Quote:Hong Kong has become a critical financial and logistical lifeline for Iran’s regime — helping move illicit oil, weapons technology and surveillance tools that fuel Tehran’s military machine and domestic repression, according to a bombshell report released Monday.

The 26-page report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, titled “Oil, Arms, and Cash: How Hong Kong Fuels the Iranian Regime,” alleges that dozens of Hong Kong-based companies have helped Iran evade Western sanctions while funneling billions of dollars into the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its terror proxies.

“Simply put, without Hong Kong’s help, Iran would not have the money and the missiles that make it so dangerous,” the report states.

“The evidence is consistent and damning,” the report says, citing “Hong Kong’s easy registration of shell companies, its globally connected banking sector, its secretive corporate services infrastructure, and the indifference of its government to Western law enforcement cooperation.”

The report details how Hong Kong-linked firms allegedly facilitated the shipment of Iranian crude oil to China through shadow fleets using deceptive ship-to-ship transfers and falsified cargo documents.

Since 2020, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has designated at least 95 Hong Kong-incorporated entities for Iran-related sanctions violations, according to an appendix included in the report.

Among the cases cited was Hong Kong-based Petronix Energy Trading Ltd., which US authorities accused in February 2025 of purchasing “hundreds of thousands of metric tons of Iranian crude oil” for shipment to China.

The report also alleges Hong Kong has become a major hub for funneling Western-made electronics and drone components into Iran’s weapons programs.

Quote:Iran executed a promising aerospace engineering student Monday, accusing him of spying for both the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.

Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, was hanged at dawn after being convicted of stealing classified satellite information from the scientific organization where he worked, Iranian state media reported.

The regime had accused Shakourzadeh — a post-grad student at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran — of funneling details on satellite activities to the foreign intelligence services.

Shakourzadeh was arrested in February last year and forced into making a confession, according to the Iran Human Rights Society.

Just prior to his execution, the student apparently wrote a message saying the charges were fabricated, the human rights group said.

Shakourzadeh, who is the fifth person executed by the regime since the war broke out in February, spent nine months in solitary confinement where he suffered “severe physical and psychological torture,” the group added.

At the time of his arrest, Shakourzadeh was an elite, top-ranked student at the Iran University of Science and Technology.

Quote:The US-Israel war on Iran “accomplished a great deal,” but cannot be considered over until the Islamic Republic’s enriched uranium is moved outside its territory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued in an interview broadcast Sunday night.

Netanyahu, in his first American network TV sitdown since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran Feb. 28, declined to say when such an operation would occur or who would be responsible for executing it, telling CBS “60 Minutes” correspondent Major Garrett that “you’re gonna ask me these questions. I’m gonna dodge them.”

“I’m not gonna talk about military means, but the pres– what President Trump has said to me [is] ‘I want to go in there,’ and I think it can be done physically. That’s not the problem,” the 76-year-old said. “If you have an agreement, and you go in, and you take it out, why not? That’s the best way.”

The interview aired hours after Trump publicly rebuked Iran’s response to a 14-point peace framework offered by the US, writing on social media that it was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”

Tehran’s proposal made no mention of curbing its atomic ambitions, according to the official IRNA news agency, instead focusing on fully reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping before moving on to other contentious topics.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, has said Iran has more than 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short technical step from weapons grade.

Quote:WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the month-long cease-fire between the US and Iran “is on massive life support” — but that it’s still in effect as he prepares for a whirlwind trip to China.

Trump, who departs for Beijing on Tuesday, railed against Iran’s “stupid” leaders after receiving an inflammatory peace offer asking that Iran be treated like the war’s winner, with no nuclear concessions.

“It’s on life support,” Trump told reporters during a maternal health event in the Oval Office.

“I would say the cease-fire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.'”

The cease-fire has been in effect since April 8, though both countries have launched limited attacks during the shaky truce.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), an outspoken supporter of Trump’s war with Iran, told The Post that he wanted the president to “keep throttling the Iranian economy” with the naval blockade that began on April 13.

“China deserves to feel that pain,” Fetterman added, referring to Iranian oil exports failing to reach the world’s second-largest economy.

The Pennsylvania Democrat hailed Trump’s demand that Iran surrender about 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium, likening the Republican to British wartime leader Winston Churchill.

“Demanding Iran surrender its nuclear material is maximum Churchillian,” Fetterman raved.

A national security official told The Post, however, that Trump hasn’t restarted full-scale fighting for several reasons, including his hope to enlist Chinese President Xi Jinping’s support for a “better deal” that ends Iran’s nuclear ambitions without a drawn-out war.

Quote:The United Arab Emirates quietly carried out military counter-strikes against a key Iranian oil refinery just as President Trump declared a cease-fire last month, according to a new report.

After suffering repeated bombardments from Iran, the UAE fired a series of retaliatory attacks against the Islamic republic, with one of the known strikes hitting the Lavan Island oil refinery in the Persian Gulf, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

The attack, which came just as the US was solidifying a cease-fire on April 8, sparked a large fire in the facility and is expected to leave its output crippled for months, the outlet added.

At the time, Iran had said that the refinery was struck by enemy fire. While the Islamic Republic did not name the source, it launched an attack against the UAE and Kuwait in response, similar to what it had been doing throughout the height of the war.

Strikes hit an Iranian oil refinery on Lavan Island today.

Iran is now retaliating with strikes on targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE. pic.twitter.com/xOptoGRjbB

— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 8, 2026
While the UAE has not commented on the strikes, the country has repeatedly asserted its right to defend itself against Iran’s mass retaliation campaign in the Gulf.

Quote:The Pentagon revealed the location Monday of one of the US Navy’s most secretive vessels – a stealthy, nuclear-armed submarine – a day after President Trump rejected Iran’s latest peace offer.

The Navy’s Sixth Fleet shared an image of the Ohio-class submarine and its crew docked Sunday in Gibraltar, a British territory off Spain’s southern coast.

“The port visit demonstrates US capability, flexibility, and continuing commitment to its NATO allies,” the Sixth Fleet said in a press release.

“Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are undetectable launch platforms for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, providing the US with its most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,” the fleet added.

The Navy, which operates 14 nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines, did not share the name of the vessel docked in Gibraltar.

The submarine’s Trident II ballistic missiles have a range of over 4,500 miles.

The Pentagon rarely discloses the locations of its nuclear subs, which is considered highly classified information. 

The disclosure came hours after Trump slammed Iran’s latest peace offer as “totally unacceptable.”

Quote:The CEO of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company is warning that the energy sector will take time to recover from the Iran war’s impact on supply as oil output was slashed due to the ongoing disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on an earnings call Monday that the global energy market has lost about 1 billion barrels of oil supply during the crisis, though efforts to reroute shipments to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz and releases from countries’ strategic petroleum reserves have eased some of the supply issues.

“The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the world has ever experienced,” Nasser said.

He said that the world is now losing about 100 million barrels of oil supply per week as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed to tanker traffic. If the disruption continues for several more weeks, Aramco thinks that oil markets may not normalize until 2027.

“Reopening routes is not the same as normalizing a market that has been deprived of about 1 billion barrels of oil,” Nasser said, adding that years of underinvestment compounded the strain caused by the conflict on global oil inventory.

“Recent events have clearly demonstrated the vital contribution of oil and gas to energy security and the global economy and are a stark reminder that reliable energy supply is critical,” he added.

The conflict prompted Aramco to ramp up the use of its pipeline that transits the Arabian Peninsula from east to west and negates the need for oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply passed through before the war began.

“Our East-West pipeline, which reached its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels of oil per day, has proven itself to be a critical supply artery, helping to mitigate the impact of a global energy shock and providing relief to customers affected by shipping constraints in the Strait of Hormuz,” Nasser said on the call.

Quote:Aging, allegedly ailing Vladimir Putin has been mocked over his puffy, strangely altered face after the fearful, paranoid Russian dictator made a rare public appearance in Moscow over the weekend.

The swollen-cheeked 73-year-old despot was spotted at an unusually quiet Victory Day parade to mark the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Putin’s brief appearance during the event in Red Square sparked ripping online comments over his appearance, with one joking that Western sanctions on Russia were affecting the president’s Botox.

