he added.
Russia hit the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro with missiles in a separate attack, injuring 18, among them two children, a girl of two and a boy of 10, regional governor Oleksandr Hanzha said on Telegram.
In the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia three people were injured following the overnight attacks, the regional governor, Ivan Fedorov, added on Telegram.
Attacks in the southern region of Kherson killed one person and injured nine, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
In Russia, drones were downed overnight over regions such as Rostov and Belgorod in the south, the Interfax news agency said, citing the defense ministry.
At least four people died over the weekend, three of them in the Moscow region, after Ukraine launched its biggest overnight drone attack on the Russian capital in more than a year, officials said on Sunday.
Quote:China’s Xi Jinping told President Trump that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin might end up regretting his decision to invade Ukraine, according to a new report.
Xi, one of Putin’s top allies, made the frank remark during his summit with Trump in Beijing last week while the two world leaders discussed the ongoing stalemate in Ukraine, sources told the Financial Times.
The admission comes as Russia struggles to make gains along the front lines, and Kyiv’s ever-growing drone strike capability forced Putin to scale back his World War II Victory Day military parade in Moscow earlier this month.
The war, now in its fifth year, has seen Russia’s invasion slow to a crawl as Ukraine’s defenses take out thousands of Moscow troops a week, as new and cheaper technological advances allow Kyiv to hold the front lines.
Ukraine has proved it can now launch long distance drone attacks at the Russian capital — and elsewhere inside Russia.
Putin has reportedly been forced to go into hiding as a result.
Kyiv also claimed that their new capability is why Putin was forced to agree to a cease-fire around Moscow’s Victory Day parade on March 9, which was the smallest it has ever been.
Putin is also facing massive economic pain across Russia as a result of the war — with the Kremlin spiking its value-added tax [VAT] last year by 2% to 22% to raise some $7.4 billion from small and medium-sized businesses.
The Russian president has also reportedly gone hat-in-hand to the country’s oligarchs, asking them to donate to his war fund.
Beijing, which has declared a “no-limits” partnership with Moscow, denied that Xi made such comments, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed the denial.
A White House readout of Xi and Trump’s meeting did not include any conversations about Putin or the war in Ukraine.
Along with discussing Ukraine, Xi reportedly spoke to Trump about the International Criminal Court, which has a warrant out for Putin’s arrest for crimes against humanity committed during the war.
Quote:Ukraine has developed its first home-made guided aerial bomb, which is capable of striking deep into Russia and ready for combat use, Kyiv’s military chief said.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov debuted the Vyrivniuvach bomb on Monday with the country’s Brave1 defense platform, hailing the weapon as a Ukrainian innovation with a third of the cost of its American counterpart.
“Ukraine’s guided aerial bomb will soon be striking enemy targets,” Fedorov said in a statement. “We are scaling solutions that extend strike range, enhance precision, and change the rules of modern warfare.”
The guided aerial bomb (GAB) is essentially a bomb equipped with targeting and aerodynamic control systems that allow for long-range, accurate strikes while the firing aircraft remains safe away from enemy lines.
Russia has often used GABs to bombard Ukraine, with Kyiv engineers spending the last 17 months developing their own variant of the weapon in revenge for the Kremlin assaults, the defense ministry said.
The Ukrainian bombs are equipped with a 551-pound warhead and capable of reaching dozens of miles into Russia, with the military already ordering a batch for use in the war.
With pilots currently practicing combat scenarios with the weapon, the defense ministry said it won’t be long before the GABs are used.
The GABs can be used at any time of day, in any weather, with preparations to fire taking less than 30 minutes, according to Brave1 officials.
The development of the bombs is allegedly around a third of the cost of a single American Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) — which goes for about $66,000 — without sacrificing the range, Ukrainian officials said.
Quote:Former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicted Sunday that the chances of China invading Taiwan were “pretty low, particularly over the next several years,” despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bellicose rhetoric toward the self-governing island.
“I don’t think they want to go in and attack Taiwan. They don’t want to destroy the very chip factories they want to take over,” Gates, now the chancellor of the College of William & Mary in Virginia, told CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” adding that he thought China would prefer to exercise control via “a Hong Kong-style transition over a period of time.”
Successive US administrations have named 2027 as the year when the People’s Republic of China would have built up enough military resources to potential launch a massive attack on Taiwan, and a Pentagon report released in December of last year found that Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army “continues to refine multiple military options to force Taiwan unification by brute force.”
“Those options include, most dangerously, an amphibious invasion, firepower strike, and possibly a maritime blockade.”
Gates said Sunday he was less sure of China’s military capabilities.
“There isn’t one single Chinese general or admiral today that has one day of combat experience,” he told host Margaret Brennan. “The last time these guys fought was 1979 and the North Vietnamese, the Vietnamese gave them a bloody nose. Xi has fired all these generals. There are now no generals left on the Central Military Commission, that kind of oversees the whole thing. He’s fired — and they’re slated for execution — his last two defense ministers.
“So this is not an outfit that I think he has enormous confidence in right now, and he’s been fighting against corruption in their military ever since he became president of China [in 2013]. So I’m not sure that he thinks his military is the greatest in the world.”
Despite his skepticism, Gates warned that China is an adversary unlike any the US has dealt with before.
“We have never faced a country, at least since the British Empire, that had greater manufacturing and industrial capacity than the United States,” he said. “We have not faced a country that was as technologically advanced as we are — ahead of us in a few areas, behind us in a few areas, pretty much even with us in a few others. So we face an adversary that is more powerful, and has more non-military instruments of power, than any adversary we’ve faced, certainly than the Soviet Union.”
China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since Chiang Kai-shek’s defeated Nationalists fled there following the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The US “One China” policy, in effect since the late 1970s, acknowledges, but takes no stance on, Beijing’s claims while avoiding advocacy of Taiwan’s independence.
Quote:The Trump administration is probing more than 120 biological laboratories funded by U.S. taxpayers in 30-plus countries in a bid to end potentially dangerous experiments within gain-of-function research, federal officials confirmed Wednesday.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ordered the investigation following a months-long review of U.S. holdings and files on the Washington-funded biolabs operating overseas, including to uncover specific locations as part of President Donald Trump's executive order in May 2025 to ban all federal funding for gain-of-function research in China or other nations without proper oversight.
"The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have," Gabbard told Newsweek in a statement Wednesday. "Yet despite these obvious dangers, politicians, so-called health professionals, like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration's national security team lied to the American people about the existence of these U.S.-funded and supported biolabs and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth."
Gabbard said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) will work "closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are," as well as what pathogens they contain and details of ongoing research at the facilities, including some that could threaten the "health and wellbeing" of people worldwide.
Initial searches revealed that the United States has funded more than 120 biolabs in more than 30 countries, including Ukraine, which could be threatened because of its ongoing war with Russia. Clinical trials being conducted at the facilities raise "significant ethical, financial and security concerns," ODNI officials said.
