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MIDDLE EAST WAR
Quote:Drop Site News, a nonprofit outlet published by Nika Soon-Shiong, the nepo baby daughter of billionaire LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, is taking heat for pushing Iranian propaganda.
The outlet, founded by journalists Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill, posted unverified claims that the U.S. was allegedly attempting to kill one of its own after a fighter pilot was lost in Iranian terrain over the weekend.
“Iranian state-linked Tasnim News, citing a military source, claims U.S. forces are bombing areas in southwest Iran where a missing pilot may be located, alleging Washington has ‘lost hope’ of recovery and is attempting to kill him,” a tweet from the website read.
There is no verified information that the U.S. intentionally bombed its own pilot.
Numerous reports suggest U.S. forces used airstrikes to destroy their own damaged, abandoned equipment and to provide air support against pursuing Iranian forces during a daring, complex, and high-stakes rescue mission.
“Anybody who reads our Twitter feed knows that we regularly report official and semi-official statements from governments and outlets linked to them, including the U.S., Israel, and Iran. In this case, as we always do, we clearly identified the claim as coming from ‘Iranian state-linked’ media,” Grim told The Post.
“Our readers have enough sense not to believe everything every government says, but they do want to know what they’re saying. Other readers not interested in knowing what governments adversarial to the U.S. are saying have endless options to choose from, but we’re not one of them,” he continued.
Nika made headlines for claiming her family blocked the LA Times from endorsing Kamala Harris in 2024 to protest the war in Gaza, although her father stated she holds no formal role.
Critics have lashed out at the Washington-based “non-aligned and anti-establishment” media site for its outlandish claims, accusing it of promoting propaganda from the Iranian regime.
Quote:Conspiracy theorist and ex-National Counterterrorism Center boss Joe Kent has been called out for promoting wild Iranian propaganda that suggested the United States was actually trying to kill a downed American airman — just hours before he was dramatically rescued.
Kent, who abruptly resigned from his Trump administration position last month in protest over Iran, got into a war of words with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday after the former counterterror honcho was called out for peddling the false claims.
He had shared an article from Iranian state media over the weekend that claimed the US was actively bombing the same area where the missing airman was believed to be.
The pro-regime outlet was reporting that the Trump administration had “lost hope” of finding the American soldier and was now trying to kill him before he could be captured by Iranian forces.
Kent shared the post before President Trump revealed hours later that the crewman had finally been rescued in a daring operation behind enemy lines.
Tapper, for his part, was quick to ridicule Kent “nonsense” post — arguing his theory hadn’t aged well.
“Former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent sharing Iranian state-linked outlet nonsense claiming, falsely, that the US was trying to kill the then-lost US pilot,” Tapper posted on X.
“Aged rather poorly, I think it’s fair to say.”
A defensive Kent quickly fired back, accusing Tapper and other media outlets of trying to “promote this foolish war & attack anyone who points out how this war isn’t in our nation’s interest.”
“Read independent media, Iranian media & US media – always question those cheering on wars & always pray for our troops,” he added.
Quote:WASHINGTON — A House Democrat vowed to furnish articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, whom she bashed as the “chief enabler” of President Trump’s “insane military action against Iran.”
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to Congress, raged against Trump for his jaw-dropping threats to Iran, including to end the country “in one night,” and called impeaching Hegseth a necessary step to prevent a catastrophe.
“I am introducing Articles of Impeachment against Pete Hegseth for repeatedly violating his oath of office and his duty to the Constitution,” Ansari said in a statement.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war, not a rogue president or his lackeys,” she added. “Hegseth’s reckless endangerment of US servicemembers and repeated war crimes, including bombing a girls’ school in Minab, Iran and willfully targeting civilian infrastructure, are grounds for impeachment.”
Ansari, 34, is the youngest female member of Congress and has been an outspoken critic of the Iran war.
Trump had ramped up his threats against Iran over the weekend, telling the regime on Easter Sunday to “Open the F—in’ Strait, you crazy b—–ds, or you’ll be living in Hell.” The president further vowed to target energy and bridge infrastructure if Iran declines to meet his 8 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday to cut a deal.
Reacting to those threats from Trump, Ansari called for his cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office.
Her singling out of Hegseth comes weeks after Trump revealed last month that his secretary of war was the “first” to call for war against Iran.
Hegseth’s team brushed off the impeachment push, with Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson telling The Post that “this is just another Democrat trying to make headlines.”
“Secretary Hegseth will continue to protect the homeland and unleash epic fury on Iran’s radical regime. This is just another charade in an attempt to distract the American people from the major successes we have had here at the Department of War,” Wilson added.
While Ansari’s impeachment push is all but certain to crash and burn in the GOP-led Congress, it illustrates how Hegseth is emerging as a top target within the cabinet for Democrats following the firings of former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Quote:President Trump on Tuesday denied Tucker Carlson’s bombastic reporting that he was considering nuclear war on Iran, blasting the controversial commentator in a phone call with The Post.
“Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on,” the president said. “He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”
Carlson in a Monday night post to X claimed that President Trump’s expletive-laden Easter morning Truth Social post that the US would soon bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges was “the first step toward nuclear war.”
“Christians need to understand where Trump is taking us,” Carlson wrote.
In Trump’s Sunday morning missive, he warned Iran to “open the F—–’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Carlson called the language on Easter — a holy Christian holiday — “vile on every level.”
“How dare you speak that way on Easter morning to the country?” Carlson said in his podcast. “Who do you think you are? You’re tweeting out the f-word on Easter morning.”
Carlson in his podcast likened the US president to the antichrist, suggesting Trump is setting in motion nuclear war to provoke armageddon.
“Is it just a conventional escalation ladder in a badly thought out war … [or] could it be something bigger? Is it possible what you’re watching is a very stealthy yet incredibly effective attack on what, from a Christian perspective, is the true faith: belief in Jesus?” he said.
“Is it possible that the president sees this in bigger terms? Sees this as the fulfillment of something? An elevation of some higher office beyond president of the United States?”
As part of his evidence, he claimed that Trump infamously did not put his hand on the Bible when swearing into office in January 2025 because he rejects God’s authority.
“… Maybe he didn’t put his hand on the Bible because he affirmatively rejects what’s inside that book, and what’s inside that book are limits on human behavior,” he said. “Because if there’s one theme that spans all 66 books in the Christian Bible, it’s that you are not God and you cannot assume his powers.”
Hyping up his nuclear hypothesis, Carlson further urged White House and military staffers to resign if Trump directs them to launch a nuclear bomb on Iran.
Quote:Four relatives in Israel were killed when an Iranian missile slammed into a residential building overnight, in an incident that could have been deadlier if its bomb wasn’t a dud, officials said.
The Israeli military partly intercepted the missile on route to an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa late Sunday, but the missile’s warhead survived and crashed into a residential complex, the New York Times reported.