“Putin, what’s with the face?” a pro-Ukraine account quipped on X, noting, “The parade ended at lightning speed — just 45 minutes The Kremlin boss [was] immediately rushed off Red Square surrounded by heavy security.”

Another user shared a picture of the Russian tyrant with a pained expression during Saturday’s rally.

“Putin’s last parade,” the person wrote.

A third X user said, “Putin genuinely looks sick, this isn’t the face of a well man even for his age.”

Someone else said, “Putin must be residing in the bunker for an extended period, possibly even longer than this year. He seems to be in dire need of some Botox touch-ups.”

Others pointed to the pared-down nature of the parade, with no armored vehicles or ballistic missiles, as well as Putin’s additional security precautions.

Quote:KYIV – Nearly 20 countries are interested in drone deals with Ukraine, and four agreements have already been signed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Zelenskiy has managed to leverage Ukraine’s expertise in drone warfare into a series of successful diplomatic deals during visits to the Middle East and Europe.

“Nearly 20 countries are currently involved at various stages: 4 agreements have already been signed, and the first contracts under these agreements are now being prepared,” Zelenskiy said on X.

In April, Ukraine signed defense and drone deals in Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands, following long-term security partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates in late March.

Ukraine also signed agreements last month with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on defense and energy.

In his post, Zelenskiy also said Ukraine would launch security cooperation within the framework of drone deals with another part of the world, without specifying which.

Ukraine has already started to receive the necessary volume of fuel thanks to the agreements, Zelenskiy added, without elaborating.

Zelenskiy hopes his drone diplomacy can help secure energy-supply deals with Middle Eastern states as well as markets for Ukraine’s agricultural produce.

Quote:Latvia's defense minister has resigned after two Ukrainian drones targeting Russia crossed into the NATO nation last week, with one drone crashing into a fuel storage facility and damaging several empty oil tanks in the country's east.

The incident, which caused no injuries, was the latest example of drones spilling over from the Russia-Ukraine war into NATO territory, exposing gaps in the alliance's air defenses as drones take on a more prominent role in warfare but European and NATO militaries remain ill-equipped to fend them off in large numbers.

Drones penetrating NATO airspace have not been treated as attacks on the alliance so far, meaning they have not triggered discussions over a collective response from all 32 members, but the spillovers have pushed the alliance's members along Europe's eastern edge to quickly invest in anti-drone defenses.

On Sunday, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina called for Defense Minister Andris Sprūds to leave his post, saying counter-drone systems had not been deployed fast enough.

She said trust in Sprūds' leadership was "exhausted," and that the drone incursions last week were the "final straw."

Why Latvia's Defense Minister Resigned
Sprūds, an academic who had served as defense minister since September 2023, said in a separate statement that he was stepping back to "protect the Latvian army from being dragged into a political campaign." He added that the country would continue to beef up its air defenses.

Silina announced that Colonel Raivis Melnis of the Latvian army, whom she described as having "Ukraine experience," would replace Sprūds.

Sprūds' resignation makes Latvia the latest NATO member on the eastern flank to see turbulence in top defense roles as pressure to spend more, and invest quickly in defense, surges. Romania and Lithuania also replaced defense ministers late in 2025.

I get the idea of getting ready to take down ANY drones entering their country. At the same time, it's not like the former minister were guilty of the consequences of such an attack. It would have been a lot easier to blame Zelensky for letting his drones invade NATO territory than Sprūds. Nonetheless, politics isn't always about who's really guilty of anything but who'll become the scapegoat that will keep the current government afloat for the time being.

Quote:The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday received an emergency appeal from Virginia Democrats seeking to revive a voter‑approved congressional map struck down by the state’s highest court, even as the justices separately allowed Alabama to move forward with its own redistricting plan in a ruling released the same day.

The dual developments underscore how the court continues to shape the nation’s political boundaries heading into the 2026 elections.

The Virginia ruling also blocked new congressional districts that would have given Democrats a stronger chance to win four additional U.S. House seats. The emergency appeal followed a 4-3 decision Friday by the Virginia Supreme Court, which found that lawmakers improperly advanced the amendment after early voting had already begun in the fall’s general election.

The ruling wiped out a rare Democratic gain in the nation’s mid‑decade redistricting fight, a contest supercharged by President Donald Trump’s push for Republican‑led states to redraw their maps and by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that sharply weakened the Voting Rights Act.

Losing the Virginia map deprives Democrats of four competitive seats at a moment when Republicans claim to have netted more than a dozen through redistricting nationwide. The appeal also highlights the political stakes surrounding a Supreme Court that has repeatedly shaped the congressional landscape heading into this year's midterms.

What to Know About Virginia Ruling

Democrats argue the Virginia court “overrode the will of the people” who narrowly approved the amendment last month, saying the state must use the new map rather than revert to districts voters rejected.

The state court ruled the amendment invalid because the legislature began the ballot‑placement process after early voting had started, a procedural violation under the Virginia Constitution.

Democrats counter that U.S. Supreme Court precedent defines an election as occurring on Election Day, not during early voting.

Quote:Former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has agreed to plead guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government, federal prosecutors announced Monday.

The admission places a sitting U.S. elected official at the center of a foreign influence case tied to undisclosed coordination with Beijing-linked officials. Wang, a Democrat who was elected in 2022, now faces up to 10 years in prison and has resigned from her post.

Federal prosecutors are moving forward with the case, while local officials assess the impact on the Southern California community.

Who Is Eileen Wang?

Wang, 58, is a Southern California politician who was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and later became mayor through the body’s rotating leadership system.

In Arcadia, the mayor is selected from the five-member council, a structure that elevated Wang to the role after her initial election to public office.

A longtime resident, she became the first Chinese-American woman elected to the council, helping make it majority female for the first time. Before entering politics, Wang was active in local civic and business organizations, including the Arcadia Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, and served as president of the American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA from 2018 to 2022.

She ran on a platform emphasizing community engagement and public safety and took part in local initiatives during her tenure, including organizing events and supporting victims following the 2023 Monterey Park mass shooting.

Wang resigned from the city council on Monday, stepping down as mayor following federal charges as the case proceeds.

Quote:President Donald Trump said Sunday that federal agencies must prioritize American-made products in government purchasing, touting efforts to tighten enforcement of "Buy American" policies and limit exceptions that allow foreign goods.

"ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BUY AMERICAN — NO EXCUSES!" Trump exclaimed on Truth Social. "For decades, Washington politicians sent your Taxpayer Dollars overseas, and let Foreign Countries rip us off while our Workers, Factories, and Supply Chains were left behind. That betrayal is OVER.

"My Administration is strengthening MADE IN AMERICA Laws, ENDING Waiver Loopholes, and STOPPING the Federal Government from buying Foreign Products when Great American Products are available — And to the D.C. Bureaucrats: NO MORE handing out Waivers like candy!" he continued. "No more rubber-stamping exceptions for Foreign Products while American Workers get shafted.

"We are putting American Workers, American Factories, and American Supply Chains FIRST — Bigger, better, and stronger than ever before! I already signed EO 14392 to crack down on fake "MADE IN AMERICA" claims, and we are enforcing it HARD," he added. "No more games. No more fake labels. No more ripping off the American Taxpayer. AMERICA FIRST means BUY AMERICAN!"

The comments come as the Trump administration moves to tighten domestic sourcing requirements across federal procurement, part of a broader push to boost U.S. manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.

In March, Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating fraudulent "Made in America" labels by foreign manufacturers and sellers, Reuters reported.

The order directs the Federal Trade Commission to prioritize enforcement against companies that falsely label products as U.S.-made or make misleading origin claims in violation of existing law.

It also calls on federal agencies responsible for country-of-origin labeling to work with the FTC to consider new regulations and ensure consistent guidance across the government.

Quote:California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing pressure to throw a lifeline to Californians struggling with highest-in-the-nation gas prices as President Donald Trump signed plans to suspend the federal gas tax.

Trump said Monday he plans to “take off the gas tax for a period of time” — though he needs the backing of Congress — calling it a “great idea” to offer Americans relief at the pump.

Newsom has no plans to follow suit in California — where gas prices hovered at $6.16 per gallon Monday, well above the national average of $4.52, according to AAA.

