A British court sentenced a young man to more than six years behind bars Friday for pushing a vulnerable Louisiana resident to commit suicide during a live video conversation on the Discord messaging platform, according to prosecutors.
Dylan Phelan, 21, pleaded guilty to encouraging Travis Dyer to end his own life in October 2024 following months of communication through the Discord service, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service announced.
Dyer, a Louisiana resident, died while participating in a live video conversation with Phelan and two other individuals located in the United States, during which participants pressured him to hurt himself, including using a shotgun to take his own life.
“This was a deeply disturbing case involving the sustained exploitation of a vulnerable young man,” prosecutor Alex Johnson said.
“Dylan Phelan did not simply witness these events – he deliberately and persistently encouraged Travis Dyer to take his own life, intending that he would do so. His actions were calculated, cruel, and had devastating consequences.”
According to prosecutors, the encouragement represented ongoing conduct by participants in an internet group who had singled out Dyer while being aware of his mental health struggles. Phelan subsequently informed authorities he had become involved with troubling online communities and acknowledged his responsibility in the death.
At Leeds Crown Court, Phelan received a sentence of six years and four months in prison after also entering guilty pleas to charges involving inappropriate images of minors and possession of extreme pornographic material.
Johnson stated that individuals who promote self-harm through the internet would face consequences and that online anonymity would not protect perpetrators from legal action.
The sentencing occurs as Britain intensifies its response to internet-based dangers, especially those impacting minors and young adults, including increased pressure on tech corporations to better prevent harmful material and abusive conduct on their services.
Discord has not yet provided a response to requests for comment.
NEW YORK, June 12 – Elon Musk’s SpaceX made a strong showing in its first day of public trading Friday, with shares climbing 11% above the company’s initial public offering price on the Nasdaq exchange.
The space exploration and communications company launched its shares at $150 Friday morning, well above Thursday’s IPO pricing of $135 per share, before climbing further to $156. The historic $75 billion public offering established a company valuation of $1.77 trillion, setting a new record for initial public offerings. Friday’s trading activity pushed that market value beyond the $2 trillion mark.
MARKET PERFORMANCE:
SPACEX: Stock began trading at $150 late Friday morning, representing an 11% increase from Thursday’s $135 IPO price, with shares reaching $156.
BROADER MARKETS: U.S. stock indices showed mixed results, with the Nasdaq declining slightly while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%.
EXPERT ANALYSIS:
BEN RITCHIE, HEAD OF DEVELOPED MARKET EQUITIES AT ABERDEEN INVESTMENTS, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND:
“The important thing to note is the relative free float of the IPO is small. The IPO has been constructed to give it the best possible chance not only of achieving a high valuation, but also of trading well initially, a relatively tight float and also a healthy allocation to retail.
“This is a dynamic that’s based on the pillars of confidence, and achieving a high valuation and a successful first day market response is important in driving that confidence. And because we’re at the heavy investing stage of this build-out cycle, and it needs to attract capital. Having those positive share price responses, but also high valuations, are critical ultimately to being able to fund that.”
DON CALCAGNI, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, MERCER ADVISORS, DENVER:
“First day IPOS are generally pretty volatile. … The first day’s performance doesn’t necessarily predict how the stock will perform in the medium-term. Volatility starts to come down as time goes on, but that volatility can easily persist for a full quarter.
“The volatility is always highest fresh out of the gate because you have all that pent up demand and investors just trying to figure it out. That’s why people get excited, they see this huge pop and want a piece of it. If they buy it today, they might not be getting that huge pop themselves, but they are funding the exponential returns of all the early investors.”
SCOTT CHRONERT, U.S. EQUITY STRATEGIST AT CITI, NOVATO, CALIFORNIA:
“The key from here is investor demand and the amount of available capital/portfolio space for new opportunities.
“An important starting point is the lack of IPOs for much of this cycle. This has been a function of staying private longer given large pools of available private capital and low rates. Before that, there has been a general decline in available public companies, a trend established pre-pandemic. Lastly, consider years of de-equitization with buybacks/takeouts outstripping issuance.
“While those storylines set up well for equity demand, they must be balanced with headwinds. As mega IPOs come to market, the de-equitization story will reverse as the cashflow funding narrative continues to weaken. Combined, this puts more pressure on fundamentals to deliver, especially for AI monetization, as it helps future funding, which filter into broader fundamentals.”
SHIVARAM RAJGOPAL, PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING AND CHAIR OF THE ACCOUNTING DIVISION, COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL. NEW YORK:
“2026 will go down as the year of the mega IPO. This might even suggest the peak of the bubble fueled by low interest rates since the financial crisis, private credit boom and the unreal expectations from AI companies.”
SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN OF MASSACHUSETTS, THE RANKING DEMOCRAT ON THE SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE:
“Trump’s SEC greenlit an IPO with numbers analysts have called ‘nonsensical.’ The world will get its first trillionaire while Americans across the country are scraping together every dollar to save for retirement. Rather than changing the rules to rush SpaceX into Americans’ retirement portfolios, index providers should ensure they do their part to protect American families’ investments. And the SEC should do its job and ensure Elon Musk does not rip off investors.”
Pope Leo’s journey back to Rome following a seven-day visit to Spain was postponed Friday after his aircraft encountered mechanical difficulties.
The pontiff’s Iberia flight, which also carried Vatican personnel and media representatives, was getting ready to move toward the runway when the pilot informed passengers of a maintenance concern.
Pope Leo had already taken his seat on the aircraft after Spanish officials, including King Felipe, had bid him farewell. Following the announcement of the technical problem, the king accompanied the pontiff back into the airport terminal.
Global oil markets are witnessing an unprecedented exodus of investors this year as extreme price swings have created chaos that traders say has become impossible to navigate.
Market liquidity – essentially how easily buyers and sellers can find each other – has deteriorated at the fastest rate ever recorded, according to new data. The measure reflects both trading volume and open interest in the market.
Data from LSEG shows that open interest, which tracks how many Brent crude futures contracts investors currently hold, has dropped nearly 17% this year. This marks the steepest decline since records began in 2009.
Market participants point to the constant shifts in political messaging regarding Iran as a major factor driving the instability. The pattern of escalating tensions followed by sudden claims of potential peace deals has created exhaustion among traders.
“People are exhausted by this chaos. They want this to be over. You cannot trade futures without being constantly burned in an environment when the messaging changes every other hour,” said a senior executive from a major trading desk, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic.
Oil prices dropped nearly 3% on Friday to their lowest point in almost two months after U.S. President Donald Trump canceled planned strikes on Iran Thursday, stating that a peace agreement was within reach.
The August Brent futures contract showed the lowest open interest levels since last July when it became the most actively traded contract at the beginning of this month, with 534,227 lots.
When market liquidity thins out, traders must often accept prices much higher or lower than they would prefer due to fewer willing trading partners. This dynamic creates larger price movements that increase both potential profits and losses.
Jeffrey Currie, former commodities chief at Goldman Sachs, argued this week that oil prices haven’t returned meaningfully above $100 per barrel recently not because of abundant supply, but due to what he termed “capital aversion.” Supply has actually been severely restricted by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Policy uncertainty has made oil too volatile to hold,” Currie wrote on X on June 10.
“2026 year-to-date open interest decline is the worst on record. Unlike 2022, there’s no rates shock or sanctions forcing the exit. This is capital aversion,” added Currie, who now serves as a senior adviser to alternative asset manager Carlyle.
BAKU, June 12 – An Azerbaijani court has handed down an eight-year prison sentence to a well-known rights activist following his conviction on charges of hooliganism and fraud, in what his attorney characterizes as a politically driven prosecution.
Rufat Safarov, the activist in question, previously worked as a prosecutor and currently leads the advocacy organization Defense Line. His background includes a three-year imprisonment for bribery charges before receiving a presidential pardon from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in 2019.
Attorney Rovshana Rahimova, representing Safarov, informed Reuters of her disagreement with the court’s decision and confirmed plans to file an appeal.
The oil-rich nation has faced mounting Western condemnation regarding its treatment of human rights following multiple detentions of independent media figures and political opposition members in recent times.
Azerbaijani officials dismiss such criticism and characterize Western diplomatic demands for prisoner releases as unwarranted meddling in their country’s legal proceedings.
Drivers in Newark will need to find alternate routes this week as a busy stretch of North College Avenue undergoes railroad crossing maintenance.
The Delaware Department of Transportation has announced that North College Avenue will be shut down completely between Main Street and Cleveland Avenue starting Tuesday morning at 8:00 am on June 16th. The around-the-clock closure is scheduled to wrap up by 10:00 am on Friday, June 19th.
Officials say detour signs will be put in place to guide motorists around the work zone during the four-day construction period.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — European Union officials will oversee any agreements establishing return centers in countries outside the EU to ensure rejected asylum seekers transferred there maintain their legal protections, the bloc’s migration commissioner announced Friday.
Magnus Brunner stated that international organizations including the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. refugee agency will review any such agreements to guarantee adherence to legal protections.
“Human rights standards and international law is non-negotiable,” Brunner stated during a press briefing at a gathering of EU migration ministers marking the launch of the bloc’s updated migration and asylum framework.
This return center concept represents one element of the new framework that has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, who worry these facilities might become permanent detention sites filled with unsuccessful asylum applicants trapped in prolonged legal uncertainty.
On Friday, Greece confirmed it joins four other EU nations — Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands — in discussions with African nations about establishing these return facilities within their borders.
The Greek Migration Ministry reports that these five European countries plan to finalize agreements with the unidentified third nations this year, allowing the return centers to begin operations in 2027.
Brunner declined to identify which third countries are under consideration for hosting the return facilities, instead referring questions to the five nations conducting the discussions.
“We created the rules, we create the basis, but it’s up to the member state to negotiate agreements if they want to,” the EU commissioner stated. He noted that EU policy changes are showing results, with irregular migrant arrivals dropping 90% along the Western Balkan route during the past three years, plus a 67% decrease from Turkey to Greece’s Aegean islands during the first four months of this year.
Cypriot Deputy Minister for Migration Nicholas Ioannides announced the Mediterranean island country plans to participate in return hub discussions after its six-month EU leadership period concludes July 1.
Ioannides dismissed concerns from human rights organizations regarding the bloc’s updated migration and asylum framework, which critics claim might prevent legitimate asylum seekers from obtaining protection through accelerated evaluations.
He stated these organizations “disagree with the gist of this project, with the whole architecture,” noting that the EU’s focus was implementing updated regulations to avoid being unprepared for another large-scale migrant influx similar to 2015.
Brunner defended the updated framework as offering protection “to actually those in need” through “clearer and more effective rules” that target illegal migration pathways and human traffickers.
Additionally on Friday, Cyprus revealed an agreement with Lithuania regarding the relocation of migrants who received international protection to the Baltic nation.
A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia has decided to maintain a court-imposed prohibition on the Trump administration’s establishment of a $1.8 billion compensation fund intended for individuals claiming to be victims of government weaponization.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche informed Congress earlier this month that the administration was abandoning the fund following intense opposition from both political parties. While government lawyers contend the legal challenges are no longer relevant, attorneys representing the plaintiffs remain unconvinced by Blanche’s promises to halt the fund’s implementation.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema shared their skepticism and determined the fund would stay blocked pending further court action.
“The (government’s) mootness argument, in my view, doesn’t go anywhere,” the judge said.
President Donald Trump has not made any clear public statements supporting the fund’s elimination and continues to voice his backing for it when speaking with reporters.
The judge has given both sides one week to work out terms for Blanche to provide a sworn statement promising the administration will not resurrect the fund.
Brinkema had earlier granted a temporary prohibition preventing the administration from moving ahead with the fund for a minimum of two weeks. That May 29 ruling was set to end on Friday.
The Republican administration established this fund as part of resolving Trump’s legal action against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the disclosure of his tax documents.
Those who filed suit to prevent fund distributions contend the government lacks authority to redirect taxpayer funds into what they characterize as a discretionary fund for rewarding Trump’s supporters.
President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, nominated Brinkema to her judicial position.
NEW YORK (AP) — Driven by his rocket company SpaceX’s stock market launch, Elon Musk may achieve the historic milestone of becoming the planet’s first trillionaire before the day ends.
Such an enormous concentration of wealth in a single individual’s hands was previously unimaginable. Until Friday, the trillion-dollar threshold was typically associated with measurements like the gross domestic product (or overwhelming debt) of select major nations — and over the past ten years, the market value of some of history’s largest publicly traded corporations.
Musk’s unprecedented status comes during a broader surge among the ultra-wealthy. Annually, his former (though now extremely distant) billionaire peers have welcomed an expanding roster of new members — ranging from technology moguls to entertainment figures. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of people globally face difficulties covering basic living expenses. Many have condemned the emergence of the first trillionaire as the most recent and concerning illustration of this economic disparity.
The figure “one trillion” challenges human comprehension by itself. One trillion dollars represents a thousand-fold increase over $1 billion. And exceeds $1 million by a factor of one million.
Nevertheless, here are several approaches to consider how extensively that sum of money might stretch.
Contemplating what $1 trillion represents appears nearly as vast as the space exploration — and currently still largely unrealized — ambitions SpaceX has established for itself.
Regarding physical currency, one trillion U.S. dollar bills placed consecutively would extend approximately 97 million miles (or nearly 156 million kilometers). This distance would cover more than 200 complete round trips to the moon — which NASA reports maintains an average distance of 238,855 miles (almost 384,400 kilometers) from Earth. It would additionally exceed the roughly 93 million miles (approximately 150 million kilometers) separating Earth and the sun.
Currently, nearly 8.2 billion people inhabit Earth, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau data. If $1 trillion were distributed equally among the global population, every individual would receive approximately $122.
One trillion dollars exceeds twice the yearly GDP of South Africa, Musk’s birth nation. Based on 2026 International Monetary Fund figures, that country’s production of goods and services totals nearly $480 billion.
Roughly 21 nations worldwide currently maintain a GDP above the trillion-dollar threshold. The U.S. and China dominate with more than $32.38 trillion and $20.85 trillion respectively, though that significantly outpaces most other economies.
U.S. home sales show a median price of approximately $403,200, according to recent Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis data. With $1 trillion, one could purchase nearly 2.5 million residences at that price point.
Based on current U.S. gasoline costs — which averaged nearly $4.11 per gallon Friday according to AAA — $1 trillion could purchase over 243 billion gallons of regular fuel.
For perspective, this amount greatly exceeds the nearly 137 billion gallons Americans consumed in finished motor gasoline throughout last year. Pump prices were significantly lower in 2025. Rising oil costs, stemming from the U.S. and Israel’s continuing conflict with Iran, pushed the national average beyond $4 per gallon for the first time in four years.
Forbes reports that Google co-founder Larry Page currently ranks as the world’s second wealthiest individual — holding a net worth of nearly $293 billion as of Friday morning. That places him $707 billion below the trillion-dollar milestone.
Actually, the total combined wealth of the four individuals ranking behind Musk on Forbes’ wealth rankings — including Page, plus fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin ($270 billion), Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($251 billion) and Oracle’s Larry Ellison ($230 billion) — totaled slightly over $1.04 trillion as of Friday.
These wealth levels can fluctuate by tens of billions daily, sometimes within hours. Musk’s personal net worth has experienced dramatic growth recently. Just last year, his wealth stood at $342 billion according to Forbes — rising from $195 billion in 2024.
Iran’s control over the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway appears to be weakening as Gulf Arab nations find ways to transport oil to international markets despite ongoing conflicts.
The strategic passage at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, which formerly handled one-fifth of global oil and natural gas shipments, has been largely blocked by Iranian assaults on commercial vessels since February when hostilities began. Despite significant losses to its naval fleet, Iran’s mere threat of attack has made shipping companies and insurance providers reluctant to send vessels through the waterway. This energy shortage has contributed to worldwide inflation, including price increases in the United States.
However, the dynamics appear to be changing. Experts indicate that increasing amounts of crude from Gulf Arab nations are reaching global markets with assistance from American military forces. President Donald Trump claims a “secret mission” providing protection for vessels has enabled more than 100 million barrels of oil to be exported. Simultaneously, U.S. forces enforcing a blockade have repeatedly fired upon or intercepted vessels linked to Iran’s sanctioned petroleum trade, hampering the nation’s ability to obtain essential foreign currency.
Oil movement through the strait remains below the previous level of 15 million barrels daily. This won’t fully satisfy global energy demands, particularly as countries deplete their strategic reserves that have helped offset worldwide supply disruptions.
Nevertheless, if this flow can be maintained or increased, it could alter the crisis dynamics. Iran’s capacity to damage the global economy through its control of the strait has been its primary leverage, providing confidence it can outlast the United States despite war damage and the American blockade severely impacting its economy.
Iran is increasingly experiencing pressure. “We are currently under sanctions, and our routes have been blocked. We face a difficult test,” President Masoud Pezeshkian stated during a live television broadcast Wednesday. “Governing the country is not an easy task under the current circumstances, given the shortages we face, the unrest we have experienced and the problems that remain.”
Still, the conflict’s trajectory remains highly unpredictable. This week featured days of intense combat between Iran, Israel and the United States. Trump threatened Thursday to capture Kharg Island’s oil export facility and intensify bombing of the Islamic Republic, then abruptly retreated and again claimed progress in negotiations to end the war.
Reopening the strait and restoring oil flow has been a primary objective for Trump, though he has appeared to struggle at times finding effective approaches. After initially advising allied countries that the strait wasn’t America’s responsibility and to “go get your own oil,” Trump shifted to threatening everything up to destroying “a whole civilization” to restore tanker passage through the waterway.
Recent weeks appear to have seen increased confidence in U.S. military backing and growing supply needs convince shipping companies to risk transit through the strait using covert methods.
Most likely, vessels have passed through by going “dark,” disabling their tracking systems. TankerTrackers.com, a maritime oil trade monitoring website, reported observing ship-to-ship transfers by Gulf Arab states last weekend, attempting to conceal their crude’s origin and pass through the strait undetected by Iran. This likely occurs with American military support.
Kpler, a commodities market monitoring firm, has tracked approximately 96 million barrels of non-Iranian crude exports leaving the region since early May, either through the strait or via Gulf of Oman export alternatives, according to Kpler analyst Amena Bakr.
Including shipments still loading, she indicated it would likely surpass 100 million barrels, “broadly consistent with Trump’s claim.”
Trump provided the 100 million barrel figure in Wednesday online posts, stating more than 200 vessels had traveled through the strait thanks to “a secret mission” supporting tankers and other ships.
“This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran,” Trump wrote.
U.S. forces are conducting a “limited overwatch operation using autonomous vehicles, aircraft and drone escorts to help ships through the southern part of the strait near the coast of Oman,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief at Lloyd’s List Intelligence maritime data company.
The U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter that crashed this week off Oman after allegedly being struck by an Iranian drone “was probably part of that operation,” he said during an online webinar Thursday.
Iran has declared the strait closed following this week’s exchanges involving two days of American airstrikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan — countries hosting American troops. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted Wednesday the strait wasn’t an international waterway, despite global recognition as such.
While the U.S. assists Gulf Arab states’ tankers in exiting, it continues blocking Iranian vessels from entering or leaving the strait. This has included firing on ships to stop them, such as Wednesday’s attack that killed three Indian sailors.
Unable to export its oil, Iran is reaching maximum onshore storage capacity and using dozens of tankers near Kharg Island for crude storage. Iran also apparently has been forced to reduce or halt oil production at some wells, which experts warn can be dangerous since older wells like Iran’s may not restart after stopping.
Energy firm Wood Mackenzie estimates Iran’s output has declined by 800,000 barrels daily since the American blockade began. Meanwhile, onshore storage is estimated at 69 million barrels, the highest level since Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign in 2020.
“The mounting economic cost of falling output, restricted exports and tightening storage capacity is increasing pressure on Tehran to seek a diplomatic solution,” Wood Mackenzie’s Alexandre Araman said. “For Iran, even a temporary diplomatic breakthrough could provide immediate relief.”
Oil prices have remained below $100 per barrel, partly due to Trump’s deal promises and other countries using reserves while reducing oil consumption. China, historically a major Iranian sanctioned oil buyer, saw seaborne crude imports drop to 6.8 million barrels daily in May, the lowest since October 2016, according to Kpler.
This has provided Trump and the global economy additional time, but a resolution would likely need to be reached soon to prevent the energy crisis from becoming severe in coming months.
A crucial surveillance program that intelligence officials say provides the majority of information in the president’s daily briefings is scheduled to expire this Friday after lawmakers failed to extend its authorization.
According to government officials, over 60 percent of the intelligence included in the president’s daily briefing comes from data gathered through the surveillance authority called FISA Section 702. However, legislative efforts to reauthorize the program have hit roadblocks in Congress.
The House departed Washington, D.C. for a planned recess this week without successfully passing renewal legislation for the intelligence-gathering tool, leaving the program’s future uncertain as the Friday deadline approaches.
BRUSSELS, June 12 – Technical problems struck the European Union’s primary asylum database on Friday, marking a rocky start to the implementation of the bloc’s new migration and asylum framework, according to Dutch immigration officials.
The Eurodac system, which houses biometric information and serves as a cornerstone of the updated migration rules, experienced failures while undergoing a system upgrade. Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) officials revealed the database wasn’t operating at full capacity even before the breakdown occurred, with multiple EU nations experiencing disruptions.
At the EU’s regular press conference, spokesperson Marcus Lammert minimized concerns about the technical problems.
“Any first day of a new system will have technical glitches. This is normal,” he stated, further noting, “the information that I’m getting is that member states are gradually linking in and that it’s going rather well.”
Reports indicate numerous member nations remain ill-equipped to carry out the migration pact’s mandates. Various countries are missing necessary infrastructure for implementing new screening protocols, while others like the Netherlands face technical challenges with the updated Eurodac system.
The EU’s migration agreement establishes new screening protocols requiring migrants who enter through unofficial routes to complete a compulsory process lasting as long as seven days, enabling officials to enter their information into the modernized Eurodac database.
The system gathers biometric and personal information, encompassing fingerprints, photographs of faces, and duplicates of identification documents. Certain minors are incorporated as well.