Many of the Washington-funded biolabs have conducted research using "hazardous and highly contagious pathogens," according to ODNI, potentially including gain-of-function research that involves the modification of organisms to enhance their biological functions.
Quote:President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a proposal that could more than double the number of white South African refugees admitted to the United States, according to an emergency determination sent to Congress and obtained by CNN.
The determination sent to Congress outlines a plan to raise the refugee admissions ceiling for Afrikaners, a white minority group in South Africa, to as many as 17,500 for Fiscal Year 2026. The figure marks a sharp increase from the administration’s earlier limit of 7,500 total refugee admissions for the year, most of which had already been allocated to white South Africans.
The proposal would allow the admission of up to 10,000 additional Afrikaner refugees in the coming months, citing what officials describe as worsening conditions in South Africa.
"President Trump has been very clear that we are prioritizing the resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa who are escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination," a State Department spokesperson told Newsweek. "Determinations on refugee admissions are up to the President."
Under U.S. law, the president sets the annual refugee admissions ceiling but must consult with Congress before finalizing the figure. The State Department estimates that resettling an additional 10,000 refugees would cost about $100 million.
The plan has already drawn scrutiny from refugee advocates, who argue that the policy disproportionately favors one group at the expense of others facing conflict or persecution globally. However, administration officials maintain that the decision is driven by humanitarian considerations and U.S. foreign policy interests.
The policy is rooted in Executive Order 14204, signed in February 2025, which directs U.S. agencies to prioritize the admission of Afrikaners through the refugee program. The order cites concerns about “government-sponsored race-based discrimination,” including property seizures and broader policies affecting the minority group.
The issue was raised during a contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, when Trump played a video of a far-left politician chanting a song with the lyrics “kill the farmer.” Trump has repeatedly claimed that South Africa has failed to address what he describes as systematic violence against white farmers.
Quote:President Trump claimed his latest political scalp Tuesday night after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his hotly contested House primary to the commander-in-chief’s hand-picked challenger, Ed Gallrein.
Gallrein, a Trump-backed farmer and retired Navy SEAL, triumphed over Massie by about 10 percentage points in the Bluegrass State’s Fourth Congressional District race, which will go down as the most expensive primary race in US history, with more than $32 million spent on political ads.
“For the same reason I entered as a Navy SEAL officer in 1983, because I had the audacity to think I could make a difference,” Gallrein said in a speech after winning. “I will serve this district, my party and my nation with that same audacity.”
Trump repeatedly urged his supporters to oust Massie, an MIT-educated, seven-term congressman, after he broke with the president on key votes and led the charge to release the files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie’s defeat came on the heels of Trump’s successful intervention in the Louisiana Republican Senate primary against Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who had voted to convict the 45th president following his impeachment for incitement of insurrection following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The president also successfully exacted revenge earlier this month against a slate of incumbent Republican state senators in Indiana, who torpedoed a redistricting push in the Hoosier state.
And Trump has already signaled that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who had been stumping for Massie in Kentucky, could be next on his target list by the time the Centennial State holds its primary June 30.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), another Trump-endorsed candidate, emerged victorious in the race to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Quote:The Republican nominee for Georgia’s next governor will be settled in a runoff election next month in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s GOP primary, but both received less than 50% of the vote, triggering the June 16 runoff.
The winner of next month’s runoff will face off in November with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who cruised to victory in the Democratic primary.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who infamously defied Trump when asked to “find” votes in the Peach State after the 2020 election, and state Attorney General Chris Carr came up short of making the GOP runoff.
Jackson went from virtual unknown to front-runner after spending $50 million of his own fortune to flood the Peach State in political ads.
The self-described “conservative outsider” has pledged to run Georgia like one of his businesses.
“Georgia’s at a crossroads. It’s going to take a conservative business leader to shake things up — and to stop Keisha Lance Bottoms from destroying our state,” Jackson wrote on X Monday morning.
“Career politicians make promises. I take action, and I’m going to deliver,” he pledged in a separate post.
Jackson has been endorsed by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, but faced questions on the campaign trail about his loyalty to President Trump — and even acknowledged being “late to the Trump Train.”
Trump endorsed Jones in the Republican primary, telling a tele-rally for the lieutenant governor last week: “He’s just an incredible guy who has my complete and total endorsement in the race.”
Quote:More than 100 days after Nancy Guthrie—mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie—vanished from her home in Tucson, Arizona, a retired FBI agent is challenging assumptions about the single strand of hair publicly linked to the case, arguing that it is almost certainly not the only forensic evidence collected.
In a wide‑ranging interview, former agent Steve Moore also criticized the early handling of the scene by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, questioned the meaning behind Sheriff Chris Nanos’ recent “we’re getting closer” remark, and outlined how leadership turmoil could either stall or accelerate the investigation depending on who is ultimately responsible for the breakdowns described by deputies.
In an interview with NewsNation's Miami Bureau Correspondent Brian Entin on his YouTube channel, Moore said that if investigators located even one hair inside the home, “there are probably 10 more” that have not been disclosed publicly. He added that evidence in major cases is often “invisible” to the naked eye and that trained technicians know where to look for fingerprints, skin cells and trace material.
Why It Matters
The hair may be just a fraction of the evidence. Moore said that finding one hair almost always means more exist, suggesting that investigators likely recovered additional trace material that has not been disclosed.
Early confusion may have compromised the scene. Sergeant Aaron Cross described the chaotic first hours, conflicting information from family members, and communication breakdowns between deputies and the FBI. Moore said confusion at a crime scene signals a failure of leadership and preparation.
Leadership questions could affect the investigation. With recall efforts and political pressure mounting on Nanos, Moore said removing a sheriff mid‑case can temporarily slow progress but could ultimately help if leadership was part of the problem.
Discovery of remains would reshape the case. Moore said that if Guthrie’s body were ever found, even months later, the location alone would provide “a treasure trove” of evidence, from tire tracks to environmental clues.
What to Know About the Hair Found at the Scene
Moore said the hair found inside Guthrie’s home is unlikely to be the only trace evidence collected, calling it “very possible” that investigators recovered far more than has been publicly disclosed.
“Imagine the odds of a person coming into a crime scene, losing only one hair, and you find it,” he said. “That’s not likely. If you find one hair, there are probably 10 others that you’ve missed.”
Moore also argued that the confusion described by Cross—who said deputies encountered conflicting information from family members and communication breakdowns within the department—signals a deeper problem.
“You’re not allowed to have confusion at a crime scene,” Moore said. “If there’s confusion, it means nobody’s in charge who knows what they’re doing.”
Quote:A fast-moving wildfire burning near Simi Valley continues to spread under gusty winds, with flames pushing toward Los Angeles County communities still under evacuation warnings as firefighters race to increase containment.
The Sandy Fire, fueled by dry conditions and shifting winds, has already scorched over 1,600 acres and prompted evacuation orders and warnings across parts of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Officials say the wind-driven blaze remains only minimally contained, raising concerns that its path could expand further into densely populated areas as crews struggle to gain control.