California drivers already shoulder the highest gas taxes in the country, which include an excise tax of 61 cents per gallon, sales taxes and other fees. The federal gas tax is 18 cents per gallon by comparison.

“I support any and all efforts to give Californians relief from high gas prices,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican-leaning independent, told The Post. “A pause in the federal tax would help, but the bigger problem is California’s highest-in-the-nation state tax.”

“I have introduced the Gas Tax Reduction Act to limit this tax and have called on state leaders to suspend the 61-cent-per-gallon tax in its entirety,” he added.

Quote:Savannah Guthrie is the host of a new Wordle game show.

The journalist made the “big announcement” on Monday’s episode of the “Today” show, alongside Jimmy Fallon, the project’s executive producer.

“We’ve been holding in a secret between us for a long time now,” the 54-year-old anchor gushed.

Fallon, 51, replied, “I’m so happy it’s you — we were looking for the perfect host for this. We needed someone who looks like they play Wordle, someone who knows how to run a show.

“We did the pilot, and you were amazing,” the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” host continued, referring to Guthrie, who guest-hosted “Jeopardy!” for two weeks in 2021.

The game show, based on the New York Times’ popular puzzle of the same name, will begin filming this summer.

News broke in October that “Wordle” was in development, with Guthrie set to host.

Since then, Guthrie has been in the headlines primarily for her personal life as her family navigates her mom Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.

“When everything happened with me and my family,” Savannah explained on Monday, “they just stopped everything and said, ‘We’ll wait for you.’ Hollywood is, like, a really tough business, and I didn’t expect that. And I just want to say thank you, it means so much to me.”

Fallon insisted cast and crew alike agreed they “couldn’t do the show” without the “fantastic” host.

Guthrie went on to share mixed feelings about the “joyous” news.

Quote:Millions of gallons of sewage-tainted water from Mexico continue to pollute some of Southern California’s most popular beaches, triggering repeated closures and mounting health concerns for nearby communities.

In Coronado, county officials have sounded the alarm, urging visitors to steer clear of the water as polluted runoff seeps into the coastline.
Warning signs posted along the shoreline caution beachgoers that exposure could lead to illness.

The contamination is largely tied to the Tijuana River, which carries untreated wastewater from Mexico into U.S. waters before ocean currents push the pollution north along the Southern California coast.

As much as 30 million gallons of sewage-tainted water can flow into the Pacific Ocean daily from Tijuana, reported FOX11.

The pollution has impacted even some of the region’s most high-profile beachfront areas, including waters near the historic Hotel del Coronado.

Health experts warn that exposure to contaminated water can cause gastrointestinal illness, while airborne toxins linked to sewage pollution may trigger headaches, respiratory issues, and other health problems.

Hydrogen sulfide, a gas associated with sewage, can irritate the eyes and respiratory system and may cause more serious effects at higher concentrations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors and community advocates say children in affected communities have been especially impacted, with some reporting worsening asthma symptoms, skin rashes, and other health issues tied to the pollution.

Quote:A Pennsylvania liberal arts college has removed a college professor’s name from a campus building after it emerged he excavated a Native American burial site – but critics say the move is revisionist.

Swarthmore College scrubbed Spencer Trotter’s name from its Trotter Hall building after learning he dug up the site in 1899 and put remains on display on campus, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Trotter, who was part of the college’s biology department, promoted racial hierarchy in his works – which scholars have determined to be “scientific racism.”

Valerie Smith, the college’s president, revealed in December last year that Trotter Hall and Trotter Lawn would be renamed after an 18-month investigation.

The hall has been temporarily named “Old Science Hall” and a permanent name will be announced in the fall.

Smith said the name change “is not merely a matter of renaming spaces” and acknowledged it may be divisive.

“It is an acknowledgment of harm, a commitment to learn from our past, and an affirmation of our responsibility to care for the stories and legacies held on this campus,” she said.

“I recognize that this news may stir a range of difficult emotions and concerns.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in April 2022 that two university professors excavated a Lenape burial ground, but didn’t mention Trotter by name.

The site was donated to the Delaware Nation tribe for just $1 and this process was completed in March 2022. It’s the only officially-recognized Native American burial ground in Chester County.

Quote:An anti-Israel mob clashed with counter-protesters near a Brooklyn synagogue on Monday night — less than a week after a similar demonstration rocked Manhattan.

At least three people were detained after agitators swarmed the area near the Young Israel Senior Services of Midwood, which was hosting an event promoting real estate in Israel and the West Bank.

The anti-Israel mob chanted “Palestine is ours alone,” and several carried a wide banner that read “Israel is killing children.”

During one fight, a person who concealed their face with a medical mask yanked a girl’s hair — and nearly threw her against a parked car in the process, according to a video obtained by The Post.

Shortly after, another man squared up against a squad of young men carrying a Palestinian flag.

“Let’s go motherf–kers, c’mon! C’mon motherf–kers!” the man yelled.

At least two teenage pro-Israel protesters were detained. As the NYPD marched them down the streets, their supporters followed and chanted for the cops to “let them go.”

An anti-Israel protester was also detained, cops said.

All three individuals taken into custody had thrown items during the heated protest, according to the NYPD.

The whirlwind demonstration mirrored another protest that wreaked havoc at the historic Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on May 5.

Both were organized by anti-Israel activist group Pal-Awda NY/NJ, which promoted the rallies with slogans such as “No settlers on stolen land” and “Stop the sale of stolen Palestinian land.”

Quote:A gun-wielding career criminal opened fire at random cars driving down a Massachusetts roadway on Monday, leaving two men with life-threatening injuries before the maniac was shot by responding officers.

Gunman Tyler Brown allegedly fired 50 to 60 rounds indiscriminately from an assault-style rifle as he erratically walked down Memorial Drive in Cambridge around 1:20 p.m., Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said during a press conference.

At 1:06 p.m., Cambridge police received a 911 call from Boston police, who said an individual acting erratically and in possession of a rifle was in Cambridge, Ryan said.

Massachusetts State Police and Cambridge police arrived at the scene as Brown was actively firing down the road of stopped cars, authorities said.

Two men were separately struck by gunfire as the madman unleashed the barrage of bullets. They were both rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, prosecutors added.

A Massachusetts State Police trooper in his cruiser and a Marine licensed to carry a gun also arrived on scene and found people jumping from their cars and scattering to safety.

The pair heroically charged toward Brown with their weapons and shot him multiple times. He was treated on scene by officers and brought to a local hospital, where he is receiving care for gunshot wounds to his extremities.

Quote:San Francisco public school officials’ sneaky new plan for massive school closures was hidden even from the district’s furious school board, according to a new report.

The San Francisco Unified School District plans to close an unidentified number of schools by 2030 to deal with some 14,000 empty seats in the rapidly shrinking district, according to a memo sent to parents last month. 

Like other urban districts in California and across the country, the City by the Bay has seen years of enrollment declines in public schools which reflect declining birth rates and other demographic changes blamed on rising prices, migratory shifts and more.

Superintendent Maria Su is expected to announce the outline and timeline for the school closures tomorrow at the district’s school board meeting, but members of the board told a local publication they’re peeved a newspaper caught wind of the story before they did.

Su broke the news of the upcoming closures in a San Francisco Chronicle story published nearly two weeks ago by longtime education reporter Jill Tucker.

“We are ready for this,” Su told the paper of her plan to close schools. “And it’s about time. We’ve been trying to do this for many years now.”

The article states that Su spent the past 18 months getting the district ready for closures, but it doesn’t say why she’s only gone public with the plan recently, or why she gave the news to the paper before she shared it with the board.

Quote:The United States has increased the pressure on Cuba's top officials, turning the diplomatic, economic and military screws on Havana as concerns swell about whether Washington will invade the Caribbean nation.

President Donald Trump and his administration have long had Cuba's communist leadership in their crosshairs, but in recent weeks slapped Havana with punishing new sanctions and maintained a near-total blockade on fuel supplies making it to the island that has been in place since January.

Already weakened by a decades-long U.S. embargo, dwindling supplies routinely plunge Cuba's residents into blackouts as garbage mounts in streets in a country that has seen its vital tourist trade dry up.

