News of the World
05-26-2026, 09:43 AM
MIDDLE EAST
Quote:WASHINGTON — US officials are discussing possible ways for Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium without directly handing it off to Washington, The Post has learned.
An initial memorandum of understanding, which could be finalized by the end of this week, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and confirm an agreement in principle by Tehran to cease future nuclear enrichment. A tense second round of talks would then focus on dismantling Iran’s nuclear program.
One option floated inside the Trump administration would have Iran deliver its roughly 1,000 pounds of near-weapons-grade uranium to Pakistan, Turkey, Russia or China — for possible onward transfer to the US, a national security official said Monday.
“We are trying to land on language that allows both sides to save face, and that’s how deals like this are done,” this person explained.
“The president would still ideally like it to eventually wind up with the United States, but there are interim options being discussed as well. [And] they could turn into permanent options.”
A second option under discussion would allow Iran to heavily dilute and keep the uranium — under the theory that its refinement facilities are so badly damaged by Operation Epic Fury that further enrichment would be impossible without detection.
The dilution option would require strict international oversight, which itself would be subject to additional negotiation.
“This is one of the things that is going to be worked out in the second track,” the official said.
“I don’t think they want to hand it over — [and] the biggest thing is they don’t want to hand it over to the United States directly.”
The insider added that “it is likely that the first part of the deal is done here soon, but the longer negotiations go on, the more likely you will have outside spoilers try to undermine the agreement.”
White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said: “Anything attributed to unnamed, anonymous, and uninformed sources who are not part of the inner circle who actually know what’s going on should be considered baseless speculation — all announcements regarding a potential deal will come from the President or administration directly.”
Shortly after this article was published, Trump effectively confirmed The Post’s reporting in a social media post.
“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Trump wrote.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump mourned the deaths of 13 military service members in the ongoing war with Iran as part of his Memorial Day remembrance Monday — with one bereaved family in attendance for his remarks at Arlington National Cemetery.
“These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world’s number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said moments after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“Oh, and they won’t. They will never have a nuclear weapon. I’m sure you know that one.”
Trump then called out to the family of Air Force Capt. Ariana Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash. — who died in the March 12 crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft over Iraq — asking them to stand for applause.
“In two wars recently, we’ve lost a total of 13 service members,” he said.
“In Venezuela, which was a complete and total victory … we took that over in one day, lost no one. In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls — wonderful, special people.”
The president announced Saturday that a “largely negotiated” memorandum of understanding with Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping while leaving nuclear terms for a second phase of talks.
Administration officials clarified Sunday that an initial deal was likely to be at least five to seven days away, with Trump himself releasing a statement saying: “Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that he was ready “to assure the world that we are not after a nuclear weapon” — although Tehran has long made that claim while refining uranium to near-weapons grade.
Trump is facing pushback from some Republicans in Congress who fear that he may end the three-month war without permanently ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Underage WWII vet ‘among the last’
Trump also led a round of applause Monday for a 97-year-old Battle of the Bulge veteran who fought against Nazi Germany’s last major counteroffensive in World War II.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump kicked off Memorial Day on Monday by bashing “all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran.”
“Happy Memorial Day to all, including the Dumocrats, who disrespect our Military and all of the tremendous success that it has had over the last year. God Bless those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. I love you all!” Trump posted on Truth Social at 6:18 a.m. ET.
The president has made a habit of attacking his political enemies in social media posts marking national holidays throughout his two terms in office, and Monday proved to be no exception.
Earlier, Trump vented that critics of talks with Iran “should go home and rest, they do nothing but create division and loss. In other words, they are losers!”
Discussions with Tehran had dominated Trump’s weekend as his team scrambled to see if it could get a deal over the finish line. An initial framework for negotiations could be agreed to in days, according to US officials, though the president later clarified that he had instructed his team not to “rush” into anything.
“I laugh at all of the Dumocrats, RINOS, and Fools who know nothing about the potential deal I am making with Iran, things that haven’t even been negotiated yet,” Trump seethed on Truth Social before gloating over recent primary defeats of Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
“The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal,” he continued. “It will be the exact opposite of the JCPOA disaster negotiated by the failed Obama Administration.”
The rumored framework had rattled GOP hawks, who fretted that it would be too soft on Iran, while some Democrats needled Trump by suggesting that the framework was similar to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump pulled the US out of that 2015 nuclear agreement during his first time.
The White House is “confident” that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has signed off on the “broad template” for a peace plan, including agreeing “in principle” to disposing of the Islamic Republic’s enriched uranium, a senior official said Sunday.
Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump claimed Monday that he had demanded the leaders of six Muslim nations join the Abraham Accords if they want to be part of the Iran nuclear deal, which he said is “proceeding nicely!”
The president said he told the heads of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, and Jordan during a Saturday call that he wants those countries to normalize relations with Israel by agreeing to the 2020 US-brokered accords. Also included on the call were the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which are already signatories to the accords.
“I stated that, after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords,” Trump recounted on Truth Social in a Memorial Day post.
The UAE and Bahrain were the first two nations to sign on to the Abraham Accords in September 2020, later joined by Morocco that December and Sudan the following January.
“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” added Trump, saying that he was “mandatorily requesting” the concession.
“If they don’t, they should not be part of this Deal in that it shows bad intention.”
Trump even suggested that Iran could join the Abraham Accords, which would amount to an extraordinary breakthrough given nearly five decades of hostilities between Tehran and Jerusalem. It was not immediately clear whether Israel would accept normalizing relations with the Islamic Republic.
“In speaking to numerous of the Great Leaders mentioned above, they would be honored, as soon as our Document is signed, to have the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the Abraham Accords. Wow, now that would be something special!” Trump declared in the post.
“[I]f Iran signs its Agreement with me, as President of the United States of America, it would be an Honor to have them also be part of this unparalleled World Coalition.”
Throughout his presidency, Trump has sought to push Saudi Arabia into normalizing relations with Israel, reportedly having tense discussions about the topic last year with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudis and other Arab nations have insisted that the Palestinian issue be resolved before full normalization with Israel can be achieved.
Before the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on the Jewish state, the Saudi crown prince repeatedly signaled that his country was moving in that direction.
But Israel’s ground war in Gaza has inflamed tensions with the Jewish state’s Arab neighbors.
The Trump administration is trying to iron out a “broad template” of a peace plan with Iran, with a senior official claiming Sunday the sides were about 95% of the way there.
Quote:WASHINGTON — GOP Sen. Thom Tillis ripped Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying he gave President Trump bad advice on Iran and makes disastrous ex-cabinet member Kristi Noem look like “a five-star recruit.”
The retiring North Carolina pol and member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee blasted the Pentagon chief for allegedly overstating America’s military successes against Iran in the early stages of the war and for stopping a troop deployment to Poland, something Trump ended up reversing.
“When you tell the president that you have obliterated Iran and you’re in a position to pretty much dictate terms, and now you see what we have,” there’s an issue, said Tillis on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“When you see Hegseth pull back on operations in Poland when Ukraine — when Russia is raping, killing, murdering, torturing countless people in Ukraine — I think, with all these mistakes in total, it’s beginning to make Kristi Noem look like a five-star recruit,” he added, referring to the former Homeland Security secretary who spectacularly flamed out as her hubby’s cross-dressing “bimbo” fetish was revealed.
Hegseth had been one of the most fervent backers of Operation Epic Fury attacks against Iran.
Yet despite him touting the US decimating Iran’s missile stockpile and other key military assets, Tehran managed to inflict considerable economic pain by wreaking havoc in the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil once flowed annually.
To effectively shut down the critical waterway, Iran has planted mines and used drone attacks to scare off ships from crossing it. The US has responded with a blockade of Iran’s ports.
As the deadly conflict drags on, multiple lawmakers have expressed concerns about US stockpiles of critical firepower, including Patriot interceptors and Tomahawk missiles.
“We were told about 11 weeks ago by Hegseth and Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material,” Tillis complained.
“Now we are talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran? How does that make sense at all?”
Quote:The United States has conducted "self-defense" strikes in southern Iran on Monday, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian vessels trying to establish mines, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
In a statement to Newsweek, Captain Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM spokesman, said, "U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines.
"U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire," the statement concluded.
The strikes come as President Donald Trump said Monday on Truth Social that negotiations with Iran are "proceeding nicely!"
Trump added in part, "It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!" He also said that certain countries in the Middle East should "sign onto the Abraham Accords," citing work done by the United States "to try and pull this very complex puzzle together."
Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, posted on X Monday, saying in a translated post: "During the military war, our tactic was an eye for an eye; in the diplomatic war, it is action against action. Do not believe the bluff of the failed president; time is against the Americans. If they want an agreement, they should negotiate; if they want $6 gas, they should stand firm and bluff until the grass grows under their feet. Iran does not bow to force or threats."
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:A Kremlin propagandist has suggested that it is better the devil you know as he predicted election wipeout for Donald Trump in the U.S. midterms but warned that whoever replaces the U.S. president, such as Marco Rubio, could in fact be worse for Russia.