Winds spurred the flames after ignition, and winds were expected to remain strong until around noon Tuesday local time, according to an incident update video.
The threat posed by the Sandy Fire comes after a series of wind‑driven blazes across Southern California last year, including the Palisades and Eaton fires, which rapidly spread under strong offshore winds and low humidity. Those fires highlighted how quickly flames can move through dry brush when gusty conditions align, overwhelming containment efforts and forcing widespread evacuations. Officials have warned that similar weather patterns, especially gusty, shifting winds, can again accelerate fire growth, increasing the risk to communities in the fire’s path.
Containment Levels of Sandy Fire
As of the most recent update from the Ventura County Fire Department and Cal Fire, the Sandy Fire was 5 percent contained. Wind-driven fires can quickly explode out of control, making containment difficult. However, a low containment number doesn't mean firefighters aren't making progress.
Containment refers to how much of a wildfire’s perimeter has been surrounded by control lines, and firefighters are confident the fire won't keep spreading in these areas. For this reason, containment numbers typically move very slowly, Ventura County Fire Department Public Information Officer Andrew Dowd told Newsweek.
Simi Valley Evacuations: Latest Orders and Warnings
More than 17,000 people were under evacuation orders in Southern California as the fast-moving wildfire threatened homes in and around Simi Valley and Los Angeles County, the Associated Press reported. The fire has destroyed at least one home.
Quote:An Illinois park executive is facing backlash after she was accused of using a taxpayer-funded credit card to help pay for an $800 helicopter rental for her daughter’s prom photoshoot.
Quintina Brown, head of the Markham Park District outside Chicago, arranged for the helicopter to land at Roesner Park on May 8 so her 17-year-old daughter Quamyra could pose for pictures in front of it.
The helicopter company gave an invoice to city attorney Kelly Krauchun that included a credit card number linked to Brown, according to WPSD.
The invoice reportedly listed “Markham Parks” as the customer, used the park district fieldhouse address and included Brown’s signature.
Krauchun said at least the deposit was charged to a park district credit card funded by taxpayers.
“They told me that the deposit was charged to the card, and they have not been successful in getting the remaining $800 off the card, for whatever reason,” Krauchun said, referring to the helicopter company.
The invoice was reportedly for a minimum of $800 for one hour of service.
Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa said residents should be concerned if a park district credit card was used either to pay for or secure the booking.
Brown denied any misuse of public money, telling NBC 5: “There was no misuse of funds at all,” and insisting she used her own credit card.
“[My daughter] was graduating and this was going to be a memorable experience. I just wanted to be able to provide that for her,” Brown told WGN-TV.
Quote:Three beachgoers were stabbed while hundreds of teens took over packed New England beaches in separate incidents on Tuesday, sparking fights and forcing evacuations of the summer hotspot.
The suspected stabbing broke out just after 3 p.m. Tuesday at Narragansett Town Beach, a popular summer vacation retreat in southern Rhode Island, as temperatures reached into the 90s.
Responding officers located three victims suffering from minor stab wounds, Narragansett Police Chief Kyle Rekas said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Police have not identified a suspect or a motive behind the stabbings.
It was not known if the victims knew each other or if the stabbing was random.
The wounded victims were treated by first responders before being transported to local hospitals for minor injuries, Rekas said.
The commotion from the stabbings sent the crowded beach into a frenzy as hundreds of beachgoers raced to flee the area.
“Due to the chaos on scene with hundreds of people attempting to leave the beach at the same time, several other small disturbances broke out,” Rekas said.
Two adults were arrested on charges of simple assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
The two individuals, who were not identified, are not believed to be connected to the stabbings.
Roughly 20 miles away in Middletown, RI, about 1,200 teens overran the Second Beach on the Sachuest Bay, the Middletown Police said.
The large crowd began to swarm the area around 12:45 p.m. and was peaceful until one beachgoer started to harass a large group.
Quote:A “teen takeover” dissolved into a violent brawl inside a Washington, DC, restaurant, according to a viral video shared online mere days after federal prosecutors announced they would be charging parents of the miscreants involved in similar public disruptions.
A mob of teenagers descended on a Chipotle in Washington’s Navy Yard over the weekend and, at some point, started throwing punches — and furniture, according to jarring videos shared by witnesses.
People could be heard screaming in the background as the youths vaulted on top of one another, throwing punches at random and even using an abandoned highchair as a makeshift sledgehammer.
One teen ran up behind another and hit him over the head with the highchair while a little girl cowered off to the side in her father’s arms, according to witness videos shared online.
Some of the teenagers retreated when chairs started flying across the eatery.
The combatants largely concealed their faces with medical masks, and all wore similar all-black outfits.
While the boys wreaked havoc, a gaggle of girls watched outside the restaurant. Some shrieked when the boys started using furniture as weapons, while others laughed in apparent glee, the footage shows.
“Oh my f–king God, bro, damn!” one girl cackled.
Soon, flashing police lights and sirens reflected in the chain’s window.
“The police! Oh, we gotta go!” the same girl screeched while taking off on foot.
It’s unclear if any of the brawlers were arrested or the exact date of the fight.
On Friday, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that her office will step in and prosecute parents of minors involved in the increasingly frequent “teen takeovers,” specifically citing similar instances of chaos in the city’s Navy Yard neighborhood.
Quote:WASHINGTON — The top Democrat in a southern Texas House race, sex therapist Maureen Galindo, has called for transforming an immigration facility into a “prison for American Zionists” equipped with a castration center.
Galindo’s campaign made a vile pledge that she will introduce legislation to that effect if she gets elected to Congress after baselessly alleging her Dem runoff foe was “being paid to put Jews and Mexicans in concentration camps via Zionist trafficking networks.”
“When Maureen gets into Congress, she’ll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it’s Zionism harming the Semites,” her campaign wrote on Instagram last week.
“She’ll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking. (lt will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists).”
Karnes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center has long been subject to protest activity from the progressive left.
Oddly, Galindo’s campaign made the comments while trying to dispute her primary foe, Johnny Garcia’s claims that she wants to put Jews in warehouses.
Yet her remarks about dumping Zionists into an ICE facility sound a lot like putting Jews in warehouses.
“The standard that Democrats rightly apply to right-wing antisemites must apply equally to left-wing Jew-haters,” the watchdog group StopAntisemitism said in a statement. “Democratic leaders must clearly, publicly denounce these bigots infecting their party without hedging.
“They must decline to appear on platforms with Hasan Piker. They must stop winking at extremist voices and truly stand for the principles they claim to stand for.”
Galindo was the top Democrat in the March primary election, with 29.2% support to Garcia’s 27%. Since no one got a majority, the two advanced to a runoff election next Tuesday.
Thank you for calling it out, Jon!#TX35 residents are struggling to put gas in their tank and buy groceries. Instead of focusing on table-kitchen issues my opponent is pushing conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric.
