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Quote:President Donald Trump led a White House meeting on Monday with the administration’s FIFA task force and announced a new “FIFA PASS” system designed to expedite visa interviews for 2026 World Cup ticketholders.
The FIFA Prioritized Appointments Scheduling System (PASS) aims to ensure that international fans can enter the United States smoothly while the administration maintains its strict immigration rules. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who joined Trump in the Oval Office, praised the effort and said the new process will help manage the massive influx of visitors expected for next year’s tournament.
Trump urged fans planning to travel for the World Cup to apply for their visas “right away.”
Why It Matters
The State Department is preparing for a major increase in visa applications ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held next summer in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. The tournament is expected to draw over six million fans and generate $30.5 billion in economic output, including $17.2 billion added to the U.S. GDP.
To handle the demand, the State Department said it will send hundreds of consular officers to embassies in countries with qualified or likely World Cup teams. Still, concerns remain. Some countries already qualified for the tournament face visa appointment wait times of several months. Fans will also face stricter screenings under Trump’s immigration crackdown, including social media checks and expanded visa restrictions.
What To Know
Standing beside Trump and Infantino in the Oval Office, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem laid out the administration’s plan to fast-track visa appointments for 2026 World Cup ticket holders. The rollout of FIFA PASS, they said, was aimed at helping fans attend matches in the U.S. more easily but without relaxing immigration rules.
“This will be the greatest and most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history,” Infantino said, holding up the tournament’s golden trophy. “And the FIFA PASS service is a very concrete example of that.”
Rubio made clear that the new system would not bypass legal requirements. “Your ticket is not a visa,” he said. “FIFA World Cup fans can complete their visa interviews and show they qualify.”
However, he added that countries previously facing monthslong delays—including South American soccer powerhouses like Argentina and Brazil—will now have visa interview availability within 60 days, once fans are registered in the system.
Tickets went on sale last week, as the U.S. prepares to host 78 of the tournament’s 104 matches. The World Cup is expected to draw millions of fans, but Trump warned that local conditions could still affect where games are played. Asked about Seattle, which has six matches scheduled and has been criticized by conservatives for its handling of crime, Trump said, “If we think there’s going to be trouble, I would ask Gianni to move that to a different city.”
Noem, speaking about the administration’s security plans, said the Department of Homeland Security was working closely with cities and FIFA to ensure safe, orderly travel.
Quote:President Trump pledged that prices will come down in a speech to owners, operators and suppliers of his beloved McDonald’s Monday.
Trump’s address at the fast-food giant’s Impact Summit in Washington, DC, comes as concerns over his handling of the economy and the cost of living have mounted.
“Prices are coming down,” the president claimed.
“I will tell you that nobody has done what we’ve done in terms of pricing,” Trump argued. “We took over a mess. We had the highest inflation in the history of our country … and now we have normal inflation.”
Inflation ticked up to 3% in September over the past 12 months – the highest rate since the start of this year.
The Economist’s famed “Big Mac” index, which tracks the average price of the Golden Arches’ iconic burger, shows the sandwich cost $6.01 in July, up from $5.69 a year ago.
The surge in price comes as the cost of ground beef went up to an average of $6.32 in September — up from $5.67 a year before, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Last week, the Trump administration eased tariffs on imports of beef, coffee, tropical fruits and other food products to help ease affordability concerns.
“We have it down to a low level,” Trump said of inflation. “But we’re going to get it a little bit lower. We want perfection.”
The president, describing himself to the audience as “one of your all-time, most loyal customers,” said he’d heard from CEO Chris Kempczinski that “prices at McDonald’s are coming down,” as well.
Trump touted his investment and trade deals, arguing that the economy would’ve been a “catastrophe” and the country may have gone “bankrupt” if he’d lost to former Vice President Kamala Harris last November.
“You are so damn lucky that I won that election,” he said.
Quote:President Donald Trump said Monday he would be willing to launch military strikes inside Mexico to combat drug trafficking, telling reporters in the Oval Office that such action is “OK with me” and “whatever we have to do to stop drugs.”
Pressed on whether he would seek Mexico’s permission, Trump said he has been speaking with Mexican officials but is “not happy with Mexico” and that “they know how I stand.” He said that recent U.S. interdictions at sea have already saved American lives and suggested similar action on land could be justified.
"I looked at Mexico City over the weekend...there's some big problems over there," he added. "I didn't say I'm doing...but I'd be proud to do it. We'd save millions of lives."
Newsweek reached out to the Mexican government for comment via email on Monday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Trump has been unhappy with Mexico for some time over its handling of drug cartels and criminal gangs operating across the U.S.-Mexico border, and the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. over recent years.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has made efforts to tackle both of these issues, with Mexican authorities frequently arresting smugglers, and American citizens for offenses related to organized crime, close to the border.
What To Know
When asked about carrying out strikes on Mexico Monday, Trump spoke about what he sees as the success of operations in recent weeks targeting alleged drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean.
The president said there were "almost no drugs" coming into the U.S. via waterways now because of the strikes, which have killed dozens. Trump claimed that every boat knocked out saved 25,000 American lives.
Drugs have been smuggled into the U.S. via land, too, particularly in gaps along the southern border. Officials in the U.S. and Mexico often know the routes traffickers take, and operations are constantly underway to try to stop the flow of substances, including fentanyl.
Trump made it a core issue of his 2024 presidential campaign and instructed his Department of State to designate cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), opening them up to tougher punishments, including potential military strikes.
So far, those strikes have been in international waters, although some experts have raised concerns about the legalities of such moves and the potential for conflict with countries linked to the vessels attacked, primarily Venezuela.
Moving operations on land, be it in Venezuela or Mexico, could be more complicated, namely, that these nations could see this as an act of war and seek to retaliate.
Over the weekend, Sheinbaum said that U.S. military assistance was not necessary in tackling cartels and praised diplomatic efforts between the two countries. This came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would send troops south if requested by Mexico.
Quote:David Richardson resigned Monday as acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after months of public controversy and internal frustration, The Washington Post and CNN reported. The embattled chief submitted his two-week notice to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees FEMA, after plans were already underway inside the agency to remove him, according to CNN.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed the resignation to Newsweek, thanking Richardson for his "dedicated service" and announcing his return to the private sector.
Why It Matters
Richardson's departure comes as FEMA faces mounting legal and operational challenges under President Donald Trump administration's reform agenda.
State emergency management officials are already confronting unprecedented challenges as federal disaster preparedness grants face severe cuts, funding delays tied to litigation, and new population reporting requirements that have halted critical aid distribution. Last month, Senior District Judge William E. Smith rebuked the administration, accusing it of violating his previous order and requiring "unlawful" conditions for FEMA grants. When Trump took office in January, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said FEMA funding would come under scrutiny, particularly when it came to spending in Democrat-run cities and states.
What To Know
Richardson, who spent about six months leading the nation's disaster response agency, was frequently inaccessible, including during the early hours of the catastrophic Texas flooding over the Fourth of July weekend, the Post reported. Current FEMA employees said he had pulled back from daily operations in recent months and had privately indicated he did not expect to remain in the job past Thanksgiving, according to the Post.