Authorities will subsequently evaluate vulnerabilities, citizenship status, and asylum goals before directing people into suitable processes, including expedited border procedures for candidates considered unlikely to receive protection, including individuals from nations deemed secure.
WASHINGTON, June 12 – A federal judge has put an indefinite halt to President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund on Friday, ordering the administration to submit a sworn declaration within seven days stating the fund will not move ahead.
The court granted a preliminary injunction that prevents the fund from proceeding.
Thousands of users experienced difficulties accessing Facebook and Instagram on Friday, as the parent company Meta acknowledged widespread service disruptions across its platforms.
Company spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed the problems in a statement posted on X, saying “We’re aware people are currently having trouble accessing our services. We’re working on it.”
Data from Downdetector.com showed more than 62,000 user reports of Facebook problems and over 8,000 Instagram-related complaints as of 10:11 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday. The website monitors service interruptions by collecting status updates from multiple sources.
The tracking site notes that because their data comes from user submissions, the total number of people affected could differ from the reported figures.
Meta has not yet provided details about what caused the service interruption when contacted for additional information.
The Kennedy Center must comply with a Friday deadline to eliminate President Trump’s name from its entire branding operation, including the marble facade of its Washington, D.C. facility, following a judge’s order.
The cultural institution is challenging the court’s decision that requires the removal of Trump’s name from all organizational materials and building signage.
A 25-year-old Pennsylvania resident is facing strangulation charges after Newark Police investigated an assault report from early February.
Law enforcement officials launched their investigation on February 3, 2025, following a victim’s report that Christian Womack had attacked her at a commercial establishment on the 600 block of South College Avenue.
According to police reports, the incident occurred during a dispute when Womack allegedly seized the victim by the throat.
The suspect now faces strangulation charges along with additional related offenses stemming from the February incident.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — What started with straightforward words — “I am from Bosnia; take me to America” — has evolved into something much bigger. The Bosnian musical group Dubioza Kolektiv has reworked their well-known track “USA,” turning a tune about American Dream disappointment into a viral soccer chant supporting Bosnia-Herzegovina’s World Cup aspirations.
Before Friday’s game between Bosnia and Canada, band members spoke with The Associated Press in the Sarajevo district where they shot their latest music video for the accordion-driven hit, now called “I Am From Bosnia, Take Me to America.” The video celebrating soccer’s blue-collar heritage has reached almost 2 million YouTube views in under three weeks — adding to the 26 million views their original “USA” from 2011 has collected over time.
“It’s an interesting story how this song got its second and third and fourth incarnation in these 15 years,” reflects Vedran Mujagić, the band’s bass player, whose group has integrated political and social issues into their artistic mission. “It evolved from this satirical take on immigration and (the) American Dream and it was translated into (an) American football dream for the entire nation.”
Bosnia-Herzegovina is participating in just its second World Cup, an achievement that seemed unlikely given the stronger soccer nations blocking their path to qualification. However, at April’s end, Bosnia’s last-minute score against Wales led them to a successful penalty shootout victory, which they repeated days afterward against Italy. Band members were taken aback when supporters displayed a banner featuring their song words, chanting them as a team anthem.
“First, it was working as a joke, but what I like the most is the supporters kind of loaded completely new meaning to the old song, and this is the best thing for the band or for the song: when people take over and load new meaning and then it becomes theirs,” explains keyboardist Brano Jakubović. “It’s not ours anymore.”
The original “USA” maintains the same energetic, memorable quality — it’s difficult not to find yourself humming, “I can no longer wait, take me to United States / Take me to Golden Gate, I will assimilate” — but the main character’s enthusiasm to leave quickly transforms into disappointment with life beyond the Balkans.
The group chose to create a refreshed version of what Jakubović calls a “typical immigrant song,” crafting new words suitable for a soccer celebration. While “USA” uses English, this edition is primarily in Bosnian — “so people will understand,” he explains — and focuses mainly on the sport. The language change hasn’t diminished its worldwide popularity, as YouTube comments demonstrate, though Jakubović admits some references would be puzzling to non-Bosnians. (See: burek without cheese.)
Jakubović’s preferred new verse allows him to address something that has troubled the country since the 2014 World Cup: “And that goal against Nigeria, that was never offside.”
“So this is like a big national trauma in Bosnia, so I used the song and lyrics to kind of release this trauma,” he explains.
While he’s being playful here, trauma has been constant since Bosnia’s independence during Yugoslavia’s breakup in 1992. Ethnic conflict erupted almost immediately, resulting in genocide. More than three decades following the Srebrenica massacre, significant tensions between Bosnian Serbs and Bosniak Muslims continue.
“Football in this moment is much more than just a game, it’s a hope and it’s very basically (a) political thing because it brought all the people from Bosnia together, which is usually not the case,” Jakubović states.
Bosnia’s opening game is in Canada, but the squad will actually travel to America. Their training facility is located in Sandy, Utah, and their remaining group matches — versus Switzerland and Qatar — take place in the United States. Additionally, as Mujagić notes, many players were born in America or other diaspora locations.
“They are children of those people who went outside in search of a better life or as refugees or whatever their story was. And they kind of see and hear these lyrics and this song entirely differently from us,” he says.
Mujagić believes the core message of “USA” remains relevant as Bosnians continue emigrating. After departing, he observes, “they encounter this hostility of the locals, right-wingers, and they just don’t want them there.”
“So it’s this schizophrenic situation in which you want to go there, but you somehow know that you won’t have it good on the other side as well,” he concludes. “So in that sense, this song still works perfectly well as it worked before.”
In St. Louis, which hosts a flourishing Bosnian community, Admir Hodzic co-founded the supporter group BH Loyals. The 40-year-old entrepreneur was born in Bosnia and has traveled between his native country and America, similar to the character in “USA.”
“I think every Bosnian that lives here and understands how the system works and everything else, I think they will find the truth in that song, and that song is honestly nothing but the truth,” he states. While more opportunities exist in America than elsewhere, he says, “it’s a matter of biting your teeth and pulling through the worst times possible.”
He and fellow supporters strongly admire Dubioza Kolektiv and perform their anthem during games and viewing events. Most frequently, however, they sing the original “USA.”
“It’s engraved in their brain and their hearts,” he says, “and no matter what, they just go back to the old lyrics, you know?”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared Friday he will battle to remain in power following the abrupt departure of his defense chief, which has further damaged his already fragile political standing.
The Labour Party leader has witnessed multiple junior and senior officials exit their posts in recent weeks amid growing rebellion from party members and plotting by political opponents, all frustrated by the administration’s persistent low approval ratings.
However, Defense Secretary John Healey’s unexpected resignation Thursday represents a particularly damaging setback. Healey stepped down while cautioning that the administration isn’t allocating sufficient funds to military forces to protect Britain’s security “at this time of rising threats.”
The resignation strikes Starmer where he has typically received praise: international affairs and foreign policy leadership.
Following his landslide electoral win in July 2024, Starmer has strengthened assistance for Ukraine, collaborating with French President Emmanuel Macron on an international “coalition of the willing” designed to help secure Ukraine’s safety should a ceasefire emerge.
The United Kingdom and France have also created a maritime security operation aimed at maintaining shipping access through the Strait of Hormuz when the Iran conflict concludes.
Additionally, Starmer has advocated forcefully that European countries must increase their defense funding in light of President Donald Trump’s criticism of America’s NATO partners.
“Starmer has been consistently staunch about warning of the security risk from Russia,” said Olivia O’Sullivan, head of the U.K. in the World program at the Chatham House think tank. “He’s been given quite a bit of credit by the public for having to deal with Trump and doing so with a level of steadiness and calm. And he has been, in line with previous U.K. governments, a close and consistent ally of Ukraine.”
The central dispute involves the administration’s anticipated Defense Investment Plan, which outlines Britain’s strategy to boost military expenditures to 3.5% of GDP by 2035. The British armed forces are working to overcome years of deterioration while facing an increasingly aggressive Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and continues challenging European defenses through both open and hidden operations.
Healey demands defense expenditures reach 3% of GDP by 2030. He resigned in frustration when Treasury chief Rachel Reeves declined to modify a proposal that doesn’t meet that target.
He referenced a British intelligence evaluation indicating Russia might assault a NATO member nation by 2030 and stated that insufficient spending plans “could make the country less safe.”
Opposition voices contend that military expenditures can become endless drains on resources, noting that acquisition programs frequently exceed deadlines and budgets.
Former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who also resigned Thursday hours following Healey’s departure, emphasized the issue extends beyond increased spending to smarter allocation. He described the investment proposal as insufficiently “transformative.”
“I want to see a higher percentage for uncrewed systems, AI, data — data is the new gunpowder — and we’ve got to move that forward if we are going to win the next war,” he told the BBC.
Healey joins other government officials who have departed. Last month, Starmer lost multiple junior ministers and Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who resigned to position himself for a potential party leadership campaign.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is anticipated to mount a leadership challenge against Starmer should he win election to Parliament in Thursday’s special election.
Yet Healey’s exit, given his reputation as a devoted minister without personal leadership aspirations, “suggests that Starmer’s credibility, even with his inner circle of ministers, is perhaps draining away,” O’Sullivan said.
Starmer maintained Friday he won’t step aside, describing his role as making “hard-edged decisions.”
He told the BBC that defense is “my number one priority. And I have taken the difficult decisions to make sure that we are safe as a country.”
“I’m not going to go away. I don’t think we should plunge the country into the chaos of a leadership election,” he said. “I don’t think it should happen, but if it does, then I will fight.”
TRENTON, N.J. — A Clifton City councilwoman has secured the Republican nomination to challenge the Democratic incumbent in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District race.
Rosie Pino emerged victorious over attorney Tiffany Burress in the GOP primary for the northern New Jersey seat, according to The Associated Press, which declared her the winner on Friday. She will now face Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou, who is running for her second term in Congress.
Political observers are keeping a close eye on this congressional district, especially Republicans who believe they have a viable chance following the unexpectedly tight 2024 election results and Donald Trump’s success in areas where the GOP hadn’t claimed victory in many years.
Authorities in Toledo, Ohio have taken a suspect into custody in connection with a weekend shooting that left 12 people injured at a busy community festival.
Twenty-year-old Eljay Crisp-Carr was arrested Thursday and now faces 11 felony assault charges. Court records show no legal representation listed for him, and attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful Friday morning.
The shooting occurred Saturday at the Old West End Festival in Toledo, where a park filled with vendor booths, live music and food trucks was hosting the annual celebration in a neighborhood known for its Victorian architecture. According to police, a confrontation between opposing groups led to gunfire between two individuals, though neither of the shooters was hit by bullets.
Court documents from Toledo Municipal Court detail a detective’s account of surveillance footage that captured Crisp-Carr taking part in the altercation. The detective stated that after someone else began firing shots, Crisp-Carr stepped away from the group before turning back to shoot randomly into the gathered crowd.
The investigating detective explained that witness accounts, social media posts and police photographs helped confirm Crisp-Carr’s identity. Law enforcement has also issued a warrant for the second shooter, Ka Nye Taylor, who remains at large.
The historic Toledo neighborhood, located on Lake Erie’s western shore approximately 55 miles southwest of Detroit, was hosting hundreds of visitors for the yearly celebration. Festival organizers called off the second day of activities following the violence.
The gunfire caused panicked festival-goers to run for safety while others stayed to assist the wounded alongside emergency responders and law enforcement. Those injured included people ranging from teenagers to someone in their 60s.
During a Tuesday press briefing, the police chief and other municipal leaders commended both officers and civilians who quickly aided victims.
“We saw strangers who were shocked and frightened by the violence they just saw, they jumped into action,” said Chief of Fire and Rescue Allison Armstrong. “They helped others by placing tourniquets, dressing wounds, applying pressure and comforting those victims until additional help could arrive.”
BRUSSELS (AP) — The alliance’s supreme allied commander is developing backup defense strategies for Europe following Pentagon announcements that America will reduce the number of aircraft and naval vessels available during security emergencies.
The NATO Force Model serves as the primary blueprint for deploying forces from all 32 member countries during peacetime, crisis situations, or warfare. This framework outlines which military resources commanders can access during the initial six-month period of any potential conflict.
However, the Pentagon informed its alliance partners last month that it would reduce its European commitments to concentrate on other potential threats, particularly from China in the Indo-Pacific area.
Nations across Europe and Canada had been waiting for more than a year for the Trump administration to outline its strategy after warning that Europe would no longer be America’s primary security focus. While allies expected reductions, the scope, timeline, and nature of the cuts remained unclear.
U.S. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander, stated that “the United States is still committed to providing limited but critical capabilities to the alliance.”
“We need to focus on things that we can acquire quickly, that we can field quickly, and that we can scale rapidly and sustain over time, and that goes for long-range fires” as well as drones, Grynkewich said at the ILA Berlin Air Show on Thursday.
“Those sorts of things can help us mitigate the near-term risk should we find ourselves needing to deter and defend,” he added.
Following a June 2-3 meeting where allies evaluated shortfalls created by America’s decision, Grynkewich stated that European partners and Canada must address these gaps by providing both piloted and unmanned aircraft, plus naval ships. He emphasized this should occur “now and in the near term.”
While specific details about the reductions remain classified, German and American media outlets report that an aircraft carrier along with its accompanying warships and aircraft, plus a submarine, would be removed from European operations. Midair refueling aircraft and numerous fighter jets would also become unavailable.
Europe faces shortages in all these military assets, making rapid replacement challenging. Nevertheless, Washington seeks to understand how allies plan to compensate for these resources before President Donald Trump meets with NATO leaders at a summit in Turkey scheduled for July 7-8.
NATO military headquarters announced Friday that it will reduce its peacekeeping force in Kosovo by removing certain troops and equipment. KFOR initially deployed in 1999 to maintain peace between Kosovo and Serbia.
Originally consisting of 50,000 personnel, KFOR has undergone regular downsizing as regional tensions decreased, though 1,000 additional troops were sent in 2023 following renewed violence.
“The current conditions provide an opportunity to optimize KFOR’s size and posture further,” Grynkewich said. His staff refused to specify which forces might depart or whether Americans would be among those leaving.
“It’s not about numbers, it’s about optimization, and about ensuring the safety and security of all people living in Kosovo, and more broadly the region,” his spokesman said.
America currently maintains 590 troops with KFOR, ranking second among 31 contributing countries behind Italy’s 907 personnel. American Black Hawk helicopters operate from the extensive U.S. facility there, Camp Bondsteel.
Speaking in Berlin, Grynkewich noted that intelligence assessments and Russian military activity indicate “Russia is not looking for a conflict with NATO.” Russia remains heavily engaged in the Ukraine conflict while facing recruitment challenges.
European governments and intelligence agencies have cautioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be positioned to attack other parts of the continent within three to five years, particularly if he achieves victory in Ukraine.
The Brazilian electric aircraft company Eve announced Friday it will maintain careful financial management while working toward certification of its vertical takeoff aircraft by 2028.
Speaking to reporters, CEO Johann Bordais said the company maintains sufficient funding to sustain operations through 2028, reporting cash reserves of $441 million during the first quarter.
According to Bordais, the company anticipates its 2026 cash usage will fall on the lower end of its projected $225 million to $275 million range.
The certification timeline for Eve’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft has been delayed to 2028, moving back from the previous 2027 target date. This represents the second postponement, as the company originally aimed for certification in 2026.
The head of Brazil’s aviation regulator ANAC recently told Reuters the updated timeline appears achievable, noting that Eve’s testing phase has shown positive results.
The United States announced a fresh $4 billion military financing loan for Poland on Friday, as the Eastern European nation celebrated the first flight of its newly acquired F-35 fighter aircraft.
U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Thomas DiNanno revealed the loan details to PAP news agency during Friday’s ceremonial flight. The financing comes through the Foreign Military Financing programme and increases Poland’s total available military funding to $20 billion.
The milestone flight marked Poland’s entry as the first nation on NATO’s eastern border to operate the advanced F-35 aircraft, as tensions with Russia continue to influence regional security concerns.
Poland committed to purchasing 32 of the advanced fifth-generation fighters in a $4.6 billion agreement signed in 2020. Three aircraft arrived last month, with the remaining deliveries expected to conclude by 2029.
According to Polish defense officials, the F-35 fleet will significantly enhance the nation’s military strength. The aircraft feature advanced stealth capabilities and sophisticated sensor systems that gather intelligence for pilots and coordinate with other military units.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, and DiNanno representing the U.S. government attended Friday’s ceremony.
“In the armed forces development programme, we have included two additional squadrons of 5th-generation F-35 aircraft to strengthen the military,” Kosiniak-Kamysz stated during the event.
New York City Comptroller Mark Levine announced Friday that he’s opening up the bidding process for managing city pension funds, giving BlackRock another opportunity to retain its role despite previous recommendations to cut ties with the asset management giant over climate policy concerns.
Former Comptroller Brad Lander had urged the city’s major pension funds in November to sever their relationship with BlackRock and seek new bids for public equity index management services. This recommendation came as one of Lander’s final official actions before leaving office.
Lander’s decision stemmed from his belief that BlackRock had stepped back from its climate commitments, reducing pressure on companies in its investment portfolio as appointees of U.S. President Donald Trump assumed greater control over financial industry oversight.
However, Levine has shown no urgency in implementing his predecessor’s recommendations regarding the pension fund investments, which total approximately $127 billion in public equity holdings. Of this amount, $80 billion consists of passive index products. BlackRock currently oversees $62 billion of the city’s total public equity investments, while BlackRock and State Street serve as major fund managers.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who also holds sway over city pension funds and previously campaigned as a Lander supporter, has remained silent on the BlackRock situation. His office has not provided responses to inquiries about his position on the matter.
The last competitive bidding for public equity index services occurred in 2017, with pension boards extending the contracts multiple times since then. This new bidding process represents a potentially significant turning point for these assets.
When questioned about whether Levine wanted BlackRock to continue pursuing the work, a spokesperson stated: “All managers are welcome to bid on this.”
Levine emphasized in his statement: “We cannot keep these relationships on autopilot. I look forward to working with my fellow trustees to ensure we select the managers that meet our highest standards of performance.”
Neither BlackRock representatives nor State Street provided immediate responses to requests for comment.
Several Republican officials, particularly those from states with significant fossil fuel production, have pulled investments from BlackRock and similar money management firms, claiming these companies make investment choices based on social or environmental factors.
Any companies that win New York City’s pension management contracts will still need to comply with the funds’ current climate-related requirements.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced Friday that his country will boost military salaries and expand efforts to recruit international fighters as the nation’s armed forces struggle with personnel shortages following four years of conflict with Russia.
The announcement comes after Zelenskiy’s administration indicated in May it would examine potential strategies to strengthen military staffing levels following stalled negotiations regarding ending hostilities with Russia.
“We agreed on how to increase the financial resilience of our defence and further transformation of the Ukrainian army,” Zelenskiy stated during his nightly address following discussions with senior cabinet officials.
“The cabinet of ministers will approve a specific mechanism, and the government should start the first new payments as early as June,” he continued.
The salary increases are supported by a €90 billion European Union loan that enables Ukraine’s government to boost defense expenditures to an unprecedented 4.4 trillion hryvnias ($97 billion) for this year. These funds are expected to begin arriving this month.
Zelenskiy revealed Friday that officials will increase base military compensation by one-third, bringing it to 30,000 hryvnias ($700). Military analysts and economists note this adjustment aims to align with the nation’s average monthly earnings, which have consistently increased during wartime due to workforce shortages.
Frontline infantry personnel will see their average monthly compensation rise to 300,000 hryvnias (approximately $7,000), a significant jump from the current range of 100,000 to 150,000 hryvnias. These soldiers will also have access to new fixed-term service agreements lasting 10, 14, or 24 months for combat assignments.
Beyond salary improvements, Kyiv plans to expand international recruitment efforts.
“I have instructed to create significantly more opportunities to recruit foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian army, and there will be more recruitment channels in this regard,” Zelenskiy explained.
Ukrainian military publications estimate that approximately 10,000 international volunteers from over 70 nations have enlisted in Ukraine’s military since the conflict started.
A federal appeals court has rejected Sam Bankman-Fried’s attempt to reverse his conviction on fraud charges and his 25-year prison term related to the downfall of his cryptocurrency platform FTX.
The ruling came Friday from a panel of three judges at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.
“The government’s evidence against him was, conservatively stated, robust,” the judges stated in their 42-page decision.
Legal representatives for Bankman-Fried have not yet provided a response to requests for comment.
Once a prominent figure in the digital currency world and worth billions before FTX’s dramatic failure in 2022, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven felony counts by a Manhattan federal jury in 2023.
Federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office alleged he misappropriated $8 billion from FTX clients in what they described as a “fraud of epic proportions.”
Bankman-Fried had entered not guilty pleas to two fraud charges and five conspiracy charges against him. During his trial, he acknowledged errors in managing FTX but denied stealing any money.
His defense team challenged the conviction by claiming U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the case, wrongly blocked Bankman-Fried from presenting evidence supporting his view that FTX possessed sufficient funds to handle customer withdrawals.
Government attorneys argued that trial evidence, including statements from three former associates of Bankman-Fried, clearly demonstrated his culpability.
These former colleagues, who entered guilty pleas and cooperated with authorities, stated under oath that he instructed them to take FTX customer money to cover shortfalls at Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency hedge fund.
During his sentencing in March 2024, Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried understood his conduct was improper but “made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught.”
Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated at a minimum-security federal facility near Santa Barbara, California. His scheduled release date is 2044.
Before his downfall, Bankman-Fried had emerged as a prominent figure in the volatile cryptocurrency sector and enhanced his public image through substantial charitable and political contributions.
Delaware State University’s recently named women’s basketball head coach, Khadijah Rushdan, has brought four new members to her coaching team as she launches her tenure with the program.
The coaching staff appointments represent the start of a new chapter for DSU women’s basketball under Rushdan’s leadership.
A Spanish High Court judge has launched an additional investigation into former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero following the discovery of jewelry during a search of his office, court officials announced Friday.