— Johnny Garcia For Congress (@johnnygarciatx) May 19, 2026
They are vying for Texas District 35, which includes a slice of land from San Antonio to the suburbs of Austin. It is currently held by Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), but Republicans have reconfigured its borders with the goal of picking up the seat.
“Instead of focusing on table-kitchen issues my opponent is pushing conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric. That’s why Republicans are spending to boost her campaign,” Garcia chided on X Tuesday.
His accusations about Republican subterfuge elevating Galindo revolve around the Lead Left PAC, a mysterious entity that has spent some $428,713 backing her, according to the latest data from Federal Election Commission filings.
And then you wonder why people think that therapists are crazy by default.
Quote:California could soon add another paid holiday for state employees as lawmakers push to formally recognize Native American Day, a move supporters say is tied directly to the state’s violent history toward Indigenous people and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2019 apology for what he called a “genocide.”
The proposal, authored by Assemblymember James Ramos, D-Highland, cleared a major hurdle last week when the Assembly Appropriations Committee unanimously approved the measure to make Native American Day a fully paid state holiday observed on the fourth Friday in September.
Ramos, the first Native American elected to California’s Legislature, said the bill is meant to confront the state’s dark past and honor California’s tribal communities.
“Most Californians know little about the bloody history that built this state,” Ramos said in a statement. “They picture romanticized missions, the Gold Rush, the Transcontinental Railroad, not the genocide, violence, enslavement, and dispossession of Native Americans.”
The push comes six years after Newsom issued a formal apology to Native Americans on behalf of California and signed an executive order establishing a Truth and Healing Council to examine the state’s historical treatment of tribal communities.
During remarks at the time, Newsom said the atrocities committed against Native Americans amounted to a “genocide.”
“California must reckon with our dark history,” Newsom said in 2019. “California Native American peoples suffered violence, discrimination and exploitation sanctioned by state government throughout its history.”
California is currently home to more than 100 federally recognized tribes.
Historians estimate the Native population in the region exceeded 300,000 before European settlement expanded through the state in the late 18th century.
Dark history? I'll tell you what's part of the real dark history of the state of California: Newsom's economic boycott. Like the day when he decided his administration had to destroy hydroelectric dams in order to protect some non local fish species that now live there.
Quote:Canada’s public broadcaster is facing backlash over a satirical TV project that allegedly used fake identities and fabricated business ventures to lure conservative figures into filmed interviews about residential schools.
Commentator Lindsay Shepherd and academic Frances Widdowson, both critics of mainstream narratives surrounding Canada’s residential school system, say they were deceived into participating in what was later described as a satirical “social experiment.”
The controversy has sparked criticism from Conservative politicians and renewed scrutiny of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) public funding, with critics questioning whether taxpayer money should support productions allegedly using deceptive tactics.
In a statement to Newsweek, CBC said it is not involved in the production of the show and that "social experiments and satirical prank shows are a long-established television format used by broadcasters and streamers around the world, including many public broadcasters."
Newsweek has contacted the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) via the media contact form on its website for comment.
Canada's Residential Schools
Canada’s residential school system operated for more than a century as part of a government-backed effort to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian society. More than 150,000 Indigenous children attended the schools, which were run by both the government and religious organizations. The last facility closed in 1996.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded the system amounted to “a systematic, government-sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages.”
In 2021, a radar survey at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia identified what researchers described as the probable presence of 215 unmarked graves.
Both Widdowson and Shepherd have previously criticized aspects of the public discourse surrounding possible unmarked graves connected to residential schools.
Participants Accuse Producers of Deception
The program, Northland Tales, is being produced for the CBC and the APTN. According to the Indigenous Screen Office, the show is an unscripted satire series intended to confront “modern and historical injustices against Indigenous peoples..”
Shepherd said the group behind the interviews created what she described as a fake company, “Heritage Figures Canada,” complete with a website and consulting arrangement.
The commentator, author and former Conservative Party of British Columbia staffer described what she called an “elaborate scheme” in a post on X, alleging that producers operating under fake names approached her earlier this year for interviews related to her book A Day with Sir John A and discussions about Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.
“I found out recently that I was deceived by social activists in an elaborate scheme dating back to January,” Shepherd wrote.
Quote:The Trump administration is expected to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday, in a move that would mark a step-up in Washington’s pressure campaign against the Caribbean island’s communist government.
The charges against Castro, 94, are expected to be based on a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles, a US Justice Department official told Reuters last week on the condition of anonymity.
The Miami US Attorney’s office is planning to host an event starting at 1 p.m. EDT to honor victims of the incident. The Justice Department said on Tuesday it would make an announcement in conjunction with the ceremony, but did not provide details about the announcement.
President Donald Trump has been seeking regime change in Cuba, where communists have been in charge since Raul Castro’s late brother Fidel Castro led a revolution in 1959.
The US has effectively imposed a blockade on the island by threatening sanctions on countries supplying it with fuel, triggering power outages and delivering blows to its already fragile economy.
Cuba has yet to comment directly on the threat of indictment though Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez expressed defiance in public comments on May 15.
“Despite the (US) embargo, sanctions and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty towards its socialist development,” Rodriguez said.
Born in 1931, Raul Castro was a key figure alongside his older brother in the guerrilla war that toppled US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
He helped defeat the US-organized Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, and served as defense minister for decades. He succeeded his brother as president and remains a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in Cuban politics.
He was defense minister at the time of the 1996 incident.
The two small planes that were shot down were being flown by Brothers to the Rescue, a group of Miami-based Cuban exile pilots. All four men aboard were killed.
The group said its mission was to search the Florida Straits for Cuban rafters fleeing the island, and routinely flew near the Cuban coast.
Quote:President Donald Trump said on Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second-in-command of ISIS globally, was eliminated in Africa.
"Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield," Trump said in the post on his Truth Social platform.
"Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did he know we had sources who kept us informed on what he was doing," Trump added.
"He will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans. With his removal, ISIS’s global operation is greatly diminished. Thank you to the Government of Nigeria for your partnership on this operation. GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Trump did not provide details of the exact location of the operation.
But Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed the operation and said Al-Minuki was killed alongside “several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.”
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon via email for comment late Friday night.
The Context
Trump has previously accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from Islamist militants in the northwest. Nigeria has denied discriminating against any religion, saying its security forces target armed groups that attack both Christians and Muslims.
The Friday night operation was the latest instance in a string of covert missions abroad that Trump has announced this year, starting with the stunning overnight raid in January to capture and remove Venezuela’s then-leader Nicolás Maduro and whisk him to the U.S., followed nearly two months later by the launch of strikes that kicked off the war with Iran.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
Quote:Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., revealed Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Trump, 48, shared the devastating “personal health update” in an Instagram post.
“I’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer,” she wrote. “While this isn’t news anyone expects, I’m working closely with my medical team on a treatment plan.
“I would like to thank my doctors for performing a procedure earlier this week on me.”
Trump said she is “staying focused and hopeful while surrounded by the love and support of my family, my kids, and those closest to me.”
