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Quote:DAMASCUS, Syria — Two U.S. service members and one American civilian have been killed and three other people wounded in an ambush on Saturday by the Islamic State group in central Syria, the U.S. Central Command said.
The attack on U.S. troops in Iraq is the first to inflict casualties since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad a year ago.
Central Command said in a post on X that as a matter of respect for the families and in accordance with Department of War policy, the identities of the service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified.
The shooting took place near Palmyra, according to the state-run SANA news agency, which said members of Syria’s security force were wounded. The injured were taken by helicopters to the al-Tanf garrison near the border with Iraq and Jordan.
SANA said the attacker was killed, without providing further details.
A U.S. defense official told The Associated Press that they are aware of the reports and did not have any information to provide immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for not being authorized to speak to the media.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three Syrian security members were wounded as well as several Americans. It added that the attacker was a member of the Syrian security force.
The U.S. has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Quote:U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to hit ISIS with "very serious retaliation" after a gunman attacked and killed three U.S. servicemembers, including two Army soldiers and civilian interpreter, on Saturday.
"The President of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is extremely angry and disturbed by this attack," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "There will be very serious retaliation."
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier on Saturday confirmed the attack as well as the deaths of the servicemembers and the gunman, who was killed by "partner forces."
Three other wounded service members were taken by helicopter to the al-Tanf garrison near the border with Iraq and Jordan to receive treatment.
Trump in his post said the attack took place in "a very dangerous part of Syria, that is not fully controlled by them."
The U.S. had no diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but the Trump administration has courted closer ties between the two countries, even hosting interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Washington last month where he held talks with Trump.
Quote:A top Hamas military commander and “one of the architects” of the gruesome Oct. 7 massacre was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Saturday, thrusting an already fragile cease-fire into further peril.
The Israeli Defense Forces said Saad, a member of the Qassam Brigades, the terror group’s military wing, had been involved in efforts to “restore and manufacture the group’s weapons.”
He served as chief of Hamas’ weapons manufacturing headquarters and is considered deputy commander to the terror group’s latest military chief, Izz al-Din Haddad, the Times of Israel reported.
Saad was taken out along with three others while driving on the Rashid coastal road, an Israeli official said, the outlet reported.
He was believed to be one of the last senior military personnel still stationed in war-torn Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the PM and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the attack on Saad, following an explosive device detonating and injuring two Israeli soldiers in Gaza earlier Saturday.
Saad “was one of the architects of the October 7 massacre and in recent days had been engaged in restoring the terror organization and in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel, as well as rebuilding an attack force, in blatant violation of the cease-fire rules and Hamas’s commitments to respect President [Donald] Trump’s plan,” the two officials said in a statement.
The Israeli army said that Hamas was trying to “restore its capabilities and strengthen itself” in recent weeks.
It is the latest flare-up inside Gaza since the signing of a US-brokered peace deal in October, which resulted in the release of the 20 living hostages held by Hamas who were seized in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
The IDF said the soliders were injured while clearing the area of terrorist infrastructure in Southern Gaza.
It said “repeated attempts by the Hamas terror organization to carry out terrorist attacks were identified, including the use of explosive devices against IDF forces, actions that constitute a blatant violation of the agreement,” the military said in a statement.
Israel did not inform the Trump Administration in advance of the strike on Saad, Axios reported, citing an Israeli official.
Hamas slammed the Jewish state for “continuously” violating the cease-fire agreement in response to the strike that killed Saad.
“This crime confirms again that the occupation is deliberately seeking to undermine the ceasefire agreement and thwart it with continuously escalating violations,” the terror group said in a statement.
Israel “bears the full responsibility for the results of its crimes against our Palestinian nation,” the statement added.
Quote:The father of a slain IDF soldier taken captive by Hamas on Oct. 7 was sent a horrific video of his daughter’s final moments as she “begged for her life” while doctors in Gaza injected air into her veins.
Avi Marciano, the father of 19-year-old Cpl. Noa Marciano, said that his daughter was wounded in the leg during an Israeli airstrike while she was in captivity — but her injuries were not life-threatening.
She was taken to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where “a medical professional decided to murder her,” Marciano said through journalist Shai DeLuca, who translated for him.
“He injects her veins with air and that’s how he murdered her,” he said.
Marciano said he received video of his daughter “begging for her life” over the social media website Telegram. By the end of the video, she’s drenched in sweat but “there is no life in her body,” he said.
The IDF learned through videos and their own intelligence that the Israeli soldier was in the hospital and launched an attack on the facility. Her body was recovered and returned to her grieving family within a week.
“Our dear Noni, in a normal, sane world, we shouldn’t be standing here now, but we aren’t in a normal world,” the teen’s shattered mom said at the teen’s funeral in a video posted to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s Facebook.
“At 19, you were taken from us prematurely. The mind struggles to let go, and the heart refuses to accept.”