DHS characterized Richardson's tenure differently, crediting him with delivering historic funding to North Carolina, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, and Alaska, and overseeing a comprehensive review that identified governmental waste and inefficiency.
A former Marine Corps artillery officer, Richardson took over for Cameron Hamilton in May after Noem ousted Hamilton for publicly contradicting the administration's aim to eliminate FEMA. He lacked experience in disaster management, and his time in charge was punctuated by eyebrow-raising moments—like in a June meeting in which he told staff he was unaware the U.S. has a hurricane season, a comment DHS later insisted was a joke.
Richardson's leadership faced its toughest test in July, when catastrophic floods devastated Texas and killed more than 130 people. As the crisis unfolded, Richardson was on vacation and unreachable for hours, surfacing more than a week later for an unannounced visit to Texas—days after Trump and Noem toured the area.
On one occasion, Richardson asked staff whether disaster funds could be steered to Republican areas but not Democratic ones, according to a FEMA official who heard the comments firsthand.
Quote:Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave an update on President Donald Trump’s proposal to give $2,000 checks to Americans from tariff revenue.
Bessent told Fox Business on Sunday that legislation would be required to hand out the tariff dividends, but noted that working families are likely to see a pay bump in the first quarter of next year due to planned tax cuts on tips, overtime and Social Security.
“We are going to see a big bump in the first quarter with the refunds and the real income. President Trump has also talked about sending $2,000 refunds, and that would be for working families, we will have an income limit, those could go out,” Bessent said.
Why It Matters
The $2,000 checks have been repeatedly floated by Trump, but uncertainty remains about the possible timeline and final form. The payments would require Congressional approval, and Bessent has linked them to already-promised tax cuts.
What To Know
Trump has repeatedly promoted his idea to give Americans $2,000 direct payments funded by tariff revenue and said that these could come to Americans next year.
Bessent previously told ABC News that the $2,000 tariff dividend proposed by Trump could come in “lots of forms,” adding: “It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans."
When asked by Fox News on Sunday whether Americans will receive direct payments of $2,000, Bessent responded: “We will see, we need legislation for that.”
The Treasury Secretary went on to talk about the expected boost to working families through the broader package of refunds and tax reductions slated for early 2026 as part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Bessent’s framing of the checks diverges from Trump’s, who has seemed to suggest a standalone $2,000 payment to Americans. It remains unclear whether the $2,000 payments would be distinct or come as part of the broader refund and tax package.
Bessent said that the dividends would have an “income limit,” echoing Trump’s previous comments that they would be for lower- and middle-income Americans, but did not clarify what the thresholds would be.
Other officials, including Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, have noted that the checks would require legislation.
Quote:U.S. Representative Robert Garcia of California, top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told CNN's Kaitlan Collins Monday night that additional documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate are expected to be released.
Garcia confirmed during the interview that his committee has been working with the estate to obtain more materials beyond the 23,000 pages already made public, which contained President Donald Trump's name more than 1,600 times.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Monday for comment.
Why It Matters
The ongoing release of Epstein-related documents comes as Trump recently reversed his long-standing opposition to releasing investigative files, now calling on House Republicans to vote for the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
This shift represents a significant political development, occurring amid tensions with some congressional supporters and following new revelations about Epstein's connections to Trump.
The controversy has created a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation, with Representatives Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, co-sponsoring legislation that could force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release all files related to Epstein, a sex offender and disgraced financier who died in 2019 in a New York City jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
What To Know
The documents released so far have come from Epstein's estate through bipartisan subpoenas issued by the House Oversight Committee, not from the DOJ. During his CNN interview, Garcia clarified this distinction when Collins noted the committee had subpoenaed the materials. Garcia explained that Republicans have resisted releasing documents each time new batches arrive from the estate, contrasting with Democratic efforts to ensure transparency. "Republicans have tried to stall every single time they get more documents. They've not wanted to release them," Garcia told Collins.
The congressman emphasized the significant gap between what has been released and what remains in government custody. "What the DOJ has is enormous. It is dramatically more documents, photos, possibly videos, that the Epstein Estate does not have," he said, calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to release those files immediately. The committee continues working with the estate to obtain additional materials, with Garcia saying they "expect even more documents to come out from the Epstein estate."
Garcia also pushed back against Trump's framing of the investigation, noting that the president's name appeared over 1,600 times in the recent 23,000-page document release. "He wants to investigate anyone. It should be himself, his own administration," Garcia said, expressing concern that Trump might use his own investigation "as an excuse to not release the full files."
Trump's recent Truth Social post marked a reversal from his administration's monthslong effort to block the release, with the president now saying that Republicans should vote to release the files because "we have nothing to hide." In the post, Trump wrote that the DOJ has turned over "tens of thousands of pages to the Public" and that the House Oversight Committee "can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON'T CARE!" He characterized the matter as a "Democrat Hoax" and urged Republicans to "get BACK ON POINT."
New information includes a 2019 email in which Epstein wrote to a journalist that Trump "knew about the girls." Trump has repeatedly denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes and said he ended their relationship years before Epstein's death. The president has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the inclusion of someone's name in investigative files does not imply misconduct.
Quote:An actress who claims Jeffrey Epstein groped her nearly 30 years ago cried as she begged for legislators to sign off on a measure to release all of the investigative records on the dead pedophile.
Alicia Arden during a press conference Monday called on the House of Representatives to vote to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act and blasted the political tug-of-war last week as “a slap in the face to the victims like myself who are reaching and searching for justice in this matter.”
“The only thing we really learned from the last week is that those in Washington are more concerned with playing political games than they are with being honest with the American people and helping the victims,” Arden said.
Arden claims that she was 27 when the wealthy financier sex offender pretended to be a Victoria’s Secret model scout and lured her to his Santa Monica hotel room in May 1997. He did so under the false premise that she would be auditioning as a model for the lingerie brand.
Instead, Epstein groped Arden before she managed to flee and report the incident to the police that same day.
“I beg you to release these files once and for all,” Arden said, her voice breaking with emotion. “There is no valid reason for refusing to do so. You can’t claim it’s to protect the victims when it’s the victims, like myself, who have been calling for the files to be released.”
“What reason could they possibly have for keeping this information such a secret unless it’s to protect themselves?” she said through tears.
Arden’s lawyer Gloria Allred thanked President Trump for urging the House to pass the measure but said his public comments have left a lot of questions, like whether the commander in chief will maintain the same stance of transparency if the measure reaches the Senate and his desk, too.
The House is set to vote Tuesday and is expected to pass it nearly unanimously. Senate Republicans would vote next and reportedly have enough support to do so. Trump is also expected to sign off on it.
Quote:The FBI is warning that criminals across several states are impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to rob, kidnap and assault unsuspecting victims.
In a bulletin posted last month, the bureau detailed several cases in which offenders identified themselves as immigration agents while wearing shirts or jackets marked with the ICE logo.
The Oct. 17 bulletin, first reported by WIRED and obtained by the transparency group Property of the People via a public-records request, describes multiple cases of criminals posing as ICE agents.