“Thank you for your kindness and support it truly means more than I can express,” she added. “I kindly ask for privacy as l focus on my health and recovery.”
Trump’s social media post was flooded with well wishes, including one from the president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump.
“Praying for your continued strength and a swift recovery. Love you mama,” Ivanka wrote, while half-sister Tiffany Trump liked Vanessa’s post.
Trump, who was married to Donald Jr., from 2005 to 2018, shares five children with ex-husband — 19-year-old Kai, 17-year-old Donald, 14-year-old Tristan, 13-year-old Spencer and Chloe, 11.
Vanessa Trump was photographed celebrating Kai’s prep school graduation in Florida last week with her ex-husband and family friends.
Well, the title should say "linked to someone posing as Tom Selleck" instead.
Quote:An elderly California couple found dead inside their country club home had reportedly been caught in a disturbing online scam involving someone posing as actor Tom Selleck before their deaths, according to a close friend.
Donald Whitaker, 80, and his wife Karen, 79, were discovered with traumatic injuries inside their home at Bermuda Dunes Country Club last Friday after Riverside County deputies responded to a welfare check shortly before noon.
Authorities have not revealed how the couple was killed, and no arrests have been made.
As investigators continue probing the double homicide, family friend Joy Miedecke says Karen had spent months sending money to an online scammer pretending to be Selleck.
Miedecke said the ordeal began after Karen posted a Facebook tribute to a deceased school friend.
Soon after, someone allegedly contacted her by text message claiming to be the Hollywood star.
“They found her phone number and they text messaged her and they said they were Tom Selleck,” Miedecke told News Channel 3. “And that they knew this girl and had dated her. And now we have something in common. And that started the whole thing.”
According to Miedecke, Karen initially sent small amounts of money through gift cards before the payments escalated.
“She was living and breathing this part of her life, and they were constantly texting her every single day, text after text, and people around her started noticing,” Miedecke said.
Friends and family tried repeatedly to stop the alleged scam.
Quote:Seattle’s lefty Mayor Katie Wilson admitted she was wrong to slam Starbucks and push for a boycott of the mega-coffee chain birthed in the Pacific City.
Wilson, 43, issued a terse mea culpa to the New York Times this week as questions swirl about whether the liberal Northwest city can attract and retain businesses, including Starbucks, which recently chose to expand its footprint in Tennessee.
The democratic socialist made waves last fall when she joined a barista union rally as mayor-elect and expressed her disgust with one of Seattle’s most recognizable businesses.
“I am not buying Starbucks, and you should not either,” she whined in November, according to KUOW.
But several months later, Wilson appeared to walk back her statement.
“Those comments were not productive in the sense that they caused more harm than good,” she told the New York Times.
Wilson also told the outlet she’s aware that everything she says could be used as possible anti-business missives, and she needs to have a “multidimensional relationship” with corporations like the coffee giant.
Starbucks recently revealed it was going to build a 2,000-person corporate office in Nashville, which fueled concern that the business could leave its hometown high and dry.
Seattle City Council Member Rob Saka told the Times he is “gravely concerned” about the loss of business.
“This is real,” he said.
Wilson insisted this week that her office and Starbucks have a good relationship, and the snub in favor of Nashville was not a surprise, the outlet reported. Starbucks was also a sponsor for a new tiny house homeless shelter that was announced earlier this month, according to KOMO.
“I want them here, and I believe they want to be here,” the mayor said.
Starbucks noted the plan for Nashville was an effort to expand in other parts of the country, the Times reported.
Quote:A woman allegedly tied to Minnesota’s massive “Feeding Our Future” scandal has been charged in a daycare fraud scheme after being featured in a viral video by influencer Nick Shirley, authorities said.
She is accused of pocketing millions of dollars meant for children’s meals.
Fahima Egeh Mahamud was charged Wednesday with wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, according to court documents.
Earlier this year, Mahamud was indicted for her alleged role in the initial $250 million “Feeding Our Future” scheme.
Prosecutors allege she enrolled Future Leaders Early Learning — a Minneapolis daycare where she served as CEO — into the federal child nutrition program, falsely claiming to serve thousands of meals at her childcare center.
In addition to her involvement in the nutrition program fraud, Mahamud was federally charged Wednesday with a secondary scheme to defraud the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides daycare assistance to low-income families.
Between October 2022 and December 2025, she allegedly submitted over 13,000 fraudulent claims to CCAP totaling approximately $4.6 million.
Prosecutors state the claims were fraudulent because she falsely certified that she had collected mandatory co-payments from families, which is a material requirement for federal reimbursement.
The Future Leaders Early Learning center was featured in Shirley’s viral video, FOX 9 Minneapolis reported, which showed him visiting apparently empty, Somali-run childcare centers in and around Minneapolis while alleging widespread fraud.
The video served as a catalyst for an immediate and aggressive multiagency crackdown by the Trump administration.
Quote:An Air France flight was blocked from entering US airspace and instead diverted to Canada over fears of one passenger’s exposure to the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
Air France Flight 378 was scheduled to land at Detroit Metro Wayne Airport in Michigan late Wednesday afternoon before it changed course for Montreal Trudeau International Airport in the Canadian city.
US officials stopped the flight from entering the country after it was revealed a passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo was allowed to board “in error,” the US Customs and Border Protection told CBS News.
“Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” a CBP spokesperson told the outlet. “CBP took decisive action and prohibited the flight carrying that traveler from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and instead, diverted to Montreal, Canada.”
The Air France flight was flying in conjunction with Delta Airlines during the change in arrival location.
Air France confirms that, at the request of US authorities, Flight AF378 was diverted to Montreal Airport after a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States,” and Air France spokesperson told WXYZ. “There was no medical emergency on board, and like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry requirements of the countries it serves.”
Ongoing outbreaks in Eastern and Central Africa have forced government agencies to adjust protocol and restrict travel from anyone who has visited the affected region into the US.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security implemented Monday heightened measures, including enhanced travel screening, restricted entry and public health measures to prevent Ebola from entering the country.
Quote:A sinkhole found on a LaGuardia Airport runway Wednesday led to flight delays, as workers scrambled to make repairs, officials said.
The pit was discovered around 11 a.m. near Runway 4/22 as the Port Authority conducted its daily morning inspection of LaGuardia’s airfield, the agency said.
The runway was quickly shut down as emergency construction and engineering crews descended on the site to complete repairs and determine the cause of the sinkhole “as quickly and safely as possible,” according to a spokesperson.
The Port Authority cautioned travelers to expect disruptions.
“The Port Authority is in close communication with airlines and airport partners and will continue providing updates as conditions evolve,” the rep said.
“Travelers should expect delays and cancellations, particularly with forecast thunderstorms expected later today, and are strongly encouraged to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight status information.”
Several passengers at the travel hub told The Post their flights made wonky detours to work around the runway closure, delaying their landings.
