Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced Tuesday that confirmed Ebola infections have reached 598 cases, prompting increased efforts to educate communities about critical prevention measures.
Officials declared the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain on May 15, but authorities later acknowledged the virus had been spreading undetected for several weeks, putting health workers at a disadvantage in controlling the epidemic.
The outbreak represents one of the most significant Ebola emergencies globally, affecting three provinces plagued by ongoing armed violence: Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.
According to the government’s most recent update posted on X, the confirmed case count has reached 598, with 115 fatalities recorded.
Health officials also reported that 22 individuals have successfully recovered from the illness, while noting that recent infections have not expanded into additional health districts.
The epidemic has affected 17 health districts within Ituri province, along with seven districts in North Kivu and one district in South Kivu.
“If you have a fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or severe weakness, you should go to the nearest health center immediately,” the government statement advised, encouraging residents to cooperate with medical personnel and refrain from violent acts against them.
Community distrust and opposition have created significant obstacles for the emergency response, with documented assaults on burial crews and medical facilities.
Healthcare workers are also facing shortages of essential protective equipment needed to maintain safety and limit disease transmission, according to more than a dozen physicians, aid workers and public health experts.
The International Rescue Committee issued an appeal Tuesday for financial support necessary to control the outbreak in Ituri province and prevent its expansion to other areas.
Australian airline Qantas Airways announced Wednesday that both the main carrier and its budget subsidiary Jetstar will begin passenger operations at Western Sydney International Airport when the facility opens on October 25 this year.
The flight schedules include several key routes:
• Jetstar will begin operations immediately when the airport opens, offering up to 14 weekly flights to Melbourne, plus four weekly flights to the Gold Coast and three to Brisbane.
• Qantas will start its passenger service on March 28 next year, providing four weekly flights each to Melbourne and Brisbane.
• The carrier’s first freight service will depart from the airport’s round-the-clock cargo facility on the evening of July 27.
• “WSI will also become a key hub for Qantas Freight, with more than 850 tonnes of freight expected to move through our new terminal each week,” CEO Vanessa Hudson said.
• Singapore Airlines previously announced in March that it would begin daily direct flights to the new airport starting November 23.
• Air New Zealand began selling tickets in April for three weekly round-trip flights that will start operating from the airport beginning October 26.
• New Zealand’s flag carrier had signed an agreement with the airport in June 2025.
General Motors has announced a new software upgrade that will enable electric vehicle owners across the United States to sell electricity back to power companies, marking another step by automakers into the energy business sector.
The software enhancement expands capabilities for owners who already have GM’s vehicle-to-home energy systems, which currently allow electric cars to supply power to houses during outages. Now, these same drivers will be able to send electricity back to the power grid and receive compensation from utilities during peak demand periods, with GM taking a portion of those payments.
According to a GM spokesperson, the company currently has thousands of customers using the vehicle-to-home technology, though specific numbers were not disclosed. The success of this grid-selling feature may depend on whether drivers are willing to use their car’s battery power for the grid rather than keeping it fully charged for driving.
The rollout faces several challenges, as very few utility companies currently offer this type of service, and the practice remains largely experimental. GM Energy Chief Revenue Officer Aseem Kapur told Reuters during a San Francisco event that the company is currently in talks with approximately 10 utility providers.
Kapur indicated that commercial availability of the grid-selling technology will likely begin within the coming months, with California and Texas expected to be the first states to offer the service. In Michigan, GM has partnered with utility DTE Energy to test the vehicle-to-grid concept with 30 company employees.
Utility companies have shown caution regarding vehicle-to-grid programs due to concerns about required investments, technological uncertainties, and questions about user adoption rates.
GM joins other major automakers, including crosstown competitor Ford Motor, in developing energy-related business ventures, following the path established by Tesla in expanding beyond traditional vehicle manufacturing.
Food service employees at SoFi Stadium have secured a preliminary labor deal with their employer just days ahead of World Cup competition beginning at the Inglewood venue.
Unite Here Local 11, which represents roughly 2,000 food and beverage staff members, announced the tentative agreement with Legends Hospitality includes substantial pay raises, restrictions on subcontracting work, limitations on implementing new automated systems, and safeguards for worker privacy during credential processes for large events.
The labor organization highlighted an unusual clause allowing employees to walk off their jobs if the union determines federal immigration enforcement activities at the stadium pose safety risks to workers during World Cup games. Union officials called this provision groundbreaking.
Stadium workers will cast ballots Wednesday to decide whether to approve the proposed contract. Complete terms of the agreement will be made public following the ratification vote.
The labor deal would remain in effect until April 30, 2028, matching the timeline of over 100 other contracts covering stadium, hotel and airport food service workers that are set to end before the Los Angeles Olympics begin in two years, according to the union.
“These workers are heroes,” Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, said in a statement. “If federal immigration agencies threaten workers’ safety, our members have the right to walk off the job. That is now in their contract.”
The United States is set to face Paraguay on Friday at SoFi Stadium, which will operate under the name Los Angeles Stadium throughout the tournament. The venue will host eight total matches during the competition.
Shares of Chilean lithium manufacturer SQM jumped more than 3% during Tuesday trading in Santiago following renewed support from financial analysts at Scotiabank.
The banking institution said recent discussions with company leadership strengthened their confidence in robust lithium demand expansion and highlighted SQM’s competitive cost structure at Chile’s Salar de Atacama facility.
Following discussions with SQM Chief Financial Officer Gerardo Illanes and Head of Investor Relations Isabel Bendeck, Scotiabank kept its “Sector Outperform” rating and $105 price target unchanged, naming SQM among its preferred investments for 2026.
According to the analyst report, SQM anticipates lithium incentive pricing around $18 per kilogram, falling within a broader $15-to-$20 range, and projects demand will continue growing substantially through 2030, necessitating additional supply from new market participants.
The analysis revealed SQM’s comprehensive lithium production costs, not including payments to state development agency Corfo, stand at approximately $4,500 per metric ton, maintaining its status among the sector’s most cost-effective producers.
Scotiabank reported that SQM plans to make a decision in the upcoming months regarding potential expansion of the Mt. Holland project in Australia, which could increase capacity to 100,000 metric tons, with SQM holding rights to half that amount.
The bank noted SQM identified attractive financial prospects in battery energy storage systems, or BESS, where the company believes lithium demand growth is becoming more influenced by cost advantages than consumer preferences.
According to Scotiabank, SQM acknowledges it cannot sustain its current market position permanently, with company officials stating that industry expansion is occurring too quickly for any individual producer to maintain pace.
SQM identified environmental permitting as the primary bottleneck limiting new lithium supply development.
Good evening, Delmarva! We’re looking at a mild and mostly cloudy Tuesday night with temperatures holding steady around 65 degrees. Those gentle south winds at 5 to 10 mph will keep things comfortable for any evening plans you might have.
Wednesday brings a significant warmup as we climb to 86 degrees, but keep that umbrella handy! We’re tracking scattered showers and thunderstorms that could develop throughout the day. While not everyone will see rain, it’s worth staying weather-aware, especially during the afternoon and evening hours.
Wednesday night stays active with continued chances for showers and storms as temperatures drop to a pleasant 72 degrees. Looking ahead to Thursday, we’ll see a dramatic temperature spike to 97 degrees with mostly sunny skies early, though more storm chances return later in the day.
That Thursday heat will be quite intense for early June, so make sure to stay hydrated and take breaks in the shade or air conditioning. We’ll keep monitoring this active weather pattern for you. Stay safe out there, Delmarva!
Motorists traveling on Route 10 should expect delays as construction work has prompted officials to close a shoulder along a section of the roadway.
The shoulder closure affects the stretch of Route 10 running between Lordship Lane and First Tenth Court. Transportation officials indicate the restriction will remain active until 5 PM today.
Drivers are advised to use caution when traveling through the construction zone and allow extra time for their commute.
Colombia has implemented groundbreaking legislation mandating comprehensive cattle monitoring to ensure deforestation-free beef supply chains, marking the nation as the first tropical forest country to establish such extensive tracking requirements nationwide, according to environmental organizations.
The new legislation mandates that government departments and private sector entities combine livestock monitoring, property ownership records, and forest protection surveillance to identify animals connected to woodland destruction and block their entry into commercial markets.
Advocates believe this legislation could address a primary driver of Amazon deforestation in Colombia, where livestock operations have historically been connected to illegal land seizures and forest clearing for grazing areas.
This legislation emerges as Colombia works to halt years of woodland destruction, largely caused by livestock operations expanding into forested territories. Advocates argue it could eliminate existing gaps that have permitted cattle from illegally cleared property — including within conservation zones and national parks — to access legal markets and ultimately reach retail stores and international buyers.
Susanne Breitkopf, director of forest campaigns at the Environmental Investigation Agency U.S., an environmental watchdog that has investigated deforestation linked to Colombia’s cattle industry, indicated the legislation could serve as a blueprint for other tropical forest countries.
“It is a victory for forests, for the communities that protect them, and for consumers who demand that the beef they purchase does not contribute to deforestation and illicit economies,” Breitkopf said.
The measure also comes as governments and corporations encounter increasing demands from global markets to verify that products like beef are not connected to forest destruction. Environmental advocates state that monitoring systems are becoming essential for accessing certain international markets and could assist officials in better detecting land seizures and illegal forest clearing through cutting or burning woodland.
Colombia has experienced the loss of approximately 3.3 million hectares (8.2 million acres) of forest — an area comparable to Belgium’s size — according to organizations supporting the legislation, with the issue especially severe in the Amazon area.
Brazil’s Amazonian state of Para has implemented monitoring requirements for livestock producers and pledged to track individual animals across the supply network, but environmental organizations say Colombia’s legislation extends further by establishing a comprehensive national legal structure.
A 2025 analysis by the Environmental Investigation Agency found that hundreds of thousands of cattle were transported between 2020 and 2024 from municipalities overlapping national parks.
The legislation resulted from years of advocacy by environmental organizations, researchers and lawmakers who contended that inadequate supervision permitted cattle connected to illegal deforestation to move through Colombia’s fragmented supply network.
Natalia Katixa Escobar, a researcher at Dejusticia, a Colombian legal and policy research center that has studied links between cattle ranching and deforestation, indicated the legislation helps connect environmental and agricultural oversight that were previously separate.
“One of its first achievements is that it creates a bridge between environmental and agricultural policy,” she said. “The control mechanisms associated with cattle ranching and cattle traceability had no environmental perspective.”
Colombia’s environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres told The Associated Press the government hopes the measure will help distinguish producers who operate responsibly from those linked to forest destruction.
“This means it will become increasingly difficult for the destruction of forests or economies associated with illegal activities to hide behind seemingly legitimate supply chains,” Vélez said.
Within six months, the government must establish programs to help suppliers comply with the new requirements, create a certification system for deforestation-free products and provide funding to strengthen monitoring systems in active deforestation hot spots.
Within a year, authorities must regulate procedures governing the country’s cattle identification and traceability systems and establish due diligence requirements for deforestation-free cattle ranching.
By the end of the second year, slaughterhouses, meat processors, cattle auctions, traders and live cattle exporters will be required to implement due diligence policies and best practices aimed at ensuring their supply chains are free from deforestation.
The legislation also requires the gradual integration of government databases, allowing officials to compare information on land tenure, cattle ownership and forest loss for the first time.
Supporters say those measures could significantly improve authorities’ ability to identify cattle raised on recently deforested land and prevent them from entering legal markets.
But the law’s success will depend largely on implementation, including whether the government can adequately fund new systems and enforce the rules in remote regions where illegal deforestation remains widespread.
If fully implemented, supporters say, the law could become a model for other tropical forest nations seeking to protect forests while maintaining access to increasingly demanding international markets.
“The real test will be what happens on the ground,” Escobar said, noting that while the law could improve oversight and information-sharing, reducing deforestation will also depend on governance and enforcement in remote regions of the Amazon.
“Whether it will significantly reduce deforestation in the Amazon remains to be seen,” she said.
A federal appeals court has ordered additional review of Alabama’s nitrogen gas execution protocol following concerns it may violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
The appellate court returned a case filed by condemned inmate Jeffery Lee to a lower court for further examination.
The Monday decision represents another development in America’s changing approach to capital punishment. States that maintain the death penalty employ various execution techniques, including lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and firing squad.
Here’s an examination of current execution practices and those that have been abandoned:
Twenty-eight states plus the federal government permit lethal injection, where condemned individuals receive fatal drug doses while secured to a gurney, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization.
However, lethal injection faces significant challenges. States frequently encounter difficulty securing required medications, partly because pharmaceutical companies have prohibited their products’ use in executions.
Execution personnel have sometimes struggled to locate appropriate veins, experienced needle blockages or disconnections, and occasionally required multiple drug doses to complete the execution.
These complications have led some states to explore alternative execution approaches. Following a failed execution attempt in 2024, Idaho legislators designated firing squad as the state’s primary execution method.
Lethal injection was initially suggested in New York during the late 1800s, though that state ultimately selected electrocution, according to Fordham Law School Professor Deborah Denno. The feature that attracted death penalty supporters to lethal injection — its clinical appearance — disturbed medical organizations nationwide, Denno explained.
“It’s what people would expect when they walk into a hospital, what you would expect doctors to do who are really concerned that you don’t suffer,” Denno said. “So, you transplant that idea onto a method that’s designed to kill somebody, and that’s a really good marketing tool for the public.”
Six individuals have been executed by firing squad since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. While firing squad use remains uncommon, support for this method appears increasing in certain areas.
Five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and South Carolina — have approved firing squad use, while Florida and North Carolina have laws permitting any constitutional execution method when needed. Tennessee allows methods like firing squads if primary approaches are deemed unconstitutional.
The U.S. Justice Department announced in April its adoption of firing squads as an approved execution method as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to accelerate capital punishment proceedings.
“Not to get political, but there is a strand in our culture that is showing a greater acceptance of the use of violence in this particular context,” said Denno. “In this country’s history, we’ve never had that many states adopt firing squads ever.”
During firing squad executions, condemned individuals are typically secured to a chair and shot through the heart by execution staff positioned up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) away. This method aims to rapidly stop the heart, though it can fail.
Legal representatives for South Carolina death row inmates claim a man executed by firing squad last year remained conscious and likely experienced severe pain for up to a minute because bullets struck Mikal Mahdi lower than intended.
Nine states permit electrocution, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. Since 1976, 163 electrocutions have occurred. However, only 19 have taken place since 2000.
This method involves strapping individuals to a chair with electrodes attached to their head and leg before delivering between 500 and 2,000 volts through their body. The most recent electrocution occurred in 2020 in Tennessee.
Texas executed 361 inmates by electrocution from 1924 to 1964, according to the state’s Department of Criminal Justice.
Since 1976, 163 people have died by electrocution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Electrocution executions have experienced numerous problems, especially in Florida, where some condemned individuals caught fire or sustained severe burns, Denno noted. Two states, Georgia and Nebraska, have declared electrocution unconstitutional.
Nevertheless, some death row inmates have selected electrocution or firing squad when given choices between those methods and lethal injection. These selections likely reflect concerns about botched lethal injection executions rather than endorsement of alternative methods, Denno explained.
Nitrogen gas has been employed in eight executions nationwide. Seven occurred in Alabama and one in Louisiana.
Additional states authorizing lethal gas include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming. In lethal gas executions, condemned individuals are typically secured to a chair or gurney in a sealed chamber before it fills with lethal gas. A mask covers the prisoner’s face while nitrogen gas enters, removing oxygen and causing death. Between 1979 and 1999, 11 inmates died using cyanide gas.
In 2024, Alabama resumed this method, becoming the first state to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen gas.
Smith convulsed violently for several minutes during the execution, and a lawsuit filed by another death row inmate argues the process was torturous and “a human experiment that officials botched miserably.”
In a related case, a federal appellate panel on Monday overturned a lower court’s determination that Alabama’s method doesn’t violate the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The panel returned the lawsuit filed by Lee, a death row inmate, to the lower court judge for additional review.
Lee remains scheduled for nitrogen execution on Thursday, but the lower court judge is expected to consider whether Lee’s proposed alternative of firing squad execution is viable.
Hanging served as the primary execution method worldwide for centuries, Denno said, and this remained unchanged in the U.S. until lawmakers worried it might face court challenges.
Research data on U.S. executions from 1608 to 2002 documented 9,322 people executed by hanging. However, in capital punishment’s modern period, only three individuals in the U.S. have been executed this way, one each in 1993, 1994 and 1996.
“Hangings are really gruesome, and they were also getting increasingly out of control with huge crowds,” said Denno. “That raised a lot of public concern over what this was doing societally, and there was pressure to come up with something more humane. Parallel to all of that, there was concern among some politicians that this could lead to getting rid of the death penalty entirely, so we better come up with something else.”
This same pattern persists today, Denno said.
“States typically change for one of two reasons: One, there’s a series of botches in their particular state and they think the method is going to be constitutionally challenged or it is being constitutionally challenged,” said Denno. “The other reason is that they look at what other states are doing. If you have a bunch of states adopting a new method, and one particular state fears their method may come under challenge, then they’ll switch for that reason.”
A prediction market platform has announced new measures to combat insider trading by requiring employment details from customers who want to participate in certain high-risk betting markets.
Kalshi revealed Tuesday it will implement a scoring system to identify markets with elevated risks of insider trading or manipulation. Users wanting to trade in these flagged markets must provide workplace information, and those identified as potential insider traders will face trading bans in those specific areas.
The decision comes after multiple cases where individuals exploited confidential information for financial gain on prediction platforms. Recent examples include former Congressman George Santos, who faces investigation for allegedly placing illegal bets about his attendance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Additionally, a U.S. Army soldier was charged in April for using classified intelligence to earn $400,000 on Polymarket by betting on U.S. military operations timing in Venezuela.
“By implementing these new integrity measures, we continue to lead the industry on the issue of market integrity among federally regulated prediction markets,” said Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, in a statement.
The company emphasized that collected employment data will only be accessed when suspicious trading patterns emerge in specific markets.
“This lets us identify presumptive insiders – people who have material, nonpublic information about a market’s outcome – and screen them out before a trade is ever placed,” Kalshi said in a statement.
Prediction markets are working to establish credibility with the public and regulators as legitimate platforms for wagering on various outcomes ranging from sports and weather to political events. Kalshi has been positioning itself as distinct from major rival Polymarket, which operates primarily outside U.S. regulatory oversight. The company has also reported making at least 20 referrals to law enforcement and securities regulators regarding market manipulation and insider trading concerns.
In February, Kalshi established an Independent Surveillance Audit Committee to address market manipulation and insider trading issues. The company stated that this week’s announced changes stem partially from that committee’s recommendations.
FIFA World Cup officials and team personnel are encountering increased immigration barriers as they attempt to enter the United States for the upcoming tournament.
The enhanced screening procedures have resulted in complications for international soccer officials, including the denial of entry to a FIFA referee from Somalia.
These immigration challenges are occurring as the World Cup is set to begin later this week, potentially affecting the tournament’s operations and international participation.
The heightened scrutiny appears to be part of broader U.S. immigration enforcement policies that are impacting sports officials and team members from various countries who are traveling to participate in the global soccer championship.
The U.S. Navy made history when an unmanned vessel successfully rescued two Army helicopter crew members whose aircraft was downed in the Middle East, marking the first recorded instance of American forces using a robotic ship for personnel recovery operations at sea.
Military officials identified the rescue vessel as a Saronic Corsair, measuring 24 feet (7.3 meters) in length and capable of operating without human crew aboard. This autonomous craft represents part of the Pentagon’s broader initiative to integrate robotic systems with conventional military equipment.
Several important developments highlight America’s expanding sea drone capabilities:
• Revolutionary naval operations: In 2021, the Navy established Task Force 59, headquartered in Bahrain as the service’s inaugural unit focused exclusively on robotic systems. These Corsair vessels began operational deployment in the Middle East during late March.
• Versatile water-based robotics: American forces operate both surface-level unmanned craft and submerged robotic vehicles, providing military leaders with adaptable options based on mission requirements. The most sophisticated underwater systems remain classified. These robotic platforms offer distinct operational advantages while minimizing danger to American personnel.
• Diverse mission capabilities: Naval drones perform surveillance operations, locate underwater explosives, and monitor hostile forces. Military planners are also developing these vessels for direct combat applications. They prove valuable for both standard patrol duties and dangerous operations.
• Economic and tactical benefits: Pentagon leadership views autonomous vessels as an affordable method to extend operational range and accelerate threat response. Naval officials plan widespread deployment involving hundreds, possibly thousands of Corsair units. However, maritime drone technology continues developing and encounters both technical and operational obstacles.
• International combat effectiveness: Although not American-built, Ukraine’s deployment of sea drones against Russia has proven their military value, including destroying naval vessels and reportedly shooting down a helicopter — an extraordinary achievement for unmanned maritime craft.
Mississippi residents have launched a class action lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI and SpaceX, alleging that a power facility supporting data centers in their area generates relentless noise that has damaged their well-being and property worth.
The legal action, revealed Tuesday in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, accuses Musk’s enterprises of failing to address the disturbance and establishing a public nuisance through excessive sound levels. Three local residents initiated the suit representing a class of more than 10,000 people.
“The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is wreaking havoc on communities across the United States” by subjecting thousands of residents to near-constant noise and vibrations, the lawsuit said.
Those bringing the case want compensation for claimed emotional harm, decreased home values and other damages, plus an undetermined amount of profits to be returned.
Neither xAI nor SpaceX provided immediate responses to comment requests. The lawsuit also names xAI subsidiary MZX Tech as a defendant, though Musk himself is not named in the case.
Attorney Robert Wiygul, representing the residents, stated: “Our homes are supposed to be a sanctuary for us against the world,” but “when they are invaded by noise 24 hours a day, it takes that fundamental peace of a good and decent life away from us.”
The company invested over $20 billion in constructing the Southaven facility with support from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. Gas-powered turbines at the Southaven location supply electricity to data centers in and around the area, according to the filing.
In April, the NAACP filed its own lawsuit against xAI regarding the facility and data centers, claiming the company broke federal environmental regulations. That case remains active.
The U.S. Justice Department indicated in a court document last month that it might join the NAACP lawsuit, noting the matter involves important legal and policy issues about the government’s involvement in AI infrastructure development.
Delaware lawmakers are considering comprehensive changes to the state’s parentage laws through Senate Bill 250, which would bring the First State’s legal framework in line with national standards.
The legislation would implement the 2017 version of the Uniform Parentage Act, created by the Uniform Law Commission. Delaware currently operates under the 2000 version of these guidelines. Eleven other states have already adopted the updated standards, with Pennsylvania also reviewing similar changes.
One of the most significant changes involves eliminating gender-specific language throughout Delaware’s parentage statutes. This modification follows U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) and Pavan v. Smith (2017), which established marriage equality and required equal treatment of same-sex couples on birth certificates.
The bill would affect several key areas of parentage law, including presumptions of parentage, acknowledgment procedures, genetic testing protocols, and assisted reproduction guidelines. These changes would ensure gender-neutral language across all provisions.
Another major component addresses de facto parents – individuals who function as parents but lack biological or marital connections to a child. While Delaware has recognized this concept since 2010, the new legislation would move the establishment process to a specific section of state code requiring judicial determination.
The proposal also updates assisted reproduction laws, including provisions for deceased individuals. Under the new framework, a deceased person could be considered a parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction if the embryo is implanted within 36 months of death or the child is born within 45 months, provided proper consent was given.
Surrogacy regulations would also see significant updates to reflect current scientific and legal developments. The legislation maintains existing gestational carrier laws while adding new procedures for genetic carriers – individuals who become pregnant using their own genetic material for intended parents.
