News of the World
10-11-2025, 05:28 AM
(This post was last modified: Today, 02:41 AM by DerVVulfman.)
USA
Quote:Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has publicly dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to the people of Venezuela and to President Donald Trump, citing their unwavering support in the fight for democracy. In a statement shared on X, Machado called the recognition “a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.”
"We are on the threshold of victory and today," she wrote, "more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy. I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
Why It Matters
Machado, an opposition leader in Venezuela, has campaigned tirelessly for democracy and remains a central figure in the struggle against Nicolás Maduro’s government. She defeated several prominent contenders for the award, including Trump, who had openly campaigned for it this year by highlighting his role in helping to end multiple global conflicts.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee lauded Machado for being a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided—an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government."
What To Know
The 58-year-old former legislator and presidential candidate has been the face of the Venezuelan opposition, particularly after being disqualified from the 2024 election by Maduro’s government. Edmundo González, who replaced her on the ballot, celebrated the win from exile in Spain, calling it “a well-deserved recognition of the long struggle of a woman and an entire people for our freedom and democracy”.
Machado has remained in hiding since January, after publishing electoral records that opposition groups say demonstrated her victory in the July 2024 election. The Venezuelan government, dominated by Maduro loyalists, rejected those results and declared Maduro the winner in a vote widely condemned by international observers. No credible evidence was presented to support Maduro’s declared victory.
In the aftermath, protests erupted across the country and were met with deadly force. More than 20 people were killed in demonstrations, and hundreds were arrested. Dozens of Machado’s campaign allies sought refuge at diplomatic compounds, with many later fleeing the country. Human rights organization Foro Penal reports that more than 800 political prisoners remain behind bars, including Machado’s son-in-law Rafael Tudares.
I can't stop wondering how you can get a prize for achieving pretty much nothing.
Quote:President Donald Trump responded Friday to being passed over for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize with measured remarks, acknowledging Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s win and noting that she had credited him in her acceptance remarks.
Trump said that Machado called him personally and publicly dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to the people of Venezuela and to himself, as she cited an unwavering support in the fight for democracy.
The president said Friday, in part, "The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said 'I'm accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it.' A really nice thing to do.
He then quipped, "I didn't say, 'Then give it to me, though.' I think she might have."
Machado's stance against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro aligns with the Trump administration’s own policy on Venezuela. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously praised Machado as “the personification of resilience, tenacity and patriotism.”
Why It Matters
Three sitting U.S. presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Woodrow Wilson in 1919 and Barack Obama in 2009. Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002, two decades after leaving office, and former Vice President Al Gore received it in 2007.
Obama, a Democrat and frequent target of Trump’s criticism long before the Republican’s election, earned the prize early in his presidency.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that he will increase tariffs on Chinese goods by 100% and threatened to cancel his planned Oct. 29 meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping over Beijing’s new export controls.
US markets took a dive as the trade war flared over the new Chinese Commerce Ministry rule requiring companies to seek permission to export items containing or made with rare-earth minerals, including batteries, semiconductors and technologies with magnets.
Trump said the rule threatens to throttle the world economy, potentially denying components to a broad swath of products that are essential to international supply chains, and that Beijing has until Nov. 1 to change course.
“This affects ALL Countries, without exception, and was obviously a plan devised by them years ago. It is absolutely unheard of in International Trade, and a moral disgrace in dealing with other Nations,” Trump said in a Friday evening statement.
“Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the U.S.A., and not other Nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a Tariff of 100% on China, over and above any Tariff that they are currently paying. Also on November 1st, we will impose Export Controls on any and all critical software.”
Beijing’s Commerce Ministry released the rule Thursday forcing other nations to obtain licenses to export products that contain more than 0.1% of rare earths, escalating the trade war with the US involving semiconductor chips that power cell phones, computers and data centers for AI models.
China currently produces roughly 90% of the world’s rare-earth minerals that help produce those products, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“It’s an economic equivalent of nuclear war — an intent to destroy the American AI industry,” Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank, told the outlet, claiming it was a “blackmail tactic” before Trump’s planned summit with Xi in South Korea.
The US has either secured domestic or foreign investments of hundreds of billions of dollars in data centers used to help power AI during Trump’s second term.
The president specified to journalists Friday evening in the Oval Office that he was considering retaliatory export restrictions on airplanes and airplane parts.
The current average US tariff on Chinese products is 57.6%, up from 19.8% one year ago, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
DHS NEWS
Quote:The Department of Homeland Security has condemned the “dangerous” doxxing of immigration agents and their families as the agency pleads to dial down the pervasive and escalating rhetoric emanating from lefty politicians and media outlets.
“The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer,” said DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
“Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop.”
DHS says not only have threats increased against its agents, but assaults have skyrocketed by 1,000% in recent months as the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown.
The menacing incidents have come in the form of vicious, profanity-laced voicemails and social media postings revealing the home addresses of the federal officers, leading to several arrests.
Three women were indicted last month for allegedly stalking an ICE agent from the Los Angeles Civic Center to his home, livestreaming the unhinged pursuit on their Instagram accounts while providing detailed directions to their followers.
When they arrived at the agent’s home, they continued streaming while shouting to bystanders that their “neighbor is ICE,” “la migra lives here” and “ICE lives on your street and you should know.”
They publicly disclosed the agent’s home address and encouraged viewers to “come on down,” according to the US Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
On Sept. 22, a 68-year-old man was busted in San Diego after he posted the home address of an ICE attorney online and urged people to harass her, or even “swat” her, a dangerous harassment tactic where fake emergency calls are made to provoke an armed response by law enforcement.
The hateful messages continued with a vile voicemail left for a Texas ICE officer’s spouse, comparing them to Nazis and outright threatening their family.
“I don’t know how you let your husband work for ICE, and you sleep at night. F–k you, f–k your family. I hope your kids get deported by accident. How do you sleep? F–k you. Did you hear what happened to the Nazis after World War II? Because it’s what’s going to happen to your family,” an unidentified female said on the line, her voice dripping with contempt.
Another agent’s spouse received a message on Facebook from an account apparently with the sender’s full name, Robert Buckley, warning, “your husband, the ice man, is a f–k and retribution will come your way eventually.”
“These types of threats against our brave ICE law enforcement officers and their families are disgusting. These officers risk their lives every day to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, terrorists, and gang members from our communities,” McLaughlin said, slamming the harassment campaigns.
Quote:The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have awarded $4.5 billion in new contracts to expand wall construction along the southwest border.
The projects will add roughly 230 miles of new “Smart Wall” barriers and nearly 400 miles of integrated surveillance and detection systems.
The Smart Wall combines steel fencing with patrol roads, lighting, cameras, and advanced sensors designed to improve monitoring and enforcement along key stretches of the U.S.–Mexico border.
Why It Matters
Unlawful crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped to their lowest level in more than half a century, according to DHS data released Tuesday. The Trump administration has effectively shut down asylum and brought border crossings to historic lows under stricter measures implemented to curb migration.