Russian state television pundits have had a complicated relationship with the Trump presidency, initially hailing his return to the White House as a boost for the Kremlin, given his ties with Vladimir Putin.
While not necessarily reflecting Kremlin thinking, Russian state TV coverage can be positive when Trump undermines Ukraine, marginalizes Europe, or pushes Russian narratives about NATO expansion but can be critical when he threatens Russia directly or boasts about American military superiority.
Political analyst Rafael Ordukhanyan, who specializes in American politics, told the show One’s Own Truth on the NTV channel that the mood music following this month’s statewide elections in New Jersey, Louisiana and California, in which the GOP suffered defeats, pointed toward a faltering Trump administration ahead of November’s ballots.
"Look at what is happening in the U.S.," he said in the clip posted by Russia watcher Julia Davis from the Russian Media Monitor, "elections have started and we can already see that the results clearly won’t be in Trump’s favor."
"We can expert a new person, an utterly Russophobic Rubio due to his family traditions," he added, referring to the U.S. secretary of state. The anchor Roman Babayan chimed in and took a swipe at Rubio’s Cuban roots in which his family fled the Castro regime ruling Moscow's Caribbean ally. "The communists have taken everything from him," Babayan said, laughing.
Ordukhanyan continued: "In this case in two years, a totally different group of people will come to power, believe me, we won’t like it at all."
Trump has diminished U.S. support for Kyiv's fight against Russian aggression and tried to reinstate ties with Moscow after years of deterioration under Joe Biden. Ordukhanyan suggested that it was unclear what a new White House administration would mean for the war or for Moscow more generally and that the Russian government now has two years "to solve our problems."
Quote:At least eight people have been killed in missile and drone attacks on Russian and Ukrainian territory in the past 24 hours, local authorities on both sides said on Monday, with damage reported to energy infrastructure in Russia’s Belgorod region.
The strikes follow one of the heaviest Russian bombardments of Kyiv since the start of the four-year war, after Moscow vowed on Saturday to retaliate for what it described as a deliberate drone strike on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region.
Ukraine’s military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area.
Since then, four people, including two teenagers, have been killed in the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian town of Horlivka, its mayor Ivan Prikhodko said on Monday on Telegram, blaming Ukrainian armed aggression.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, one man was killed and another injured in a missile and drone attack that also cut power and water supplies, local authorities said on Telegram.
Attacks across Ukraine
In Ukraine, two people were killed and 16 wounded in Russian shelling, missile, and drone attacks in the southern Kherson region over the past 24 hours, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram on Monday.
In another attack near Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second biggest city, one person was killed and two were injured.
The regional governor said that according to preliminary information, Russia carried out a missile attack on the town of Derhachi, just outside the city.
A further eight people were wounded, including a six-year-old boy, in the southeastern Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, local authorities said in separate Telegram posts.
Quote:Ukraine’s first McDonald’s was left battered — with its golden arches melting off its building — but still operating after devastating overnight Russian strikes that killed at least four people and injured dozens.
The marble walls and pillars of the fast-food eatery, which opened in Kyiv in 1997, were riddled with holes, while some of its windows were shattered from the deadly attack.
Footage showed the restaurant’s signature arches and white “McDonald’s” sign also melting from the onslaught, according to Ukrainian media.
But the Kukyanviska McDonald’s was still standing tall after the assault — reportedly the sixth it’s withstood since the war began in February 2022.
The Kremlin unleashed hundreds of drones and missiles in its latest hourslong barrage on Kyiv, including an Oreshnik hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads fired toward the capital, according to Ukrainian officials.
There was no indication the Oreshnik missile was equipped with a nuclear warhead.
The attack killed at least four people, injured nearly 100 civilians and damaged dozens of residential and commercial buildings and schools in the city center.
Local reports said the air reeked of burning plastic and building materials after the relentless onslaught.
Several people also were reported dead in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine from Ukrainian attacks, according to Moscow authorities Monday.
“It’s important that this does not remain without consequences for Russia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram, urging his country’s allies to take action.
“Decisions are needed – from the United States, from Europe and others,” Zelensky said.
USA
Quote:The federal government overpaid welfare and social services recipients by a stunning $186 billion in fiscal year 2025, a startling surge of $24 billion from the previous year’s total.
According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), 15 federal agencies made up the massive improper payments overage spanning 64 programs, with approximately 82% of the overages the result of overpayments.
And these are just the mistakes that the government caught — usually not outright fraud, like the billions alleged in Minnesota.
