News of the World
Yesterday, 06:42 AM
USA
Quote:United States Capitol Police (USCP) on Monday arrested a man who allegedly drove up to the barricade outside the U.S. Capitol Building with a firearm.
In a statement to Newsweek, USCP said the suspect was arrested at the North Barricade, with photos from the scene showing a police cordon and multiple emergency vehicles surrounding a gray Ford Bronco.
"Firearms are prohibited on Capitol Grounds," a spokesperson said. "The North Barricade will be closed while the USCP investigates. Our investigators are working to learn more about the suspect and why he drove to the U.S. Capitol."
North Barricade Arrest: What We Know
The arrest happened Monday morning at the North Barricade, close to Constitution Avenue. The USCP sent out an alert asking staff and other personnel to avoid the area while officers dealt with the incident.
USCP later said that the suspect, Wendell J. Royster, 67, was from Columbia, Mississippi. The department charge him with carrying a pistol without a license and no permit.
Royster allegedly drove up to the security checkpoint and asked for directions to the U.S. Supreme Court with a firearm in his lap.
Footage captured by CNN showed police pointing firearms at the vehicle, with the suspect with his arms raised backing away from the driver's side of the vehicle before being handcuffed.
A dog found inside the car was given water by officers until animal control reached the scene and took the animal.
Quote:The city’s housing crisis has hit “DefCon 1” — with average rents for a one-bedroom in Manhattan hitting an all-time high of nearly $5,500 last month, and Brooklyn following suit, according to new data and critics.
“We need bold action. This is a crisis,’’ New York City Comptroller Mark Levine posted on X over the weekend, along with a link to the latest figures from the inhabit blog by real-estate giant Corcoran Group.
The dismal June stats reveal that renters paid an average of $5,408 for a one-bedroom in Manhattan, with studio prices not far behind at $4,014.
In Brooklyn, the average one-bedroom cost renters $4,297 a month.
As for the overall median rent for an apartment in Manhattan, it hit $5,295 last month, while those in Brooklyn shelled out a median $4,350 a month, or a roughly 8% increase for both boroughs year-over-year, according to the data focused on the two areas of the city.
All of the figures were record highs, continuing a troubling trend.
“NYC’s housing affordability crisis is at DefCon 1,’’ Levine tweeted, referring to the US military’s highest level of alert.
“We need to push harder on every front to address our housing shortage.”
The crisis continues despite the recent approval of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s long-promised and controversial rent freeze on the city’s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments by the Rent Guidelines Board.
Of those now rent-frozen apartments, a staggering 57,000 sat empty in 2025 — a 5.6% vacancy rate, according to data obtained by The City Reporter.
Quote:Two Supreme Court justices appeared before Congress on Tuesday to ask for tens of millions of dollars in additional security funding, as threats against federal judges and their families are rising.
The two—Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan, one a representative of the court’s conservative majority, the other of its liberal wing—made a rare appearance at the U.S. Capitol to testify about the court’s $228 million request for the budget year beginning October 1—an increase of about $20 million from its previous funding.
It is the first time that Supreme Court justices have testified before Congress since 2019.
Barrett in particular was expected to face questions about her recent rulings as she emerges from a divisive term during which the court thwarted President Donald Trump’s attempts to end birthright citizenship and impose sweeping global tariffs, but the hearings remained largely cordial and calm, in comparison to hearings with Cabinet members of late.
Speaking before the House Appropriations Committee, Barrett shared details of the threats made against her family.
"They have required me and my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about," Barrett said. "One example is when threats to my life were particularly intense a few years ago, around the time of the Dobbs leak.
"My security detail sent me home with a bulletproof vest. I carried it into my house, put it into my bedroom, dropped it down on a table, turned around any my 12-year-old son was standing in the doorway of my bedroom and he wanted to know what it was, and why I had it," Barrett continued.
"I didn't know how to respond. Maybe because I lack imagination, but I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was, and why I needed to wear one."
Quote:WASHINGTON — Conspiracy theorists have been hit with a fact-check for sowing doubt about whether a proof-of-life photo of Sen. Mitch McConnell released on Sunday was real.
The Washington Post, in a fact-check written by one of its interns, verified that the photo of McConnell (R-Ky.) was authentic — after social media users speculated it was generated using artificial intelligence.
Using metadata from the original photo that it received from McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office and consulting a digital forensics expert, the outlet concluded that the image was real and had been taken on Sunday.
“An independent digital forensics expert also said there appeared to be no evidence that the image is fake,” the outlet wrote, pointing to an assessment by Hany Farid, a digital forensics professor at the University of California.