The former leader, who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2011, continues to hold significant influence within the main ruling Socialist Party. The corruption allegations, which he has rejected, have intensified pressure on the current government amid a string of corruption scandals.
Judge Jose Luis Calama stated that the jewelry pieces confiscated during the May 19 search, with a preliminary estimated value of approximately €1.3 million ($1.5 million), currently have no documented evidence of their source.
The judge explained that owning valuable assets without proper fiscal documentation could suggest potential tax evasion or smuggling violations, noting the lack of customs paperwork or proof that import taxes were satisfied.
The former prime minister’s legal representative did not respond immediately to requests for comment. However, his spokesperson, Luis Arroyo, posted on X earlier Friday that the former leader would discuss the jewelry issue with the judge.
The former prime minister is scheduled to provide testimony on June 17 and June 18 regarding the corruption case, which focuses on an alleged influence-peddling and money-laundering operation that he supposedly headed.
Authorities suspect the operation benefited from lobbying government officials for outside parties, particularly Spanish airline Plus Ultra, which obtained government financial assistance in 2021.
Maryland has allocated $5 million through the Community Parks and Playgrounds grant program to fund 26 recreation projects across 15 counties for the upcoming fiscal year 2027.
The state’s Department of Natural Resources oversees this competitive funding initiative, which assists municipal governments in upgrading existing recreational facilities, establishing new parks, or acquiring playground equipment.
“Community Parks and Playgrounds grants are investments in outdoor recreation that provide children with opportunities for unstructured play and access to safe natural areas across the state,” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. “For more than two decades, DNR has been working with local communities to make their visions for outdoor spaces into reality through this program.”
Each approved project will go before the Board of Public Works for final authorization before moving forward.
Among the funded projects, several Eastern Shore communities will receive significant investments. The Town of Delmar in Wicomico County secured two grants totaling over $371,000 for Gordy Park upgrades and sports complex lighting improvements. Caroline County’s Town of Denton received $300,000 for playground expansion at Sharp Road Park, while Preston will get nearly $142,000 for new playground equipment at James T. Wright Park.
Other notable Eastern Shore projects include Cambridge’s $305,000 allocation for developing Leonards Lane Pocket Park with basketball courts and walking paths, and East New Market’s $70,500 grant for Friendship Hall Park enhancements.
The funding supports diverse recreational improvements statewide, from splash pads and skate parks to sports field renovations and inclusive playground installations. Projects range from $23,970 for court lighting in Frostburg to $310,000 for a new restroom and concession facility in Poolesville.
Since launching in fiscal year 2002, this grant program has distributed more than $97 million across over 900 park and playground initiatives throughout Maryland.
The Department of Natural Resources is currently reviewing applications for fiscal year 2028 funding. Officials will conduct virtual information sessions via Google Meet at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23 and 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 23 to discuss grant requirements and answer questions. Applications must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) has announced planned overnight lane restrictions on Route 896 in New Castle County this week.
Both northbound and southbound lanes of Route 896 will experience closures from Monday through Thursday as crews work on pavement markings and guardrail installation projects.
Additionally, mobile work crews will be operating on Interstate 95, Route 896, and the connecting interchange ramps from Sunday through Thursday to install raised pavement markings.
The work is scheduled to take place during overnight hours to minimize impact on daily commuter traffic.
Two right lanes on northbound Route 13 at Lisa Drive are currently blocked following a vehicle accident, according to traffic officials.
The lane closures are affecting northbound traffic flow as emergency crews respond to the crash scene. Drivers traveling through the area should anticipate delays and may want to seek alternative routes until the roadway is fully reopened.
No additional details about the accident or estimated clearance time have been released at this time.
RALEIGH, N.C. — For weeks, Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour fielded the same persistent questions about his top forwards Andrei Svechnikov and Sebastian Aho needing to contribute more offensively.
“We need them to get going,” Brind’Amour stated during the early stages of the Stanley Cup Final.
With at most two contests remaining to decide the championship, those key players may have finally delivered their breakthrough moment.
Svechnikov netted a pair of power-play goals while Aho recorded only his second goal since April, leading the Hurricanes to a 4-2 triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday evening. The victory places Carolina just one win away from capturing the Stanley Cup.
“It is the biggest game. It was for me,” Svechnikov commented. “The mentality was great. I couldn’t sleep for the night (before).”
The series shifts to Las Vegas for Game 6 on Sunday night, where Carolina will have the opportunity to claim the Stanley Cup for the first time since Brind’Amour led the team as captain to the championship in 2006. The focus now centers on whether Svechnikov and Aho can maintain their newfound offensive momentum from Game 5.
Svechnikov recorded his first two-goal effort of the current playoffs and his fifth multi-goal postseason performance overall. The forward had been eager to make a greater offensive impact this spring, though his struggles hadn’t been as critical with the Logan Stankoven-led second line featuring Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall producing consistently throughout the playoffs.
Brind’Amour consistently maintained that both veteran players from the franchise’s current eight-year playoff streak were contributing adequately, predicting it was simply a matter of time before their scoring would increase. However, as the Hurricanes advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, pressure mounted on Aho as the organization’s top-paid player ($9.75 million this season) and Svechnikov as the third-highest earner ($7.75 million this season).
“Quite a decent (amount) of pressure, to be honest this playoffs,” Svechnikov acknowledged. “It’s just a new day was today.”
Both Aho and Svechnikov had managed just four goals apiece through 17 postseason contests before Thursday’s game. Five other teammates had surpassed their goal totals. Having them beat Carter Hart three times for scores felt like a long-awaited reward.
“That hasn’t really happened, and we’re still here,” Brind’Amour observed. “So it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, but they have to have an impact in the game, whether it’s on the scoresheet or doing other things. It certainly makes it a lot smoother if they’re scoring. It takes a lot of pressure off other guys to do that, and I guess that’s what happened tonight.”
The contest remained deadlocked at 1-1 until second-period tallies from Svechnikov and Aho within a six-minute span. Svechnikov struck first, firing the puck past Hart during a power-play opportunity, followed by Aho finding the net for his first goal of the series and just his second score in the previous 14 contests.
“Getting on the score sheet, he knows he needs to do that,” Brind’Amour said regarding Aho. “He’s playing all the power plays, getting all that time to cash in. It doesn’t mean you’re not playing well. And he was doing, all playoffs, he’s done, I think, really well. But man, if we can get that out of him, that’s just a big bonus for our team.”
Svechnikov added his second goal to establish a 4-1 advantage, finishing at the right post following a crisp pass from Nikolaj Ehlers, who contributed three assists in the victory.
“We know it’s going to be hard,” Svechnikov said about finishing the series. “That’s the hardest trophy to win, and we just kind of got to play our game and keep the pressure on and hopefully we’re going to keep the momentum.”
A well-known environmental activist who performs in drag has found herself at the center of a legal battle with one of the world’s most recognizable outdoor clothing companies.
Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gonia, publicly revealed in late May that Patagonia had filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against her. In a video posted just before Pride Month, the performer with flowing red hair and mustache accused the sustainable clothing brand of trying to silence an activist.
The outdoor apparel company filed its legal action in January, seeking just $1 in damages but alleging that Wiley’s use of the “Pattie Gonia” name for selling merchandise creates consumer confusion. Legal experts note that while the monetary demand is minimal, attorney fees in such cases often exceed $1 million.
Wiley, based in Bend, Oregon, has built a massive social media presence with nearly 3 million followers across TikTok and Instagram. She gained initial fame in 2018 with a viral video of herself camping in high heels and has since become known for educational climate content and her touring “Save Her! Environmental Drag Show.”
The legal dispute centers on trademark protection. Tim Holbrook, who teaches intellectual property law at the University of Denver, explained that actual consumer confusion isn’t required to win such cases. “If consumers are likely to be confused, that is sufficient,” Holbrook noted.
The conflict began brewing in 2022 when Patagonia contacted Wiley about a fundraising partnership she had with Hydroflask. During that conversation, company representatives asked her not to sell items featuring Patagonia’s logo, typeface, or the “Pattie Gonia” name, then confirmed these requests via email.
The situation escalated when Wiley filed a trademark application for “Pattie Gonia” in September 2025, seeking rights to sell clothing under that name. Patagonia followed up with another email exchange and suggested an in-person meeting to discuss their “different understandings” about trademark issues.
Wiley has called the company’s legal complaint one-sided, saying it “misrepresented not only the facts but also my personal integrity.”
Trademark disputes involving similar-sounding names are common in business. The lawsuit mentions that McDonald’s has sued a dental office called “McDental,” Starbucks went after an Oregon coffee shop named “Sambucks,” and Patagonia itself has previously challenged brands like “Catagonia” and “Fratagonia.”
Trademark attorney Carmel Imani, who represents smaller creators, said the similarity between “Pattie Gonia” and “Patagonia” would likely face rejection. “I get rejections for trademarks for my clients that are way less similar than these brand names,” she observed.
Another trademark lawyer, Lara Pearson with Brand Geek, emphasized that such cases involve broader concerns about future brand protection. Companies must consider whether allowing similar names might “set a precedent that we’re not going to be able to walk back from later,” Pearson explained.
The public announcement of the lawsuit triggered significant backlash against Patagonia from LGBTQ+ supporters and environmental activists. Some customers posted videos of themselves donating their Patagonia clothing in protest.
Supporter Jim Gregory filmed himself outside a Goodwill donation center, telling the camera: “I think that you just completely wrecked your company, at least from my demographic, the LGBTQ demographic.”
However, not everyone sided with the performer. Cleo Schroer, a Brooklyn researcher studying queer politics and culture, initially supported Wiley but changed her perspective after reading the legal documents. “Saying that Patagonia was trying to silence a drag queen or a queer activist… it just felt inaccurate,” Schroer said.
The Patagonia brand name itself comes from the South American region spanning southern Chile and Argentina, an area of glaciers, mountains, and vast plains long inhabited by Indigenous peoples including the Mapuche and Tehuelche. Company founder Yvon Chouinard chose the name for his outdoor gear business, obtaining the trademark after more than ten years of operation.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben noted that geographic names can be protected as trademarks, citing examples like Chevy Tahoe and Arizona Tea Company. The key factor is how well-known the geographic area was when the trademark was filed.
Since 1973, the clothing company has built a profitable business around the Patagonia name, while the South American region has become a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts.
If Wiley’s trademark application advances, Patagonia could file an opposition that might take years to resolve. However, Gerben pointed out that the current lawsuit will likely determine the outcome. “If Patagonia wins the lawsuit, the Federal Court can tell the USPTO to deny the application,” he said.
Both parties have shown some willingness to compromise. Wiley has offered to withdraw her trademark application if Patagonia drops the lawsuit. The company issued a statement acknowledging “any hurt (the lawsuit) has caused, especially in the LGBTQ+ community,” but said the case could only be dismissed if Wiley stops using their logo, font, or her stage name for commercial purposes.
While Wiley agreed to avoid using the company’s logo and typeface, she refuses to stop selling “Pattie Gonia” merchandise. Her website address has quietly changed from pattiegoniamerch.com to pattiemerch.com, though she hasn’t explained this modification.
Corley Kenna, Patagonia’s chief impact and communications officer, said the company remains “very open and want to find a resolution,” without providing specifics about potential agreements.
Gerben believes an out-of-court settlement would benefit both sides. “It’s always more ideal because it provides certainty to both parties. And you’re not going in front of a jury wondering who’s gonna win,” he concluded.
Ford Motor Company has announced a major recall affecting more than 250,000 vehicles that received faulty repairs during an earlier recall designed to address engine stalling issues.
The automotive manufacturer is recalling 255,404 Ford Focus cars spanning model years 2012 through 2018. According to Ford, a defective canister purge valve can cause engines to stop running without warning while the vehicle is in motion, creating serious safety hazards including potential crashes and injuries.
Authorized dealerships will resolve the issue by installing updated powertrain software at no cost to vehicle owners.
Notification letters will be sent to affected owners beginning July 6. Vehicle owners can reach Ford customer service by calling 1-866-436-7332.
This recall has been assigned Ford reference number 26S40. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has designated it as recall 26V369. The earlier NHTSA recall addressing this same problem was numbered 18V735.
Starting July 6, owners will be able to search for their vehicle identification numbers on the NHTSA website to determine if their car is included in this recall.
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The ruling military government in Niger has implemented a new criminal code that makes homosexuality illegal, according to an adviser to the justice minister who spoke Friday.
The West African country becomes the most recent nation to outlaw homosexuality, joining similar actions taken by Senegal earlier this year.
Under the new criminal code, anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, Queer, intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts” faces five to ten years behind bars plus financial penalties, based on the official text of the legislation.
“This same penalty is applicable to persons who officiated the marriage, to the witnesses of the alleged spouses, as well as to persons who have given their consent for the celebration of the marriage and to the organizers,” the new penal code said.
Hamidou Julien, an adviser to the justice minister, told The Associated Press on Friday that the legislation became effective Thursday.
While homosexuality had not been against the law in Niger before this change, it faced significant social stigma.
Anti-homosexuality legislation is widespread throughout Africa, with over 30 of the continent’s 54 nations making same-sex relationships illegal. Niger now stands alongside nations such as Senegal, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, where punishments can reach 10 years or longer in prison. In Somalia, Uganda and Mauritania, such offenses may result in execution.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced Friday that its cancer treatment Zepzelca did not achieve its primary objective of extending patient survival in a comprehensive late-stage clinical trial, putting its existing regulatory approval at potential risk.
The pharmaceutical company’s stock price dropped almost 2% during pre-market trading following the announcement.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals reported that it has provided the study findings to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and plans to engage in discussions about future requirements related to the medication’s second-line treatment designation.
The drug currently maintains accelerated FDA approval for treating patients with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC) when used as a second-line therapy, meaning it’s given after initial treatments have proven unsuccessful.
Small cell lung cancer represents an particularly aggressive cancer type that has the ability to metastasize throughout the body, including to bone marrow tissue.
The comprehensive confirmatory study evaluated Zepzelca’s effectiveness both when administered alone and when combined with traditional chemotherapy treatments.
Study results showed that patients receiving Zepzelca as a standalone treatment survived for a median duration of 8.7 months, while those receiving the combination approach lived for 10.9 months, compared to 10.7 months for participants in the control group.
Additionally, federal regulators had granted Zepzelca approval in 2025 for use alongside Roche’s immunotherapy medication Tecentriq as a maintenance treatment for adult patients with extensive-stage SCLC whose condition remained stable following initial chemotherapy.
Energy company Shell announced Friday that it is temporarily suspending its $3 billion stock repurchase program beginning June 12 and continuing until markets close on July 14.
The oil giant cited specific requirements linked to its transaction with ARC Resources as the reason for the temporary halt in share buybacks.
British petroleum giant BP has launched efforts to divest partial ownership in two major Gulf of Mexico drilling ventures, according to four industry insiders familiar with the discussions.
The energy company has been considering selling minority interests in its Kaskida and Tiber operations for over a year, with industry analysts valuing each project in the billions of dollars for the corporation, as previously documented.
The sources, who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the negotiations, did not specify what percentage of ownership BP plans to divest.
When contacted for comment, BP representatives declined to respond to inquiries.
Energy corporations frequently sell partial stakes in developing projects as a strategy to recover invested capital.
Last year, BP restructured its business approach to concentrate on traditional oil and gas ventures, moving away from renewable energy initiatives following shareholder criticism and declining stock values.
The company’s new chief executive, O’Neill, who hails from Boulder, Colorado, represents the first external appointment to lead the organization in over 100 years. She assumed leadership in April.
Industry experts consider the Kaskida and Tiber ventures to be BP’s most promising Gulf of Mexico assets, with each facility projected to produce 80,000 barrels daily. Kaskida operations are scheduled to begin in 2029, followed by Tiber in 2030.
The London-based corporation is placing greater emphasis on American operations for future expansion. Company goals include boosting U.S. production to approximately 1 million barrels of oil equivalent daily by 2030, representing nearly half of its worldwide production target of 2.3 to 2.5 million barrels per day during that period.
Crude oil values have surged more than 40% this year due to supply disruptions caused by the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran affecting global markets.
The renowned Swiss luxury watchmaker implemented a 5% price increase on its gold timepieces this month across major markets including Britain, Hong Kong and the United States, according to luxury research platforms and dealers.
This marks the second price adjustment of the year, following a slightly larger increase in January that was not worldwide and covered all watch types, not just gold models. The move demonstrates continued strong appetite for premium products even as the broader luxury goods sector experiences weakness.
The luxury watch industry has seen similar pricing moves from other major brands. Cartier, owned by Richemont, boosted prices on its gold watches by up to 10% last month, according to Mark Xu, head of marketing at research platform WatchCharts.
Richemont noted in its annual report that it had implemented selective price adjustments at its jewelry divisions, including Cartier, pointing to rising gold costs and currency fluctuations as factors.
Multiple price increases in a single year were also seen last year throughout the industry, though those changes reflected U.S. import duties that now stand at 10% for Switzerland, the world’s largest watchmaking hub.
The second price adjustment this year caught the market off guard, said Eric Boneta, a U.S. certified pre-owned watch dealer. “No one saw it coming,” he stated.
Industry experts note that the luxury watch sector continues successfully marketing timepieces as scarce investment assets to ultra-wealthy clientele, even as middle-class consumers have reduced luxury spending.
The Swiss company raised average prices by 6.2% in January across Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, WatchCharts data shows.
Neither the watchmaker nor Richemont provided comments for this report.
Gold values have nearly doubled since 2024, reaching approximately $4,200 per ounce. Gold timepieces from brands under major luxury groups including the Swiss watchmaker’s parent company, Richemont, LVMH, Swatch, Breitling and Chopard have increased 4% to 6% on average from a year ago, said Zouheir Guedri, founder of luxury research firm Data&Data.
Guedri explained that luxury watchmakers, targeting wealthy consumers who still have disposable income, were “encouraging clients toward precious-metal and higher-end references.”
Some specific models have seen much steeper increases. A white gold version of the company’s Cosmograph Daytona, a model worn by Hollywood actor Paul Newman in the 1970s, now sells for $59,100 in the U.S., representing a 14% increase this year and 33% rise since 2024.
Swiss exports of watches valued above 20,000 Swiss francs ($25,038) have more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels and represented over two-thirds of the industry’s 2025 total value of 24.4 billion francs, according to Vontobel analysts.
This compared to a 22% share of the total in 2019, the analysis showed.
Demand for the luxury brand’s watches will continue exceeding supply, predicts Simon Lazarus, head of PR and content at online luxury watch platform Chrono Hunter.
“It comes down to brand desirability,” he said. “The company has always been the high flyer.”
The International Labour Organization reached a historic milestone on Friday by approving the world’s first legally binding employment standards targeting gig economy platforms that provide ride-sharing, food delivery and online commerce services.
The measure received strong support during voting in Geneva, with 406 members backing the proposal while only eight opposed it and 36 chose to abstain. The U.N. agency’s membership includes representatives from governments, employers and workers who work together to advance international labor rights.
The newly adopted ILO convention aims to expand fundamental workplace rights and protections to cover gig economy workers, encompassing areas such as compensation, workplace safety and social benefits.
The protections outlined in the agreement vary depending on how workers are classified, creating distinctions between individuals categorized as independent contractors versus those recognized as formal employees.
Under the new convention, digital platforms will be required to reveal how their automated systems impact workers and must ensure human oversight in critical decisions such as suspending worker accounts.
Motorists should expect delays on Rogers Road eastbound today as construction crews have closed the right shoulder between Oakmont Drive and Newcastle Avenue (Route 9).
The shoulder closure is part of ongoing construction work in the area and is expected to remain in place until 4 PM this afternoon.
Drivers are advised to use caution when traveling through the construction zone and may want to consider alternate routes to avoid potential delays.
President Donald Trump has been anticipating this weekend to mark a significant moment for his administration.
Friday brings the World Cup back to American soil. Sunday marks his 80th birthday celebration with a UFC fight night hosted at the White House. Following that event, he’s set to travel to the G7 summit in the French Alps. However, Trump raised expectations further by declaring that the United States and Iran might reach an agreement this weekend to conclude their current conflict.
At the same time, recent AP-NORC polling data reveals that independent voters have become more dissatisfied with Trump throughout his second term, especially those lacking college education.
Here are the current developments:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney emerged as a representative of middle power opposition following a notable address earlier this year, though he’s anticipated to tone down his Trump criticism at the forthcoming European summit.
Carney’s address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, elevated him to international political prominence in January when he proclaimed the end of the global rules-based system and criticized powerful nations’ coercion of smaller states. The prime minister garnered extensive acclaim and media coverage for his statements, overshadowing Trump at the event.
However, the Group of Seven summit involving industrialized democracies starting Monday in France precedes the planned July 1 assessment of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the current version of the North American trade agreement that has connected the economies of the United States, Mexico and Canada since the early 1990s. This represents a critical juncture in trade negotiations, with Trump indicating this week he might not extend the agreement.
Trump’s selected Kennedy Center board is making an eleventh-hour attempt to maintain his name on the renowned performing arts center’s exterior before a court-mandated Friday deadline for its removal.
The board decided Thursday to request a postponement of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 decision declaring Trump’s name was unlawfully placed on the Kennedy Center, according to someone knowledgeable about the action who asked for anonymity regarding a private session. The official petition was submitted late Thursday.
Cooper determined that only Congress possessed authority to modify the Kennedy Center’s designation and mandated Trump references be eliminated by Friday. He additionally prevented the administration from shutting down the cultural and arts facility for major renovations scheduled to begin in July and continue for two years.
Independent voters have become more dissatisfied with Trump during his second term, according to new AP-NORC polling research, particularly those without college degrees.
The research from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research demonstrates that while approximately half of independents lacking college education viewed Trump favorably around the 2024 election, his support among this demographic dropped to roughly one-quarter this spring. This change has eliminated the substantial education divide that existed among independents before Trump began his second term, with independents now maintaining similarly unfavorable opinions of the president regardless of educational background.