Hamas terrorists blamed Marciano’s death on an Israeli airstrike.
Marciano’s death was confirmed just over a month after Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Quote:The Israeli navy and the United States 5th Fleet have completed a five-day joint exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea, Haifa Bay, the Nahariya region and the Red Sea, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Thursday.
The drill, dubbed “Intrinsic Defender,” focused on maintaining and strengthening the long-standing cooperation between the two navies, expanding and improve responses to possible maritime threats and promoting joint operational learning, the IDF said.
“Throughout the exercise, operational capabilities were integrated, and new technological capabilities were established, to broaden the IDF’s operational options,” the statement continued.
A variety of scenarios were drilled, including sabotage and mine neutralization, responses to maritime intrusion threats, diving and search operations, ship-boarding operations and medical drills.
As part of the exercise, the US Navy’s P-8 Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and the Israeli navy Sa’ar 5-class corvettes practiced creating a shared air-maritime situational assessment.
The IDF noted that repeated exercises and patrols with the US 5th Fleet in the Red Sea “and areas further south” highlight the strategic alliance under US Central Command, describing the partnership as a central element of maritime security and stability across the Middle East.
In March, the Israeli air force and the US Air Force conducted a joint exercise over the Mediterranean, in their first collaboration on that scale in two years.
The Israeli military published details of the drill, along with images and video footage. As part of the exercise, Israeli F-35I and F-15I aircraft conducted a joint flight with an American B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber.
The drill came three months before Israel’s 12-day war (“Operation Rising Lion”) against Iran, during which seven US B-2 bombers targeted Iranian nuclear sites, inflicting damage at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Quote:Iran says the United States has been forced to "kneel before an Iranian drone and copy it" after Washington announced plans to deploy U.S.-made versions of Tehran’s Shahed kamikaze drones to the Middle East.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, senior spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, called the deployment a humiliating concession by a global superpower, coming after years in which Iran used low-cost drones against American forces—including the 2024 attack in Jordan—and supplied the systems to allies worldwide, including Russia for use in Ukraine and regional militias across the Middle East.
Newsweek has contacted the State Department and Iran's Foreign Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
The deployment highlights the growing importance of low-cost, expendable drones in modern warfare. These systems have enabled states and militias to conduct precise attacks far cheaper than traditional military platforms. The rollout comes against a backdrop of heightened regional tension, including U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as part of Israel’s 12-day war earlier this year.
For the U.S., producing its own fleet of drones modeled on the Shahed represents a strategic effort to counter threats previously exploited by Iranian-backed groups and to bolster its presence in an increasingly contested region.
What To Know
On Tuesday, Shekarchi described U.S. and Israeli threats against Tehran as "delusional," emphasizing that the conflict in June demonstrated how such warnings fail "in the real field of battle." He said Iran’s forces, particularly the Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force, remain "a thorn in the throat of the hegemonic system."
The Iranian government also highlighted that its Shahed drones had influenced global military planning, with the U.S. now producing its own version in response.
U.S. Deployment of LUCAS Drones
Last week, the Pentagon confirmed that many Low‑Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are already deployed in the Middle East, with more on the way. The LUCAS drone was developed after U.S. engineers dismantled and reverse‑engineered a captured Iranian Shahed‑136.
Designed to mirror the Shahed’s simple, expendable strike profile, the LUCAS can operate autonomously and launch from multiple platforms, expanding the U.S. supply of low‑cost attack drones in a region where such systems increasingly shape battlefield dynamics.
Each LUCAS drone costs roughly $35,000, considerably more than the Iranian version. The higher cost raises questions about whether the U.S. can rapidly produce sufficient numbers to match the volume of drones deployed by Iran and its regional partners.
Quote:President Donald Trump escalated his warnings to Tehran, declaring that the United States would strike any new Iranian nuclear site if the country attempted to restart its program without an agreement.
“But if they do want to come back, and they want to come back without a deal, then we're going to obliterate that one, too,” he said.
Trump told reporters in the White House on Thursday, that Iran’s nuclear capacity was wiped out by the June attacks carried out by U.S. and Israeli forces and insisted Tehran could have avoided the destruction by accepting a deal earlier.
Why It Matters
Trump’s comments come as diplomacy between Washington and Tehran remains stalled after the 12-day June war targeting three Iranian nuclear sites, with U.S. support alongside Israeli strikes. The United States says the attacks crippled Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, destroying key enrichment facilities and slowing its ability to produce fissile material.
Tehran continues to reject U.S. demands on uranium enrichment and missile development while insisting it has never sought nuclear weapons.
The standoff leaves the region vulnerable to renewed escalation, as both sides remain entrenched and no new negotiations have been scheduled. The combination of halted diplomacy and lingering military tensions keeps the threat of further conflict high.
What to Know
Trump insisted that Iran could have prevented the June strikes by accepting a nuclear agreement sooner, saying,: “Forget about the nuclear. The nuclear is gone. But look at the damage they've suffered, the death that they've suffered. They could have had a deal where nobody would have died.”