The GAO’s analysis comes as a fraudtask force helmed by Vice President JD Vance seeks to apply pressure to states, including New York, to root out the sources of fraud or risk losing federal funding.
Medicare was responsible for the largest share of overpayments, according to GAO’s analysis, coming in at $57 billion.
Medicare — the second largest government program after Social Security — has a budget of nearly $1.1 trillion.
Medicaid mistakes cost $37 billion, while the government doled out $21 billion for the Earned Income Tax Credit to people who didn’t deserve it.
Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — food stamps — received $10 billion more than they should have.
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, a pandemic-era program that provided billions in emergency COVID-19 relief for certain live venues, museums and movie theaters also got $10 billion too much.
The remaining 59 programs combined made up $51 billion in improper payments.
The issue has long dogged the federal government, with GAO putting the total overpaid since 2003 at a staggering $3 trillion — though the agency says the actual total could be much higher.
The figure includes a dramatic uptick during the pandemic years of 2020-2023, when new programs were quickly developed and existing programs were rapidly expanded, leading to a significantly greater risk of fraud and improper payments, Kristen Kociolek, managing director of GAO’s Financial Management and Assurance team told the Washington Times.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been criss-crossing the country on a national tour, huddling with Dem powerbrokers and taking other steps that many seeking the presidency pursue — all while insisting she isn’t focused on the White House.
During the 2026 midterm primary season, Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has worked to boost lefty candidates in the Democratic Party, building critical connections that could come in handy next year as a 2028 decision looms.
“They assume that my ambition is positional,” she told famed Obama strategist David Axelrod earlier this month, ducking a question about whether she will seek the presidency.
“They assume that my ambition is a title or seat, and my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country,” she went on. “Presidents come and go. Senate [and] House seats, elected officials come and go, but single-payer healthcare is forever.”
Over the past month, the Bronx and Queens rep has swung through Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, and more as part of her crusade to boost progressive causes.
Those trips have given her the chance to workshop her messaging strategy and make inroads with key constituencies who may be valuable later on in a presidential primary.
Recently, she stumped for Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb (D), a self-styled democratic socialist, in the state’s 3rd Congressional District. Rabb later won the Democratic nod.
Ocasio-Cortez also traveled to Montgomery, Ala. to rally for voting rights, spoke at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and fired off more endorsements in contests across America.
This week, she will roll through Montana to back candidate smokejumper Sam Forstag in his congressional race.
Quote:WASHINGTON — “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar dismissed a proposed constitutional amendment championed by right-wing Rep. Nancy Mace that would bar foreign-born politicians from election to Congress.
Omar (D-Minn.), who was born in Somalia but became a US citizen in 2000, seemed unfazed, telling Fox News Digital when asked about the measure last week: “Good luck to her.”
Mace and Omar have long had an acriminous relationship. The South Carolinian has unveiled multiple measures targeting Omar, including an unsuccessful motion in the House Oversight Committee earlier this year to subpoena the Minnesota rep’s family records to explore unproven accusations that she married her brother.
Mace (R-SC) unveiled her proposed amendment last week. It would also bar foreign-born individuals from becoming federal judges or Senate-confirmed administration officials.
Currently, only American presidents and vice presidents are constitutionally required to be natural-born citizens.
Mace singled out Omar and two of her Democratic colleagues in the House while rolling out the proposal.
“Ilhan Omar. Shri Thanedar. Pramila Jayapal,” she posted on X. “All born in foreign countries, none were citizens by birth. All sitting in the United States Congress. All making clear every single day their loyalty is not to America.”
Currently, 19 Democrats and seven Republicans in the House of Representatives were born overseas. Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Thanadar (D-Mich.) were both born in India.
“If you hold power in the American government, you should be a natural-born American citizen,” Mace told the outlet in a statement. “For too long we have allowed foreign-born members to hold seats in this government, while making clear their loyalty is not here. We see it every day.”
A constitutional amendment hasn’t been approved since the 27th Amendment was enacted in 1992, restricting Congress from making changes to its salaries until after the following House election.
A proposed amendment must receive two-thirds approval in the House and Senate, then be ratified by 38 of the 50 state legislatures.
Last week, Vice President JD Vance indicated to reporters that Omar is facing some sort of investigation related to her immigration status.
Omar denied that claim, telling Fox News Digital: “That is not something that is happening. That man is delusional.”
Quote:WASHINGTON — Far-left streamer Hasan Piker has been visibly rattled by the federal investigation into whether his jaunt to Cuba back in March violated US sanctions.