A notable addition requires fertility clinics and gamete banks to collect and maintain both identifying information and medical histories of donors. Parents could request non-identifying medical information at any time, while donor-conceived children could access this information upon reaching age 18. The legislation also allows adult donor-conceived children to request identifying information about their donors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately 1.6% of all U.S. births involve assisted reproductive technology, with usage rates continuing to climb. Research shows dramatic increases in gestational surrogacy between 2004 and 2008, with procedures growing by 60% and births increasing by 89%.
Beyond policy changes, the bill includes extensive reorganization of existing Delaware parentage law. Provisions related to genetic testing, court procedures, and various administrative processes would be moved to different sections of state code for better organization and clarity.
The legislation also makes technical corrections to align with current legislative drafting standards and ensures consistent terminology throughout Delaware’s parentage statutes.
Drivers heading north on Route 1 should expect additional travel time due to traffic congestion in the Rehoboth Beach area.
The backup is occurring on the northbound lanes between the Route 1A intersection in Rehoboth Beach and Route 24, with delays ranging from 5 to 10 minutes beyond normal travel times.
The congestion appears to be traffic-related rather than due to any specific incident or construction activity.
Delaware State University recently organized its second symposium dedicated to strengthening the workforce that provides care for elderly populations.
The event focused on enhancing skills and knowledge among professionals who work with geriatric patients and older community members.
This marks the second time the university has hosted such a gathering, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to improving care for aging populations through workforce development initiatives.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers organization appears united in wanting to dial back All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey’s heavy usage from last season, with one notable exception: McCaffrey himself.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan and his coaching staff have stated their intention to limit McCaffrey’s touches following his demanding 450-touch performance during the 2025 regular season and postseason. However, McCaffrey remains skeptical about the need for such restrictions.
“I’ve been dealing with those questions for nine years it feels like,” McCaffrey said. “I think the workload in our sport is really monitored in practice, not in games. We play 17 regular-season games a year and everybody’s livelihoods are on the line. I would say on Sunday you’ve got to do whatever it takes to win and that’s not a coach’s job. You don’t tell a 3-point shooter you only get six 3s today. So much of it is rhythmic and it’s my job to put my body in the best position I can to go out there and play. I think everything else can be monitored during the week. … But when it comes to game days, I like to think, prepare yourself for playing every snap.”
Last season, McCaffrey came close to achieving that goal, leading all running backs with participation in 83% of the team’s offensive plays. The star back rarely requested time off the field, and running backs coach Bobby Turner continued to rely on him heavily.
“It’s challenging,” Turner said. “But I should have personally done a better job of managing that last year, because I do keep a tally on every play and aware when he’s in, when he isn’t. But this year, the coaching staff, they will all be involved in making sure that doesn’t happen.”
Following an injury-shortened 2024 campaign that limited him to just four appearances, McCaffrey demonstrated remarkable durability last season. He accumulated 1,010 offensive snaps across regular season and playoff games — becoming only the ninth running back in two decades to surpass 1,000 snaps — and joined an exclusive group as just the second player in the past ten years to record at least 450 combined rushes and receptions.
With key offensive weapons including quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle, and receiver Ricky Pearsall missing significant time due to injuries, San Francisco found it difficult to remove McCaffrey from games as he served as both their primary rusher and one of their most dependable pass-catching options.
“We went into the year wanting to take care of him a little bit more,” Shanahan said. “But the way the offense went, I think more with the receivers and the injuries that we had, it was hard to get him off (the field). And it was cool to have him out there because he did help our offense so much.”
McCaffrey, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Sunday, has historically struggled in seasons following his highest-usage campaigns. Both previous times he exceeded 400 touches — during 2019 with Carolina and 2023 with the 49ers — he suffered significant injury setbacks the next year, missing 13 contests in both 2020 and 2024.
San Francisco hopes to break this pattern by placing greater confidence in their younger backfield options.
Fifth-round 2025 selection Jordan James suffered a training camp injury that prevented him from establishing a meaningful role. His regular season contribution consisted of just three offensive snaps during garbage time of a dominant victory over Indianapolis in Week 16. He saw additional action only during a lopsided 41-6 playoff defeat to Seattle, where he managed six carries for 28 yards and one catch.
The organization then invested a third-round pick in Indiana’s Kaelon Black during this year’s draft, hoping either he or James can contribute meaningfully this season.
“I’m positive they’re going to get more opportunities,” Turner said. “They both are competitors, they both were drafted for a reason. They’re mentally tough people, they can be explosive. … They definitely will get more opportunity, which means Christian is going to be fresher.”
San Francisco believes a less-fatigued McCaffrey could regain his explosive playmaking ability. Despite accumulating 2,126 total yards and nearly achieving his second season with 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving, McCaffrey managed only three runs of 20-plus yards, a significant decline from nine such plays during his healthy 2023 campaign when he earned AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The team recorded just four explosive running plays all season after averaging nearly 14 annually over the previous four years.
“When you look around the league and you study great backs and study guys who affect the game like he does, those guys do come out of the game,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “Those guys do get a blow sometimes and whether it’s a drive or a couple plays in a series, it helps those players. Christian knows that, and we’ve got to do a better job as coaches, we’ve got to do a better job at times of getting a better rotation.”
NEW YORK (AP) — The last time the New York Knicks suffered a defeat, they went on to avoid another loss for six weeks straight.
After falling behind in their opening playoff series against Atlanta, the Knicks transformed desperation into complete control. New York captured 13 consecutive victories, with many being decisive wins, creating one of the most remarkable playoff runs in league history.
The situation doesn’t call for such heroics this time around. Holding a 2-1 advantage over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, New York only needs to go .500 in their remaining games to claim their first title since 1973.
Following their Game 3 defeat, the Knicks don’t require a complete transformation. However, improvement is essential.
“We have a veteran group. Nobody is quote-unquote panicking or anything like that,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. “Everybody is disappointed that we didn’t go out and execute and play to what we feel our standard is. That’s not taking anything away from San Antonio, but we feel like we can play a lot better than what we did.
“We’re looking forward to going out on the floor and showing it.”
Wednesday’s Game 4 continues a series where visiting teams have claimed every contest, marking just the second occurrence of this pattern in Finals history.
San Antonio seized early momentum and dominated crucial late moments in their 115-111 triumph Monday. Victor Wembanyama dominated on both ends of the court, recording 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.
Displaying no intimidation from the hostile road atmosphere in Madison Square Garden’s first Finals game since 1999, similar to their Game 7 road victory over defending champion Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, Wembanyama and San Antonio again appeared capable of capturing a championship without the typical growing pains experienced by other young squads.
“We will see. But my bet would be yes, it’s possible,” Wembanyama said.
San Antonio maintained this confidence even after losing both home games, meaning they must become the first team to win a championship after starting 0-2 at home. This belief stems from having one of the world’s elite players surrounded by exceptional talent, a group so assured that Monday’s achievement didn’t faze them.
“I didn’t want us to get too happy about one win and get satisfied and take our foot off the gas a little bit for the next game,” said guard Stephen Castle, who scored 23 points. “But I think since the end of Game 2 we’ve still been confident that we’re going to win this series, and that’s what we plan to do.”
New York’s first defeat since April 23 didn’t trigger panic, as they continuously sought improvements even during their winning streak.
“Each game, no matter what the situation is, we’re growing as a team. I think we’re learning and we’re getting better — obviously before last night,” Jalen Brunson said. “No matter what the situation is, we’re going to stick together. We’re going to execute, we’re going to be better. That’s just how our mindset has to be going forward.”
Several issues require attention. Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t producing in final quarters. Wembanyama has discovered methods to exploit New York over the past game and a half after earlier struggles. The Knicks must reduce turnovers and improve defense without committing fouls — regardless of Brown’s opinions about Game 3 officiating.
New York executed these elements effectively during the second-longest postseason winning streak in history. Now they must bounce back swiftly from defeat, or face returning to San Antonio for Game 5 with an even series.
“We have, what, 13 games in a row, 50 days of film to show what it looks like when we’re at our best. So we’ve got good film,” Towns said. “We’ll get back to our fundamentals, what makes us great, what made us great, and get back to work” in Game 4.
Dramatic fluctuations in artificial intelligence stocks created chaos on Wall Street Tuesday, leading to mixed performance across major market indexes.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.3% after experiencing wild swings that saw the index jump 1% in early trading before plunging 2.3% by midday. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a slight 0.2% increase, while the Nasdaq composite declined 1%.
Market volatility intensified when businesses involved in semiconductors, memory components, and other foundational AI technologies reversed course from morning gains to afternoon declines. The weakness in artificial intelligence stocks overshadowed benefits from falling crude oil prices, even though the majority of S&P 500 companies posted gains. Bond market activity showed Treasury yields declining slightly.
Tuesday’s closing numbers:
The S&P 500 declined 19.08 points, or 0.3%, finishing at 7,386.65.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 86.10 points, or 0.2%, closing at 50,872.11.
The Nasdaq composite dropped 250.84 points, or 1%, ending at 25,678.82.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies increased 11.60 points, or 0.4%, to 2,867.02.
Weekly performance:
The S&P 500 has gained 2.91 points, or less than 0.1%.
The Dow has risen 5.33 points, or less than 0.1%.
The Nasdaq has fallen 30.61 points, or 0.1%.
The Russell 2000 has climbed 33.52 points, or 1.2%.
Year-to-date results:
The S&P 500 has advanced 541.15 points, or 7.9%.
The Dow has increased 2,808.82 points, or 5.8%.
The Nasdaq has gained 2,436.83 points, or 10.5%.
The Russell 2000 has jumped 385.12 points, or 15.5%.
BARCELONA, Spain — During a Tuesday evening youth gathering in Barcelona, Pope Leo XIV delivered an encouraging message to Spanish young people while addressing difficult topics including mental health struggles and family violence in unusually direct terms.
The American-born pontiff was greeted enthusiastically by crowds at Barcelona’s Olympic stadium during the second day of his week-long Spanish tour, which has attracted large audiences despite the nation’s increasingly secular culture.
Approximately 40,000 attendees cheered loudly as Leo appeared in his popemobile, circling the stadium grounds. The crowd responded with excitement each time he paused to offer blessings to infants or performed his characteristic “6-7” hand signal that has become his trademark.
The gathering included tributes to local Catalan traditions, featuring a performance by the area’s renowned human tower performers called castellers. The pope applauded appreciatively as the acrobats formed an eight-story human structure, with the smallest participant climbing to the summit before descending.
Leo delivered portions of his remarks in Catalan beyond what was originally planned during the prayer service that included a dialogue with young participants. While such interactions are typically prepared beforehand and common during papal visits, Tuesday’s session stood out for its unflinching examination of serious issues.
A young woman shared with Leo her experience with a suicide attempt and the “darkness” she faced during periods of depression. Another participant described her father’s attempt to murder her mother and her own time spent in youth detention facilities, asking how she might find forgiveness for her father.
Leo expressed gratitude to the young people for their openness in sharing their experiences publicly. He attributed their struggles to societal pressures that expect youth to be perfect while suppressing “moments of darkness and suffering.”
The pope drew parallels between what he termed the “silent illness” of youth depression and Christ’s suffering during crucifixion.
“In those dark hours, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus shared our pain and revealed to us the face of a compassionate God, who bears our sorrows, who suffers with us, weeps our tears and remains at our side with his presence full of love and mercy,” Leo said.
However, he also pointed to abusive household environments where domestic violence becomes accepted as a root cause of many challenges facing contemporary youth.
“So many crime reports, even today, reflect a toxic climate in family relationships marked by abuse and oppression and, in particular, by violence against women, which unfortunately often leads to femicide,” Leo said.
Leo encouraged young attendees to seek comfort through their faith. He received applause when he called for improved healthcare services and enhanced support for mental health issues and domestic violence situations.
“We are all called to address this dramatic reality, both personally and as a society, because we are responsible for confronting it in all its dimensions,” he said.
Throughout his Spanish visit, Leo has focused on delivering messages of hope to the country’s youth. Spain was historically a predominantly Catholic nation but experienced a decline in religious observance following the end of its 20th-century dictatorship and transition to democratic governance.
Church leaders and social researchers have recently noted signs suggesting renewed spiritual interest among Spain’s younger generation, with informal reports indicating increased conversion rates among young adults.
Patricia Garzón, a 25-year-old attendee at the prayer gathering with her friend, explained how faith supports her daily life.
“I believe that it is more difficult (for young people) today because before social media didn’t exist, and today we are constantly comparing ourselves with one another (online),” she said. “And we need someone from above to help us, to help us see that he loves us for who we are, not how others want us to see ourselves.”
The most significant moment of Leo’s Spanish tour will occur Wednesday when he dedicates the towering central Tower of Jesus Christ at Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica.
Brazilian authorities have conducted their most significant humanitarian rescue mission in Roraima state, saving 108 Cuban migrants from human traffickers near the border with Guyana.
The rescued migrants are currently being held in Roraima state as officials work to resolve their immigration documentation before connecting them with social services personnel, authorities announced Tuesday.
Five individuals face human smuggling charges following their arrest in connection with the operation. These traffickers, referred to as “coyotes,” demanded excessive payments while guaranteeing safe passage into Brazil, according to law enforcement.
“In reality, the route imposed by them ignores any standard of human dignity or road safety. Foreigners are subjected to exhausting journeys in vehicles that are not properly maintained,” police added.
Monday’s rescue operation represents the most extensive humanitarian mission documented in the state. Since June 2024, officials report saving 297 Cuban migrants who were attempting unauthorized entry into Brazil through Roraima.
Cuba’s deteriorating economic situation amid a worsening financial crisis and intensifying U.S. sanctions has prompted increasing numbers of Cuban citizens to seek refuge in Brazil. Official statistics show Cuban immigration to Brazil has dramatically increased since 2022.
By 2025, Cubans overtook Venezuelans as the primary nationality applying for refugee protection in Brazil, submitting over 40,000 requests, according to the Ministry of Justice’s annual migration report released in May.
“If geopolitical tensions between Cuba and the United States worsen, migration flows toward Brazil could increase,” the ministry said. It added that regularization through refugee status recognition could be an alternative.
Government officials note that wealthier migrants typically fly directly to Sao Paulo, the nation’s most populous city. Those facing more difficult financial circumstances frequently travel by land, crossing through the northern Amazon regions of Amapa and Roraima, which collectively house nearly 60% of migrants’ residential locations.
Advertisements in New York featuring computer-generated people instead of real actors must now include clear disclosure labels or face state law violations, under new legislation that became effective Tuesday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the legislation in December, with her administration describing it as groundbreaking nationwide legislation designed to increase transparency as AI-created performers become more common in media and digital marketing campaigns.
The state defines synthetic performers as “digitally-created media that appear as a real person,” with the requirements covering advertisements across all media formats.
“In New York, we are setting the rules of the road instead of letting AI run the show,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. The “simple, honest disclosure” required by the law “protects consumers, respects our creative workforce and keeps New York at the forefront of responsible innovation,” she said.
Advertisements failing to “conspicuously disclose” their use of synthetic performers face penalties starting at $1,000 for initial violations, escalating to $5,000 for subsequent infractions.
The legislation includes several exemptions, notably for advertisements promoting movies, television programs, streaming services, video games and similar entertainment featuring synthetic performers throughout the entire production. Audio-only advertisements and those using AI exclusively for language translation are also excluded.
During the legislative process last year, the American Association of Advertising Agencies along with multiple advertising industry groups voiced strong resistance to the measure.
The 4As, as the organization is better known, said in one blog post that it would hurt advertisers by “injecting compliance uncertainty into the advertising process, burdening brands (and their agencies) who advertise in New York and undermining creative and technological innovation.”
Other organizations, like the The New York State Broadcasters Association, said in public statements during the legislation’s journey to become law that they were relieved to see some of those carve outs that were created through amendments, but remained concerned about the broad definition of a synthetic performer.
SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, provided the strongest backing for the legislation, having recently approved a new agreement with studios and streaming services that they claim offers additional safeguards against synthetic performers.
This measure represents one of numerous state-level initiatives nationwide aimed at protecting employment opportunities for actual people or addressing potential privacy and security concerns related to artificial intelligence. Current state regulations include restrictions on deepfakes in certain situations, limitations on personal data collection, and enhanced corporate transparency requirements.
Shortly after Hochul approved the synthetic performer legislation in December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order discouraging states from implementing AI regulations. The directive stemmed from concerns that varying state rules might hinder AI company development and allow China to narrow the gap with U.S. artificial intelligence capabilities. Executive order critics contend it enables technology companies to function with minimal regulatory supervision.
When President Donald Trump shows up to watch a game, smart money might be on the away team.
Recent patterns suggest home teams struggle when Trump is in attendance. The New York Knicks, who had won their previous two games against the San Antonio Spurs in the finals, fell 115-111 on Monday night with Trump watching from a luxury box at Madison Square Garden. The president, a long-time supporter of New York’s NBA franchise, may have brought similar misfortune to MLB’s Washington Nationals during his previous presidency, when they dropped Game 5 of the World Series 7-1 to the Houston Astros.
Last November, Trump witnessed the NFL’s Washington Commanders get crushed 44-22 by the Detroit Lions at home. He also attended the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last fall, where Europe defeated the U.S. golf team.
The pattern creates an ironic situation for a president who obsesses over winning and competitive sports.
Trump regularly references his electoral successes, including falsely claiming victory over Joe Biden in 2020, and highlights his track record of backing successful Republican primary contenders. His sports enthusiasm sometimes takes him into unfriendly venues, like heavily Democratic Manhattan, where crowds booed loudly before Monday’s game began.
However, Trump’s presence doesn’t always doom the home squad.
The New York Yankees defeated the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 last September with the president attending to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Trump also watched Navy defeat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, though the Midshipmen were technically hosting despite playing away from their Annapolis, Maryland home venue.
Trump has attended numerous sporting events where home field advantage doesn’t apply.
This includes his appearances at the U.S. Open in September, the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans where the Philadelphia Eagles topped the Kansas City Chiefs, and that year’s Daytona 500. He also attended the 2024 NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The home team factor won’t matter Sunday when the White House’s South Lawn hosts a UFC event celebrating Trump’s 80th birthday.
White House officials didn’t respond to Monday inquiries about Trump potentially bringing bad fortune to home teams at sporting events.
If this trend continues, it could spell trouble for the U.S. national soccer team in the World Cup beginning Thursday. The Americans have never reached the tournament’s final in its current format, and they’ll face the added challenge of Trump playing a major role in organizing the competition. He has promised to attend the championship match and present the trophy to the winners.
Some Knicks supporters are blaming the president for Monday’s Game 3 loss, despite their team maintaining the series lead. Game 4 takes place Wednesday in New York, but Trump isn’t planning to attend.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender and frequent Trump critic, jokingly embraced the jinx narrative by resharing a previous White House social media post that declared “Call it the Trump effect” alongside discussion of the Knicks’ defeat.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, who has been mentioned as a possible future presidential candidate, predicted before Game 3 that Trump would be responsible if the Knicks lost. Following the game, he stated, “What I feared would happen ended up happening.”
“The president disrupted our mojo,” Smith, a devoted Knicks supporter, explained. “The man messed things up.”
When asked about Smith potentially holding him responsible for the Knicks’ loss, Trump criticized the analyst’s political ambitions and questioned his mental capacity.
“I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump told reporters while boarding Air Force One for his return flight to Washington early Tuesday.
“You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that,” he continued. “I don’t think he does, actually.”
Prior to his political career, Trump, who grew up in Queens, regularly attended Knicks games and often sat in courtside seats. His Monday return to the Garden generated sustained booing when his image appeared on the arena’s big screen during the national anthem, even before the team’s loss.
Trump has faced hostile crowd reactions repeatedly, though this stems more from his political positions than any perceived role in cursing home teams. He was booed at the Nationals’ World Series game, during the Commanders contest, and at the U.S. Open. While some events bring cheers and reactions can be mixed, Trump tends to characterize crowd responses more favorably than they actually were.
Following the Knicks game, Trump claimed the boos were “I think, mostly cheers.” The White House attempted to frame the appearance as a political victory, sharing a photo of Trump at the game with the text “King of New York.”
New York’s Daily News tabloid offered a contrasting perspective, publishing a cartoon showing an oversized Trump in a No. 38 Knicks uniform with a speech bubble reading “approval rating.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Cuba’s highest-ranking diplomatic representative in the United States claims that new American sanctions against the island nation’s leadership and criminal charges filed against former President Raúl Castro serve as justification for the Trump administration to build public support for potential military intervention, according to statements made to The Associated Press.
During a Tuesday interview, Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera echoed criticisms previously voiced by other Cuban government officials, including the foreign minister and the president, while expressing strong objections to America’s longstanding trade embargo and recent energy blockade affecting the Caribbean nation.
“The sanctions against our leaders, we see as a pretext to make the American people think we are a threat,” she said at Cuba’s embassy in Washington. “We are not a threat to the U.S., and we don’t want confrontation.”
Torres Rivera, whose official designation is chargé d’affaires, characterized the current circumstances as “a war without bombs.” She warned that any attempts to overthrow Cuba’s government through pressure or military force would face determined opposition.
“Raúl is sacred,” she stated regarding last month’s federal grand jury charges against Castro. The 95-year-old former leader has been indicted on conspiracy and murder allegations connected to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft flown by the Miami-based exile organization Brothers to the Rescue during his tenure as Cuba’s defense minister.
“Raúl is a sacred symbol of the revolution, and we will defend Raúl — as we will the country — until the end,” Torres Rivera said. “If we are attacked, we are going to respond, and we are prepared for that. But we don’t want it.”
Her statements mirror widespread sentiment among Cubans and Cuba experts who view the criminal charges against Castro and penalties imposed on other socialist government officials as comparable to justifications the Trump administration promoted before January’s military intervention in Venezuela that removed then-President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, coinciding with the U.S. Treasury Department’s announcement of sanctions targeting Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Castro’s son and grandson, and additional officials, U.S. President Donald Trump declared regarding Cuba: “We’re going to handle that as soon as we’ve finished” military operations in Iran.
Trump has maintained threats of military action against Cuba following Maduro’s removal and the implementation of an energy blockade that has severely restricted fuel deliveries to the island. These measures have triggered widespread power outages, food scarcity, and economic devastation throughout Cuba.
Torres Rivera explained that the Trump administration’s efforts to intensify pressure on Cuba’s already struggling economy have caused tremendous hardship for ordinary citizens who face daily survival challenges including power outages lasting up to 20 hours and dramatically increased prices for gasoline, kerosene, and essential items such as food and medicine.
“What is happening now is tough,” she said. “It is heartbreaking.”
Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other administration representatives have consistently rejected claims that Cuba’s economic difficulties stem from American policies, instead attributing responsibility to the Cuban government’s socialist economic approach. While not eliminating the possibility of military action against the island, they have indicated willingness to allow Cuban leadership time to implement changes.
Torres Rivera described recent conversations between high-level U.S. and Cuban representatives in Havana and other locations as “professional and respectful.” However, she emphasized that Cuba will not accept changes imposed externally and insists any reforms must originate internally without external pressure.
Drawing on her previous experience as Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, another socialist nation maintaining long-established relationships with Cuba, she observed that Washington and Hanoi have developed positive diplomatic ties over four decades, but only because Vietnamese leaders implemented changes according to their own timeline. She argued Cuba deserves similar consideration.
“We want to make sure that the only changes to the system are done by us,” she said.
Rubio, however, has characterized Cuba as presenting a significant national security risk to America due to its security and intelligence connections with China and Russia, as well as cordial relationships with U.S. adversaries throughout Latin America.
“I really don’t believe this system is capable of reform unless new people take over or a new mindset takes hold,” he told lawmakers at a congressional hearing last week.