The research combined nearly two dozen AP-NORC surveys from July 2024 through April 2026, enabling detailed examination of Trump support changes across multiple distinct timeframes, including the final six months of 2024, Trump’s first 100 presidential days, summer 2025 when the Big Beautiful Bill was enacted, last fall’s government shutdown and the start of the Iran conflict.
Trump has been anticipating this weekend to represent a major milestone for his presidency.
The World Cup comes back to America on Friday for the first time in three decades after Trump committed himself to securing the bid to co-host the soccer tournament during his initial term. Sunday brings his 80th birthday festivities during a UFC fight night expected to attract thousands to the White House grounds. Shortly after the concluding match, he’s planned to depart for the G7 summit in the French Alps for discussions with multiple world leaders he’s been clashing with over warfare and trade policies.
Yet Trump elevated expectations further for the upcoming period when he declared Thursday that the United States and Iran might reach terms this weekend on an accord that would establish the framework to conclude the three-month conflict that has been widely unpopular among Americans and disrupted international oil markets. He indicated plans to send Vice President JD Vance to the agreement signing.
Emergency personnel and community members conducted damage surveys Friday following a devastating line of severe weather that tore through areas south of Chicago, knocking out electricity for approximately 380,000 utility customers across Illinois and Indiana while causing significant disruptions to regional air travel.
Authorities reported no immediate fatalities or life-threatening injuries resulting from Thursday’s violent weather system.
Local authorities in Merrillville, Indiana, located roughly 33 miles southeast of Chicago, documented widespread destruction throughout their community. Residential structures and commercial buildings sustained severe damage, fallen trees and electrical lines created roadway blockages, and a portion of a local high school’s roofing system was completely destroyed.
Regional emergency response teams assisted local first responders in conducting search operations and evaluating affected neighborhoods, according to municipal officials posting updates on social media platforms. Work crews continued clearing debris from roadways throughout the overnight hours.
The National Weather Service confirmed that at least two additional tornadoes struck communities in the vicinity of Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana. Social media posts containing photographs and video footage revealed destruction patterns in these locations matching the devastation observed in Merrillville. Weather service meteorologists indicated they will conduct comprehensive damage surveys over the coming days to establish the total number of tornadoes that made ground contact across the affected region.
Emergency response teams in Streator, a manufacturing and agricultural community situated approximately 100 miles southwest of Chicago, also began damage assessment operations. City officials established a reunification facility for displaced community members at the municipal building while the Red Cross activated an emergency shelter.
Streator Mayor Tara Bedei confirmed no fatalities had been documented in her community. “We are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel,” she said in a statement.
Emergency personnel in Hebron, positioned about 50 miles southeast of Chicago, also maintained operations throughout the night, according to official Facebook communications.
Jennifer Hall was inside her garage in Elkhart, Indiana, when the severe winds and precipitation intensified Thursday evening. Without warning, she reported hearing a tremendous impact and subsequently discovered that a large tree branch had penetrated her rental property’s roof. She deployed containers to collect rainwater entering through the opening.
“I’m just nervous because it’s just been one thing after another,” said Hall, explaining she just had surgery and her husband is out of town.
Electrical service remained disrupted for roughly 235,000 residences and commercial establishments throughout Illinois, including 144,000 customers in Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, based on poweroutage.us data. An additional 144,000 customers experienced power failures across Indiana.
The severe weather system caused flight delays and cancellations at multiple airports Thursday, including facilities in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. Portions of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions also experienced challenging conditions due to elevated temperatures and humidity levels. Friday morning operations at Chicago’s O’Hare International and Midway International airports included 15 canceled flights and approximately 24 delayed departures, representing a small fraction of total scheduled service, according to FlightAware flight monitoring services.
These tornado events followed severe weather systems that moved through Midwest states Wednesday, causing power disruptions, structural damage and flight cancellations.
In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park Wednesday after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from those storms.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty highlighted the enthusiastic crowds packing Sutter Health Park during a recent matchup between the Athletics and New York Yankees, noting many fans sporting jerseys displaying Sacramento across the chest.
The California capital region, traditionally viewed as secondary to major markets such as the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego, is embracing its temporary role hosting the nomadic A’s while pursuing its dream of securing a permanent Major League Baseball franchise to complement the NBA’s Kings.
“It would mean everything,” McCarty expressed. “I think we’ve always fancied ourselves as a big league city. Having a team here in Sacramento would mean a lot to our city, bring a lot of economic groups to both sides of the river.”
Local leaders have launched what they call the “Sacramento Pitch” for expansion consideration, revealing in late May a pledge of $1 billion in public financing plus nearly $800 million additional private funding for the initiative.
Several crucial elements remain unresolved in the proposal. Particularly significant is the ongoing search for a primary investor to purchase the franchise, though multiple potential candidates have shown interest. Questions also persist regarding MLB’s expansion timeline and Sacramento’s position among prospective locations.
“What we have is just only one major league team here. So we have definitely room for having another team,” West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero stated. “We have a strong media market, the population is growing. We have a good economic growth here as well. We have the potential to develop a strong market for a Major League Baseball team here.”
The Sacramento market ranks 20th nationally in television viewership and stands as the largest metropolitan area with just one franchise across MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS and WNBA. Approximately 2.7 million residents call the metropolitan region home, though some still consider it secondary to the prestigious San Francisco Bay area.
The community is experiencing major league operations firsthand while temporarily housing the A’s, who are completing their second of three scheduled seasons in West Sacramento following their Oakland departure and awaiting their Las Vegas stadium construction. One additional season remains before the relocation, with the team currently playing two series this week in the Las Vegas market.
Fan turnout has improved from 9,487 per contest last year to 10,820 across 28 home games this season, featuring 12 capacity crowds at the venue accommodating slightly over 12,000 spectators per game. Local leaders express confidence that a permanent franchise would generate greater attendance at a new facility constructed adjacent to the current Triple-A stadium.
“From our perspective, landing Major League Baseball is really a market demonstration statement about who we are,” explained Barry Broome, the President and CEO of Greater Sacramento Economic Council. “We do love baseball. Everybody deep down inside prays we’ll get a phone call from John Fisher and he says, ‘Psych, I’m staying.’ No one wants to admit they pray for that every day. But we love the Athletics. It’d be awesome, but we didn’t. They’re going to Vegas, so we have to bring in our own team which is fine with us.”
Sacramento organizers have secured $800 million through land assets near the existing minor league facility and private contributions, with access to $1 billion in public resources derived primarily from regional property tax revenue.
Despite economists questioning the wisdom of public stadium investments and McCarty’s own opposition to Sacramento’s NBA arena funding during his city council tenure, he considers this proposal more sound.
“That was more of an impact on the general fund,” he explained regarding the plan that resulted in Golden 1 Center opening in downtown Sacramento in 2016. “This one I think is the fairest deal for taxpayers and partners to do big projects that we have on the books.”
MLB’s immediate focus involves negotiating a fresh collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced last week that MLB has informed interested communities that expansion decisions await CBA completion.
Additional cities competing for potential franchises include Charlotte, North Carolina; Montreal; Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake City. Sacramento’s primary competition would likely emerge from western markets.
“I think the size and scope of the market is really our key advantage,” Broome noted. “We’ve also demonstrated we have a turnkey stadium deal now. That can happen under the mayor and the city manager’s signature. We don’t have to pass a bond or anything like that. It took us four months to raise $800 million. I think people underestimate Sacramento. There’s a lot of money in this town. There is a lot economic power in this town. We can do this.”
A widely-used supplement taken by many Americans for joint discomfort may accelerate the development of dementia, according to new research that could reshape treatment recommendations.
Scientists examined health records spanning from 2012 to 2024 for nearly 60,000 individuals experiencing different levels of cognitive decline. Their findings revealed that consistent glucosamine usage correlated with a 25% increased risk of transitioning from mild cognitive decline to full dementia.
The research, published in Nature Metabolism, also discovered that among patients already diagnosed with dementia, those taking glucosamine faced a 25% greater chance of dying during the study period.
Interestingly, patients with only minor cognitive issues showed no increased mortality risk, indicating that glucosamine’s harmful effects may intensify as brain deterioration advances, according to the study authors.
Laboratory tests on animals revealed that glucosamine worsens a destructive brain process known as hyperglycosylation, where sugar molecules improperly bind to brain proteins and interfere with essential neurological operations.
“The electronic health record data are very provocative,” said study coauthor Matt Gentry of the University of Florida. “While it’s an association and not proof of causality, it does raise an important clinical question that now deserves much more attention.”
An accompanying analysis suggested that the dementia deterioration linked to enhanced glycosylation from glucosamine consumption indicates glycosylation “is a targetable pathway for combating this disease.”
In separate research challenging conventional medical advice, scientists found that controlled screen exposure might actually benefit children recovering from head injuries.
The study, featured in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that moderate daily screen usage on specific devices during the initial three days after concussion led to faster healing compared to complete screen avoidance.
“These findings support that moderate screen time – not too little or too much – may support concussion recovery,” explained study leader Jingzhen Ginger Yang, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
“A median of 141 minutes of screen time each day was associated with a 35% faster recovery, compared to 260 minutes of screen time each day,” Yang noted. “Youth who use screens for more than four hours per day or less than two hours per day may be at risk for slower concussion symptom resolution.”
The research team tracked 80 teenagers with concussions using wearable technology that monitored their after-school screen exposure across smartphones, televisions, computers, tablets, and gaming systems.
Device type proved significant in recovery outcomes. Approximately two hours daily of smartphone and television usage promoted quicker healing, while computer, tablet, and gaming activities showed no meaningful connection to symptom improvement.
“While clinical trials are needed to keep moving forward, this study shows a potential development in concussion treatment practices, contrary to previous guidance that recommended total avoidance of screens,” said study coauthor Dr. Thomas Pommering, also of Nationwide Children’s.
A senior Hezbollah politician stated Friday that the organization believes Iran will demand Lebanon’s inclusion in any potential agreement with the United States, as expectations build for a possible deal between Tehran and Washington.
The Iran-backed group, which was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, joined the regional confrontation supporting Tehran on March 2 by launching attacks against Israel, leading to Israeli military action that has resulted in thousands of Lebanese casualties.
Tehran’s officials have consistently demanded that any comprehensive agreement must include an end to hostilities in Lebanon.
“If the agreement happens, we have complete confidence in the Islamic Republic … we have confidence that it will insist on any agreement including the file of Lebanon,” Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah politician, said in an excerpt of a speech broadcast by the group’s al-Manar TV.
Israeli military forces have taken control of large areas in southern Lebanon, where Lebanon’s National News Agency documented additional Israeli air attacks across multiple towns and villages on Friday.
According to a Western source, a memorandum between the United States and Iran aimed at stopping the Gulf war could be executed as early as Sunday. The source indicated that final language details are still being worked out and Iran continues to maintain its stance that any deal must encompass ending the conflict in Lebanon.
Last week, Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Hezbollah had “made great sacrifices” in the war and that Lebanon “will be an inseparable part of any agreement and any ceasefire”, in comments reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Fighting in Lebanon has persisted despite multiple ceasefire declarations by the United States, which has served as an intermediary in discussions between Lebanese and Israeli officials.
Hezbollah is not participating in the negotiations and has called for the Lebanese government to withdraw from the diplomatic process.
Hezbollah turned down a U.S.-supported proposal announced last week that would require the organization to stop fighting and pull its forces back from southern Lebanon.
Kazakhstan’s dominant political organization Amanat declared Friday that it will combine with a political movement established this year by supporters of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, positioning for upcoming parliamentary voting scheduled for August.
During a party gathering in Astana, Amanat leadership announced their integration into the Adilet party, which translates to “Justice,” before the approaching elections. Amanat has consistently won commanding parliamentary control in all previous electoral contests.
This development occurs during Kazakhstan’s continuing restructuring of its strictly managed political system, as Tokayev plans to leave office at the conclusion of his current term in 2029.
The Central Asian region’s biggest economy and significant petroleum and natural gas producer ratified a revised constitution this past March, which some political observers interpret as groundwork for a future leadership transition.
Amanat has maintained governmental control since 1999, originally established under former President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s direction, who led Kazakhstan from 1991 through 2019.
The emerging Adilet party is viewed as having direct allegiance to Tokayev, whom Nazarbayev selected as his replacement in 2019, with senior presidential advisors holding key positions in its structure.
During 2022, Kazakhstan experienced widespread civil disorder that Tokayev and international analysts describe as an effort by Nazarbayev supporters to regain governmental authority.
The unrest caused hundreds of fatalities and led to deployment of a Russian-coordinated peacekeeping mission backing Tokayev’s administration.
The United Nations refugee agency has confirmed that two people have died from Ebola at a displacement camp in eastern Congo, raising alarm among aid workers about the potential for rapid disease transmission in overcrowded refugee facilities.
Both victims were displaced individuals residing at the Kpangba camp, which provides shelter for 30,000 refugees, according to a UNHCR report released Thursday.
Since the World Health Organization designated this outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern on May 17, the virus has now reached three provinces.
The affected provinces — Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu — have endured decades of warfare and currently shelter more than 5 million displaced individuals.
A relief worker informed Reuters that the fatalities involved a mother and her daughter, who passed away on May 31 and June 1 respectively. The World Health Organisation conducted Ebola testing on both victims following their deaths.
“It’s a highly populated area so the risks of transmission are obviously higher and worrying,” the source said. “These are tents with tarp walls, where do you isolate if you have symptoms?”
Relief organizations describe overcrowded camp environments with inadequate sanitation infrastructure, where hundreds of individuals may share a single toilet facility and open defecation occurs.
“We are all really worried that Ebola in these camps will spread extremely quickly and that there will be panic and people will flee all over whether or not they’re contacts, whether or not they’re ill,” Caitlin Brady, interim country director for the Danish Refugee Council in Congo, told Reuters.
By Friday, Congo had documented 676 confirmed cases and 136 fatalities in this outbreak, which has also reached neighboring Uganda, where authorities have reported 19 cases.
This outbreak involves the uncommon Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved treatment or vaccination currently exists.
The illness remained undetected for several weeks, and emergency responders acknowledge they are working to catch up with the situation.
A Heat Advisory remains in effect for New Castle County and surrounding areas until 8 PM tonight, with dangerous heat index values expected to reach 103 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued the advisory for northern Delaware, along with parts of New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, warning that the combination of hot temperatures and high humidity could lead to heat-related illnesses.
Residents are urged to take precautions by drinking plenty of fluids, staying in air-conditioned spaces, and avoiding prolonged sun exposure. Health officials recommend wearing lightweight, loose-fitting clothing and limiting outdoor activities to early morning or evening hours.
Special attention should be paid to elderly relatives and neighbors who may be more vulnerable to heat stress. Warning signs of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, weakness, and nausea, while heat stroke symptoms include high body temperature and confusion.
For those without air conditioning, help is available by calling 211 or visiting county health department websites to locate cooling centers.
Relief is on the way as a cold front moves through tonight, bringing much less humid conditions this weekend. However, temperatures will still remain near 90 degrees through the weekend.
Motorists traveling on N Star Road should expect delays today as construction crews continue work in the area.
The roadway between Altonwood Drive and Planet Road is experiencing intermittent lane closures that will remain in effect until 5 PM today, according to traffic officials.
Drivers are advised to allow extra travel time when using this route or consider alternate paths to avoid potential delays caused by the ongoing construction activity.
Motorists using S Claymont St should plan for potential delays this afternoon as construction work continues to impact traffic flow in the area.
Northbound lanes on S Claymont St are experiencing periodic closures between C St and B St as crews work on the roadway. The lane restrictions are expected to remain in place through 3 PM today.
Drivers are advised to allow extra travel time or consider alternate routes to avoid potential delays in the construction zone.
A three-day road closure is scheduled for North College Avenue next week as crews perform maintenance work on railroad infrastructure.
The roadway will be shut down at the CSX railroad crossing starting Tuesday, June 16, and continuing through Thursday, June 18. The affected stretch runs from Cleveland Avenue to Main Street.
Officials say alternative routes will be marked with signage to help drivers navigate around the work zone. Drivers are being advised to find alternate paths during the construction period.
CLEVELAND – Salisbury University has achieved its most impressive national athletic ranking in more than ten years, demonstrating excellence across multiple sports programs during the 2025-26 academic year.
The university secured 22nd place in the NCAA Division III LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup rankings, marking the institution’s best performance in this comprehensive athletic evaluation since 2014-15. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the final standings on Tuesday.
The LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup measures athletic department success by evaluating performance across all sponsored sports programs throughout the academic year. This ranking represents a significant achievement for Salisbury University’s athletic program, showcasing consistent excellence across multiple teams and competitions.
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA, Spain — During the concluding day of his Spanish visit, Pope Leo XIV issued a forceful condemnation of human smugglers on Friday, warning they would encounter divine judgment for taking advantage of desperate migrants at this crucial hub of the African migration pathway to Europe.
“Break those chains and free those you hold in bondage,” Leo declared while addressing human traffickers during his meeting with humanitarian organizations in the Canary Islands that assist migrants.
The pontiff concluded his week-long Spanish journey in the Canary Islands, a Spanish island chain positioned nearer to Africa than mainland Spain and serving as a critical entry location for migrants undertaking the dangerous Atlantic voyage from West Africa.
Leo’s visit honored Pope Francis’ desire to travel to these islands to remember the thousands who perished at sea. The trip also highlighted the Catholic Church’s scriptural obligation to “welcome the stranger” during a time of growing anti-immigrant feelings across Europe and mass deportation efforts by the Trump administration in his home country of the United States.
While meeting with relief organizations in Tenerife, Leo urged host communities to welcome people escaping conflict, poverty and environmental disasters, protecting them from the “silent shipwreck” of abandonment that leaves them homeless after surviving treacherous sea journeys.
“A human conscience, and even more so a Christian conscience, cannot remain indifferent in the face of these graveyards of the sea, to the victims of shipwrecks and the lack of aid,” Leo stated. “Every life lost on these routes is a failure for the human family.”
The Canary Islands have served as a traditional gateway for migrants attempting to reach Europe from West Africa and Morocco.
Although human smugglers and traffickers control the Atlantic pathway, many boats contain self-organized groups of migrants, including numerous former fishermen from Senegal who lost their livelihoods due to recent overfishing.
Migration arrivals to the Canary Islands reached their highest point in 2024 with nearly 47,000 people. Numbers have dropped significantly, with more than 3,000 individuals arriving during the first five months of 2026.
Due to the ocean’s enormous size and limited rescue vessels or surveillance, some authorities believe the Atlantic passage poses greater dangers than the more publicized central Mediterranean smuggling corridor from Libya and Tunisia to Italy. Starting in 2020, multiple West African vessels have been discovered in the Caribbean and Latin America carrying only deceased passengers after drifting across the Atlantic, carried by trade winds and ocean currents.
Leo focused his Friday comments on criminal networks and individual smugglers who organize these “death routes” to Europe. These traffickers demand thousands of euros per person and frequently force passengers into prostitution or illegal labor by keeping their identification documents to collect debt payments.
“Stop. Repent,” Leo told traffickers in his message. “For every life lost, every family deceived, every body subjugated, every woman threatened, every worker exploited, you will have to appear before divine justice.”
“Repent while there is still time, for God’s mercy can reach even the most hardened sinner, but it enters only through the narrow gate of truth, justice and conversion,” he continued.
Through his two-day Canary Islands visit, Leo has established himself as Francis’ successor in migration advocacy, which remained a central focus throughout Francis’ 12-year leadership and frequently created tensions with American and European authorities.
The first American-born pope has not merely repeated Francis’ messages and actions, but has expanded them during this highly symbolic journey. Upon arriving Thursday, Leo tossed flower petals into the ocean from a harbor called the “Dock of Shame” in 2020, when migrants were forced to endure terrible conditions during an increase in arrivals.
Leo’s action echoed Francis’ 2013 visit to Lampedusa, Sicily, another European migration crisis location, where he criticized the “globalization of indifference” shown toward asylum seekers worldwide.
Demonstrating his personal approach to the papacy, the 70-year-old pope added his own touch: Following a former migrant’s personal story, Leo performed the popular “6-7” hand signal favored by young people while joking with him. This gesture generated cheers and applause from attendees.
During his time in the Canary Islands and earlier remarks on the Spanish mainland, Leo has reinforced migrants’ rights both to flee and to remain in their homelands, calling on their origin countries to provide adequate economic and security conditions. He criticized European nations that ignore migrants’ suffering and emphasized that no Christian can stay indifferent.
On Friday, he observed that for the Catholic Church, helping migrants integrate into communities can create opportunities for sharing faith, “without imposing” it while respecting migrants’ personal beliefs.
Leo began his final day by touring the Las Raíces migrant facility and meeting with migrants. Leo received enthusiastic applause when he departed from his prepared remarks to announce he would speak in French and English.
One woman shared her desperation that led her to abandon her homeland and family, the trauma of dangerous crossings, and her appreciation for finding safety and a fresh start. The woman, named as Bousso Diouf, requested respect and dignity for all migrants.
In the coming month, on July 4, the American pope will observe U.S. Independence Day on Lampedusa island, where Francis first condemned the “globalization of indifference” toward migrants in 2013.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Steven Spielberg’s latest film “Disclosure Day,” released Friday, once again asks viewers to consider whether extraterrestrial beings exist — and what their presence might mean for religious faith on Earth.
However, Spielberg isn’t alone in generating recent news coverage about UFOs and potential life beyond our planet.
Topics once dismissed as fringe conspiracy theories have recently appeared in discussions from the White House to the Catholic Church, as public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena — known as UAPs in government terminology — enters mainstream conversation.
In May, the Pentagon released extensive UFO documentation with minimal explanation, allowing interested researchers to draw their own conclusions. This disclosure occurred weeks after former President Barack Obama sparked media attention by stating definitively in an interview that aliens exist, though he subsequently clarified his position.
“Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there,” the former president wrote on social media after making an unexpected appearance on the “Disclosure Day” film set. “I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
While some religious followers and non-believers argue that extraterrestrial life might challenge many faiths by questioning human uniqueness, others present opposing viewpoints.
“Belief in UFOs is really one of the best things that’s happened to religion in a long time,” stated Diana Walsh Pasulka, a religion scholar at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “It’s a blow to the secular, materialist worldview.”