The impact caused portions of the building to collapse, leading to an 18-hour search mission for survivors, including an 82-year-old man and a baby who were rescued by first responders removing stones and concrete blocks with their bare hands, said Erez Geller, the director for the Magen David Adom ambulance service.
“Part of the building remained intact, and part had collapsed into a hollow,” Geller told the Times. “It looked like there had been an earthquake.”
The four dead victims were identified as Dima Gershovitz, 42, his wife, Lucille Jane, 35, his father, Vladimir Gershovitz, 73, and his mother, Lena Gershovitz, 70, according to Israeli media.
Gershovitz, an engineer, had just brought his father home after an extended stay at a Haifa hospital just hours before the missile hit their home and buried them underneath the rubble, Ynet reported.
The search and rescue operation was complicated by the fact that the missile’s warhead did not explode upon impact, but Geller noted that the bomb’s failure spared the lives of the survivors.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences to the families of the dead as he stressed the importance for residents to adhere to siren warnings when a missile attack is detected.
Those who were caught in Sunday’s strike in Haifa were inside the residential building and not at the nearest bomb shelter with their neighbors, officials said.
“The most important thing, however, which came up again in this conversation, is one simple rule, an ironclad rule,” Netanyahu said. “For those who follow the instructions of the Home Front Command and remain in a protected area, the chances of getting hurt are virtually non-existent.”
Quote:Published April 7, 2026 | Updated April 7, 2026, 1:56 p.m. ET
The US unleashed targeted strikes on Iran’s critical Kharg Island on Tuesday — as President Trump chillingly declared that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
Roughly 50 strikes were carried out on military targets on the Islamic Republic’s oil-critical stronghold, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing senior US officials.
Targets struck included bunkers, a radar station and ammunition storage — while stopping short of targeting key energy infrastructure such as oil tanker landing docks, Fox News reported, citing a senior US official.
Kharg Island, which is one-third the size of Manhattan and located in the Persian Gulf, controls roughly 90% of Iranian crude oil exports.
It has been rumored as a potential place for the US to deploy boots on the ground, as planners have said the military could secure the island, critical to Iran’s economy, to use as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
When asked about the Kharg Island strikes early Tuesday, Trump told The Post he “can’t comment on that.”
Moments later, he took to Truth Social to warn Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the regime does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” he said.
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Separately, Vice President JD Vance insisted the targeted strikes on Kharg Island didn’t signal a change in strategy.
“My understanding, having talked to [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine] about this is, is that we were going to strike some military targets on Kharg Island. I believe we have done so,” he said during a press conference in Budapest.
“I don’t think the news about Kharg Island represents a change in strategy, or represents any change for the president of the United States. He continues to say the deadline is 8 o’clock.”
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump dismissed the notion that he employed the “Madman Theory” to negotiate a cease-fire with Iran, claiming that he was poised to order civilization-destroying strikes.
Asked about the “madman” concept by The Post, Trump offered a counter-assessment that the US military is strong and he was willing to use it.
“I think that we have a phenomenal military that I rebuilt during my first term and I used in my second term, and I was willing to use it. I was willing to do it,” Trump said in a phone interview Wednesday.
“I think we have just a phenomenal group of people, just phenomenal. And we have a phenomenal, unparalleled in history military. And you see that, you know, we only use 8% of our military to do this.”
The president sparked widespread panic Tuesday with his jaw-dropping ultimatum to Iran that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran failed to cut a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 o’clock ET that evening.
Prior to his fiery threat, Trump voiced concerns that Iran was “not being serious.”
Shortly before the deadline, Iran agreed to a conditional reopening of the strait in exchange for a two-week cease-fire, during which time in-person talks are expected in Pakistan to work on a final deal.
The terrifying threat prompted Democrats to clamor for Trump’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to boot him out of office or for Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings. But allies of the president saw the seemingly maniacal negotiating style as critical to his success.
“President Trump’s unpredictability has led to wins with the Abraham Accords, North Korea, Venezuela, and eventually Iran — not to mention the countless wars he’s deterred altogether,” the president’s former senior adviser, Jason Miller, told The Post.
“[It] will prove him to be the greatest negotiator we’ve ever had in the Oval Office.”
Ahead of the cease-fire, even some supporters of the president worried he might overplay his hand; one second-term former official expressed concern that the gambit might appear too “desperate.”
Quote:Iran is again blocking ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz just hours after agreeing to reopen the waterway, blaming the reversal on Israel striking Lebanon — despite President Trump making clear Beirut was never part of the cease-fire agreement.
“Due to Israeli strikes in #Lebanon, oil tankers will not be permitted to pass through the Strait of #Hormuz,” the Iranian embassy in Mumbai posted to X on Wednesday, citing Iran’s Fars News Agency.
But Trump on Wednesday told PBS News Hour that “everyone knows” Israel’s fight with Hezbollah in Lebanon is a “separate skirmish” not included in the cease-fire deal with Iran.
“They were not included in the deal,” the president said. That’ll get taken care of too. It’s all right.”
Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy group — one of several the US is demanding that Iran stop offering support.
Iran’s finger-pointing came as Tehran attempts to extract payment from ships that want to pass through the strait without coming under Iranian attack, despite promising to reopen the strait for two weeks. Tolls were reportedly as high as $2 million per ship.
Iran’s claims that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israel’s bombing of Lebanon is “completely unacceptable,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.
“Again, this is a case of what they’re saying publicly is different privately,” she said. “We have seen an uptick of traffic in the Strait today, and I will reiterate the president’s expectation and demand that the Strait is reopened immediately, quickly and safely.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran threatened to “destroy” any ships that attempt to cross the strait without Tehran’s go-ahead as it attempts to set up a toll system to charge vessels to safely sail through the strait.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Iran’s battered navy has reportedly warned foreign ships on Wednesday that they will be “destroyed” if they attempt to cross the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Tehran.
“You must receive permission from Iranian Sepah navy for passing through the strait. If any vessel tries to transit without permission, will be destroyed,” an Iranian official was heard saying in audio shared with the Wall Street Journal by a crew member.
The threat comes despite President Trump announcing late Tuesday that Iran agreed to the “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz,” through which over a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil flows annually.
The opening of the strait was a key condition of the Iran war cease-fire agreement. Fuel prices have surged worldwide in the wake of Iran’s closure of the crucial chokepoint.
Tehran had used missiles and drones to wreak havoc on the strait in retaliation against the joint US-Israeli strikes on its country to exact a toll on the global economy.
The cease-fire Trump unveiled Tuesday lasts for two weeks as the two sides negotiate a longer-term solution to end the war that began on Feb. 28.
A senior Iranian official involved in the talks said the strait could be reopened in a “limited” way under Iran’s control on Thursday or Friday — and that “coordinating with Iranian military will be mandatory for all ships.”