The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cuban ambassador’s comments.
NEW CASTLE – State officials are warning food assistance recipients to take preventive measures against benefit card fraud after seeing a rise in theft incidents targeting Electronic Benefit Transfer cards.
The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Division of Social Services is advising Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants to be proactive in securing their EBT cards and benefits amid growing reports of fraudulent activity and benefit theft.
Officials stress that safeguarding SNAP benefits requires vigilance from recipients as criminals continue to target these essential food assistance programs.
Georgetown, Del., June 9, 2026: Sussex County officials are implementing what they describe as incremental changes designed to create significant progress for southern Delaware’s development future.
During their regular Tuesday meeting on June 9, 2026, County Council approved the initial set of ordinances in a comprehensive effort to manage residential development’s speed and scale throughout the county.
The two approved measures include enhancements to the Sussex County Rental Program designed to encourage greater developer involvement, along with technical modifications to County regulations. These ordinances stem from 20 suggestions put forward by the County’s Land Use Reform Working Group, a Council-selected committee featuring various stakeholders who convened in 2025 to develop potential solutions. Their proposals encompassed directing development toward specific zones through regulatory changes, expanding housing options and affordability, enhancing protections for rural and ecologically important regions, and improving planning clarity and consistency.
During the spring months, Council initiated the transformation of some simpler suggestions into implementable strategies. County staff prepared the initial ordinances for Council review, emphasizing priorities including affordable housing options, development design requirements, and population density regulations. These efforts coincide with the County’s State-required comprehensive plan revision, which serves as a development blueprint for the coming three decades and must receive approval by 2028.
“The County has heard the public’s concerns, especially when it comes to affordable housing, loud and clear,” Council President Douglas B. Hudson said. “Hopefully, these are just the first of many changes, big and small, that will lead to tangible results and a better Sussex County.”
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has been placed on suspension as member nations weigh potential disciplinary action following the completion of an investigation into sexual misconduct claims, Reuters and the Associated Press report.
This development comes after an 18-month investigation examining accusations that Khan participated in unwanted sexual contact with a female attorney employed within his office. Khan has consistently rejected these accusations.
A diplomatic source told Reuters that the ICC’s governing body determined Khan had participated in serious and inappropriate behavior. The ultimate decision now lies with the court’s 125 member nations, who will cast votes during an upcoming session that remains unscheduled.
Information from the investigation was also covered by the Associated Press, which obtained access to a document created by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services.
Based on the document referenced by the AP, Khan engaged in “nonconsensual sexual contact with (the aide) in his office, at his private residence, and whilst on mission.”
The ICC’s bureau stated it had made a determination concerning disciplinary action against Khan and forwarded the issue to the Assembly of States Parties. The bureau kept the details of its determination private.
“The decision of the Bureau and the related documentation will remain confidential,” the bureau stated in a press release.
Khan’s attorneys contested both the investigation’s conclusions and the suspension procedures.
“The decision is unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence,” the attorneys’ statement said.
The matter now advances to the Assembly of States Parties, whose representatives will decide the next steps.
During Khan’s time in office, notable actions included issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant related to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have released findings from two comprehensive studies examining more than 264,000 pregnancies, concluding that widely-used pain relief medications during pregnancy do not increase the likelihood of birth defects.
The research, which appeared in PLOS Medicine and Human Reproduction Open, was spearheaded by Dr. Sharon Daniel and utilized twenty years of medical data from the siPREG (Southern Israeli Pregnancy Registry), a database that monitors health outcomes for mothers and babies.
The first investigation looked at Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen medications like Advil and Nurofen, when taken during early pregnancy. Scientists analyzed 264,858 pregnancies recorded at Soroka University Medical Center from 1998 to 2018, with over 20,000 cases involving NSAID use.
While birth abnormalities seemed somewhat more frequent initially among mothers taking NSAIDs, scientists noted that this difference vanished when they accounted for variables like fever, pain conditions, inflammatory disorders, chronic health issues, and maternal demographic factors.
“The results showed that NSAID medications are safe to use during the first trimester and are not associated with the development of congenital malformations,” Dr. Daniel stated.
The companion study examined acetaminophen, commonly known as paracetamol and available under brand names like Acamol and Tylenol. Scientists looked for possible connections between pregnancy exposure and various outcomes such as birth abnormalities, stillbirth, underweight babies, poor Apgar scores, newborn kidney problems, and early closure of the ductus arteriosus.
Medical records showed paracetamol use in 15.5% of first-trimester pregnancies and 14.1% of third-trimester pregnancies. Scientists discovered no independent connection between the drug and negative pregnancy results after controlling for medical and pregnancy-related variables.
“At first glance, raw data might suggest a slight increase in birth defects among women who took these medications,” said Dr. Daniel. “However, our analysis revealed that the risk was actually tied to the mother’s underlying condition—such as a high fever, infection, or chronic illness—rather than the painkillers themselves.”
To tackle worries about unreported non-prescription medication usage, the research team performed supplementary analyses.
“We had to ensure that ‘real-world’ habits didn’t skew our results,” said co-author Dr. Ariel Hassidim. “We demonstrated that the volume of unreported use would have to be impossibly high.”
The collaborative research team consisted of scientists from Ben-Gurion University, Soroka University Medical Center, Schneider Children’s Medical Center, and Ariel University.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A Colombian presidential hopeful has called on prosecutors Tuesday to examine potential voter intimidation by rebel forces in outlying areas during the country’s recent election.
Abelardo de la Espriella has requested an investigation into whether armed groups forced residents of distant municipalities to cast ballots for government party candidate Sen. Iván Cepeda in the May 31 first-round voting.
According to a statement from de la Espriella’s campaign, Cepeda received over 70% support in 109 municipalities where illegal armed organizations operate, with some areas showing support as high as 97%. Cepeda’s team has not yet responded to these claims.
Sen. Cepeda, who supports President Gustavo Petro and previously belonged to Colombia’s communist party, has served as an intermediary between the government and Marxist rebel organizations. He captured approximately 41% of votes in the initial election round, which featured 14 candidates.
“These results, on their own, do not constitute definitive proof of a crime,” de la Espriella’s campaign stated after filing their complaint with prosecutors. “But they should oblige authorities to investigate if there were threats, pressures or mechanisms to coerce voters and alter their freedom.”
De la Espriella, a conservative attorney who backs U.S. President Donald Trump and goes by “The Tiger,” led the first round with 43.7% compared to Cepeda’s 40.9%. The two will compete in a June 21 runoff to determine Colombia’s next four-year leader.
A European Union election monitoring team reported receiving voter complaints about pressure from “government officials and illegal armed groups” during May’s voting, though they did not identify which candidate benefited from the alleged coercion.
Colombian voters have identified security as a primary concern, alongside corruption and healthcare system problems.
The municipalities where Cepeda achieved strong results are situated along Colombia’s Pacific coastline, a region that typically backs the current administration.
Under Petro’s leadership, a former M-19 rebel group member, Colombia has pursued peace negotiations with remaining rebel organizations through a strategy called “total peace.”
Political experts suggest rebel groups have exploited government-granted ceasefires to expand control over rural areas, where they operate cocaine laboratories, collect taxes from legitimate businesses, and intimidate opposing civilians.
Throughout his campaign, Cepeda has advocated continuing rebel negotiations while potentially modifying tactics. De la Espriella has vowed to end talks and adopt a more aggressive stance, including aerial herbicide spraying of coca crops.
Trump recently backed de la Espriella on Truth Social, calling the 47-year-old attorney a “Smart, Strong and Tough Leader” who would successfully restore “LAW AND ORDER!”
Petro responded to Trump’s endorsement on X, stating that “freedom dies” when nations interfere in each other’s domestic matters.
Medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders reported Tuesday that a devastating cholera crisis in Nigeria’s northeastern region has claimed 74 lives and sickened over 7,000 individuals since beginning in early May.
The deadly outbreak has spread across 14 of the 27 local government areas within Borno state, striking communities already weakened by almost 20 years of violent conflict with the extremist organization Boko Haram.
Cholera regularly affects Nigeria during certain seasons, particularly problematic given that government statistics from 2020 show just 14% of the nation’s more than 200 million residents can access properly managed clean water services.
Conditions prove even more challenging throughout Borno state, including the crowded capital city and isolated areas where poor sanitation and cleanliness standards persist partly due to limited oversight from health officials.
Doctors Without Borders reported caring for 7,439 cholera cases at their medical facilities, averaging 185 new patients daily. The organization documented 500 cases on a single Friday last week, marking the highest one-day total since the outbreak began.
“Open defecation is making it worse also, and there is less partners (on the ground),” explained Jessie Kurnurkar, who coordinates projects for the medical charity, commonly referred to by its French initials MSF.
“By the time we know the cases in the community, the local transmission has happened, and it is difficult to respond, because the spread has become more,” Kurnurkar stated.
The Associated Press interviewed patients receiving care at an MSF treatment facility in the state capital about their experiences during the health crisis.
Aisha Ibrahim, currently being treated for cholera at the center, described experiencing continuous diarrhea since falling ill and remaining hospitalized for over four days.
“When they discharged me, the vomiting stopped, and when I got home, I started stooling again, and it became severe (so) I was rushed back to the center,” Ibrahim explained.
Federal ocean scientists are utilizing cutting-edge technology to gather vital information from the world’s seas through an advanced research program.
The initiative involves deploying specialized underwater instruments called Argo floats that collect comprehensive data as they move through different ocean layers. These sophisticated devices help researchers monitor marine conditions across the globe.
The research efforts are part of a broader scientific mission to enhance understanding of oceanic systems and their role in global climate patterns. Scientists use the collected information to track changes in water temperature, salinity levels, and other critical measurements throughout various ocean depths.
This ongoing scientific work represents a significant investment in marine research technology, allowing researchers to gather previously inaccessible data from remote ocean locations. The information collected helps inform climate models and improves scientific knowledge of how ocean systems function on a planetary scale.
The space agency has revealed the four-person team selected for the intricate Artemis III moon mission, with launch plans set for the following year.
The astronaut team consists of NASA commander Randy Bresnik, European Space Agency pilot Luca Parmitano, and NASA mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. The announcement was made during a press conference held at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday.
This mission represents a significant step in NASA’s lunar exploration program, bringing together both American astronauts and international space agency personnel for what officials describe as a highly challenging undertaking.
President Donald Trump declared Tuesday evening that America must take action following an investigation that found Iran responsible for shooting down a US Apache helicopter in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.
Through a Truth Social message, President Trump revealed military leadership had briefed him on the investigation’s results.
“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” President Trump wrote.
The president confirmed that both crew members on board the aircraft made it through the incident safely.
“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured. Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
The aircraft crashed Monday evening in the area near the Strait of Hormuz. Two sources speaking to The New York Times confirmed both crew members were recovered without harm.
When the incident first occurred, it remained unclear if enemy fire caused the helicopter’s downing or if mechanical failure was to blame. President Trump had publicly commented on the crash when it first happened, but the investigation later determined Iran had attacked the aircraft.
The aircraft went down during a time when fighting between Iran and Israel had paused after recent tensions had increased.
Officials did not reveal what specific operation the Apache was conducting when the incident happened. The US Central Command website states Apache helicopters perform precision strikes, close air support and aerial reconnaissance.
President Trump provided no details about what military, diplomatic or other actions the United States might pursue in retaliation.
His statements contrasted sharply with comments he delivered Monday evening about negotiations with Iran. While speaking at JFK Airport, President Trump characterized current discussions as being in their “final throes” and suggested a diplomatic deal could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within “two or three days.”
“We are very close to having a very, very good strong, powerful deal,” President Trump said at the time, adding that there were no major unresolved issues preventing an agreement.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that President Trump had indicated he would consider ending the Iran ceasefire if Iranian attacks resulted in the deaths of American troops.
A major pharmaceutical company and a leading medical center’s innovation division have joined forces in a partnership aimed at advancing healthcare technology and helping startups reach international markets.
Late last month, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and ARC Innovation, the worldwide innovation division of Sheba Medical Center, finalized an agreement to work together on innovation projects, medical research, and digital health initiatives. The partnership is intended to support local startups in expanding internationally, speed up healthcare innovation, and enhance patient care.
According to Igal Gurevich, head of strategic partnerships and corporate affairs for Teva, both organizations share a common goal of improving patient outcomes. He told The Media Line that if artificial intelligence or other technologies can enhance medication adherence or other care aspects, it benefits both entities. “This should significantly accelerate the adoption of new technologies,” he stated. “And ultimately everything comes back to the patient.”
Gurevich further explained the mutual benefits: “Teva benefits because patients use medications more effectively. Sheba benefits because patients receive better care. The startup benefits too. But most importantly, the patient benefits. Technology can improve the effectiveness of both hospital treatment and pharmaceutical treatment.”
Angela Rabinovich, ARC’s chief business officer, shared comparable views. Speaking to The Media Line, she described the partnership as “about bringing together two organizations with a global innovation mindset and a shared drive to change healthcare. ARC and Teva each bring different strengths, and the structured model we’ve built allows us to create something bigger than the sum of its parts.”
The partnership gained traction after both entities received grants from the Israel Innovation Authority in December to create pilot locations for Israeli technology companies. Moving forward, the two organizations plan to collaborate on joint projects involving open innovation, research and development partnerships, and initiatives throughout the healthcare value chain.
“The idea is that we’re opening the doors of both Teva and ARC to Israeli startups so they can validate technologies that are relevant to our organizations,” Gurevich explained.
ARC has previously launched and invested in over 100 healthcare startups and currently functions in 10 countries globally through partnerships with major hospitals and medical centers.
The collaboration also supports Teva Rise, Teva’s new worldwide open innovation platform created to utilize emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing, digital health, and biotechnology, by linking startups and advanced technology companies with Teva’s business divisions.
“We each identify challenges and tell startups, ‘If you have an interesting technological solution, whether AI-based or not, we’d like to hear from you.’ We can then work together on projects,” Gurevich noted.
Under the agreement, a joint steering committee has been formed and will convene quarterly to assess potential projects. The organizations have also established working groups to advance these initiatives.
To date, Teva and ARC have identified three main collaboration areas.
The first involves working with startups. If a startup contacts Teva, for instance, the company can now provide broader opportunities beyond access to the pharmaceutical industry. While Teva operates throughout the entire value chain, from research and development to manufacturing and logistics, Gurevich said startups will now also gain access to Sheba Medical Center.
“A startup can potentially test and deploy its technology at Teva sites in Israel and around the world, as well as at Sheba,” he said. “The same works in reverse. Startups coming through Sheba can be referred to Teva.”
The second area involves clinical research and development collaboration. Teva develops medications, conducts molecular searches, and performs research. Technology can make these processes faster and more efficient. ARC has researchers, physicians, and laboratories, creating opportunities for collaboration between two major research and development entities through joint studies, experiments, and innovation projects.
The third area concentrates on logistics and operations. Here, Gurevich said, the organizations encounter many similar challenges. For instance, Teva may be working to solve a problem related to cold-chain storage and transportation of medications, while hospitals face comparable challenges in moving those medications from the warehouse to the patient.
“At Teva, through Teva Rise, we appointed about 60 innovation leaders around the world,” Gurevich said. “They identify challenges that, if solved, could shorten drug-development timelines, improve manufacturing processes, improve supply chains and logistics, increase patient adherence and compliance, or advance personalized medicine. ARC has a similar process. Then we compare notes and look for overlaps.” He noted that working groups meet to review challenges and identify where collaboration makes sense.
Sometimes, he said, Teva has a challenge that ARC’s researchers or startups may be able to solve, and vice versa.
Teva and ARC did not apply for the Innovation Authority grants together. Neither organization knew the other was applying. But after the authority announced the awards, discussions accelerated, both sides said.
“I actually give a lot of credit to the Innovation Authority,” Gurevich commented. “Through one government program, they unintentionally connected two major organizations.”
Few organizations in Israel are both deeply rooted in the country and globally successful. Teva and Sheba are both well-established in Israel and abroad. Gurevich said that when two organizations like that collaborate, it matters.
“The startup ecosystem isn’t interested only in Israel,” Gurevich explained. “It wants to expand globally. We’re serving as enablers. We’re giving startups access not only to two major institutions in Israel but also, through us, to opportunities around the world.”
The Innovation Authority program runs through the end of 2028. Each organization funds its own activities, and no specific budget was set for the partnership itself. Gurevich said budgets will be determined on a project-by-project basis. Some projects may cost tens of thousands of dollars. Others could cost millions.
“Together, we’re building a comprehensive platform that connects both worlds in a way neither could achieve alone,” Rabinovich concluded.
TORONTO — Canadian authorities have filed charges against a former Air Canada captain who allegedly operated commercial flights for over a decade and a half without holding the appropriate licensing credentials, law enforcement officials announced Tuesday.
Geoffrey Wall, a 59-year-old resident of Barrie, Ontario, stands accused of serving as an airline captain from 2009 through 2025 while lacking the required airline transport pilot license, Peel Regional Police reported.
Authorities say Wall commanded more than 900 domestic and international flights without possessing the necessary licensing credentials. The airline has acknowledged that the pilot maintained a valid commercial pilot license but received a captain promotion despite not holding the mandatory airline transport pilot license.
Deputy police chief Nick Milinovich accused Wall of “flying for years misrepresenting himself and his credentials to his employer and regulatory officials using fraudulent licensing documents.”
“This is similar to a doctor that is licensed to practice family medicine but is doing brain surgery in their office,” Milinovich added.
The carrier stated that the pilot was suspended from flight duties after the licensing discrepancy came to light, with the matter voluntarily disclosed to Transport Canada, the aviation regulator. The individual no longer works for the airline.
Law enforcement officials said irregularities surfaced during a documentation review. Transport Canada reached out to police earlier this year.
Air Canada maintained that flight safety remained intact and a comprehensive review of its pilot roster revealed no additional compliance violations.
“Safety was not compromised by this incident because all pilots at Air Canada undergo mandatory recurrent training every six months to validate their flying competency, including a flight check with a certified Transport Canada check-pilot every 12 months,” the airline said in a statement.
“However, appropriate licensing is an essential layer of the airline industry’s multilayered approach to safety, so Air Canada takes this matter with utmost seriousness.”
The company refused additional comment citing privacy regulations and the ongoing criminal probe.
The airline, which withheld the pilot’s identity, confirmed he received fines from Transport Canada for lacking the proper captain’s license.
Investigators also allege the defendant submitted a fraudulent police report claiming pilot documentation had been stolen.
Wall collected approximately $2.9 million Canadian ($2.1 million) while serving as captain, according to police.
Legal representation for Wall was not immediately available for comment.
Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon indicated the federal government plans to examine the case and implement improvements “if there are any.” Despite the extended alleged deception, he expressed confidence that detection systems functioned properly.
“I am gratified that we were able to detect this issue and get it dealt with,” he said.
NEW YORK (AP) — What began as a peaceful basketball viewing event in Manhattan Monday evening spiraled into chaos, according to New York City police, when disappointed Knicks supporters climbed lighting fixtures, hurled debris at law enforcement, and tore down street signage after their team fell to the San Antonio Spurs.
The disruptive incidents occurred several blocks away from Madison Square Garden, the usual gathering spot for enthusiastic fans throughout the team’s remarkable playoff journey. However, the vicinity around the venue was mostly restricted to public access Monday due to President Donald Trump’s presence at the game.
As an alternative, approximately 7,000 people assembled at nearby Bryant Park for a city-sponsored viewing event.
Although the gathering remained mostly peaceful, certain fans obstructed vehicle traffic and declined to leave when asked, while others hurled glass items or engaged in street fights, police and video evidence showed.
Authorities made eight arrests in total — including two individuals charged with attacking a police officer — and issued criminal court summons to 13 additional people. Law enforcement reported that five officers sustained injuries. The New York Police Department did not immediately release details regarding the officers’ injuries or information about those taken into custody.
According to a department statement, “the crowd became increasingly rowdy, violent, and destructive, and there were many incidents of disorderly and dangerous behavior.”
Crowd members “engaged in incredibly reckless behavior — there were large physical and violent fights that resulted in multiple injuries,” the statement continued.
A spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani stressed that the “overwhelming majority” of fans had watched the game peacefully.
“But the fights and other disruptive incidents — including assaults on police officers — in various parts of the city are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson, Sam Raskin, added.
Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama had not heard about fans getting attacked.
“My thoughts, of course, is that we can’t forget it’s a game,” Wembanyama said. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable.”
Neither City Hall nor the NYPD would confirm whether a planned watch party outside Madison Square Garden would resume when the Knicks host the Spurs on Wednesday for the fourth game of the series.
During the conference finals last month, the NYPD announced it would not support watch parties outside the arena, citing “very rough” crowds as a public safety threat.
But that decision — which ultimately rests with the mayor’s office — was later reversed after the Knicks reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has officially opened multiple industrial developments in New Borg El Arab City, Alexandria, featuring a significant textile production facility and expanded garment manufacturing operations as the country works to boost exports, draw foreign investment, and create more industrial jobs.
The centerpiece of the new developments is the Jade Textile facility, run by Turkey’s Yesim Group. Company representatives stated that investment in the manufacturing plant is nearing EGP 500 million.
Once operating at maximum capacity, the facility is anticipated to play a major role in Egypt’s clothing exports, with yearly export income estimated between $250 million and $500 million.
Spanning roughly 60,000 square meters, the plant was built as a comprehensive garment production center. The facility handles fabric cutting, embroidery, sewing, and finishing processes, all supported by state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment.
The development has generated substantial employment opportunities. Over 6,000 positions have been established at the Alexandria location, while Yesim Group’s nationwide Egyptian operations provide work for more than 15,000 individuals. Beyond this new location, the company operates production sites in 10th Ramadan City and Ismailia.
Madbouly additionally opened an expanded section of the Şahinler Egypt 2 ready-made clothing project. This new expansion features dedicated cutting and finishing production lines designed to facilitate exports worth $55 million.
During his visit, the prime minister also launched the initial phase of the El-Gharably Industrial Complex, another major manufacturing development in New Borg El Arab City.
Government representatives reported that the complex covers 315,000 square meters and maintains yearly production capability surpassing 100,000 tons. The operation currently provides employment for roughly 3,000 workers, with expansion plans targeting 5,000 employees.
The industrial complex houses a steel construction facility, an engine repair and maintenance operation characterized as Egypt’s largest, and a dedicated plant manufacturing industrial and medical gases.
Under the leadership of Moataz El-Gharably, the project is exploring collaborative opportunities in railway wagon production, agricultural machinery, and pipe manufacturing.
These new industrial facilities represent part of wider initiatives to strengthen Egypt’s manufacturing and logistics infrastructure through comprehensive production systems aimed at supporting industrial growth and export expansion.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The trial of a defendant accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee aboard a commuter train has been postponed after a federal judge determined the accused cannot proceed due to mental health issues, ruling Tuesday that he must receive medical treatment in an attempt to restore his fitness for trial.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, is facing federal charges for causing death on a mass transportation system in connection with the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte. The charge carries the possibility of capital punishment. A corresponding state case charging Brown with first-degree murder remains suspended while the federal proceedings continue.
Following a request from Brown’s legal team, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell determined that the defendant lacks the mental capacity to stand trial at this time and directed that he spend as long as four months receiving treatment at a prison medical facility in hopes of restoring his competency.
In court documents filed Tuesday, Brown’s defense team stated their client wanted the judge to know the following: “I would like to tell the court I have a body emergency. Someone has full access to my body and they are controlling me wrongfully. And law enforcement refuses to investigate it. And it requires for an investigation. When describing the technology someone was using I was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.”