Although widespread UAP interest may support belief in a mystical universe, some Christians view these phenomena with suspicion.
“I don’t think they’re aliens. I think they’re demons,” Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, stated during a recent podcast appearance.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, previously an exorcist with the Archdiocese of Washington, shared similar views. The archbishop dismissed him last week, stating that Rossetti’s comments “gravely undermine” Catholic doctrine regarding demons and the devil.
“It’s my personal belief that probably many, if not most, of these UFO sightings are in fact demons,” Rossetti stated in a May 29 video on his Facebook page. “Aliens, if there are aliens, don’t possess people.”
Christopher Baglow, who directs a science and religion program at the University of Notre Dame, expressed surprise at the dismissal since Rossetti clearly indicated he was sharing personal views. Baglow suggested additional factors may have influenced the decision.
“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium,” Rossetti wrote in an online statement.
Despite claims by Vance and Rossetti regarding demons, Baglow asserts the Catholic Church has historically remained open to extraterrestrial possibilities. “Theologians have been speculating about this for centuries and the church has never ever taught one way or the other,” he explained.
During a meeting with astronomy students at the Vatican last year, Pope Leo XIV discussed the “ancient light of distant galaxies” and the “mysterious joy” inspired by space exploration. Some interpreted his comments as indirect consideration of life on other worlds.
Concepts of otherworldly visitors to Earth have ancient origins.
“People would call it the plurality of worlds. So even back in the time of Socrates and Aristotle, there were Greek philosophers who talked about beings on other planets and other stars,” Walsh Pasulka explained.
Modern UFO concepts emerged after 1945, according to Jeffrey Kripal, a religious historian at Rice University. “The flying saucer and the alien and the UFO — it’s definitely a Cold War invasion narrative,” he noted.
This narrative explains why UAPs often appear threatening to humans. However, it has transformed over time, leading to religious movements — including Scientology, which attracts numerous Hollywood celebrities — that view extraterrestrials positively or as part of divine purpose. Some Nation of Islam followers believe their founder will return to Earth apocalyptically via spaceship.
The International Raëlian Movement, or Raëlism, represents a UFO-based religion established in France during the 1970s. It continues today with significant followings in parts of Asia, Africa and Canada, according to Susan Palmer, a sociologist studying new religious movements at Concordia University in Montreal.
Raël, the movement’s founder, claims direct descent from Yahweh, whom Raël allegedly visited on the planet Elohim in 1975. Raëlism teaches that Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad are human-extraterrestrial hybrids and Raël’s half brothers.
Among groups Palmer has researched, she considers Raëlism most favorable toward UFOs. “They’re not interested in extraterrestrial wars,” she observed.
Some believe this positive attitude may be expanding.
Kripal, who oversees Rice’s archival collection of reported paranormal experiences called the Center for the Impossible, notices growing acceptance of UFO discussions — and possibilities that they aren’t threatening.
“People are reporting these experiences or these encounters with entities and they’re religious through and through,” he said. “My colleagues in the academy, they’re really starting to listen in a different way.”
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Around 1,500 Indonesian students took to the streets of the nation’s capital on Friday, calling on President Prabowo Subianto to reduce expensive government programs while demanding relief from rising fuel and food costs amid growing economic challenges.
Following Friday prayers, demonstrators attempted to reach the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, a prominent city landmark, but authorities intercepted many participants and barricaded routes to the presidential palace, a common destination for protests. Over 6,000 police officers and military personnel were stationed in the area.
Many demonstrators donned yellow university jackets as they expressed anger over increasing living expenses, which have climbed due to elevated fuel costs following the U.S. war against Iran. Indonesia’s rupiah has faced significant pressure, reaching a record low of 18,000 rupiah per U.S. dollar earlier this month.
The demonstrators presented five primary demands, including reductions in what they termed unnecessary government expenditures, decreased prices for fuel and essential goods, and suspension of major government initiatives like a free nutritious meal program and rural revitalization efforts.
The complimentary meals initiative, with a price tag of approximately 268 trillion rupiah ($15 billion) for this year, aims to combat poverty and malnutrition, though Prabowo recently dismissed the program’s leader during a major corruption investigation.
Students also demanded an end to what they characterized as the military’s expanding influence in civilian governance, which they consider a danger to the nation’s developing democracy.
“The government is in denial about the current situation,” said Yatalathof Ma’shum Imawan, who chairs the student organization that organized the rally. “We urge Prabowo to have the courage to acknowledge his mistake and stop denying it.”
Friday’s protest represents one of the most significant student mobilizations since widespread demonstrations broke out last August, when thousands gathered in the streets and confrontations with security personnel resulted in at least 13 fatalities.
Comparable demonstrations also occurred in Bandung city in West Java and in Pontianak, located on Borneo island.
NEW YORK (AP) — While the SpaceX founder may never fulfill his promise to establish settlements on Mars, sufficient numbers of investors view him as something of a visionary, positioning him to achieve another extraordinary milestone Friday as the rocket enterprise goes public.
The planet’s wealthiest individual is poised to achieve trillionaire status.
Recognized for his innovative technological achievements alongside bold proclamations and delayed timelines, the entrepreneur is anticipated to surpass the trillion-dollar threshold in history’s largest initial public offering as investors wager on an enterprise whose financial shortfalls match its lofty aspirations. Prior to SpaceX’s debut trading, Forbes estimates his wealth at $982.6 billion.
Beyond creating a million-person settlement on Mars, the enterprise has pledged to preserve humanity through additional space installations, deploy orbital data facilities comparable to football field dimensions, and surpass competitors Anthropic and OpenAI in monetizing artificial intelligence technology.
To accomplish these objectives, SpaceX requires billions beyond its current rocket and satellite revenue streams. From early 2025 through March 31, 2026, the enterprise recorded $8.7 billion in losses.
Major institutional purchasers and individual investors have signaled their readiness to invest, offering sufficient pricing for the 555.6 million shares available to generate $75 billion. This amount will substantially exceed the existing record holder, Saudi Aramco, which collected $26 billion during its 2019 public debut.
Should the public offering proceed smoothly, its valuation will depend primarily on one factor: the company’s founder.
The impending trillionaire — at least on paper — built his wealth through two ventures, Zip2 and PayPal, which generated approximately $200 million upon their sales. He invested these proceeds to launch SpaceX and fund Tesla, successfully beating expectations by developing a space enterprise that mastered rocket reusability and an automotive company that popularized electric vehicles.
The entrepreneur has accumulated enormous personal wealth, primarily through stock holdings he hasn’t liquidated or share grants contingent upon Tesla or SpaceX achieving demanding performance benchmarks. His latest Tesla compensation arrangement faced Vatican criticism. At Tesla, he has concerned investors through regulatory disputes or splitting focus among various enterprises, and recently by accepting a position in the Trump administration.
However, climbing share values have resolved these concerns: Following its 2010 public launch, Tesla has delivered 20,000% returns to investors, creating over $1.2 trillion in shareholder value. This success has elevated his pre-SpaceX IPO wealth to $795 billion, per Forbes magazine.
SpaceX leads three “megacap” enterprises anticipated to debut publicly this year, followed by Anthropic and OpenAI. Nasdaq modified its regulations to permit SpaceX inclusion in index-linked funds within 15 days, enabling investors to purchase the rocket manufacturer’s shares much sooner.
Some investors oppose SpaceX’s potential inclusion in their index fund portfolios. Representatives from California and New York pension funds serving firefighters, teachers, and other employees wrote to SpaceX last month criticizing several IPO provisions, including “super voting shares,” required arbitration for shareholder disputes rather than lawsuit options, and the founder’s extensive company control.
WASHINGTON — A critical intelligence-gathering program that officials say helps prevent terrorist attacks and catch foreign spies has expired after lawmakers in Congress were unable to agree on extending it.
The program, called Section 702, faced a Friday deadline that came and went as both political parties failed to find common ground on a temporary extension. President Donald Trump has now selected a new national intelligence director that both Republicans and Democrats find more acceptable than his first choice, but it remains uncertain when Congress — preparing for recess — might be able to restart the intelligence program.
However, there may not be an immediate impact since a court ruling from March allowed these government surveillance authorities to continue operating for an additional year.
This provision falls under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, and gives U.S. intelligence agencies broad authority to gather and review communications from foreign nationals outside American borders without obtaining a warrant first.
Government officials view this legislation as an essential national security resource that has helped prevent terrorist plots, provided important information about ransomware attacks on vital infrastructure, and played a role in the 2022 drone strike that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
The legislation became law in 2008 to formalize important elements of an earlier intelligence program established under President George W. Bush’s Republican administration.
Ever since, government leaders from both major political parties have cautioned that losing this law would prevent the government from gathering essential intelligence from overseas.
The regular requirement to renew this law has created lengthy congressional debates long before this year, including discussions about whether more safeguards are necessary to protect Americans’ privacy and personal information.
This concern exists because when the government monitors foreigners overseas, it also captures communications from American citizens and others in the U.S. who communicate with those under surveillance.
Privacy rights groups have expressed alarm over reports that FBI analysts have repeatedly misused the extensive intelligence database collected through this program to search for information about Americans, including matters related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by Trump supporters and the 2020 racial justice protests, as well as state and federal political leaders.
Some advocates argue the government should need a warrant before reviewing communications involving Americans. Government officials counter that warrants would be legally unneeded and too burdensome, and that reforms have been put in place to reduce improper searches.
The debate has created unusual political partnerships, bringing together lawmakers skeptical of government surveillance from both privacy-focused liberal Democrats and Republicans who remain suspicious of intelligence agencies following the investigation into connections between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Democrats objected when Trump chose Bill Pulte as acting national intelligence director and refused to back a FISA extension until that nomination was withdrawn. Pulte, a Trump supporter without apparent national security background, raised concerns by using his position as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to pursue questionable mortgage fraud investigations targeting perceived Trump opponents.
A House vote this week that would have temporarily continued the program failed, with 19 Republicans and almost all Democrats voting against the temporary measure, 198-218. A Senate attempt to pass its own version also collapsed.
Following those votes, Trump announced he was selecting Jay Clayton, a U.S. attorney in Manhattan who formerly led the Securities and Exchange Commission, as his permanent choice for director of national intelligence, or DNI. The selection received positive reactions on Capitol Hill, but it wasn’t sufficient to resolve the standoff before Friday’s expiration.
Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that he has “known and respected” Clayton for decades and that if he had been chosen a week earlier, “lots of pain might have been avoided.”
“His intelligence, temperament and deep commitment to public service will make him a terrific DNI,” Himes said.
Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have cautioned the Trump administration to prepare “for a potential significant gap in foreign intelligence collection.”
This expiration is likely the first substantial lapse of Section 702 since its creation over 15 years ago. In 2024, the Senate narrowly missed its midnight deadline before voting to pass a bill that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, then signed, creating a short interruption.
Despite the lapse, there’s no expectation of any immediate reduction in intelligence gathering as the U.S. prepares to host several events this summer with potential national security implications, including the World Cup and celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the United States.
A March ruling from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved the program’s continuation for another year, meaning Section 702’s authority should remain active for months.
Still, it’s possible that without congressional reauthorization, a telecommunications company or internet service provider could contest the government’s authority to force cooperation with surveillance requests.
A weekly news quiz is challenging readers to test their knowledge of recent headlines, including which wealthy business mogul claimed to have gained an important learning experience during the past seven days.
According to the quiz description, basketball supporters celebrated a major victory following a disappointing defeat this week, while those tracking economic indicators found reason for optimism. Meanwhile, soccer enthusiasts faced financial strain during recent international competition.
The quiz poses the question of how well news quiz enthusiasts will perform when testing their awareness of these and other current events from the week.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is launching a series of major sporting spectacles this week in the nation’s capital, as the commander-in-chief seeks to display American power both domestically and internationally.
At Trump’s request, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will present a series of mixed martial arts competitions on the White House lawn this Sunday. The timing aligns with Flag Day, a rarely celebrated national holiday honoring America’s flag adoption, as well as Trump’s 80th birthday.
Trump has also convinced IndyCar to conduct a Grand Prix race through the National Mall in Washington, D.C. during the upcoming summer months. Additionally, the FIFA World Cup, which was granted to the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2018 while Trump served his first term, commenced this week.
“We’re going to showcase our country that whole weekend because of the surroundings that we have,” stated Bud Denker, chair of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and president of Penske Corp. “I really think it excites him (Trump) that it provides this positivity to our country when we need it.”
American officials aim to leverage these events’ energy to promote the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles while boosting the president’s international standing.
While Congress formed a bipartisan commission to organize the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, the Trump administration established its own organization, Freedom 250, which has arranged events including the UFC competitions and automobile race.
International leaders have noticed Trump’s sports enthusiasm. In December 2025, FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Trump with its first FIFA Peace Prize. The next month, Trump authorized a military operation in Venezuela to remove its leader, Nicolás Maduro, followed weeks later by strikes against Iran.
Shortly after the UFC mixed martial arts competitions conclude, Trump is set to travel to France for a G7 leaders’ summit. French officials postponed the gathering’s start to prevent scheduling conflicts with the UFC event, according to local media reports.
Trump has described the UFC fights as “the greatest show on Earth” and compared the UFC’s “Claw” arena towering over the White House’s South Lawn to Paris’ Eiffel Tower.
Several critics charge the president with “sportswashing,” or utilizing athletic competitions to enhance his reputation while facing criticism over human rights issues, immigration policies and international conflicts.
“We tend to talk about sportswashing when we talk about dictators or oil-rich countries,” said Nick Watanabe, who studies sport and entertainment management at the University of South Carolina. “It definitely applies to the United States.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the UFC’s expansion and the White House fights as “the definition of American soft diplomatic power.” He announced a public-private partnership with UFC to integrate combat sports into the State Department’s diplomatic initiatives. Rubio did not detail the financial arrangements.
Critics have made comparisons to Gulf nations that fund combat sports organizations, including UFC, to extend influence and divert attention from their human rights records.
“It’s him using this opportune moment and it’s him trying to place himself at the forefront of 250 years of the American republic,” Watanabe said. “There’s nothing subtle about it, I think. He wants to show everybody that America is great, and he is the one leader.”
Trump’s supporters said the events demonstrate Trump’s longtime passion for athletics, his business skills and his efforts to establish his legacy as a transformational president. White House representatives did not respond to multiple Reuters requests for comment.
Julia Friedland, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, said: “Sports have long served as a common language that brings Americans together, and that spirit is reflected throughout the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.”
The UFC event has attracted critics simply due to its Trump connection, said Mark Teixeira, a Texas Republican and former Major League Baseball star. “If you’re getting bent out of shape about a sporting event in Washington, D.C. — we have a lot bigger problems in our country,” he said.
Trump’s involvement with mixed martial arts began before his political career. UFC conducted its first officially sanctioned event at Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2000. Trump also tried MMA promotion personally in 2008 and 2009, and UFC’s early events occurred at his casino.
Outside of MMA, Trump has repeatedly tried to buy National Football League teams. He once owned a franchise in a failed football league that competed with the NFL for players and audiences.
Some political rivals with athletic backgrounds voiced concerns about the White House event.
Representative Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat who competed in two professional MMA matches, said the image of a massive, temporary arena constructed at the White House troubles her during a period of rising consumer prices and ongoing U.S. military involvement. She told Reuters she also fears that Trump’s UFC association could damage the sport.
“My main concern is seeing the politicization of a sport that I hope continues to grow and that people continue to find and fall in love with,” she said.
UFC competitors told Reuters they had varying approaches for managing the ceremony and politics.
Lightweight fighter Michael Chandler, who has publicly supported Trump previously, said he would attempt to ignore the atmosphere and approach the fight like any other. Canadian bantamweight fighter Aiemann Zahabi anticipates facing boos and criticism while fighting American Sean O’Malley, a declared Trump supporter.
However, Zahabi said he would seek opportunities to recognize the event and the president.
“It’s something that’s probably never going to be repeated again,” Zahabi said. “It’s a one-off, and you know, Trump’s an eccentric guy, and you know, he loves MMA. He loves UFC… I think of it (as) just one big celebration.”
Advocacy organizations express concern that the venue atmosphere introduces politics and Trump deference into the sporting competition.
“Rising authoritarianism, large-scale conflicts, and global retreat from multilateralism all have direct consequences to sport,” said Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, a nonprofit human rights group.
“Global actors vie for power, but they use sports as a weapon, and we have seen Donald Trump and the U.S. under his administration using sports in different ways.”
As Iran’s national soccer team prepares to take the field in Los Angeles next week for World Cup competition, Iranian-American supporters are grappling with conflicted emotions about cheering for Team Melli on American soil.
The ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran has created a complex situation for fans like Ehsan Shafi, a 46-year-old Iranian-American business owner who plans to attend the matches despite the political turmoil. While excited to see his national team compete on soccer’s biggest stage, Shafi acknowledges the difficult circumstances surrounding the games.
“All players wish to have a chance to play in the World Cup,” Shafi explained after participating in a Sunday morning match with Arya FC, an amateur Iranian-American soccer club located in Woodland Hills. “It doesn’t matter what’s happening in the world. We are so excited to see our national team.”
However, Shafi recognizes the challenging position many fans find themselves in. “It’s a very complicated situation,” he admitted. “Nobody likes to see their country under bombing. It’s very complicated for our people.”
Los Angeles houses tens of thousands of Iranian-Americans in what’s commonly called “Tehrangeles,” representing the world’s largest Iranian diaspora community. For many who left Iran following the 1979 revolution due to political turmoil and oppression, Team Melli – the Persian term for the national team – has served as an important cultural connection to their homeland.
Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by a match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. While Shafi has purchased tickets and maintains his enthusiasm for the rare opportunity to watch the team locally, not all community members share his perspective.
Shawn Rezaei, Shafi’s 59-year-old teammate at Arya FC and a restaurant executive who also departed Iran during the revolution, has made the opposite decision. Despite attending previous World Cups in Germany, Brazil, Russia, and Qatar, Rezaei plans to boycott this tournament.
“I’m a die-hard football fan,” Rezaei stated. “But this time, because of the political situation, I’m boycotting.”
Although Rezaei initially sought tickets for the U.S. matches, he ultimately concluded he couldn’t support the team while opposing Tehran’s leadership. “This team is not representing the nation,” he argued. “They are basically a propaganda proxy for the regime.”
This division between Shafi and Rezaei reflects broader tensions within the Iranian-American community. Several other fans interviewed requested anonymity, expressing concerns that criticizing Iran’s government might endanger family members still living there, or that commenting on U.S. policies could create problems within their local communities.
Additional worries center on potential safety issues, particularly for younger supporters, regarding whether Iran’s matches might become focal points for anti-war demonstrations, anti-government protests, or immigration enforcement actions.
These concerns help explain the careful approach often adopted by the players themselves. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Iran’s team gained worldwide attention when players chose not to sing their national anthem before the opening game, a move widely interpreted as solidarity with anti-government demonstrators back home.
Throughout subsequent matches, the team’s celebrations remained restrained and patriotic displays were notably minimal – actions some viewed as quiet resistance while others criticized as inadequate. The situation highlighted the intense pressure facing the players, with reports suggesting potential consequences for both athletes and their families in Iran.
“Who am I to judge the actions of the team when I myself don’t want to speak out publicly in case it endangers my family,” commented one Iranian-American supporter with relatives in Tehran, who still intends to attend a World Cup game in Los Angeles.
WASHINGTON, June 12 – A recent Reuters/Ipsos survey reveals that roughly half of evangelical Christians – a key segment of President Donald Trump’s political coalition – question whether his administration’s Iran military campaign and immigration policies align with their Christian beliefs.
The evangelical community played a crucial role in the Republican’s 2024 electoral success, and Trump along with senior officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth frequently incorporate religious rhetoric when discussing their policy objectives. The party will rely heavily on this demographic during November’s midterm contests, where they face the challenge of maintaining narrow control in both chambers of Congress.
The survey, conducted June 3-8, found that 54% of evangelicals viewed Trump’s military operations in Iran as inconsistent with their Christian understanding, while 41% considered it aligned. Similarly, 51% of evangelical respondents felt the administration’s immigration approach conflicted with Christian principles, compared to 44% who saw it as compatible.
Trump’s support among evangelicals registered at 52% in the most recent polling, representing a decline from 61% recorded in August, though still significantly higher than his 35% approval among the broader American population.
His overall approval numbers have declined in recent months as the controversial Iran conflict has driven fuel costs substantially higher.
During his initial presidency, Trump fulfilled a long-sought evangelical objective by establishing a 6-3 conservative Supreme Court majority, which subsequently reversed the decision that had guaranteed nationwide abortion access.
In his current term, he has frequently welcomed religious leaders to the Oval Office and modified policies to permit federal workers to express their faith-based views in the workplace.
Evangelical voters lean Republican by more than a 2-to-1 margin, and Trump captured the white evangelical vote 81%-16% in 2024, based on exit polling analysis from the Pew Research Center.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers stated that Trump has fulfilled promises to faith communities by protecting religious freedoms and pardoning anti-abortion activists with criminal convictions. “There has never been a greater president for Christian Americans than President Trump,” Taylor said.
Potential fractures within this critical voter group could create additional challenges for the Republican Party heading into the midterm elections.
Evangelical Christian Sandy Miller, 63, indicated she would not support him again given the chance. The Worthington, Indiana resident, from a community of approximately 1,400 people, cares for a 24-year-old daughter whose home-healthcare Medicaid benefits were eliminated under Trump.
Beyond her economic circumstances, Miller emphasized that her faith guides her voting decisions. She believes Trump may be a Christian but doesn’t demonstrate it publicly.
“I just don’t think waging war is the answer to everything all the time,” Miller said. “I understand sometimes you have to, but I don’t know in this instance that it needed to be done.”
Miller shared that she prays nightly for the nation’s leaders to follow God’s guidance. “I wish our politicians would pray more than they talk,” she said.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey included 4,531 American adults nationwide with a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction.
Evangelicals also rate Trump poorly on cost-of-living management.