“We flew around Manhattan in a weird direction. Lately, with all the mishaps and near misses at major airports, I’m thankful they found it before a plane went into it. I hope there were no injuries,” said Kit Deason, an IT manager from Alabama who flew Southwest.
“The pilot said that there were delays because the planes were ‘single file lining up at LaGuardia’. They didn’t say a sinkhole. I’m a firefighter, so I know if they’re shutting down runways, there’s a problem,” added Ryan Mastian, who flew American Airlines from Indianapolis to meet up with Deason.
The runway snafu also snarled some people’s travel plans, including those hoping to board connecting flights.
Quote:The widower of a Barnes & Noble shopper who was allegedly stabbed to death by a deranged homeless man is suing the owner and managers of the Florida shopping mall and the book giant.
Jorge Loncharich’s wife, Rita, was murdered following a “recurring pattern” of disturbing incidents at the shopping center, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed on his behalf on Tuesday in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.
The 65-year-old was reading a magazine at the Barnes & Noble while Christmas shopping when she was killed in a frenzied knife attack by a mentally ill homeless man on the evening of Dec. 22, 2025, according to officials.
Antonio Moore, who was 40 at the time of the attack, had arrived in Florida just days earlier after boarding a bus from Georgia, according to an affidavit.
The Barnes & Noble branch at the Legacy Place shopping center in Palm Beach Gardens saw more than 60 documented police incidents in less than five years, according to the lawsuit filed by Morgan & Morgan P.A. on behalf of Loncharich.
These included 16 calls coded as “Unwanted Guest,” 23 shoplifting calls, nine for “Suspicious Person,” eight welfare checks, four suspicious incidents, and 14 general police calls, according to the lawsuit, citing Palm Beach Gardens PD records.
Legacy Place and the Barnes & Noble location specifically also had a long-standing pattern of criminal activity, loitering, trespassing, and confrontations involving transient and homeless people, the complaint alleges.
“Defendants, their agents, employees, and/or servants, had actual or constructive knowledge of a history of criminal activity on and in the vicinity of the premises… and knew or should have known that there was a likelihood for criminal conduct,” the complaint states.
The suit, which seeks damages exceeding $50,000 and a trial by jury under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, names four defendants: property owner LSREF6 Legacy LLC, property manager Trademark Property Company Florida, on-site property manager Ana Torres, and store operator Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Quote:Three people are dead, and nearly 20 first responders in New Mexico were hospitalized for exposure to an “unidentified substance” on Wednesday, according to authorities.
New Mexico State Police arrived at a residence in Mountainair around 11:00 a.m. to assist the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office with a suspected overdose involving an unknown substance.
After entering the home, cops grimly discovered four unidentified people unresponsive. Three of the four people have since died, authorities added.
Eighteen first responders who arrived at the property were exposed to the substance and began experiencing symptoms, including nausea and dizziness, police said.
The remaining occupant and the slew of emergency workers were rushed to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where they are “currently being quarantined, evaluated, and monitored,” the department continued in a statement.
Two of the first responders are currently in serious condition.
“Albuquerque Fire Rescue HazMat teams are assisting at the scene in efforts to identify the substance involved. At this time, investigators believe the substance may be transmitted through contact and do not believe it to be airborne,” the statement said.
Officials stressed there is no current threat to the public, and a secure perimeter has been established around the home.
“We ask the public to avoid the area and keep all affected individuals and first responders in their thoughts,” cops wrote.
Quote:Texas officials have ordered a Muslim university in the Dallas area to shut down after accusing the school of illegally offering degree programs without state approval.
In a May 6 letter sent to TexAM University at Dallas, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board said that the entity “must immediately cease advertising, offering, and enrolling students in degrees or programs of study until it has applied for and been granted a Certificate of Authority.”
The letter alleged that TexAM University at Dallas “is operating a ‘university’ that ‘offer[s] STEM degree programs’ both online and ‘at the Richardson campus.’”
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board wrote that, following a review, it found that TexAM is not compliant with Texas laws and regulations.
“TexAM’s advertising and postings via its website indicate that your entity publicly holds itself out as offering in the State of Texas STEM degree programs, including a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence and admissions to bachelor’s degree programs in computer science, IT, cybersecurity, and health informatics,” the letter read.
On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he was suing TexAM University at Dallas for “unlawfully presenting itself as a university, offering degrees it is not authorized to grant, and misleading prospective students about its legitimacy.”
In a press release, Paxton said that TexAM University at Dallas also “adopted branding and a name ‘confusingly similar’ to Texas A&M University.”
“TexAM has repeatedly disregarded Texas law, misrepresented its authority to grant degrees, and risked deceiving students about its legitimacy,” Paxton said. “My office will not allow illegal, unaccredited degree mills to operate in Texas.”
In their letter, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board said that by May 8, TexAM University at Dallas was required to sign an attached letter and return it to the agency confirming the entity had ceased its offerings.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Shahid A. Bajwa, founder and chairman of the board of trustees at Texas American Muslim Institute for Technology said, “We just learned that Attorney General’s office has filed Lawsuit for non-compliance. They sued our Institute and personally me, along with two other Members/Directors of the Non-Profit corporation, for $1 Million. We fail to understand how the following facts of compliance were overlooked and not even mentioned in the Lawsuit. Still, we are ready to discuss and resolve any misunderstanding.”
Quote:Seven pro-Palestine protesters are on trial in San Francisco this week, accused of bringing one of the nation’s most iconic bridges to a grinding halt, and if convicted, they could spend up to 15 years in prison.
The case centers on an April 15, 2024 demonstration in which all southbound traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge was brought to a standstill for more than four hours, triggering major disruption across San Francisco’s main entry point.
Inside the courtroom Wednesday, prosecutors told jurors the incident was not a peaceful inconvenience but a deliberate obstruction of a major public roadway.
“This case is simple,” Assistant District Attorney Angela Roze told the jury, backing her argument with video evidence from the scene that showed officers on the bridge interacting with Sarah Cantor, who identified herself as the “police liaison” during the protest.
The footage also captured protesters blocking the roadway in vehicles as officers coordinated around the scene.
Roze said the actions were unmistakable.
“The evidence that you see is exactly what the defendants did,” she continued. “There is no question that they obstructed a thoroughfare.”
She also drew a firm boundary between political belief and criminal conduct.
“While you may agree with their cause, and it may be an important one, it does not excuse breaking the law.”
The defense is expected to argue the opposite, that the blockade was driven by moral urgency over the war in Gaza and carried out only after other forms of protest failed.
Public defender Nuha Abusamra told jurors, “There was no legal alternative at this point.”
She added, “It was time for civil disobedience.”
Abusamra also said her client River Allen and others were willing to “move to make a lane,” referring to the bridge’s movable median barrier, in an attempt to allow emergency access through the shutdown.
Another defense attorney, Katy Isa, said her client Conrad DeJesus “had no other choice but to get involved,” pointing to what she described as constant exposure to conflict imagery “coming through his feed every day, morning, noon and night.”