According to his attorneys, Brown is seeking a court directive requiring law enforcement to investigate his claimed body emergency.
A sealed forensic assessment conducted by federal mental health professionals was submitted in the federal case in April. The evaluation concluded that Brown “is presently not competent to stand trial, but that his prognosis for restoration to competency is favorable with appropriate medication therapy,” according to the judge’s written order.
The judge determined that Brown “is suffering from a mental disease or defect that renders him unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings or to assist properly in his defense,” Bell stated in his ruling.
Bell directed that Brown be placed under the custody of the attorney general for medical care and treatment “to determine whether there is a substantial probability” that Brown will be capable of proceeding “in the foreseeable future.”
Following the treatment period, the judge will assess whether Brown’s mental competency has been restored and if the case can proceed, whether additional treatment is necessary, or whether Brown cannot be made competent to stand trial, according to the court order.
During several hours spanning from Sunday evening into Monday, Iran launched multiple missile attacks against Israel following its warning of retaliation for Israeli operations in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, disrupting a delicate ceasefire structure that had failed to resolve the fundamental conflict.
Israel subsequently attacked targets within Iran, hitting military and economic facilities, and reported intercepting missiles directed at its air bases. President Donald Trump publicly urged both nations to cease hostilities, stated that final discussions on what he termed “peace” were ongoing, and demanded an immediate end to the fighting.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, director of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former head of the research division in Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Military Intelligence, explained to The Media Line that while the operation concluding with the April 8 ceasefire had ended, the war persisted due to the absence of a formal agreement to terminate it.
He described the renewed hostilities as reflecting mutual dissatisfaction rather than a random breakdown of arrangements. Iran faces pressure from US sanctions, economic difficulties, and weakened proxy forces. Israel remains unwilling to accept a situation where Hezbollah can rebuild or operate from Southern Lebanon while Iran attempts to deter Israeli actions there.
“Mostly the Iranians are worried because the situation is putting a lot of pressure on them. Their proxies are suffering heavily,” Kuperwasser observed. He added that Israel is also not satisfied because “we want the threat from Hezbollah to be much lower and better dealt with.”
The immediate catalyst involved Lebanon. Israel’s operation in Dahiyeh was limited, targeting two buildings following recent Hezbollah attacks. However, Iran had previously warned that any Israeli action in Dahiyeh would prompt direct retaliation. When Iranian missiles arrived, they seemed to confirm Tehran’s effort to connect two theaters that Israel and the United States have attempted to treat separately: Lebanon and the direct Israel-Iran confrontation.
Dr. Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies, explained to The Media Line that Tehran has spent weeks emphasizing connections between developments in Lebanon and those in Iran. He said Iran had made clear it would not accept a lasting arrangement with Washington while the Lebanese theater remained excluded from any deal.
Zimmt said the move reflected Iran’s ideological and strategic commitment to Hezbollah. “Iran, from both its ideological point of view, but also on the strategic level, finds it very important to make sure that everyone realizes that it doesn’t want to leave its allies in the region alone.”
That represents precisely the equation Israel says it cannot accept. Kuperwasser said Iran’s threat could not become an “immunity card” for Hezbollah. “We made it clear that we are not going to let Hezbollah deploy in the south. If they operate from the south, there’s going to be a price for that,” he said. “The Iranians were trying to prevent us from doing that by their threat.”
For Kuperwasser, the central issue is not whether Israel should launch another round or delay another day. It concerns whether Iran will be permitted to make itself a direct veto player over Israeli operations in Lebanon. “The most important thing is, of course, that our ability to take action in Lebanon is not limited and compromised,” he said. “We should not accept Iran becoming a player in Lebanon. That’s unacceptable.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the escalation in similar terms following the Israeli strikes. According to Israeli press reports, he said Iran and Hezbollah had attempted to impose an “equation” on Israel, where Hezbollah could fire from Lebanon, and Iran could respond directly, while Israel’s freedom of action was constrained. “This equation is intolerable and unacceptable to me,” he said.
Netanyahu said Hezbollah fire into Israeli territory led him to order strikes in Beirut, and that after Iran attacked Israel, he instructed the IDF to strike military and economic targets across Iran.
By Monday afternoon, Israeli press reports indicated Israel had agreed, at Trump’s request, to halt its strikes inside Iran, while continuing operations in Southern Lebanon “at full force.”
“At the moment, the fire on this front is halted,” Netanyahu confirmed, while warning that Israel would respond forcefully if Iran attacked again.
The distinction proved important. Israel was prepared to pause direct attacks on Iran, but not to accept any limit on its campaign against Hezbollah, including future strikes in Dahiyeh if attacks on northern Israeli communities continued. Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel would not accept any Iranian attempt to link the Lebanon front to the direct Israel-Iran arena. “The fate of Dahiyeh in Beirut is the fate of the northern communities,” Katz said, according to Israeli press reports.
Within Israel, the renewed exchanges were felt not only through missile alerts but also through the rapid return of wartime procedures. Israel elevated its national alert status to orange, restricted press access on security grounds, and canceled nearly all committee meetings. The exceptions were politically telling: a discussion on establishing a government-backed political inquiry, rather than a state commission of inquiry, into the October 7 failures, and a committee session dealing with immunity for Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who faces charges over allegations that she disclosed the identity of a Shin Bet officer married to protest activist Shikma Bresler.
That contrast, national emergency on one side, domestic political business on the other, sharpened criticism from the opposition. During his Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset on Monday, opposition leader Yair Lapid said the war itself had been justified and had proven Israel’s military power. But he argued that the government had failed to translate battlefield achievements into a strategic or diplomatic result.
Lapid said that after the announcement of the ceasefire in April, it became clear that the government “did not know how to turn victory into achievement,” did not define objectives for the diplomatic phase, did not advance the nuclear issue, did not address the ballistic missile threat or the Lebanon front, and did not coordinate adequately with the Americans or with regional allies.
“The government sent civilians back to shelters, schools are closed, the economy is paralyzed, without all this having any strategic goal that someone can understand, including inside the security establishment,” Lapid said at the faction meeting. He warned that Israeli citizens could bear almost anything if they knew there was a serious and defined objective. “But we are not given a clear and secure goal of any kind,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, by contrast, framed the moment before Israel’s retaliation as a test of sovereignty and deterrence. In a post written the night of June 7, before Israel struck Iran, Bennett said Israel faced “a moment of truth” over whether it was a sovereign state capable of defending itself. “A weak or symbolic response will signal to our enemies that the blood of our citizens has been spilled with impunity,” he wrote, adding that Israel had to act “with strength and effectiveness.”
The two opposition figures were not saying the same thing. Bennett’s message was that Israel had to hit back hard enough to prevent a dangerous precedent. Lapid’s was that military power without a political end state produces recurring rounds of escalation. Together, they captured the two competing pressures now confronting the government: the demand to preserve deterrence and the demand to explain where the fighting is supposed to lead.
Dr. Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, offered a pointed criticism of Israel’s current course. He said the latest escalation has produced “frustration and disappointment” because, unlike earlier stages of the war, many Israelis struggle to understand the immediate purpose.
“In the past, for example, during the last war with Iran, you could find most Israelis explaining that it was a kind of existential war and we knew, we understood what was the reason and what was the cause was,” Milshtein told The Media Line. “Right now, I think that even right-wing supporters, it is hard for them to really explain, okay, what are we doing exactly?”
Milshtein said Iran appeared more confident after the latest clash than many in Israel expected. “They are not deterred. They are full of influence. They are full of confidence,” he said of Iran. He argued that Tehran had managed to show it was prepared to take risks for Hezbollah and Lebanon without triggering the full-scale war Israel might have hoped would restore a clearer deterrence balance.
“I assess that the Iranians have much more achievements from the last clash than Israel,” Milshtein said. He described the Israeli strike in Dahiyeh as largely symbolic and questioned whether it provided real security benefits to residents of northern Israel or to soldiers operating in Lebanon. He noted that Israelis are looking for strategic explanations when the real answer is political.
Milshtein’s broader critique was that Israel’s military achievements have repeatedly outpaced its political planning. “Actually, there is no strategy for Israel,” he said. “There were fantastic military achievements, but because of the fact that no one wanted to speak about the end strategy, calculating the moves, we find ourselves in a situation that we are being forced by Trump to accept a settlement, a kind of political settlement.”
The question of President Trump’s role now sits at the center of the crisis. The American president has urged restraint, pressed Iran to return to negotiations, and signaled that a broader deal remains possible. President Trump said Monday that both sides were looking for an immediate ceasefire and that final negotiations on “peace” were proceeding. But Israel’s initial response showed that Jerusalem was still prepared to act militarily when it believed deterrence was at risk. The later decision to halt strikes in Iran at President Trump’s request showed the other side of the equation: Israel may insist on operational freedom, but Washington still has influence over the boundaries of escalation.
Marc Zell, chairman of Republicans Overseas Israel and vice president of Republicans Overseas, told The Media Line that he does not see the latest events as evidence of a serious rupture between Washington and Jerusalem. “I don’t believe the war ended,” he said. “The war continues, but it’s in a different form.”
Zell said President Trump is trying to manage several tracks at once—the battlefield, the American public, global energy markets, and the possibility, however slim, of a diplomatic arrangement. In Zell’s view, the American president must show voters that he is trying to end the fighting, while also maintaining pressure on Iran through military and economic means.
“He’s got to send a message to the American public and to the electorate about his efforts to put an end to the war,” Zell said. “… He’s also got to send, and he has been sending, messages to markets, domestic and global markets, with respect to oil and stock markets, capital markets generally.”
Zell rejected the idea that President Trump and Netanyahu are fundamentally at odds. “Of course, we can talk about disagreements. These are two vibrant, robust democracies,” he said. “I happen to believe that there are no real, substantive, material disagreements between the United States and Israel.” He added that Washington and Jerusalem may not agree “eye-to-eye on all the objectives of the fighting,” but said they agree on the essentials: Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, and its proxy network.
Kuperwasser drew a similar distinction, saying that the disagreements visible this week are tactical rather than strategic. “At the end of the day, we want the same thing, and we operate together, and we fight together shoulder to shoulder in a very impressive way,” he said. “We exchange intelligence, and we are working very closely together. They take part in our defense. It’s very impressive. I don’t think that there is a strategic disagreement.”
But Kuperwasser also suggested that Trump may believe a deal is closer than Israeli officials do. “It seems that President Trump is under the impression that he’s close to having a long-sought deal,” he said. “I’m not sure that we are under the same impression …”
That gap may be exactly what Tehran is trying to exploit. Zimmt said Iran’s current leadership believes Trump does not want to return to full-scale war and that he may pressure Netanyahu to avoid a broader escalation. “The Iranian leadership really thinks, and I think they’re right, that President Trump doesn’t want to go to a full-scale war with Iran,” he said. “They look for any opportunity to put more pressure on Trump, assuming that when and if he reaches the conclusion that the status quo is unsustainable and unstable, he might be more willing to accept the Iranian conditions.”
From that perspective, Iran has become “a very self-confident player” since the war and especially since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran believes it can survive confrontation with the United States and Israel, Zimmt said, while using its leverage over energy routes, regional proxies, and missile capabilities to force recognition of its position.
Zimmt said it was increasingly clear that Iranian leaders believed they could not only survive a confrontation with the United States and Israel but also turn it to their advantage.
“It became more and more evident that the Iranian leadership has reached the conclusion that not only can it survive this confrontation with the US and Israel, but can actually use that in order to create a better situation and perhaps even some kind of regional architecture which would recognize Iran’s leverage and Iran’s ability to inflict major pain, not just to its regional neighbors, but also to the global economy,” he said.
For Zimmt, the only stable way out would be a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the United States and Iran. But he warned that any such arrangement would still face major unresolved issues, including the nuclear issue, frozen Iranian assets, and the broader question of security guarantees. “If there is no MOU, then both the developments in Lebanon and the ongoing sporadic incidents between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf can certainly escalate again and again,” he said.
Milshtein said Israelis should focus above all on the nuclear question, not on slogans about regime change or claims of total victory. “The Israelis should ask themselves only one question, and this is what is going to happen to the nuclear threat. All the rest are not so important ….”
Kuperwasser also said the goals of the war must be understood precisely. He rejected the idea that Israel had formally declared regime change as the goal. “We never said that the goal of this war is to change the regime,” he said. “We said that we would like to create the conditions that would enable the Iranian people to change the regime.”
He said Israel and the United States achieved tangible military results, including damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile production infrastructure, leadership, and military assets. But he acknowledged the limits of air power. “We cannot put an end to their ability to launch missiles. We cannot take away their highly enriched uranium [with] the use of air power. We cannot change the regime by the use of air power,” he said.
Israel, Iran, and the US are left in an unfinished phase. The ceasefire remains a framework, not a settlement. Lebanon remains outside the core arrangement, Iran is trying to link Hezbollah’s fate to its confrontation with Israel and Washington, and Israel is trying to preserve freedom of action in Lebanon while avoiding a broader direct war with Iran as Trump presses for a deal.
For Israelis, the return to shelters, the orange alert level, the cancellation of school and other educational activities, the restrictions on access to the Knesset, and the sudden halt to most normal legislative work made the stakes less abstract. President Trump is trying to keep negotiations alive. Iran has shown it can still impose costs. Israel is trying to preserve deterrence without losing Washington’s diplomatic framework. The ceasefire appears to have survived the latest exchange, but what it restrains is still being tested.
A record-breaking crowd of 60,000 people participated in Toronto’s annual pro-Israel demonstration, making it the biggest gathering in the event’s nearly six-decade history.
According to the UJA Federation, which coordinated and backed the demonstration, this year’s attendance surpassed all previous years since the march began 57 years ago.
The crowd assembled at Temple Sinai Congregation before walking down Bathurst Street. Those taking part displayed Israeli flags alongside Lion-and-Sun Iranian flags throughout the demonstration. Event coordinators reported that donation drives brought in over $670,000 Canadian dollars, though this amount didn’t reach their target of $780,000 that was set to commemorate 78 years since Israel’s independence.
Heavy security surrounded the demonstration, with Toronto police deploying officers on foot, bicycles, and horseback throughout the march route and surrounding areas. Toronto Police Service Deputy Chief Frank Barredo had detailed these security plans during a Friday briefing.
Nate Leipciger, a 98-year-old Holocaust survivor, took part in the opening ceremony and performed the ribbon-cutting that officially began the walk.
Toronto-St. Paul’s Member of Parliament Leslie Church shared her thoughts about the event on X, stating that the large attendance showed “resilience, solidarity, and joy in the face of resurgent antisemitism.”
Meanwhile, opponents of Israel assembled at Earl Bales Park for their own demonstration called the Walk Against Israel.
Law enforcement made six arrests throughout the day. Officials reported that some protesters departed from their assigned demonstration zone, resulting in at least one clash with police.
Police identified one arrestee as 35-year-old John Eusebio, who reportedly spat at an officer during the confrontation.
The nation of Azerbaijan finds itself at the center of heated allegations regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, with officials in Baku categorically denying claims about their involvement in military activities.
The country has dismissed recent media coverage suggesting that Israel positioned specialized military and intelligence personnel within Azerbaijan’s borders as part of a covert network targeting Iran. Officials characterized these allegations as “entirely baseless” and emphasized that their territory has never been made available for military operations, intelligence work, or hostile actions directed at any nation.
This controversy carries significant weight because Azerbaijan borders Iran while maintaining extensive security and energy partnerships with Israel, supplies natural gas to Europe, collaborates closely with Turkey, maintains communication with Russia, and has worked for years to prevent a complete breakdown in relations with Tehran. In this volatile region where location can serve as either an advantage or a burden, Baku seeks to transform its proximity to conflict zones into diplomatic influence while avoiding entanglement in surrounding wars.
The core challenge facing Azerbaijan stems from its openly acknowledged cooperation with Israel, while disputed claims about territorial use for military or intelligence purposes against Iran remain officially rejected. This debate has intensified examination of a nation whose strategic importance has expanded due to Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, and the confrontation between the US, Israel, and Iran.
Fuad Shahbazov, an independent researcher and political analyst based in Baku, firmly challenged the media report regarding alleged Israeli activities in Azerbaijan, arguing it depended on unnamed sources and provided no concrete evidence.
“The network failed to cite any serious or credible source, just reframing it to anonymous sources familiar with the situation,” he stated. “The satellite imagery failed to provide any physical evidence of Israelis in Azerbaijan’s side,” he continued.
John Roberts, a UK-based energy, security, and geopolitical analyst specializing in Caspian, Middle Eastern, and Russian energy matters, adopted a more measured stance. He indicated Azerbaijan would be deeply troubled if such information had become public, though he didn’t completely dismiss the reports.
“There were reports concerning just what use Israel may have made of observation points. In order to see how things were developing in Iran,” Roberts explained. “I think the Azerbaijanis would be very upset that the information came out, but I have no reason to doubt the information,” he continued.
The comprehensive Israel-Azerbaijan partnership extends far beyond petroleum trade. Shahbazov characterized Israel as among Azerbaijan’s most crucial strategic allies, while emphasizing that Baku rejects any notion that cooperation with Israel implies antagonism toward Iran.
“Azerbaijan pursues quite a pragmatic multivector diplomacy, because the country has long sought to maintain productive relations with competing powers simultaneously, rather than joining geopolitical blocs,” Shahbazov explained. “Baku consistently argues that cooperation with Israel does not mean hostility towards Iran or Turkey or another Muslim country, because it’s mostly energy and security cooperation,” he continued.
Israel regards Azerbaijan as an uncommon Muslim-majority ally with strong political, economic, and security connections to the Jewish state, Shahbazov noted. Azerbaijan’s frontier with Iran and its position linking the Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Caspian Basin make it strategically important to Israel.
Roberts indicated that Israel and Turkey were two crucial external forces that aided Azerbaijan’s military victory in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Turkey, which taught them how to use, operate, and manufacture drones for them. Nagorno-Karabakh was an early use of drones in warfare. And Israel, because it taught some of the elite Azerbaijani troops,” Roberts stated.
Shahbazov spoke more directly about the defense partnership. “We do not refute those allegations that we have a very, very deep security partnership with Israel,” he said. “This includes intelligence sharing, this includes military technical, defense industry, procurement, weapons supply, even experience exchange with military officers,” he added.
For Israel, Azerbaijan doesn’t serve as a direct gas provider, but functions as a major oil partner and an increasingly vital energy and security associate. Shahbazov said Azerbaijan continues as Israel’s second primary oil supplier and has maintained deliveries throughout the war.
“Azerbaijan contributes to Israel’s energy security through oil exports,” he explained. “Azerbaijan is the second main oil supplier of Israel, even despite the war since 2003. Azerbaijan still systematically and consistently supplies Israel with oil with no interference or with any interruptions,” he added.
Roberts characterized the oil relationship in business rather than strategic terms. Once Azerbaijani crude arrives at Ceyhan in Turkey, he explained, it becomes part of the open market, with Israel serving as one of the closest buyers.
The Israeli connection also creates sensitivity regarding the Iranian dimension. Azerbaijan shares a frontier with Iran and maintains significant ethnic, historical, and cultural connections with the Azerbaijani population within Iran. Roberts said Baku has been cautious to avoid territorial claims or provoking Tehran.
“Azerbaijan is very careful not to make claims over Iranian territory,” he noted. “It tried to have good trade relations. It tried to work with the Iranian government over issues like the Caspian. It tried to improve road and rail links with Iran. In no way does Azerbaijan want to upset Iran.”
Both experts indicated that Iran-linked security threats have complicated Azerbaijan’s position. In March 2026, Azerbaijan reported thwarting Iran-connected schemes against the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Israeli Embassy, an Ashkenazi synagogue, and a Mountain Jewish community leader. One day prior, Azerbaijan accused Iran of launching four drones at Nakhchivan, wounding four civilians and damaging airport infrastructure; Tehran rejected responsibility.
Shahbazov noted that Azerbaijan also confronts the challenge of Iranian sympathizers and potential sleeper cells within the country.
“It’s quite a complicated question, because there is no specific guideline on how the government will be handling this sleeper cells or Iranian sympathizers issue,” he stated. “Since Azerbaijan is a Shia-majority Muslim country, and we have quite a number of Iranian sympathizers, who are not exactly members of Iranian cells, but personally they do sympathize for the regime,” he added.
He also cautioned that the war had not eliminated the Iranian regime but had strengthened the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“IRGC became more powerful and more authoritarian than it was before the war,” Shahbazov observed. “So I expect that the IRGC will take control over the country in all spheres, including civilian, diplomatic, and military spheres. So IRGC will be quite a serious problem, even a greater problem than it was one or two years ago,” he added.
Roberts also viewed Iran as a revolutionary force prepared to employ measured escalation throughout the region.
“It would appear that Iran has a governmental structure that really is quite genuinely revolutionary,” he said. “That fervor is still there.”
Iranian attacks beyond its frontiers can serve a deterrent purpose, Roberts explained, but sustained escalation against Azerbaijan would carry risks for Tehran because Azerbaijan has recently prevailed in war and possesses capable military forces.
Shahbazov highlighted Azerbaijan’s border security capabilities, noting it has received assistance from the United States and Israel. “Azerbaijan is one of those regional states that has a quite effective border security service.”
He said infiltration attempts from the Iranian side persist, but mainly involve smuggling. “There are still some attempts of infiltration from the Iranian side, but mostly those are smugglers, drug smugglers, or the people who are carrying some guns,” he explained. “None of them successfully managed to infiltrate into Azerbaijan.”
The disagreement over alleged Israeli activity represents just one element of a broader Azerbaijani strategy: remaining valuable to competing powers without becoming dependent on any of them. Baku’s worth has increased because it can communicate with Israel, Turkey, the European Union, the US, Russia, and Iran, even as many of these actors grow increasingly antagonistic toward each other.
This diplomatic flexibility appears in Azerbaijan’s approach to Moscow. Roberts said Baku’s policy toward Russia relies on caution, distance, and realism.
“The point about their relationship with Russia is keeping Russia at a distance, being polite, not being unnecessarily inimical, but no full trust in Russia,” Roberts told The Media Line. “Azerbaijan will not go to try to deliberately upset Russia, but it will do things in its own interest that Russia may not be happy with,” he added.
Energy has enhanced that caution’s value. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Europe accelerated its search for alternatives to Russian gas. Azerbaijan had already been providing Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer route transporting gas from the Shah Deniz field through the South Caucasus Pipeline, the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline across Turkey, and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline through Greece, Albania, and the Adriatic Sea to Italy.
The European Commission reports that Azerbaijani gas deliveries to the EU through the corridor rose by more than 40% between 2021 and 2024. It also states that the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan provided gas to 14 countries in 2025, while media reported that Azerbaijan commenced gas deliveries to Germany and Austria in January 2026.
Shahbazov characterized the war in Ukraine as the pivotal moment that enhanced Azerbaijan’s importance in European considerations.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine elevated Azerbaijan’s importance in European energy security calculations,” Shahbazov told The Media Line. “Because before 2022, Azerbaijan was already supplying gas to Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor. But after the war, the EU began actively seeking reliable non-Russian suppliers as a part of isolating Russia from and trying to diminish its role in the global energy market,” he added.
Nevertheless, both experts cautioned against exaggerating Azerbaijan’s capacity. Shahbazov said Azerbaijani gas can assist Europe in diversifying but cannot completely substitute Russian volumes.
“But still, Azerbaijani gas cannot fully replace Russian gas, because it’s technically impossible, given also the size of gas reserves that Russia has,” he explained. “Russia simultaneously supplies Asia and the European markets, which Azerbaijan cannot do, of course. But Azerbaijan can be quite an important contributor in terms of global uncertainty,” he added.