According to the FBI, victims have reported being threatened, robbed, kidnapped and even sexually assaulted by individuals posing as federal officers. Some of the incidents occurred in New York, Florida and North Carolina, the bulletin said.
“Due to the recent increase in ICE enforcement actions across the country, criminal actors are using ICE’s enhanced public profile and media coverage to their advantage to target vulnerable communities,” the FBI said.
Officials say these impersonation scams are making it harder for communities to distinguish legitimate law enforcement operations from criminal activity — endangering both civilians and real officers. The FBI is urging local police departments to review identification protocols and reminding the public that impersonating a federal officer is a serious crime with significant penalties.
Retired FBI Special Agent Jason Pack, who spent more than two decades with the bureau, told Fox News Digital that the criminals behind these schemes are deliberately exploiting fear and confusion.
“Let’s be honest about these crooks,” Pack said. “They are slicker than a boiled onion and about as trustworthy as a snake oil salesman. They hide behind fake badges and phony authority, hoping folks will be too scared to ask questions.”
“That kind of behavior tears down public trust and puts real law enforcement officers in harm’s way,” he continued. “Anyone caught pretending to be an officer should be prosecuted and put so far under the jail they’ll need sunlight mailed in, and I mean that in the most lawful sense.”
Pack explained that real federal officers carry both a badge and photo credentials — and will always show them, especially in non-arrest situations.
“During my 21 years as an FBI agent, I always identified myself before any conversation began,” he said. “In tactical situations where an agent’s face may be covered for safety, that agent still carries identification and will present it once the scene is secure. Real officers will never ask for money, gift cards or favors. They will not get upset if you ask to verify who they are. They want you to feel safe and know you’re dealing with the real thing.”
Pack encouraged the public to stay calm and confirm an officer’s identity before cooperating.
“If you’re ever unsure, take a breath and double-check,” he said. “Ask to see both a badge and a photo credential. Read the name and agency on the card. In most cases, there will also be a marked patrol car and a uniformed officer with the agents.”
Pack said those concerned can also look up the local field office number for that agency and call to confirm.
Quote:Federal magistrate judge William Fitzpatrick warned that "government misconduct" may have tainted the case against James Comey as he ordered the Justice Department to turn over all grand jury materials to the defense.
In a 24-page opinion, the court cited a pattern of investigative missteps—including potential Fourth Amendment violations, exposure to privileged communications, and irregularities in the grand jury process. The judge said the FBI and prosecutors may have acted recklessly or willfully in ways that undermined the integrity of the proceedings.
Given the severity of those concerns, the court ruled that full disclosure is necessary to allow Comey to mount a meaningful challenge to the charges.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment via its contact form Monday morning.
Why It Matters
Comey, as FBI director in the early months of Trump’s first term, infuriated the president through his oversight of an investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump fired Comey in May 2017. The two have been open adversaries since, with Comey labeling Trump "unethical" and comparing him to a Mafia boss and Trump branding Comey an "untruthful slime ball" and calling for him to be punished because of the Russia investigation.
What To Know
Monday's ruling out of the Eastern District of Virginia is the latest in a series of questions around the government's case against Comey, and whether the prosecution has a leg to stand on. The case is running at the same time as Trump's DOJ is prosecuting another of the president's adversaries, New York Attorney General Letitia James.
According to Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, the DOJ engaged in a "disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps" when it secured its indictment against the former FBI director. This included a prosecutor making "fundamental misstatements of the law" to a grand jury.
The 24-page opinion is the most blistering assessment yet by a judge of a criminal case against Comey that is already subject to multiple other challenges, including motions seeking its dismissal on the grounds that the interim U.S. attorney who filed the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed and that the prosecution itself constitutes a vindictive prosecution.
Comey’s lawyers had sought the grand jury materials out of concerns that irregularities in the process may have tainted the case. The sole prosecutor who defense lawyers say presented the case to the grand jury was Halligan, a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience who was appointed to the job just days earlier.
Prosecutors secured two charges against Comey—one count of making a false statement, and one of obstructing a congressional proceeding. They stem from his September 2020 testimony before a Senate committee on possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Comey denies the allegations against him.
Quote:President Donald Trump slammed "WEAK and PATHETIC" State Senate Pro Tem Rodric Bray of Indiana, a Republican, on Monday over redistricting in the state.
Newsweek reached out to Bray's office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Recent public attacks from President Trump against fellow Republicans highlight deepening divisions within the GOP over government transparency, party loyalty, and policy direction.
Notably, Trump’s criticism of Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie centers on their efforts to release files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, potentially reflecting a broader struggle within the Republican Party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The escalations raise questions about GOP unity and the influence of Trump’s leadership as party factions clash over key issues.
What To Know
In a post to X on Monday, the president said: "In the entire United States of America, Republican or Democrat, only Indiana 'Republican' State Senator Rod Bray, a Complete and Total RINO, is opposed to redistricting for purposes of gaining additional Seats in Congress."
Trump added: "The Democrats have proven to be dishonest and untrustworthy in anything having to do with Elections or Election Integrity. Republicans must be TOUGH and SMART if we are going to WIN the Midterms. The Rod Brays of Politics are WEAK and PATHETIC. I wish he cared about saving our Country as much as Democrats care about destroying it. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
In an additional post, the president later said: "Lines are forming to run against RINO Indiana Senator Rod Bray, and those few other Senators who support him, in the upcoming Primaries. Every one of them will lose, in Record Numbers. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAGA!"
The dispute comes as Greene, along with Massie and other lawmakers, back a House resolution to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release Epstein investigation records. Trump has labeled these efforts a “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” claiming Democrats are using the issue to distract from their own performance and that “only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
While speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Monday, the president then said he'd back a vote on releasing the records and sign the bill if it got to his desk.
Quote:Police in Georgia are investigating assassination threats made against Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and her family.
Rome Police Department told Newsweek in a statement that it was "in receipt of (2) email assassination threats toward MTG and her family."
"These went to junk mail and were only released through our IT system within the past few minutes. We are forwarding to the appropriate units for investigation," said the police department’s community information specialist Kelly Madden.
It comes after President Donald Trump played down death threats Greene had highlighted, saying on Sunday that "I don't think her life is in danger."
Why It Matters
Greene was a staunch supporter of Trump and a stalwart of his MAGA movement. But the pair have broken ties over their differences on key issues, including the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the government shutdown.
Trump has withdrawn his endorsement of Greene, and wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: "Wacky Marjorie 'Traitor' Brown (Remember, Green turns to Brown where there is ROT involved!) is working overtime to portray herself as a victim when, in actuality, she is the cause of all of her own problems. The fact is, nobody cares about this Traitor to our Country!"
When asked about Greene's claims that her life was in danger, Trump said on Sunday: "I don't think her life is in danger. Frankly, I don't think anybody cares about her." Newsweek has contacted the White House via email for comment.
What To Know
Greene said on Sunday that her construction company's office building had received a pipe bomb threat in the wake of her rift with Trump.
"The hoax pizza deliveries have started now, to my house and my family members," Greene wrote on X on Sunday. "Update: we also received a pipe bomb threat on my construction companies office building."