What To Know
The contracts, awarded between September 15 and 30, are the first funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, along with carryover funding from Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations under the Biden administration.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also issued waivers to expedite construction in select areas, allowing roughly nine miles in the San Diego sector and about 30 miles in New Mexico’s El Paso sector to move forward without certain regulatory requirements.
The 10 contracts awarded cover major construction across the southwest border.
In California, projects in the San Diego and El Centro sectors, worth a combined $1.06 billion, will add about 17 miles of new Smart Wall and more than 100 miles of supporting technology.
In Arizona, contracts in the Yuma and Tucson sectors total roughly $807 million and include 23 miles of new secondary wall and over 120 miles of surveillance and infrastructure upgrades.
Across New Mexico and Texas, the El Paso projects, three in total, account for about $1.58 billion, replacing and adding over 70 miles of new Smart Wall and 149 miles of system attributes.
In the Del Rio Sector, two contracts worth $929 million will add 32 miles of wall and 63 miles of waterborne barriers near Eagle Pass.
A small portion of the new Smart Wall funding traces back to money first approved during the Biden administration. The only segment funded with these leftover dollars is the Rio Grande Valley Waterborne Barrier Project in Texas, a $96 million contract to build 17 miles of floating barrier along the Rio Grande near Brownsville.
A study conducted in 2025 by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that 56% of Americans favor substantially expanding the wall along the U.S.–Mexico border, up from 46% in 2019. Support among Republicans remains strong at 88%, while backing among Democrats, though far lower, has nearly doubled to 27%—up from 14% six years earlier, according to Pew.
Quote:Four anti-ICE protesters were arrested at a chaotic demonstration outside a DHS facility in Chicago on Friday after a federal judge blocked President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to the Windy City.
Illinois State police in riot gear clashed with an unruly crowd near the ICE facility in Broadview as protests continue to rage in Chicago in the wake of Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, WLS reported.
Protestors chanted “the whole world is watching” as baton-wielding officers scuffled with the pushy group, video circulating online showed.
Photos and video showed at least four people being roughly dragged from the crowd by their clothes and bags and later handcuffed and led away by Illinois State Police officers.
Those who were arrested have been charged with resisting and obstruction, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said, according to WLS.
Demonstrations have raged across the Second City since Trump initiated “Operation Midway Blitz” — a push to crackdown on illegal immigration across the city which has been resisted by local leaders and protesters.
Trump sent several hundred National Guard soldiers to protect DHS agents as they carry out deportations in Chicago — but on Thursday, Biden-appointed District Judge April Perry granted Illinois’ request for a temporary restraining order to block the National Guard deployment.
Friday’s demonstration came a day after protesters Ray Collins and Jocelyn Robledo — who were carrying loaded weapons when they clashed with ICE officers outside the same Broadview ICE facility on Sept. 27 — had their felony charges dropped after a local grand jury refused to indict them.
At another scene in Lincoln Square on Friday, a video editor for local WGN-TV, Debbie Brockman, was detained by ICE officers, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Quote:A college professor with suspected links to Antifa — and who believes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are Nazis — was arrested in Chicago late last month after he allegedly brought a loaded gun to an anti-ICE protest.
Elias Cepeda, who is listed as a faculty member in the English department at Northeastern Illinois University, was collared on Sept. 26 with a loaded gun and multiple rounds of ammunition on him amid President Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz crackdown in the Windy City.
The Department of Homeland Security alleges Cepeda brought the loaded firearm with him to a demonstration outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Ill., the site of several violent protests.
“Elias Cepeda has suspected ties to the domestic terrorist organization ANTIFA and has a history of glorifying violence against—and the killing of—our brave law enforcement,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
“Violent individuals like Cepeda are putting the public and our law enforcement’s lives in danger. Just two days after the horrific attack on ICE in Dallas, Cepeda brought a loaded gun and multiple magazines to our ICE facility in Chicago,” McLaughlin added.
“Thank God law enforcement intervened and arrested Cepeda before he could have potentially shot or killed anyone. Let this serve as a stark warning to any individual who wishes to do our law enforcement harm or any ANTIFA terrorist: President Trump and Secretary Noem will fight every day to protect and defend the men and women who keep our country safe from violent extremists and criminal illegal aliens alike.”
Prior to his arrest, Cepeda had made several social media posts calling for violence against ICE, describing federal agents as Nazis and referencing Antifa.
“[Y]our Nazi asses are lying,” Cepeda wrote on X in June, in response to a DHS post about the arrest of a person in Los Angeles for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement officers.
“Secondly, we’d all be morally justified in taking your Nazi heads off with weed whackers,” he added.
In a post made days after President Trump took office, Cepeda expressed support for having teachers “protect children” from ICE with firearms.
“No that ICE is showing up at elementary schools with weapons and no warrants attempting to terrorize kids I am in favor of teachers and staff being armed to protect children,” the professor wrote.
In a May tweet aimed at DHS, Cepeda wrote, “Shut up, Nazi.”
Cepeda also used the “#Antifa” hashtag on multiple tweets in 2020, where he shared links and posts glorifying the Trump-designated domestic terror group.
In 2022, Cepeda bragged about training a Portland-based transgender cage fighter with sympathies for Antifa.
“That’s right, and I’m damned proud to train her. You cowards coming for her can come for me as well. I’m easy to find,” he wrote in response to a post from independent journalist Andy Ngo about the mixed martial artist.
Quote:Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday announced the arrest of a man accused of threatening to kill conservative commentator Benny Johnson, in what authorities say was a disturbing copycat plot inspired by the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Authorities arrested George Isabel Jr. for threatening to make “orphans” of Johnson’s children, just days after Charlie’s assassination,” Bondi told reporters at a press conference in Florida.
“Benny received a letter at his home where he and [his wife] Kate are raising their beautiful, beautiful young family,” she said outside the US Attorney’s Office in Tampa. “The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views and he wanted Benny dead.”
Isabel is now charged in federal court with mailing threatening communications following his arrest Friday morning, she said.
If convicted, Isabel — whom Bondi called a “left-wing radical” — will serve prison time, she said.
Speaking alongside Bondi, Johnson revealed details about the letter’s chilling contents — noting the author’s blatantly apparent political motivations for writing the letter.
“The individual who wrote me described why he wanted me dead: I was a white, cis, Christian Trump supporter,” he said. “They described in great detail how I would be killed in an open field just like Charlie. How much blood would come out of my head and neck when it would come off.”
“This individual described orphaning my four children and widowing my beautiful wife with great joy.”
“We cannot allow this political violence to continue any longer,” she said. “This arrest will serve as a reminder to many — do not do this, we will find you.”
The attorney general revealed that there are similar cases across the country — and that the Justice Department is cracking down on those who sent the threatening communications.
“This guy thought he got away with this, and he thought he could hurt Benny and his family, and it’s not going to happen,” she said. “We have open cases other open cases all over this country and we’re going to find you.”
The arrest comes as the Trump administration aims to combat political violence, renewing its focus on groups such as the far-left “Antifa” movement — which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday claimed is “just as sophisticated” as Hamas, ISIS and MS-13.