Roberts indicated that Azerbaijan has already accomplished much of what it can without major new upstream investment. Additional European exports would require pipeline improvements, increased compression capacity, and long-term commercial certainty for companies such as BP.
The same geography that makes Azerbaijan valuable as an energy supplier also reinforces its role as a corridor state. Turkey plays a central role in that position. The partnership encompasses strategic, military, cultural, and infrastructural elements, providing Azerbaijan energy access to Europe through the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline. In June 2026, Turkey’s energy minister indicated that Ankara and Baku were exploring opportunities beyond oil and gas toward electricity transmission and green energy corridors with Georgia, Bulgaria, and southeastern European states.
Azerbaijan’s connections to Turkey, Israel, Europe, Russia, and Iran have made ambiguity a strategic instrument. Shahbazov described this as an intentional “multivector” foreign policy, while Roberts argued that Azerbaijan is unlikely to abandon this approach.
“I would be absolutely astonished if Azerbaijan at any point showed all its cards and took a definite side,” Roberts said. “It enjoys very good commercial relations with the West, with Europe, and with the United States. Look at the development of its oil and its gas and the markets it serves. It is well aware of how important those commercial ties are,” he added.
Beyond energy, Azerbaijan is also positioning itself at the center of the Middle Corridor, which connects China and Central Asia to Europe through the Caspian and the South Caucasus while bypassing Russia and Iran. Roberts said Azerbaijan is essential to this geography.
“Azerbaijan is absolutely essential because it is the country between Iran and Russia that constitutes the gateway at the Caspian through to Europe,” he explained.
A final peace treaty with Armenia, Roberts added, could open additional routes into Turkey and Europe while reducing dependence on the Black Sea during the Russia-Ukraine war.
Shahbazov framed Azerbaijan’s future in even broader terms, saying its importance is no longer connected only to hydrocarbons. “Azerbaijan increasingly sees itself as a connectivity state linking multiple regions.”
He described the country as becoming “the hub of both energy and transportation at the same time,” combining geography with political flexibility.
“What makes Azerbaijan particularly significant is that it combines geography with political flexibility, so it’s not simply an energy exporter,” Shahbazov said. “It’s becoming a regional platform for diplomacy, for strategic cooperation.”
This stability is becoming a strategic asset. Azerbaijan sits near the Iran-Israel front, north of the Persian Gulf crisis, west of Central Asia, south of Russia, and east of Turkey. It has emerged from its own war with Armenia stronger, while neighboring Georgia and Armenia face political uncertainty, and the Black Sea remains affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Roberts warned against assuming there is a single coherent regional plan behind these shifts. “I would be very careful about using words like a ‘bigger plan or picture.’ I think an enormous amount of what happens in the Middle East is unplanned. It’s accidental, it’s coincidental, it’s mistaken, and it’s not planned.”
This uncertainty may be precisely why Azerbaijan’s position matters. It is not large enough to replace Russia in Europe’s energy market or powerful enough to dictate the outcome of the Iran-Israel confrontation. But it is geographically positioned at the intersection of several crises and politically agile enough to communicate with actors that are increasingly unable or unwilling to communicate with one another.
For Europe, Azerbaijan serves as a tool for diversification. For Israel, it represents a rare Muslim-majority security and energy partner. For Turkey, it functions as a strategic brother-state and corridor partner. For the US, it serves as a useful Caspian actor at Iran’s northern edge. For Russia, it represents a neighbor that must be managed but no longer fully constrained. For Iran, it is both a sensitive border state and a potential source of suspicion.
Baku’s challenge is that the same geography that provides it influence also exposes it. Its future role will depend on whether it can continue to transform proximity to conflict into diplomatic and economic leverage without being drawn into the wars surrounding it.
Syria’s foreign minister has accepted the credentials of the Vatican’s newly appointed ambassador, Archbishop Luigi Roberto Cona, signaling the Holy See’s ongoing diplomatic commitment to the war-torn nation.
The credential ceremony with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani demonstrates the sustained diplomatic relationship between Damascus and the Vatican, highlighting the Church’s enduring involvement in Syrian affairs during years of warfare.
This appointment underscores the Vatican’s dedication to preserving its diplomatic mission in Syria. While numerous Western nations shuttered their embassies and pulled out during the conflict, the Vatican maintained its Apostolic Nunciature in Damascus throughout the entire war period.
From the beginning of Syria’s civil war in 2011, the Vatican has steadfastly promoted peaceful negotiations while rejecting armed interventions as solutions.
When the conflict intensified in 2013, Pope Francis expressed profound alarm about the killings and extensive human suffering throughout Syria, demanding an immediate end to fighting and promoting peaceful talks instead of military escalation. The Pope also established a worldwide day of prayer and fasting dedicated to peace in Syria and the broader Middle East region.
The Vatican’s strategy has consistently emphasized the humanitarian aspects of the Syrian crisis, making repeated appeals to global leaders to assist refugees and internally displaced populations while contributing to reconstruction efforts following years of destruction.
In addition to humanitarian issues, the Vatican has shown special concern for protecting Syria’s ancient Christian communities and maintaining the nation’s religious and cultural plurality. Through this lens, the Holy See has persistently championed interfaith communication and fostered peaceful coexistence among Syria’s diverse religious groups.
The new Vatican representative’s accreditation occurs during a period of major political and regional changes, potentially expanding the Church’s diplomatic mission to support stability while encouraging reconciliation and dialogue efforts. This appointment also acknowledges the enduring ties between Syria and the Vatican, which began in the 1950s.
Archbishop Cona is anticipated to formally submit his credentials and begin his official responsibilities in the upcoming weeks. Religious and diplomatic observers will closely monitor whether the Vatican can maintain its decade-long role in advancing peace and stability throughout Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday that his nation will maintain its military response policy against Iran and Hezbollah attacks, even as President Donald Trump works to prevent additional escalation and maintain current ceasefire arrangements.
During a recorded address, Netanyahu affirmed Israel’s defensive actions against both enemies following recent assaults and maintained the country’s right to future responses. “Israel has the full right to self-defense, and we exercise it whenever necessary,” he stated.
Netanyahu explained that Hezbollah’s rocket attacks into Israeli areas led him to direct the Israel Defense Forces to target terrorist positions and Hezbollah personnel in Beirut. He noted that Iranian assaults on Israel resulted in Israeli counterstrikes against military and economic facilities throughout Iran.
Discussing the recent conflicts, Netanyahu dismissed what he characterized as Tehran and Hezbollah’s effort to create new deterrence rules. “Over the past 24 hours, Iran and Hezbollah tried to impose a new equation on us. That equation is intolerable and completely unacceptable to me,” he declared.
“They thought they could fire from Lebanon and Iran at Israel and that we would not act. That did not happen, and it will not happen. Not on my watch!” Netanyahu emphasized.
Netanyahu said the existing ceasefire resulted from Iran’s choice to stop ballistic missile launches against Israel. “At the moment, the fire has ceased because after we struck the terrorist regime in Tehran, it stopped attacking us,” he explained. “If the terrorist regime in Iran makes the mistake of attacking us again, we will respond with force.”
Netanyahu’s comments followed President Trump’s Sunday evening announcement that he planned to encourage the Israeli leader against launching more strikes after an Iranian assault involving 11 missile barrages.
“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump stated. “I don’t want to see an additional attack tonight.”
Barak Ravid of N12 reported that Washington received no advance notice of Israel’s planned Sunday night Iran operation. President Trump informed the network that Israel only notified the United States once the mission had already begun.
Monday saw Israel’s air force target the Karoun petrochemical facility in Mahshahr, Iran, along with additional sites. Iran retaliated by firing more missiles toward Israel.
Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu initially authorized a larger Monday afternoon strike but called it off following President Trump’s personal appeal to cease further military operations. The network indicated the two leaders conducted multiple discussions after the Beirut attacks, Iran’s ballistic missile strikes on Israel, and Israel’s follow-up Iran operations. The report stated Netanyahu contended that Iran had breached Israeli sovereignty and warranted a response before ultimately agreeing to cancel the planned mission.
Delaware’s top legal officer announced a courtroom win today against a campaign organization with ties to the Koch family that sought to eliminate state requirements for transparency in third-party political advertising.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings revealed that the court rejected the group’s challenge to Delaware law mandating basic disclosure from outside campaign advertisers.
“This victory affirms that it is the people of Delaware – not the Koch family or any other billionaires – who get to determine our state’s” election laws, Jennings stated.
A recent survey conducted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation reveals a significant shift in how New Zealanders view global powers, marking the first time in ten years that the United States is perceived as a greater threat than China.
The foundation’s yearly study examining attitudes toward Asia and Asian populations, which has been running for 29 years, surveyed 2,300 individuals during January and February. The results showed 39% of participants considered the United States a friend to New Zealand, while 35% labeled it a threat. In contrast, 43% viewed China as friendly and only 23% saw it as threatening.
The data indicates a notable decline in favorable opinions toward America over the past year, while perceptions of China have become more positive.
The research also revealed that 81% of New Zealanders believe strengthening connections with Asia holds significant importance for their country.
“There is a growing recognition that prosperity, resilience and security will depend on the depth and quality of our relationships across Asia,” stated Asia New Zealand Foundation Chief Executive Suzannah Jessep in the report.
Despite this shifting public sentiment, New Zealand and America have expanded their collaboration in defense, security, and technology sectors recently. Wellington views Washington as essential for maintaining Indo-Pacific stability and serving as a balance against China’s expanding influence in the region.
However, New Zealand’s export businesses have suffered from American tariffs, and the nation’s economy has experienced strain from elevated oil costs connected to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
“New Zealanders also still understand their sense of security largely through an economic lens, and so tariffs and disruption to global trade weigh heavily on those calculations,” explained David Capie, professor of international relations at Victoria University of Wellington.
According to Capie, the declining American sentiment reflects a wider trend seen throughout Western liberal democracies.
Supporting this pattern, a University of Sydney survey published in December revealed that most Australians, Japanese, and Indians believe U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term has negatively impacted their nations.
Millions of American retirees face potential benefit cuts as the Social Security trust fund approaches insolvency by late 2032, according to a new government report released Tuesday.
The Social Security Administration’s latest annual assessment shows the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will be exhausted in the fourth quarter of 2032, moving up the timeline from the first quarter of 2033 that officials projected in last year’s report.
Once the fund runs dry, incoming revenue will cover only 78% of promised benefits, meaning retirees could see their monthly Social Security checks reduced by 22%.
The accelerated timeline stems partly from President Donald Trump’s tax legislation passed last year, which reduced income tax collections on Social Security benefits that help fund the program, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the separate Disability Insurance trust fund for Americans receiving long-term disability payments remains financially stable for the next 75 years, matching last year’s projections.
When both funds are considered together, they will reach insolvency in the third quarter of 2034, unchanged from previous estimates. At that point, combined income would support 83% of scheduled benefits, dropping to just 65% by 2100.
The report identified declining U.S. birth rates and reduced immigration as additional factors contributing to the worsening financial outlook for the retirement program.
The Social Security Administration operates under Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano, who received Senate confirmation in May 2025.
NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama compares playing at home to having a six-on-five advantage on the basketball court. Playing away from home, he says, feels like five against six.
The young star embraces that challenge.
Wembanyama and his San Antonio teammates excelled in their Game 3 NBA Finals matchup at Madison Square Garden, showing no intimidation from the hostile crowd or the series disadvantage they’re battling against the New York Knicks.
“I like lively crowds, active crowds,” Wembanyama commented Tuesday, about 13 hours following his impressive 32-point performance that included eight rebounds and six assists in his first finals victory. “At home, it’s an extra motivation because you want to give the people who support you a good show. On the road, you want to do the opposite.”
After quieting a packed house of almost 20,000 fans, San Antonio has an opportunity to tie the series in Wednesday evening’s Game 4 at the Garden, where the atmosphere could be even more electric as supporters attempt to push their squad toward its first title since 1973.
“We find a comfort playing on the road, knowing when you’re in this environment, it’s us versus them, and obviously everybody in the crowd,” Guard De’Aaron Fox explained. “When you know that — everybody behind you has your back — it allows you to settle into these games.”
Teammate Stephon Castle acknowledged that he and the Spurs understood their season hung in the balance after dropping the first two games of the series, and he praised their unity for achieving a 7-3 road record during these playoffs. While Monday represented a crucial victory, Wednesday carries similar weight since just one team out of 38 that fell behind 3-1 in the finals has managed to claim the championship.
“It’s something you can’t shy away from, especially with the goals and aspirations that we have,” Castle explained. “Just focus on the things that matter throughout the game and not really paying too close attention to the crowd. They’re going to be there regardless, especially cheering on their team. You should want to play in those environments. I feel like that’s when we play at our best.”
Wembanyama delivered exactly that level of play, bouncing back from his failed buzzer-beater attempt to deliver a stellar showing worthy of the intense spotlight at the venue dubbed the world’s most famous arena. However, the 22-year-old French center didn’t carry the load alone.
Castle, age 21, contributed 23 points and appeared unaffected by the ankle injury he sustained during Friday’s Game 2. Devin Vassell, 25, and Julian Champagnie, approaching his 25th birthday, both connected on crucial shots and reached double-digit scoring. Rookie Dylan Harper, just 20 years old, added 13 points coming off the bench.
Fox, at 28 one of the team’s veterans, credits those younger players’ temperament for explaining their ability to perform under pressure.
“They just don’t have the personalities that you would think that are just going to be overwhelmed by something,” Fox observed. “I don’t know what they’re feeling on the inside, obviously. What you see out there on the court with them, just when you see it on their faces when New York is going on a run, you don’t see them panic.”
The Spurs appear free of panic, regardless of how little experience some of their key contributors possess. Coach Mitch Johnson recognizes why there’s considerable discussion about youth and experience, but similar to Fox, he believes it comes down to the character of players like Wembanyama, Castle and Harper rather than their years of life and basketball experience.
Their inexperience might actually benefit them. Harper mentioned this marks his first experience being jeered on New York streets while leaving his hotel, though the hostility only motivated him and his teammates — and may continue doing so.
“We just stay together in environments like this,” Harper said. “When we come to away games in the playoffs, for us at least, it’s been just staying together and holding each other accountable. I feel like with the level of desperation and desire that we played with (in Game 3), I feel like we’re pretty hard to beat when we do that.”
BEREA, Ohio — After contemplating his future since January, veteran offensive lineman Joel Bitonio made his retirement from professional football official this week following a dozen seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
The 34-year-old player formalized his decision during a Tuesday press conference, having earlier shared the news through the team’s official website.
“This place is so special that it was hard to truly say goodbye. I’m so glad I got to learn and be a Cleveland Brown my entire career,” Bitonio stated during the announcement, with his wife Courtney and their three children present.
The retirement announcement coincided with the Browns beginning their mandatory three-day minicamp session.
Selected as the 35th overall pick in the second round of the 2014 draft, Bitonio spent his complete professional career in Cleveland. He became a cornerstone at left guard and took on leadership responsibilities for the offensive line following Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas’s retirement in 2017.
With 178 career starts, Bitonio ranks ninth in franchise history for games played. Since the Browns returned to Cleveland in 1999, no player has started more games wearing the team colors.
“He was a model of consistency. I hardly ever remember Joel having a bad game,” owner Jimmy Haslam commented. “He did what I think you ask everybody to do in any organization, and that is come to work, work hard, do your job, be a good team player, go home, spend time with your family, and come back and do it again, and he did that for 12 years.”
While Bitonio continued visiting the training facility for rehabilitation following elbow surgery during the offseason, he took his time making the retirement decision until it felt appropriate.
“We signed like three interior linemen on the first day of free agency, so that was kind of like me and AB (general manager Andrew Berry) had already discussed that I was going to retire and I was finishing up my career,” explained Bitonio, who earned two All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl honors. “I know my agent talked to a bunch of teams during the combine, and people asked if I was interested in continuing to play, but there never got anything where I was telling people I wanted to play for another team.”
Among Bitonio’s career highlights were participating in playoff runs during the 2020 and 2023 seasons. However, he was forced to miss the AFC wild-card matchup against Pittsburgh in January 2021 due to COVID-19. Cleveland’s 48-37 triumph over the Steelers marked their first postseason victory since 1994.
Watching that historic game from home became a unique experience for Bitonio.
“My neighborhood knew I was at home, and they started lighting off fireworks after the game, and they threw a little parade down the street. So it was an unbelievable experience because we got the win. I think it would have been heart-wrenching if you’re sitting there and the team loses,” he recalled.
During his tenure, Bitonio witnessed the Browns’ ongoing search for a franchise quarterback, protecting 23 different signal-callers, with 22 of them making at least one start.
Last season, he was the sole Browns offensive lineman to start and participate in all 17 games. The team utilized 10 different line combinations throughout the season due to various injuries.
Cleveland has been rebuilding their offensive line, selecting left tackle Spencer Fano with the ninth overall draft pick. They also added left guard Zion Johnson and center/guard Elgton Jenkins through free agency, while trading for right tackle Tytus Howard from Houston.
Teven Jenkins, who appeared in all 17 games with four starts at right guard, may be the only returning starter from last season’s line.
“I think I was telling my wife the other day, it still kind of feels like an offseason right now. I’ve still been working out. I’m obviously not training as much, not at minicamp right now, but I think when training camp starts is going to be the real moment like, ‘OK, I’m retired from this,’ because that’s when everything really cranks up,” Bitonio reflected.
June 5, 2026 – A Maryland dairy operation has issued a voluntary recall of its cheese products over concerns about bacterial contamination that could pose serious health risks.
Clover Hill Dairy, located in Mechanicsville, Maryland, is pulling all of its Soft Ricotta/Requeson Cheese from the market due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. This dangerous bacteria can lead to severe and potentially deadly infections, particularly affecting young children, elderly individuals, and those with weakened immune systems.
OCEAN CITY, MD (June 09, 2026): Aviation enthusiasts will flock to Ocean City this weekend as the O.C. Air Show makes its return on Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14, 2026.
Town officials are alerting both locals and tourists to prepare for challenging travel conditions during the popular event. Attendees should anticipate significant traffic congestion, scarce parking availability, and various road restrictions in place throughout the weekend.
According to the advisory, preparations for aviation displays and ground exhibitions will require street closures to accommodate the show setup.
Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson found himself in police custody Monday evening following allegations of felony domestic violence at his San Fernando Valley home.
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to Jackson’s residence in the West Hills area after receiving a call. According to NBC4’s reporting, Jackson allegedly tried to grab a phone from a woman who he believed was recording him, leaving the woman with visible scratches on her arm.
The 27-year-old athlete has served as the team’s primary left tackle over the last three seasons, appearing in 45 regular-season contests and six postseason matchups. Jackson, who entered the league as an undrafted player, secured a lucrative three-year contract worth $57 million with the organization this past February.
Team officials released a statement addressing the situation: “We are aware of the incident regarding Alaric Jackson, and we take these matters very seriously. Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”
Jail records show Jackson was freed on a $50,000 bond during the early morning hours Tuesday. The district attorney’s office will now review the case to determine whether formal charges will be filed.
This marks another legal issue for Jackson during his five-year tenure with the franchise. The Canadian-American player initially served as a reserve player on the team’s championship squad during the 2021-22 campaign.
Jackson faced a civil lawsuit in the previous year from a woman claiming he secretly recorded intimate encounters without her permission. This matter resulted in a two-game suspension at the start of the 2024 season for violating the league’s personal conduct standards, though the specific reason remained confidential until the woman’s legal filing brought it to light.
The civil case was ultimately thrown out in April.
PHOENIX (AP) — During a productive May, Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado experienced something familiar to anyone who felt unstoppable in their twenties but has reached their mid-to-late thirties.
He woke up with back pain.
Nothing severe. Not enough to sideline him. But it represented one of those unexplained moments that accompany aging in Major League Baseball — potentially disrupting a strong performance streak for an eight-time All-Star who recently celebrated his 35th birthday.
“There’s more aches and pains,” Arenado said. “There’s just a little more work in the gym, getting prepared for the game, than there used to be. That’s a learning curve.
“I’ve always been in the gym, always did that stuff, but there’s definitely more maintenance.”
Arenado overcame the minor back problem and continues his recovery season in Arizona, hitting .256 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs through Monday’s contests. He’s part of a group of players 35 and older achieving decent offensive numbers, alongside Los Angeles Dodgers veterans Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, plus Houston’s Christian Walker.
However, this is a limited group that has shrunk considerably during the last ten years.
Major League Baseball batters aged 35 or above have collectively contributed only 5.6 WAR (Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs) through approximately the first third of the season, extending a pattern that has intensified over the past decade.
During the early 2000s, veteran stars dominated the major leagues. This reached its peak in 2003 when older batters accumulated 71.3 WAR combined, featuring a roster that included Barry Bonds, Frank Thomas, Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez and Jeff Bagwell.
What has transformed?
Here are some explanations for why MLB is trending younger these days:
Baseball’s data-driven approach can be traced to Bill James’ work during the 1970s and 1980s, but statistics like WAR, wOBA, BABIP, and OPS+ didn’t gain widespread adoption in the major leagues until the late 2000s at the earliest.
All at once, visual assessment became insufficient for MLB general managers. Statistical evidence took precedence.
And — conclusively — those statistics demonstrated that peak performance years for major league batters typically occur from their mid-twenties through early thirties.
This directly connects to MLB franchises securing young talent with extended contracts. Arizona’s Corbin Carroll, Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle, Pittsburgh’s Konnor Griffin, Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez represent dozens of talented players who received substantial deals long before reaching free agency.
Investment in veteran players has fallen out of favor. Walker — a three-time Gold Glove first baseman with nearly 200 career home runs — joined the Astros for a comparatively reasonable $60 million, three-year contract following the 2024 season at age 33.
“I think it has a lot to do with the ability to measure guys’ value on the field,” Walker said. “For a long time, WAR didn’t exist, wRC+ wasn’t a stat, right? So, you went off of the optics or this guy’s a good clubhouse guy or he’s got experience, he’s been to a World Series.”
Current young stars have developed in an environment where velocity dominates, but this wasn’t the case when Freeman and others emerged. The average MLB fastball in 2026 exceeds 94 mph, with 18 qualified pitchers averaging at least 96. When Freeman made his debut 17 years ago, the league-wide average stayed below 92 and no qualified pitchers averaged at least 96.
Arenado explained that among the first challenges for MLB veterans is handling elite fastballs — especially inside pitches. This creates difficult encounters against pitchers like Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski, who consistently throws 100 mph.
“I feel like just the general age of the levels and the development is trending younger and younger,” Walker said. “And there might be something to that — like your best bullets might be when you’re 27 years old.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts features Freeman and Muncy in his starting lineup almost every day. He also competed in the major leagues until age 36, retiring in 2008, providing him with personal insight into the aging experience.
“The hardest part is to expect and want the same output you’ve always had, but not be willing to change the equation,” Roberts said.
Roberts noted the process varies for each player. Some require additional workouts. Others need less. Many need extra sleep. Nutrition becomes increasingly crucial. The challenging aspect is that the routines that brought success to the major leagues might differ from those needed to remain there during your mid-to-late thirties.
Walker, who didn’t establish himself as a regular starter in the majors until age 28, said he’s accepted getting older and enjoys examining his blood work that might reveal vitamin deficiencies or inflammation causes. The testing also demonstrates how alcohol consumption might impact his body or the value of quality rest.
“For myself, no real magic recipe, just chalk it up to being a late bloomer,” Walker said. “My age is older than most guys, but service time isn’t. I haven’t been in the big leagues for 20 years or anything like that. Just fortunate that I still can help the team.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo identified two primary reasons for Arenado’s continued success in his 14th major league season. Initially, he credited the D-backs’ hitting coaches.