“If an understanding on a framework for talks is reached, the strait could be opened, limited, under Iran’s control,” the official told Reuters. “Coordinating with Iranian military will be mandatory for all ships.
“Still, the cease-fire is fragile; however, we prefer lasting peace but Iran has no fear to return to war if the US wants to go the same way,” the official warned.
In a press conference Wednesday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth insisted the strait was open and “commerce will flow.”
“What has been agreed to, what’s been stated, is the strait is open. Our military is watching, sure, their military is watching, but commerce will flow,” he told reporters.
He added that the military would be “hanging around” in the Middle East to ensure Iran complies with the cease-fire.
Quote:One of the major points in the two-week ceasefire agreement was that Iran would allow the resumption of shipping through Hormuz, easing a disruption in the flow of oil and gas which has sent prices soaring around the world.
The United States said on Wednesday that Iran must open the Strait of Hormuz "immediately, quickly and safely" after reports that the strategic waterway was shut despite a US-Iran ceasefire.
Any closure "is completely unacceptable," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
"I will reiterate the president's expectation and demand that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened immediately quickly and safely."
One of the major points in the two-week ceasefire agreement was that Iran would allow the resumption of shipping through Hormuz, easing a disruption in the flow of oil and gas which has sent prices soaring around the world.
Leavitt also said that President Donald Trump wants to see the waterway accessible to tankers without any limitations, including tolls.
"The immediate priority of the president is the reopening of the strait without any limitations, whether in the form of tolls or otherwise," Leavitt said.
Leavitt's comments come after Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Tehran had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to attacks by Israel on Lebanon.
The move comes on the same day a two-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington came into force, ending more than a month of fighting.
The Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that while two oil tankers passed through the strait with permission from Iran earlier on Wednesday, traffic has now been stopped.
Both US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire agreement did not include Lebanon, claims denied by mediator Pakistan.
"Aggression towards Lebanon is aggression towards Iran," General Seyed Majid Mousavi, aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, wrote in a post on X.
Quote:Israel has rarely struck central Beirut since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on 2 March but has regularly struck southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.
The Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon is not covered by a temporary ceasefire deal between Washington and Tehran, US public broadcaster PBS quoted President Donald Trump as saying on Wednesday.
"They were not included in the deal," Trump said, according to a social media post by PBS News Hour correspondent Liz Landers.
He added that it was "because of Hezbollah," the Iran-backed group.
"That'll get taken care of too," he reportedly said, adding: "That's a separate skirmish."
Trump's comments come as Israeli air strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut on Wednesday afternoon without warning, hours after a two-week ceasefire was announced between the United States and Iran.
Israel has also said the agreement does not extend to its war with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, although mediator Pakistan said it does.
Israel's military called it the largest coordinated strike in the current war, striking more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley.
Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital. Booms interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a blue-sky afternoon. Ambulances raced toward open flames. At least one apartment building was struck. Emergency responders searched charred vehicles.
It was not immediately clear how many people were killed or wounded, but several strikes were in busy commercial locations, causing panic in the streets.
Israel's military said it had targeted missile launchers, command centres and intelligence infrastructure and accused Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields.
"The State of Lebanon and its civilians must refuse Hezbollah's entrenchment in civilian areas and its weapons build-up capabilities," the military said in a statement.
Israel has rarely struck central Beirut since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on 2 March but has regularly struck southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.
Before the wave of new strikes, a Hezbollah official told the Associated Press news agency that the group was giving a chance for mediators to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon, but "we have not announced our adherence to the ceasefire since the Israelis are not adhering to it."
Quote:US forces struck more than 13,000 targets in Iran, including most of the regime’s weapons factories and every attack drone production facility, as part of the “decisive military victory” achieved during Operation Epic Fury, according to the Pentagon.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine provided the detailed breakdown of the damage inflicted on the Iranian regime’s ability to project power during a briefing Wednesday, a day after President Trump announced a two-week cease-fire in the war that he hopes will lead to a lasting peace.
Operation Epic Fury: By the numbers
- Scale of campaign
- 13,000+ targets struck, Including 4,000+ dynamic targets identified and hit in real time
- 10,000+ flight missions, including 62 bomber runs (18 round-trip missions from the US)
- 50,000+ U.S. personnel involved (CENTCOM, EUCOM, stateside)
- 6 million+ meals consumed; 950,000+ gallons of coffee; 2 million energy drinks; “A lot of nicotine”
- Air defense and missile targets “wiped out”
- 80% of Iran’s air defense systems destroyed
- 1,500+ air defense targets struck
- 450+ ballistic missile storage facilities hit
- 800 drone storage sites destroyed
- 1,700 incoming missiles and drones intercepted
- Navy “mostly at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf”
- 90%+ of Iran’s regular navy sunk
- 150 ships destroyed, including “all of the major surface combatants”
- ~50% of IRGC small attack boats eliminated
- 700+ strikes on naval mine targets; 95% of naval mines destroyed
- Command and control and logistical networks “devastated”
- 2,000+ command and control nodes destroyed
- Industrial base “shattered”
- 90% of weapons factories struck
- All Shaheed “one-way attack drone” factories hit
- All drone guidance system facilities hit
- 80%+ of missile production and solid rocket motor facilities destroyed
- 20+ naval production facilities damaged or destroyed
- ~80% of nuclear industrial base hit
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose massive 50% tariffs on countries sending military firepower to Iran, putting Russia and China on notice.
“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” Trump wrote in a signed Truth Social post.
Beijing and Moscow in the past have both helped Iran build military capacity — supplying missiles, air defense systems and technology intended to bolster Tehran and complicate matters for Washington.
Russia and China, however, have been restrained in their support amid the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Still, Trump’s tariff threat comes weeks after the Supreme Court took a sledgehammer to his favorite tool to impose customized tariffs — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Trump has since turned to other tariff authorities to re-up many of the duties he imposed under the IEEPA, but it’s not entirely clear what law he’d be using to fulfill his Wednesday threat. The alternative tariff authorities Trump used have been much more cumbersome than the IEEPA and make it difficult to impose customized rates.
Meanwhile, Trump also insisted Wednesday that the US was discussing tariff and sanctions relief with Iran amid news of the two-week cease-fire.
“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive Regime Change!” he said on Truth Social.
“There will be no enrichment of Uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.’ Nothing has been touched from the date of attack.”
“We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran,” he added.
It comes after Trump pulled back from the brink of a threatened full-blown assault on the Islamic Republic — just two hours before a deadline he set for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump is sending a team led by Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan to negotiate an end to the US-Israeli war with Iran following the cease-fire announced Tuesday.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also will participate in the weekend talks in Islamabad.
“The first round of those talks will take place on Saturday morning local time,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing.
“Vice President Vance has played a very significant and a key role in this since the very beginning. Of course he’s the president’s right-hand man,” Leavitt said.
“He’s been involved in all of these discussions, and as I just announced, he’ll be leading this new phase of negotiations in Islamabad later this week.”