Trump designated the group as a domestic terrorist organization late last month, following Kirk’s death.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Eighteen Republicans on Thursday demanded the release of FBI records compiled during the Biden administration’s Arctic Frost investigation — after nine were recently informed by bureau officials that agents had surreptitiously obtained their call logs from 2021, The Post can reveal.
The GOP lawmakers asked for all the Arctic Frost communications involving the FBI, Department of Justice, members of President Joe Biden’s White House and ex-special counsel Jack Smith’s office, according to a letter led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
Smith received the materials — including the so-called “toll analysis,” or phone metadata from the members of Congress that could show whom they called or texted — for what would later become his 2020 election meddling prosecution of President Trump.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told eight Republican senators and one GOP House member that the Washington Field Office got their call logs from between Jan. 4 and 7, 2021, and that the information was “subject to federal grand jury secrecy requirements,” per the letter.
Grassley, Johnson and the 16 other Republicans are now asking what legal processes were abided by, whether there were further “wiretaps, seizure warrants, or surveillance” that none were aware of, and any subpoenas that were given to cellphone carriers.
They also want to know which other contacts may have been caught up in the FBI dragnet.
Thursday’s missive, co-signed by those nine Republicans and every GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, declared: “The Biden administration’s blatant weaponization of the federal government should shock every American.
“Further, the unprecedented nature of the DOJ’s and FBI’s actions in collecting MOC’s [members of Congress’] communication records falls squarely within Congress’ constitutional duty to thoroughly investigate potential abuses of power and creates a uniquely exceptional circumstance that demands the release of otherwise protected records,” they added.
“We expect both DOJ and FBI to take the necessary steps to provide complete transparency to Congress so that the Biden administration’s targeting of sitting elected officials is thoroughly investigated and all wrongdoers are held fully accountable.”
Grassley, who released the September 2023 espionage files from the FBI on Monday, called the disclosures “arguably worse than Watergate.”
“What I’ve uncovered today is disturbing and outrageous political conduct by the Biden FBI,” the Iowa Republican said in a statement. “The FBI’s actions were an unconstitutional breach, and Attorney General [Pam] Bondi and [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel need to hold accountable those involved in this serious wrongdoing.”
Grassley also put out documents showing 92 GOP-connected groups or people — including late conservative Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk — were targeted in the FBI probe as well.
Quote:Indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James repeatedly listed her Virginia home as an “investment” property in financial disclosure forms – despite allegedly making false claims to a bank to obtain a favorable loan that barred her from using the house as a rental.
The three bedroom Norfolk, Va., home James purchased in August of 2020 – named in Thursday’s federal grand jury indictment – is listed in the “real estate” section of James’ 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 disclosures to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government as an “investment,” valued at between “$100,000 to under $150,000.”
However, in her 2024 ethics filing, James designated the Norfolk home as “real property,” rather than an “investment.”
The AG also upped the estimated value of the single-family home to “$150,000 to under $250,000.”
The 2024 disclosure was filed in May of this year – a month after Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department alleging that James had “falsified records” to obtain home loans for a different Norfolk, Va., property.
It’s unclear why James changed the word “investment” to “real property” on her 2024 disclosure.
James did not disclose generating any income from the Norfolk home at the center of the indictment in her ethics filings between 2021-2024.
In her 2020 disclosures, James noted that an “investment real property” in Norfolk brought in between $1,000 and $5,000 in income. However, it is unclear whether this property is the same one mentioned in the indictment.
The New York attorney general’s office and James’ lawyer did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Federal prosecutors allege that James misrepresented how she would use the property when she obtained a $109,600 mortgage loan – originated by OVM Financial and backed by Fannie Mae – to purchase the $137,000 home in 2020.
James agreed to a “Second Home Rider” when she took out the loan, according to the indictment, which required the attorney general to “occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.”
“Despite these representations,” prosecutors wrote, the Norfolk property “was not occupied or used by James as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property.”
Quote:Two Democrats who entered 2025 as favorites in high-stakes statewide races are now watching their campaigns unravel—thanks not to their opponents, but to their own conduct.
In California, Katie Porter’s bid for governor is reeling after two videos surfaced this week showing her berating a staffer and cutting short a tense interview with a local reporter. In Virginia, attorney general hopeful Jay Jones has seen his momentum in the race evaporate over violent, profanity-laced text messages he once sent about a Republican rival and his family.
Both were leading in early polls. Both are now in damage control.
Katie Porter's Blowups Shift the Race in California
Porter is a former U.S. representative who built a national profile by turning congressional hearings into viral moments. Armed with her signature whiteboard and a sharp command of policy, she became a social media darling during her two terms in the House and a rising star in the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. But her struggles under unscripted pressure have raised questions about whether she’s ready to lead the world’s fourth-largest economy.
The first blow came when raw footage from a CBS Sacramento interview leaked on X, showing Porter threatening to walk out after being pressed on whether she could appeal to Republican voters. “I don’t want to keep doing this. I’m going to call it,” she said, clapping her hands. When the station's investigative reporter Julie Watts — a well-known and highly regarding local journalist — followed up, Porter replied, “I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation,” objecting to any further questions.
Politico then published a leaked 2021 video showing Porter yelling at a staffer to “get out of my f---ing shot” during a virtual meeting with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. In the same clip, she complained about not being invited to the White House despite raising “a shit ton of money” for then-President Joe Biden.
The clip, released just a day after her interview clash aired, came as a devastating blow to a campaign already under scrutiny. “This was one of the worst-kept secrets in California politics,” Political strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political action committee, told Newsweek.
“Now we’re seeing video evidence of the many stories about how she’s treated people—staff members, journalists, even her ex-husband. There’s a problem here.”
...
Jay Jones’ Campaign Implodes Over Leaked Texts
While Porter’s campaign is reeling from damaging optics and workplace allegations, across the country in Virginia, Jay Jones faces a scandal of a different order—one rooted in violent rhetoric that has shocked even longtime political allies.
Jones, also a Democrat, was leading the race for attorney general when the National Review published screenshots of private messages he sent in 2022. In one, Jones described a hypothetical scenario where then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert would get “two bullets to the head.” In another, he referred to Gilbert’s wife and children as “breeding little fascists.”
The messages were confirmed by the recipient, Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, and Jones admitted to sending them. “I am embarrassed, ashamed, and sorry,” he said in a public statement.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson all publicly condemned Jones, while Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares’ campaign quickly turned the scandal into attack ads. Polling data show Jones' support collapsing. A Washington Post–Schar School survey conducted before the leak showed Jones leading Miyares by six points. By the end of that week, an internal poll showed that lead shrinking to just one point, within the margin of error. Republican-backed polling showed Jones falling below 44 percent.
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, told Newsweek that the fallout will likely have long-term consequences. “I expect that some Democrats will leave the AG line blank, which reduces the chances that Jones will win,” he said. “Even if he does win this time, Virginia Democrats are unlikely to forget his reckless behavior.”