The United States and Israel launched the Iran war on February 28 to prevent the Iranian government from completing nuclear weapon development. Despite the conflict’s effect on family budgets, Trump has pledged to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities regardless of cost.
The Iran war has resulted in thousands of casualties, including over 3,000 in Iran according to official counts, though rights organizations estimate closer to 3,600, plus more than 1,800 deaths in Lebanon and over 100 in Iraq, based on official and NGO data.
Many evangelicals view the United States as morally bound to defend Israel, a crucial American ally in the Middle East region.
Connie Reese, 77, an evangelical voter from Iowa, explained in a subsequent Reuters interview that his backing for Trump’s Iran war has biblical foundation, and that nations possess the right to defend themselves preemptively. While acknowledging disagreements with Israel’s government at times, he believes the Jewish people have “historical grounds for their homeland.”
“The re-establishment of Israel, the country, is a prophetic answer or an answer to a prophecy that is clearly spelled out in the word of God,” he said. “So in that regard, I support Israel as a free and sovereign nation.”
SRN News produces a daily audio program that focuses on religious news from around the globe. The program, called “Global Landscape,” runs for two minutes and covers the most important faith-related stories each day.
The audio segment offers listeners quick updates on religious developments, cultural changes, and major events that highlight where faith intersects with world events. The program aims to keep audiences informed about significant happenings in the religious community worldwide.
Members of the Southern Baptist Convention have decisively supported moving forward with a constitutional amendment that would formally prohibit churches led by female pastors from remaining in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
The decision came during the SBC’s annual gathering in Orlando this week, where the proposal received far more than the required two-thirds majority needed to advance constitutional changes. The amendment reinforces the position that only men should serve as pastors leading congregations.
To become official policy, the proposed ban must receive similar approval when Southern Baptists meet again next year. If passed, the amendment would strengthen current restrictions already in place within the SBC, which maintains a faith statement that opposes women serving as pastors.
In other religious news, an Italian court has made a groundbreaking ruling that recognizes a family structure involving one mother and two fathers caring for a four-year-old child. The case involves two married men from Germany and a woman who acted as their surrogate. While such arrangements are permitted under German law, this Italian decision marks the first time the country has legally acknowledged this type of family configuration, potentially setting a precedent that could influence policy across Europe. Many European Union nations have yet to legalize same-sex marriage, making polyamorous recognition even more complex.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s recent updates to its religious classification system have sparked renewed discussion about whether The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints qualifies as a Christian denomination. Members of the Mormon faith consider themselves Christian, though some of their fundamental beliefs, especially regarding the Trinity, differ from traditional Christian doctrine. Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, both Republicans and members of the Mormon faith, are questioning the Pentagon’s decision to exclude their religion from its Christian categories. Military officials say they have removed nearly 200 faith systems from their recognized religions list but emphasize the new criteria are not intended to challenge the validity of any religious belief system.
New York City’s mayor hosted a Pride Month celebration at a city courthouse this week, flanked by drag performers and prominent LGBTQ+ rights advocates. Zorhan Mamdani addressed attendees, declaring his commitment to “protecting trans and queer New Yorkers from these relentless attacks that we’re facing with the federal administration.”
During the event, Mamdani announced that the city has allocated $15 million in taxpayer funds for what he described as “gender-affirming care” services.
A fallen tree has forced authorities to shut down a portion of Creek Road, making the roadway impassable for drivers.
The closure affects Creek Road between its intersections with Snuff Mill Road and Lower Snuff Mill Road, where the downed tree is blocking the travel lanes.
Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes while crews work to clear the obstruction from the roadway.
Federal legislators are responding to a Pennsylvania incident where a convicted sex offender successfully obtained a child through a surrogate mother arrangement. Congressman Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, has put forward federal legislation that would impose penalties on surrogacy agencies that place children with individuals who are known sex offenders.
According to the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, the proposed legislation tackles “the current patchwork of surrogacy laws that leaves too much ambiguity.”
CHICAGO — Elite professional athletes and their medical teams report that an updated version of established surgical equipment is cutting recovery periods by weeks for specific injuries. Leading physicians believe this represents just the start of broader applications.
Cy Young recipients Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell allowed physicians to utilize the device on their valuable elbows. Connor Hellebuyck, who earned the 2025 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, relied on it for knee problems. Multiple NFL athletes have also adopted its use.
The device is known as the NanoNeedle scope 2.0, a smaller, bendable adaptation of the standard arthroscope. While still in early stages with limited published studies on this model, it has gained a notable group of supporters.
“Each time I’ve utilized it, including during my initial laboratory work, new procedure possibilities come to mind,” stated Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who serves as head team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Rams.
An arthroscope functions as a pencil-sized tube containing a camera that enters joints, fills the space with salt water or saline, and displays images on a monitor. Surgeons then insert additional instruments in the same location to complete the surgical work.
The reduced dimensions — measuring 1.9 millimeters across versus 4 millimeters for standard scopes — allow the NanoNeedle to minimize pain, swelling and tissue harm, resulting in quicker healing. It requires significantly less fluid than conventional scopes and has proven valuable for determining injury severity.
“We can achieve anatomical work and repairs while causing much less surgical trauma,” ElAttrache explained.
ElAttrache employed the NanoNeedle when removing a loose body from Skubal’s left elbow on May 6, and again during Snell’s comparable elbow procedure on May 19.
After Skubal — a two-time AL Cy Young Award recipient who becomes eligible for free agency following this season — joined the injured list, the Detroit Tigers announced their star pitcher would miss two to three months. However, he’s scheduled to return Saturday after throwing five scoreless innings during a rehabilitation appearance Sunday — approximately 5 1/2 weeks total.
ElAttrache has utilized the NanoNeedle scope with four patients but chose not to name the other two cases. Snell underwent a more extensive procedure that included spur removal, though ElAttrache remains hopeful about the left-hander’s timeline for rejoining the Dodgers.
“I believe his time away will be roughly half the typical duration,” ElAttrache said.
Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy recipient as the NHL’s premier goaltender, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee November 22. Doctors projected a four to six-week absence, but he returned to the net for the Winnipeg Jets after just three weeks.
Dr. James Voos, head team physician for the Cleveland Browns, has incorporated the NanoNeedle into procedures on five Browns athletes, including center Luke Wypler’s ankle fracture operation.
“Ankles and elbows represent areas where it has shown excellent utility and quick acceptance,” said Voos, who also leads the NFL Physicians Society. “We continue discovering additional applications for knees and shoulders.”
Beyond his Browns responsibilities, Voos chairs the orthopedics departments at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He has already observed advantages in treating younger athletes.
“Some very difficult elbow injuries in gymnasts and baseball players couldn’t accommodate the previous cameras, which were too big for the joint,” Voos explained. “They’re built for adult joints. The smaller camera lets us see and operate in these tighter spaces. In pediatrics and adolescence, that was more difficult and potentially caused additional damage previously, including more soft tissue harm.”
Arthrex, a Florida-based medical supply manufacturer, developed the NanoNeedle. Voos serves as an educational consultant for Arthrex, while ElAttrache has collaborated with the company for over three decades.
The original version debuted in 2019, according to Ryan Kellar, a senior product manager at Arthrex. Another version launched in 2023 before the current model — featuring improved visualization, processing and imaging — arrived in August.
“This represents our third version,” Kellar noted. “Our fourth version arrives this fall. That fourth version will offer everything conventional scopes provide with all the less invasive advantages of nano arthroscopy. We truly believe nano represents the next foundation of minimally invasive orthopedic treatment for the general population and a gold standard for athletes.”
Dr. Kyle Hammond, head team physician for the Atlanta Falcons and chief orthopedic surgeon for the Atlanta Hawks, has used the NanoNeedle in educational settings as an orthopedic surgeon at Emory Healthcare and assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine. He hasn’t yet used it on patients.
Hammond noted that other companies have created similar needle arthroscopy devices, but he commended the NanoNeedle’s camera quality, video feed clarity, and user-friendliness.
“It has essentially become very comparable to our standard arthroscopy equipment,” he said. “Just in a smaller format.”
The current NanoNeedle version is disposable, creating questions about expenses compared to sterilization costs for reusable traditional arthroscopes. Like any scientific advancement, Hammond said, extended use and research are necessary to evaluate the new design’s benefits against standard scope versions.
“To establish if they offer genuine advantages over standard care, they must be used extensively over time with data collection and statistical proof,” Hammond said.
Dr. Brian Cole, head team physician for the Chicago Bulls, said adoption rates will largely depend on clinicians’ willingness to integrate the scope into their practices.
“There’s an economic analysis combined with a healthcare analysis happening simultaneously,” said Cole, who also consults for Arthrex. “But I’d say directionally, this is our destination. Less invasive, cost-effective, predictable, eliminating potential problems with existing technology. In that respect, this is very innovative in my view, and aligns with our current direction.”
Motorists traveling on Ponderosa Drive are experiencing intermittent lane restrictions today as construction crews work along the roadway.
The lane closures are affecting traffic on Ponderosa Drive in the area from Plain Dealing Road to Barkers Landing Road. The construction work and associated lane restrictions are scheduled to continue through 6 PM this evening.
Drivers are advised to allow extra travel time and exercise caution when passing through the construction zone.
Drivers using Ponderosa Drive are encountering intermittent lane restrictions today due to ongoing construction work in the area.
The lane closures affect the stretch of roadway running from Plain Dealing Road to Barkers Landing Road, with work expected to wrap up by 6 PM this evening.
Motorists are advised to plan for potential delays and consider alternate routes if possible while crews complete their work in the area.
Senator Jim Banks is pushing for changes to television content ratings to help parents monitor what their children watch. The Illinois Republican has asked the Federal Communications Commission to incorporate LGBT content warnings into existing rating systems for television programming.
Banks expressed worry about the increasing presence of characters and storylines that promote what he calls the gay agenda in children’s programming. According to research from Concerned Women For America, approximately 40% of Netflix programming targeted at young children includes LGBT content.
The senator’s proposal would expand the current content rating framework to specifically identify shows containing such material, giving parents advance notice before their kids view the programs.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A solemn memorial service took place Friday in the central Kenyan town of Gilgil, where hundreds of people came together to remember 16 female students who lost their lives in a dormitory fire last month that law enforcement officials determined was deliberately set. Nine suspects are currently in custody.
The deceased girls from Utumishi Girls Academy were laid to rest in white caskets decorated with floral arrangements and topped with photographs of each victim. The caskets were arranged before their grieving families, fellow students, community members and area officials, all demanding accountability.
The nine students accused in the case, all from the same school, are being held by police. Investigators have determined that the May 28 fire was ignited by setting a mattress ablaze near the dormitory exit using matches and paraffin. Officials have not disclosed what motivated the attack.
At the memorial ceremony, hundreds of students from Utumishi Girls Academy performed a mournful hymn expressing hope that everything would be okay. One official conducting the service shared his experience as a survivor of Kenya’s most devastating school fire in 2001, which claimed 67 male students in a dormitory blaze in Machakos County in eastern Kenya.
Attendees demanded justice and accountability while dozens of educational institutions have shuttered recently due to student disturbances. The Kenya Red Cross reported responding to 37 school fires since January began.
Educational facility fires occur frequently throughout Kenya, with some resulting from deliberate acts by students opposing disciplinary actions or upcoming tests, while others stem from electrical problems.
Overcrowded sleeping quarters, inadequate emergency escape routes and limited firefighting resources have frequently led to fatalities and significant property destruction.
Last month, Kenya’s Education Ministry removed the principal of Utumishi Girls Academy for violating fire safety requirements. The ministry also announced it had shuttered more than 300 educational facilities after a 2024 fire incident that killed 21 male students in central Kenya.
At Friday’s memorial ceremony, which Kenyan first lady Rachel Ruto attended, the officiating bishop asked how much longer Kenyan children and families would endure such school fire tragedies.
The school captain, Abigael Wanjiku, remembered the deceased girls as “friends, study partners, teammates and companions.”
“The pain of losing them is one that we will carry for a long time,” she said.
A mother speaking for the parents became emotional and broke down during her remarks as she demanded accountability and justice, while assuring the surviving students that their safety remained the top concern.
LONDON (AP) — Renowned British painter David Hockney, whose vibrant depictions of swimming pools bathed in California sunlight became defining images of modern art, passed away on Thursday, according to his representative. He was 88 years old.
Born in northern England, Hockney spent a significant portion of his career living in Southern California, where the bright, sun-soaked suburban landscapes became a central theme in his artwork.
In his later years, he relocated back to Europe, drawing fresh creative energy from the forested hills of Yorkshire where he grew up and the countryside of France’s Normandy region. He rose to become one of Britain’s most celebrated artists, with his pieces commanding record-breaking prices at art auctions.
Art historian Simon Schama observed that “the popularity and durability of David Hockney’s art, through all his shape-shifts and restlessly inventive experiments, are really no mystery.”
“His work is admired — loved is not too strong a word — by the millions who, worldwide, flock to see it because it presupposes an expectation of pleasure,” Schama wrote in an essay accompanying a 2025 Hockney exhibition in Paris.
His representative, Erica Bolton, confirmed he passed away just weeks before what would have been his 89th birthday.
Recognizable by his signature circular eyeglasses and platinum blonde hair, Hockney became a prominent figure in the dynamic British and American art communities of the 1960s before turning 30. His artwork was equally recognizable, often creating surreal environments of geometric light reflecting off water surfaces and windows, featuring human subjects portrayed in flattened, streamlined forms using matte acrylic paints.
“I’m excited every day,” he shared with the Los Angeles Times in 1979. “London has lots of dreary parts but I never find anything dreary in Los Angeles.”
Born on July 9, 1937, in Bradford, a major industrial center known for wool textile production, Hockney lived there for his first twenty years before attending London’s Royal College of Art. He gained recognition even before completing his studies, and art dealer John Kasmin signed him to his roster in 1961.
His creative inspirations spanned from Renaissance portrait painters to 19th-century English landscape artist J.M.W. Turner, Pablo Picasso’s Cubist innovations, and 20th-century American pop art movements.
During a visit to America in 1963-64, Hockney attracted attention with his contemporary interpretation of “A Rake’s Progress,” updating 18th-century artist William Hogarth’s painting series about a wealthy playboy’s adventures and ultimate ruin. The New York Times noted in 1964 that Hockney “brings Hogarth up-to-date with a vengeance and furnishes a good example of how younger artists like to marry text and picture with benefit to each.”
He shared with fellow pop artists a fascination with the sleek appearance of contemporary life. Similar to Andy Warhol’s use of Brillo boxes and Campbell’s soup cans, Hockney sometimes included commercial imagery, such as a British Typhoo Tea package featured in his 1961 “Tea Painting in an Illusionistic Style.”
Speaking to The New York Times in 1964, he expressed appreciation for New York’s emerging pop art movement while questioning his place within it.
“I’m just an ordinary artist,” he said. “I do admire American pop — in fact it seems that everything fresh-looking and vital in England these days has been coming from the U.S.” However, he maintained that he was still “very much an artist in the English tradition,” as he stated in 1995.
He compared his California relocation to historical precedent, noting that previous generations of English artists had traveled to Italy seeking brilliant light.
As an openly homosexual artist, Hockney examined sensual subjects, applying the same careful attention to young male figures that artists had traditionally given to female nudes for generations. Close friends and romantic partners often served as subjects, and some pieces drew inspiration from photographs in male fitness publications.
Early pieces like “We Two Boys Together Clinging” and “Two Men in a Shower” honored same-sex relationships during a time when homosexuality remained criminalized in Britain.
During his early career, the Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired two of his drawings.
“The moment I first sold pictures to earn a living, I felt rich. I’ve been rich ever since,” he shared with The Associated Press in 1995. “I didn’t have much money but I did what I wanted. … You are a rich man if you do the things you want to do.”
This artistic independence brought Hockney both critical praise and financial success, with his pieces selling for unprecedented amounts. In 2018, his 1972 work “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” sold at Christie’s for $90.3 million, setting a record for a living artist at that time. In February 2020, another pool-themed painting, “The Splash” from 1966, brought 23.1 million pounds ($30 million) at Sotheby’s.
Beyond creating paintings of pools, Hockney also physically painted a pool when he designed the bottom of the swimming pool at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles.
Though his most famous works featured American settings, he also captured British themes. He created multiple portraits of his parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Clark and Percy,” a 1971 double portrait featuring two English friends and their cat, ranked fifth in a 2005 BBC Radio-National Gallery online survey of Britain’s greatest paintings. It was the sole work by a living painter in the top ten.
Like many classical artists, he viewed drawing as an essential skill and regretted that it wasn’t taught as thoroughly as in the past.
“Human beings are the most interesting things we see, so they’re the hardest to draw,” he explained in a 1996 AP interview, noting that the finest drawings emerge when empathy exists between artist and subject.
His creative work extended beyond drawing and painting. He designed costumes and sets for theatrical and operatic productions, including a renowned “Tristan und Isolde” that premiered in 1987 at the Los Angeles Opera.
As a constant innovator, Hockney worked across drawing, painting, printmaking, photo collage, and video throughout his seven-decade career.
When he explored photography, he blended artistic forms, creating intricate collages like “Pearblossom Highway, 11-18th April, 1986,” composed of separate photographs of a desert road intersection.
“My photographer friends said it was a painting,” Hockney shared with the AP in 2001. “I said it’s a photograph; I used a camera.”
His photographic experiments inspired him to research and publish a 2001 book, “Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters.” He proposed that throughout history, artists employed lenses and optical instruments to assist their drawing far more frequently than most art historians acknowledge.
Eventually, he began creating art on iPads, which became his preferred medium.
In the early 2000s, he revisited the countryside and forests of Yorkshire through a collection of vibrant landscape paintings that merged vivid colors with detailed attention to elements like snow on hillsides or flowers on hawthorn bushes. These works were featured in a 2017 exhibition at Tate Britain in London that drew half a million visitors and later traveled to the Pompidou Center in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Hockney drew upon English countryside imagery for his stained-glass window design at Westminster Abbey honoring the extended reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Finished in 2018, the Queen’s Window shows a landscape of flowering hawthorn trees in shades of blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, and red.
By this period, Hockney was widely regarded as Britain’s foremost living artist and a national icon. In 1997, the queen appointed him a Companion of Honour, a distinction reserved for 65 individuals “of distinction.”
In 2019, he relocated to Normandy, France, where during the 2020 coronavirus restrictions he created cheerful iPad illustrations of springtime for his friends. His message — “Do remember they can’t cancel the spring” — was displayed in neon lights across the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris when it presented a major Hockney exhibition that opened in April 2025.
The exhibition spanned from his first sold painting — a 1955 portrait of his father — through Los Angeles swimming pools to Yorkshire forests, friend portraits, opera stage designs, and numerous images celebrating spring’s arrival in Normandy.
Art curator Norman Rosenthal, who helped organize the Paris exhibition, described Hockney as “the Picasso of our times.”
“When I say that, people laugh at me, as Picasso was the archetypal artist of the 20th century,” Rosenthal explained to the Independent newspaper. “But David Hockney is also an incredibly popular artist whose work changes how we see things.”
A committed cigarette smoker who criticized government anti-smoking policies, Hockney protested when a poster for the 2025 exhibition was prohibited from the Paris Metro because it showed him with a cigarette.
Hockney experienced a minor stroke in 2012 and faced increasing hearing loss in his final years — something he claimed enhanced his visual abilities.
“If you lose one sense, you gain other senses, and I feel I could see space clearer,” he shared with the AP in 2017.
He maintained his artistic practice throughout his life.
“It’s my work that keeps me young,” Hockney told the Sun newspaper in 2017. “I’ve been a professional painter for 60 years. Sixty years of getting up every day and doing exactly what I want to do.”
BERLIN (AP) — A humpback whale that captured Germany’s attention for months survived approximately five days following a final disputed rescue operation that failed to return the animal to the Atlantic Ocean, authorities announced Friday.
The marine mammal, given the nicknames “Timmy” and “Hope” by German news outlets, was discovered deceased on May 14, washed ashore near the tiny island of Anholt in the Kattegat, a wide waterway separating Denmark and Sweden that links the Baltic and North seas.
Finding the whale’s body brought closure to months of dramatic and divisive rescue operations that reached their peak on May 2, when the creature was moved by barge toward the North Sea in a last-ditch effort to save it. Researchers, government leaders, citizens and private groups debated whether allowing the weakened and ill animal to die naturally was more compassionate than pursuing additional rescue measures.
Information from a tracking device placed on the whale’s dorsal fin indicates the animal’s death most likely happened on May 6 or 7, stated Till Backhaus, who serves as environment minister for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
During those five days, the whale traveled approximately 215 kilometers (134 miles) but was swimming back toward the Baltic Sea, moving away from its intended destination of the Atlantic Ocean.
Following that period, the information suggests the whale probably floated without direction — or the tracking device stopped functioning, Backhaus explained Friday at a press briefing.
The whale was initially observed near Germany’s coastline on March 3, creating a media sensation that featured breaking news alerts and continuous online updates about the animal’s condition.
Experts remain uncertain why the whale entered the Baltic Sea, an environment unsuitable for its survival, though some specialists suggested it might have become disoriented while following a school of herring or during seasonal migration.
A post-mortem examination of the remains has not yet identified what caused the whale’s death, Backhaus reported, but officials did learn that “Timmy” was actually female, contradicting months of assumptions about the whale being male.
The minister noted that the autopsy revealed no significant injuries, and found no evidence of violence or foreign objects that could have led to death.
“Did it have any nets or other foreign objects on its body, in its mouth or on its body?” Backhaus stated. “Nothing was found.”
According to German news agency dpa, portions of the whale’s remains will be converted to biodiesel in Denmark, while some bones will be donated to a Danish museum.
BUDAPEST, Hungary — A deadly sequence of highway accidents in western Hungary claimed eight lives during the early morning hours on Friday, according to law enforcement officials.
The first incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. when a truck crashed into construction equipment near Győr, resulting in one fatality and causing the truck to burst into flames. The accident created significant traffic delays on the roadway.
Approximately 30 minutes following the initial crash, a minibus bearing Moldovan license plates crashed into a truck that had come to a stop on the highway due to the earlier incident. This second collision resulted in seven deaths and left two people with severe injuries, authorities reported.