The U.S. is also thought to have ramped up intelligence-gathering flights off the Cuban coast, while the White House has repeatedly hinted at a possible military takeover of the island since U.S. forces swept into Venezuela and captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas at the start of 2026.

Cuba was heavily dependent on Venezuela's oil exports and is now clinging onto a lifeline of limited fuel deliveries from Russia the U.S. has allowed through to Cuba's ports.

A White House official told Newsweek on Monday that Cuba was a "failing nation that has been horribly run for many years," and Havana's authorities had been hit hard by U.S. action against Venezuela.

The official also referred to Trump's remarks, in which he predicted Cuba "will fall" and the U.S. would "be there to help them out."

Trump joked earlier this month the U.S. could "almost immediately" take over Cuba, suggesting the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, may approach Cuban shores and force officials to "give up" once the U.S. ends its war against Iran.

Quote:Vengeful men on social media are staging punches, simulating stabbings and pointing firearms at the camera phones — which they call “training in case she says no.”

The “she” in question? Women who reject their romantic advances.

While the videos online are being framed as dating satire, advocates against domestic violence fear the trend could help normalize violence against women — as evidenced by shocking real-life events.

20-year-old Alana Rosa from Brazil rejected a man at her gym, Luis Felipe Sampaio, who had reportedly been bombarding her with gifts. After she repeatedly refused his advances, the accused allegedly broke into her home in São Gonçalo, near Rio de Janeiro, and stabbed her nearly 50 times before being stopped by her mother, per France24.

She was then rushed to the hospital and underwent several reconstructive surgeries, while in an induced coma, to recover from her injuries.

Miraculously, Rosa survived the attack. Her mother, Jaderluce de Oliveira, told local officials that the attacker followed similar content online — a detail that alarmed investigators and the public alike.

With her supporters in tow, Rosa attended the first criminal hearing against Sampaio on April 15.

“I think he should stay in prison forever, but I know that won’t happen,” de Oliveira told AFP reporters during a press hearing on the day of the trial.

Rosa’s story is just one example among many in Brazil.

More than 1,400 women in the country died at the hands of a man in 2025 alone, according to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, surpassing the previous record in 2024.

Quote:Guests on board Disney Cruise Line’s all-new Disney Adventure learned their four-night sailing embarking from Singapore was canceled — mere hours after they already boarded the ship.

On Thursday, May 7, after guests boarded, settled in and started their vacation, the captain of the ship announced that there were technical issues and guests were to wait for further information.

A Reddit user who was on the cruise said that they were told they “will set sail soon.”

“Midnight now. We’ve been waiting here since 2 p.m., and they have no update for us,” they wrote in an update in the comments. “What’s even worse is they’ve shut down all kitchens, coffee, etc. Why would they do that?”

About 26 hours later, approximately 2 p.m. Singapore time, it was announced that the cruise would be canceled due to mechanical issues that the engineering team couldn’t fix in time.

Guests were ultimately stranded in Singapore and left to figure out what to do next. At 6:30 p.m., they wrote that they were still waiting for a letter with hotel information before disembarking.

The Reddit user noted that when the cancellation was “really disappointing, especially if vacationing with kids.”

“Good thing is that we did get to experience some parts of the cruise, sad part the shops weren’t open so couldn’t get any Disney merchandise from the cruise,” they added.

With a cruise like this, guests likely planned and booked this trip far in advance, and many traveled internationally to reach the ship.

“The Disney Adventure remains in port in Singapore as our teams continue to address a mechanical issue,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement, per WDW News Today. “As the issue has not been resolved in the timeframe required to start this voyage, this current sailing has been cancelled. We apologize to our guests and are working with them directly to provide support for their travel needs.”

Quote:A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said Thursday.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz.

UKMTO did not name the ship and said it is investigating.

Fujairah is an important oil export terminal and the UAE’s main port outside of the Persian Gulf.

It has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.

Quote:WASHINGTON — A top Iranian navy commander claimed the Islamic Republic has deployed some of its small submarines, known as the “dolphins of the Persian Gulf,” in the Strait of Hormuz to wreak further havoc on the critical oil chokepoint, according to state media.

The goal is to establish an “invisible guardian” in the beleaguered waterway, lurk on the seabed there and potentially attack vessels attempting to pass.

Iran is known to possess at least 16 Ghadir-class midget submarines in its fleet, which are designed to operate in shallow waters, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Those small subs are believed to have crews of fewer than 10 and can each carry two missiles or two torpedoes.

One key drawback is that they are very noisy, which makes them easier for adversarial navies to track, Bloomberg News reported. The subs are a copy of a similar design from North Korea and are known to have maintenance issues, according to the report.

The Strait of Hormuz reaches a depth of about 100 meters at its deepest point, and the Persian Gulf doesn’t get much deeper than that either, complicating submarines’ efforts to conceal themselves from sonar.

Ghadirs, however, are much smaller and displace just 115 tons of water — a standard metric for submarines — compared to the 6,000 tons that Los Angeles-class attack submarines displace, Bloomberg noted.

Iran has created mayhem in the Strait of Hormuz, through which over a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supplies once flowed annually, in retaliation for Operation Epic Fury.

The regime has made use of drones and attacks from fast, small boats to deter large oil vessels from traversing the critical waterway.

President Trump has ordered a blockade of all Iranian ships seeking to get through the strait in response, as part of an effort to ramp up pressure on the regime.

Last week, he briefly ordered a “Project Freedom” military escort of ships through the channel, before stopping that initiative.

Iran presented a counteroffer to the US over the weekend, but Trump quickly panned it as “unacceptable.”

Quote:An Iranian father who protested the regime was executed after the state canceled his final visit with his family — only to tell them over the phone afterwards that they already killed him, his grieving relatives said.

Mohammad Abbasi, 55, was executed on Wednesday inside the Qezel Hesar prison, in Karaj, as his family was ordered to come see him one last time, according to the Iran Human Rights Monitor group.

But when the family got there to say their goodbyes, prison officials rejected their plea to see Abbasi, sending them home and calling them later to inform them that his execution had been carried out.

“The prevention of a final visit is not only psychological torture of the family, but also an explicit violation of the Executive Regulations of the Prisons Organization and international standards for prisoners’ rights, which emphasize the right to a farewell before the execution of a death sentence,” Iran HRM said in a statement.

“The objective of these legal violations goes beyond punishing an individual; it aims to psychologically paralyze society and create a ‘paralyzing shock’ among protesters to suppress the public will for seeking justice,” the group added.

Abbasi was sentenced to death over his participation in the January protests that saw thousands rise up against the Islamic regime over its totalitarian rule and failure to fix the nation’s economic crisis.

The 55-year-old was accused of attacking a lieutenant of Iran’s security forces during the protests, with the state claiming Abbasi was a long-time dissident acting on behalf of “the Zionist coup,” according to human rights groups.

Quote:Iran is allowing some vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday following talks with Beijing ahead of President Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Iran cleared the way for the Chinese ships to pass through the strait, allegedly using the new management system set up by the Islamic republic, the semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies said.

China’s foreign minister and ambassador to Iran had allegedly reached out to Tehran to clear the way for its ships, some of which had been traveling through the Strait of Hormuz before the American blockade went into effect last week.

Prior to the war, China served as Iran’s largest oil buyer, with more than 1 million barrels a day exported to Beijing through the Persian Gulf.

While the conflict caused the Strait of Hormuz to close, Iranian and Chinese-linked ships had continued to sail through the passageway at lower volumes, with only a handful of ships crossing every day.

It remains to be seen if the Chinese ships cleared for travel paid a toll under the new system Iran has tried to enforce, or if the vessels would be allowed past the American blockade, which prohibits passage for any ship traveling to and from Iranian ports.

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the Iranian ambassador to China, attempted to portray the deal as a way to highlight Tehran’s potential as an “important partner” to Beijing.

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was one of the main topics between Trump and Xi during Thursday’s summit, with the president claiming that his Chinese counterpart would happily assist in the goal.

“He did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

Quote:The FBI announced Thursday it is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of Monica Witt, a former U.S. service member and counterintelligence agent who was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the Iranian government.

Witt, a former active-duty U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist and special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, served in the military between 1997 and 2008, before working as a U.S. government contractor until 2010, according to a news release from the FBI Washington Field Office.