Trump told The Post hours earlier that Vance might not attend due to security concerns.
“We’ll have Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, JD — maybe JD, I don’t know. There’s a question of safety, security,” Trump said in a phone interview.
Trump said the in-person talks would happen “very soon, actually — it’s going to take place very soon.”
Iran’s participation in the talks is in flux, as is the fragile cease-fire itself, which ended 39 days of fighting.
Iran told regional mediators it won’t attend talks without a cease-fire in Lebanon and has conditioned the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Israel ending its attacks on Hezbollah, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Israel has agreed to stop firing on Iran, but said its ground operations in Lebanon would not be halted.
Quote:In a televised speech, Netanyahu also hit back at opposition leaders who chastised him for agreeing to the truce before Israel achieved its objectives in the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel remains prepared to confront Iran if necessary, despite a truce reached between Tehran and Washington.
"Let me be clear: We still have objectives to complete and we will achieve them, either through agreement or through renewed fighting," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
"We are prepared to return to combat at any moment required. Our finger remains on the trigger. This is not the end of the campaign, but a step along the way to achieving all our objectives."
"Iran enters this pause battered, weaker than ever."
Netanyahu also hit back at opposition leaders who chastised him for agreeing to the truce before Israel achieved its objectives in the war.
"As you know, last night a temporary two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran came into effect, in full coordination with Israel," Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
"No, we were not surprised at the last moment," he said.
Israel's main opposition figure Yair Lapid called the truce a "diplomatic disaster" for Israel, saying Netanyahu had failed to achieve the country's goals.
Netanyahu had set the elimination or at least severe degradation of Iran's nuclear programme as a central goal of the war, describing it as an "existential threat" to Israel.
He had also called to degrade Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, weaken or potentially topple the Iranian regime and curb Tehran's regional influence by targeting its network of allied groups.
In his televised statement, Netanyahu spoke about the war's achievements.
"We destroyed not only existing missiles, but also the factories that produce them. Iran is now firing what remains in its stockpile and that stockpile is steadily dwindling," he said.
"We have severely damaged Iran's nuclear programme, destroying critical infrastructure and centrifuge facilities," he said, adding that Israel would ensure that the enriched uranium is removed from Iran.
"We have crippled the financial and weapons production networks of the Revolutionary Guards," he said, adding that the campaign had also hit Iran's steel plants, petrochemical complexes and transport infrastructure.
"We have dealt a severe blow to the regime’s apparatus of repression. We have eliminated thousands of its operatives and demonstrated that we can reach them anywhere," the premier said.
Quote:President Trump is reportedly weighing a plan to punish NATO allies that refused to assist the US in the war with Iran.
Under the proposed plan, the Trump administration would pull US troops out of NATO countries that were unhelpful with Operation Epic Fury, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing Trump administration officials.
The plan is one of several being considered by the White House to punish members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to the outlet.
Trump has recently threatened to reassess US membership in NATO over the alliance’s lack of assistance with the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night. “REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!! President DJT”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with Trump at the White House on Wednesday amid the tension.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Quote:Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued an ultimatum to Iran Wednesday, urging the nation to give up its enriched uranium — or President Trump will launch another “Operation Midnight Hammer” to seize it.
While the two-week cease-fire deal between the US and Iran does not address the nearly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium in Tehran’s possession, Hegseth told reporters on Wednesday that the US will secure the atomic material no matter what.
“We’ll get it. We’ll take it, we’ll take it out,” Hegseth said of the enriched uranium, vowing to complete one of President Trump’s main goals of the war.
“Or if we have to do something else ourselves, like we did Midnight Hammer or something like that, we reserve that opportunity,” he added, referencing the US-Israeli joint airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities last year.
“But what’s clear… is they’ll never have a nuclear weapon or the capability to get a path to one.”
Along with threatening another series of airstrikes against Iran, Hegseth suggested that the US could send Special Operations troops into Iran to seize the uranium.
“If we have to, we can do it by any means necessary,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran’s uranium stockpile is the president’s “red line.”
“This is on the top of the priority list for the president and his negotiating team as they head into these next round of discussions,” she told reporters.
“This is a red line that the president is not going to back away from, and he’s committed to ensuring that takes place. We hope it will be through diplomacy.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which serves as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said Iran had about 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium before last year’s 12-Day War.
The uranium stockpiles are believed to be housed in Iran’s underground facilities in Isfahan and Natanz, according to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
First, here you can find a laughable report on Michael Moore's defense of the Iranian regime.
Quote:Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore torched the US as the “bad guys” in the war with Iran – while hailing the Middle Eastern nation as one of the world’s “greatest civilizations” in a deranged online tirade.
The documentarian unleashed the frenzied rant on Tuesday, calling President Trump a “terrorist” for threatening a “holocaust” after the commander in chief warned Iran that its “whole civilization” would be wiped out if the nation failed to cut a ceasefire deal to open the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-week conflict.
He also accused the US of “meddling” in Iran’s internal affairs for the past seven decades.
“Our leaders and our media are stupid enough to keep asking questions like ‘why do they hate us?’ Hate us?! They don’t hate US! WE HATE THEM!” Moore raged on his Substack.
“We’re the bad guys! If you didn’t realize that under previous presidents at least Donald Trump has ripped off the mask and shown you who we really are!”
The Oscar winner’s outburst came before Trump revealed he agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
Moore then blasted the US as the “only nation sick and violent enough” to use nuclear weapons, while bizarrely praising Tehran for building a diverse global power, advancing human rights, and leading the world on multiple fronts.
“Iran is the cradle of one of the greatest civilizations this planet has ever seen,” the “Fahrenheit 9/11” filmmaker wrote.
“While our ancestors in Europe were still figuring out how to build a hut, the Persians had already written the world’s first declaration of human rights, built a multicultural empire that treated conquered peoples with dignity, and were doing math and medicine that we wouldn’t catch up to for a thousand years.
“These are the people who gave us algebra, medicine, and the theme song to Game of Thrones. Despite harsh government crackdowns and censorship today, Iran still produces some of the world’s greatest filmmakers. America has been meddling with and attacking Iran since 1953.”
Quote:Iranians who have fled the rogue theocratic nation said lasting peace can only be achieved by overthrowing the brutal regime, which they slammed as a “cancer.”
As Iran and the US enter a fragile, two-week cease-fire, Iranian dissidents abroad feel a mix of hope and anxiousness as they pray that the 40 days of war has weakened the Islamic Republic enough to be finally toppled by its people.
Shiva Mix, an Iranian who moved to Minnesota in 2000, touted the war in Iran as a way to deal with the “cancer” that is the Islamic regime, likening it to a painful, but necessary treatment.
”No one wants to get diagnosed with cancer. They don’t want that. But [the] Islamic Republic — we got diagnosed with cancer, and … it’s killing us,” Mix told MPR News.
Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s exiled crown prince who has repeatedly called for its people to revolt against Tehran, said in an address to the country on Wednesday that news of the cease-fire was disheartening.
Despite President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s insistence that a new regime was now running Iran, there has been no indications that the Islamic Republic plans to stray from the practices of its slain predecessors.
Pahlavi, however, said the strategic killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of his top officials can pave the way for the end of the regime.
“The blows struck against the Islamic Republic in just 40 days are unprecedented, and irreparable for this regime,” Pahlavi said. “The elimination of Ali Khamenei, the killer of tens of thousands of brave Iranians, is in itself a historic achievement for our nation.
“The Islamic Republic is more isolated and despised in the region and the world today than ever before,” he added, describing Tehran’s willingness to enter into a cease-fire as a form of the regime’s “complete surrender.”
Maryam Rajavi, the president of the US-based National Council of Resistance of Iran opposition group, said lasting peace “can only be achieved through the overthrow of the terrorist and warmongering dictatorship.”
And just in case you're still wondering why they'd make such a strong statement earlier today, here's this article:
Quote:Iran’s chief justice demanded all executions of “enemy agents” be sped up in a jarring video leaked the same day the US secured a temporary cease-fire with war-torn Tehran.
Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, a hardliner within the repressive Islamic Republic, implored the state judiciary to rush cases against “agents and affiliates of the enemy” — which includes protesters facing the death penalty.
“In cases where issuing rulings such as asset confiscation and the death penalty is warranted for enemy agents, the process should be expedited,” Mohseni-Ejei said, according to a video and translation posted by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center on Tuesday.
“More verdicts must be issued against the enemy’s affiliates.”
State media has already confirmed 14 executions by the brutal regime this year, though the Norwegian-based Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported evidence of as many as 160 hangings since January.
Those executed were convicted of intangible charges like “waging war against God” and “corruption on Earth.”
The notoriously conservative Mohseni-Ejei was handpicked in 2021 to lead Iran’s supreme court by slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. An acolyte of the Islamic Republic, he frequently calls for the harshest punishments — either torture or death — for protesters who have revolted against the regime.
The conservative justice is one of the few regime leaders who survived devastating airstrikes on Feb. 28, which wiped out Ali Khamenei and dozens of his top military leaders — and launched the Iran war.
Mohseni-Ejei also accused President Trump and Israel of fomenting nationwide anti-regime protests in January — which coincided with the slaughter of thousands of demonstrators by Khamenei’s henchmen.
The killings of more than 7,000 protestors have been confirmed by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, though thousands more are still under investigation.
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:The Estonian city of Narva is on Europe's eastern border, right next to Russia. Recently there have been online rumors that some locals want to secede from Estonia and join Russia. What's really happening?
Looking at an ordinary map of Estonia, Narva is simply another city on the eastern borders of the European Union. But the city of around 52,000 is more significant than that. Narva, in Estonia's Russian-speaking east, is becoming a flash point for debates about European security, identity and the future of the bloc.
Part of the reason for this are calls for the city's secession from Estonia, a member of the EU, on social media and platforms like Telegram. These calls advocate for a so-called "People's Republic of Narva" and even include a flag and a coat of arms, ideas that remind observers of pro-Russian propaganda about Crimea in Ukraine.
Estonian intelligence services have described the rumors as provocative, and many locals dismiss them as nonsense.
Are there secessionists in Narva?
In Narva itself, life goes on as usual. The shop facades are an interesting mix of Soviet-era styles and contemporary European logos but the streets are not crowded today. A cold wind from Finland blows across the Narva River. On the other side of the waterway is the Russian city of Ivangorod.
Narva still has distinct ties to Russia. Only about 2% of its residents speak Estonian at home. Most speak Russian, and a third of the population holds a Russian passport.
The Russian border is open but can only be crossed during the day, on foot. Cars and buses cannot currently cross the bridge, which is undergoing maintenance until the end of the year. This decision to ban vehicles was made by Russian authorities.
For many of Narva's inhabitants, crossing the bridge, and the border, is a regular part of daily life. Some go shopping, others visit relatives. The fact that ethnic Russians make up the majority in a city bordering Russia has led observers to draw parallels to Donbas and Crimea in Ukraine, and Transnistria, which is near Ukraine and Moldova. Each of those places are home to locals who do want to join up with Russia.
Important EU connections
But Narva also has strong ties to Europe. It's often described as the city where Europe begins, and many locals are proud of this label.
In September, Europe's largest rare-earth magnet factory opened in Narva. It was funded by the EU and will produce magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and microelectronics. Up until now, most of these magnets have been imported from China so the Narva factory is an important step toward strategic autonomy for the EU.
For all these sorts of reasons, Narva Mayor Katri Raik isn't too worried about any alleged separatist tendencies.
"The people of Narva are worried about their city's image," she said. "Such reports give us negative publicity and nobody wants that. Our people love their city and simply don't have time to invent these kinds of stories."
Quote:Since the start of the war against Ukraine, many Russians living in exile have been unable to return home for security reasons. Three of them told DW how they cope with the loss of loved ones far from their families.
Pyotr Trofimov (name changed) had only been in Germany for three weeks when he received the news that his father had passed away in St. Petersburg. Had it not been for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he would have still been in Moscow and not in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth.
Various estimates suggest that between 650,000 and 1 million people left Russia after the full-scale war in Ukraine began in early 2022. Not all of them planned to stay abroad long-term, and even fewer could have imagined that returning home would eventually become dangerous. That meant that some had to face the death of a loved one without the option of saying goodbye in person.
Trofimov is one of them. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he was a Ph.D. student at Moscow State University and was planning to look for a job abroad after graduating in 2024. The war, however, changed his plans, and so he found himself in postgraduate studies at the University of Bayreuth.
"It was a spontaneous decision made after the war began," Trofimov explained.
He added that he was afraid of what was to come next and assumed that the move to Europe would help him build a more stable career.
Loss begins with immigration
When Trofimov learned about his father's death, not even a month had passed since his move to Germany. He was still trying to find a place to live and deal with the bureaucracy that comes with moving abroad.
"If the circumstances had been different, I would have simply traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It's not a difficult task," he told DW.
Yet his spontaneous move turned it into a far more difficult one: a return journey would have cost him a few thousand euros as direct flights between Russia and Germany were halted after the war in Ukraine broke out.
Quote:About 80,000 ethnic Hungarians live in western Ukraine. Many feel torn between Viktor Orban's anti-Ukrainian campaign and the conflict between the two countries. What does the future hold for this minority?
At first glance, the Ukrainian village of Velyka Dobron looks completely normal on this bright, sunny spring day, with well-kept homes lining its main street. On closer inspection, however, many of these houses seem abandoned. There is hardly anyone around, and almost no working-age men can be seen.