The legal fight follows a turbulent aftermath from the same protest.
Quote:Five members of California’s parole board were reappointed by top Democrats despite a furious backlash over the release of child predators under the state’s controversial elderly parole program.
Commissioners William Muniz, Michael Ruff, Rosalind Sargent-Burns, Mary Thornton and Jack Weiss were approved by the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday over Republican objections, and now head to a full Senate vote.
The panel – all appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom – faced intense scrutiny from GOP lawmakers over a string of high-profile releases, including convicted child abusers and sex offenders.
That includes the parole of David Allen Funston, 64, who prosecutors said kidnapped and molested at least eight children – seven girls and one boy – after luring them with Barbie dolls and candy.
In March, commissioners also freed Gregory Lee Vogelsang, 57, who had been serving a more than 300-year sentence for sexually abusing children as young as five.
Another case involved Roberto Antonio Detrinidad, 39, who was released despite a life sentence for breaking into a San Francisco apartment and sexually assaulting a sleeping woman.
Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones blasted the decisions, saying they had “badly shaken” confidence in the board.
“Mr. Vogelsang acknowledged that his sexual attraction to children is always going to be there,” Jones said.
“As a board member, can you explain how factors like age, time served, and good behavior can outweigh a public safety risk when an inmate admits ongoing sexual attraction to children?” he asked.
Quote:King Charles III was mistakenly declared dead by a UK radio station Tuesday in a shocking on-air blunder that left listeners stunned before the station suddenly went silent.
Radio Caroline, which broadcasts across parts of England, accidentally triggered its “Death of a Monarch” protocol due to what station bosses later described as a “computer error.”
Regular programming abruptly stopped before presenters announced that normal broadcasts had been suspended following the “death” of the 77-year-old monarch.
“This is Radio Caroline. We have suspended our normal programs until further notice as a mark of respect following the passing of His Majesty King Charles III,” the broadcast said, according to The Telegraph. “This is Radio Caroline. His Majesty King Charles III has passed away. As a mark of respect, we will play continuous, suitable music until further notice.”
“God Save the King” then played over the airwaves before the station fell silent for roughly 15 minutes.
Station manager Peter Moore later apologized and blamed the mistake on a computer error.
“Due to a computer error at our main studio, the Death of a Monarch procedure, which all UK stations hold in readiness while hoping not to require, was accidentally activated on Tuesday afternoon (May 19), mistakenly announcing that HM the King had passed away,” Moore wrote in a Facebook statement.
“Radio Caroline then fell silent as would be required, which alerted us to restore programming and issue an on-air apology.”
“We apologize to HM the King and to our listeners for any distress caused,” he added.
The on-air announcement sparked confusion among some listeners, who later took to social media to describe their reactions.
“I dashed indoors shouting to the missus ‘He’s dead! Charlie is dead!’ She looked puzzled,” one listener wrote after the mix-up.
“I heard this on my car stereo as I was just leaving work and for a moment i had to ask myself whether it was true or just a sick joke,” another listener said.
“It did give me a bit of a shock, but I accept these mistakes can happen and was glad to find out it wasn’t true,” a third added.
The station did not say exactly how long the false report remained on air before staff realized what had happened.
Quote:“Father Ted” writer Graham Linehan has received a groveling apology from Britain’s largest police force eight months after he was arrested by armed cops for social media posts critical of the transgender issue.
Linehan, 57, was taken into custody by London’s Metropolitan Police as he arrived at Heathrow Airport last September and told his X posts were hate speech, after a transgender former cop reported him.
Scotland Yard finally accepted it was a mistake and apologized for the arrest that sparked a storm of criticism.
A five-month investigation found that “the service provided was not acceptable and recognize the distress and impact this matter has caused Mr. Linehan,” Inspector Matt Hume, from the department’s directorate of professional standards, wrote in a report obtained by the Telegraph.
However, none of the five armed officers who arrested Linehan will see any punishment beyond “learning “through reflection,” the Telegraph said.
However, the Met said it will change how it handles hate-crime allegations with high-profile people, according to the report.
Lineham said Sunday that “the ‘apology’ I received from the police, doesn’t sound like an apology.”
He quoted a part of it as stating: “The Met concluded that while the arrest was lawful, aspects of the investigation were flawed and misunderstood, with officers focusing on the anti-transgender nature of Linehan’s posts and inadequately on the alleged incitement to violence.”
Linehan was arrested over three posts he made on X back in April 2025, including one that read: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
Quote:The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships entered the Caribbean Sea Wednesday as part of an apparent effort by the Trump administration to apply pressure on Cuba from all directions.
“Welcome to the Caribbean, Nimitz Carrier Strike Group!” US Southern Command posted on X.
The strike group includes the Nimitz aircraft carrier, its air wing – F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2D Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks – the USS Gridley destroyer and the USNS Patuxent replenishment oiler.
US Southern Command touted the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group as “the epitome of readiness and presence, unmatched reach and lethality, and strategic advantage.”
“USS Nimitz has proven its combat prowess across the globe, ensuring stability and defending democracy from the Taiwan Strait to the Arabian Gulf,” US Southern Command added.
The arrival of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group comes on the same day the Justice Department unsealed a criminal indictment against former Cuban President Raul Castro, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a Spanish-language message to the Cuban people, offering them a “new relationship” with the US.
The strike group’s arrival also comes a week after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to the communist island to meet with top Cuban officials.
The Trump administration plans to keep the carrier strike group in the region for at least a few days as “a show of force” and not for major military operations, a US official told the New York Times.
The USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship, the USS Fort Lauderdale amphibious transport ship, the USS Lake Erie guided-missile cruiser and the USS Billings littoral combat ship have also been operating in the Caribbean Sea in recent days, according to the US Naval Institute’s fleet tracker.
Cuba is “on our mind,” President Trump told reporters Wednesday after Castro was hit with murder and other charges stemming from the deadly 1996 shootdowns of two civilian planes over international waters.
“It’s very important,” Trump said of the indictment. “It was a very big moment for people, not only Cuban Americans, but people who came from Cuba, that want to go back to Cuba, see their family in Cuba.”
Quote:Former Cuban president Raul Castro and five others were indicted for the murder of four US nationals who assisted Cuban refugees in the 1990s, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Wednesday.
Blanche told a news conference in Miami that a federal grand jury handed up the charges against Castro, 94, on April 23 for directing the 1996 shootdown by Cuba’s air force of two planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, an exile-run humanitarian group.
The regime’s fighter jets fired air-to-air missiles at two unarmed civilian Cessna aircraft carrying Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales, killing all four, who were US nationals. Three were American citizens.
Brothers to the Rescue was founded in 1991 to help Cuban migrants “stranded or lost at sea” while attempting to flee the island’s Communist regime, according to the 19-page unsealed indictment.
Castro and his co-defendants have been charged with conspiring to kill US nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder in the Feb. 24, 1996, incident.