Officials shut down one lane of the M1 highway heading toward Austria following the accidents.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar offered his sympathies to the families affected by the tragic incidents.
NEW YORK – Wall Street faces uncertainty next week as a newly turbulent stock market encounters an unknown factor: Fed Chair Kevin Warsh leading his inaugural meeting as the central bank’s head during a period when investors fear interest rate increases to combat inflation might reduce appetite for stocks.
Market participants are anxious to observe how Warsh manages his debut meeting leading the nation’s central bank, representing one of the financial sector’s most scrutinized gatherings that often triggers significant price movements across various assets.
“As we’ve seen at times in the past, it can be a bit of a challenge for a newer Fed chief to get the message right, to stick the landing,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “The market is watching and parsing every word that’s said.”
Following impressive gains, primary stock benchmarks have retreated during this month’s trading. The S&P 500 benchmark recently traded almost 3% below its record closing peak from June 2nd. The Nasdaq Composite has dropped nearly 5% from that same date’s high point.
The Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” reached two-month peaks this week, while major market averages experienced substantial daily fluctuations, including Thursday’s sharp upward movement.
Tech stocks have spearheaded the selloff, similar to how they propelled indices upward during intense rallies from the year’s market bottom in late March. Market participants remain cautious about an overheated surge driven by excessive AI profit expectations, despite various risks including Middle East conflict developments and their effects on energy costs and inflation.
Market watchers will also pay close attention to Elon Musk’s SpaceX trading activity, scheduled for its market launch Friday following its substantial initial public offering.
The S&P 500 maintains an 8% gain for the year, while the Nasdaq shows an 11% increase.
FED LIKELY ON HOLD, FOR NOW
Any possible Fed rate increase could create obstacles for stocks by elevating borrowing expenses for individuals and companies, while simultaneously making bonds more attractive investment alternatives.
Although the Fed is broadly anticipated to maintain current rates when releasing its monetary policy announcement Wednesday, investors will seek indicators of officials’ future perspectives.
President Donald Trump selected Warsh, having previously criticized the central bank and former chair Jerome Powell for insufficient rate reductions to meet his preferences.
However, Fed fund futures indicate market expectations for central bank rate increases before year’s end, based on LSEG information.
This week’s economic figures revealed U.S. consumer inflation during May rose at its quickest rate in three years. This development, combined with recent strong employment statistics, has prompted investors to believe the Fed will prioritize inflation control, potentially favoring rate hikes.
“Trying to understand the reaction function of this new administration at the Fed is going to be key,” said Marvin Loh, senior global macro strategist at State Street. “If we get that type of a hawkish hold, if you will, I think that that would kind of surprise the market.”
FED PROJECTIONS, WARSH COMMUNICATION IN FOCUS
During the meeting, Fed officials are anticipated to provide forecasts regarding interest rate direction and economic outlook, including inflation expectations. Investors will also carefully examine Warsh’s press conference following Wednesday’s policy announcement.
“The biggest thing is will the Fed hold, and what’s the language around it?” said Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at retirement and wealth services provider Empower. “How does it describe inflation?”
Investors seek to understand Warsh’s policy objectives and potential Fed restructuring plans.
For instance, Warsh has indicated interest in reducing the Fed’s $6.7 trillion balance sheet, which might generate market disruptions.
Warsh may also pursue changes to Fed communication methods or policy guidance approaches, investors noted.
“If we are more data dependent and we’re not getting visibility from the Fed of what they want to do, then I would think every economic release gets a little bit more attention and can create a little bit more volatility than we’ve seen over the last few years,” said Jeff Given, head of developed-market fixed income at Manulife Investment Management.
New Canadian legislation aimed at controlling AI chatbots has sparked concern among technology experts who question whether the proposed rules can actually work.
The bill was introduced this week following widespread public anger over a February school shooting in British Columbia that claimed nine lives. Controversy erupted when OpenAI admitted it had failed to notify police about disturbing ChatGPT conversations involving the shooting suspect.
Under the proposed legislation, Canada would establish a new digital oversight agency and implement a social media prohibition for users under 16, similar to Australia’s recent approach. The regulatory body would mandate that chatbots minimize risks when users search for dangerous material and implement emergency response protocols for discussions involving suicide and self-harm.
However, the proposal has faced sharp criticism from academics and legal professionals who point to vague language, potential enforcement gaps, and an extended implementation timeline.
“If this is the preview of a law, I do not have high hopes for something that will be useful in a practical sense,” said Evan Light, an associate professor at the University of Toronto who focuses on technology and privacy.
Light expressed surprise at the bill’s lack of development, noting that internet restrictions could be easily bypassed using VPNs – virtual private networks that mask users’ internet addresses – or other methods.
The office of Canada’s Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.
During Wednesday’s announcement, Miller acknowledged the challenge of balancing privacy rights with social media and AI chatbot oversight. He clarified that the proposed legislation would not cover private messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Signal, and noted that companies meeting specific regulatory standards could receive exemptions from the social media restrictions.
Miller referenced the Tumbler Ridge shooting in British Columbia, explaining that the 18-year-old suspect’s ChatGPT account had been internally flagged for violent content but authorities were never contacted.
Miller said the company “made an egregious human error” and the government was now taking steps to make social media and AI chatbots “safer by design.”
OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. The company previously apologized for not alerting Canadian authorities.
Multiple governments worldwide, including those in Europe, Brazil, and several U.S. states, are advancing new age verification requirements for social networks, AI chatbots, and adult content providers.
A Meta spokesperson said in an email that social media bans are “counterproductive” and that the company is assessing the implications of the proposed bill.
A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said the company is committed to working with the government to establish higher safety standards, so parents can choose safer online experiences for their children. A TikTok spokesperson said the platform already has more than 50 safety and privacy settings and parents can use “Family Pairing” to manage their teens’ experience.
Government officials have said it could take a year for the bill to pass and 18 months to set up the digital regulator once it does.
Florian Martin-Bariteau, director of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa, warned that children would likely be able to circumvent the social media ban and AI chatbot restrictions.
Since Australia’s social media ban took effect, the regulatory agency enforcing it reported that a substantial number of children under 16 still retain accounts.
“The proposed framework will move them to riskier, smaller platforms,” he said, adding that while rules for major platforms could likely be enforced, it would be virtually impossible for Canada to block smaller websites that don’t comply. “By trying to protect kids, we may actually put them at greater risk.”
WASHINGTON – After federal officials abandoned President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion fund designed to compensate ‘weaponization’ victims, supporters are now turning to an alternative legal pathway to secure payments for Trump loyalists, including individuals who participated in the January 6, 2021, Capitol uprising.
According to Trump associates and legal specialists, the most promising option involves utilizing the Federal Tort Claims Act, legislation from 1946 that permits individuals to submit administrative claims and file lawsuits against the federal government for purported misconduct, with potential out-of-court settlements.
Stanley Woodward, holding the third-highest position at the Justice Department, stated in an interview: “At my level, the fund is dead. If somebody wants to submit a claim against the government and sue us, they can still do that.”
The Republican president has consistently advocated for federal compensation to supporters he characterizes as targets of a ‘weaponized’ federal government under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
However, the ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, developed as part of a legal agreement between Trump and the Justice Department to settle his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS regarding alleged mishandling of his tax documents, was suspended following strong Republican congressional opposition. Trump’s opponents criticized it as a slush fund rewarding supporters with public funds.
Hundreds of individuals prosecuted following their involvement in the Capitol assault, which represented an unsuccessful attempt by Trump supporters to block Congress from confirming his 2020 electoral defeat to Biden, have already submitted claims, with at least 10 filing government lawsuits for damages – receiving minimal response thus far.
This approach has been under development for some time. Conservative attorneys discussed the strategy during a previously undisclosed planning meeting at the 2024 Republican National Convention, according to longtime Trump associate Michael Caputo, who participated in the gathering.
Additional compensation methods remain under consideration, according to Caputo, who spearheaded ‘anti-weaponization’ initiatives in Trump’s 2024 campaign and submitted the first known claim under the now-cancelled ‘weaponization’ fund.
“I’ve heard no indication that they’ve slowed down on trying to get victims paid,” Caputo stated, noting that administration officials instructed him to “watch this space.”
Caputo, who worked as a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson during Trump’s initial presidency, requested $2.7 million in ‘restitution’ from Blanche regarding investigations by the Biden administration and former special counsel Robert Mueller.
“It’s the most logistically feasible method,” explained Patrick Jaicomo, a senior lawyer at the libertarian legal organization Institute for Justice who focuses on Federal Tort Claims Act cases. “The government would have a lot of flexibility.”
Trump’s continued advocacy for compensating supporters he describes as ‘weaponization’ victims has sparked questions about which approach he might pursue for such payments.
When questioned about alternative compensation plans, the White House referenced earlier statements by Trump and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicating the weaponization fund would not proceed.
“We have no additional announcements at this time and any speculation about potential future actions is just that – speculation,” a White House official told Reuters anonymously. “President Trump remains committed to addressing Biden-era weaponization.”
A Justice Department official, speaking anonymously, indicated there is no initiative to encourage claim submissions.
Trump has alleged that the Biden administration and other political adversaries improperly utilized law enforcement, intelligence and regulatory agencies to target him and his associates. Critics argue these actions were legally warranted due to actual or suspected misconduct by Trump and others.
Trump, for example, granted executive pardons to his supporters prosecuted for their January 6 riot participation.
“The people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization,” Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program broadcast Sunday. “Many of those people should be compensated.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham endorsed pursuing payouts through the Federal Tort Claims Act in a social media statement, prompting Justice Department’s Woodward to respond with what appeared to be support in a subsequently deleted post.
“We’re working on it,” Woodward wrote.
Woodward later explained to Reuters he intended to communicate that individuals believing they were government abuse victims retain a compensation pathway despite the absence of the $1.8 billion fund.
Financially compensating Trump associates has evolved from political fringe territory toward mainstream Republican strategy.
Caputo said he participated in discussions about finding methods to pay ‘weaponization’ victims dating to October 2023.
In 1956, Congress established a permanent Judgment Fund for settling federal government lawsuits.
Caputo reported that presidential allies and conservative attorneys discussed utilizing this fund for Federal Tort Claims Act payouts “ad nauseam” during the 2024 Republican National Convention. Discussion participants opposed compensating violent felons, including those who attacked police officers, according to Caputo.
The participants viewed the Judgment Fund as a “limitless” money source that would circumvent political obstacles of establishing a new administrative fund, Caputo said, though they recognized these payouts could generate controversy.
Several prominent Trump allies have already received Federal Tort Claims Act payouts. Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, obtained a $1.25 million settlement under the statute.
Attorney Peter Ticktin said his firm represents over 400 Capitol riot participants who have filed Federal Tort Claims Act claims. Ticktin expressed hope the government will settle cases before court proceedings, but has received no settlement plans notification.
“We’re asking for restitution in the millions of dollars,” Ticktin said, adding he trusts Trump and the Justice Department will ensure his clients receive payment.
The administrative procedure for Federal Tort Claims Act claims begins when someone files a form, designated SF-95, alleging government wrongdoing and seeking damages.
Claims generally must be submitted within two years of the incident, but January 6 defendants argue the alleged wrongdoing against them represents continuing harm. It remains uncertain how courts or the Justice Department will interpret that position.
If the government accepts the requested amount, officials can authorize payment before judicial assignment, Jaicomo explained, meaning no judge would examine the payment.
If the government refuses settlement, claimants may file lawsuits, at which point a judge would oversee the case. Ticktin has filed 10 lawsuits and plans hundreds more.
Rupa Bhattacharyya, a former Justice Department official who supervised the September 11, 2001, attack victims’ compensation fund, said department lawyers typically settle only when facing high trial loss risk, though they maintain broad settlement discretion including in January 6 cases.
“That would be a travesty because these are very defensible lawsuits,” said Bhattacharyya, who served under presidents from both parties. “It would violate the purpose and spirit of the judgment fund – but it is unlikely it would violate the text of the law.”
Elon Musk has maintained strict control over who gets to invest in SpaceX, his rocket company that’s making its highly anticipated public stock debut this week.
The billionaire’s selective approach meant early investors needed personal connections and had to pass interviews before being allowed to buy shares. One investor used ties to the entrepreneur’s cousin to purchase $10 million in stock back in 2018. Another portfolio manager at a major U.S. fund leveraged his relationship with a board member from the Musk-led Tesla to secure SpaceX shares in 2023.
Both early investors told Reuters they had to visit SpaceX facilities where Musk’s team, including CFO Bret Johnsen, conducted interviews before approving their investments. The world’s richest person personally signed off on each deal, though investors received minimal financial details about the company despite investing millions.
The strategy has paid off handsomely for early backers. SpaceX’s value has surged from approximately $30 billion in 2018 when Lyndon Rive — Musk’s cousin and former CEO of SolarCity — sold his stake. The company now expects to go public with a market value of $1.75 trillion.
“When we invested, it was straight up: Elon controls everything, and you’re not going to know anything unless you put in $250 (million),” said Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment firm holding SpaceX and Tesla shares. Gerber said he proceeded because his Tesla investment had been extremely profitable.
Musk continues dictating terms as SpaceX enters public markets. Major banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have received specific instructions on marketing the stock and targeting particular investors. Some banks were told exact order sizes to fulfill — sometimes reaching billions of dollars — and given directions on investor types to pursue, according to five sources familiar with the process. Banks agreed to underwrite the offering without knowing their compensation.
The Nasdaq stock market’s CEO, Adena Friedman, spent months lobbying Musk and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell to secure the listing. In March, Nasdaq modified its index rules to accelerate large-cap companies like SpaceX joining the Nasdaq-100 after listing.
Unlike early investors with connections who are seeing massive gains, the company’s high valuation leaves little margin for error. Individual investors, including everyday buyers, will have access to 30% of the $75 billion offering.
SpaceX carries multiple risks for public investors: weak corporate governance with Musk holding absolute control, unprofitable operations, transactions between Musk’s various companies, and ambitious goals like Mars colonization and space-based data centers. However, few investors appear focused on these concerns amid the excitement.
“No fiduciary should accept this adverse combination of financial and governance risk,” wrote Tejal Patel, executive director of the union-affiliated SOC Investment Group, in a June 4 letter to other prospective SpaceX investors.
SpaceX and Musk did not respond to requests for comment. Rive and CFO Johnsen also did not respond. Major banks including Citi, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Nasdaq either declined comment or did not respond.
The upcoming public offering promises substantial returns for SpaceX’s early investors and employees. The fund manager who purchased Rive’s stock for $10 million now sits on more than $200 million in gains. After the public debut, SpaceX will represent 20% of his $1.5 billion fund’s holdings.
The anonymous fund manager described visiting SpaceX headquarters for an interview with CFO Johnsen. During the meeting, he faced questions about his fund’s finances, plans for future investments, and funding sources.
He received limited company information from Rive, who needed SpaceX approval before selling shares. To learn more, the investor sought details from outside sources, including a vendor manufacturing parts for the satellite company.
Such rigorous investor screening has become more common as private companies grow and gain market influence, though it was unusual at the time, the investor noted. “We felt like we were getting interviewed more than we were interviewing them.”
He eventually obtained basic financial data — revenue and growth figures — but no detailed information like balance sheet copies. This differed from most companies in his portfolio, which provide comprehensive information and regular updates.
Six investors said SpaceX maintains relatively concentrated ownership for a company its size. Reuters could not determine the exact number of shareholders, but private companies face additional regulations after reaching 2,000 shareholders.
SpaceX has disrupted the traditional public offering process. Banks typically drive investor outreach using their relationships and discretion — contacting investors, measuring interest, and advising issuers on allocations. During company roadshows, investors indicate interest within price ranges, and final pricing reflects that demand.
SpaceX reversed this approach, assigning banks to specific investor groups and regions in what participants call a “lane” structure. This directs firms to focus on defined offering segments rather than competing broadly. The company set a fixed price before launching the roadshow.
A source familiar with the deal defended this arrangement, saying it emerged from the company’s desire to make its 23 underwriting banks handle fair workloads and assign “accountability and ownership.” Some bankers spent over six months at SpaceX headquarters designing what the person called a “great collaboration.”
Another unusual aspect is the large retail investor allocation. During an April 6 virtual meeting with all IPO banks, Johnsen told attendees SpaceX was doing this “intentionally.”
“Those are folks that have been incredibly supportive of us and of Elon for a long time, and we want to make sure that we recognize that,” he said, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.
One banker said SpaceX planned marketing to retail investors internationally, including the European Union, Australia, Canada, Japan and Korea, without a listing.
Demand for the stock appears strong. Analysts handling the deal received up to 20 daily investor calls, above the typical 10 to 15 for popular offerings, one source said.
“I can see both sides of this. But betting against Elon Musk has been a mistake, in hindsight,” said Bradford Briner, North Carolina state treasurer. Briner expects his $149 billion state retirement system will own approximately $30 million in SpaceX shares as the company joins the Russell 1000 index tracked by part of the system.
International stock funds attracted fresh investment for the third consecutive week, as market participants capitalized on recent declines to boost their technology holdings, anticipating the artificial intelligence boom will persist.
According to LSEG Lipper data, investors added a net $3.32 billion to international equity funds during the week ending June 10, down from $21.12 billion in net purchases the previous week.
“For investors who may have under-allocated to the AI supply chain, we think select additions on weakness may make sense,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said in a note earlier this week. “Underlying measures of AI demand remain firmer.”
The MSCI World Index dropped as much as 4.8% from the previous week’s record peak of 1,138.3, though it has since bounced back approximately 2.3% amid fresh optimism about potential diplomatic progress between Iran and the U.S.
Funds focused on European and Asian markets experienced weekly net additions of $6.74 billion and $6.37 billion respectively. Meanwhile, U.S.-focused funds posted $12.57 billion in withdrawals, representing their first weekly net outflows in three weeks.
Technology-focused funds captured $7.05 billion in their tenth consecutive week of positive flows. Financial and industrial sector funds received $624 million and $545 million respectively.
International bond funds registered net weekly additions of $18.27 billion, extending their purchasing momentum to 10 consecutive weeks.
Market participants allocated $6.7 billion to short-duration bond funds, representing the largest weekly addition in three weeks, while directing $3.21 billion to dollar-denominated medium-term bond funds and $2.26 billion to euro-based bond funds.
Money market funds experienced $18.21 billion in net withdrawals, shifting direction after attracting substantial inflows of $154.64 billion the week before.
Participants also pulled a net $1.86 billion from gold and other precious metal funds, continuing a pattern of withdrawals for the fourth straight week.
Emerging market investments faced selling pressure as participants withdrew a net $944 million from bond funds and $3.4 billion from equity funds, extending outflows to seven consecutive weeks, according to data encompassing 28,937 funds.
Soccer’s international governing body has rolled out updated regulations that officials will enforce during the upcoming World Cup tournament.
The new guidelines target two main areas: cutting down on players deliberately wasting time during matches and making sure significant refereeing errors that could change game outcomes get properly addressed.
These rule modifications represent FIFA’s ongoing effort to improve the flow and fairness of the world’s most watched sporting event.
The United States men’s soccer squad will kick off their World Cup campaign Friday when they face Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the venue temporarily rebranded from its usual SoFi Stadium name.
This opening match represents the beginning of the group stage phase for the American team, marking the culmination of nearly a decade of preparation as this generation of soccer talent has matured perfectly in time for a World Cup being held on American territory.
This Friday night, the United States men’s soccer squad will begin their 2026 World Cup journey when they face off against Paraguay. The 26 American athletes selected for the roster have reached the pinnacle of their sport after countless hours of preparation and dedication.
For these players, Friday’s opening match represents the realization of a dream that has required years of commitment to their craft and rigorous preparation.
A Heat Advisory remains in effect until 8 PM tonight for New Castle County in Delaware and surrounding areas, as dangerous heat index values could reach 103 degrees.
The National Weather Service warns that the combination of hot temperatures and high humidity poses a significant risk for heat-related illnesses across northern Delaware, southern New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania. Areas under the advisory include New Castle County, along with parts of Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, and northwestern Burlington counties in New Jersey, plus Philadelphia and surrounding Pennsylvania counties.
Health officials urge residents to take immediate precautions: drink plenty of fluids, stay indoors in air conditioning when possible, and avoid prolonged sun exposure. If you must be outside, wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing and limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening hours.
Pay close attention to signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and check on elderly relatives and neighbors who may be more vulnerable to extreme heat.
For those without air conditioning, call 211 or contact your local health department for information about cooling centers.
Relief is coming this weekend as a cold front moves through tonight, bringing much less humid conditions, though temperatures will still reach near 90 degrees.
Good morning, Delmarva! We’re looking at a hot and potentially stormy Friday across the peninsula. Temperatures will climb to a sizzling 96 degrees under mostly sunny skies this morning, but don’t let that blue sky fool you – changes are coming this afternoon.
After 2 PM, we’ll see chances for showers and thunderstorms developing, with a 50% chance of precipitation. Some of these storms could pack a punch and turn severe, so keep an eye on the sky and stay weather-aware. With heat index values reaching up to 103 degrees, it’s going to feel dangerously hot out there, so please stay hydrated and take breaks in the shade or air conditioning.
Tonight, any lingering storms will taper off as we cool down to a much more comfortable 69 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. The good news? Saturday looks absolutely beautiful! We’ll see sunny skies return with highs around 89 degrees – perfect weather for any weekend plans. Saturday night stays pleasant with mostly clear skies and lows near 68.
Stay cool today, Delmarva, and have a wonderful weekend!
WASHINGTON — Independent voters have become more dissatisfied with President Trump throughout his second term, according to fresh polling data from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, with the steepest decline among those lacking college education.
Research findings indicate that approximately half of independents without college degrees viewed Trump favorably around the 2024 election, but that number plummeted to roughly 25% by this spring. This dramatic shift has eliminated the significant education divide that previously existed among independent voters regarding their views of the president.
