Minimalist News

Giant Data Center Developer Fermi Crashes 22% After CEO, CFO Abruptly Quit Last November, we warned that storms clouds were gathering over the torrid, and in some cases chaotic, rollout of US data centers, after Fermi's massive 11 GW energy and data center project in Texas, called Project Matador, which the company has envisioned to be the world's largest AI data center and energy campus in the Texas Panhandle, near Amarillo, was struggling to close the deal with its first major data center tenant (and since Fermi is set up as REIT that allocates income from tenants to shareholders, the delay may

Anti-ICE Protestors Face Trial After Judge Denies Dismissal Of Federal Charges Authored by  Bryan Hyde via American Greatness, Three defendants who took part in an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest last year are headed to federal trial on May 18 after a judge denied their motions to dismiss the case. The defendants were part of a June 2025 protest near an ICE facility in Spokane, Washington, where they allegedly tried to block and damage law enforcement vehicles in response to the detainment of two Venezuelan men. The protest against the Trump administration’s immigration agenda coincided with demonstrations in Seattle, Portland, and other major

Chicago Man Sentenced To 25 Years For Conspiring With ISIS Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times, Ashraf Al Safoo from Chicago has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, which involved recruiting members into the terror group and encouraging attacks on its enemies. Al Safoo, 41, was a leader of online organization Khattab Media Foundation, which pledged allegiance to ISIS, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in an April 17 press release. The foundation created and spread threats and ISIS propaganda online, with Al Safoo and other members posting pro-ISIS articles, videos,

Populism Is Not Dead Yet: Bulgaria's Pro-Russia Ex-President Radev Wins In Landslide Victory Despite Orban's loss in Hungary earlier this month, Europe's populist right is not dead by a longshot. Official results released Monday show former President Rumen Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria coalition capturing roughly 44.6-44.7% of the vote in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections, delivering an absolute majority of approximately 130-135 seats in the 240-seat parliament. It marks the first time since 1997 that a single political force in Bulgaria will be able to govern without coalition horse-trading. Radev, who stepped down from the presidency in January to lead the new party, wasted

FBI Director Kash Patel Files $250 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against The Atlantic, Reporter FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit Monday against The Atlantic magazine and its national-security reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, escalating a high-profile clash over a Friday article that alleged Patel's "erratic behavior,” excessive drinking, and unexplained absences have alarmed colleagues and raised national-security concerns. FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025. Daniel Heuer/AFP In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Patel accuses the publication and Fitzpatrick of publishing the story "with

'Highly Unlikely' US Will Extend Iran Ceasefire, 'Lots Of Bombs Will Go Off' If No Deal: Trump SUMMARY * Trump says 'highly unlikely' will extend ceasefire if deal not signed in Pakistan. * President Pezeshkian cites "historical distrust" and states on X: "they seek Iran's surrender. Iranians do not submit to force." * Vance intends to depart Tuesday to Pakistan, though still unclear whether Iranians will join - Pakistanis say yes, but timeline is fluid. Trump warns "nobody's playing games" & "lots of bombs will go off" if no deal (PBS) * Xi to Saudi crown prince important phone call: "the first

Aluminum Giant Alcoa To Sell Dormant Smelter To Bitcoin-Miner NYDIG: Report Authored by Amin Haqshanas via CoinTelegraph.com, US aluminium giant Alcoa is reportedly nearing a deal to offload its long-idle Massena East smelter in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). The company is in advanced discussions and expects the transaction to close “in the middle part of this year,” CEO Bill Oplinger told Bloomberg on Friday. The site, located along the St. Lawrence River, has been inactive since 2014 after Alcoa shut it down amid rising energy costs and global competition. Built for 24/7 heavy industrial operations, aluminum smelters

DoJ Opens Criminal Probe Into Meatpacking Cartel As Food Stocks Slide Shares of Tyson Foods and Smithfield Foods fell in late-morning trading in New York after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department's antitrust division has opened a criminal probe into major meatpackers. The report follows President Trump's push for an investigation into meatpackers as supermarket beef prices remain near record highs. Criminal antitrust cases are typically brought for alleged price-fixing, collusion, or bid-rigging. While the DoJ previously disclosed an investigation into beef companies after Trump called for action, it had not provided details on whether it was criminal. In early November,