“This is not great,” Piker bluntly told his audience about the probe Sunday. “I mean it’s bulls—, but still not great that they’re after your boy. They’re up my ass.”
“Yeah, free me. Free me,” the 34-year-old riffed in response to a comment that flashed on his feed. “I can’t believe I’m saying that. But I’m about to be seemingly made an example of.”
Over the weekend, Fox News reported that the feds subpoenaed Piker and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin over their trip to the Communist island 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
Left-wing Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) added salt to Piker’s wounds by reposting a mocking video needling him for declining to vote for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
“I mean Kamala would have never,” Threads user TalkUrShxxtNene chided Piker in the video, to which Crockett reacted with sideye emojis. “That’s what you get for telling people to vote third party or not vote at all.”
Piker and Benjamin were two of more than three dozen individuals under investigation by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The subpoenas for communications and other relevant documents came in response to an online rumor that Piker and his comrades stayed at a US-sanctioned hotel in Havana. Participants in the trip have denied that rumor.
The Treasury Department declined to comment when asked by The Post about the investigation.
The Treasury’s Cuban Assets Control Regulations place tight restrictions on dealings with Cuba, particularly regarding certain hotels and other businesses that have direct ties to the government.
There are carveouts for humanitarian initiatives, as well as journalism, education, and similar ventures.
Piker was among hundreds of lefties who joined the “Nuestra America Convoy,” featuring socialists from Europe and North America, who traveled to Cuba under the pretense of distributing humanitarian aid.
Quote:WASHINGTON — The heroic, Purple Heart-winning Army veteran, who US Senate hopeful Graham Platner sneered in a screed on his burner Reddit account didn’t deserve to live, tore into the Democrats for continuing to back the Maine candidate.
Pfc. Ted Daniels, who captured viral helmet footage of himself moving into open terrain to draw Taliban fire away from his squad in 2012, said Democrats backing Platner owe his children an apology.
“I’m very thick-skinned, and he said it,” Daniels told The Post. “I don’t want an apology, and any apology from him [Graham] at this point would definitely not be sincere.”
“What I’d really like is for [Sen.] Elizabeth Warren, [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer, [Sen.] Bernie Sanders, [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries, and everybody else on the far left to tell my children to their face that they are endorsing and supporting a man who said that their father should have not lived. Cheering on the death of their father.”
Daniels had gone viral in 2012 over heart-pounding footage of himself out in the open on a ridge in Afghanistan with bullets flying all around him, trying to create an opening for his seven fellow soldiers.
At the time, he was a 37-year-old father of two children.
Ultimately, he was hit four times, but all members of his squad survived the chilling firefight. Later, he was awarded the Purple Heart for sustaining injuries.
About seven years ago, Platner, a Marine veteran, sneered at Daniels from his “P-Hustle” Reddit account.
“This video never gets old. Dumb mother—er didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt,” Platner, then a 34-year-old, chided on his burner Reddit account.
The Post has verified Platner’s remarks using Pull Push. Platner has mass-deleted his Reddit account history. The Post reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment.
Daniels, who ran for Congress and later for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor as a Republican years ago, tore into Platner for his attacks against the late “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and Vice President JD Vance over their military service.
Quote:The worst fears around an unstable, increasingly high-temperature chemical plant in Orange County will fortunately not come to pass, fire officials announced Monday.
The Orange County Fire Authority said the threat of a massive chemical explosion has been “eliminated.”
“The BLEVE is off the table,” officials said, using the acronym for “boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.”
There had been worries that a rupture in the container filled with methyl methacrylate, as temperatures increased, could result in a devastating explosion as one of the possible scenarios.
Methyl methacrylate, which is highly flammable and used to make plastics, has a low boiling point, so it can easily overheat and turn to gas. Firefighters had been spraying water in an attempt to lower the temperature, now at 93 degrees.
“That is incredible positive news as we turn the corner of this incident,” OCFA division chief Craig Covey said in ruling out an explosion.
A crack that appeared on the chemical tank gave hope that internal pressure would eventually release and avert the threat of an explosion. Officials had done an overnight operation “to confirm that the pressure in the tank has been released.”
Despite the good news, there is still the potential that about 7,000 gallons of the chemical could spill out into the streets.
Evacuation orders remain in place during this five-day-and-counting crisis for 50,000 people living in Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster.
Four shelters for evacuees were full as of Monday morning, according to the city of Garden Grove, while three have space available.
The crisis has prompted extreme worries for officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pleaded with President Trump to issue a federal emergency declaration to bring in more support.