J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia, was more direct. “If Democrats renominate Jones for anything higher than dogcatcher, they’ll deserve to lose,” he told Newsweek. “Aside from the horrid nature of his texts, it was dumb of him to keep yapping to a Republican. You really can't fix stupid.”
The Virginia Democratic Party has not called for Jones to drop out, though several prominent figures, including Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, have issued statements denouncing the messages. But Spanberger, who is leading in the governor's race, refusing to disavow him when given the opportunity in a debate Thursday.
Early voting continues, with more than 350,000 ballots already cast.
Quote:As many as 19 people are missing and feared dead after a “devastating blast” leveled a Tennessee bomb factory Friday, according to officials.
The massive explosion was reported around 7:45 a.m. local time at the Accurate Energetic Systems plant at the Hickman-Humphreys County line, west of Nashville.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis confirmed there were “some” fatalities and that there are people still missing, without providing numbers — though he referred to the 19 people working in the building at the time of the tragedy as “souls.”
“There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone,” Davis said. “It’s the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”
The blast impacted “one whole building” of the McEwen property, he said. The factory, which makes and tests explosives for the government, is located miles away from any residences and businesses.
Footage of the campus showed that the building had been obliterated in the blast, with only smoldering wreckage and the burnt-out shells of vehicles left in its wake.
The tragedy occurred in the Melt Pour building, where explosive materials are liquified and poured into canisters, an employee told The Tennessean.
The canisters are then packed into boxes, which are stacked on pallets and loaded into trucks. AES works on both government and non-government contracts.
Typically, fewer than 30 people are inside the Melt Pour building at a time, they said.
Nineteen employees were inside the building at the time, and every one remains unaccounted for, according to Humphreys County EMA Director Odell Poyner.
At least 13 people remain unaccounted for, said Bates
The cause of the explosion is still unknown, with investigators saying it could take several days to determine what went wrong.
Quote:A judge chillingly foresaw David Mazariegos’ escalating violence as he begrudgingly lowered his bail in an assault case — just months before the maniac allegedly beat a beloved security guard to death outside a Brooklyn subway station.
The premonition by Manhattan Judge Robert Rosenthal was revealed in a transcript from a July hearing, after prosecutors couldn’t secure a felony assault charge against Mazariegos, 25, in a case with eerie echoes to his later alleged fatal beating of Nicola Tanzi, 64, this week.
“The severity of these is increasing over time,” Rosenthal said during the hearing, referring to Mazariegos’ mile-long rap sheet, which mostly consisted of petty offenses until the assault in late June.
Mazariegos’ charge in that case had been reduced to a misdemeanor, but prosecutors still pushed for the same $2,500 bail set when he’d been first arraigned on the felony, the transcript shows.
His court-appointed attorney, Gretchen Reeser, argued Mazariegos wasn’t a flight risk and should be released without bail based on his lack of violent history at the time — a request that gave Rosenthal considerable pause, according to the transcript.
“I mean that is the point but what mitigates against that is that this is the first violent crime,” the judge said, adding that the fact that the charges against Mazariegos increasingly becoming more serious “is suggesting to me something other than returning to court.”
But Rosenthal, his hands effectively tied due to the misdemeanor charge, dropped Mazariegos’ bail to $1,000 — setting the stage for his release, during which he allegedly ramped up his violence Tuesday by beating Tanzi to death outside Jay Street-MetroTech station.
The failure to keep Mazariegos behind bars was seized by Diana Florence, who is running as an independent to replace Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Florence contended Bragg’s policies and the state’s bail reforms led to Mazariegos’ release.
“Tuesday’s tragedy was preventable,” she said in a statement. “Nicola Tanzi didn’t have to die.”
Richard Fife, a spokesman for Bragg’s re-election campaign, shot back that Florence was “shamelessly distorting the truth and exploiting a tragedy to score cheap political points.”
The court record shows that prosecutors mounted an aggressive case against Mazariegos after he allegedly sucker punched a security guard outside a Chelsea theater on June 24.
Quote:A ground stop was issued Friday afternoon at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to a fire alarm incident involving “strong gas fumes,” the FAA confirmed.
Planes were grounded around 5 p.m. ET.
The FAA said the ground stop went into effect after an alarm was triggered by a “strong” odor of gas fumes.
The airport’s air traffic control tower was evacuated, and first responders were at the airport, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
The FAA said a secondary air traffic control tower is being set up, and, once that happens, the ground stop will be lifted.
The airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.
The ground stop has delayed hundreds of flights at the airport, according to Flight Aware.
The incident comes as airports across the country are experiencing delays due to the government shutdown.
Quote:Even though the U.S. has a stark shortage of air traffic controllers, ones who call in sick instead of working without a paycheck during the federal government shutdown risk being fired, the U.S. transportation secretary warned.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said this week that he understands the controllers’ frustrations and worries.
But during an appearance Thursday on Fox Business, he said that by calling in sick they are causing major disruptions to air traffic, and it won’t be tolerated.
“If we have some of our staff that aren’t dedicated like we need, we’ll let them go,” Duffy said, noting that more than 90% of controllers have been showing up to work during the shutdown.
“… It’s a small fraction of people who don’t come to work. They can create this massive disruption. And that’s what you’re seeing rippling through our skies today.”
Airports across the country have experienced delays this week because of a shortage of controllers, more than half of which Duffy attributed to work no-shows.
The worst problems have come at smaller airports in Burbank, California, and Nashville, Tennessee, but there have also been delays at major hubs in Newark, New Jersey, Chicago, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Even a small number of controllers not showing up for work is causing problems because the Federal Aviation Administration has a critical shortage of them.
Duffy has made it a priority to increase hiring to try to eliminate the shortage in the next few years, but he said controllers who are “problem children” could still be fired.
A Transportation Department spokesperson reinforced that message in a statement Friday, saying, “if there are rare bad actors that don’t show up purposefully and cause disruptions to our operations, consequences are inevitable.”
Quote:Texas police have found at least 16 bodies in the bayous around Houston so far this year, according to authorities and local reports, sparking concerns of a serial killer which city leaders are working to dispel.
Houston’s mayor has said police have no evidence of a serial killer, but experts are calling for an extensive investigation into the deaths.
“Something is afoot,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice professor, at Penn State-Lehigh Valley. “A coincidence? Unlikely. A careful inspection of each case is warranted, including the 48 hours prior to the discovery of their disappearance.”
The spate of apparent drownings is reminiscent of another concerning number of deaths in the waters of Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas.
Five of the bodies were discovered in a five-day span last month, according to Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz.
“There is no evidence, and I repeat no evidence, to suggest that any of these incidents are connected,” Diaz told reporters.
Capt. Salam Zia, commander of the Houston Police Department’s homicide division, said the youngest victim was 20.
Authorities later revealed the bodies belonged to both males and females, and ranged in age from their 20s to their 60s.
“Rumors stir fear and anxiety in our communities,” the chief said. “It’s important to rely on verified information and investigations.”