But perhaps most significantly, Arenado has heeded those coaches, welcomed change and discovered new methods for achievement.
“There’s an adjustment to work habits and mindset once you get to that level where things aren’t as easy as they used to be,” Lovullo said. “Some say ‘I’ve had my career, it’s not as easy as it once was, and I want to shut it down.’”
He later added: “It’s fun to watch Nolan Arenado have all this success, but he’s worked his butt off. He’s working as hard as any 22 or 23 year old we have on this team.”
LAS VEGAS — What a way to make a first impression. The Oakland Athletics’ debut game in Las Vegas turned into an absolute offensive spectacle, with Milwaukee edging out a wild 15-14 victory in 12 innings that had fans witnessing baseball history.
The fireworks started immediately when Shea Langeliers launched the first pitch he saw a staggering 483 feet, setting the tone for what would become an unforgettable introduction between the city and its future Major League Baseball team.
While Milwaukee claimed the victory, the real winners were the spectators who witnessed one of the most chaotic games in recent memory.
“It’s the most bizarre game I’ve ever had in Major League Baseball in 11 years,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I never saw anything like it. So many things happened. There were 16 challenges in the game. Sixteen challenges in the game. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Those replay reviews weren’t just frequent — they were necessary. Home plate umpire Clint Vondrak struggled mightily, having 11 of his 16 challenged ball-and-strike calls reversed. According to Umpire Scorecards, he also missed three additional calls that potentially influenced the outcome.
The contest took place at Las Vegas Ballpark, which serves as home to the Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate. Oakland will face Milwaukee again Tuesday and Wednesday before welcoming the Colorado Rockies for a three-game weekend series, all part of their effort to connect with Las Vegas supporters. The franchise plans to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028, where they’ll play in a $2 billion domed facility on the Strip with 33,000 seats.
Fans received commemorative jerseys featuring VEGAS on the back along with the number 28.
The minor league venue proved to be a launching pad during Monday’s offensive explosion, which lasted four hours and 14 minutes. Both clubs combined for 34 hits and 11 home runs — numbers unlikely to be replicated regularly in their future major league stadium.
“Just an all-around crazy game,” Langeliers said. “Both teams battled all night. It was a great baseball game.”
The victory marked just Milwaukee’s second win ever when surrendering 14 or more runs. Their previous such triumph came against Washington by an identical 15-14 score on Aug. 17, 2019. The Brewers’ record in games allowing at least 14 runs now stands at 2-88.
For Oakland, this marked their first participation in a game where both teams reached 14 runs since falling 17-16 to Texas on May 5, 2000.
Beyond the offensive onslaught, the game delivered plenty of late-inning theatrics.
Oakland carried a two-run advantage into the ninth inning, but Andrew Vaughn’s two-run double with nobody out forced extra innings.
Milwaukee grabbed a four-run lead in the 10th inning, only to watch Oakland respond with four runs of their own, highlighted by clutch two-out home runs from Nick Kurtz and Jonah Heim.
The marathon finally ended in the 12th when Brice Turang’s fielder’s choice groundout with one out brought home Christian Yelich with what proved to be the decisive run, concluding what may have been the season’s most entertaining contest.
A United Nations investigation released Tuesday reveals that Hamas fighters and security forces carried out brutal acts against their own people in Gaza, including public executions and torture that constitute war crimes.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented hundreds of instances of extrajudicial punishment throughout the war-torn region, many of which were made public to terrorize the population.
“These cases involved executions, kneecapping, bone-breaking with metal pipes or cement bricks and beatings and were framed by the perpetrators as punishments for alleged collaboration with Israel, looting humanitarian aid, theft, drug-related offenses or affiliations with internal rivals,” the report stated.
Investigators determined that Hamas-linked fighters and law enforcement participated in nearly 25% of the 249 documented incidents — which resulted in 108 fatalities — occurring between August 2024 and January 2026. While the investigation focused on Hamas-connected forces, it also recorded cases involving other militant organizations.
Hamas officials did not provide responses when asked about the report’s findings.
For almost twenty years, Hamas has maintained control over Gaza after taking the territory from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. Following an October ceasefire that ended more than two years of intense fighting with Israel, Hamas has been working to restore its authority in the parts of Gaza it continues to control.
The Tuesday report indicates that instead of using proper legal proceedings with courts and judges, the punishments were administered by Hamas’ armed forces and law enforcement divisions.
Srinivasan Muralidhar, who chairs the UN commission, stated that the documented abuses in Gaza occurred in an “environment engineered by Israel,” where “Hamas-affiliated forces have exploited the vacuum created by relentless Israeli attacks and widespread destruction.
Victims included opposition activists and members of Israeli-supported clans and armed factions that gained influence in areas where Hamas’ authority diminished during the conflict, which has resulted in nearly 73,000 Palestinian deaths according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
The UN investigation references filmed executions, including footage of three men with covered eyes who were killed by masked gunmen outside Shifa Hospital in September 2025 while onlookers watched. The document describes another public killing one month afterward, when eight individuals were pulled into a Gaza City plaza and shot. Both incidents involved people labeled as spies, traitors and collaborators, the report noted.
These events, the commission determined, “amount to the war crime of murder and to a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the right to life, the right to liberty and security and the right to a fair trial.”
Additional targets of physical violence and public humiliation — including minors — faced accusations of stealing, narcotics trafficking or unauthorized tobacco sales.
Testimony from witnesses informed the commission that punishments occurred within medical facilities, including the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. Nevertheless, it determined that the documented activities — which don’t target Israel — don’t eliminate hospitals’ protection under international law. Israel has consistently claimed that Hamas operates from schools, hospitals and religious buildings.
This report represents the most recent from the international organization, which previously accused Israel of genocide, weaponizing starvation in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank — charges that Israel firmly rejects. Israel has consistently claimed the UN rights office demonstrates anti-Israel prejudice.
The UN document also condemned increasing violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, describing it as functioning “as a means of implementing Israeli state policy, with both the state and violent settler groups working toward the same strategic objectives: entrenchment of Israeli settlements, annexation of Palestinian territory and displacement of Palestinians from their land.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not provide responses regarding these accusations.
Since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, 1,098 Palestinians — including no fewer than 240 children — have died at the hands of Israeli forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank, based on UN statistics. During this violence, Bedouin communities in remote regions have been forced from their homes as new Israeli settlements have emerged and the government has worked to authorize additional ones.
Food service employees at a major California stadium have secured a preliminary contract agreement, preventing a potential work stoppage just days before the World Cup kicks off.
Labor representatives announced the preliminary agreement during a Tuesday press conference, with employees scheduled to cast their votes on the contract Wednesday. The labor organization representing 2,000 food service staff including bartenders, servers, kitchen workers and dishwashers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, had approved strike authorization the previous week after negotiations with Legends Global, the venue’s food service contractor, reached an impasse.
Employees represented by UNITE HERE Local 11 had been pushing for wage improvements, job security protections against subcontracting, and workplace safety measures given increased immigration enforcement activities under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“This is a very proud moment for all of us,” said Yolanda Fierro, a suite runner at the stadium. “We really want to secure the safety of all our employees.”
Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, explained that workers maintained strike rights in the event of immigration enforcement actions at their workplace under the new agreement. He noted this was the final outstanding issue during company negotiations.
“No other collective bargaining agreement in the country preserves the right to strike in response to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids and attacks,” he said. “We hope we never need to use that right.”
The international soccer tournament is anticipated to bring millions of spectators to venues throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico during the 39-day competition this summer.
SoFi Stadium will host eight tournament games, beginning with Friday’s matchup between the U.S. and Paraguay.
The Middle East’s largest airline is showing confidence about finally receiving its long-awaited Boeing 777X aircraft, with delivery expected by June of next year, according to statements made at an industry conference in Berlin.
Emirates, which holds the distinction of being the globe’s biggest purchaser of wide-body aircraft, has endured extended postponements for Boeing’s flagship model while simultaneously expressing frustration with engine reliability issues on Airbus’ largest offering, which has prevented the airline from placing orders.
“Anything can go wrong … but it’s in good shape,” Emirates President Tim Clark stated when discussing the 777X order during the Berlin conference.
The Dubai-based carrier anticipates taking delivery of its initial 777X between May and June of 2025, marking 14 years since Emirates spearheaded the original ordering surge for the 400-passenger aircraft. The GE-powered aircraft’s development has faced numerous setbacks, including certification holdups.
Clark restated his airline’s worries regarding the performance of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engine in the harsh, sandy conditions typical of Gulf region operations. This engine powers the somewhat smaller Airbus A350-1000, and Emirates has maintained it will not purchase this aircraft until durability concerns are addressed.
“The story of the (XWB-)97 is as it was. I know they (Rolls-Royce) are working hard to get it sorted,” Clark explained.
The Emirates executive, who has previously engaged in public disagreements with Rolls-Royce, also criticized a compensation package potentially exceeding £100 million ($134 million) granted to Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic.
Erginbilgic has received recognition for implementing comprehensive organizational changes, leading to significant improvements in both profitability and stock performance.
While Rolls-Royce refused to address questions about executive compensation, a company representative responded to Clark’s engine durability comments by noting that their Trent XWB-97 technology enhancement program is boosting both durability and operational time.
“These enhancements will double the durability of the Trent XWB-97 in hot and dusty environments and provide a 50% improvement for flying in benign environments,” the spokesperson explained.
The manufacturer is also making investments to increase its maintenance, overhaul and repair capabilities by 2030 to meet rising customer needs and deliver engine improvements to clients “as quickly as possible,” according to company statements.
The aviation industry is currently experiencing widespread tensions between airlines and engine manufacturers regarding elevated costs and delivery postponements.
Clark showed little understanding for engine producers who have struggled to meet demand, resulting in grounded aircraft.
“I can’t say to my government, I can’t fly because I haven’t got this; they’d kick me out. So it’s brutal, but that’s the way it is. You need to do better than you’re doing, but it’s not only him (Erginbilgic), it’s all the others as well.”
The International Air Transport Association recently accused engine manufacturers of “gouging” airlines through parts pricing. Engine companies defend themselves by citing substantial financial risks taken to achieve fuel efficiency gains and attribute some delays to supply chain complications.
“Listen, guys, that’s not my problem, that’s your problem,” Clark stated, directing his comments toward engine manufacturers regarding supply limitations.
A court in Tunisia has handed down a four-year prison sentence to journalist Khaoula Boukrim while she remains in exile, according to the reporter’s announcement on Tuesday. Critics view this decision as evidence of an escalating campaign against media freedom and dissenting opinions under President Kais Saied’s leadership.
This sentence against Boukrim follows a pattern of legal action targeting media professionals, with several journalists including Zied Heni, Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies being imprisoned earlier this year.
The founder of news website TUMEDIA, who escaped to Paris last December, learned that courts had issued two separate verdicts against her under Decree-Law 54. This cybercrime legislation, passed in 2022, carries harsh punishments for digital publishing violations.
While human rights organizations claim the statute has become a tool for silencing government opponents and restricting media freedom, officials defend it as essential for fighting false information and digital harassment.
“I was forced to leave to Paris when I learned that legal cases were being prepared against me because of my critical positions toward the president and those around him,” Boukrim told Reuters.
“The ruling is a continuation of the targeting of free journalism and critical voices,” she added.
Government representatives were not available to provide immediate response to the sentencing.
Human rights advocates express concern about increasing efforts to silence remaining independent media voices following Saied’s dissolution of the democratically elected parliament in 2021 and his subsequent governance through executive orders.
Press freedom had initially expanded after the 2011 revolution that removed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the “Arab Spring” movement.
Opposition voices argue that Saied’s consolidation of authority in 2021 and his subsequent executive actions have eliminated democratic protections and given authorities the ability to target numerous journalists.
Over the past three years, leadership from Tunisia’s primary opposition movements have been imprisoned alongside dozens of political figures, advocates and business leaders on accusations including plotting against national security, financial crimes and corruption.
Saied maintains he will not become an authoritarian leader and insists that civil liberties remain protected in Tunisia.
Olympic champion and Team USA captain Hilary Knight will be moving to Detroit’s PWHL franchise in a sign-and-trade arrangement with Las Vegas, according to multiple media reports.
The Las Vegas team announced Tuesday that they had signed the 36-year-old forward to a one-year deal.
According to the reports, Detroit will give up its first-round selection in next week’s draft to obtain Knight from Las Vegas. The transaction cannot be finalized until the PWHL’s trade moratorium ends on June 16, one day prior to the draft.
Knight, who has competed in five Olympics and captured her second gold medal at this year’s Milano Cortina Winter Games, ranks among women’s hockey’s most accomplished athletes. The world champion has claimed 10 world titles, including gold in South Korea in 2018, along with three silver medals.
During the previous season, Knight served as the first captain of the Seattle Torrent, recording 14 points on five goals and nine assists across 22 contests. Her initial two PWHL campaigns were spent leading Boston as captain, and she has accumulated 54 points through 26 goals and 28 assists over 76 league appearances.
WILMINGTON, DE — Delaware’s Child Protection Accountability Commission convened on May 20, 2026, to issue its quarterly assessment of child welfare cases across the state.
During the meeting, commission members examined and approved findings from 26 cases as part of their mandated duty to investigate child deaths and near deaths resulting from abuse or neglect.
The cases reviewed by the commission are organized into two categories, according to the quarterly report released following the May session.
This quarterly review represents one of the commission’s key legal obligations in monitoring child welfare and protection efforts throughout Delaware.
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware football program has added Chase McGowan, who graduated from the university in 2023, to its coaching staff as a defensive analyst, according to an announcement made Tuesday by head coach Ryan Carty.
In his new role, McGowan will work closely with the team’s cornerback unit, providing analysis and support for the defensive backfield.
Grammy-winning Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Bad Bunny had a short private encounter with Pope Leo at Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium Monday night while both were visiting Spain, Vatican officials confirmed Tuesday. The Vatican indicated it would not be sharing photographs from the meeting.
The Vatican’s official statement revealed that the pontiff greeted the reggaeton star, whose record “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” (I Should Have Taken More Pictures) earned Album of the Year honors at this year’s Grammy Awards, along with his relatives and additional individuals. The pope provided them with a brief welcome before departing the venue, the statement noted.
The pontiff, who faced criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump this year following his condemnation of the Iran war, is currently conducting a seven-day Spanish tour during which he has cautioned that growing global conflicts have placed the world in “profound crisis.”
Interestingly, both the pope and Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, share the experience of provoking Trump’s displeasure.
The musical artist has been vocal in condemning Trump’s strict anti-immigration stance and endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Bad Bunny served as the main performer for the Super Bowl halftime show in February, introducing Spanish-language music and reggaeton beats to the yearly American football championship event. Trump described the performance as “absolutely terrible” and “an affront to the Greatness of America.”
British health and beauty retailer Boots is reportedly exploring a $10 billion sale that would abandon its planned London stock market debut, according to a Financial Times report published Tuesday citing sources with knowledge of the discussions.
The pharmacy chain’s current owner, private equity firm Sycamore Partners, has been in discussions with potential buyers since before Easter, the report indicates. Sycamore Partners gained control of Boots in the previous year through a $10 billion purchase of parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Two key parties have emerged in the negotiations: the Canadian branch of the billionaire Weston family and Australian pharmacy group Sigma Healthcare. The Weston family maintains ownership interests in grocery retailer Loblaws and pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart through their investment vehicle Wittington Investments.
The potential sale represents a shift from earlier strategic planning. In April, Reuters had reported that Boots’ ownership was collaborating with advisors on restructuring plans in preparation for a possible London IPO as early as 2027, though a sale remained an option at that time.
Boots maintains a significant presence across Britain with more than 1,800 locations providing pharmacy services, health products, and beauty brands such as Soap & Glory. The company also serves as a major provider of pharmacy services funded by the National Health Service.
When contacted for comment, Sycamore Partners declined to respond to the report. Boots and Sigma Healthcare did not provide immediate responses to requests for comment, while Wittington Investments could not be reached for comment.
The space agency announced Tuesday its selection of four astronauts for the Artemis III mission, marking another milestone in efforts to return humans to the lunar surface.
This crew announcement follows the successful Artemis II mission completed two months ago, which broke distance records previously held by Apollo 13 during its lunar flyby.
The selected team includes three astronauts from the space agency – Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas – along with the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano. Rather than traveling to the moon directly, these astronauts will remain in Earth’s orbit to conduct crucial practice sessions involving their Orion spacecraft and two different lunar landing vehicles.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman offered his support to the crew, stating: “To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead.”
Two major aerospace companies are competing to provide the lunar landing craft – Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. The planned two-week demonstration mission is scheduled for 2027, though Blue Origin recently faced challenges when one of their large rockets exploded during ground testing in Florida. The explosion created a bright orange flash visible across the sky and caused vibrations felt in surrounding neighborhoods.
Despite this setback, NASA’s Jeremy Parsons expressed confidence in the program’s timeline, describing the incident as a valuable learning experience and maintaining that Blue Origin’s vehicle will be prepared on schedule.
The broader Artemis initiative represents the first attempt to place astronauts on the moon since missions ended in the 1970s. Recent program modifications announced by Isaacman are designed to accelerate progress similar to the original Apollo program approach, incorporating this Earth-orbit training phase before attempting an actual lunar landing in 2028.
Mission commander Bresnik expressed his crew’s dedication, saying: “We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space.”
Mission specialist Douglas shared his emotional response: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full.”
Earlier this year in May, the space agency distributed hundreds of millions in funding to four different companies, including Blue Origin, for developing various lunar equipment such as landing craft, exploration vehicles, and aerial drones intended for establishing a permanent moon base. Isaacman explained that this lunar facility would serve as preparation for eventual human missions to Mars.
LIMA, Peru — Peru’s presidential election remains extremely tight as the vote difference between the two contenders has shrunk to fewer than 20,000 ballots with officials having tallied 96% of Sunday’s runoff election returns.
The victor will assume the presidency as the South American nation’s ninth leader within a 10-year span.
Current tallies reveal nationalist legislator Roberto Sánchez holding 50.055% of the vote, with conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori capturing 49.945%. Election officials have processed over 17.8 million ballots so far.
Both Fujimori, whose father served as a former president later disgraced, and Sánchez, who maintains ties to a jailed former president, emerged victorious from a field of 35 contenders during April’s initial voting round, though each secured less than 20% support. It took election officials over a month to certify their advancement to the runoff.
Roberto Burneo, the nation’s top election official, indicated final results from Sunday’s voting will be announced within 30 days. He urged citizens and political groups to “act with democratic responsibility” during the ongoing count.
The extended timeline stems from legal requirements mandating each individual ballot and summary sheet from polling locations be transported to over 100 counting facilities. Furthermore, ballots and tally documents must be shipped to Lima from 63 nations for processing.
Peruvian citizens between ages 18 and 70 face mandatory voting requirements. Those who fail to participate receive fines reaching $32.
Registration records show more than 27 million eligible voters. Approximately 1.2 million were anticipated to vote from overseas, primarily from the United States and Argentina.
Rising criminal activity, especially extortion schemes, dominated voter concerns. Analysts connect organized crime’s expanding influence to increased profits from unauthorized gold extraction operations in the Andes and Amazon regions.
The successful candidate will take the oath of office for a five-year term beginning July 28.
Both contenders faced popularity challenges, with many citizens connecting each to problematic former Peruvian leaders.
Fujimori carries associations with her deceased father Alberto Fujimori’s authoritarian and corrupt administration during the 1990s. She assumed first lady duties in 1994 following her parents’ marital split.
Sánchez maintains close connections to jailed ex-President Pedro Castillo, whom numerous citizens view as corrupt and disorganized. Castillo’s 16-month presidency featured more than 70 Cabinet personnel changes.
WASHINGTON — Federal officials announced Tuesday that Social Security’s retirement trust fund will encounter a funding shortfall by 2032, moving up the timeline by one year from previous estimates, according to a newly released annual assessment. Medicare’s hospital insurance fund remains on track to face benefit payment challenges in 2033, matching last year’s forecast.
Increasing medical expenses and federal expenditures have pushed the projected depletion timeline to less than a decade away.
The upcoming obstacle for these programs represents a partial funding deficit rather than a complete system failure. Following trust fund exhaustion, benefit payments will continue at decreased levels.
According to the trustees’ report, Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund bankruptcy timeline was previously moved to 2033 from an earlier projection of 2036.
Social Security’s combined trust funds, which provide benefits to elderly and disabled Americans, will face full benefit payment difficulties starting in 2034, matching the 2025 assessment. Following that point, available revenue would support approximately 83% of planned benefits.
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano stated the Trump administration is “committed to protecting and strengthening Social Security” and “eliminating waste, fraud, abuse and ensuring program integrity.”
The program trustees, including the treasury secretary, labor secretary, health and human services secretary and the Social Security commissioner, emphasize that these latest results demonstrate the critical need for program modifications. These initiatives have confronted serious financial forecasts for many years. However, altering these programs has remained politically challenging, with legislators consistently deferring Social Security and Medicare’s problematic calculations to future generations.
AARP’s CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan stated in a release that the current figures “should be a wake-up call. Congress needs to act.”
“Americans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,” she said. “No family should see any cuts to what they’ve earned in Social Security.”
Medicare currently serves approximately 70.1 million Americans, providing federal health coverage for individuals 65 and older, plus those with serious disabilities or medical conditions.
The last major Social Security benefit changes occurred about 40 years ago, when federal authorities increased the program’s eligibility age from 65 to 67. Medicare’s eligibility age has remained at 65 throughout its history.
Federal health officials announced Tuesday they have approved the first new sunscreen ingredient for American consumers in over 25 years, opening access to a protective compound that has been available in Europe and other regions for decades.
The Food and Drug Administration determined that bemotrizinol meets agency requirements for shielding skin from harmful ultraviolet radiation while producing minimal irritation or penetration into the skin. Officials stated the compound is safe for use by adults and children six months of age and older.
The ingredient will debut in American stores through Dutch company DSM Nutritional Products, marketed as Parsol Shield with an anticipated release later this year. Following an 18-month exclusive period, other manufacturers will gain access to use the ingredient in their products.
The introduction of new sunscreen formulations has faced significant delays for years due to the FDA’s complex administrative process for updating approved nonprescription drug ingredient lists. Bemotrizinol represents the first compound to navigate a faster approval pathway that Congress established in 2020.
Industry specialists indicate bemotrizinol addresses a significant gap in the American sunscreen market by defending against both ultraviolet A and B radiation without creating the white residue typical of mineral-based products.
“For decades, Americans have used outdated sunscreen tech while the rest of the world moved forward,” said David Andrews of the Environmental Working Group. “The approval of bemotrizinol will help change that.”
Andrews’ organization has consistently advocated for the FDA to strengthen sunscreen regulations and approve additional ingredients for consumer use.
According to FDA regulations, all sunscreen products must defend against UVB radiation, which creates most sunburn damage, plus UVA radiation that presents the highest risk for skin cancer and aging effects.
Chemical-blocking compounds currently on the market typically protect against only one type of radiation. Manufacturers usually combine multiple chemicals to create “broad spectrum protection.”
Mineral-based compounds, such as zinc oxide, block both UVA and UVB radiation but create a white, chalky appearance on skin.
European regulators approved bemotrizinol in 1999, and the compound was initially submitted to the FDA for evaluation in 2005.
“The FDA is committed to ensuring the American consumer has access to the most effective and safe therapies, including over-the-counter products like sunscreens,” said Dr. Mike Davis, acting director of FDA’s drug center.
The FDA has been progressively revising its sunscreen regulations. In 2011, officials prohibited misleading terms such as “waterproof” and mandated that all products filter both UVA and UVB radiation. Previously, some formulations protected only against UVB rays.