Farid concluded that McConnell and his wife, Elaine Chao, don’t have any distortions that would raise suspicions about AI, and that the lighting in the room is “plausible,” according to the outlet.
In the photo, McConnell was holding a copy of the Washington Post’s sports section, which the paper confirmed was indeed from its July 12 edition.
Speculation about McConnell had long swirled since his sudden rush to the hospital on June 14. Dispatcher audio indicated that he likely had some sort of cardiac event, but McConnell appeared to deny that was the case.
“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages,” the Kentucky sage said in a statement released by his office.
Instead, he claimed to have fallen and briefly gone unconscious for reasons that are still unclear to his medical team. Then he was treated for a “mild case of pneumonia” and entered a rehabilitation center.
The Kentucky senator’s medical team also found that his post-polio condition was likely a significant factor in his fall. McConnell contracted polio at the age of 2, and his upper left leg has suffered from paralysis ever since.
Quote:The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that a former Marine had been arrested and charged with threatening the President of the United States after he posted a video statement in which he allegedly said President Donald Trump "must be killed."
William L. Upham, 35, was detained just over a day after the U.S. Marine Corps publicly rebuked the former service member, who is running for Congress, calling his remarks "disturbing." The DOJ said the U.S. Secret Service received reports of potential threats to the president before seeing two videos Upham had shared on social media in which he said that Trump was the enemy.
Newsweek reached out to the White House and Marine Corps via email Tuesday night, and Upham's listed attorney via email on Thursday, for comment.
Upham's Social Media Posts: What To Know
In the lengthy video on X, Upham said, while in uniform, that he decided to run for office to end the system of Washington insiders and to fix the "broken political system."
"I've reached a turning point in my campaign. Why? I've come to the realization that our country is broken. We are led by a president who's the enemy of God, and President Trump will never bring us together like God intended," Upham said.
He went on to list reasons why both Democrats and Republicans are wrong and, in part, added that "violence should never be used for evil purposes such as vengeance or plunder" and "we must defend ourselves against all enemies."
"There is no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, is the anti-Christ. He is a false Messiah, and he is your enemy, and he must be killed," Upham said, adding that he has felt this way since Trump criticized Pope Leo XIV and posted an AI image of himself depicted as a Jesus-like figure.
Quote:They’re gonna be put to the test(es).
US troops 30 or older must check their testosterone levels annually to ensure military readiness and keep them on “the leading edge of lethality,” Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday.
The Pentagon will also offer testosterone replacement therapy, Hegseth said.
“I’m authorizing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency for our service members, ensuring you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best,” Hegseth said in a video posted to X with the caption, “The High-T Department of War.”
The new policy will make testosterone tests a standard part of the military’s existing annual periodic health assessment. While it’s required for troops over 30, younger service members have the option to receive the screening voluntarily.
There will be no other changes to the health assessment, according to Hegseth, who said the Pentagon will just add the testosterone screening to the annual evaluation.
If a troop is found to have low testosterone, Hegseth says there will be a replacement therapy available, but if it’s recommended, “it’s entirely your choice to receive” it.
Hegseth said the goal is not an effort to artificially boost military performance.
“This initiative, it’s not about artificial enhancement,” Hegseth said. “It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”
Quote:A top Missouri prosecutor was booted for having an affair with an illegal migrant her office was probing for sex assault — and because she slept with two other men in glaring conflicts of interest, too, court papers allege.
Disgraced Ray County Prosecutor Camille Johnston was yanked from her position Thursday when a judge signed off on Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s petition laying out a slew of misconduct allegations against her during her three and a half years in office, Hanaway announced.
Johnston — an elected official who took office Jan. 1, 2023 — compromised the integrity of her office for three men she had affairs with, Hanaway alleged.
In the most egregious case, Johnston helped her former live-in boyfriend — a Mexican national who had been in the US illegally since 2019 — go on the lam to evade arrest on sexual-assault allegations that same year, according to court papers filed by Hanaway.
It’s unclear when the pair may have stopped dating, but Johnston not only failed to disqualify herself from the ensuing investigation of her ex-beau — who the court papers refer to as J.G. — but she helped him elude the law by driving to Mississippi, where he was hiding, in 2023 and giving him her car, along with the vehicle’s title, the filing alleges.
Johnston also went on a vacation with J.G. in Florida, the documents claim.
The prosecutor had been dating J.G. at the time he allegedly attacked the other woman, according to local outlet KSHB. Johnston has claimed in court papers that she did not find out about the sexual-assault allegation against J.G. until after they stopped seeing each other.
J.G. was finally busted in Ohio in 2024, and he’s awaiting trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman.