Trump also said that U.S. assessments showed Iran’s nuclear facilities were rendered unusable. He said analysts believed Iran would require entirely new sites and an extended rebuilding period to restart the program. As he described this assessment, he reiterated: “They missed that opportunity. But they would like to make a deal right now.” His repetition highlighted his argument that Tehran now recognizes the severity of its losses and is seeking reentry into negotiations under far weaker conditions.
Quote:TEHRAN, Iran — Iran introduced a new pricing tier Saturday for its nationally subsidized gasoline, attempting to rein in spiraling costs for the first time since a price hike in 2019 that sparked nationwide protests and a crackdown that reportedly killed over 300 people.
Cheap gasoline has been viewed for generations as a birthright in Iran, sparking mass demonstrations as far back as 1964 when a price increase forced the shah to put military vehicles on the streets to replace those of striking taxi drivers.
But Iran’s theocracy faces a growing squeeze from the country’s rapidly depreciating rial currency and economic sanctions imposed due to Tehran’s nuclear program.
That has made the cost of having some of the world’s cheapest gasoline at a few pennies per gallon that much more expensive. However, the government’s hesitant move toward increasing prices likely signals it wants to avoid any confrontation with the nation’s exhausted public after Israel launched a 12-day war on the country in June.
“Our discontent has no result,” fumed Saeed Mohammadi, a teacher who works as a taxi driver in his spare time to make ends meet. “The government does whatever it likes. They don’t ask people if they agree or not.”
New rate is still pennies per gallon
At four gas stations in northern Tehran on Saturday morning, drivers seemed relaxed as they refueled in clear, cold weather. Single police vehicles were stationed nearby at times, but there were no long lines at the pumps or other visible problems.
The new pricing system implemented Saturday adds a third pricing level to the country’s long-running subsidy system. The revised structure allows motorists to continue receiving 60 liters (15 gallons) per month at the subsidized rate of 15,000 rials per liter, or 1.25 US cents, and the next 100 liters (26 gallons) will remain at 30,000 rials a liter, or 2.5 cents.
Quote:Iran has arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, her supporters said Friday.
A foundation in her name said she was detained in Mashhad, some 420 miles northeast of the capital, Tehran, while attending a memorial for a human rights lawyer recently found dead under unclear circumstances.
A local official reportedly acknowledged arrests had been made, but did not directly name Mohammadi, 53.
It wasn’t clear if authorities would immediately return her to prison, where she had been serving a sentence until her temporary release in December 2024 for medical purposes.
However, her detention comes as Iran has been cracking down on intellectuals and others as Tehran struggles with sanctions, an ailing economy and the fear of a renewed war with Israel.
Arresting Mohammadi may spark increased pressure from the West at a time when Iran repeatedly signals it wants new negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program — something that has yet to happen.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was “deeply concerned” by Mohammadi’s arrest.
The committee “calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions,” it said in a statement.
Quote:The U.S. has reiterated that Turkey must give up the S-400 missile defense system it purchased from Russia to be eligible for the acquisition of advanced F‑35 fighter jets.
"As laid out in U.S. law, Turkiye must no longer operate nor possess the S-400 system to return to the F-35 program," U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack wrote in a statement on his X account. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been discussing the issue with President Donald Trump for months.
Why It Matters
Turkey had intended to buy at least 100 U.S.-made F‑35s and was one of the eight original partner nations involved in the jet’s development and industrial production. Despite U.S. warnings, Turkey signed a deal with Russia in 2017 to acquire the S‑400 air‑defense system and began receiving the first shipments of the system in 2019, prompting the U.S. to remove Ankara from the F‑35 program.
U.S. officials view the S-400 as a security risk that may reveal sensitive information about the F‑35 in terms of detection and data collection. Barrack's statement aligns with the administration's unchanged policy on the long-discussed issue of Turkey’s potential return to the program.
Turkey, a NATO ally, has emerged as a strong military power, accelerating an ambitious indigenous program of advanced weapons production, diversifying its capabilities and seeing a boost in defense exports.
What To Know
The Trump Administration removed Turkey from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in July 2019. The White House said at the time that the Russian S-400s threaten the jet’s advanced capabilities and undermines NATO interoperability, though it stressed that Turkey remains a valued ally and partner.
Barrack made similar comments earlier this week, saying Ankara could resolve remaining issues over its Russian S-400 air defense system within four to six months, according to media reports.
In October, Turkey signed a deal to purchase 20 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and plans to acquire more to replace its aging F-16 fleet while awaiting clarity on the possibility of obtaining F-35 aircraft. Turkey is also developing its own Kaan fighter jet, a decision accelerated by its removal from the F‑35 program.
“I hope the promises given will be fulfilled, and we will gain strong capabilities with the F-35s," Erdogan said in November, confirming talks were going in a positive direction, according to outlet Turkiye Today.