However, authorities have discovered at least two more bodies since authorities made those remarks, according to Chron, Houston’s local news site.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire slammed misinformation and “wild speculation” online and from political candidates surrounding the cases at a news briefing on Sept. 23.
“We do not have any evidence that there is a serial killer loose in Houston, Texas,” he said. “Let me say that again, there is no evidence that there is a serial killer loose in the streets of Houston.”
He called the number of deaths “alarming” and asked for patience as city police investigate.
“I grew up in Houston,” he told reporters. “Unfortunately, drowning in our bayous is not a new phenomenon.”
Quote:Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the United States has greenlit the establishment of a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility in Idaho, a move that has drawn backlash from some of the administration’s closest Make America Great Again (MAGA) allies, with Laura Loomer writing on X, "I have never felt more betrayed by the GOP," over the matter.DVV Editor note: Hegseth stated "To be clear, Qatar will not have their own base in the United States—nor anything like a base. We control the existing base, like we do with all partners." And Singapore's F-15SG Multi-Role fighters have been and still are at the same said Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho since 2009 under the Obama administration.
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist during President Donald Trump's first term and architect of the MAGA movement, told Newsweek in a text message, "There should never be a military base of a foreign power on the sacred soil of America.”
Newsweek has reached out to Qatar's government communication office for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
The administration's announcement shocked the MAGA core base, who have applauded the president on his "America First" agenda. The agreement states an Idaho air base will "host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots."
The move comes months after Trump accepted a luxury Boeing 747 from the Qatari government, which drew criticism from Democrats and Republicans, including from Loomer. It also comes as the U.S. is working with mediators in the region to put an end to the Israel-Hamas war that began two years ago.
Qatar has been a longtime ally of the U.S. and hosts key CENTCOM military operations at Al-Udeid Air Base near Doha. In late September, Trump issued an executive order "assuring the security of the state of Qatar" after Israel carried out a strike in Doha.
What To Know
During a joint press conference addressing the finalization of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Hegseth thanked Qatari officials for their involvement in the process and announced that the U.S. is "signing a letter of acceptance to build" a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility. The facility will be hosted at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, Hegseth said.
Loomer took issue with the administration's move in a series of X posts, writing "no foreign country should have a military base on US soil. Especially Islamic countries."
She added in another post that Hegseth, who she calls her friend, "should know how bad of an idea it is to allow Terror financing Qataris who fund HAMAS and the Muslim Brotherhood to have an AIR FORCE BASE ON US SOIL."
Loomer added, "I don’t think I’ll be voting in 2026," over the issue.
UKRAINE WAR
Days ago, the Kremlin had announced that ’We Will Retaliate Immediately’ if any other nuclear power tested its nuclear bombs, but now Putin made a hypocritical statement:
Emphasis in the first paragraph is mine.
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow expects to announce soon a new weapon that it has been developing and testing for its vast nuclear arsenal, the world's largest, and warned that an arms race is underway.
It comes as the New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia, restricting nuclear weapons, is set to expire in February 2026, and tensions with the NATO alliance escalating sharply over the ongoing war in Ukraine.
There is a growing risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Western allies accuse Russia of serious airspace violations, sabotage plots, cyberattacks, and more—which Moscow denies. Both sides characterize the conflict as a form of war.
“The sophistication of our nuclear deterrence systems is higher than that of any other nuclear state," state news agency Tass reported Putin as saying, originally in Russian. "And we are developing all of this very actively."
The Russian president, who was speaking at a press conference in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, at the end of a summit of former Soviet states, added: "What I spoke about in earlier years is all progressing—we are bringing it to perfection."
The Kremlin has said it would uphold New START's obligations for a year from its expiration. President Donald Trump has responded positively, calling it a "good idea," but there is no new formal agreement in place ready to extend or replace the treaty.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia has a total inventory of 5,459 nuclear warheads, of which 1,718 are deployed. The U.S. has 5,177 warheads, of which 1,770 are deployed.
Putin: Countries Preparing for Testing in Nuclear Arms Race
In his remarks, Putin also said that "a certain kind of arms race is indeed underway" in the world, and warned that "some countries are preparing for testing" of nuclear weapons. He did not specify which.
“But this is also well known to experts. There’s always the temptation to check the effectiveness of the combat fuel that has been stored in missiles for many, many years," Putin said, per Tass.
"Everything is simulated on computers, and specialists believe that’s sufficient—but some of them think it’s necessary to carry out real, full-scale tests. And in some countries, as far as we know, they are considering this and even making preparations."
Putin continued: “That’s why I said that if they conduct tests, we’ll do the same. Is that good or bad? From the standpoint of ensuring security—it’s good. From the overall perspective related to deterrence and actions aimed, if not at reducing, then at restraining the arms race—it’s probably not bad.
"In this same context, we’ve proposed extending the New START Treaty for at least a year. Let everyone think about it."
Emphasis in the first paragraph is mine.
Quote:China has restricted the export of mid-tier precision machine tools to Russia, industry insiders say, in an apparent success for U.S. secondary sanctions aimed at weakening Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Why It Matters
Chinese trade with Russia—particularly oil and gas—has helped buoy Russia's sanctioned-strapped economy since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Yet, many Chinese firms have shown they are not immune to Western pressure designed to erode Russia’s war-fighting capacity. Russian importers have reported growing difficulty making transactions with Chinese banks since last year, and exports of dual civilian-military goods to China's neighbor have also increasingly encountered hangups.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries via emailed requests for comment.
What To Know
According to MashTekh, a Russian industrial technology outlet that tracks domestic manufacturing, China has curbed the export of machine tools capable of 3- to 4-micron precision—critical for production of missile and engine components and precision-guided systems.
“The PRC has restricted the supply of high-tech equipment, although this is rarely discussed publicly,” Ildar Nuriev, owner of the Russian machine-tool company Tatpromstan, told MashTekh. “If before it was possible to obtain machines with an accuracy of 3 to 4 microns, now it’s no longer possible. You have to obtain a special export license.”
The curbs come amid an overall cooling in China-Russia trade after years of record bilateral flows. Chinese exports to Russia fell 16.4 percent year-on-year in August—double the drop recorded in July—according to Chinese customs data.
Total bilateral trade was down nearly 9 percent in the first eight months of 2025, at 1.03 trillion yuan ($142 billion). Both exports from both respective partners shrank by more than 8 percent.
China has also scaled back purchases of Russian raw materials, including an 11-percent decline in oil imports and a 13-percent drop in liquefied natural gas between January and May, The Moscow Times reported, citing data from the Gaidar Institute think tank.
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country's air defenses shot down an Azerbaijani passenger jet in December 2024, killing 38 people, because his forces had tracked Ukrainian drones across the border. The Kremlin leader said there were "several causes" of the "tragedy", and the first was a Ukrainian drone in the sky.
Putin's comments at a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday were reported by the Russian state news agency TASS. The two were in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, for a summit of the former Soviet nations.