Quote:President Trump granted a federal emergency declaration Monday after Gov. Gavin Newsom and California officials spent days warning that a dangerous chemical leak in Garden Grove was at risk of spiraling into a catastrophic explosion.
Trump’s approval of a federal emergency declaration unlocks assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as hundreds of emergency workers continue to battle the hazardous materials crisis in Orange County. Roughly 50,000 people were forced to evacuate the area.
The jockeying for credit was in full swing Monday as Newsom’s office put out a press release touting its quick actions to address the potential disaster.
“California didn’t wait for this situation to escalate — we moved early, aggressively, and in close partnership with local responders to protect lives and support impacted communities,” Newsom said in a statement.
“We are grateful for the federal government approving our request and helping strengthen the resources already on the ground to help this community recover safely.”
The declaration comes after Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Friday and formally requested federal support as local officials warned that a damaged methyl methacrylate tank posed a potentially massive public safety threat.
Overnight, the Orange County Fire Authority announced that crews had successfully reduced the immediate danger of a large-scale explosion — a major breakthrough after days of emergency operations around the industrial site.
Officials cautioned, however, that evacuation orders remain in effect as environmental and public health risks are still being monitored.
More than 785 state and local emergency personnel have been mobilized during the response, including firefighters, hazardous materials experts, environmental scientists, transportation crews, law enforcement officers and public health officials working around the clock.
The emergency response escalated rapidly over the weekend after officials warned that instability involving the chemical tank could trigger a devastating blast in the heavily populated area surrounding the site.
Authorities ordered evacuations near the incident and repeatedly urged residents to stay away from the area while emergency crews worked to stabilize conditions.
Quote:Los Angeles firefighters have broken ranks to tear into Mayor Karen Bass over the disastrous state of the department across the city.
Officers revealed to the California Post they are trapped in marathon shifts, missing paychecks and going through hell while its budget flatlines despite rising risks of wildfires.
They warned response times are climbing and emergency callouts are exploding but City Hall was refusing to pump in desperately needed cash.
Fire crews are now pooling together more than $1 million of their own cash to push for a sales tax measure they claim would cover just the basics to keep the department running.
Rich Ramirez, vice president of UFLAC Local 112 and a firefighter paramedic, told The Post: “We don’t have relief. We can’t just shut something down and tell residents no one is coming. So you stay.
“You can go from doing CPR on a child to a traffic crash, cutting someone out of a car, then straight to a drowning. That all happens in a single 24-hour shift.”
Firefighters describe 48-hour tours that spiral longer, with mandated overtime keeping some on duty up to 120 hours in high-intensity conditions.
Doug Coates, president of UFLAC Local 112 and a firefighter engineer, continued: “You think you’re going home, and they tell you you’re staying. You miss birthdays, you miss your family.”
Even as overtime piles up, some firefighters say they are still fighting just to be paid, with missed checks and delayed wages adding up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for crew members.
Quote:The police chief of a small town in Lake County, Indiana – where his dad is running for the high-profile position of sheriff – was arrested on a slew of misconduct charges over the weekend after feds raided his home and found a trove of guns and steroids, according to reports.
New Chicago Police Chief Earl Mayo was charged Sunday with misconduct, obstruction of justice, theft and unlawful possession of an anabolic steroid – a synthetic derivative of testosterone – following his arrest in Clark County, Ohio, around 6 p.m. Friday.
Earlier that day, county police and federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had executed search warrants at Mayo’s Merrillville, Indiana, residence – where more than 100 guns were seized, local news outlet NWI Times reported, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation.
Mayo was taken into custody in Ohio and is expected to be extradited back to Lake County, where the criminal charges were filed. It’s unclear why he had crossed state lines ahead of his arrest.
His former police jurisdiction was taken over by state law enforcement Friday.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s Department has taken responsibility over all New Chicago police services,” Sheriff Oscar Martinez reportedly said, adding that there was “no need for the citizens of New Chicago to worry” about a lack in law enforcement.
New Chicago, which covers less than one square mile west of Lake Station, is home to roughly 2,000 people.
Mayo’s father, Indiana State Police Major Jerry Williams – who recently won the Lake County Democratic primary and will be the party’s sheriff nominee in the November election – said he and his wife were “deeply concerned” about their son’s arrest in a statement released Saturday.
Quote:Roughly a dozen hikers have reportedly fallen ill with a nasty stomach bug after traversing a section of the scenic Pacific Crest Trail.
The popular hiking destination spans more than 2,600 miles and goes from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association acknowledged reports of “gastrointestinal illness” in the Wrightwood area of the hike, writing in an Instagram post on Thursday that they are working with the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health to asses the situation.