Conservative commentator Laura Loomer responded on X, saying: "I spoke with law enforcement officials at the police department in Rome, Georgia. They told me they never received a report today of a bomb threat at the business or residence of Marjorie Traitor Greene."
But Greene's construction company, Taylor Commercial Inc, is in Alpharetta, Georgia, according to the construction management directory Procore Network. Newsweek has contacted the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety for comment via email and phone.
Rome Police Department had initially told Newsweek that "none of the incidents were within the jurisdiction of the Rome Police Department."
"Other than an unordered pizza delivery to her home, we are under the impression that all other incidents have occurred elsewhere," Madden said.
Quote:WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend is receiving protection from some of the bureau’s most elite agents because of an uptick in death threats against her, a rep said Monday.
Alexis Wilkins, the 27-year-old country artist who is dating the 45-year-old FBI chief, is being watched by federal agents who are typically on a SWAT team, the representative said.
“Ms. Wilkins is receiving a protective detail because she has faced hundreds of credible death threats related to her relationship with Director Patel, whom she has been dating for three years,” the rep said.
“Out of respect for her safety, we will not be providing additional details.”
Wilkins’ FBI security detail were first reported by MS Now, the rebranded cable news network formerly known as MSNBC.
Agents assigned to Wilkins include ones who typically work on a SWAT team in the FBI’s Nashville field office, according to the outlet.
Wilkins and Patel first met in Nashville, where the country star works.
While it’s unclear if girlfriends of former FBI directors ever received similar protection, former FBI Director Christopher Wray’s wife had a security detail.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who is rumored to be eyeing a run for governor in California, grumbled over the revelations, complaining that the FBI hasn’t given him adequate protection.
“I don’t want anything to happen to @FBIDirectorKash or his girlfriend,” Swalwell posted on X. “Protect her if she’s threatened.
“It’s just F’d up that he REFUSES to protect me and my kids from MULTIPLE specific death threats. Same for other Dem colleagues. Can only conclude he wants us dead.”
Patel and Wilkins first met at a friend’s event in Nashville in 2022 and began dating several months later, in early 2023.
Quote:Dan McGrath, an Emmy-award-winning writer and producer known for his work on The Simpsons and King of the Hill, died on Friday at the age of 61. His sister, Gail Garabadian, told The Hollywood Reporter he died at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, after suffering a stroke.
The Context
McGrath was a prominent figure in American television comedy, renowned for his contributions to some of the most-influential animated programs, including The Simpsons and King of the Hill. His writing shaped a generation of viewers and influenced the direction of animated and comedy writing in the United States. His passing is significant to both the entertainment industry and the loyal audiences of the shows he helped create, leaving a legacy that continues to impact the genre.
What To Know
In a heartfelt message posted to Facebook on Saturday, Garabadian said: "We lost my incredible brother Danny yesterday. He was a special man, one of a kind. An incredible son, brother, uncle and friend. Our hearts are broken."
Born on July 20, 1964, in Brooklyn, McGrath attended Regis High School and Harvard University, where he became vice president of The Harvard Lampoon, according to his online obituary via McLaughlin & Sons Funeral Home. His early television career included work with Saturday Night Live in 1991, earning an Emmy nomination in 1992. McGrath joined The Simpsons in 1992, writing 50 episodes and producing 24 more, per The Hollywood Reporter (THR). He received a Primetime Emmy award in 1997 for the iconic episode "Homer’s Phobia" and contributed scriptwriting to other beloved episodes such as "Time and Punishment," "The Devil and Homer Simpson," "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" and "Bart of Darkness."
Beyond The Simpsons, McGrath worked as a writer and producer for King of the Hill, Muppets Tonight, Gravity Falls and Mission Hill. He also taught at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective.
Quote:A United Airlines flight on its way to Chicago was forced to make an emergency landing in Missouri on Sunday after a passenger said there was a bomb in his wife’s luggage, according to reports and authorities.
United Flight 380 from Dallas to Chicago landed in St. Louis on Sunday morning due to a potential security concern, a United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.
The plane was diverted to St. Louis Lambert International Airport around 8:40 a.m. after a man said there was a bomb in a piece of his wife’s luggage, sources told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The allegedly unwieldy man was arrested, the outlet said.
His identity or whether he has been charged is not immediately clear.
All 119 passengers were promptly evacuated and waited in the concourse upon landing, the airport’s director, Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, told the outlet.
Bomb and arson teams were dispatched to the Boeing 737-700 and were still searching it more than two hours after it landed, the outlet reported.
Law enforcement searched and cleared the aircraft, according to United Airlines.
The flight took off from St. Louis in the afternoon and landed safely in Chicago, the airline said.
The incident comes after multiple bomb threats have sparked chaos aboard flights in recent weeks.
On Nov. 4, a caller allegedly threatened that a United Airlines flight would explode upon landing at Virginia’s Reagan Washington National Airport unless air traffic controllers forked over $500,000 in crypto.
Flights at the airport were briefly grounded as emergency vehicles swarmed the runway.
Later that day, a Delta Airlines flight was evacuated at LaGuardia airport after the crew reported a bomb threat.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport officials did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Quote:Thomas Crooks used they/them pronouns and posted threats of political violence and violent art on his secret social media accounts before he attempted to assassinate President Trump, according to sources who shared the suspected messages with The Post.
The loner sniper — who grazed Trump in the ear, killed a beloved firefighter and critically wounded two other Trump supporters — also apparently had a “muscle mommy” fetish, and repeatedly searched for videos about female bodybuilders and muscular women.
The Post’s Miranda Devine reported on the newly unearthed online activity on Monday.
Crooks had two possible accounts on DeviantArt, a site that hosts fan art and has become notorious for its community of furries — people who identify as anthropomorphized animal characters and/or are sexually attracted to them.
One of the DeviantArt accounts linked to Crooks shared just one post, a repost of a towering, muscular female bodybuilder and a slight man in his underwear.
Multiple searches for muscular women and female bodybuilders were found on Crooks’ supposed YouTube search history.
The profile for the DeviantArt also lists pronouns as They/Them — though it’s not clear whether Crooks identified as transgender.
A trawl of Crooks’ digital footprint, dating back almost a decade before he tried to kill Trump on July 13, 2024, at an election rally in Butler, Pa., shows an increasing obsession with violence and increasingly radical comments and artwork that seemingly arose during COVID, according to the sources.
The sources used publicly available research tools to link multiple email addresses to Crooks, and then found usernames associated with those emails on numerous sites, including YouTube, Snapchat, PayPal, Discord, Chess.com, Quora, and DeviantArt.
The FBI has not confirmed the details of Crooks’ possible social media accounts, and did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
His early online presence — when he would have been in high school — was almost exclusively pro-Trump, while he also made a number of violently antisemitic comments and racist remarks about Hispanic immigrants.
“I always believed being patriotic was lining up a bunch of socialist Jews (like the ones that booed Trump) and blasting their useless brains out with an AR,” a YouTube account featuring Crooks’ full name posted in the comments under a clip of President Trump being booed during the 2019 World Series in Washington, DC, according to sources.