The incident—not the first passenger plane to be hit since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the most famous example being Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down by Russian-backed forces as it flew over Donetsk in July 2014, killing 298 people—highlights the severe danger posed to flights that travel close to active war zones.
The Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashed on December 25, 2024, while on a flight from Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya. Azerbaijani authorities said the jet was accidentally hit by fire from Russian air defenses, then crashed as it tried to land due to the damage in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 of 67 people aboard.
According to Putin, the two Russian air defense missiles did not strike the plane directly, but exploded in the sky nearby, causing the damage that led to the crash, Vedomosti reported. Putin said he will compensate Azerbaijan over the incident, per Vedomosti.
"At this point, we can generally talk about the causes of this tragedy. It is connected with several circumstances, and the first is that a Ukrainian drone was in the sky," Putin said as he sat down with Aliyev, TASS reported. "We were tracking three such drones that crossed the border of the Russian Federation during the night on the day of the tragedy."
Days after the crash, Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident,” but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility. Aliyev, meanwhile, criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the incident.
The controversy over the crash has roiled the previously warm ties between Moscow and Baku.
Their relations were further destabilized by deaths of ethnic Azerbaijanis rounded up by police in a Russian city in June and a series of arrests of Russians in Azerbaijan.
Quote:NATO allies are discussing easing rules for pilots to permit them to shoot down Russian aircraft, according to a report by the Financial Times. The news comes as alliance members consider a tougher approach against Moscow following a spate of alleged airspace violations, drone swarms, and sabotage plots in Europe.
A NATO official told Newsweek: "When it comes to the range of hybrid or grey-zone activities we’ve seen, including cyber-attacks, drone incursions, or attempts to sabotage critical infrastructure, NATO is working closely with Allies to ensure that we’re taking appropriate steps to ensure we can deter and defend. This isn’t new, and we continue to adapt as the situation evolves."
Why It Matters
NATO-Russia tensions are worsening as the war in Ukraine rages on and there is an increasing risk of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.
Both sides have characterized the current situation as a form of war with each other, though there has been no such formal declaration by either Russia or NATO.
What To Know
The FT, citing four unidentified NATO officials, said NATO allies are discussing a more forceful response to increasingly provocative Russian actions, including easing restrictions on pilots to allow them to open fire on Russian aircraft and deploying armed drones along the border with Russia. The asymmetric cost of scrambling fighter jets to intercept drones is a running concern for the alliance, which is seeking a financially sustainable solution.
NATO members on the front line with Russia, backed by France and Britain, initiated the discussions, which have since broadened to a larger group in the 32-strong alliance, the newspaper reported.
"One example of our work in this area is Baltic Sentry, which was launched in response to incidents affecting critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea," the NATO official told Newsweek in a statement.
"We started this in January, bringing both sea- and air-based assets to deter potential hostile activity in the Baltic. This has been very effective. In response to airspace violations last month, we launched Eastern Sentry, which adds strength and flexibility to our posture along the Eastern Flank and beyond, and also incorporates new and novel technologies."
President Donald Trump said last month that NATO forces should open fire on Russian aircraft that breach allied territory. A Kremlin spokesman said "such rhetoric only serves to heighten hostility."
Poland's military shot down intruding Russian drones on September 10 after it scrambled aircraft in response to what it called an "unprecedented" violation of its airspace as Russian forces attacked nearby western Ukraine. That was the first direct confrontation between NATO aircraft and Russian drones.
Russian aircraft later intruded into Estonian airspace while numerous unexplained drone flights over European NATO members Romania, Denmark and most recently Belgium and Germany, have exacerbated tensions and led to calls within NATO for the rapid development of better detection, tracking and interception of UAVs violating Europe’s airspace.
Russia, which has mocked and denied the accusations against it, has warned that NATO shooting down its aircraft would be a serious escalation that could lead to open war. But some in the alliance believe that Russia responds only to hard deterrence, and so airspace violations must be met with a powerful response.
The EU is preparing its own steps in response to Russian provocations.
“This is a deliberate and targeted gray zone campaign against Europe. And Europe must respond,” President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Quote:Russian bombers from the country's Baltic Fleet struck targets on a training ground in Kaliningrad, the Baltic enclave surrounded by NATO allies, according to state media.
Crews of 10 Su-30SM2 multipurpose fighters and Su-24M tactical front-line bombers from the fleet took part in the exercise, which involved bombing targets while traveling at more than 620 miles per hour, the official Tass news agency said, and practicing the evasion of aircraft and air defenses. They also trained in shooting enemy armored columns.
Nearby, Baltic allies Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have been preparing themselves for a potential Russian attack amid heightened tensions with NATO, practicing their contingency plans, including mass evacuation procedures, Reuters reported. They say Russia is already waging a hybrid war against them through sabotage, cyberattacks, airspace violations, and more.
"It's a very reassuring message to our society that we are ready and we are planning," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told Reuters. "We have done our homework."
NATO allies fear that Russia under President Vladimir Putin has ambitions well beyond Ukraine, including in the former Soviet Baltic states, and could move if Moscow calculates that the alliance would not uphold its Article 5 commitment to mutual defense. The Kremlin denies harboring any such desire and accuses NATO of seeking conflict with Russia.
Quote:The United States plans to upgrade its radars to improve their ability to identify hostile ballistic missiles targeting the homeland, according to a government announcement, as nuclear adversaries Russia, China and North Korea advance their missile capabilities.
Newsweek has emailed the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries for comment. North Korea's embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
Advocated by President Donald Trump, the U.S. is developing the "Golden Dome for America" missile defense initiative to defend against all kinds of aerial attacks—the most catastrophic threat the country faces, the White House said—including hypersonic missiles that fly more than five times the speed of sound and are difficult to intercept.
Russia, China and North Korea possess missiles capable of launching nuclear strikes on the U.S., according to a Defense Intelligence Agency assessment. The U.S. homeland is protected by the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system; however, it is intended to defeat limited, but not large and sophisticated, intercontinental ballistic missile attacks.
What To Know
A request for information (RFI) by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency was published on the System for Award Management—an official U.S. government website—on October 3, seeking a software upgrade for Upgraded Early Warning Radars (UEWR).
The upgrade, known as Advanced Object Classification (AOC) 1.1, aims to improve the radar's classification of objects in the midcourse phase of ballistic missile flight by incorporating additional algorithm updates and enhancements beyond AOC 1.0.
The midcourse is one of the three phases of ballistic missile flight, along with the boost phase and the terminal phase. During the midcourse, which can last up to 20 minutes, the missile is vulnerable, as the phase provides several opportunities to destroy it.
The UEWR consists of five radars in Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Greenland and the United Kingdom, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. They are designed to detect and track ballistic missiles launched from the ground and from submarines.
Quote:The United States is behind Russia and China in its development of hypersonic weapons, a new study has warned.
A “battlefield asymmetry” is developing because of America’s slowness in working on hypersonic weapons compared to Russia and China’s determination, according to the Atlantic Council study revealed by Axios.