At the time, Castro was serving as head of Cuba’s armed forces under his brother, then-President Fidel Castro.
“For nearly 30 years — 30 years — the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” Blanche said. “They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida Straits.”
“For the first time in nearly 70 years, senior leadership of the Cuban regime has been charged in this country … for acts of violence resulting in the deaths of American citizens,” he added. “Nations and their leaders cannot be permitted to target Americans, kill them, and not face accountability.”
The indictment drew parallels to the federal charges levied against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US special forces from his Caracas compound in a daring Jan. 3 operation to face narco-trafficking and firearms charges in New York City.
Quote:On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) discussed possible legal action against Raul Castro and said that “Legal accountability is critical. And, by the way, the Trump administration people may think about that as they undertake illegal wars and illegal actions, for example, the double-tap strike on the two individuals, the drug runners who were clinging to a sinking boat.” And “It is possible that Raul Castro undertook criminal activities, not a concept that would be entirely foreign to the occupant of the Oval Office himself.”
Guest host Jim Sciutto asked, “Given that this might be following a Venezuela model here, would you support Castro’s indictment first and removal later, if the administration were to support that?”
Himes answered, “Well, I would say this: Legal accountability is critical. And, by the way, the Trump administration people may think about that as they undertake illegal wars and illegal actions, for example, the double-tap strike on the two individuals, the drug runners who were clinging to a sinking boat. Accountability is important for everybody. We care about justice. And so, in fact, if there’s a case to be made against Raul Castro, let the facts play out. What is not okay is us deciding that we are going to use the military to enforce global laws. That’s not what the military is for. And so, again, the president has talked for a very long time about going after Cuba. It is possible that Raul Castro undertook criminal activities, not a concept that would be entirely foreign to the occupant of the Oval Office himself. But the use of American military force is not okay, and it is certainly not okay when it is not approved by the United States Congress, as the Constitution demands.”
Quote:Many Cubans hope the US indictment against former president Raul Castro announced Wednesday will usher in the collapse of the entire Communist regime.
Dissidents on the island and exiles in the US welcomed the historic charges — for murder over the downing of two aid jets in 1996 — saying while most of the island starves under choking sanctions, the political elite and military continue to syphon aid and lead normal lives.
In Havana, Ranses Mones Quintero, 32, told The Post he welcomed the criminal charges, saying: “We are happy and hopeful. And if there has to be blood, if Cubans have to die to get rid of the government, then we’re prepared. People are just tired of waiting for change.”
In Havana, Ranses Mones Quintero, 32, told The Post he welcomed the criminal charges, saying: “We are happy and hopeful. And if there has to be blood, if Cubans have to die to get rid of the government, then we’re prepared. People are just tired of waiting for change.”
However, presently he’s most worried about where he’s going to find medication to treat his pneumonia.
“There’s nothing here,” he said, explaining he survives on remittances his family sends from the US, from which the government takes a portion of that cash.
“There’s no medication, no work and we only have electricity for a couple of hours a day.”
Castro, 94, was charged along with five others with seven counts of murder, conspiracy to kill US nationals and destruction of aircraft over the destruction of the Brothers to Rescue jets by Cuban MiG-29 fighter planes in 1996.
Quote:China’s Xi Jinping rolled out the red carpet for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday as they traded veiled jabs at the US just days after Beijing hosted President Trump — but failed to reach a breakthrough pipeline deal for Moscow.
Xi and Putin met in Beijing to sign more than 40 cooperation agreements surrounding trade, technology and media exchanges.
Putin specifically highlighted the deals made in the energy sector, alluding to Russia’s role in propping up China during the American war in Iran.
“Amid the crisis in the Middle East, Russia continues to maintain its role as a reliable supplier of resources, while China remains a responsible consumer of these resources,” Putin said, taking a jab at the economic upheaval caused by the conflict.
Russia’s oil exports to China grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2026, with Moscow serving as one of the biggest exporters of natural gas to Beijing, a Putin aide said.
Xi made his own apparent remarks against the US as he slammed a world order under “unilateralism and hegemonism.”
“The world faces the danger of reverting to the law of the jungle,” the Chinese president said as he positioned his country to serve as a competing global influencer.
Both leaders also addressed each other as longtime friends during the meeting, touting the bilateral trade between the two nations that reached around $228 billion in 2025, according to Xinhua news agency.
But among the agreements signed, there was no visible progress made on the prospective Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline that Russia has promoted to boost exports to China.
The planned 1615-mile pipeline would carry 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China, but the means of financing, delivery of the fuel, and its price system remains unresolved.
Quote:WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security is coming under pressure to sequester shipments of Labubu dolls coming into the US due to forced labor concerns.
A test found that 16 of 20 of Pop Mart’s plush monster toys were comprised of some cotton from Xinjiang, where China is accused of carrying out human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghur population.
The heads of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and State Armor, both China hawk groups, urged DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to stop imports of those products in response.
“The forced labor system that feeds Pop Mart’s supply chain is setting records. In 2025 alone, Chinese authorities carried out 3.36 million ‘labor transfers,'” the heads of the two groups wrote to Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.
“Worker consent is rendered structurally impossible by the system’s design,” they added. “The scale of Pop Mart’s U.S. market makes the urgency acute. Pop Mart has announced plans to expand its U.S. retail footprint and membership base.”
The test identifying the ties to Xinjiang was commissioned by the Campaign for Uyghurs. The New York Times later confirmed the results independently.
The US bans imports from Xinjiang, a region also known as East Turkistan, due to alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim population, including accusations of internment camps, sterilization, forced labor, and more.
State Department officials have classified the alleged human rights abuses there as genocide.
Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning had been defensive of Xinjiang cotton, previously blasting Adidas for vowing to avoid the region, alleging that the company had “baselessly smeared Xinjiang for violations of human rights” and “seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”
Quote:Poland’s defense minister said no decisions have been made to reduce the number of American troops in the country and recent US moves may only temporarily delay their deployment, after meeting US Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Mahoney.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Tuesday a US troop deployment to Poland had been delayed, but that it was not accurate to say the troops were being withdrawn from Europe.
Poland was earlier alarmed by reports the Pentagon had canceled plans to deploy 4,000 US troops in the country.
Officials tried to reassure Poles that this was not the case.
“Decisions that are made in the US and their consequences may temporarily delay the deployment of US forces to Poland, which is exactly what we said–that there was no decision to reduce them, only a temporary suspension,” Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters after meeting Mahoney.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon said it would withdraw 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany, in part due to a widening rift between US President Donald Trump and Europe linked to the Iran conflict.
Poland says its role as a hub for military and other supplies to Ukraine, following Moscow’s full-scale invasion, has made it a target for Russian spies gathering intelligence and carrying out acts of sabotage.
The country plans to spend 4.8% of its GDP on defense this year, the highest percentage in NATO, and underlines it has always been a loyal partner to the US.
“Poland is a model ally,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said, adding it was working together on “plans for the deployment of American forces in Europe.”
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
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