USA
Quote:WASHINGTON — Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) referred Thursday to the deadly ambush attack against two National Guard members in DC as an “unfortunate accident” — prompting harsh blowback from the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
“With reference to the unfortunate accident that occurred with the National Guardsman being killed,” Thompson began during a line of questioning at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem quickly interjected.
“Unfortunate accident? It was a terrorist attack. He shot our Guardsmen in the head,” Noem fired back about the Thanksgiving Eve attack just blocks from the White House.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Thompson doubled down. “But you blamed it solely on Joe Biden.”
“That was a murder that took place in DC,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) erupted at Thompson. “It was not an unfortunate incident. Those comments are f–king disrespectful. I expect better from the ranking member.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unloaded on Thompson in an X post that it was “a disgraceful thing to say.”
Rahmanullah Lakanwal executed National Guardswoman Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and left Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, 24, in serious condition in the daylight ambush as they patrolled the streets of the nation’s capital.
National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent shared later in the hearing that the US Intelligence Community was aware of as many as 2,000 known or suspected terrorists who came into the country as part of a Biden administration program for Afghan refugees.
That program, Operation Allies Welcome, let around 88,000 Afghans into the US.
Another 16,000 known or suspected terrorists also entered during former President Joe Biden’s term, Kent said.
Many have ties to ISIS, al-Qaeda and recently designated foreign terrorist organizations that traffic drugs like the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua or MS-13.
Quote:Representative Delia Ramirez, an Illinois Democrat, demanded on Thursday that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem either resign or face impeachment.
The congresswoman requested that House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, carry out an investigation into Noem's leadership of DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agencies spearheading the Trump administration's mass deportation policy.
"Under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has done irreversible harm to our constituents, trampling the rights of all people and disregarding the rule of law," Ramirez wrote to lawmakers in a letter.
Ramirez accused Noem of misleading Congress and the public, misusing congressionally appropriated resources, and disregarding court orders and legislative oversight. She pointed to reports that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by immigration agents, contradicting Noem’s claims that enforcement targets only those in the country illegally.
Her request seeks a full inquiry into whether Noem made false statements to Congress, mishandled departmental resources, or violated constitutional limits on executive authority.
“Your options are limited. You either resign, Trump fires you, or you will be impeached," Ramirez said at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek on Friday morning, "As a self-proclaimed 'Guatemala first' politician, we are not shocked that Rep Ramirez is more focused on showmanship than actual policy work including hours before a hearing. We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem.”
Why It Matters
Ramirez's ultimatum for the DHS secretary illustrates the deep divisions over immigration policy and executive accountability in Washington, D.C. While impeachment is rare and difficult to achieve, especially against a Cabinet official under a president’s own party control, such actions can amplify political pressure and shape public narratives heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
Rumors have swirled about Noem being replaced, fueling speculation about her future at DHS amid growing scrutiny of her handling of immigration enforcement. While some reports suggest potential leadership changes, White House officials and President Donald Trump have publicly dismissed these rumors, reaffirming their support for Noem.
Trump publicly backed Noem, and with Republicans controlling the House, the chances of impeachment proceedings advancing are widely viewed as slim.
Meanwhile, articles of impeachment have already been filed against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by other House Democrats.
What To Know
Noem has defended her department’s actions and immigration enforcement strategy, saying that DHS is enforcing federal law and that operations are conducted appropriately. At the Homeland Security Committee hearing, she reiterated support for tougher border security as well as interior enforcement measures and rejected accusations of wrongdoing.
Democrats at the hearing criticized Noem’s leadership and immigration policies, with some also calling for her resignation. During the hearing, the proceedings were interrupted by protestors.
Republicans, including Jordan’s office, dismissed Ramirez’s letter as unlikely to lead anywhere, with a spokesman calling it “toothless.”
DHS, along with its agencies ICE and CBP, have faced a flurry of pushback over the detention of nonviolent immigrants with minor criminal histories.
During the congressional hearing on Thursday, Representative Seth Magaziner, a Rhode Island Democrat, questioned Noem about the detention of Donna Hughes Brown, a green card holder held by ICE in Kentucky since July, after being arrested in Chicago over a bad check from more than a decade ago. Hughes Brown is married to Jim Brown—a Navy combat veteran who served in the Gulf War.
“Now what possible explanation can there be for locking up his wife for four months when she has committed no crime other than writing a couple of bad checks for $80?” Magaziner asked.
Noem said it's not "my prerogative, my latitude or my job to pick and choose which laws in this country get enforced" before committing to reviewing the cases of Hughes Brown and others that the congressman mentioned like the combat veteran who appeared via video call at Thursday's hearing after being deported to South Korea earlier this year.
Quote:A federal judge has temporarily barred U.S. immigration authorities from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man whose case became a focal point in debates over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued the order Friday morning, just hours after Abrego Garcia was released from a Pennsylvania detention facility. The ruling came as Abrego Garcia arrived for a routine check-in at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office, where his attorneys feared he could be taken into custody again.