The 47-year-old’s military service and contracting employment provided her access to secret and top secret information relating to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, including the true names of U.S. Intelligence Community undercover personnel.

Officials allege that in 2013, Witt defected to Iran and provided information to the country’s government, placing sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs at risk, according to the indictment.

She allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S. personnel and their families stationed abroad, and conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government.

The FBI said Witt’s defection to Iran has benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has elements responsible for intelligence collection, unconventional warfare and providing direct support to multiple terrorist organizations targeting U.S. citizens and interests.

Quote:BEIJING — Chinese strongman Xi Jinping appeared to embrace President Trump’s stance on Iran Thursday, agreeing the fanatical regime should open up the Strait of Hormuz and never have access to a nuclear weapon – while pledging not to send arms to the Islamic Republic.

The striking display of alignment came with an offer from Xi, who intends to continue purchasing oil from Tehran, to assist the US in the region.

“President Xi would like to see a deal made, he would, he would like to see a deal made. And he did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any help at all, I would like to be of help,’” Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

NEW: President Trump reveals to @seanhannity that Chinese President Xi Jinping has committed to withholding military equipment from Iran following their high-level discussions.

Trump noted that while China continues to purchase Iranian oil, Xi expressed a strong desire to see… pic.twitter.com/gUXZmblk9y

— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 14, 2026
“Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of a relationship with him,” Trump added. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open. He said, ‘If I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.’”

About a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supply flows through the strait annually, and China has historically imported the lion’s share of the petroleum transited via the waterway, which has effectively been shut down due to the war.

An estimated 45% to 50% of China’s crude oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz. By contrast, only about 2% of America’s oil comes through the strait, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

“Our two countries should be partners rather than rivals,” Xi said at a state dinner with Trump.

Quote:A San Diego-based US Navy amphibious assault ship is preparing for deployment as tensions with Iran escalate on multiple fronts.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a House subcommittee Tuesday that the 843-foot USS Makin Island is gearing up to deploy with Marines from Camp Pendleton.

While he did not specify the size of the Marine contingent or when the ship would depart San Diego, the mission could position the group in operations tied to the US standoff with Iran.

The amphibious assault ship, which carries advanced F-35 fighter jets, has recently been training in local waters alongside the USS Somerset and USS San Diego, routine partners in a three-ship amphibious ready group.

The timing comes as another San Diego-based force has already been deployed.

Roughly two months after the USS Boxer Amphibious Ready Group left with about 2,200 Camp Pendleton Marines, the Navy says that unit has been operating in the South China Sea.

However, the US Naval Institute reported Monday that the Boxer is now heading toward the Middle East.

At the same time, political rhetoric surrounding Iran has intensified in Washington and Tehran.

President Trump said the United States could resume military strikes on Iran if no peace agreement is reached, and described the current ceasefire as barely holding together.

Quote:President Trump gave Tehran another reason to worry Saturday, posting a video clip on his Truth Social showing him ordering a military attack on an Iranian aircraft.

“Okay, we have it in our sight. Fire – boom!” Trump says, as a US-flagged destroyer blows one with the Iranian flag out of the sky.

In his latest comments on the war, Trump has dismissed Iran’s latest peace offer as “unacceptable,” while speaking freely about the devastation the US military has already inflicted on Iran — and the targets it spared but could reconsider.

“We hit them unbelievably hard. Look — we left their bridges. We left their electricity capacity. We can knock that all out in two days.  Two days — everything,” Trump told Bret Baier, host of Fox News Special Report in an interview that aired Friday night.

Iran experts told The Post that resumption of the war is a very real possibility.

“I’m sure preparations are underway for more escalation,” said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute.

“Trump has refused to back down from his maximalist demands in negotiations,” he said, while predicting that “Iran won’t negotiate away its leverage.”

“One possibility is a short but intense air attack,” with lower risks but a lower probability of success, said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel with the Center for Strategic International Studies.

“Another possibility is a major military effort to open the Strait,” which he called the most likely, but with a higher casualty risk. Seizing one of the islands in the Strait has “some risk” and won’t end the war but “set conditions for success,” he added.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified to lawmakers this week that the US has an escalation plan in place, if necessary.

“We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets,”

Quote:A suspected terrorist with ties to Iran’s military has been arrested and hauled to New York to face charges of carrying out and plotting nearly 20 attacks across Europe and Canada – with plans to blow up a Big Apple synagogue – to punish Americans and Jews over the Iran war.

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an accused commander in a terrorist organization linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, allegedly orchestrated the firebombing of the Bank of New York Mellon in Amsterdam, the stabbing of two Jewish victims in London and other foiled counter-attacks in the US in response to the conflict in the Middle East.

“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence. In a righteous and just contrast, his prosecution will highlight the best of our country,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

Al-Saadi, a 32-year-old accused high-ranking official of the terror group Kata’ib Hizballah, and bloodthirsty accomplices “planned, coordinated” and took “responsibility” for attacks that also included a March 9 bombing of a synagogue in Liège, Belgium and a March 13 arson of a Rotterdam temple, the feds said.

The Iraqi national was accused of preparing to bomb a “prominent” Manhattan temple on April 6, but the plot was foiled after he unwittingly sent $3,000 to an undercover law enforcement officer he believed was a Mexican cartel member to carry out the disaster.

He allegedly offered to fork over $10,000 in total, and texted the undercover, “I wanna see good news tonight . . . not tomorrow bro” the night the attack was supposed to happen, court docs claimed.

The specific synagogue was kept under wraps by prosecutors as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday police worked with temple leadership to ensure its security when they became aware of the elevated threat.

Quote:Accused terror commander Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi worked through a new Iranian-backed terrorist group that emerged “essentially overnight” after the outset US-Israel war and urged followers to kill President Trump.

The group — Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HIYA) — appeared in March 2026 after the war against Iran started and in just weeks the group was able to carry out 18 bombings, stabbings, and arson attacks targeting Americans and Jews in Europe, according to prosecutors.

“Essentiall overnight, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya was able to activate terrorist cells across Europe to carry out nearly 20 attacks in the weeks immediately following that start of the Iranian Military Conflict,” reads an indictment in the Southern District of New York filed on Friday.

He is alleged to have been involved in the planning and promoted the attacks carried out by Hiya, prosecutors said.

Al-Saadi on April 20 posted a message threatening Trump to Snapchat with the Hiya logo, which is a raised fist holding a rifle.
Al-Saadi implored Hiya acolytes to “kill this arrogant, criminal, cursed Trump.”

“We direct our message to the free people of America, especially the security services, the Secret Service, and the victims of Epstein Island, where the blood of families was spilled and the lives of children were taken,” the screed read.

Hiya is considered a new front organization for the Iran-backed group Kata’ib Hizballah — the terror group in which al-Saadi is alleged to be a high-ranking official.

Following the March 9 synagogue bombing in Liege, Belgium — the first of 18 attacks across Europe — al-Saadi allegedly posted the HIYA symbol on Telegram along with a message prosecutors describe as urging further violence, according to court documents.

Quote:Russia launched hundreds of drone strikes at Ukraine overnight, hitting a kindergarten and killing at least one, as both sides’ fragile three-day ceasefire came to a sudden end, Ukrainian officials announced Tuesday.

More than 200 drones were launched at Ukraine just hours after a White House-brokered ceasefire expired, despite hopes it would be extended.

“We proposed Moscow to extend the partial ceasefire beyond May 11. Instead, this night Russia launched over 200 drones against Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten, injuring at least six and killing at least one person,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Tuesday.

Of the 216 drones launched by Russia, about 192 were downed or neutralized, according to Ukraine’s air force.

The warring sides’ truce deal, agreed by both countries for May 9 to 11 to commemorate the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany, was part of a US-led push for peace amid more than four years of conflict.

President Trump said Friday he hoped the truce would be extended.

“Russia itself chose to end the partial silence that had lasted for several days,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X on Tuesday.

Ukraine responded to the Russian strikes with attacks of its own, targeting the Russian city of Orenburg about 745 miles from Ukraine’s border, reported the Kyiv Independent.