The research compiled data from nearly two dozen AP-NORC surveys spanning July 2024 through April 2026, providing insight into how Trump’s support evolved across multiple timeframes, including the final six months of 2024, his first 100 days back in office, summer 2025 when the Big Beautiful Bill became law, last fall’s government shutdown, and the start of the Iran conflict.
The data reveals consistent erosion of support among independents during Trump’s current presidency. His standing has also weakened among smaller but significant voter groups that had moved in his direction during the 2024 race, including Black and Hispanic independents.
With more Americans identifying as independents than ever before, and this group having shifted toward Trump in 2024, any loss of their support could create challenges for Trump and Republicans as midterm elections approach, which typically serve as a referendum on the party in power.
Tafari Torres, a senior research associate at NORC who helped write the analysis, observed that while Democratic and Republican opinions of Trump have remained relatively unchanged during his second presidency, independent viewpoints continue to shift. “Independents are, broadly, the people who are reacting to the events and dropping in their support,” he said.
Trump’s White House comeback was driven partly by independent voters who viewed him as superior on crucial matters like economic policy. However, the new research examining Trump’s favorability and job approval numbers shows their attitudes deteriorated rapidly once he assumed office.
Non-college-educated independents held significantly more favorable opinions of Trump than their college-educated counterparts during and immediately following the 2024 election, but this pattern reversed during his first months in office. Positive assessments among independents without degrees dropped from 48% before his return to power to 31% during his initial 100 days, then fell further to approximately 25% during the government shutdown and early 2026.
College-educated independents showed less dramatic change, with only about 30% viewing Trump positively before his return to office, making their decline to roughly 25% less striking.
“The decline among no-college independents was steeper and it was greater than the slight decline in college independents,” said Sean Collins, a research associate at NORC who co-authored the analysis. “That was surprising, especially given, when you think of Trump’s coalitions, those without college degrees is usually one of the ones that that stands out.”
Americans lacking college degrees have traditionally formed a core component of Trump’s political base. However, Trump’s 2024 victory also came from expanding support among typically Democratic-leaning demographics, including Hispanic voters.
Roughly 42% of independent voters backed Trump in 2024, an increase from 37% in the 2020 race. According to AP VoteCast, independents without college degrees showed slightly higher preference for Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris, while Hispanic independents were roughly evenly divided.
Current circumstances appear far less favorable for the president.
Nearly 46% of Hispanic independents viewed Trump positively in polling conducted around the presidential election. However, his approval among this demographic fell sharply during his second term, dropping to just 15% during last fall’s government shutdown before recovering to about 25% this spring.
Younger independents have also grown less supportive of the president, while those aged 60 and above have remained relatively steady. Additional AP-NORC polling has shown Trump losing support among younger Republicans due to inflation worries and increasing discontent among Hispanic Americans.
“The gains Trump appeared to make during the election, I don’t know if they’re sticking around. He’s experienced some significant shifts among those people,” Torres said. “From our research, they don’t appear to be permanent gains.”
Survey data suggests economic concerns drive much of Americans’ dissatisfaction with Trump, including among independents.
About half of independents who voted for Trump in 2024 identified inflation as their primary voting consideration, according to AP VoteCast, with most expressing serious concerns about food and gas costs.
More than a year into Trump’s second presidency, inflation continues at elevated levels, driven by gas prices that remain high due to the ongoing Iran conflict. An April AP-NORC survey found roughly 30% of independents were “extremely” or “very” worried about affording groceries recently, with similar numbers concerned about gas expenses.
The analysis determined that Americans’ economic perceptions typically mirror their presidential assessments. Those with negative views of the nation’s economy generally held unfavorable opinions of Trump, with approximately 80% of independents describing the U.S. economy as poor this spring.
May’s most recent AP-NORC polling showed only about 30% of independents approve of Trump’s economic performance, consistent with similar numbers from early in his second term. The April survey found just 12% of independents approved of his handling of living costs.
The AP-NORC analysis examined responses from 4,836 independents across 21 surveys, organized into five time periods before and during President Trump’s second term. Independents were defined as respondents who did not identify with or lean toward either major political party.
Federal banking supervisors are intensifying their oversight of artificial intelligence implementation at financial institutions as the technology becomes increasingly prevalent throughout the industry, according to individuals with knowledge of the regulatory activities.
Financial institutions have quickly embraced artificial intelligence technology in recent years, extending its application beyond simple virtual assistants to sophisticated operations including regulatory compliance monitoring and loan underwriting processes, which has attracted increased regulatory attention.
Supervisors are enhancing their oversight as AI adoption accelerates throughout financial services, creating new vulnerabilities to cybersecurity threats and fraudulent activities. Currently, their strategy involves maintaining close observation to gain deeper insight into how financial institutions are implementing this technology.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve have begun incorporating AI technology mapping requirements into their standard bank examinations, particularly for high-risk applications such as lending operations, customer identification procedures, and sanctions screening processes, according to three individuals familiar with these developments.
Banking supervisors are requesting comprehensive information about vendor relationships, customer data protection measures, and the presence of safety mechanisms such as emergency shutdown capabilities, these individuals reported. They are also investigating governance structures, including protective measures and human supervision, third-party risk management and vendor oversight, subcontractor exposure levels, and backup plans for system failures.
AI technology discussions have become a standard component of every banking examination, one individual noted.
These conversations occur through both written documentation and verbal communications. Supervisors are not yet providing specific directives but are working to gain better comprehension of how banks implement the technology, the individuals explained.
The individuals requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of these discussions. The OCC, which oversees U.S. banks, did not provide a response to comment requests, while the Fed declined to comment.
U.S. banking supervisors have publicly indicated increased scrutiny of financial institutions’ artificial intelligence usage. Last year, the Government Accountability Office reported that supervisors had informed them of their ongoing assessment of AI risks within financial services.
In April, the OCC announced that it, along with the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, intended to issue a formal information request regarding banks’ AI usage, including generative and agentic systems. Such requests do not create new regulations but assist agencies in collecting information before determining potential actions.
Supervisors are attempting to evaluate how banks are managing rapidly evolving systems such as Anthropic’s frontier AI model Mythos. Cybersecurity specialists indicate that this system presents substantial challenges to the banking sector and its existing technology infrastructure due to its capacity for exploiting cyber weaknesses.
The U.S. Treasury and supervisors are also reviewing the cybersecurity threats the new artificial intelligence model creates and evaluating how well financial firms are prepared to address them.
Currently, supervisors are concentrating on information collection and industry practice evaluation rather than limiting specific applications, individuals reported.
Rather than creating new regulations specifically designed for AI, the agencies are utilizing existing frameworks including model risk management, third-party risk supervision, and consumer protection regulations to evaluate how banks are managing the emerging technology, the individuals stated.
A primary concern for supervisors is ensuring that AI systems do not exceed their intended functions or access levels, the individuals noted. Supervisors are investigating whether tools can access or deduce information beyond authorized parameters, particularly since AI models are designed to extract and connect information across multiple systems. This creates risks regarding privacy, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance, according to these individuals.
Financial institutions are being required to demonstrate their control measures, including protective barriers that restrict model behavior and data access capabilities, they continued. Supervisors are also emphasizing human supervision and emergency shutdown mechanisms that enable firms to halt systems when necessary, along with clear authority structures for intervention, all three individuals confirmed.
Another significant oversight area involves vendor risk. As banks increasingly depend on third-party providers for AI tools, supervisors are questioning how firms ensure these vendors and their subcontractors maintain the same governance and security standards as the banks themselves, the three individuals reported.
Supervisors are also inquiring whether banks have contingency plans if security breaches occur with vendor systems, one individual noted, a growing concern as AI usage becomes more integrated into various banking operations.
Simultaneously, the rapid pace of AI advancement is creating challenges for supervisors themselves. The three individuals indicated that the technology is progressing at a rate that significantly exceeds traditional regulatory learning and rulemaking cycles, creating concerns that formal guidance, when released, could quickly become obsolete.
Consequently, authorities are expected to continue relying on broad, principles-based supervision rather than detailed regulations, though this approach could potentially change.
“Today, banks are relying on existing risk-management frameworks to guide their use of AI,” Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in a speech in May. “While these supervisory tools are intended to support banks in applying sound governance and risk management, we should assess whether our supervisory guidance is fit for the future.”
Water service has been disrupted across multiple cities in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine following a Ukrainian military strike on Friday, according to reports from the Interfax news agency citing local utility officials.
The attack targeted energy infrastructure, causing power outages at a water treatment facility and leaving residents in Donetsk, Yasynuvata, and portions of Makiivka without running water.
The affected Donetsk region represents one of four Ukrainian territories that Russia annexed in 2022 during its ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russian military forces now occupy more than 85% of the region.
Water access issues in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories have emerged as an ongoing logistical problem for Moscow’s administration.
Emergency crews responded to a fire at New Zealand’s Wellington Airport on Friday, prompting evacuations and forcing incoming aircraft to be rerouted to other locations.
According to a spokesperson from Fire and Emergency New Zealand, firefighting teams worked alongside the airport’s internal fire department to combat the flames.
The spokesperson reported that five fire trucks, two ladder vehicles, and a command unit were deployed to handle the emergency, though officials declined to specify what materials were burning.
Airport officials confirmed in a public statement that both the main terminal facility and the southwest pier were cleared of people as a safety precaution, with no injuries documented from the incident.
“Flights into Wellington have been temporarily diverted and passengers are advised to check with their airlines for information on specific flights,” the airport stated.
A woman from Iran was aboard a deportation flight that arrived Friday in the Central African Republic, carrying approximately two dozen migrants removed from the United States, according to legal advocates familiar with the case.
The flight represents another instance of controversial arrangements between the U.S. and various African and Latin American countries to accept deportees who are not citizens of those nations, lawyers say.
The Central African Republic joins at least nine other African countries that have entered into agreements to receive third-country nationals being removed by American immigration authorities.
These arrangements, many of which remain confidential, are components of broader immigration enforcement efforts that have resulted in thousands of deportations to nearly two dozen nations where the deportees are not from, according to advocacy groups.
Immigration attorneys describe these third-country deportations as a strategy to circumvent legal protections and pressure asylum seekers to return to their countries of origin.
The exact number of migrants on the flight that departed Louisiana late Thursday bound for Bangui, the Central African Republic’s capital, remained uncertain.
Ali Rahnama, who leads the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund and has maintained contact with some of the migrants, reported that Thursday’s deportees included individuals from Iran, Jordan, Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Afghanistan.
Immigration attorney Sahar Jalili Pawelski revealed that three Iranian women were initially scheduled for deportation to the Central African Republic. However, two received emergency judicial orders temporarily halting their removal while courts examine the legality of the government’s actions.
According to both Jalili Pawelski and Rahnama, all three women had previously received court protection against deportation to Iran after judges determined they faced legitimate threats of persecution based on political or religious grounds.
An elderly man from Syria was also slated for deportation to the Central African Republic but obtained an emergency temporary order preventing his removal, according to his attorney Margaret Stock.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to discuss the specific case Thursday, stating it does not confirm upcoming removal operations for security purposes. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not provide immediate responses to comment requests.
The Central African Republic has endured years of violence between government-aligned forces and rebel groups and ranks among the world’s most impoverished nations. Despite significant gold deposits, one-third of the population survives on less than $2 daily.
The country also served as an early location for Wagner, a Russian mercenary organization active across Africa. This group has provided security for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and engaged rebel forces in combat.
The nation maintains one of Russia’s strongest alliances in Africa, though recent friction has emerged between Touadéra and Russia following Moscow’s demands to replace Wagner with the government-operated Africa Corps.
Rahnama from the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund voiced alarm about sending an Iranian asylum seeker to the Central African Republic, citing Russia’s significant influence there and Moscow’s close security relationship with Iran.
Ford Motor Company announced a nationwide recall of 255,404 vehicles on Friday due to a defective component that could lead to unexpected engine failure while driving, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The safety recall targets specific 2012-2018 Focus models that had previously undergone faulty repairs, federal safety officials reported.
According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the problem stems from a malfunctioning canister purge valve that may cause vehicles to stall without warning during operation.
Vehicle owners can identify potentially affected cars by looking for an activated dashboard warning light or noticing their fuel gauge displaying incorrect readings, safety regulators explained.
Ford dealerships will provide free software updates to the powertrain control module to resolve the safety issue, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed.
DAKAR, June 12 – A terrorist organization linked to al Qaeda operating in Mali has announced substantial financial rewards for details about the location of the nation’s president and senior military leadership, calling the current government illegitimate.
The militant group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) made the announcement Thursday, responding to similar bounty offers previously made by Mali’s government targeting JNIM’s leadership, including leader Iyad Ag Ghaly and other extremist commanders.
The SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors jihadist communications globally, distributed the insurgents’ statement.
Recent al Qaeda-affiliated attacks in April resulted in the death of Mali’s defense minister, sparking widespread violence throughout the nation’s expansive northern desert regions and potentially allowing militant organizations to expand their territorial control.
The terrorist organization is offering €2 million for intelligence that leads to Assimi Goita, who heads the government from the capital city Bamako and assumed control through military takeovers in 2020 and 2021.
Additionally, the bounty announcement includes €1 million rewards each for details about Colonel Lassina Diallo and General Malik Dicko.
According to the statement, payments would be made to individuals providing location information or anyone taking direct steps to “neutralise” these officials.
Global HIV prevention efforts experienced a devastating setback in 2025, with preliminary data from UNAIDS revealing that significantly fewer people accessed crucial prevention services compared to the previous year.
According to the agency’s Friday report, the number of individuals who received pre-exposure prophylaxis, known as PrEP, dropped by 38% across 62 nations when comparing 2025 to 2024 figures. This translates to 1.2 million fewer people accessing the preventive medication, with totals falling from 3.3 million to 2.1 million across various countries including Nigeria, Cameroon and Uganda.
The situation became even more dire for other prevention methods, as funding for condoms plummeted by over 90% in certain nations, according to the findings.
Winnie Byanyima, who leads UNAIDS, described the current crisis in stark terms. “We are undergoing perhaps the most serious disruption of HIV services since the HIV response started,” Byanyima stated. “We can’t sit here thinking that the impact isn’t so dramatic.”
According to Byanyima, the reduction in available services stems from a combination of decreased funding and growing opposition to supporting key at-risk groups, particularly LGBTQ people. She warned that without intervention, these access barriers will result in increased infection rates and fatalities in coming years.
The 2025 data showed a modest decrease in new infections compared to 2024, dropping by approximately 100,000 cases to reach 1.2 million total new infections. Yet Byanyima cautioned that HIV testing decreased by 22% in countries with high infection rates, making it difficult to assess the complete scope of the situation.
Treatment access showed more positive trends, with the number of people receiving antiretroviral medications increasing by 2.7% year-over-year, reaching 32.1 million individuals by December 2025.
While this growth rate fell short of the typical 4% annual increases seen previously, UNAIDS noted it demonstrated that nations and local communities had mobilized to address treatment gaps and prevent worst-case outcomes that some experts had anticipated when funding decreased. However, the data indicated that prevention services faced greater challenges in adapting to reduced financial support.
The report highlighted that several countries increased their domestic HIV funding for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Despite this progress, the agency expressed concern about widespread closures of community-based organizations that form the foundation of HIV response efforts and depend heavily on international financial support.
UNAIDS made this information public in advance of an upcoming high-level HIV/AIDS meeting scheduled at the UN in New York this month, emphasizing the need for international cooperation. The agency faces its own uncertain future, as UN leadership has suggested shuttering UNAIDS in 2026 due to budget constraints.
Byanyima indicated that the agency is currently undergoing a “transformation” process, with a comprehensive report expected in October.
“What I’m certain about is that the United Nations will not drop its leadership role in the global response,” she emphasized.
The massive $75 billion public stock offering from SpaceX is driving Chinese space companies into overdrive as they rush to capitalize on investor enthusiasm for rocket technology and satellite networks that have propelled Elon Musk toward becoming the world’s first trillionaire.
Chinese space firms are viewing the initial public offering as a roadmap for their own market debuts, though industry observers warn of a critical technology divide. These companies are preparing to go public without the substantial revenue streams or battle-tested innovations that form the foundation of SpaceX’s financial success, creating a mismatch that experts believe will limit their market valuations.
The investor enthusiasm remains strong despite these concerns. Huang Yan, who co-founded Shanghai-based Lantern Capital, revealed his 2016 investment in LandSpace is now delivering approximately 100-fold returns as the company prepares for its public debut.
Huang explained he dismissed early doubts about the sector, choosing instead to focus on the industry’s “technological moat and strategic value” for long-term growth potential.
Seven Chinese rocket and satellite enterprises, including LandSpace and CAS Space, are currently pursuing public offerings or pre-IPO funding rounds, though specific financial terms remain undisclosed. Market analysts at Soochow Securities project China’s commercial space sector could exceed $1 trillion in value by 2030.
The comparison to SpaceX reveals significant gaps in capability. While SpaceX approaches the public market with operational reusable rockets, its Starlink internet service, and ambitious plans for direct device connectivity and space-based artificial intelligence systems, Chinese competitors have not yet achieved successful reusable rocket launches.
“Everything SpaceX does is a bellwether for China’s space industry… I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a strong uptick in Chinese commercial-space listings and funding,” said Ellis Scherer of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Scherer identified China’s absence of operational reusable rocket capability as “the biggest barrier” preventing the country from matching U.S. space achievements.
LandSpace, considered China’s leading private sector competitor to SpaceX, conducted its first Zhuque-3 rocket test in December, but the booster was unable to execute a controlled landing and could not be retrieved.
The capacity to recover, refurbish, and relaunch rocket boosters—essential for reducing satellite deployment costs—remains unachieved among Chinese companies.
Revenue figures underscore the substantial development gap facing China’s commercial space industry. LandSpace generated 36.4 million yuan ($5.2 million) in revenue during the first half of 2025, while SpaceX saw its income climb by one-third to nearly $19 billion in 2025, with roughly three-fifths coming from Starlink operations.
Gabriel Deville, a manager at consultancy Novaspace, suggested that a Chinese breakthrough in booster recovery technology could ease pressure on the country’s two primary Starlink-competing projects.
These initiatives—Guowang and Qianfan, internationally known as Spacesail—currently operate several hundred satellites combined, compared to Starlink’s approximately 10,400 operational satellites.
An unnamed Chinese space company executive, speaking confidentially due to media restrictions, estimated the most optimistic timeline would see China matching Starlink’s current satellite deployment around 2033, though acknowledged this target continues shifting.
However, successful deployment of Starship, SpaceX’s advanced heavy-lift rocket capable of launching three times more satellites per mission than Falcon 9, could expand the advantage gap between Starlink and Chinese competitors “exponentially,” the executive warned.
SpaceX’s integrated business model, where Starlink creates demand for the company’s own launch services, lacks a clear parallel in China. The Chinese sector remains divided across multiple companies, forcing startups to rely on contracts from government-backed satellite operators whose purchasing and deployment timelines remain beyond their influence.
“The big move of SpaceX was to move revenue generation away from launch and to broadband constellations,” Deville explained.
Despite these challenges, Deville noted Chinese startups possess stronger demand prospects than many Western competitors, since they can position themselves as crucial for deploying China’s independent satellite networks.
The domestic market opportunity would likely emphasize government and business customers rather than Starlink’s consumer-focused approach, with demand coming from transportation, shipping, remote industrial facilities, emergency services, and Belt and Road Initiative markets, he added.
However, state-owned enterprise dominance may prevent the emergence of a Chinese private sector equivalent to Starlink, according to industry experts.
“If you want to be a telco in China, there are no private telcos in China,” said Blaine Curcio, founder of Orbital Gateway Consulting.
Ukrainian officials are preparing to request $20 billion in additional military assistance from allied nations during a scheduled meeting next week, according to a Ukrainian defense source speaking from Kyiv on June 12.
The funding appeal will take place next Thursday during a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of more than 50 nations also referred to as the Ramstein group, which coordinates financial and military support for Kyiv.
“We have a six- to nine-month window of opportunity on the battlefield that requires an urgent acceleration of funding,” the source said.
Russian military progress on the battlefield has decelerated significantly this year, coming to an effective standstill last month, as Ukrainian mid-range drone attacks have disrupted Russian supply lines and logistics operations supporting front-line forces. Additionally, Ukraine’s long-range drone operations are causing significant damage to Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Putin stated last week that Russian military units continue making daily advances on the battlefield and that Russia’s economy faces no threat, although he admitted that Ukrainian attacks are causing damage.
Individual allied nations will be requested to provide contributions ranging from $2 billion to $6 billion toward achieving the $20 billion goal, which could be structured as either direct aid or loans, according to the source. Politico initially reported this funding request.
A Heat Advisory remains in effect until 8 PM tonight for New Castle County in Delaware, as dangerous heat index values could reach 103 degrees.
The National Weather Service issued the advisory early this morning, warning that hot temperatures combined with high humidity create conditions ripe for heat-related illnesses. The advisory also covers parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia and surrounding counties.
Health officials urge residents to take precautions during the peak heat hours. Stay indoors in air-conditioned spaces when possible, drink plenty of fluids, and avoid prolonged sun exposure. If you must be outside, wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing and limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening hours.
Pay special attention to elderly relatives and neighbors who may be more vulnerable to heat stress. Watch for symptoms of heat exhaustion, including heavy sweating, weakness, and nausea.
If you don’t have air conditioning at home, call 211 or visit your county health department website to find cooling centers in your area.
Relief is on the way this weekend. A cold front moving through tonight will bring much less humid conditions, though temperatures will still remain near 90 degrees through the weekend.
Morning commuters should plan for delays on southbound Route 72 where construction activity has forced the closure of the right travel lane.
The lane restriction affects the stretch of roadway running from Bellvue Road to Brookhil Drive, with the closure scheduled to remain in place through 7 AM.
Drivers traveling through the area should expect reduced capacity and potential backups during the construction period.
A conversation took place between Michel Martin and Texas Pastor Billy Echols-Richter regarding the recent conviction of Karmelo Anthony.
The discussion centered on the pastor’s thoughts about Anthony’s conviction and the community tensions that have emerged in the wake of the trial proceedings.