“Illnesses like norovirus or other communicable diseases are serious issues, people should prioritize their health and safety,” Chris Rylee, the director of communications, told SFGATE in a statement. “We sincerely wish for all affected hikers a speedy recovery and the chance to get back to the trail.”
A reddit page dedicated to the Pacific Crest Trail said there is an “outbreak” of norovirus — a highly contagious stomach illness that can cause sudden and severe vomiting and diarrhea.
Over the past two weeks, there have been “7-12 confirmed” cases in and around Wrightwood, with one hiker even having to be airlifted to a hospital for medical attention, according to the Reddit post.
“Since Sunday, there have been approximately 2 dozen hikers who’ve had symptoms and 7 who were seen and diagnosed with Noro by medical professionals,” the post read.
The first cases of the virus started popping up the around May 8, according to SFGATE.
When 73-year-old Ron Hals settled into his camp in the Wrightwood area on the night of May 14, he told the paper that he has “never been that weak” and was so ill that he struggled to even leave his tent.
Hals, who planning to hike the first 1,000 miles of the trail as a personal challenge after his wife died, called 911 and was ultimately airlifted out to receive further medical attention.
“My emotions were very much on the surface, and I admit that I cried because I didn’t want to go,” Hals, who was later diagnosed with norovirus, told the paper. “But I knew that these people had risked their lives to come find me, and I couldn’t just tell them to go away.”
While its unclear how the outbreak started, some cases appeared to have originated near a water cache in Swarthout Valley between Cajon Pass and Mount Baden-Powell, according to the outlet.
The Reddit page urged hikers to practice good hygiene to avoid catching the virus, including washing hands and drinking from sealed water bottles.
Quote:The owner of a heavily decorated pro-Trump home in Southern California has died days after he was beaten to a pulp allegedly by a Navy veteran.
Kerry Sheron, a 69-year-old Army veteran known locally for covering his residence with MAGA banners and American flags, died Sunday night after nearly a week hospitalized in critical condition.
The attack happened May 20 outside Sheron’s home in Escondido, police said.
Prosecutors allege 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler attacked Sheron in what officials described as an unprovoked assault.
Butler, who has been described in local reports as a Navy veteran, has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder, elder abuse, criminal threats and battery.
Deputy District Attorney Ross Garcia previously told the court that Sheron suffered catastrophic injuries during the incident.
“It was a single punch to the jaw,” Garcia said. “The victim then falls to the floor, and there are subsequent hits to the victim’s head area.”
Security footage obtained by local media allegedly showed Sheron standing outside his Buchanan Street home before the suspect approached and attacked him. A nearby witness reportedly attempted to intervene before the suspect fled the area on foot.
Police later located Butler nearby and took him into custody shortly after the incident, according to investigators.
In the days before Sheron’s death, his wife Maria gave an emotional update, telling reporters there was “no hope” for her husband as he remained hospitalized with devastating injuries.
She also said the family had been preparing for the worst after doctors warned that Sheron’s condition had rapidly deteriorated due to severe head trauma.
Photos published after the assault appeared to show Sheron bruised, bandaged and connected to medical equipment inside his hospital room.
Authorities said Butler remains jailed without bail. Prosecutors indicated the charges could now be upgraded following Sheron’s death.
He is expected to be formally re-arraigned as early as this week, with homicide-related charges now under consideration, officials said.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive and said it remains unclear whether the two men knew each other before the confrontation.
Quote:Five-time heavyweight boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. is taking a swing at an ex-con major donor to former Mayor Bill de Blasio over an alleged $175 million fraud scheme involving jewels and a secret jet sale.
The superstar pugilist claims in a new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit that Jona Rechnitz — an ex-mayoral donor who once tried to bribe NYPD cops with hookers — orchestrated “a multi-year fraudulent scheme” involving real estate, jewelry and his beloved Gulfstream Jet famously emblazoned with “MAYWEATHER” on the fuselage.
“As they say, the gloves are off,” Mayweather’s lawyer, Leo Jacobs, told The Post. “This case is about restoring to our client what is rightfully his.”
Rechnitz had spent years cultivating a relationship with Mayweather, who has earned a reported $1 billion during his career but whose high-flying lifestyle has left him cash-strapped at times.
In 2024, Rechnitz became the “de facto” manager of the boxer’s investment, banking and real estate assets — before betraying the champ’s trust by diverting his fortune to himself and a broker pal, according to legal documents.