“Everyone of the trump hating democrats deserve to have their heads chopped of and put on steaks for the world to see what happens when you f–k with America [sic],” he said in one comment under an MSNBC clip from July 2019.
He also described in detail how he would use an assault rifle against a crowd of political opponents, frequently quoting the line, “The only true political power comes from the barrel of a gun,” from Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong.
And Crooks made violent threats against Democratic members of “The Squad,” the sources said.
“I hope a quick painful death to all the deplorable immigrants and anti-trump congresswoman who dont deserve anything this countru has given them [sic],” he wrote in a July 20, 2019 post.
But in 2020, amid the COVID pandemic, he appeared to make a 180-degree turn on his views on Trump.
“I’m pretty sure people are just racist and Trump is one of them, there does not need to be a deep state for that,” he said in a YouTube comment dated Feb. 26, 2020, according to sources.
Quote:A retired professor was seen on camera calling conservatives “Nazis” after a proposed Turning Point USA chapter was approved at a Colorado college.
David Kozak, a former professor of anthropology at Fort Lewis College, was caught on camera Nov. 7 yelling in reaction to the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College (ASFLC) voting to approve the TPUSA chapter in an emergency meeting. Their decision came after previously rejecting senior Jonah Flynn’s proposal to register the group with the university, which had sparked controversy across campus.
The ASFLC’s decision to reverse its earlier rejection to deny the chapter apparently angered Kozak, who flipped off the person filming and called the TPUSA supporters “Nazis.” He then said, “F— the Nazis.”
“Go on, fascists,” Kozak said. “Go on, Nazi lovers.”
“C’mon Nazis!,” Kozak said repeatedly.
Kozak’s confrontation occurred after a challenging few weeks for the TPUSA chapter at the liberal arts college, which is based in a left-leaning area that overwhelmingly supported Democrat Kamala Harris in the last election.
A Fort Lewis College spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Kozak had retired.
“Mr. Kozak retired from Fort Lewis College in 2022 and is no longer employed by the institution,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “At Fort Lewis College, we remain committed to fostering an environment grounded in academic excellence, free expression, and civil discourse.”
Flynn was at the center of controversy when he sought to start a TPUSA chapter, prompting a petition that accused TPUSA of causing harm to students.
On Oct. 17, a petition launched by the Fort Lewis College community garnered over 400 signatures, arguing that TPUSA “has engaged in actions that directly harm our community.”
“At a college where many students identify as Indigenous, students of color, LGBTQ+, or from other underrepresented backgrounds, this harm cannot be ignored,” the petition reads. “We are calling on Fort Lewis College to take action that prioritizes student safety and well-being by refusing to recognize the TPUSA chapter as an RSO.”
Shortly after the chapter was denied, a counter-petition launched backing TPUSA, garnering over 1,000 signatures so far.
The student government ultimately reversed itself, approving the chapter on Nov. 7.
Kozak did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
House moves forward with resolution condemning Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia for ‘election subversion’
Quote:House Democrats on Monday failed to block a rare disapproval resolution – led by a member of their own caucus – accusing retiring Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill) of “election subversion” over a scheme to hand-pick his successor.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) introduced the resolution against the Illinois congressman after he abruptly announced his retirement past the filing deadline for primary candidates, which Garcia’s chief of staff met just in the nick of time.
Garcia’s apparent dirty trick allows his aide, Patty Garcia (no relation), to run unopposed in the Illinois 4th Congressional District Democratic primary.
In a 206-211 vote, an attempt to kill Gluesenkamp Perez’s resolution and avert an intraparty debate on the House floor failed.
“I do not support the so-called resolution of disapproval, and I strongly support Congressman Chuy Garcia,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said ahead of the vote. “He has been a progressive champion in disenfranchised communities for decades.”
Two Democrats – Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Gluesenkamp Perez – voted with Republicans to move the resolution forward.
Garcia, who represents a deep-blue district in Chicago and had initially filed to run for reelection, defended his tactic on the House floor.
“I wasn’t expecting to stand here to debate my retirement,” the 69-year-old lawmaker said, explaining that his wife’s battle with multiple sclerosis and other family obligations made him reconsider running at the last minute.
Garcia was adamant that he “followed the rules of Illinois and its election law,” and said he was “shocked” to learn he was being called out by Gluesenkamp Perez.
“As I looked ahead, I had to be honest about what the next term would demand and what my family needed,” Garcia said of his decision to retire.
He argued “voters don’t want these arguments in Congress” and “none of us wants to spend the next year trading the disapproval resolutions” before describing the resolution as a “political ploy.”
Quote:Alleged Chinese mole Linda Sun brazenly forged then-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature in glowing missives sent to dignitaries from the Henan province, according to the feds and documents presented at her bombshell trial.
Jurors in Brooklyn federal court were shown copies of letters purportedly sent by Hochul on March 26, 2018, inviting a six-member delegation from the province in central China to a meeting with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
But the letters bore clearly forged versions of Hochul’s signature — that featured “overly loopy” handwriting, her former chief of staff Jeff Lewis testified.
“From my experience, this is not how she would sign her name,” Lewis told jurors last week.
“The ‘K’ is different than it typically would be,” he said. “I don’t have another word for it, but there seems to be an overly loopy or bubbled nature to the handwriting.”
The letters suggested that members of the delegation could expect discussions about “promoting greater investment, trade cooperation and tourism opportunities” with the Empire State, court records show.
Prosecutors say that Sun, who served as Cuomo’s director of Asian-American affairs, forged the governor’s then-No. 2 Hochul’s signature several times that year in an attempt to curry favor with Chinese officials.
Over the same time span, Sun’s alleged handlers in Beijing showered her family with gaudy gifts and steered millions of dollars in contracts to her husband Chris Hu’s seafood exporting business, the feds claim.
In exchange, Sun, who also worked as a top aide to Hochul when she succeeded Cuomo as governor, attempted to advance China’s agenda in New York state, federal prosecutors allege.
“Her loyalty was for sale, and the Chinese government, which wanted to influence the New York government, was willing to pay her to do their bidding,” prosecutor Amanda Shami said during last week’s opening statements.
Sun and Hu are separately charged with taking illegal “kickbacks” from a PPE company run by Sun’s cousin in exchange for recommending that the state dole out millions in contracts to the firm in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Republicans are working on legislation that will impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia.
Newsweek contacted the Kremlin for comment by email outside of office hours.
Why It Matters
Trump has positioned himself as a "peacemaker," determined to add the war in Ukraine to his list of conflicts that he has played a role in ending, but his efforts to nudge Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table have come to nothing.
Instead, Putin has dug in on his war goals and even intensified his attacks on Ukraine. Ukraine and its European allies have urged Trump to take tougher action in response to Russia’s recalcitrance.
Applying sanctions on countries that do business with Russia will have a wide-ranging impact including on some U.S. allies and will ramp up pressure on Russia and its struggling economy.
What To Know
Trump, asked by a reporter if it was time for Congress to legislate to put more pressure on Russia and Putin, said: “Well I hear they’re doing that, and that’s OK with me.”
“They’re passing legislation, the Republicans are, putting in legislation that - very tough, sanctioning et cetera, et cetera - on any country doing business with Russia. They may add Iran to that, as you know, I suggested it,” he said, adding, “So any country that does business with Russia will be very severely sanctioned.”