Velyka Dobron lies in the far west of Ukraine, just 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) from the Hungarian border, and almost everyone here is ethnic Hungarian. The village's Hungarian name is Nagydobrony.
Sandor Rati, 63, stands in front of a local grocery store, chatting with a neighbor. There are deep furrows across his forehead. He owns a carpentry workshop, which he runs all by himself.
"The mood here is pretty bad," Rati told DW. Many villagers have left and live abroad, and he hasn't been able to find any tradespeople to work with him at the workshop.
A few weeks ago, his only son was drafted into the Ukrainian army, Rati said. A serious blow, as Rati depended on the 38-year-old's help for health reasons.
His son is currently undergoing military training. "Hopefully he can serve somewhere near here and doesn't have to go to the front line," Rati said.
When asked about the anti-Ukrainian rhetoric of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of the parliamentary election and tensions between both countries, Rati just shook his head. Orban has done a lot for Hungarians in Ukraine, he said.
"But the fact that they're antagonizing Ukraine won't end well for Hungarians living in Ukraine, because they'll be angry with us here."
Orban pushes nationalist, anti-Ukrainian rhetoric
Orban's nationalist, pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian rhetoric has also zeroed in on Ukraine's multiethnic Transcarpathia region. His government claims Hungarians are being deprived of their minority rights by the Ukrainian state. It is claimed that Ukrainian nationalists carry out attacks on Hungarian facilities, and also said that more ethnic Hungarians are being recruited and sent to the front line than Ukrainians.
Ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary election on April 12, Orban's propaganda apparatus is flooding social media platforms with these and other unsubstantiated accusations.
The reality on the ground, however, is quite different. Hardly anyone in [Velyka Dobron?] complains about the lack of minority rights. There is no evidence of Ukrainian nationalists attacking the Hungarian minority. And unlike some places in Romania or Serbia, you don't see vandalized bilingual place or street name signs in Ukraine.
That said, many ethnic Hungarians in this part of Ukraine are afraid to speak out. This is very much the case in Velyka Dobron, where most people on the street say they would rather not get caught up in this tense moment, accusing journalists of distorting everything that is being said.
Quote:NATO nation Estonia has doubled down on longstanding pledges to defend its territory if Russian troops set foot on alliance soil.
"When the 'green men' cross our border, we shoot at them," Jonatan Vseviov, a top official in Tallinn's foreign ministry, told Germany's Welt newspaper. "It's simple."
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment via email.
The term "green men" was coined shortly after Russian troops, dressed in green uniforms, were spotted in Crimea in 2014 as Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to annex the peninsula from Ukraine.
Russia initially denied the soldiers, armed with Russian weapons and heard speaking with Russian accents, were its own troops and said they had joined local "self-defense groups." Russian President Vladimir Putin then claimed roughly two weeks later that the "recent events in Crimea" had showcased Russia's military prowess.
NATO countries on the eastern flank are generally more worried about the prospect of an attack by the Kremlin than alliance members further away from the Russian border, and have fervently backed Kyiv in its war effort against Moscow since February 2022.
Some NATO officials and public intelligence assessments have suggested Moscow may try to take territory from a Baltic state in a small-scale land grab to test how NATO responds, particularly if a future peace settlement is reached in Ukraine. Russia has dismissed suggestions it has plans to invade other European countries as "nonsense."
Estonia, which spent decades under Soviet rule, has stormed ahead with defense spending to beef up its armed forces and is expected to dedicate more than 5 percent of its GDP to the military this year, while other countries in NATO wrestle with reaching the alliance's much lower target.
NATO members have agreed to spend 3.5 percent of their GDP on military kit by 2035, plus an additional 1.5 percent on related costs like making sure roads and bridges can bear the weight of tank convoys.
But the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania—are already building bunkers and laying obstacles designed to stop Russian military vehicles near the border, as well as issuing pamphlets on how the public should react in wartime.
"We are not a big country, but we are preparing," Vseviov said. "We will do everything in our power to keep the allies on our side to defend every inch of Estonian territory."
"It's also about making it clear to the other side: If you come, we'll shoot, and if you shoot with big weapons, then you'll hit all of us, including our allies," Vseviov said.
NATO members are collectively obliged to treat attacks on any member country as an assault on the whole alliance. This is meant to deter any adversary nations from attacking a part of NATO because it would have to face a response from all the alliance's 32 members.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago, Ukrainian and Russian drones have violated the airspace of at least six NATO nations, including Estonia.
Russian drones and missiles entering NATO airspace have not been treated as attacks on the alliance so far.
Tallinn has accused Russian fighter jets of breaching its airspace on at least three occasions in the past year, most recently in March.
USA
Quote:WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday revealed that the Department of Justice is currently probing thousands of cases of fraudsters bilking taxpayer-funded federal programs — with more than $1 trillion potentially vulnerable per year.
In his first press conference since being elevated to the role of acting AG, Blanche touted recent prosecutions that had resulted in guilty pleas — including a half-billion dollars “in health care and COVID fraud” — as the DOJ is handling more than 8,000 fraud cases.
A South Florida insurance brokerage firm pleaded guilty to an Affordable Care Act enrollment scheme totaling more than $160 million, and a California man pleaded guilty to submitting $270 million in fraudulent claims through California’s Medicaid program for costly prescription drugs, among others.
But those investigations “represent a fraction of the fraud ripping off our country every day,” Blanche noted, “with over a trillion dollars at stake every single year threatened by increasingly sophisticated and opportunistic fraudsters.”
The acting attorney general announced that DOJ had established a National Fraud Enforcement Division for the purpose of handling the thousands of other cases — and that prosecutors would work closely with Vice President JD Vance’s task force coordinating an interagency response.
“Because of this administration’s leadership, fraudsters, scammers, tax cheats or anyone who lies to get rich off the generosity of the American people should be on notice,” Blanche said.
Unless he is confirmed, he will serve in the role for the next 210 days after President Trump removed Pam Bondi from the attorney general position last Thursday.
Before her firing, the president had criticized Bondi’s failure to bring prosecutions against some of his political foes such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey — but Blanche denied that as the reason for his predecessor’s ouster.
“Pam Bondi is a trusted friend of President Trump’s and will remain so,” he told reporters at the news conference Tuesday. “Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general and I’m the acting attorney general — except for President Trump.”
But Bondi’s handling of the DOJ’s responses related to its investigation and prosecution of the deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein also stoked tensions with the White House, according to sources.
The Trump administration through various agencies has been investigating fraud of taxpayer-funded programs in Democratic-controlled states — with Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz yanking $259.5 million in federal funds from Minnesota in February.
Quote:A New York City mental health nurse has been fired after she filmed herself harassing a group of Israeli men in Times Square — repeatedly calling them “baby-killers” and “terrorists” in a hate-filled antisemitic rant that only ended when a performer dressed as Spider-Man intervened.