Officials cannot detain Abrego Garcia again until the court holds a hearing at his lawyers' request for a temporary restraining order, according to Xinis’ ruling.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the decision as "naked judicial activism" in an email to Newsweek.
“This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” she added.
The ruling follows months of litigation after Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador and jailed in a notorious prison despite having been granted protection from deportation by an immigration judge in 2019.
Why It Matters
The case highlights ongoing disputes over the limits of federal authority in deportation cases and the broader implications of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who has lived in Maryland for years with his U.S. citizen wife and child, has become a symbol for immigrant rights activists pushing back against what they describe as retaliatory deportation tactics.
His lawyers argue that ICE is continuing to pursue deportation not based on legal grounds but as retribution for public embarrassment following his removal and subsequent return.
“This is a country of laws and I believe that this injustice will come to an end,” Abrego Garcia said Friday during a press conference outside the ICE field office, where supporters chanted “We are all Kilmar.”
Quote:A political science professor at the University of Arkansas stands accused of praising Iran’s Supreme Leader using the school’s letterhead and attacking Israel, The Post has learned.
Shirin Saeidi, head of the school’s Middle East Studies program, also allegedly supported a convicted Iranian regime war criminal, evidence shows.
Now, lawmakers and a group of Iranian dissidents are demanding administrators at the university further discipline Saeidi, who was removed from her position Friday, according to a spokesman.
Saeidi used the school’s letterhead to appeal for the release of Hamid Nouri, who was convicted by a Swedish court in 2022 of ordering the execution of thousands of political prisoners at Gohardasht Prison in 1988, according to the US-based Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), which provided a copy to The Post.
Nouri served as the assistant deputy prosecutor at the Karaj prison, outside of Tehran. He was released in a prisoner swap between Iran and Sweden last year.
In posts shared on X in November Saeidi praised ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offering prayers for his protection and noting that he is “the leader who kept Iran intact during the Israeli attack, May god protect you,” referencing the attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists.
She has called Israel a “terrorist state” and a “genocidal state” on X. Saeidi did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
On Friday, Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, denounced Saeidi’s “hate-filled antisemitic venom” in an email to The Post.
“Whether Shirin Saeidi should be fired is a decision for the administration and the UA board. But praising the Iranian leader — who calls not only for the slaughter of Jews but also calls for the destruction of America — makes me think this deranged professor would probably be better suited to being given a one-way ticket to Tehran and taking a job of teaching in their hate-infested schools,” he said.
A spokesman for the university told The Post Friday Saeidi is no longer at the Middle East Studies department and the school is investigating her apparent use of the letterhead “in accordance with university policies.”
Quote:More than 10,000 illegal immigrants — including suspected murderers, kidnappers, sexual predators and carjackers — have been arrested in Los Angeles since a federal crackdown was launched in June, the DHS said Thursday.
The operation is part of a calculated effort by the federal government to weed out “the worst of the worst” undocumented immigrants in cities across the country.
Over the past six months, ICE officials, along with DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), have carried out thousands of such arrests in the midst of a surge in protests throughout the city.
“This success of this operation is in spite of violent rioters who assaulted our law enforcement, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at them, and attempted to obstruct lawful arrests of criminal illegal aliens,” the DHS said.
Los Angeles, which operates as a sanctuary city under California law, has proposed measures in recent months to respond to the influx of ICE operations in the city — including legislation that would ban agents from wearing masks, a move aimed at preventing what critics say are “secret police” tactics.
“While ICE law enforcement officers face a 1,150% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats, these Sanctuary politicians of Los Angeles County want to make it easier for violent political extremists to target our brave men and women,” DHS Assistant Secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, told The Post.
DHS has released the names of ten “worst of the worst” offenders who were in the country illegally and booked on serious crimes, including rape, aggravated assault, armed carjacking, homicide, kidnapping, child sex offenses, attempted methamphetamine importation and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
“Some of the most heinous criminal illegal aliens arrested include murderers, kidnappers, sexual predators, and armed carjackers,” said McLaughlin.
“Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass failed the people of California. They let these criminals roam free. Thanks to our brave law enforcement, California is safer with these thugs off their streets. Instead of thanking our law enforcement for removing criminals from their communities, Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass repeatedly demonized our brave law enforcement during these operations,” the DHS said in a statement.
Quote:Rep. Elise Stefanik is demanding the feds ramp up its probe into alleged Hochul administration bid-rigging on a $1 billion Medicaid homecare contract — after newly surfaced emails revealed state officials met with reps for the winner two weeks before bidding began.
Stefanik — an upstate Republican planning to challenge Democratic Gov. Hochul in next year’s gubernatorial race — sent a Dec. 9 letter to US Attorney General Pamela Bondi saying “recent bombshell allegations have surfaced” — including a April 4, 2024 email from the state Health Department’s Medicaid Chief Operating Officer Amanda Lothrop to top executives at Georgia-based Public Partnerships LLC.