Trump held off introducing new restrictions against Russia for months but announced new sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies - Rosneft and Lukoil - on October 22, complaining that his peace talks with Putin were going nowhere.
Russia’s main energy customers are China, which dominates coal and crude oil purchases; Turkey, which dominates purchases of oil products; and the EU, which is the largest buyer of liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Several U.S. allies, including Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Brazil, buy smaller amounts of Russian energy, according to CREA data.
Many countries around the world sell Russia agricultural goods, while many also buy Russian arms, including Iran, India, China, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Algeria, Egypt and Myanmar. Iran and North Korea have also supplied weapons to Russia.
Quote:Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced Monday that the Senate will soon move forward with legislation that would sanction Russia’s trading partners after President Trump appeared to give the move his blessing.
“I hear they’re doing that, and that’s OK with me,” Trump told reporters Sunday night before flying back to Washington after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida. “As you know, I suggested it. So any country that does business with Russia will be very severely sanctioned. We may add Iran to that formula.”
Monday morning, Graham posted on X: “I am very pleased that with President Trump’s blessing, Congress will be moving on the overwhelmingly bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that will provide President Trump with more tools to end the bloodbath in Ukraine.”
“This legislation is designed to give President Trump more flexibility and power to push Putin to the peace table by going after both Putin and countries like Iran that support him,” Graham added. “I appreciate the strong bipartisan support for this legislation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
The bill, co-authored by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), had been shelved for months as Trump repeatedly sought to bring about an end to the 33-month-old conflict with diplomacy, including a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska this past Aug. 15.
The bill would impose a 500% tariff on countries that import energy from Russia, the proceeds of which are a key source of funding for the Kremlin’s military machine. The White House had raised concerns that the bill intrudes on the president’s power over foreign policy, contributing to the measure being shelved.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters last month that he hoped to schedule a vote on the measure sometime soon, calling it “a bill whose time has come.”
Days later, the Treasury Department slapped sanctions on two of Moscow’s largest energy firms, Rosneft and Lukoil.
While announcing the sanctions, Trump told reporters that stopping the fighting between Russia and Ukraine has “turned out to be tougher than the Middle East.”
“The Middle East was supposed to be the tough one, and we’ve solved that puzzle,” he said, “but this one will get solved also.”
China and India remain the largest purchasers of Russian oil, though the European Union was still taking in roughly 6% of Moscow’s crude oil exports as of June, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
France, Belgium and Spain accounted for around 85% of all Russian liquid natural gas (LNG) imports as of last year, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Quote:The Kremlin said it wants a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to happen as soon as possible, though it warned that much preparatory work is needed to lay the ground first.
Self-styled global peacemaker Trump has sought for months to broker an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, primarily through diplomacy, including engaging directly with Moscow. But Russia has not moved from its maximalist position, frustrating Trump.
An earlier proposed Trump-Putin summit in Hungary was scrapped when it became clear Russia would not agree to the U.S. president's demand for an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine war.
Trump has since applied pressure on the Kremlin through other means, including punitive sanctions on its two largest state-owned oil producers, and threats to hand Ukraine more powerful weapons. Yet still, Russia has continued its war.
Peskov on Trump-Putin Summit
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that thorough preparations were needed before another Trump-Putin summit, and that the conditions had to be right to ensure its success.
“As soon as this preparation is completed and the conditions for holding the summit are created, we hope it will take place,” Peksov said at a press briefing on Monday, originally in Russian, state news agency TASS reported.
“It is hardly possible right now to predict when these conditions will arise. Although, of course, all of us are interested in these conditions emerging sooner rather than later."
Russian Demands for Ukraine Peace
The two leaders last met in Alaska in August, but the summit failed to yield any progress towards peace in Ukraine. The White House has made clear that another such summit is conditional on Russia's readiness to make peace.
Russia's main demands are the demilitarization of Ukraine and its neutrality, meaning no NATO membership or deployment of allied troops or weapons on its soil; recognition of Russian control over Ukrainian territory it has seized since it first invaded in 2014; and greater rights for ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. It also wants all Western sanctions and lawsuits dropped.
Ukraine and its allies accuse Russia of an imperial land grab in an illegal war of conquest aimed at erasing Ukrainian sovereignty and national identity, and folding Kyiv under Moscow's control. They reject Russia's territorial demands and giving Moscow any veto over Ukraine's security.
Russia Reacts to Potential New U.S. Sanctions
At the press briefing on Monday, Peskov pushed back against a bill proposed by U.S. lawmakers that would see punishing secondary tariffs applied to Russian trading partners in a bid to squeeze Moscow into ending its war.
Trump had expressed support for the bill, saying "that's okay with me" when asked about it by a reporter on Sunday.
“We will see how this bill progresses, and we will see what details it will involve," Peskov said in response, TASS reported. "We would, of course, view this extremely negatively."
Quote:Ukraine will receive 100 French Rafale fighter jets from Paris as part of a long-term defense agreement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed as a "historic deal."
Under a 10-year agreement, Kyiv will receive upgraded models of the multirole aircraft, along with an unspecified number of radars, stocks of missiles and guided bombs, and eight SAMP-T surface-to-air missile systems, Zelensky said.
Zelensky inked a letter of intent alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at an air base close to the capital on Monday.
France has already sent a handful of its Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine. Kyiv has received additional Soviet-era aircraft to supplement its preexisting fleet and American-made F-16s from several of its allies. Ukraine may also receive Swedish Gripen fighter jets.
Ukraine's air force has been up against Russia's larger and more technologically superior fleet for nearly four years, although experts have deemed Moscow's performance in the skies to be lackluster.
More aircraft are not a silver bullet for Ukraine, and certainly not one that is expected to arrive quickly, though. Training up pilots on each of the specific jets also takes time and pushes back the day Ukraine will be able to use the aircraft in its skies.
The Rafales, while older aircraft, are capable of going up against Russian jets and would bolster Ukraine's forces whenever they are operational. However, it would entirely depend on the timeline and the number of combat-capable personnel.
The United States' efforts for a ceasefire have stalled, despite pledges from President Donald Trump ahead of his return to the White House that he would bring an end to the war in just 24 hours.
Yet the jets send a strong message to Russia anyway, said Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee.
"This agreement between France and Ukraine is a political blow to Russia," he told Newsweek.
The Rafale is a fourth-generation aircraft manufactured by the French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. France has achieved considerable success in exporting the jet to customer nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Quote:Ukraine’s long-distance armed drones struck a major Russian oil refinery and a military base for Moscow’s elite own UAV unit in an overnight assault, Kyiv said.
Ukraine’s General Staff released video of the early Sunday strike showing the Novokuybyshevsk refinery, in Russia’s Samara region, after the latest drone assault on Moscow’s struggling oil facilities, the Kyiv Independent reported.
The refinery is one of Russia’s 10 largest oil facilities, with the Novokuybyshevsk site producing an estimated 8.8 million metric tons of oil every year.
Kyiv has defended the strikes against Russia’s oil facilities as a means to cripple Moscow’s ability to wage war by hurting its finances and the supply flow to its invading army.