Tomorrow's Testimony: Kevin Warsh To Walk Tightrope On Rates, Inflation And Fed Independence President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday at 10AM ET in what is shaping up to be one of the most politically charged confirmation hearings in the central bank’s modern history. Warsh, a former Fed governor who has spent years criticizing the institution as directionless and in need of “regime change," now has the chance to outline his vision for remaking the world’s most powerful central bank. But he faces a delicate balancing act: signaling loyalty

Schrodinger's Strait, Schrodinger's Market By Benjamin Picton, Senior Market Strategist at Rabobank Erwin Schrodinger famously proposed a thought experiment to illustrate the apparent absurdity of quantum mechanics when applied to the macroscopic world. In the theoretical experiment, Schrodinger’s eponymous cat, contained in a box with a radioactive atom, a Geiger counter and a vial of poison, exists in a state of superposition whereby it is simultaneously both alive and dead until the box is opened. And so it is with the Strait of Hormuz, which exists in a state of both openness and closedness until a ship actually attempts the transit. On Friday Iranian

Pentagon Releases Video Of Marines Landing On Iranian Ship By Monday morning US Central Command had released fuller video showing the dramatic night vision footage of Sunday's capture of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, after it refused to follow US orders to withdraw from its planned passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon soon after the interdiction and boarding released a very brief, limited clip of a US warship firing on the vessel from afar - or also what might have been a warning shot. Later it released short footage of the actual Marine boarding, which occurred in the dead of night: The

Saylor's Strategy Holdings Top 800,000 Bitcoin After 3rd Biggest Purchase In History Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, has blasted past 800,000 BTC in total holdings after announcing its latest purchases. Strategy acquired 34,164 Bitcoin for $2.54 billion between April 13 and 19, according to an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. As Helen Partz reports for CoinTelegraph.com, the buy ranks as Strategy’s third-largest Bitcoin acquisition on record by coin count, behind purchases of 55,500 BTC and 51,780 BTC in November 2024. Holding around 780,897 BTC after a $1 billion purchase just a week ago, the company now holds 815,061 BTC, purchased

Key Events This Week: Warsh Nomination Hearing, Retail Sales, Fed Blackout, Earnings As the war in Iran enters its 8th week, Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid says that recent developments can be framed in two ways: either five steps forward towards peace and three back (seems more apt than three and two), or as evidence that the two sides remain far enough apart that a lasting deal will be extremely hard to achieve and markets have become far too optimistic. Reid leans more towards the former, but the comparison with recent history is uncomfortable. Remember the 10%+ S&P 500 rally in the early

"Critical Inflection Point" Reached As USA Rare Earth Expands With $2.8 Billion Serra Verde Buyout USA Rare Earth Inc. is acquiring Brazil’s Serra Verde Group in a roughly $2.8 billion cash-and-stock deal, part of a broader push by the U.S. and its allies to secure independent supplies of critical minerals, according to CNBC and Bloomberg.  The agreement includes $300 million in cash and a large share issuance, with the transaction expected to close in the third quarter. The deal comes amid rising concern over China’s dominance in rare earths—a group of 17 elements essential for modern technologies ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles

AST SpaceMobile Craters After Blue Origin Rocket Fails To Place Satellite In Correct Orbit Shares of AST SpaceMobile plunged the most since February after Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket failed to place the company's BlueBird 7 satellite into its intended orbit during Sunday morning's launch. Shortly after the successful launch of New Glenn from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Sunday, Blue Origin said the rocket's payload, the BlueBird 7 satellite, was placed into an "off-nominal orbit." > pic.twitter.com/BMAUIwF5jk > > — Dave Limp (@davill) April 19, 2026 In other words, "off-nominal orbit" means that the BlueBird 7 satellite is not at the correct