In 2021, the FDA suggested additional changes including limits on SPF ratings and enhanced UVA protection requirements, though these proposals remain incomplete.
As the World Cup prepares to begin throughout North America, several host cities are using the 39-day soccer tournament as motivation to tackle homelessness issues.
Atlanta stands out among these cities, having unveiled an ambitious initiative last summer to eliminate encampments and street sleeping in the downtown area before the tournament begins. The program, known as Downtown Rising, reports providing housing for close to 500 individuals. Despite this progress, people still waiting outside downtown shelters demonstrate that these efforts haven’t reached all those in need.
Both Dallas and Seattle have implemented focused programs, with Dallas broadening efforts to provide housing for homeless individuals in the downtown area, while Seattle announced plans to secure housing for hundreds of people.
An Associated Press survey revealed that the majority of the 16 host cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are depending on current programs to tackle homelessness — most without additional World Cup-related funding.
Historically, numerous cities have viewed homeless populations as unsightly problems to eliminate before major sporting and political gatherings.
“These events provide a choice for communities,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “They can do the easy thing and sweep people out of encampments and into jails or other neighborhoods, or they can do the harder work that will benefit everyone in the community — housed or unhoused.”
Key findings from the AP’s investigation include:
Atlanta has secured $185 million through state and city funding, corporate grants and other contributions toward their $235 million target, planning to house 3,900 people throughout the city by next year. Though the program has assisted hundreds in obtaining housing, some remain doubtful about its meaningful impact on downtown homelessness.
Dallas implemented a $30 million initiative starting in 2024 that decreased downtown street sleeping by 87% and moved approximately 2,000 people into permanent housing. However, advocates have condemned police methods that involved zip-tying and removing individuals who refused to leave after encampment clearances.
Seattle workers are completing 75 tiny homes equipped with beds, space heaters and air conditioners, set to open just before the World Cup. This housing significantly falls short of Mayor Katie Wilson’s ambitious goal to provide 500 new shelter units by the tournament’s start. A homeless individual camping near the stadium told reporters he was unaware of the city’s housing initiatives and worried that he and his wife would be forced to relocate.
In Inglewood, California, home to the city’s stadium near Los Angeles, Mayor James Butts told the AP, “There’s no homeless in Inglewood,” citing low local numbers. Yet, less than 2 miles from the stadium and beyond Inglewood’s boundaries, nonprofit organizations continue providing assistance, and LA County’s Homeless Services and Housing Department has arranged motel accommodations before the matches.
In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver indicated they would utilize their existing comprehensive services offering thousands of shelter beds and temporary housing units, plus outreach for street residents. Vancouver has also established centers for match viewing. Both cities stated no intentions to relocate homeless individuals before the games.
Nevertheless, advocates reported scattered incidents of crackdowns on homeless people, including transit police at Toronto’s main train station forcibly removing people from restrooms and verbally mistreating them last month. The city’s statement to the AP didn’t directly address these allegations but emphasized it doesn’t “tolerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment.”
In Vancouver, hundreds of activists protested increased security measures ahead of the World Cup. One woman reported that the van she shared with her pet rabbits was towed last month.
This city is “sweeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA to make it look like a clean city,” she said.
Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced Tuesday the public launch of its most advanced AI model yet, but with built-in restrictions preventing users from accessing cybersecurity functions that caused global concern earlier this year.
The new system, called Claude Fable 5, represents the startup’s most capable model available for widespread use, with the company highlighting its strengths in software development and data analysis tasks.
Previously, Anthropic had restricted the technology to approximately 200 organizations, including the U.S. government through its Glasswing program, following April’s announcement that the Mythos AI had identified thousands of software security weaknesses.
The broader release could help the $965 billion valued company maintain its competitive edge against rival OpenAI as both companies prepare for potential public offerings in the rapidly evolving AI sector.
According to the company, extensive testing was conducted to prevent users from circumventing the safety restrictions to perform prohibited activities.
“Let’s say I’m a college student asking the model like help me find cyber vulnerabilities on X package or code. The model would refuse and Fable 5 will fall back to Opus 4.8 for a response,” explained Dianne Penn, Anthropic’s head of product management, research and labs.
While Fable 5 carries a higher price point, Penn noted that early customer reports indicate it uses fewer tokens to complete tasks, ultimately reducing the total cost per assignment.
The company also announced that users who previously had access to the unrestricted preview version of Claude Mythos will have the option to upgrade to the new Claude Mythos 5.
Anthropic indicated plans to gradually broaden access through what it described as a more “systematic trusted-access program.”
Both AI models will be priced at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, the company stated.
New England Revolution announced Tuesday they have secured defender Will Sands with a contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2030 season.
The club did not reveal the financial details of the deal for Sands, who became part of the Revolution roster during the 2024 summer transfer window.
“We are thrilled to extend Will Sands and keep him in New England for several more seasons,” sporting director Curt Onalfo said. “Will has grown tremendously as a player and teammate since joining us two years ago. He is in excellent form right now, and we believe his best years are still ahead.”
The 25-year-old defender has recorded one goal and one assist across 14 appearances this season with New England, starting in every match.
Sands previously won the 2023 MLS Cup with Columbus and has accumulated one goal and six assists over 63 career appearances (41 as a starter) between his time with the Crew from 2022-24 and the Revolution.
“I am happy for Will because he is incredibly deserving of this contract extension, and equally happy for our club that we can keep a talented player and exceptional person like Will in New England for years to come,” head coach Marko Mitrovic said. “Coaching Will is a pleasure, and we are looking forward to helping him progress even more on the field in the years ahead.”
The Minnesota Wild announced Tuesday they have locked up forward Michael McCarron with a six-year deal valued at $20 million, securing the pending unrestricted free agent’s services.
McCarron’s new contract will take effect starting with the 2026-27 season and run through the 2031-32 campaign.
According to The Athletic, the agreement includes significant trade protections for McCarron. He will have complete no-move protection during the contract’s first three years, while the final three seasons feature a 15-team no-trade clause plus no-move protections that shield him from being placed on waivers.
The 31-year-old McCarron joined Minnesota at this season’s trade deadline when the Wild acquired him from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2028 second-round NHL Draft selection. Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 232 pounds, McCarron contributed 17 points last season with eight goals and nine assists, while accumulating 93 penalty minutes and setting a personal best with 205 hits across 79 games divided between the two Central Division clubs.
Originally selected 25th overall by Montreal in the 2013 NHL Draft, McCarron has compiled 79 career points through 381 NHL games, including 36 goals and 43 assists during his time with the Canadiens from 2015-18, the Predators from 2020-26, and now the Wild.
WASHINGTON, June 9 – President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Iranian forces destroyed an American Apache helicopter conducting patrol operations in the Strait of Hormuz during overnight hours, and declared the United States will take action in response.
“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” he added.
The President did not provide additional information about the incident or specify what form of response the administration might pursue.
A University of Delaware softball player has been honored for her outstanding community service and academic achievements. Katie Scheivert was named the recipient of the Conference USA Spring Spirit of Service Award, according to an announcement made by the conference on Tuesday.
The recognition celebrates student-athletes who demonstrate excellence in multiple areas including substantial community service work, strong academic performance, and active participation in their respective sports. Conference USA presents the Spirit of Service Award three times annually, with Tuesday’s announcement covering all athletic programs that hold their championships during the spring season.
California’s top legal official is addressing President Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations regarding voter fraud in the state’s primary elections.
Attorney General Rob Bonta spoke with NPR’s Leila Fadel about Trump’s unfounded assertions questioning the integrity of California’s primary election results.
The President has raised doubts about the outcome of the California primaries, alleging electoral misconduct occurred, though he has provided no evidence to support these accusations.
Bonta’s response comes as election officials across the country continue to face scrutiny and unproven claims about voting processes and results.
The Virginia Farm Bureau has released a video profile featuring Martha Moore, described as a dedicated advocate for the state’s agricultural community.
The video presentation focuses on Moore’s work supporting farming interests throughout Virginia, though specific details about her role and accomplishments were not immediately available in the brief profile.
The feature appears to be part of the Virginia Farm Bureau’s ongoing efforts to highlight individuals who have made significant contributions to the agricultural sector in the state.
European Union officials have mandated that Meta Platforms must allow competing artificial intelligence chatbot companies to use WhatsApp while regulators complete their antitrust probe.
The European Commission, which serves as the primary competition authority for the 27-member union, announced Tuesday it was implementing measures to safeguard competition in the rapidly expanding AI assistant sector.
Officials said they were establishing “interim measures” as they continue examining WhatsApp’s artificial intelligence policies amid concerns the social media giant is violating EU regulations by preventing competitors from providing their AI services through the messaging platform.
Meta announced plans to challenge the decision.
“The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free,” the company said in a statement. “This is regulatory overreach subsidized by the many European companies that pay.”
Brussels has sometimes implemented temporary directives after receiving criticism that lengthy antitrust examinations of major technology corporations moved too slowly to limit their market dominance.
“AI markets are developing exceptionally fast, and AI assistants are expected to become an important way for consumers all across Europe to access and use AI,” the commission’s executive vice-president overseeing competition, Teresa Ribera, told reporters in Brussels.
“Therefore, when the damage can happen quickly and there is a risk of companies being forced to leave the market, we need to use our tools.”
EU officials began examining revised terms and conditions for Meta’s commercial clients who use AI assistants to interact with customers through WhatsApp last year.
Regulators worried that the updated agreement blocked third-party AI firms from providing their services on the messaging service, allowing only Meta’s chatbot offering to remain available for users.
Meta tried to address the investigation by implementing charges for competitor access, but regulators remained unsatisfied and warned in April they would compel the company to restore free access.
Ribera stated Meta’s pricing was so expensive it was “not economically sustainable for competitors,” though she did not elaborate on specific amounts. The commission’s directive will stay active until June 2029 or when the investigation concludes, with no set timeline for completion.
Meta could face penalties reaching 10% of yearly revenue if it fails to follow the order.
Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama remains committed to moving forward with a high-end tourism project tied to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, even as widespread demonstrations continue to grow against the proposal.
During a Tuesday conversation with The Associated Press, Rama brushed off environmental concerns as stemming from false information and stated the project was transforming Albania from a nation previously overlooked by investors into one “where the big capital wants to come and the big investors want to come.”
Officials say the development would revolutionize the former communist country as it attempts to break into luxury tourism while pursuing European Union membership.
However, thousands of protesters have gathered each day outside Rama’s office in Tirana, the capital city, opposing the proposed project that would feature hotels, residential units, luxury homes and a yacht marina.
The prime minister acknowledged that an official environmental impact study has yet to begin, despite ongoing land clearing activities within a protected nature area.
When questioned about potentially abandoning the project, Rama declined, responding, “Step back from what?”
The nation’s anti-corruption watchdog has launched a probe connected to the development. While the government maintains the property is privately held, competing ownership claims regarding its privatization have surfaced.
Rama explained that Kushner’s interest originated unexpectedly. He described a meal in southern Albania with Kushner, his spouse Ivanka Trump, and companions who had docked in Durres port to refuel their vessel while traveling to Montenegro.
Several months afterward, Kushner contacted him during a world leaders and business executives meeting in Davos, Switzerland, expressing investment interest in Albania, according to Rama.
“Your country’s absolutely stunning, and we would like to look for a chance to invest,” Rama remembered Kushner saying to him.
Albanian officials have awarded special investor designation to an investment company connected to Kushner.
The upscale development encompasses two sections: a waterfront project in the Narta Lagoon region, which serves as a wildlife sanctuary, and a smaller vacation resort on the nearby unpopulated Sazan island, formerly a communist military installation.
Land clearing operations have already commenced within a nature preserve utilized by migrating birds, leading environmental organizations to caution about destroying long-protected ecosystems. Albania possesses 450 kilometers (280 miles) of coastline that stayed mostly undeveloped throughout decades of strict communist governance.
Rama stated that an official environmental impact evaluation has not commenced because the development blueprint remains incomplete. He noted that global architects and environmental experts continue working on the proposal.
“When it comes to the environment, there is no project yet, there is no environmental impact assessment yet, because this is still a planning process,” he stated.
He contended that Albania maintains an excellent conservation track record, highlighting prohibitions on hunting and timber harvesting that he claimed helped flamingo numbers rebound.
“We have fantastic documentation of how the wildlife in Albania came back thanks to the 10 years moratorium of hunting,” Rama stated.
Beginning in late May, construction equipment and heavy machinery have accessed the proposed development site, creating entry paths, excavating sand, removing vegetation among pine forests and erecting barriers.
The prime minister indicated that some opposition to the project was being magnified by external meddling, referencing what he characterized as an ongoing Iranian cyber offensive against Albania.
Albania has consistently blamed Iran for supporting hackers who target the nation’s digital systems, following Albania’s decision to provide refuge to members of an Iranian opposition organization. Tehran has rejected these claims.
“There is a lot of manipulation. There is a lot of half-truths that become bigger and bigger lies by the hour,” he stated.
He stressed that he was not suggesting individual demonstrators were operating as foreign operatives.
A federal judge has overturned President Donald Trump’s massive increase in H-1B visa application fees, dealing a blow to an administration policy that drove costs from $215 to $100,000 per application.
The ruling on Monday came from a Boston federal court, where Judge Leo Sorokin sided with 20 states challenging the fee hike. Sorokin determined the Trump administration overstepped its legal boundaries by implementing such a dramatic increase without getting Congress to approve it first.
Trump had implemented the steep fee increase last September, claiming it would shield American workers from being displaced by foreign employees willing to accept lower wages. The new cost took effect just one day after being announced, and very few companies have been willing to pay the hefty price tag.
The H-1B visa program, established through the 1990 Immigration Act, allows American employers to bring in foreign workers with specialized technical abilities that are difficult to locate domestically. These temporary work permits are designed for individuals with bachelor’s degrees or equivalent experience in specialized fields.
Each H-1B visa remains valid for three years and can be renewed for an additional three-year period. According to Stephen Brown from Capital Economics, approximately 700,000 people currently hold H-1B visas in the United States, with another 500,000 family members living here as dependents.
The program has become particularly important for technology companies and higher education institutions seeking to fill skilled positions. Research from the Pew Research Center shows that since 2012, at least 60% of approved H-1B applications have been for computer-related positions. However, hospitals, financial institutions, universities and various other employers also utilize the program.
Annual limits restrict new visa issuance to 65,000, with an extra 20,000 available for applicants holding master’s degrees or higher qualifications. These permits are distributed through a lottery system, though certain employers like universities and nonprofit organizations are not subject to these caps.
Program critics argue that H-1B visas harm American workers by bringing in overseas employees who often accept lower compensation than domestic technology workers would demand. Staffing firms like Tata Consultancy Services frequently provide Indian workers to corporate customers. Pew data indicates nearly three-quarters of 2023 approved applicants originated from India.
“To take advantage of artificially low labor costs incentivized by the program, companies close their IT divisions, fire their American staff, and outsource IT jobs to lower-paid foreign workers,” the White House stated in its proclamation last year. A 2020 study by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute discovered that 60% of H-1B positions certified by the U.S. Labor Department receive wages below the median for those jobs.
Program advocates counter that H-1B visa recipients boost company productivity and work alongside native-born Americans rather than replacing them.
Judge Sorokin ruled the fee violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which controls how federal agencies create and implement regulations. “The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote, contradicting a previous federal court decision that had supported the fee increase and allowed it to remain in place until its scheduled September expiration.
In the Boston lawsuit, the states contended the policy would hamper their capacity to recruit elementary and secondary school teachers, staff public colleges and universities, hinder academic research, and reduce the number of medical professionals.
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance is calling on federal prosecutors to launch an investigation into Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison regarding claims they allowed extensive social services fraud to persist, raising questions about whether the White House plans to use a newly created Justice Department unit to go after political opponents.
The vice president, who has been chosen to spearhead the Trump administration’s anti-fraud initiatives while building his political credentials for a possible 2028 presidential run, referenced a House Oversight Committee report in his letter to the Justice Department. The Republican-controlled committee’s findings suggest Walz and Ellison knew about widespread government program abuse for years and allowed it to continue unchecked.
Federal prosecutors have not yet responded to Tuesday inquiries about whether they will launch such an investigation. It remains uncertain what federal law violations, if any, might justify examining the Democratic Minnesota leaders, who have stood by their fraud-fighting record and called a separate Justice Department probe involving state officials politically driven.
The state has faced ongoing scrutiny for enormous amounts of fraud within children’s programs and other social services, resulting in charges against numerous defendants during both President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and President Donald Trump’s Republican presidency. However, Vance’s call for investigating state leadership represents a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s declared ‘war on fraud,’ which officials claim will remain non-political and non-partisan.
The vice president wants the investigation handled by a newly formed Justice Department unit that has faced heavy criticism over potential political interference due to its tight connections with Trump’s White House. Officials announced the division’s creation in January, initially stating its director would report straight to the president rather than following standard Justice Department hierarchy.
Walz spokesperson Teddy Tschann criticized the House committee as ‘nothing more than a joke’ that keeps trying to ‘re-hash COVID-era fraud.’
‘Governor Walz is glad to see fraudsters are going to prison,’ Tschann stated in an email. ‘If the committee is concerned about corruption, they should investigate why President Trump continues to let fraudsters out of prison.’
Ellison rejected the accusations as baseless and characterized Vance’s request as ‘a political stunt from an administration that uses the machinery of government to target its perceived opponents while extending leniency to those aligned with its interests.’
‘It is deeply troubling to see official powers and public resources diverted away from serving the people and instead aimed at pursuing political adversaries,’ Ellison stated. ‘That is not what government is for, and it diminishes public trust in our institutions.’
The House committee claims that ‘fraud warnings were elevated to the most senior levels of the Minnesota state government’ while payments kept flowing ‘long after credible signs of fraud emerged.’ In his request, Vance stated that Minnesota officials or any other government leaders nationwide ‘must be held accountable’ if they enabled fraud, blocked efforts to stop it, or took revenge against whistleblowers attempting to expose it.
‘Minnesota state officials are not above the law,’ Vance posted on X.
The Trump administration has repeatedly confronted Minnesota officials not just over fraud issues but also regarding the extensive federal immigration enforcement operations that hit the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and other areas, sparking widespread demonstrations.
Federal prosecutors issued grand jury subpoenas to Minnesota officials in January as part of an investigation examining whether they interfered with or hindered federal law enforcement through their public comments. The current status of that probe remains unknown.
The Trump administration has promoted the establishment of the National Fraud Enforcement Division as an essential component of its campaign to stop taxpayer money misuse. The unit’s head, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, brings extensive prosecution experience and has promised to handle cases ‘without fear or favor.’
However, critics have raised questions about the administration’s true intentions behind the new unit, noting that fraud cases were already handled by the agency’s Criminal Division, which announced the Justice Department’s largest coordinated healthcare fraud takedown in history last year.
A new video from the Virginia Farm Bureau highlights the specialized world of agricultural aviation, where pilots navigate aircraft mere feet above crop fields.
The video content explores aerial application methods used throughout Virginia’s farming operations, providing viewers with an inside look at this crucial aspect of modern agriculture.
The footage demonstrates how these low-altitude flights support farming practices across the state’s agricultural regions.
A Maryland quilting organization has designed a special commemorative piece to honor America’s upcoming 250th anniversary milestone.
The Cecil Quilters Group has crafted a stunning quilt that they’re offering through a raffle drawing. Their creation, called “Celebrating 250 Years 1776-2026,” pays tribute to the significant anniversary marking two and a half centuries since the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The project represents the quilting group’s way of commemorating this major milestone in American history, which marks 250 years since the founding document was adopted in 1776.
SALISBURY, Md. — Red, White and Boom event coordinators are teaming up with the city of Salisbury to host a special Independence Day celebration marking America’s 250th anniversary, featuring an evening packed with family fun and fireworks on Saturday, July 4.
The festivities will kick off with Red, White & Boom running from 5 to 8 p.m. at James M. Bennett High School, followed by the traditional Red, White and Boom fireworks show starting around 9 p.m.
Red, White & Boom offers free admission to the public and will include food trucks, live music, games, inflatable play areas and entertainment suitable for all age groups. Organizers designed the event to bring families together early in the evening, providing time to socialize with friends and community members before the pyrotechnic display begins.
As towns nationwide commemorate the United States’ 250th birthday, Salisbury’s festivities emphasize the value of community customs and recognize the groups, volunteers and local partners who make such events successful.
Red, White and Boom has evolved into a cherished Fourth of July custom for numerous families. This year, city officials are excited to collaborate with event coordinators to expand upon this tradition by offering additional chances for families to come together and celebrate ahead of the fireworks.
“This is our 14th year hosting Red, White, and Boom, and we look forward to collaborating with the City of Salisbury on the Red, White, and Boom. This event is open to all ages and provides a great opportunity for community fun and celebration,” said Brian Nelson, organizer of Red, White, and Boom.
Those planning to attend should bring folding chairs or blankets and prepare to stay for the entire evening. Food vendors, activities and live entertainment will operate throughout Red, White & Play until the fireworks presentation starts.
For safety purposes, East College Avenue between South Division Street and Arthur Court, plus South Division Street from College Avenue to Christenson Lane, will be blocked off starting around 8 p.m. as crews prepare for the fireworks show.
Officials recommend arriving early and making transportation plans in advance.
Event Details Saturday, July 4, 2026 James M. Bennett High School No admission charge
Red, White & Boom Celebration 5-8 p.m.
Red, White and Boom Fireworks Approximately 9 p.m.
Street Closures: East College Avenue and South Division Street restrictions begin around 8 p.m.
Additional details are available on the Red White and Boom website at https://redwhiteboomsalisbury.org/ or through their social media channels.
A top executive at Bank of America indicated Tuesday that the financial giant’s trading operations may outperform earlier projections calling for 15% revenue growth during the second quarter, with equity trading driving much of the increased activity.
Co-President Jim DeMare told attendees at a Morgan Stanley U.S. financial services conference that while credit market conditions have remained stable, the equity side of the business has generated significantly more trading volume and revenue.
“While credit spreads and the like have remained firm, a lot more of the activity and revenues have been coming from the equity business,” DeMare explained during his conference remarks.
The optimistic outlook builds on previous guidance from Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, who indicated last month that the company anticipated trading revenues would climb 15% in the current quarter compared to the same period last year, when market turbulence from elevated U.S. trade tariffs impacted performance.
House Speaker Mike Johnson held a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday to address the contentious selection of Bill Pulte as the nation’s top intelligence official, a decision that has put crucial surveillance legislation in peril.
The president’s choice to place the mortgage regulator in the role of acting director of national intelligence has sparked a confrontation in Congress, with legislators expressing concerns that he might misuse his authority to target Trump’s political adversaries. This situation has created obstacles for renewing legislation that permits U.S. intelligence services to track certain overseas communications without requiring court authorization. The legislation is scheduled to lapse on Friday.
Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who serves as the second-ranking House Republican, explained that Johnson was consulting with Trump about future actions.
“One of the reasons that the speaker’s not here right now is he’s over at the White House working with the president to finalize this agreement on FISA,” Scalise informed reporters, referencing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The reauthorization process hit a roadblock in the Senate on Friday when Republican critics aligned with Democrats to block consideration of the measure. This vote marked a notable defeat for Republicans, who maintain slim majorities in both congressional chambers.
Congressional approval from both houses will be necessary for the surveillance provisions found in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits intelligence organizations to track emails and other communications from foreign nationals abroad without obtaining individual court orders.
While leading the lesser-known mortgage regulatory agency, Pulte utilized private information to advocate for mortgage fraud investigations targeting individuals the president viewed as adversaries. None of these individuals have faced criminal prosecution.