The Novokuybyshevsk plant produces gasoline and fuel used by Russia’s army, including the jet fuel for its supersonic aircrafts, Kyiv alleged.
“As part of efforts to reduce the enemy’s offensive potential and disrupt fuel and ammunition supplies to Russian units, the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit facilities at the Novokuybyshevsk refinery in the Samara region,” the General Staff said in a statement.
The attack was carried out with Ukraine’s new “Bars” jet-propelled drones, which are capable of reaching hundreds of miles deep into Russia.
The Samara region is located nearly 900 miles from the front lines in Donetsk, making Sunday’s strike one of the longest missions carried out by the new drones.
Sunday’s attack also marks the sixth assault on the Novokuybyshevsk refinery during the war, with the previous attack launched last month, resulting in a suspension of operations, according to Ukrainian media outlets.
Along with the strike on the oil refinery, Ukraine’s General Staff said its drones struck a UAV storage site operated by Russia’s elite Rubicon unit.
Moscow’s fast-growing Rubicon is responsible for the intensifying drone strikes against Ukraine’s army and logistic networks, with the unit credited for helping retake Russia’s Kursk region earlier this year.
Russia’s defense ministry said 23 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the Samar Oblast overnight, with local officials claiming the attacks were successfully repelled.
‘Golden toilet’ scandal: Zelensky faces deepest crisis yet as allies accused in $100M wartime scheme
Quote:Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has close ties to individuals named in a sprawling “golden toilet” scam that saw tens of millions of dollars siphoned from wartime energy programs, according to reports.
At least two people with ties to Zelensky were named in the investigation from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, which was unveiled Monday and alleged about $100 million meant to protect power plants from Russian sabotage was actually siphoned by officials beginning in 2022.
Among them was businessman Tymur Mindich, who co-founded the entertainment company Kvartal 95 with Zelensky and was allegedly the ringleader of the scheme.
The two even had apartments in the same building, with Zelensky stopping by Mindich’s for a birthday celebration in 2021.
And it was that apartment – where Mindich was found to have bags of cash, the Financial Times reported – which gave the probe its outrageous nickname.
“Tymur had an apartment with golden toilets that was in the same building as Zelensky’s,” a former Ukrainian government official told Fox News.
“They were introduced many years ago and were running the business of 95 Kvartal, which includes film production and many other entertainment genres,” the official added.
Another Zelensky associate named in the probe was Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine’s former deputy prime minister.
“He was also very close to the family, and he used to hold positions in the Zelensky government since 2019, and he has been accused of abuse of office,” the former official said.
“Chernyshov started building big, three or four huge houses in their most luxury place in Kyiv,” they added.
And while Zelenksy hasn’t been implicated in the scheme, the former official said rumors have been swirling that he was involved and benefited.
“Some say Zelensky was aware of these schemes and that he had approved them,” the source claimed, according to Fox News.
“There was also suspicion that money ended up in accounts abroad that benefited Zelensky and his inner circle,” they added.
The Ukrainian president has distanced himself from the scam by praising the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s investigation, and even encouraging punishment of anybody found guilty.
“Everyone who put together a corrupt scheme must receive a clear legal response. There must be criminal verdicts,” he said in a Nov. 10 address.
EUROPE
Quote:Archaeologists recently unveiled an Egyptian vase inside what was once a fast-food kitchen in Pompeii.
In a Nov. 6 Facebook post, the Pompeii Archaeological Park said the ceramic situla, or vase, was found in the Thermopolium in Regio V, an ancient snack bar.
"The glazed vessel, usually found in the Vesuvian area as a prized decorative object in gardens or representative spaces, was evidently reused here as a kitchen container," officials said.
Ongoing restoration analysis may eventually reveal what it once held."
The Thermopolium was destroyed with the rest of Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Though the excavation took place in 2023, officials didn't announce the find until this month.
Archaeologists also uncovered other fascinating details about the Thermopolium, including its service areas and a modest upstairs apartment where the shopkeepers once lived.
"We see here a certain creativity in decorating both sacred and everyday spaces."
"In the ground-floor kitchen, cooking tools [such as] mortars and pans and numerous wine amphorae of Mediterranean origin were found still in place," the translated post added.
Park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said the vase reflects the good taste of the owners, even in a "lower-class" establishment.
"We see here a certain creativity in decorating both sacred and everyday spaces — that is, the household altar and the kitchen — using objects that reflect the permeability and mobility of tastes, styles and likely also religious ideas within the Roman Empire," Zuchtriegel said.
"And we see this phenomenon not at an elite level, but in the backroom of a popina, a street food outlet of Pompeii — in other words, at a middle- or lower-class level of local society, which nonetheless played a key role in promoting Eastern cultural and religious forms, including Egyptian cults and, later, Christianity."
Officials also described the situla as a "testament to the commercial and cultural exchanges that characterized Pompeii."
In recent months, the Pompeii Archaeological Park has unveiled other fascinating archaeology-related developments.
Quote:A scheduled auction in Germany set to feature hundreds of artifacts from the Holocaust — including chilling letters written by prisoners in concentration camps — was canceled on Sunday after intense backlash.
The auction by Auktionhaus Felzmann, dubbed “The System of Terror,” consisted of more than 600 lots with vestiges from the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, including slews of documentation like Gestapo index cards and letters penned by prisoners in German concentration camps to their loved ones back home.
The addition of the letters stoked a fiery rage across Europe, particularly in Poland, which was annexed by Nazi Germany and used as grounds for a majority of its concentration camps, including Auschwitz.
Radoslaw Sikorski, the deputy prime minister of Poland, announced that the “offensive” auction was canceled after conversations with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who “agreed that such a scandal must be prevented.”
Before Sikorski’s intervention, a Holocaust survivors group also called on the German auction house Felzmann to nix the auction, scheduled for Monday, in part because the documents they were seeking to sell identified many people by name.
Christoph Heubner, an executive vice president of The International Auschwitz Committee, implored the auctioneers to either return the documents to the respective surviving families or display them in museums or Holocaust memorials.
“For victims of Nazi persecution and Holocaust survivors, this auction is a cynical and shameless undertaking that leaves them outraged and speechless,” Heubner wrote in a statement on Saturday.
“Their history and suffering of all those persecuted and murdered by the Nazis is being exploited for commercial gain,” he added.
“We urge those responsible at the Felzmann auction house to show some basic decency and cancel the auction.”
The listing was scrubbed from the Auktionhaus Felzmann website as of Sunday afternoon.
In 2019, an auction house in Munich also found itself in hot water over a sale of Adolf Hitler memorabilia, including one of his top hats and a silver-cased copy of “Mein Kampf,” his published manifesto that laid out his plans for mass extermination that would later be dubbed “The Final Solution.”
Despite mass condemnation, the auction went on and raked in hundreds of thousands of euros.
In 2021, a Jerusalem-based auction house planned to sell a set of stamps used to tattoo prisoners at the Auschwitz death camp.