3 LA County Residents Charged In Luxury Car Insurance Scam Involving Bear Suit Authored by Dylan Morgan via The Epoch Times, Three Los Angeles County residents were charged on April 16 with insurance fraud involving a bear suit and luxury vehicles. A fourth awaits trial. The California Department of Insurance said the defendants used a person in a bear suit to stage fake attacks on their luxury vehicles, then submitted fraudulent claims for payouts to insurance companies that totaled around $142,000. “What may have looked unbelievable turned out to be exactly that—and now those responsible are being held accountable,” Insurance Department Commissioner Ricardo Lara said. “My

Futures Slide As Oil Jumps On Ceasefire Setbacks, Nasdaq In Danger Of Ending 13-Day Streak Futures are lower, but well off session lows,after a weekend of chaos in the Strait of Hormuz cast doubt over US-Iran peace talks ahead of Tuesday’s ceasefire expiration. On Saturday, Iran said the Strait will be closed until the US blockade is lifted, with ships reporting attacks. The US then fired and seized an Iranian-flagged ship on Sunday. Both headlines point to a re-escalation, as Iran military has now vowed to retaliate. It remains unclear whether the peace talks will continue ahead of the April 22nd

UK PM Starmer Faces "Judgment Day" Over Epstein Pal Mandelson's Appointment UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing for a showdown with the senior official he fired over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, as calls for the prime minister to resign grow. The controversy stems from Starmer's decision to appoint veteran Labour politician Peter Mandelson (Lord Mandelson) as Britain's ambassador to the United States in late 2024/early 2025, despite Mandelson's well-known past associations with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal has escalated dramatically in recent days due to revelations about security vetting failures, leading to intense political pressure

Xi Urges Immediate Opening Of Hormuz Strait For First Time, In Call With Saudi Crown Prince China's President Xi Jinping on Monday demanded the uninterrupted passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, state news agency Xinhua reports. He urged the normalization of shipping traffic after about 50 days of disruption which obviously and significantly impacts Chinese oil imports. "Normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz should be maintained, this is in the shared interests of regional countries and the international community," Xi said, in the statement also carried by

Psychedelic Stocks Soar After Trump Order; RBC Says Commercialization Path Could Accelerate Psychedelic drug stocks soared in premarket trading in New York after President Trump signed an executive order aimed at accelerating research and expanding access to therapies used for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "The executive order I'm signing, we're actually signing the executive order today, is really a moment," Trump said at the signing event. "These treatments are currently in the advanced stages of clinical trials to ensure that they're both safe and effective for the American patients." > President Trump signed an executive order directing the FDA to expedite review of

Prime minister details efforts to attract investment and sign trade deals with other countries in 10-minute video address Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected, the country’s prime minister has warned In a 10-minute video address, Mark Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen the Canadian economy by attracting new investments and signing trade deals with other countries. Continue reading...

Director of state investigation agency among those killed in Chihuahua in operation to destroy clandestine drug labs Two United States officials and another two Mexican officials assigned to combat drug cartel operations died in a car accident in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua on Sunday, a US embassy spokesperson said. The Mexican officials were the director of the state’s investigation agency and an officer, state authorities said, adding that they were on an operation to destroy clandestine laboratories in the municipality of Morelos. Continue reading...

Jeremy Hansen praised for speaking French in space after Air Canada chief’s linguistic snub exposed tensions and drew rebuke from PM Few people foresaw humanity’s quest for the moon as accurately as the 19th-century French author Jules Verne, whose two works –From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon – anticipated many of the features of modern lunar exploration. But Verne’s language had never been spoken in deep space until the Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen uttered four words during Nasa’s recent Artemis II mission. Continue reading...

Exiled leader to revive push for change amid US backing of Delcy Rodríguez and delays to democratic transition Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, will seek to revive her push for political change with a rally in Madrid on Saturday, having found herself sidelined by Donald Trump after the abduction of the president Nicolás Maduro. “Venezuela will be free,” the Nobel peace prize winner insisted in an interview on the eve of this weekend’s demonstration in the Puerta del Sol square, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of protesters. Continue reading...