In the email, obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request by government watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy, Lothrop invites PPL reps to an online meeting with her and three other state officials.
“Thanks so much for taking time to connect,” Lothrop wrote. “We look forward to continuing the discussion about your FMS [financial management services] experience and our NY considerations.”
The email “provides further validation” that state officials met with PPL two weeks before the state Legislature authorized bidding to begin — and long before the company was tapped to manage payroll services for the popular $11 billion Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, the congresswoman wrote.
Stefanik also noted that state Sens. Jim Skoufis (D-Orange) and Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) have accused Hochul of retaliating against them for continuing a state probe into the contract, including Hochul vetoing several of Skoufis’ bills.
“As the [DOJ] continues its inquiry, I respectfully urge your office to ensure that this investigation proceeds with urgency and transparency and with the full weight of federal oversight,” Stefanik wrote.
“Given the magnitude of the funds involved, the vulnerable population served, and the disturbing pattern of alleged retaliation and opacity emerging from Governor Hochul’s office, New Yorkers and the American people deserve full accountability.”
The DOJ declined comment.
In October, a state appellate panel tossed a lawsuit brought by opponents of the consolidation contract who claimed it was awarded through a “sham bidding process,” and Hochul reps have repeatedly insisted the process was competitive.
Quote:A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed a suspected cartel smuggler on Thursday after he came across the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas, Fox News has confirmed.
The suspected smuggler assaulted the agent, who fired his weapon in self-defense, killing the man, three border law enforcement sources told Fox News.
The agent is "okay," according to those sources.
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the officer-involved shooting on X, adding that the suspect was pronounced dead at Starr County Memorial Hospital.
The Starr County Sheriff’s Office said Border Patrol agents were "involved in a struggle prior to the shooting," which was confirmed at about 5:30 p.m. local time.
The sheriff's office asked the public to avoid the area as first responders clear and secure the scene.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Quote:WASHINGTON — A former FBI agent who was suspended under the Biden administration and was reinstated under President Trump to much fanfare has been ousted again, The Post has learned.
FBI whistleblower Steve Friend issued what was deemed to be a threat against Director Kash Patel on a podcast hosted by ex-FBI agent Kyle Seraphin last week and that outburst helped cost him his job on Saturday, bureau insiders told the Post.
Friend gained fame for claiming he was wrongly placed on leave by ex-FBI Director Chris Wray for exposing problems with the Jan. 6 investigation that saw roughly 1,600 defendants prosecuted for the 2021 attack on the Capitol. He went on to become an author, media commentator — and onetime ally of Patel.
Suspended in August 2022 and having resigned in February 2023, Friend returned to the FBI’s payroll on Oct. 10. However, he hadn’t been performing duties at the FBI in Jacksonville, as he had not yet been cleared for a background check, an issue that can arise in whistleblower cases.
While pedaling a conspiracy theory that Patel falsely arrested alleged DC pipe bomber Brian Cole Jr. as part of an elaborate “cover up,” Friend made disturbing remarks about bringing “God’s wrath” to punish him.
Quote:When Eddie Wicks and his wife went to bed in their house next to the Snoqualmie River on a Washington state farm known for its sunflower mazes and Christmas trees, they weren’t too worried about the flooding heading their way.
After 30 years living in the city of Duvall, northeast of Seattle, their family had plenty of experience with floods and always made it through largely unscathed.
But as they moved their two donkeys to higher ground and their eight goats to their outdoor kitchen, the water began to rise much quicker than anything they’d experienced before.
“It was hours, not days,” he said. “In four hours it had to come up 4 feet.”
As the water engulfed their home Thursday afternoon, deputies from the King County Sheriff’s Office marine rescue dive unit were able to rescue them and their dog, taking them on a boat the half mile across their field, which had been transformed into a lake.
They were among the thousands forced to evacuate as an unusually strong atmospheric river dumped a foot or more of rain in parts of western and central Washington over several days this week and swelled rivers, inundating communities and prompting dramatic rescues from rooftops and vehicles.
The record floodwaters were expected to continue to slowly recede Saturday, but authorities warn that waters will remain high for days, and that there is still danger from potential levee failures or mudslides. There is also the threat of more rain forecast for Sunday.
Still, no deaths have been reported.
Authorities have yet to estimate the costs, but photos and videos show widespread damage, with entire communities or neighborhoods flooded around western and central Washington.
Quote:A Los Angeles jury awarded $40 million on Friday to two women who claimed that talcum powder made by Johnson & Johnson caused their ovarian cancer.
The giant health care company said it would appeal the jury’s liability verdict and compensatory damages.
The verdict is the latest development in a longstanding legal battle over claims that talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower body power was connected to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer that strikes the lungs and other organs. Johnson & Johnson stopped selling powder made with talc worldwide in 2023.