All prisoners at the concentration camp were branded with tattoos on their wrists in numerical order of arrival. There were two series of tattoos, differentiated with the letter ‘A’ or ‘B’, and each went in a rotation from one to 20,000 or 30,000, depending on the prisoner’s gender, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Israel’s own Holocaust memorial called the sale “morally unacceptable” and a court eventually suspended the auction.
Quote:One of Ecuador’s most wanted drug traffickers was arrested in Spain on Sunday — four years after faking his own death from COVID-19 and allegedly controlling a drug trafficking group from afar, according to authorities.
Wilmer Chavarria, also known as “Pipo,” was arrested in Malaga in a joint operation with Spanish and Ecuadorian police, Spain’s National Police posted on X.
The alleged leader of the Los Lobos group was seen in an image released by the department being escorted to a patrol car by two officers while wearing a black-and-green tracksuit.
Los Lobos (Spanish for “The Wolves”) is a drug trafficking group with around 8,000 members. The crime group was designated a terrorist organization by the US in September, according to a US Department of State press release.
The infamous gang has been linked to political assassinations in Ecuador and has been accused of working closely with Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Chavarria faked his death, snagged a new identity, moved to Spain and hid in Europe while allegedly orchestrating the criminal enterprise, according to Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.
His family had claimed that he had died in 2021 after suffering from a heart attack due to COVID, the BBC reported.
While hiding out, Chavarria helped coordinate drug shipments, ordered assassinations in Ecuador and controlled illegal mining operations, Noboa claimed in a post on X Sunday.
“Some wrote him off as dead; we hunted him down in his very own hell. That’s the difference when there’s the will to fight for your country,” Noboa wrote in a translated post.
“I recognize and thank the joint efforts of the Ecuadorian and Spanish National Police. To combat transnational crime, international cooperation is a necessity,” he said.
“We have captured the highest-value target. Today the mafias fall back. Today Ecuador wins.”
MIDDLE EAST
Eric Adams meets with Netanyahu on taxpayer-funded Israel trip as he rips Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani
Quote:Mayor Eric Adams met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as part of his taxpayer-funded multi-day trip to the Holy Land — as he took a veiled swipe at his successor Zohran Mamdani’s incoming tenure.
Adams said he met with Netanyahu to reaffirm New York City’s ties with Jerusalem, with the Big Apple housing the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel.
“Just met with Prime Minister @netanyahu where we discussed the fight against antisemitism and the unbreakable bond between New York City and Israel,” Adams wrote on X.
“We stand strong, proud, and united against antisemitism and all other forms of hate,” he said.
Adams, who left for Israel on Friday, emphasized the connection with Israel was important — a tie he feared could be undone under the incoming mayor Mamdani, who has been a vocal critic of Israel and vowed to arrest Netanyahu if the PM sets foot in the Big Apple.
The mayor also delivered a message to Jewish New Yorkers, saying he didn’t want to “sugarcoat” the rise of antisemitism in the city and around the world since the war in Gaza began.
“I think this is a period where they [Jews in New York City] need to be very conscious that there’s a level of global hostility towards the Jewish community,” Adams said in an event on Sunday, referencing rising rates of antisemitism.
“If I was a Jewish New Yorker with children, I would be concerned right now,” he said, according to the Forward.
By the end of 2024, antisemitic incidents marked 54% of all hate crime reports in the Big Apple, with 345 anti-Jewish incidents logged, according to the NYPD.
“I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to pretend as though everything is fine,” Adams told the Forward in an interview Monday.
Quote:The United Nations Security Council voted to adopt President Trump’s peace deal on Monday, and establish an international force to govern and secure the Gaza Strip.
The Security Council resolution officially backs Trump’s so-called Board of Peace to form a transitional government for the Gaza Strip, as well as establish an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to handle security and oversee the disarmament of Hamas.
The vote came as the White House denied reports in Israeli media that the US was backing away from its commitment to force the terror group to lay down its guns and rockets.
“This is fake news… President Trump’s administration is committed to a demilitarized, deradicalized, prosperous, and self-governing Gaza supported by broad regional participation,” Anna Kelly, a Natrional Security Council spokeswoman, said.
How exactly that will be achieved remains to be seen as Hamas refuses to give up its weapons and Israel remains opposed to any agreement that would set a pathway toward a Palestinian state — the same disagreements that have caused all previous cease-fire deals to collapse.
The lack of a clear path forward suggests that the current situation in Gaza could remain frozen in place for the foreseeable future, said Colin Clarke, a counter-terrorism expert at the New York-based Soufan Group.
“I think things in Gaza are still as fragile as ever,” Clarke told The Post, adding that the first phase of freeing all the hostages may be as far as the deal ever gets.
Under the terms of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, a peace-keeping force would be formed in Gaza to oversee the political transition and reconstruction period.
The US has reportedly been in talks with Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Qatar, and Turkey to donate troops for the effort.
Many of the nations, however, have expressed concerns for their soldiers if Hamas refuses to disarm.
The United Arab Emirates, a key power in the region, has declined to provide troops for the effort, with officials stating that they have not yet seen a clear framework for the International Stabilization Force.
“As long as Hamas retains its weapons and continues a low-level insurgency in Gaza, it will be extremely difficult to marshal the forces for an international peacekeeping force,” Clarke, the counter-terrorism expert, said.
“Its militia fighters will be difficult to extract from Gaza’s labyrinth-like underground tunnel structure, and I could see some kind of rump territory within Gaza that functions as an ungoverned territory of sorts,” he added.
Quote:The Trump Organization is looking to reach a new deal at one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments, potentially bringing another Trump-branded property to one of the kingdom's giga projects, according to a Monday report by the New York Times.
President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are meeting at the White House this week.
Newsweek has reached out to the Trump Organization and the Saudi developer Dar Global for comment.
Why It Matters
President Trump has handed over his multiple global business interests to his family while he is serving as president, but his critics say potential conflicts of interest remain.
The Trump Organization, now run by the president's sons Eric and Donald Jr., continues pursuing real estate ventures in the Middle East. The president's ties to oil-rich Gulf nations have raised concerns over blurred lines between politics and business since his first term.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously stated it was "ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit," when the president was going to the Middle East in May. He ended up accepting a luxury gift plane from Qatar to be turned into Air Force One.
What To Know
Dar Global is the London-listed luxury real estate developer and the international arm of the Saudi megadeveloper Dar Al Arkan. The Trump Organization is reportedly planning a new property in Diriyah, a historic Saudi town set to become a luxury destination under a $63 billion development, according to NYT.
The Trump Organization, which operates hotels, residential and commercial buildings, and golf courses, owns and operates dozens of properties worldwide, including in North America, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Asia.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has documented instances of federal and foreign spending at Trump properties, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
In Saudi Arabia, a Trump tower is planned for Jeddah. Two projects have been announced in Riyadh, one of them expected to be a tower, Eric Trump told Reuters in December 2024, adding that he has "not interaction with Washington D.C.," when asked about potential conflict of interest. Dar Global has also partnered with the Trump Organization for a Trump luxury resort in Oman and another in Qatar.
Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s commercial hub, is already home to the Trump International Golf Club. In April, The Trump Organization announced plans for a new addition, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, a luxury high-rise slated to be in the heart of the city.
"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