Another Ukraine attack was aimed at the Orsknefteorgsintez, one of Russia’s largest regional oil refineries and responsible for 6.6 million tons of crude oil production annually, the outlet reported.

Quote:At least 24 Ukrainians were killed as Russian missiles rained down on a Kyiv apartment building in the largest barrage of the entire war – with three children left dead, and dozens of people wounded, according to officials.

Rockets and drones started falling on the capital city Wednesday, with at least one hitting the nine-story apartment block Thursday and leaving a huge section collapsed in a pile of smoldering concrete.

First responders spent over a day digging through the rubble to locate the two-dozen fatalities, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirming the tragic count by Friday.

It was part of a protracted attack which saw nearly 1,600 Russian drones launched across the country over two days, with 180 locations sustaining damage.

More than 50 of those targets were residential buildings, according to Zelensky.

It kicked off just days after a dubious May 9 to 11 ceasefire announced by President Donald Trump.

But the ceasefire – part of celebrations for the anniversary of World War II ending in Europe – was hardly what both sides agreed to, with fighting continuing throughout despite being somewhat scaled back.

Quote:One of Russia’s largest explosives plants was torched in an overnight drone blitz Saturday by Ukrainian forces, as Kyiv continues its campaign to target military infrastructure deep behind enemy lines.

The Nevinnomyssk Azot factory in the southwest city of Stavropol is one of Russia’s largest producers of chemicals used to make explosives.

It’s been described as a “critical component” of Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s war machine — producing more than 4 million tons of ammonium products and nitric acid annually to manufacture bombs, artillery shells and missiles.

Footage on social media showed the sky over the facility ablaze with large orange flames and thick plumes of black smoke, as the sound of explosions rang out over the city.

The strike — the sixth on the facility 150 miles from the Ukrainian border — is part of Kyiv’s campaign targeting Russian military infrastructure with long-range weapons.

“These are entirely justified responses to what the Russians are doing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X.

The blaze at the explosives plant comes a day after one of Kyiv’s largest retaliatory drone campaigns of the war, which set the massive Ryazan oil refinery, 180 miles from Moscow, ablaze — forcing temporary ground stops at two Moscow airports.

Meanwhile, Russian drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians and wounded 63 more overnight. It launched nearly 300 drones at Ukraine – with direct hits recorded at 15 locations across the country.

Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a two-day trip to Beijing next week, the Kremlin said Saturday.

The announcement comes less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump finished his own state visit to China, where he also met Xi to discuss trade and the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin’s trip, planned for May 19-20, had been scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship.

It said that the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as “key international and regional issues” and economic cooperation.

Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, which left Moscow shunned on the global stage and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade due to Western sanctions.

When Putin visited China in September 2025, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”
The Russian leader is also scheduled to visit China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the city of Shenzhen in November.

Continued strikes and returned remains

Ukraine repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers on Saturday following an earlier exchange with Moscow involving prisoners of war.

Russia returned 528 bodies that “according to the Russian side, may belong to Ukrainian servicemen,” Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement.

Experts will now “take all necessary measures aimed at identifying the deceased who have been repatriated,” it said.

It comes after Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was the first phase of a planned swap of 1,000 POWs from each side. Some of the Ukrainians had been held by Russia since 2022 and fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, he added.

Quote:President Trump doubled down on his savage new nickname for Democrats — and revealed which member of Congress inspired it.

“I came up with a new name. I don’t know if I should,” Trump told Fox News anchor Sean Hannity late Thursday in an interview about his historic meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

“Dumocrats — because they’re dumb,” Trump said, explaining that his version gets rid of the “b.”

The president said he first came up with the nickname while discussing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — whom he called a “very-low IQ individual.”

“So he’s a dumb guy, he’s a Democrat, and I said, ‘Oh, what a great name for this!’” he said.

Trump last week accused Jeffries of inciting the most recent assassination attempt against him at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and demanded he be charged.

“This lunatic, Hakeem ‘Low IQ’ Jeffries, should be charged with INCITING VIOLENCE!” Trump raged on Truth Social.

Trump first unleashed the new tag earlier this week in the Oval Office.

The president joked that Democrats would support a border wall if he suddenly opposed it — prompting Dr. Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to break into laughter.

Quote:The Minnesota “mastermind” of the state’s massive COVID meal fraud claims “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar was in on the $250 million scam.

Aimee Bock, founder of nonprofit Feeding Our Future, was convicted in March 2025 of conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud for allegedly helping restaurant owners file fake or inflated claims during the pandemic to steal millions in child nutrition funds from the government.

She spoke to The Post by video call this week from Sherburne County Jail, where she is awaiting sentencing.
“I struggle to believe that she wouldn’t have known,” Bock said of Omar.

Dozens of members of Minnesota’s Somali community have been convicted of fraudulently billing the state’s Department of Education for millions of meals they claimed they served to low-income children during the COVID outbreak — while pocketing much of the money.

Bock has consistently denied knowingly participating in the fraud and insisted she tried to warn state officials. Her group would review the reimbursement paperwork sent by the local restaurants supposed to provide meals, send them out and then distribute the federal funds to them.

“The notion that I’m personally responsible for all of it . . . is so frustrating. I’m the only white person out of 80 or 90 individuals [charged in the fraud]. I’m the only one that doesn’t speak the language,” she added.

Omar was instrumental in loosening the laws that set the stage for the scheme — first by introducing the MEALS Act to Congress in March 2020, which allowed the US Department of Agriculture to issue waivers of school-meal requirements during the pandemic.

The waivers dramatically eased oversight of the federal programs by allowing restaurants to participate without any of the usual site inspections.

Omar would personally step in whenever those waivers ran out, allowing the rampant fraud to continue, Bock alleged.

“There had been a couple times early on that there were some gaps – a waiver would be set to expire on maybe the 15th of a month, and then the renewal didn’t kick in until the 1st,” Bock claimed. “Because of course this was supposed to be a short-term thing . . . we were supposed to be home for two weeks.”

Quote:Gov.  Hochul pushed the Long Island Rail Road strike largely to throw shade on Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and pick up votes from the Republican gubernatorial front-runner on his home turf, the head of a top transit union told The Post.

“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that she’s doing this right in his backyard,” said John Samuelsen, the International President of the Transport Workers Union.

“She believes that she can get a leg up in Nassau and Suffolk County by triggering a strike and then allowing the blame to be cast on Blakeman and the Republicans.”

Samuelsen – whose union, Local 100, represents 40,000 subway and bus workers also in contract talks – blames Hochul and her cronies at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the strike by five LIRR unions.

He also said her inability to stop the strike could affect not only her re-election campaign but also other races for Dems this November.

“I believe that if the Democrats don’t start calling Kathy Hochul out on her behavior and her anti-trade-union ethos, they may very well pay the price,” said Samuelsen, whose union has not endorsed any candidate for governor.

The labor leader also ripped the Hochul-controlled MTA for refusing to follow the recommendations of two federal panels that would have prevented a strike and for tapping Gary Dellaverson as the MTA’s chief negotiator in the labor talks.

Dellaverson served as the MTA’s chief labor negotiator in 2005 during highly contentious contract disputes with TWU Local 100 that led to an illegal walkout that paralyzed NYC’s subways and buses for three days during the December holiday season.

Quote:The wife of jailed drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán continues to rehabilitate her image as her husband rots in a notorious maximum-security prison in Colorado.

Emma Coronel Aispuro, 36, wowed her social media followers earlier this week when she recorded a video of her latest gym session in California, executing a set of pull ups to perfection.

The former beauty queen, who married Guzmán at the age of 18, uploaded the workout on her Instagram Stories feed on Monday.

Delighted users urged her on, commenting “hit the gym hard” and “there you go, Emma.”

“I love you, Emma,” another said.

Surprisingly, Coronel Aispuro’s workout video — which is no longer visible on her Instagram account — was released just hours after US District Judge Brian Cogan nixed Guzmán’s almost daily — and barely legible — handwritten letters begging for a new trial and extradition to Mexico.

In the latest letter dated April 28, Guzmán claimed that “the [Mexican] government was responsible for all the violence crimes: I did not harm to no one.”

He penned another letter on April 24 and argued for his release from the prison in Florence where he is serving a life sentence — claiming “the 1st amendment to the 8th amendment was violated” by the federal court in Brooklyn.