Rechnitz previously pleaded guilty in 2016 for his role in the infamous prostitute-packed NYPD corruption scandal that also involved private jets.
He had been a top donor to de Blasio — who called him a “brother” in emails.
Mayweather says in his suit that Rechnitz hid his criminal past from him, which has included a separate $17.7 million judgment against the former powerbroker and his pal Ayel Frist, who also is being sued by Mayweather.
The boxer’s lawsuit demands that Rechnitz pay back the claimed $175 million in losses — detailing exactly how the alleged jaw-dropping clandestine fraud went down.
ASIA
Quote:Beijing's restrictions on the export of several critical minerals to Japan are part of efforts to pressure the U.S. ally to reverse what China describes as a path toward "remilitarization," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday.
In January, China's commerce ministry moved to tighten controls on exports of items with potential military applications to Japan, barring any party anywhere from transferring such "dual-use" goods for Japanese military end users or military purposes. Beijing cited remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi linking Japan's security to that of Beijing-claimed Taiwan.
China tightened the restrictions twice more in February. While Beijing has not published a comprehensive list of affected items, they include rare earth elements and other critical minerals essential to the manufacture of advanced technologies.
"China, in accordance with laws and regulations, prohibits the export of dual-use items for Japanese military users and military uses, with the aim of stopping Japan's remilitarization and nuclear ambitions," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday during a regular news conference.
Speaking to lawmakers in November, Takaichi linked her country's security to that of Taiwan, saying a Chinese blockade of the self-ruled island would constitute a "survival-threatening situation" and could enable Tokyo to deploy its Self-Defense Forces to assist responding U.S. forces.
China considers Taiwan a rogue province that must eventually be brought under its control and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve unification. Beijing responded with a wave of retaliatory measures, while anti-Japanese rhetoric reached a fever pitch, repeatedly accusing Tokyo of returning to the militarism of Imperial Japan in the 1930s and 1940s.
"China's rare earth restrictions underscore that economic statecraft is now a central element of deterrence and coercion, not a peripheral tool," wrote Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Meredith Schwartz, an associate fellow with the program.
"Beijing is demonstrating that it can shape allied behavior and crisis dynamics through supply-chain leverage well before any military move against Taiwan. For the U.S., this means Taiwan deterrence cannot rest on military posture alone; it should also account for how economic pressure could constrain allied decision-making in a crisis."
AFRICA
Last week...
Quote:Arson attacks on Ebola treatment centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo underscore the serious challenges authorities face — including a backlash in local communities — as they try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency.
On Sunday, Congolese authorities said suspected cases have now passed 900 in the east of the country, mainly in Ituri province, where the ongoing outbreak is centred.
The burning last week of the centres in two towns at the heart of the outbreak exposed the anger in a region beset by violence linked to armed rebel groups, the displacement of a large number of people, the failure of local government and international aid cuts that experts say have stripped health facilities in vulnerable communities.
"A devastating set of emergencies are converging," said the Physicians for Human Rights non-profit.
Here's a look at the longstanding crises in eastern Congo that have made it home to one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, and how they are now affecting the response to a rare type of Ebola.
Constant threat of violence
Eastern D.R.C. has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to foreign countries or the extremist Islamic State group.
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are in control of parts of the region. While the Congolese government still largely controls the northeastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak, that control is tenuous. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist group linked to ISIS, is one of the dominant rebel groups there and responsible for violent attacks against civilian targets.
Before the outbreak, Doctors Without Borders said in an assessment that the insecurity in Ituri had worsened recently, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving overwhelmed health facilities and in some parts, "catastrophic conditions."
...
Anger from local communities
The burning of treatment centres in the Rwampara and Mongbwalu areas — which have the highest Ebola case counts — show how a backlash in some communities is further complicating the response.
Colin Thomas-Jensen, director of impact at the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, said the attacks may reflect the "built-in skepticism and anger" of people in eastern D.R.C. over how the region has been treated, with years of violence from foreign-linked rebel groups and a failure of their government and international peacekeepers to protect them, he said.
Another source of anger has been the strict protocols around the burial of suspected victims of Ebola, which authorities are taking charge of wherever they can to prevent further spread of the disease in traditional burials — when families prepare the bodies and people gather for a funeral.
The first burning of an Ebola centre in Rwampara was by a group of local young men trying to retrieve a friend's body, according to witnesses and police. The witnesses said the crowd accused the foreign aid group operating there of lying about Ebola.
Authorities in northeastern Congo have now banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people, and armed soldiers and police are guarding some burials carried out by aid workers.
"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