Jio BlackRock Asset Management is targeting an August timeframe to introduce its inaugural exchange-traded funds in India, aiming to duplicate BlackRock’s worldwide passive investment achievements in a marketplace where ETFs remain in early development stages.
The partnership between Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial Services and the globe’s biggest asset management firm has accumulated approximately 180 billion rupees ($1.9 billion) in managed assets in about one year since beginning operations by establishing a foundation in cash, debt-index and active equity funds.
The company intends to begin with equity-centered ETF approaches.
BlackRock manages roughly $5.1 trillion in ETF assets worldwide, representing more than one-third of its complete assets under management, highlighting how crucial this product category is to its business operations. Jio BlackRock presently holds the position of India’s 29th-biggest asset management company.
“ETFs are a long-term play. While it is a predominantly institutional heavy market (in India), retail are starting to get more involved in ETFs. And we can see from global trends how well ETFs have been adopted as a choice for investing,” Sid Swaminathan, managing director and chief executive officer of Jio BlackRock Asset Management, told Reuters.
According to mutual fund industry association data, passive mutual fund assets in India reached 15.20 trillion rupees in April, representing approximately 18.5% of the sector’s 81.94 trillion rupees in average assets under management.
In contrast, equity index funds and ETFs represent roughly 45.3% of long-term mutual fund and ETF assets in the United States.
Swaminathan indicated that narrower bid-offer spreads and more creative strategies could enhance liquidity and increase retail involvement in Indian ETFs.
The firm also intends to introduce products in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India’s reduced-tax financial center that competes with hubs like Singapore and Dubai, over the coming months.
For more sophisticated offerings, including special investment funds and GIFT City products, Jio BlackRock has embraced a distributor-focused model instead of a digital-first strategy, demonstrating the ongoing importance of advisers in marketing higher-priced products.
Swaminathan explained that the choice to emphasize those launches was partially influenced by market circumstances. India’s benchmark Nifty 50 has declined 11.1% thus far in 2026 due to foreign capital outflows, elevated oil costs and slowing earnings expansion, while MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index has risen 18.2%.
A 42-year-old New Castle resident will spend the next two decades behind bars after being convicted of stalking and weapons violations.
Donald Beckwith received his 20-year prison term from a Superior Court judge on June 3, 2026, the same day he was found guilty of stalking charges. The sentence also covers his illegal firearm possession and probation violations.
Court records show Beckwith’s conviction came after earlier proceedings on related charges, though details of those previous cases were not immediately available.
Denominational officials announce they will convene in Minnesota during the upcoming fall season to commemorate the half-century milestone of a pivotal resolution that effectively determined homosexuality would no longer be considered sinful. The decision ultimately paved the way for the Episcopal Church to ordain gay clergy members, provide blessings for same-sex unions, and triggered a denominational divide that significantly diminished the church’s membership rolls, financial resources, and real estate holdings. Opponents are raising concerns about the appropriateness of such a commemorative event.
The Pentagon has dramatically reduced its roster of officially acknowledged religious beliefs, cutting the number from over 200 down to approximately 30 faiths. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the changes, explaining that the previous system had become too cumbersome to manage effectively. The updated roster maintains recognition for major world religions including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism, among others. However, several groups have lost their official status under the new policy, including Pagans, Druids, Shamans, Witches, Heathens, Deists, and Wizards.
A Pride celebration hosted by New York City Council members has ignited intense debate about how taxpayer money should be spent. The American Principles Project released footage from the recent gathering, which showed transgender entertainers performing while city council members applauded from the audience. The conservative organization criticized the use of public funds for what they called promoting an LGBT agenda. In their response to the event, APP claimed that “John Jay and Alexander Hamilton are turning in their graves right now,” referencing two prominent New York founding fathers. The controversy centers on whether municipal resources should fund such celebrations, with critics questioning the appropriateness of the expenditure.
NEWARK, Del. – The Fightin’ Blue Hens women’s lacrosse program has secured its first offseason transfer addition with the signing of Madison Sweeney, as announced Tuesday by head coach Amy Altig.
Sweeney, who plays the attacker position and hails from Stamford, Connecticut, comes to the University of Delaware following two seasons with the UConn Huskies. During her time there, she contributed to the team’s success in reaching the Big East semifinals in both campaigns and securing victories against ranked opponents on two occasions.
NEW YORK (AP) — Following a controversial 115-111 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Knicks head coach Mike Brown voiced sharp criticism about the referees’ performance Monday night.
The coaching staff’s frustration centered on a stark difference in free throw opportunities during the second half, where San Antonio received 24 attempts from the charity stripe while New York managed only eight.
“I never thought I’d see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight,” Brown said.
Monday’s defeat marked New York’s first setback in 46 days, bringing an end to their impressive 13-game postseason victory run. The loss narrowed the Knicks’ series advantage to 2-1.
While Brown acknowledged San Antonio’s strong play and identified areas where his team fell short, he maintained that the officiating significantly influenced the outcome.
“San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, OK. It’s going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4 and in the second half, they get 24 free-throw attempts to our eight. Maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too,” Brown explained.
“There were a lot of things that we didn’t do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2,” Brown added. “But to go 24 free-throw attempts in the second half, that’s 48 for the game, if you think about the way they called that second half, compared to eight. All the shots we took, we got fouled four times, roughly, for eight free-throw attempts.”
The foul trouble affected key players throughout the contest. Mikal Bridges found himself on the bench after accumulating two early fouls, while Jalen Brunson faced similar issues in the third quarter after picking up his fourth personal foul. During that third period alone, San Antonio shot 14 free throws compared to three for New York.
“There are a lot of things we can do better and we are going to have to do better, but the same breath, like I said, hopefully they will see some more fouls called against them, so it’s not 24-8,” Brown said. “This is a four-point ballgame. Four-point ballgame. One-possession ballgame going down the stretch. It’s tough to overcome.”
The final statistics showed San Antonio converting 25 of 32 free throw attempts for the entire game, while New York made 18 of 22. When informed about his coach’s remarks regarding the officiating, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns disagreed with the assessment.
“That didn’t cost us the game,” he said. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game.”
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal that an inquiry into sexual misconduct claims against the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor determined he committed “serious misconduct” and a “serious breach of duty.”
On Monday, the 21-member executive committee of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties voted to suspend British barrister Karim Khan and send his case forward for additional disciplinary action.
The 56-year-old prosecutor is accused of sexual misconduct involving a female staff member in a controversy that has persisted for over two years. Khan has consistently maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal.
Khan’s legal representatives rejected Monday’s ruling, describing it as “unlawful, procedurally unfair and unsupported by evidence.” His attorneys promised to “take all necessary steps to challenge the decision, protect his rights, and ensure that due process is upheld.”
A U.N. investigation completed in April discovered evidence of “nonconsensual sexual contact” between Khan and his aide “in his office, at his private residence” and during an official mission, according to the report previously reviewed by the AP.
Nevertheless, a three-judge panel chosen by the executive committee to evaluate the investigation’s legal implications determined the U.N. findings lacked sufficient conclusiveness. The ICC functions separately from the United Nations.
Khan had already stepped aside temporarily in May 2025 while awaiting the investigation’s outcome. This marks the first time the court has faced such proceedings, requiring the creation of new policies to handle the situation.
Monday’s statement made no reference to Khan’s alleged victim, who has also been absent from the court on leave.
Danya Chaikel from the International Federation for Human Rights told the AP that excluding the victim’s name demonstrates “the wider problem: the woman at the center of this process is almost invisible, as she has too often been throughout this process.”
The ICC prosecution office stated it remains “acutely aware of the duty of care” owed to all employees and will “continue to place critical importance on ensuring a safe working environment and respectful workplace culture for all personnel.”
The Assembly of States Parties, which provides oversight for the ICC, will make the ultimate determination regarding Khan’s future. The assembly plans to convene a special session to decide whether Khan may continue serving at the international court, though officials have not announced a date for the meeting.
ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane urged the assembly to complete the proceedings “with the highest priority.”
Khan has served as the court’s chief prosecutor since 2021. His duties have been complicated by sanctions imposed on him and other court personnel by the Trump administration due to ICC investigations involving U.S. ally Israel.
Municipal and county officials in Salt Lake City have initiated federal court proceedings to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from establishing a massive warehouse facility intended to house as many as 10,000 immigrants in their community.
The federal court filing, submitted this past Monday, represents another in a series of legal challenges brought by local authorities nationwide who were bypassed during DHS’s acquisition of industrial warehouse properties intended for conversion into regional immigrant processing and holding facilities.
The legal action focuses on DHS’s most costly property acquisition under this program: a $145.4 million purchase of an 833,000-square-foot warehouse spanning an area equivalent to approximately 15 football fields. The March transaction, involving a real estate development company with partial Deutsche Bank ownership, carried a price tag nearly 50% above the property’s assessed market value for 2025, according to official records.
Between January and March, DHS acquired 11 warehouse properties totaling over $1 billion during the closing period of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, part of her $38.3 billion strategy for a revised detention approach aimed at expanding capacity and streamlining deportation procedures. The DHS Office of Inspector General has launched an inquiry into potential waste within the program, while Noem’s replacement, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, has suspended the initiative.
Similar to other legal challenges filed nationwide, the Utah case contends that DHS breached federal requirements by bypassing mandatory environmental assessments and failing to seek input from state and local authorities prior to the acquisition.
“This kind of facility has no place in Salt Lake City, not only due to its inhumane nature but also because of our limited water supply, the increased strain on public utilities systems, and the potentially drastic public health and safety impacts it would have on our residents,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said the plan “is a dire threat to the very essence of our community values,” adding it would overwhelm infrastructure, harm businesses, and undermine public health and safety.
A recently established advocacy organization, Uproar Utah, also scheduled a Tuesday news conference to address legal action against the warehouse proposal.
DHS’s press office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Court challenges in other locations have achieved some preliminary victories.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has issued administrative orders blocking the operation of two planned detention centers until DHS can show they are complying with state and federal environmental regulations. DHS is appealing the orders.
In Maryland, a judge has granted a preliminary injunction halting construction activities at a Williamsport warehouse while a lawsuit is heard. In New Jersey, ICE is preparing a new environmental assessment and decision after a lawsuit was filed against its plan for a detention center in Roxbury Township. Other cases are pending in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia.
WASHINGTON — Federal officials have issued warnings to over 500 hospitals across the nation for not making basic medical pricing information available to the public, claiming this secrecy keeps healthcare expenses unnecessarily high.
The Associated Press exclusively received the roster of medical facilities that have gotten warning notices or been asked to submit compliance plans since April. Medical centers that ignore these warnings could face annual penalties reaching $2 million each if they fail to develop plans for posting clear cost information.
These notices aim to address a core issue where patients, businesses and insurance companies often remain unaware of expenses for blood tests, imaging procedures or other medical services beforehand, resulting in higher costs than necessary. AP has published the complete hospital list.
A high-ranking administration official, speaking anonymously to share the information, indicated that President Donald Trump intends to strengthen enforcement of pricing disclosure rules established through a 2019 executive order he signed. Additional hospitals will likely receive similar notices about missing cost data, the official stated.
These warnings represent another instance of Trump emphasizing his administration’s efforts to address healthcare costs that can devastate household finances. This strategic messaging comes before November midterm elections when affordability ranks as a primary voter concern. However, Trump faces vulnerability on healthcare issues, since his administration let insurance subsidies expire for people purchasing coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare.
Only 29% of American adults supported Trump’s healthcare policies in the latest Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll on this topic. The president performed somewhat worse on healthcare in the December survey compared to his ratings on economic policy, immigration or federal government oversight.
This transparency initiative could significantly affect Republican stronghold states including Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which rank among states with the most hospitals failing to provide sufficient medical service cost details.
Texas led with 42 hospitals receiving warnings. Baptist Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, one of the state’s largest facilities with 1,585 beds, got a letter, along with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Ascension, a Missouri-headquartered system among the nation’s largest hospital networks, had 13 facilities across various states receive letters. Republican-controlled Indiana received 34 hospital warnings, nearly matching the 38 in Democratic-controlled California, despite California having five times Indiana’s population.
Administration officials interviewed for this story pointed out that Christiana Hospital in Biden’s home state of Delaware also got a warning notice.
These letters highlight contrasting Republican and Democratic approaches to managing escalating healthcare expenses, which also threaten the federal government’s financial stability.
Biden’s administration emphasized record Obamacare enrollment numbers that boosted the percentage of insured Americans. Biden also enacted legislation allowing government negotiation of certain Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers. This program, continuing into Trump’s second term, has reduced list prices for some of Medicare’s most expensive medications.
The Trump administration instead focuses on providing pricing details — like promoting the TrumpRx prescription drug website — believing this approach will improve healthcare spending efficiency through better data analysis.
Critics argue Trump’s negotiated prescription drug prices may not deliver real savings for many insured Americans, while the administration projects savings exceeding $500 billion across 10 years.
Through various hospital pricing lists, the administration wants providers to simplify file access and guarantee accurate information rather than estimates or missing data for important procedures.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has scheduled a Wednesday hearing on price transparency.
“Transparency is the foundation of a healthcare system that rewards competition based on cost and quality,” Shawn Gremminger, CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, plans to state in his prepared testimony.
TORONTO (AP) — The Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario will begin operations at the end of this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday, despite previous threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to halt the project.
Trump had demanded in February that Canada surrender no less than fifty percent ownership of the crossing and comply with additional unspecified conditions as part of his ongoing disputes over trade relations between the two nations.
The crossing, which spans the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, represents a crucial commercial link between Canada and the United States. The project’s website had indicated the bridge was scheduled to begin operations earlier this year.
The span bears the name of the legendary Canadian hockey player who played 25 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings.
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, helped negotiate the agreement, with Canada providing full funding to reduce traffic bottlenecks at the current Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Construction began in 2018.
“Obviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of cooperation between our countries,” Carney stated to media as he entered Parliament.
“Great for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,” he added, describing the development as “positive news.”
Trump’s opposition to the bridge comes as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement faces review this year, with the president taking an aggressive stance ahead of negotiations and issuing fresh tariff warnings.
Carney has publicly criticized economic pressure tactics by the United States on the international stage.
Michigan Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin has described the Canadian-financed project as a “huge boon” for her state’s economic prospects.
Michigan represents a key swing state that Trump won in both 2016 and 2024 elections.
In an opinion piece published in The Detroit News this year, Snyder disputed Trump’s claims that Canada controls both the American and Canadian portions of the Gordie Howe bridge.
“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,” Snyder explained. “Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.”
The new Gordie Howe crossing will serve alongside the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second connection between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
The competing Ambassador Bridge handles the highest volume of U.S.-Canadian border traffic, processing 25% of total trade between both nations and playing a critical role in automotive manufacturing.
The Moroun family, who control the competing Ambassador Bridge, had previously filed lawsuits attempting to stop construction of the Howe bridge.
The major aircraft manufacturer announced Tuesday that it shipped 60 commercial jets during May, representing a 33% surge compared to the same month last year, though falling short of the 81 aircraft delivered by its European competitor.
Among May’s shipments were 51 of the company’s 737 MAX aircraft, marking the largest monthly delivery total for the single-aisle model since manufacturing operations resumed in December 2024 after a worker strike ended.
The aerospace giant is ramping up production of the 737 series from 42 aircraft monthly to 47 per month during the summer months.
New business activity included 27 fresh orders, with 14 of those being 737s destined for military conversion for an unnamed customer. The German airline ordered 10 of the wide-body 787 jets. However, the company also saw 16 MAX orders cancelled, bringing the net new orders for May to 11 aircraft.
Year-to-date figures show the manufacturer has shipped 250 jets through May’s conclusion, with 198 of those being MAX variants. The month’s remaining deliveries consisted of six 787 jets, which face ongoing delays related to premium seating certification issues, along with one 777 cargo plane and one 767 freighter.
The company’s order book shows 324 new contracts secured through May, offset by 29 cancellations or conversions, resulting in 295 net orders. The U.S. manufacturer’s total backlog stood at 6,178 aircraft at May’s end.
MOSCOW, June 9 – Officials from Russia’s digital ministry announced Tuesday they have petitioned law enforcement agencies to reverse a prohibition on the American gaming platform Roblox, following commitments from the company to strengthen protections for minors and adhere to Russian regulations.
The communications oversight agency Roskomnadzor implemented the restriction last December, citing concerns over child protection. The decision frustrated Russian gamers and even triggered an unusual demonstration in the Siberian community of Tomsk.
“In connection with the guarantees of responsible conduct in the Russian market provided by Roblox, the Ministry of Digital Development, together with Roskomnadzor, has appealed to the relevant law enforcement authorities with a request to support the lifting of restrictions,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to ministry officials, Roblox has agreed to establish age-appropriate access controls for specific games and put in place additional safeguards to block harmful material from reaching users.
Following the initial prohibition, Roblox indicated its willingness to modify certain platform features specifically for the Russian market.
European Union officials issued a stern warning to Albania on Tuesday, demanding the country follow environmental regulations if it hopes to join the bloc, amid controversy over a high-profile resort development.
The warning from a European Commission spokesperson comes as Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama announced his government would continue supporting a luxury resort project backed by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, despite growing environmental opposition.
The development, planned for a remote coastal area in the Balkans, has triggered demonstrations known as the “Flamingo Revolution” – named for the migratory birds that use the coastline as a stopping point during their journeys. These protests have expanded into wider criticism of Rama’s 13-year leadership.
The European Union, which includes 27 member nations, has indicated it might accept new countries like Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine by 2030, contingent on their compliance with EU regulations, particularly environmental standards.
“Albania should refrain from action that could undermine the fulfilment of the closing benchmark, and we expect the Albanian authorities to act without delay,” stated spokesman Guillaume Mercier.
He further noted, “We are in contact with the Albanian authorities on this issue.”
Despite facing a week of demonstrations both in the capital Tirana and along the southern coastline where the resort is proposed, Rama dismissed environmental worries and promised an environmental impact study would be conducted.
“We are very proud of what we have done for the wildlife in Albania. The European Commission has no reason to doubt our firm will to protect whatever has to be protected when it comes to wildlife and nature,” he stated.
Kushner’s Affinity Partners company, which plans to construct the resort, has not responded to requests for comment from Reuters.
WASHINGTON, June 9 – American wholesale inventories climbed by a larger margin than originally reported in April, as businesses appear to be building up stock reserves to protect against supply shortages and elevated costs related to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau announced Tuesday that wholesaler stock levels grew by 0.6%, an upward revision from the previously estimated 0.5% increase reported last month. This marks the third consecutive month of robust growth in wholesale inventories.
The data comes after a recent Institute for Supply Management survey revealed that inventory levels at service sector companies reached a decade-high point in May. The conflict between the U.S. and Israel against Iran, which has entered its fourth month, has caused disruptions to oil and commodity shipments, pushing costs higher.
The growth in wholesale stock levels was primarily driven by a 0.9% surge in durable manufactured goods inventory, particularly professional equipment and electrical products.
Non-durable goods inventories expanded by 0.2%, with grocery and petroleum stock increases partially balanced out by decreases in clothing and pharmaceutical inventories.
Inventories represent a significant component of gross domestic product and showed a 3.6% increase compared to the same period last year in April. Business inventory levels had no effect on GDP growth during the first quarter, following four consecutive quarters of inventory reductions. Economic growth reached a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter, up from the fourth quarter’s 0.5% pace.
Wholesaler sales jumped 2.0% in April following a 3.0% increase in March. Based on April’s sales rate, it would require 1.19 months to empty current inventory levels, the shortest timeframe since December 2013 and an improvement from March’s 1.21 months. The inventory-to-sales ratio stood at 1.30 months in April 2025.
The aerospace company founded by Elon Musk is preparing for what could be a historic stock market debut this week, with a massive $1.77 trillion price target that would place it among America’s seven most valuable publicly traded corporations.
This groundbreaking initial public offering will serve as a crucial test of what market watchers call the “Elon premium” – the extra value investors have been willing to pay for companies associated with Musk, which has helped drive Tesla to become one of the nation’s most highly valued firms and a favorite among individual investors.
While supporters of Musk argue his proven success record makes purchasing SpaceX stock at its IPO launch an obvious choice, several market experts and investment professionals warn that the costly valuation multiples could present excessive risk.
“Its fundamentals are really tough. If there weren’t lofty expectations, there wouldn’t be an IPO here,” said Ed O’Gorman, CEO at River Wealth Advisors, which has invested in Tesla.
The confidence that Musk can generate exceptional returns has historically justified elevated price tags throughout his corporate holdings.
John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Swiss-based wealth manager Cité Gestion, a Tesla shareholder, said he was comfortable paying 20%-30% more for shares in a well-run Musk company than for a comparable rival.
Yet the doubts surrounding SpaceX highlight that even Musk’s celebrity status might not overcome worries about its cost, as certain investors resist paying amounts that presume years of accelerated expansion and perfect implementation.
The rocket manufacturer reported a $4.94 billion net deficit in 2025, yet its desired market value represents 94.53 times revenue for that same timeframe, based on calculations by Reuters.
In contrast, Tesla currently trades at 16.73 times its 2025 revenue figures, according to LSEG data.
“We see Tesla and SpaceX as complementary businesses. We feel confident that both of these companies can succeed,” said Tejas Dessai, director of research at Global X.
Tesla’s achievement in transforming electric cars from specialized products into a mass-market sector has strengthened its reputation, establishing it as the globe’s most valuable automotive manufacturer.
“If you’re betting on Elon the man, why not have both stocks in your portfolio?” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments.
Still, Sarhan indicated he wouldn’t purchase SpaceX shares right after their market launch, preferring to wait several months for pricing to stabilize before deciding.
Among the major uncertainties surrounding SpaceX involves its artificial intelligence division, which depends on unverified technologies including orbital data processing centers.
“Space data centers that are very unproven. The physics is the biggest question mark of it all. How are you going to value something that you just simply cannot see or test or have any comparables to?” said Franco Granda, senior research analyst at PitchBook.
Grok, the chatbot developed by xAI, also trails more established rivals from OpenAI and Anthropic.
“We don’t see Grok as one of the leading AI labs today, and while we modeled a range of outcomes for this portion of the business, none of them meaningfully add to or subtract from our valuation of the AI business,” said Nicolas Owens, equity analyst at Morningstar.
The previous week, Owens assigned SpaceX a market value of $780 billion, representing less than half its IPO goal.
Speculation about a potential combination of SpaceX and Tesla has emerged, although most market participants believe such a transaction would involve significant complications.
“At some point in the future, in the event of a successful IPO, Tesla will get absorbed into SpaceX,” said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at iForex.
Justus Parmar, CEO of Fortuna Investments, which owns both Tesla and SpaceX, sees Tesla’s manufacturing prowess as the impetus for an eventual merger.
“When he’s developing the moon and beyond, you’re going to need real manufacturing capabilities,” he said.
However, investors appear less concerned this time about Musk becoming distracted, given his ongoing dedication to Tesla.
Having overseen both enterprises simultaneously for years, he’s unlikely to reduce his involvement with the car company simply because another of his businesses has entered public markets, according to analysts.
Following SpaceX’s confidential filing of IPO documents, Tesla stock has climbed 10%, contrasting with previous instances when concerns about Musk overextending himself hurt the shares.
The electric vehicle company’s stock dropped over 30% from when Twitter’s board accepted his acquisition offer until the transaction completed. Stock prices also fell nearly 16% during the SolarCity combination in 2016.
Tesla’s numerous individual investors are also evaluating the SpaceX public offering.
Alexandra Merz, a self-described “all-in Tesla investor” since March 2020, said she would need to sell Tesla shares to buy SpaceX stock, which would trigger taxes.
She would rather stay invested in Tesla “with the conviction that there is a merger on the horizon,” she added.