The drug kingpin wrote the day before: “My name is Joaquin Guzman that are fighting for extradition release to Mexico.”

Quote:In a landmark German case targeting chocolate "shrinkflation", a court has found that the manufacturer of Milka's classic Alpine Milk bar cheated consumers and broke competition law.

Cutting back on the amount of chocolate while having the same kind of wrapper meant that customers were being misled, Bremen regional court ruled.

The three-week court case was brought by Hamburg's consumer protection office (VZHH), which accused manufacturer Mondelēz of deceiving consumers by cutting the weight of the "Alpenmilch" bar from 100g to 90g.

Reacting to the ruling Mondelēz told the BBC it was "taking the decision of the court seriously" and would "look at it in detail now".

Manufacturers have often resorted to shrinkflation because of rising costs, reducing the size or content of a product in an attempt to maintain the same price. The practice transcends borders. In the UK, consumer group Which? has called it a "sneaky" tactic.

According to Which? chocolate prices have increased due to the global rise in the cost of cocoa after poor harvests in West Africa.

Mondelēz argued that it had informed German consumers about the change on its website and social media channels, and pointed to the rising costs in its supply chains: "As a consequence in the last years we decided to adjust the weight of several Milka-bars."

Last year, German consumers were not satisfied with the company's explanation and voted the Milka Alpenmilch bar "rip-off packaging of the year 2025".

Although the bar's weight had been reduced, there was no noticeable change in its purple wrapping. The new bar was a millimetre thinner, and the price went up from €1.49 (£1.30) to €1.99 (£1.70) at the beginning of 2025.

Mondelēz had maintained that the lower weight was clearly visible on its packaging and denied the allegations made by the Hamburg consumer group. The company's lawyer argued in court that chocolate bars in the past had a fluctuating weight between 81-100g depending on the product.

Quote:British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a revolt within his own party — following political turmoil over his falling popularity that could result in the UK seeing its fifth leader in just seven years.

Starmer, 63, whose Labor Party suffered major losses in last week’s local and regional elections, has seen his allies turn against him and call for his resignation to allow a new successor to rescue the ailing party.

So far, however, no successor is openly challenging him — and so he has refused calls to resign.

Should Starmer succumb to the opposition from ally and foe alike, his name would go on a growing list of unpopular PMs who were quickly ousted from leadership of the world’s fifth largest economy.

Former PM David Cameron, who served from 2010 to 2016, is so far the only leader in the last decade who has served longer than three years.

While the prime minister appeared to stave off immediate challenges during a tense cabinet meeting on Tuesday, his position remained rocky as several of his ministers resigned — and urged Starmer to do the same to save the Labor Party.

“It is clear from recent days that the public across the UK has now irretrievably lost confidence in you as prime minister,” Zubir Ahmed, the latest of four junior government ministers to leave on Tuesday, wrote in his resignation letter to Starmer.

A defiant Starmer, who has repeatedly rejected calls for his resignation, said he would not quit on Tuesday and slammed lawmakers for over the latest challenge against him.

“The past 48 hours have been destabilizing for government, and that has a real economic cost for our country and for families,” his office said in a statement.

Quote:A TV producer left disabled for life when bungling paramedics ‘pressed the wrong button’ on a defibrillator during a cardiac arrest has received an undisclosed payout after suing the NHS.

Meg Fozzard has been left with permanent disabilities as a result of her brain being starved of oxygen after ambulance crews delayed a life‑saving electric shock by EIGHT crucial minutes because they failed to use a defibrillator properly.

Meg — just 26 at the time — had collapsed at her home in Walworth, South London, struggling to breathe and fitting as she went into cardiac arrest in April 2019.

Her terrified partner, Xander Font Freide, dialed 999 and was told to start CPR immediately.

But when ambulance crews finally arrived – after struggling to find the flat – they didn’t believe Meg was in cardiac arrest, despite warnings from the emergency call handler minutes earlier.

A defibrillator showed Meg had a deadly heart rhythm that needed an instant shock.

But because paramedics had attached the wrong equipment – monitoring leads instead of defibrillation pads – the device failed to alert them that a shock was needed.

Even then, crews pressed the wrong button on the machine, known as a LifePak, delaying its emergency mode for another four minutes.

There was an eight-minute delay before Meg was given an electric shock to her heart, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust has since admitted.

Quote:A group of protesters in London despicably called for a controversial rightwing figure to be killed, “like Charlie Kirk,” disturbing video shows.

The crowd was filmed chanting about Tommy Robinson, who organized a massive “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London Saturday which saw tens of thousands of demonstrators turn out.

“Shoot him in the neck like Charlie Kirk!” they can be heard chanting in the clip.

The group spewing the vile message was waving Palestinian flags, the video showed.

The heinous incident happened as two separate rallies consumed the streets of London.

In one organized by Robinson, a sea of flag-waving Brits marched down Kingsway before crossing London Bridge and rallying in Parliament Square with many protesters wearing “Make England Great Again” hats.

The estimated 50,000 protesters draped themselves in British flags — including the Union Jack and St. George’s Cross, alongside Scottish and Welsh flags.

SHOCKING EXCL: “Shoot him in the neck like Charlie Kirk” far-left protesters call for Tommy Robinson to be “hung like Mussolini”.

I don’t think incitement to violence on EITHER side is right. Calling for anyone’s death is too far. pic.twitter.com/fq3OErVKtE

— Samara Gill (@SamaramGill) May 16, 2026
A pro-Palestinian march also drew thousands for the commemoration of Nakba Day, memorializing the Palestinians who fled from their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.

London Metropolitan Police arrested 31 people across the two rallies and had a massive force of 4,000 officers to control the crowds, according to SkyNews.

Robinson, an anti-Islam activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, slammed the Palestinian rally and UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Quote:The US government is seeking the death penalty for the suspect charged with killing two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC last year.

US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday filed a notice of intent to seek capital punishment for three out of 13 total charges against 31-year-old Elias Rodriguez.

Prosecutors allege Rodriguez opened fire on the couple - Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26 - outside the Capital Jewish Museum before shouting "Free Palestine" during his arrest in May 2025.

President Donald Trump has embraced the federal death penalty after his predecessor Joe Biden limited its use. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty.

Pirro's office will seek death if Rodriguez is found guilty of the charges of murder of a foreign official, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and causing death through the use of a firearm.

The suspect has also been charged with other offences including hate crimes and acts of terrorism.

"My office will not rest in our efforts to hold Elias Rodriguez accountable for this horrific, and targeted act of terror against Yaron Lischinsky, Sarah Milgrim and our Jewish community," Pirro said earlier this year.

Prosecutors allege that ahead of the shooting, Rodriguez expressed support for violence against Israelis, including in social media posts where he allegedly wrote "Death to Israel".

Prosecutors have said he travelled from Chicago to Washington with a handgun after researching an upcoming networking event for young Jewish professionals at the museum.

Lischinsky and Milgrim were leaving when the suspect fired 20 shots, killing them both, prosecutors allege. They were in a relationship and Lischinsky had bought an engagement ring, planning to propose to Milgrim on an upcoming trip to Israel, Israel's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, has previously said.

After the shooting, Rodriguez then allegedly entered the museum, displayed a red keffiyeh, and said: "I did it for Palestine. I did it for Gaza."

Quote:A US official has struck down security funding allotted for President Trump's White House ballroom project from a proposed spending package, in a win for Democrats.

The Senate rule-keeper ruled against the use of taxpayer funds in the bill on Saturday, after Democrats argued that security money doesn't belong in it.

Trump has said private donors will fund the $400mn ballroom as Republicans have sought to use a portion of $1bn in taxpayer funds for Secret Service security upgrades.

Republicans are seeking the funds to bolster presidential safety following a shooting at a gala Trump attended in April at a hotel. The administration also tried to fast-track the project after the incident.

Republicans, who hold the majority in the Senate, have used complex budget rules - known as the budget reconciliation process - to try to pass bills without Democratic support.

Their latest sprawling package to fund immigration agencies under the Department of Homeland Security also includes a $1bn provision for security funds dedicated to the overhaul of the East Wing of the White House, which includes Trump's plans for the ballroom.

Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who has acted as a referee in the upper chamber of US Congress since 2012, deemed the provision out of order on Saturday, Democrats said.

She determined that the provision funds activities beyond the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee and does not comply with a procedure that prevents extraneous non-budgetary provisions, known as the Byrd rule.

Emphasis is mine.

Quote:A judge has declared a mistrial in the rape case against Harvey Weinstein, after the jury in New York said it was deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict.

It marks the third time a New York jury has considered the case against the 74-year-old disgraced film mogul, who remains jailed on other charges.

The month-long trial was centred around whether Weinstein raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann more than a decade ago. He was initially convicted, but the verdict was overturned. A judge declared a mistrial after a second trial last year.

Dozens of women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including rape, since October 2017. He has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that prosecutors are currently determining whether to try again in court.

"While we are disappointed that the proceedings ended with a mistrial, we deeply respect the jury system and sincerely thank all of the jurors for their time and dedication," he said.

He thanked Mann for bringing her allegation against Weinstein, adding: "We will consider our next steps in consultation with Ms Mann, and in consideration of Harvey Weinstein's pending sentencing" in a separate sexual assault case.

"As always, we will continue to prosecute crimes of sexual violence – no matter who the defendant is – in a survivor-centered manner that uplifts their voices in the pursuit of justice."

Lawyers for Weinstein said the outcome shows "how deeply public perception and prejudice surrounding Harvey Weinstein have become embedded in society".

"For some people, regardless of the evidence presented, saying 'not guilty' has become emotionally or socially impossible," they argued.

"The Manhattan District Attorney's Office should stop retrying the same case and focus its time and resources on the actual violent crime, chaos, and public safety issues impacting New Yorkers every day," the statement from his lawyers continued.

Quote:The US justice department is reportedly preparing to indict aging Cuban leader Raúl Castro in the coming days over the shooting down of two aircraft three decades ago.

The reported charges, which would need to be approved by a US grand jury, emerged as the director of the CIA travelled to Cuba to meet officials in Havana.

Castro, 94, stepped down as Cuban Communist Party leader in 2021, ending his family's more than half a century in power. He led the country for 15 years, stepping in after his brother, Fidel, resigned.

The potential indictment is the latest move in a US pressure campaign that has included an oil blockade and widespread sanctions.

The charges are said to centre on the 1996 downing of two planes operated by the US activist-humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.

Unnamed US Department of Justice (DoJ) officials told US media the indictment could come as soon as next Wednesday.

Asked on Friday about the reported indictment plan, President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One: "I'll let DoJ comment on it."

He added: "But [Cubans] need help, as you know. And you talk about a declining country. They are really a nation, a country in decline."

Trump has issued an oil blockade against Cuba, which has exacerbated fuel shortages. This week the island's energy minister acknowledged that Cuba has, in essence, run out of fuel oil.

Potential charges against Raúl Castro were unclear, but officials said the investigation centred on an attack on two small planes, which happened on 24 February 1996 while Fidel was president and Raúl was armed forces minister.

Four people aboard were killed in the incident.

Quote:Police officers responsible for protecting the Royal Family at Windsor Castle are being investigated over allegations they fell asleep on duty and left their posts unattended.

The Metropolitan Police said its directorate of professional standards (DPS) had launched an "urgent investigation" into a number of officers on protective duties at the castle in Berkshire.

The allegations were first reported by The Sun and involve officers from the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection team.

The Met said: "The alleged behaviour falls below the high standards expected of officers, particularly in frontline protective roles."

The DPS will assess whether those under investigation should be placed on restricted duties, with a decision expected "before the end of next week".

The force said the Independent Office for Police Conduct had been informed and concluded the matter would be investigated locally by the Met.

Windsor Castle is one of the official residences of King Charles III and is regularly used by senior members of the Royal Family for private and state occasions.

Officers from the Met's Royalty and Specialist Protection team are responsible for guarding royal residences and protecting members of the Royal Family.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Quote:US President Donald Trump has cautioned Taiwan against formally declaring independence from China.

"I'm not looking to have somebody go independent," the US president told Fox News on Friday, at the end of his two-day summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has previously stated that Taiwan does not need to declare formal independence because it already sees itself as a sovereign nation.

The US has long supported Taiwan, including being bound by law to provide it with a means of self-defence, but has frequently had to square this alliance with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.

Trump earlier said he had "made no commitment either way" about the self-governing island - which China claims as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking by force.

Washington's established position is that it does not support Taiwanese independence, with continued ties with Beijing being contingent on its acceptance that there is only one Chinese government.

Beijing has been vocal in its dislike of Taiwan's president, who it has previously described as a "troublemaker" and a "destroyer of cross-strait peace".

Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation - though most are in favour of maintaining the status quo in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

Quote:Taiwan has insisted it is a sovereign, independent nation, after US President Donald Trump cautioned it against formally declaring independence from China.

Trump's remarks came after a two-day summit in Beijing, after which he said he had "made no commitment either way" about the self-governing island - which China claims as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking by force.

After talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump also said he would soon decide whether to approve an $11bn ($8bn) package of weapons to be sold to Taiwan.

The US administration is bound by law to provide Taiwan with a means of self-defence, but has frequently had to square this alliance with maintaining a diplomatic relationship with China.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has previously stated that Taiwan does not need to declare formal independence because it already sees itself as a sovereign nation.

On Saturday, presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said it was "self-evident" that Taiwan was "a sovereign, independent democratic country".

She added, however, that Taiwan was committed to maintaining the status quo with China - in which Taiwan neither declares independence from China nor unites with it.

Many Taiwanese consider themselves to be part of a separate nation, though most are in favour of maintaining their current status.

Quote:A Hamas official has confirmed to the BBC that Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, commander of the group's armed wing, was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that Haddad had been "responsible for the murder, kidnapping and injury of thousands of Israeli civilians and IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers".

Israel described him as "one of the architects of the October 7 massacre".

The strike is the latest launched by Israel on Gaza despite a ceasefire with Hamas.

Three eyewitnesses told the BBC that a residential building known as Al-Mu'taz was struck by three missiles launched simultaneously from two separate directions, before a fleeing car was hit.

The air strike, targeting the apartment block in the centre of Gaza City, sparked a large fire.

Rescue teams rushed to the scene but faced significant difficulties evacuating the wounded, witnesses said.

One eyewitness told the BBC that a body and several injured people had been removed from the building.

A second air strike, targeting a car seen leaving the scene, killed three people, according to eyewitnesses and a local source.

Sources said the vehicle may have been carrying Haddad after he had been seriously injured in the initial strike.

Eyewitnesses and a local source said armed members of Hamas dressed in civilian clothing evacuated a severely wounded person through a side entrance and placed him in a vehicle.

Witnesses said the car was hit around 1.5km (0.9 miles) from the apartment block.

A senior Israeli security official said preliminary information indicated that Haddad had been successfully targeted.

Quote:The United Arab Emirates said a drone strike had triggered a fire near its nuclear power station on Sunday, calling the incident a "dangerous escalation".

Officials are investigating the source of the strike. The country's defence ministry said three drones had entered the UAE from the "western border direction".

While two were intercepted, the third drone struck an electrical generator "outside the inner perimeter" of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi, sparking a fire.

No injuries were reported and there was no impact on radiological safety levels, local authorities said.

The UAE's foreign ministry called the strike an "unacceptable act of aggression" and said it had the right to respond to any hostilities.

It added that "the targeting of peaceful nuclear energy facilities is a flagrant violation of international law, the UN charter, and the principles of humanitarian law".

The country's defence ministry meanwhile said it would "firmly confront any attempts to undermine the country's security".

Officials have not said from where the drone was launched. The UAE has previously accused Iran of being behind attacks on its energy and economic infrastructure since war broke out in the region in February.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office said the fire "broke out in an electric generator" and confirmed precautionary measures had been taken at the plant, which is operating as normal.

The UN's nuclear watchdog said it was monitoring the situation closely and that its director general Rafael Grossi expressed "grave concern" about the incident.

Grossi said "military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable", according to a statement shared by the International Atomic Energy Agency on X, and called for "maximum military restraint".

Also on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed three drones which had entered its airspace from Iraq.