Johnston kept her relationship with J.G. “from the victim, law enforcement, her office personnel and all others, and failed to bring any criminal charges because of her relationship with J.G.,” the court papers claim.
She was eventually forced to be disqualified from his case.
Quote:CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA—President Donald Trump announced nearly $10 billion in investments into the defense industry in Pennsylvania on Wednesday afternoon at Sen. Dave McCormick’s (R-PA) Defense and Innovation Summit.
After arriving at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Trump joined McCormick, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and top defense, banking, and tech executives for a roundtable event, where he made the announcement.
“This afternoon, we’re announcing nearly $10 billion of new investments in our defense industrial base, right here in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and these investments will create more than 4,000 jobs,” he said.
“Pennsylvania workers will build the ships, submarines, trucks, weapons, and industries that will ensure America remains the strongest and most powerful nation in the history of the world. We’re doing better now than we’ve ever done,” the president added.
Among the investments are a $2.5 billion agreement between General Dynamics and Rhoades Industries in support of Navy submarine construction in Philadelphia, and new ship orders for the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), estimated to support more than 2,000 jobs with program costs valued at $1.5 billion.
Day & Zimmermann is receiving a “$2.3 billion contract to provide operations, maintenance, and modernization for the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada, delivered from its Philadelphia operations.”
Dozens of other investments are listed on a press release, available here, from McCormick’s office.
Trump later noted that defense spending in Pennsylvania has jumped about 20-25 percent since he returned to the presidency, and he believes the number will be about $19-$20 billion when including Wednesday’s announcement.
He touted that his administration has overseen $19.2 trillion in investments into the United States since returning to office in January 2025.
Quote:Taylor Farms Fresh Foods, the produce supplier allegedly tied to a US outbreak of explosive-diarrhea-inducing cyclosporiasis, said Friday it is pulling back all of its iceberg lettuce from the suspected source in Mexico.
“Based on information provided yesterday by the FDA, Taylor Farms de Mexico is voluntarily removing all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico,’’ the company said in a statement.
Nearly 7,000 people have been affected by the outbreak across 34 states, which appears to be tied to tainted lettuce that so far has popped up at Taco Bells. There have been 94 hospitalizations and no deaths, the CDC said.
Taylor Farms provides produce, including leafy greens and pre-packaged salad kits, to large fast-food chains such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Burger King and Chipotle
The supplier told Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum Brands, as well as mega food distributor Sysco, to pull their lettuce from distribution, according to Reuters.
The CDC says on its website, “FDA’s traceback investigation has identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by these Taco Bell locations.’’
Taco Bell has since voluntarily removed the potentially contaminated produce from its supply chain “indefinitely.”
“Taco Bell has completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce from our restaurants,” Taco Bell said in a statement.
“Taco Bell has taken precautionary action, and we encourage all relevant restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators to do the same,” the statement continued.
Quote:“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin tried to talk cops out of issuing her Ivy League-educated son a trespassing citation — telling them he “has no criminal record” and repeatedly citing her legal background, according to newly released police bodycam footage.
The TV personality and former federal prosecutor was on the phone with her 24-year-old son, Gabriel Hostin, when he was stopped by police along Metro-North Railroad tracks in Westchester County last month.
“My name is Sunny Hostin and I’m one of the co-hosts of ‘The View’ and I’m a former federal prosecutor,” the 57-year-old mom can be heard saying to the responding officers in the bodycam footage obtained Friday by The Post.
“That’s my son. He’s a Harvard graduate, he doesn’t have a criminal record,” she said to another cop while on the phone.
Gabriel Hostin was detained on the side of the tracks in New Rochelle for “criminal trespassing” shortly before 8 p.m. on June 16 near 24 Station Plaza after he was spotted “on the right-of-way of the active railroad tracks, in violation of the posted no trespassing signs,” according to the footage and court records
The 2025 Harvard University grad told the cops that he was out for a run and saw the gate near the tracks was open.
After being detained on the tracks, the cops and Gabriel Hostin make their way to a nearby street, when the TV personality arrives on scene, doubling down on defending her son.
“I’m a former federal prosecutor. He knows. He’s a Harvard grad who teaches 4th grade geometry to South Bronx kids,” Sunny Hostin argues to one of the four apparent responding officers.
“He’s not a kid who’s ever in trouble. It’s an innocent mistake,” she pleads while acknowledging the violation.
Ultimately, the 24-year-old was slapped with a trespass violation for what can be an arrestable offense —but not without first trying to sweet talk his way out of the slap on the wrist.
“Is this necessary,” Gabriel Hostin asks the cops who, in unison, respond with, “Yes.”
“What happens if you didn’t do it?” the Harvard University grad asks, referring to the summons ticket the cops were writing.