Separately, Spirit Airlines reportedly seeks emergency US government funds as Iran war keeps aviation fuel costs high * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Air Canada has announced a temporary suspension of flights from Toronto and Montreal to New York’s John F Kennedy airport, citing rising fuel prices. The move comes amid growing concerns that airlines worldwide may scale back services as aviation fuel costs climb in the wake of the US and Israel’s ongoing war with Iran, which entered a fragile ceasefire earlier in April. Although Iran announced on Friday that the

People in affected areas are still urged to evacuate after quake registering 7.7 magnitude Australian officials in Japan are urgently following up on the tsunami warning off the northeastern coast of the island of Honshu. The Australian government said: We stand ready to provide consular assistance. Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas). Continue reading...

Blaze struck a ‘water village’ that is home to some of Malaysia’s poorest residents A huge fire destroyed about 1,000 makeshift homes, many of them built on stilts over water, and displaced thousands of people in a coastal village in Malaysia’s Sabah state on Sunday, authorities said. The blaze broke out early on Sunday morning in a “water village” in Sandakan district in Sabah’s northeast, where some of Malaysia’s poorest residents, including indigenous and stateless communities, live in closely packed, wooden stilt houses. Continue reading...

* Winning robot runs faster time than Jacob Kiplimo’s world record * More than 100 robots run in parallel tracks to avoid collisions with humans They can already carry the shopping, cook and clean. Now they can run and win half marathons. In perhaps the most unusual spectacle ever seen at the end of the 13.1-mile (21.1km) race, robots flew over the finish line ahead of the humans for the first time in Beijing on Sunday. And there wasn’t a bead of sweat in sight. Continue reading...

Growing numbers in the capital Honiara are playing the street card game Pass for a chance of a big payout, while risking big losses As the school day ends in Honiara, *Irene, a 43-year-old teacher in a floral dress with a yellow daisy in her bun, steps on to a minibus. After 10 minutes, Irene gets off the bus, walks down an alley, and enters a damp, smoky shelter. Plastic tables fill the space and playing cards are scattered on the floor. Irene has stopped by a hidden gambling table in a western suburb of Honiara to play Pass, a street card

Nine-day search for two-year-old Neukgu gripped nation and sparked safety concerns for animal and public The internet in South Korea erupted in celebration as a two-year-old wolf that escaped from a zoo was captured safely after a nine-day search that had gripped the nation and made the animal a national celebrity. The male wolf, named Neukgu, burrowed out of his enclosure at the O-World zoo in Daejeon on 8 April. Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and also worried he might be killed during capture, something that happened to a puma that escaped from the same

The 82-year-old was accused of abusing girls in the 1960s but was acquitted in Perth despite judge finding the alleged victim was probably telling the truth * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The former champion footballer Barry Cable has been acquitted of a slew of historical child sexual abuse charges despite a judge finding the alleged victim was likely telling the truth. The 82-year-old faced a judge-only criminal trial over allegations he abused a girl aged about eight or nine at his family home in the late 1960s. Continue reading...

Review recommends better use of NDIS data to identify repeat rorters and a requirement for providers to register with the government * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Organised crime gangs are using the national disability insurance scheme to launder money, earn income and hide assets, law enforcement officials have warned parliament, seriously undermining probity in the $50bn program. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has told a review into NDIS integrity that criminals are paying cash kickbacks to participants and their families, and sometimes resorting to intimidation and threats of physical violence towards vulnerable people to

Vinegar, Tim Tams and baby rice are among the products to be scrutinised in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The consumer watchdog is back in court and taking on Australia’s largest supermarket chain, alleging Woolworths deliberately misled shoppers with fake discounts. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) case against Woolworths begins in the federal court in Sydney on Tuesday, almost two months after hearings wrapped up in its very similar case against Coles. Continue reading...