Jennifer Koonings, who worked at the Manhattan-based Inspire Mental Health Services, shared multiple videos on Instagram of the moment she unleashed the wave of vitriol over the weekend as she tried to bait the group of unassuming men in the packed tourist hotspot.
“You guys killed babies in Palestine … Slaughtered babies,” Koonings shouted in one clip posted to her 141,000 Instagram followers.
“We don’t want you here, terrorists.”
Eventually, a panhandler dressed as Spider-Man had to step in to urge Koonings to back off.
“You don’t need to harass people,” Spidey told Koonings and several other women who were shouting hate along with her. “You don’t know anything about them.”
“They’re baby-killers,” Koonings raged to the imitation web-slinger. “They’re f–king Israelis.”
Koonings and her crazed crew even turned their hate on Spider-Man, telling him to “shut the f–k up” as he urged calm.
In a second clip that seemingly preceded the ordeal, Koonings — who has a history of anti-Israel political activism — recorded herself asking the men where they were from.
Crazed homeless man accused of slaughtering Iryna Zarutska on train found incompetent to stand trial
Quote:The deranged homeless man accused of savagely butchering Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, on a Charlotte light rail train has been found “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges.
According to a motion filed April 7, Decarlos Brown Jr. was evaluated Dec. 29 at Central Regional Hospital, and the subsequent report determined he was not competent to stand trial, according to WBTV. His attorney has asked the court to delay his competency hearing by 180 days.
The results were previously sealed in state court and were only revealed as the motion was filed.
Prosecutors did not object to the requested 180-day delay of Brown’s Rule 24 hearing, which was previously scheduled for April 30, which will determine whether he is fit to proceed with a potential death penalty trial.
Brown is also facing federal charges — and will remain in custody on that case, his lawyer Daniel Roberts said.
A judge must now determine whether to accept the report’s findings, and the case against him will likely be delayed until his capacity is determined to be “restored” by the court, the station reported.
In the motion filed by Brown’s public defender, he claimed the court-required capacity hearing cannot take place with the accused killer in federal custody, and that the court also can’t order to have his capacity restored.
If a judge agrees Brown is incompetent to stand trial, state law mandates the charges be dismissed. However, if the judge issues the ruling without prejudice, state murder charges could be refiled if he ever regains his capacity to be tried.
A similar situation happened in the Tar Heel State in 2020 when murder charges were dismissed without prejudice against Buford James Penley after he was determined to be incompetent by multiple psychologists, including one who worked for the DA’s office.
Under North Carolina law, a defendant is deemed capable to proceed to trial if they can understand the nature and object of the proceedings, comprehend his or her situation in reference to the proceedings, and assist in his or her defense in a rational or reasonable manner.
Brown has been in federal custody in Chicago since a grand jury indicted him on Oct. 22 for violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system causing death. He faces state charges of first-degree murder.
Quote:Perry, 54, had openly struggled for decades with addictions, but had appeared to colleagues to be beating his demons when he died in 2023.
A dealer dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" who sold the drugs that killed "Friends" star Matthew Perry was jailed for 15 years by a California court on Wednesday.
Jasveen Sangha, 42, was one of five people charged over the death of the Canadian-American actor, who was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his luxury Los Angeles home in 2023.
Sangha, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Britain, has been in federal custody since August 2024.
Perry, 54, had openly struggled for decades with addictions, but had appeared to colleagues to be beating his demons when he died.
His death set off waves of grief among generations of "Friends" fans and sparked a police probe that uncovered a ring of suppliers and enablers, including medical doctors who were callously profiting from the pain of a man they should have been helping.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who admitted four counts of distribution of ketamine in the weeks before Perry's death, was ordered to serve 30 months in jail when he was sentenced last year.
Another doctor, Mark Chavez, was ordered to be confined at home and told to do hundreds of hours of community service.
Plasencia bought ketamine off Chavez and sold it to the American-Canadian actor at hugely inflated prices.
"I wonder how much this moron will pay," Plasencia wrote in one text message.
Prosecutors said addict Perry was paying over $2,000 per vial of ketamine; his dealers paid a fraction of that.
Sangha worked with a middleman, Erik Fleming, to sell 51 vials of ketamine to Perry's live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that she had supplied, including on October 28, 2023, when he administered at least three shots of Sangha's drugs, which killed the actor.
When Sangha heard news reports about Perry's sudden death, she tried to cover her tracks.
"Delete all our messages," she instructed Fleming.
When investigators raided Sangha's home in North Hollywood, they found methamphetamine, ketamine, ecstasy, cocaine, and counterfeit Xanax pills, as well as a money counting machine, a scale, and devices to detect wireless signals and hidden cameras.
Quote:The hulking Manhattan architect who led a double life as the so-called Gilgo Beach killer admitted Wednesday to strangling and dismembering eight sex workers — bringing long-awaited closure in a case that has haunted Long Island for decades.
Rex Heuermann, the 6-foot-4 schlub from Massapequa Park, smirked as he repeatedly muttered “strangulation” while answering how he murdered each of his victims — prompting gasps from the victims’ families and tears from his daughter in the packed Riverhead courtroom.
He pleaded guilty to butchering Amber Lynn Costello, 27; Megan Waterman, 22; Melissa Barthelemy, 24; and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, who were famously known as the “Gilgo Four” — as well as Valerie Mack, 24; Jessica Taylor, 20; and Sandra Costilla, 28, the first victim killed in 1993.
The father of two also copped to killing Karen Vergata, 34, whose 1996 murder had not previously been linked to him.
Heuermann, 62, also confessed that he dismembered some of the women and tied them up in burlap, bringing his daughter, Victoria, to tears inside the Riverhead courtroom.
Long Island’s most notorious serial killer appeared calm and even glib as he rattled off the horrors — at times appearing to hold back a smirk in the courtroom.
“He will serve three consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole,” prosecutors said.
The gruesome confession brings an end to a heartbreaking saga that has haunted Long Island for three decades.
Heuermann was arrested in 2023 after a then 13-year cold case was reinvigorated by Suffolk County Police Commissioner and former NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison.
Investigators found that he kept meticulous notes of his slayings in a secret, typo-ridden document on his computer, with chilling reminders like, “remove head and hands” and “wash body inside and all cavities.”
Heuermann lawyer Michael Brown said his client’s decision to finally admit to the murders came after two devastating rulings by Judge Timothy Mazzei — allowing all of the DNA evidence to be used and refusing to try the crimes separately at trial.
Quote:“Back to the Future” star Michael J. Fox reassured fans that he was alive and well after CNN published a misleading article about his death.
“Michael is doing great,” his rep told TMZ Wednesday. “He was at PaleyFest yesterday. He was on stage and was giving interviews.”
Additionally, a CNN spokesperson apologized after a video titled “Remembering the life of actor Michael J. Fox” was published.