The cops said their “hands were tied” — adding that if they didn’t spot him along the tracks, someone else would have.
“Because it is an arrestable offense. I want to make that clear, okay? Where you were on the tracks is an arrestable offense,” one MTA cop can be heard asserting in the bodycam footage.
INTERNATIONAL
Quote:Sam Neill died from pneumonia, his longtime manager Philip Grenz has revealed, after the Jurassic Park star passed away at the age of 78.
The New Zealand actor had been cancer-free at the time of his death, having previously overcome angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
In comments reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Grenz said he was issuing a statement to address "falsehoods" that had emerged since Neill's death on Monday in a Sydney hospital surrounded by his family.
Grenz told TMZ a private memorial service would be held at the actor's farm in New Zealand, in accordance with Neill's wishes.
Tributes poured in from across the film industry following Neill's death, with colleagues and fans remembering the actor for a career spanning more than five decades, including acclaimed performances in Jurassic Park, The Piano and Peaky Blinders.
Full Statement From Neill’s Manager
Grenz, who has been Neill’s manager for 19 years, according to Television New Zealand, said in a statement: "As Sam Neill’s longtime rep, I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans.
"Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.
"In addition to running his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks, Sam had filmed four projects back-to-back during the past year, all of which will be released within the coming months.
Quote:LONDON — The killing of former British politician Ann Widdecombe is being investigated as a terrorist act, police said Monday.
A 28-year-old man in custody on suspicion of murder was rearrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, Counter Terrorism Policing South East said.
Devon and Cornwall Police originally said the killing was not believed to be a terror-related crime and there was nothing to suggest it was politically motivated.
“We now have new information and evidence that means Counter Terrorism Policing is now leading the investigation,” head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, said. “We are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry to establish the motivation for this attack.”
Widdecombe, 78, a former member of Parliament, was found dead last week in her isolated rural home in a southwest England village. Police did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that she had sustained “serious injuries.”
The death sent shock waves through British politics, where Widdecombe had been a prominent voice for decades, known for her robust personality and socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.
The suspect, who has not been named because he hasn’t been charged, was arrested Saturday in South Yorkshire county in northern England, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, where Widdecombe was found dead Thursday.
Police said they believe Widdecombe was attacked at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Concerns were raised for her after she failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview on Wednesday afternoon.
Quote:A plane passenger allegedly invoked Islam’s strict Sharia law to avoid sitting next to a woman – then assaulted a female flight attendant who tried to smooth it out, according to reports.
The passenger – only identified as a 29-year-old Turkish migrant living in Germany – was arrested when his June 1 flight landed in Dusseldorf, Bild reported Thursday.
“According to initial witness statements, the man invoked Sharia law and refused to sit next to a woman,” a police spokesperson told Bild, referring to Islam’s strict codes.
When a female flight attendant tried to speak to him about it, the irate passenger punched or slapped her in the face, the report said.
Once arrested, the unidentified passenger confessed to the assault, according to cops.
But he only did so after first spitting insults at the federal cops interviewing them — not realizing one of them also spoke Turkish, according to officials.
He was charged with insulting the officers, along with assaulting the attendant
The passenger invoked Islam’s moral code to justify not wanting to sit next to a woman, even though it has no standing in Germany.
The initial report said the flight was Turkish Airlines, but a rep insisted Friday that “the incident in question did not occur on a Turkish Airlines flight and is unrelated to Turkish Airlines.”
Quote:Rob Dieperink, a Dutch soccer referee who was fired from the World Cup after being arrested for sexually assaulting a boy in the UK, was found dead, and an investigation has been launched into his death.
The Dutch Football Association said that it was “shocked and deeply saddened” over the news of Dieperink’s death.
Dieperink, 38, was originally chosen to referee during the World Cup this year, but was removed from the list of officials after he was arrested in the UK for sexually assaulting a teenage boy at a hotel.
The ref was reportedly officiating at a UEFA Conference League game between Crystal Palace and Fiorentina back in April when he was accused of unwanted touching and attempting to convince the teen to accompany him to his hotel room, the Daily Mail reported.
He was later arrested in front of other UEFA officials, the paper added. But despite the arrest, the charges against Dieperink were later dismissed due to lack of evidence.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police in London said that officers completed a “thorough investigation” and added, “Following these inquiries, they concluded that the evidential threshold had not been met. No further action will be taken.”
However, the legal decision was still not enough to prevent FIFA from dropping him as a ref. At the time FIFA made its announcement that he was cut from the list of game officials, Dieperink said he was “very sad to have been wrongly accused” and was “disappointed” to be left out of the World Cup.
"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