River ecologist says ‘classic bureaucratic tangle’ led to government agency stopping flows to Gwydir wetlands region in March * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A leading scientist has criticised an “appalling” New South Wales government agency decision to stop water flowing to wetlands in the state’s north-west, saying it was “absolutely crazy” that researchers had to scramble to save animals buried in drying mud. Guardian Australia reported on Saturday that turtles, waterbirds, frogs and sheep had died after Water NSW abruptly stopped flows to the Gwydir wetlands region near Moree in March. Continue reading...

Greens criticise premier’s ‘extraordinary attack’ on judiciary and urge him to accept he ‘got it wrong’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales premier has doubled down on an anti-protest law struck down in the state’s highest court last week, defending the legislation introduced by his government as “rational and proportionate”. But advocates for protesters charged at demonstrations restricted under the laws have criticised Chris Minns’ comments, calling them a “extraordinary attack” on the judiciary. Continue reading...

Billionaire owner elects not to attend voluntary interview as part of investigation by French cybercrime unit Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with lawyers in Paris, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over an investigation into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok. The prosecutors told AFP that they had “taken note of the absence of the first people summoned”, without mentioning Musk’s name. The billionaire called the French authorities involved “retards” weeks earlier in a French-language post on X. Continue reading...

New Hungarian leader says he could sign a political agreement with the EU in mid-May The commission also got asked about the Italian proposals for a “wild west-style bounties” that could be paid to Italian lawyers if they successfully convince their immigrant clients to return home. Our Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida reported on the controversial proposal over the weekend: Continue reading...

Former president’s win could end years of weak coalition governments but critics say it may be bad for EU Bulgaria’s Moscow-friendly former president has won an absolute majority in parliamentary elections that could bring the country political stability after years of short-lived coalitions, but leave it walking a tightrope on EU issues. With all votes counted on Monday, the Progressive Bulgaria party of Rumen Radev, a former fighter pilot and air force chief, had 44.6% of the vote, giving it an estimated 131 of the 240 seats in the national assembly. Continue reading...

Data shows 224,000 new EVs were registered in March, with Norway leading way in terms of switching * Business live – latest updates Sales of electric cars soared 51% in continental Europe last month, amid a rise in petrol and diesel costs driven by the Iran war. Data shows that 224,000 new electric vehicles (EVs) were registered in March, and 500,000 across the first three months of the year – a 33.5% increase on a year earlier, according to analysis of national sales data in 15 countries by New AutoMotive and E-Mobility Europe, a trade body. Continue reading...

FC Basel and Polish stadium stop US rapper’s upcoming shows, after similar cancellations in France and UK over antisemitic comments Kanye West’s upcoming concerts in Poland and Switzerland have been cancelled, as a growing number of European countries have stopped or postponed the US rapper’s performances amid a furore over his past antisemitic comments. Swiss football club FC Basel, which is responsible for concerts and events that take place at its St Jakob-Park ground, told Reuters on Saturday that after reviewing a request for West to perform there in June, it decided against it. Continue reading...

Official tells Reuters it is ‘positively reviewing’ involvement in negotiations after earlier saying it had no plans for a new round of talks The US has just released some more footage of the encounter with the Iranian flagged vessel, the M/V Touska. In a post on X, US Central Command said US Marines had departed the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli by helicopter and rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel. Continue reading...

US vice-president to travel to Islamabad with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as deadline for current ceasefire looms * Pakistan seeks to raise its global standing in push for Middle East peace * Middle East crisis – live updates JD Vance is expected to fly to Islamabad at the head of a US diplomatic delegation on Tuesday if Iran agrees to further talks in the Pakistani capital as the deadline for the current ceasefire looms. The US vice-president will travel with Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law – though Iran’s president warned there remained a “deep

Netanyahu says ‘harsh disciplinary action’ will be taken after IDF confirms sledgehammer photo is authentic * Middle East crisis – live updates The Israeli military is conducting a criminal investigation after a soldier was photographed striking a Catholic statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon. Israel’s military officials said they had determined that an image circulating on social media showing the incident was authentic. The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off a cross. Continue reading...