Newsweek has contacted the U.S. Department of War via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Hypersonic weapons represent a major shift in modern warfare, threatening to undermine traditional Western military superiority and putting the U.S. at a strategic disadvantage, according to a new report by the Atlantic Council Hypersonic Capabilities Task Force.
The warning coincides with the Trump administration's push to establish a $175 billion hemispheric missile shield known as the “Golden Dome for America,” designed to defend against advanced missile threats—including hypersonic systems—from adversaries such as China, Russia and North Korea.
What To Know
The Atlantic Council's newly released report highlights a "significant and growing" capability gap in U.S. hypersonic weapons when compared to Chinese and Russian advancements.
Hypersonic weapons travel at speeds greater than Mach 5, can maneuver in flight, and are challenging to detect and stop with current missile defense systems.
The study, informed by senior former leaders from the Pentagon, US Army, Air Force, and nuclear security agencies, states that mere incremental improvements will be insufficient to counter the growing asymmetry in the battlespace.
The task force's key findings and recommendations include:
- Hypersonic weapons represent "a paradigm shift in modern warfare" and must be addressed urgently.
- Current missile defense systems, such as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot, may be overwhelmed by coordinated hypersonic attacks and are costly to maintain.
- The U.S. should develop lower-cost, higher-capacity missile systems and reusable hypersonic aircraft for intelligence gathering and other operations.
- Collaboration with allies (through programs like AUKUS Pillar 2) on technology co-development and production should be increased.
- America should explore hypersonic delivery systems for nuclear weapons, as conventional aircraft like the F-35A may not survive emerging threats in the 2030s.
- Currently, Russian hypersonic systems under evaluation include the Kinzhal, Tsirkon and Avangard missiles. China fields the DF-17 and DF-26, among other systems.
The U.S. is developing its own suite, such as the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), Conventional Prompt Strike, Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) and Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM). Many of these U.S. systems remain in testing or limited deployment phases, according to an August Congressional Research Service report on hypersonic weapons.
Quote:The Trump administration wants to ban Chinese airlines from using Russian airspace on flights to and from the U.S., potentially escalating the trade war between the countries.
U.S. and European airlines have been barred from Russian skies since 2022 after Moscow retaliated to western sanctions for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As an ally of Moscow, China’s carriers continue to use Russian airspace, saving time, fuel and costs by avoiding the detours American aircraft must take.
But Washington has said this hands Chinese carriers have an unfair competitive advantage and the U.S. Transportation Department has issued a proposed order barring passenger aircraft entering the U.S. from overflying Russia, Reuters reported.
Airlines for America, which represents major U.S. air carriers, told Newsweek that the Trump administration's move was "an important step that will help ensure U.S. airlines can compete with Chinese carriers on a level playing field."
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese embassy in the U.S. capital.
Why It Matters
The ban could reshape U.S.–China aviation by forcing Chinese carriers onto longer, costlier routes, straining Washington’s ties with Beijing further ahead of an expected meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
What To Know
Russia closed its airspace to American carriers on 17 May 2022 but Chinese carriers do not face such restrictions, prompting unhappiness from U.S. airlines because it gives them the advantage of decreased flying time and lower costs.
On Thursday, the U.S. Transportation Department has proposed to bar Chinese passenger airlines from overflying Russia on U.S. routes, although cargo flights would be exempt.
The order could affect flights from Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, and Xiamen Airlines, whose stocks fell slightly after the news, Reuters reported.
The order did not name Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific, which overflies Russia on its New York to Hong Kong route, the news agency said.
Airlines for America, told Newsweek in a statement Friday that it appreciated the Trump administration's understanding of the fair treatment of U.S. airlines and equality of access in the marketplace.
Quote:First lady Melania Trump announced Friday she helped reunify in the past 24 hours eight Ukrainian children with their famly members who had been cruelly abducted during Russia’s war with Kyiv — and expects to bring back more thourgh an “open channel” with Moscow and President Vladimir Putin.
“A child’s soul knows no borders,” the first lady said in poignant remarks during her closely held announcement in the White House grand foyer, sharing heart-wrenching stories of kidnappings that had divided Ukrainian families for the better part of the more than three-year war.
The eight children were among thousands who were separated from their families during what the Kremlin called “evacuation” procedures in Ukraine — but were actually forced deportations.
Many were ripped away from their families or orphanages during the chaos of the first year of the war, when Russian forces occupied areas in eastern Ukraine.
Whole boarding schools were also emptied out and the kids loaded onto buses before disappearing without a trace.
Some were even later put on a twisted adoption database where they can be sorted by age, eye and color, and number of siblings, in what non-governmental humanitarian groups have characterized as “digital child trafficking masked as bureaucracy.”
The forced separations earned Putin an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court in March 2023.
Ukraine has struggled to locate and repatriate the children kidnapped by Russian forces since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in 2022, with officials saying at least 19,500 children remain unaccounted for, but the actual number could be far higher.
Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska told The Post in an August interview: “The children who come back are subdued mentally — they’re broken. … Only after they return do they start coming back out of their shells.”
Russia has now agreed to rejoin the Ukrainian children who turned 18 years old over the course of the war, with their families, the first lady said Friday, hinting that “plans are already underway to reunify more children in the immediate future.”
The Kremlin has scattered the kidnapped children to more than 200 facilities across Russia to undergo pro-Russian “re-education” and military training, according to a recent report by the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab.
MIDDLE EAST
Trump gives new details on Mideast trip as Hamas set to free hostages after reaching cease-fire deal
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that he plans to speak to Israel’s Knesset and then visit Cairo as he travels to the Middle East and Hamas releases its final 20 Israeli hostages.
“I’ll be going to Israel. I’ll be speaking at the Knesset, I think early on, and then I’m also going to Egypt. They were terrific,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump will be on the ground in the region when Hamas releases the remaining captives seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack that started the war.
The president is expected to participate in a formal peace-deal signing while in the Egyptian capital, formalizing the first phase of implementation of his 20-point peace plan.
“Gaza is going to be rebuilt,” Trump said, citing anticipated financing from wealthy Arab neighbors.
The president also noted that he will supervise reconstruction of the 2 million-person region as chairman of the “Board of Peace” in charge of monitoring the to-be-announced transitional Palestinian government.
“We’re also setting up, as you know, a Board of Peace,” Trump told the press.
“It’s called the Board of Peace. I don’t know if that’s the final name, but the word ‘peace’ is definitely in there. They have asked me if I chair it. We’ll make sure things go well.”
The first phase of Trump’s peace plan, accepted by both Israel and Hamas, features a cease-fire and the first of three proposed Israeli military pullbacks, in addition to the hostage release.
The US military is involved in providing logistical support to a burgeoning international peacekeeping force for Gaza, which American officials say will include troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and possibly the UAE.
“They’re all tired of the fighting,” Trump said ahead of his trip.
“Don’t forget, you had October 7, which was a horrible day, 1,200 people killed, but Hamas has lost 58,000 people. That’s big retribution.”
Quote:The nation’s largest teachers union reportedly sent its roughly 3 million members a sickening email containing a map that erased Israel “completely” and labeled it as Palestine.