In October, another California jury ordered J&J to pay $966 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma, claiming she developed the cancer because the baby powder she used was contaminated with the carcinogen asbestos.
In the latest case, the jury awarded $18 million to Monica Kent and $22 million to Deborah Schultz and her husband. “The only thing they did was be loyal to Johnson & Johnson as a customer for only 50 years,’’ said their attorney, Daniel Robinson of the Robinson Calcagnie law firm in Newport Beach, California. “That loyalty was a one-way street.’’
Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said in a statement that the company had won “16 of the 17 ovarian cancer cases it previously tried” and expected to do so again upon appealing Friday’s verdict.
Haas called the jury’s findings “irreconcilable with the decades of independent scientific evaluations confirming that talc is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer.’’
Johnson & Johnson replaced the talc in its baby powder sold in most of North America with cornstarch in 2020 after sales declined.
In April, a U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied J&J’s plan to pay $9 billion to settle ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancer litiation claims based on talc-related products.
Quote:Black Lives Matter OKC leader Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson calls herself an “unpaid protester” on her Instagram site — but the Oklahoma City-based Baptist preacher allegedly paid herself with millions in donations meant to help protestors post bail after their arrests, according to a federal indictment.
It’s just the latest in a series of financial scandals for the network of BLM civil rights groups, as various leaders across the country have been accused of mis-appropriating some $8.64 million.
Dickerson was charged Thursday with fraud and money laundering amid a sprawling federal probe into the troubled civil rights movement. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc., which took in tens of millions of dollars in corporate donations following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, is also reportedly under investigation.
The 52-year-old allegedly embezzled at least $3.15 million in national bail funds and donations to BLM OKC, depositing returned bail checks into her personal accounts. She spent the money on vacations to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic and to buy six Oklahoma City properties worth more than $500,000, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday.
Dickerson also used nearly $42,000 in cash to buy a 2021 Hyundai Palisade and spent tens of thousands of dollars shopping at Nordstrom/Nordstrom Rack, Macy’s and Best Buy, among other retailers, according to the indictment, which also lists thousands spent on grocery and food deliveries from Instacart and DoorDash.
She posted photos of her travels to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica on social media, including one of herself at YS Falls in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, from December 2021, and another from June 2025 in which she is sitting on a Delta plane with a woman she called “auntie.”
“You got the good seats … what airline is that?” asked one of her followers.
Another post shows Dickerson smiling next to Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who reportedly enjoyed close ties to some of the Somali leaders who allegedly helped perpetrate a $1 billion welfare scam in her congressional district.
Dickerson’s social media accounts are also filled with posts about of extremists such as Assata Shakur, a member of the Black Liberation Army and the Black Panther Party who was convicted of killing a New Jersey State Trooper in 1977 and escaping to exile in Cuba, where she died in September.
She bought the six properties, all with deeds dating to 2021 and 2022, under her own name as well as Equity International LLC, a company she controls but which is no longer active, according to state records. One, which was labeled “church property” and purchased in March 2021, was intended to be used by BLM OKC — but she placed it in her own name, court filings alleged.
Dickerson, who started the BLM group in 2016, is listed as an associate minister at the Church of the Open Arms, a United Church of Christ congregation in Oklahoma City, which has held fundraisers for Black Lives Matter in the past, according to their website.
VENEZUELA
Quote:Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro warned that his country must “stand like warriors … ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire” Wednesday, a moment that coincided with the US seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
Maduro delivered the remarks while holding the sword of Simón Bolívar at a rally where video showed him singing and dancing to a recording of American singer Bobby McFerrin’s late-80s hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
Maduro told supporters that Venezuelans must stay alert as tensions with Washington escalate.
“In these times, things have to be different, but we must always stand like warriors, women and men,” he said in a translated interpretation.
“With one eye wide open — and the other one too — working, producing, building, keeping everything running, and ready to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary, from Bolivar’s homeland.”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the US had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, sharply escalating tensions with Caracas.
The tanker was taken for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move in an official statement, calling it “a brazen robbery and an act of international piracy” and accusing Trump of openly pursuing a plan to “take Venezuelan oil without paying anything in return.”
The ministry said the action fits into what it described as a longstanding US effort to plunder the country’s natural resources and compared the episode to the loss of Citgo Petroleum Corp., which Caracas claims was seized through “fraudulent judicial mechanisms.”
The statement argued that “the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela” have nothing to do with migration, drug trafficking, democracy, or human rights, insisting “it has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy.”
It also accused Washington of using the tanker incident to distract from what it described as the failure of political efforts in Oslo by groups seeking Maduro’s removal.
Caracas urged Venezuelans to “remain firm in defense of the homeland” and called on the international community to reject what it described as “vandalistic, illegal and unprecedented aggression.”
Quote:The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Thursday it is sanctioning three of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s wife's nephews, a Maduro-affiliated businessman, and six shipping companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector.