Islamabad has seized chance to act as mediator in Iran war and hopes to reap diplomatic and economic benefits * Middle East crisis – live updates As Pakistan works frantically to narrow differences between Iran and the US in its newfound role as global peacemaker, it is also seeking to recast its diplomatic standing and attract business. Pakistani officials, mediating between an unpredictable US president and hardliners in Tehran, were on Monday trying to coax both sides to put the conditions in place for a second round of talks in Islamabad this week, including easing the standoff in the strait of Hormuz.

After Guardian reports about danger to V2X employees, sources say state department raised concerns with defense contractor * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The US government has called on the defense contractor V2X to evacuate its employees from Kuwait and Iraq, warning the company that they could be targeted by Iran-backed militias, four sources said. The intervention follows reporting by the Guardian that V2X employees were stationed at US military bases in Kuwait, and at Martyr Brigadier General Ali Flaih airbase and Erbil in Iraq. Employees claimed having inadequate protections, receiving limited

Activists say clamp down on period products to target insurgents is gender-based violence and violates rights Myanmar’s military regime is expanding its ban on the distribution of period products, claiming they are being used to treat wounded resistance fighters, according to local activists. The south-east Asian country has been locked in civil war since 2021, when the military usurped the democratic government and launched a violent crackdown on dissidents. Artillery fire, the burning of townships and arbitrary arrests have become common in the years since then. Continue reading...

Opposition accuses Narendra Modi government of using quotas as cover for redrawing electoral map The Indian government has failed to pass a bill to increase female representation in parliament after being accused of using the plan as a guise to redraw the country’s electoral map. It was the first time in 12 years in power that a constitutional amendment proposed by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government was not passed by parliament. Continue reading...

Trawler set off from Bangladesh and reportedly capsized due to heavy winds, rough seas and overcrowding About 250 people are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea, according to the UN’s refugee and migration agencies. The agencies said the trawler carrying more than 250 men, women and children reportedly sank due to harsh weather and overcrowding. It had departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh and was bound for Malaysia. Continue reading...

Two-time Grammy nominee was one of Bollywood’s most versatile and celebrated voices The Indian singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood cinema and whose career spanned almost eight decades, has died in Mumbai at the age of 92. Bhosle, who recorded more than 12,000 songs, became her country’s pre-eminent exponent of playback singing – recording tracks that were then lip-synced on film by actors. She also boldly embraced cabaret and western-influenced melodies to forge a distinctive musical identity. Continue reading...

In Pakistan’s capital, the army has been deployed, a public holiday has been declared and the streets are eerily empty * Middle East crisis – live updates The streets of Islamabad were on strict lockdown as Pakistan’s capital prepared to play host to historic negotiations between Iran and the US that have dangled the promise of an end to war that has devastated the Middle East. Even as the US-Iran ceasefire looked increasingly precarious, amid Israel’s continued bombardment of Lebanon and disputes over the terms of the talks, Pakistani officials insisted that the make-or-break peace negotiations would be going ahead over the

Government amendment to children’s wellbeing and schools bill to replace existing guidance with statutory ban A ban on mobile phones in schools in England is to be introduced by the government to ensure that “critical safeguarding legislation” is passed. The government will table an amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill in the House of Lords after the bill was held up by peers on opposition benches. Continue reading...

Boy died aged 13 months after ‘routine abuse’ by Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, jury hears A baby boy was “routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted” before he was killed by a secondary school teacher adopting him, a jury has heard. Jamie Varley, the teacher, 37, and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, were in the process of adopting Preston Davey. Continue reading...

Gabrielle Carrington, 29, faces charges after incident on Argyll Street in the early hours of Sunday morning A woman has been charged with attempted murder after a car hit pedestrians in central London in the early hours of Sunday. A woman in her 30s remains in a life-threatening condition and a man in his 50s suffered life-changing injuries after they were hit by a car in Argyll Street, Westminster, at approximately 4.30am on Sunday, the Metropolitan police said. A second woman in her 30s suffered minor injuries, the force added. Continue reading...