“The package was published in error; we have removed it from our platforms and send our apologies to Michael J. Fox and his family,” the rep told the outlet.
A rep for Fox, 64, wasn’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.
On Tuesday, the actor stopped by the PaleyFest LA hosted at the Dolby Theatre to join the Apple TV+ series “Shrinking” for their Season 3 wrap party.
The “Spin City” alum joined Jason Segel and Harrison Ford as a guest star in the forthcoming season, which was released in January and concludes on Wednesday.
In recent years, Fox has taken a step back from larger on-camera roles after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991.
At the time, he was only 29 years old, and he waited until 1998 to announce his condition.
Parkinson’s disease is defined as “a progressive movement disorder of the nervous system,” which ultimately leads “to symptoms that include problems with movement, tremor, stiffness, and impaired balance,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Quote:The “walls are closing in” on Nancy Guthrie’s kidnapper after Savannah Guthrie’s return to “Today” as her “national platform” will help keep all eyes on the case, according to an FBI expert.
“Every day that passes the pressure builds. Keeping a secret like this is exhausting. … and that gets harder with every morning that Savannah Guthrie sits behind that anchor desk,” former FBI agent Jason Pack exclusively told Page Six.
“Most criminals in cases like this count on the media moving on,” he continued. “They count on the family fading from public view. They count on people forgetting. This case is different. Savannah has a national platform and she shows up on it every single day. Every time a viewer sees her face, they think about her mother.”
Pack believes the more attention the case receives, the more “pressure on the people responsible goes up.”
“Add a reward of more than one million dollars and the full weight of FBI resources and you have a situation where the walls are not just closing, but they are closing from every direction at once,” he said.
Pack went on to urge Nancy’s neighbors to check their cameras — and contact authorities with any information on her disappearance.
“At some point, someone is going to have the courage to make that call,” he said. “One phone call from someone who decides the reward money matters more than their silence is all it takes to bring law enforcement directly to their front door.”
On Monday, two months after her mom was reported missing, Savannah returned to “Today.”
“Good morning, welcome to ‘Today’ on this morning. We are so glad you started the week with us and it is good to be home,” she told viewers cheerily.
Later on, co-host Craig Melvin brought her outside to greet their fans, gushing, “We are back at 8:30 on this beautiful Monday morning, and it’s a special Monday morning for us and for this crowd as well, because we are welcoming back our North Star. Come on out here! Come right out!”
Quote:The federal government plans to automatically register eligible men for the military draft beginning in December, according to a proposed rule published last week.
The Selective Service System (SSS), the government agency that maintains the database of draft-eligible Americans, submitted the “automatic registration” rule change to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on March 30.
Congress approved automatic registration for the draft last December as part of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, must-pass legislation that authorizes funding for military personnel and operations.
Under federal law, most males between 18 and 25 years old are already required to register with the Selective Service System in case a military draft is authorized.
EUROPE
Quote:Prince Harry was reportedly “reluctant” to leave the royal family, but wasn’t given much choice by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after she issued a harsh ultimatum to him.
Hugo Vickers, a writer who’s a longtime friend of the royal family, recounts Prince Harry’s mounting frustrations with his family before his and his wife Meghan Markle’s resignations as royals in his new book, “Queen Elizabeth II.”
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex fled London to Canada in 2019, Harry was “keen to discuss a way forward with the Queen” upon his return, Vickers writes. Though, things didn’t go as planned for the prince.
“He wanted a half-in, half-out arrangement, whereby he would be self-financing but could still work for the Royal Family. In the new year of 2020, the three Private Secretaries, Sir Edward Young, Sir Clive Alderton and Simon Case, went into summit mode on the Sandringham estate and drafted their proposal,” Vickers writes.
“Prince Harry went to Sandringham for the meeting and was told it was either all in or all out. He returned to Canada — reluctantly out.”
In January 2020, the Sussexes announced they would be departing their official roles as working royals and moved to live in California full-time three months later, leaving their Frogmore Cottage home gifted to them by the Queen behind.
After Prince Harry released his bombshell-loaded memoir, “Spare,” in 2023, he and Markle were requested to officially vacate the cottage.
Prior to Queen Elizabeth’s death, the couple made one last trip to London in June 2022 to bring their children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, to spend time with their great-grandmother to fulfill her final wishes.
As Page Six previously reported on Tuesday, royal biographer Robert Hardman shared Queen Elizabeth’s last wishes for all of her great-grandchildren in his forthcoming biography, “Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.”
Quote:Queen Elizabeth II had one final wish to see all of her great-grandchildren — including her grandson Prince Harry’s two children with Meghan Markle — in the months leading up to her September 2022 death.
“The Queen wanted all the great-grandchildren to come up to Balmoral at some point over that summer, even if the Sussexes might not be able to make it,” royal biographer Robert Hardman writes in his forthcoming biography, “Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.”
“She wanted to make sure that they all had a really happy memory of her,” a friend of the family claims in the book, per an excerpt published by the Daily Mail on Monday.
The biographer includes mention of Prince Harry and Markle, who share children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, as its worth noting the ex-pats were reportedly not on great terms with the rest of the royals at that time.
As many may recall, a notorious rift grew among the royal family in 2020 after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to resign from their positions as royals and moved to the US.
The divide between Prince Harry, his brother Prince William, and his father, now-King Charles II, was worsened after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made bombshell claims in their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview that Harry’s family had concerns over their son Prince Archie’s skin color.
Despite the debacle, the family made their way to London for one final trip where the queen was able to meet the young princess, who was named after the monarch, in June 2022 — nearly a year after the couple welcomed their daughter.
Harry, Markle and their two children were reported to have spent some time with the Queen at Windsor Castle in the hours just before Lilibet’s first birthday.
At the time, Page Six reported that the royal family celebrated the birthday girl with a private birthday party the following day.
Quote:Even the vice president gets sent to voicemail.
Vice President JD Vance pulled out his cellphone at a rally for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, promising rally goers a special surprise.
That surprise was President Trump.
But, in an awkward moment, Vance got the president’s voicemail.
With his phone on speaker, an automated voice was heard saying: “I’m sorry, the person you were trying to reach has a voicemail box that is full.”
Vance quickly hung up and dialed again, this time getting the president on the phone.
But with a catch.
“Hey JD, can you give me a second,” Trump told him.
But Trump finally addressed the cheering crowd, endorsing Orban for re-election: “I love Hungary and I love that Victor, I’ll tell you, he’s a fantastic man. We’ve had a tremendous relationship.”
“Boy that sounds like a big crowd and my kind of people,” the president noted of the rally.
The president is fond of Orban, who’s been a longtime supporter and frequent visitor to Mar-a-Lago.
Vance is on a two-day trip to Hungary to boost Orban’s bid for re-election as his Fidesz party trails badly in the polls.
The general election is on Sunday and Vance projected confidence, telling reporters: “Viktor Orban is, of course, going to win.”
"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