OFAC also identified six associated vessels that it claims have engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices, and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s alleged narco-terrorist regime.
"Nicolas Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a statement. "These sanctions undo the Biden Administration’s failed attempt to make a deal with Maduro, enabling his dictatorial and brutal control at the expense of the Venezuelan and American people. Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes."
OFAC officials said two of Maduro's wife's nephews, Efrain Antonio Campo Flores (Campo) and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas (Flores de Freitas), known as the "narco-nephews," were arrested in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 2015, as they were finalizing a deal to transport hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to the U.S.
A year later, they were convicted on narco-trafficking charges, but were granted clemency in October 2022 by former President Joe Biden.
Campo and Flores de Freitas returned to Venezuela and, as of 2025, officials claim they have continued drug-trafficking activities.
A third nephew designated by OFAC Thursday, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores (Malpica), was the former purported national treasurer of Venezuela and purported vice president of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA).
He was designated in July 2017, but removed from OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) in 2022 to aid with negotiations for an ultimately failed deal pursued by the Biden administration to return democratic elections to Venezuela.
Thanks to @POTUS' leadership, the U.S. is holding accountable Maduro's narco-nephews and @USTreasury is sanctioning them for their illicit activities that hurt Americans and destabilize our entire region," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement on X.
Quote:The U.S. is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019. The action came as the U.S. executes a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns for Maduro’s ouster.
The seizure has put shipowners, operators, and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude on alert, with many reconsidering whether to sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said.
Further direct interventions by the U.S. are expected in the coming weeks targeting ships carrying Venezuelan oil that may also have transported oil from other countries targeted by U.S. sanctions, such as Iran, according to the sources familiar with the matter who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela’s government this week said the U.S. seizure constituted a “theft.”
Asked whether the Trump administration planned further ship seizures, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters she would not speak about future actions but said the U.S. would continue executing the president’s sanctions policies.
“We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she said.
The U.S. has assembled a target list of several more sanctioned tankers for possible seizure, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. Justice Department and Homeland Security had been planning the seizures for months, according to two of the people.
A reduction or halt in Venezuelan oil exports, the main generator of revenue for the Venezuelan government, would strain the Maduro government’s finances.
BRAZIL
Quote:SÃO PAULO (AP) — More than 1.4 million São Paulo residents had no electricity on Thursday after strong winds caused several trees to collapse onto the Brazilian metropolis’ grid the day before. Local authorities said there were no injuries, but almost 400 flights were canceled.
Utility Enel has provided no deadline for services to return. One of its directors, Marcelo Puertas, told journalists the Italian company has 1,300 people working to solve the issue since winds of about 62 miles per hour started hitting São Paulo.
São Paulo city hall said 231 trees have fallen due to what it calls effects of an extratropical cyclone formed in the south of Brazil. Aviation authorities say most of the canceled flights were at the local Congonhas Airport, but added that Guarulhos International Airport, outside the city, was also affected.
Mayor Ricardo Nunes, whose administration is responsible for trimming the trees that were pushed against the grid, told journalists Wednesday night he had told the company that it was not putting all of its efforts to fix the problems.
“Every time something happens, we are left behind without electricity,” said Nunes, who called the Italian utility company “irresponsible.” The grid’s status on Wednesday was even worse, with more than 2 million São Paulo residents without electricity.
On Thursday, several cars with the Enel logo were filmed in the company’s parking lot in downtown São Paulo, which further enraged residents and authorities.
Water utility Sabesp said in a statement on Thursday that the lack of electricity is already affecting their services too, as pumps are not working adequately.
CHINA
Quote:It’s a taxing time for sweethearts in China.
After a 30-year exemption, the country is slapping a 13% sales tax on condoms, birth control pills and devices, hoping to boost its declining birth rates and offset the long-term impact of an aging population and declining workforce.
And with contraception more expensive under the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, officials are hoping other financial incentives help usher in a baby boom.
Changes include making childcare services, elder care institutions and disability service providers tax exempt; offering extended maternity leave, which varies across the country but has gone from 128 days to 158 days in big cities like Beijing, along with a proposed 30-day paid paternity leave.
On Jan. 1, 2025, each family became eligible to receive a cash allowance of 3,600 yuan, or about $500, per year for each child born after that date, Bloomberg reported.
A tough job market and the skyrocketing price of raising a child through age 18, an estimated 538,000 yuan or $76,000, also has young adults blowing off the bedroom.
China’s newly baby-friendly policies are in stark contrast to the infamous one-child policy the communist country cruelly implemented for decades, out of concerns that limited resources couldn’t keep up with a population which soared past the 1 billion mark decades ago.
Boys were the preferred sex, and female babies were often abandoned, neglected and even killed by their parents.
The policy led to the average birth rate in China plummeting until it reached only 6.77 births per 1,000 people in 2024.
"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.
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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