The National Education Association sent the email Friday providing its members with resources for “teaching about indigenous peoples” that included the disturbing map, the North American Values Institute told the Jewish News Syndicate.
The email also linked to shocking material that defended Hamas’ depraved Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to another 250 being kidnapped to Palestine, according to NAVI.
“It’s deeply troubling that the nation’s largest teachers’ union would promote materials trafficking in antisemitic tropes and attempts to rationalize the atrocities of Oct. 7, let alone elevate groups that glorify terrorism,” Steven Rosenberg, the institute’s regional director in Philadelphia, told the outlet.
“At best, this reflects an organization that failed to meet its own standards of critical review and responsibility. That’s an inexcusable lapse for any institution entrusted with shaping young minds.”
The email encouraged teachers to share the “related sources” in their classes.
While the union — made up of educators, students, parents, activists, and community members — has since scrubbed the shocking material from its website, a “Native Land Digital” map on the site still labels Israel as “Palestine” and describes it as “indigenous” to the land.
A spokesperson for the NEA blamed a third-party for the offensive content on the union’s website.
“It has come to our attention that an external resource that was linked to on NEA’s website, which has been widely used by man news outlets and organizations for many years, falls well short of our standards,” the spokesperson told The Post, noting that the union has always “opposed antisemitisim.”
“After we became aware of content on this website — particularly related to Israel and Palestine we conducted our own deeper review including links to additional third-party hosted content. Upon review, we immediately removed it from the website.
“We condemn in the strongest of terms the deeply offensive content linked on the website, and our team is working to identify a resource that meets our specific needs and standards. We have contact the host organization to flag our serious concerns and have urged them to conduct a thorough review.”
Rosenberg said that “quietly” deleting content is not transparent or a form of accountability — and called on the teachers’ union to issue a full explanation and “sincere apology,” according to JNS.
Quote:Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on southern Gaza early Friday morning, hours after a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was meant to come into effect to end hostilities in the two-year war, it has been reported.
CNN and the BBC were among outlets that reported strikes on the center of Khan Younis around 5.45 a.m. local time, with people near the Netzarim corridor also describing hearing artillery shelling and gunfire.
Eyewitnesses also described airstrikes and artillery shelling in Gaza City on Friday morning, especially in the neighborhoods of Al-Sabra and Tal Al-Hawa, CNN reported.
A video published by Reuters showed a flash over the sky in Gaza at 5:55 a.m., followed by the sound of an explosion and a black plume of smoke. Newsweek could not independently verify the reports or video.
The Israeli government approved a ceasefire plan to end the war against Hamas, but it is not clear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has given the order to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to halt fighting.
When contacted for comment, the IDF told Newsweek that since 12 p.m., when the ceasefire agreement came into effect, IDF troops began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages.
"IDF troops in the Southern Command are deployed in the area and will continue to remove any immediate threat," it added.
Why It Matters
Reports of renewed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, if confirmed, will raise concerns about the viability of the ceasefire agreed by Israel’s government after two years of war, hours after street celebrations praised President Donald Trump for his role in the deal.
What To Know
Israeli strikes continued in the lead up to the government's vote but there are reports of attacks on the center of Khan Younis around 5:45 a.m. local time, several hours after Israel’s Cabinet approved Trump’s plan for a ceasefire and the release of all the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
Suha Shaath, a pharmacist currently living in a tent in al-Mawasi near Khan Younis told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that air strikes have continued "in many places" since the ceasefire was announced.
There were also reports of Israeli artillery shelling and drones flying over the city, according to CNN, citing eyewitnesses.
Correspondents for the Palestinian news agency Wafa, cited by the BBC, have reported further bombings in Khan Younis in the early hours of Friday, while strikes were also reported in Gaza City and shelling in the areas of al-Sabra and Tal al-Hawa.
Reuters footage captured a flash of light followed by an explosion just before 6 a.m. local time.
The Times Of Israel reported that under the cover of artillery shelling and airstrikes in some areas, the IDF had started to withdraw troops in the Gaza Strip to agreed-upon deployment lines as part of the deal with Hamas. It is not clear whether this explains the reports of shelling and air strikes on Friday morning.
The Civil Defense mechanism in Gaza has warned residents not to go near areas where Israeli forces are stationed and not approach the borders of the enclave until an official announcement is made about an IDF withdrawal.
Keep in mind that no member of Hamas has ever tried to remove any booby traps or landmines from the zone. Thus, it's imperative to remove any suspicious weapon or landmine or rocket launcher whenever it's found by IDF troops or their airforce.
CLOSE TO JAPAN
Quote:A Chinese naval flotilla, led by a pair of destroyers, was tracked sailing around nearly all of Japan's territory, including its outlying southwestern islands, in less than a month, according to data released by Japan's Defense Ministry.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
According to a Pentagon assessment, China operates the world's largest navy by hull count, with more than 370 ships and submarines, helping Beijing further expand its military presence across the Pacific and challenging U.S. naval dominance.
Japan is a key U.S. ally in the island chain strategy. It forms part of two north-south defensive lines across the Western Pacific, aiming to project military power to deter and defend against potential Chinese aggression by leveraging U.S. and allied territories.
The recent naval maneuver marked the second time the Chinese military had deployed vessels on a circumnavigation of a U.S. ally this year. Three Chinese ships transited Australia from February to March, traveling from the eastern seaboard to the western seaboard.
What To Know
Japan's Defense Ministry said three Chinese naval vessels passed through the Miyako Strait between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa on Friday, moving into the East China Sea from the Philippine Sea, both marginal seas of the Western Pacific.
Hull numbers identified the vessels as the Type 052D destroyers CNS Huainan and CNS Kaifeng and the Type 903A replenishment ship CNS Dongpinghu. Each Type 052D destroyer is equipped with a vertical launch system capable of firing 64 missiles.
The Chinese ships began their voyage around Japan on September 16-17, when they transited the Tsushima Strait, located between Japan and South Korea, moving into the Sea of Japan—also known as the East Sea in South Korea—from the East China Sea.
The Chinese flotilla later departed the Sea of Japan for the North Pacific as it transited the Soya Strait—also known as the La Pérouse Strait in Russia—on September 22-23. The strait lies between Russia's Sakhalin Island and Japan's main island of Hokkaido.
It remains unclear how far the Chinese vessels traveled while operating in the North Pacific. They were tracked again by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, which deployed an aircraft and a ship in response when they approached the Miyako Strait.
A map provided by Japan's Defense Ministry indicated that the only Japanese territories not sailed around by the Chinese navy during this deployment were the islands west of the Miyako Strait and east of Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China as its own.
"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.
![[Image: SP1-Scripter.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Scripter.png)
![[Image: SP1-Writer.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Writer.png)
![[Image: SP1-Poet.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Poet.png)
![[Image: SP1-PixelArtist.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-PixelArtist.png)
![[Image: SP1-Reporter.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/GmxWbHyL/SP1-Reporter.png)
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