Despite his explanation and the need for political stability, the PM is still unpopular – and Olly Robbins has yet to give his side of the story Labour MPs frustrated with the lack of a clear mission from Keir Starmer’s No 10 have often urged the prime minister to be more forceful in his arguments, to prosecute his values, to find an enemy to define himself against. The prime minister has found one: Olly Robbins. Starmer prosecuted his case against the former Foreign Office chief on Monday with the vigour of his former life at the bar. Continue reading...

MPs jeered as PM said it is ‘incredible’ he was not told full story and he was wrong to appoint Mandelson as US ambassador At his press conference Nigel Farage was asked about reports saying that Keir Starmer knew about the security concerns about Peter Mandelson that led to him failing his security vetting interview. That was a reference to the Telegraph splash, which says: Senior Whitehall sources told The Telegraph that the UKSV [UK Security Vetting] findings largely restated security risks that had already been drawn to Sir Keir’s attention. One senior source with knowledge of the process said: “The reality is

FBI director’s lawyers accuse magazine of publishing ‘a sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece’ * Kash Patel sues the Atlantic over bombshell story * Sign up for the Breaking News US email My colleague Jeremy Barr has more on the lawsuit filed by Kash Patel against the Atlantic. Patel’s legal team accused the magazine and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick of publishing “a sweeping, malicious, and defamatory hit piece” on 17 April. Continue reading...

Musician has been charged after the dismembered and decomposing body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in abandoned Tesla The singer D4vd has been charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage girl whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in the artist’s apparently abandoned Tesla in September. The Los Angeles county district attorney’s office said the 21-year-old, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13. Authorities say she was 14 when she died. Continue reading...

Bets placed on Middle East conflict has led to US firm experiencing big increase in volume Polymarket, the online prediction platform that hosts bets on events such as the Iran war, is in talks to raise $400m (£296m) at a valuation of up to $15bn. The company has gained notoriety in recent months over wagers placed on the Middle East conflict, including on the timing of US-Israel strikes against Iran, and on a US-Iran ceasefire, some of which appeared to bear signs of insider trading. Continue reading...

Romantic poet’s letters to Fanny Brawne, dated between 1819 and 1820, had been stolen from a Long Island estate Eight original handwritten letters from the Romantic poet John Keats to his muse and “one passion”, Fanny Brawne, were returned to the family of John Hay “Jock” Whitney, the former US ambassador to the UK, on Monday after being stolen from Whitney’s home in the 1980s. Keats’s letters, including the first letter he ever wrote to Brawne, are dated between 1819 and 1820. Valued at approximately $2m, the 37 letters are held in a gilt morocco-bound portfolio. Brawne was Keats’s neighbor in Hampstead,

Schools say Colorado violated their rights by excluding them from state-funded program over admission policies * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The supreme court will hear from Catholic preschools that say Colorado violated their religious rights by excluding them from a state-funded program over their admission policies. The court agreed on Monday to take up the appeal from St Mary Catholic Parish, which is supported by the Republican Trump administration. Continue reading...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he appointed Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington but said he would not have done so if he had known Mandelson had failed security checks. Starmer faced a barrage of opposition calls to resign as he tried to explain why Mandelson was given the job despite failing security vetting for the UK’s most important diplomatic post. Starmer brushed aside the demands, placing...

Elon Musk did not appear on Monday for a voluntary interview with Paris prosecutors, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over a probe into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok. Prosecutors said they had “taken note of the absence of the first people summoned”, without mentioning Musk’s name. The billionaire had dubbed the French authorities “retards” weeks earlier in a French-language X post. “The presence or absence [of the people summoned] is not an obstacle to continuing...

With global attention fixed on the US and Iranian shipping blockades in the Strait of Hormuz and how many vessels have traversed the critically important waterway, a leading Chinese investment bank has been calculating the long-term gains and losses and how they could rewrite the global economic order. The United States was on the horns of a dilemma over the strait that might herald an acceleration of Washington’s strategic retreat and its increasingly transactional relationships with other...

Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev has won Bulgaria’s parliamentary election by a landslide, official results showed on Monday, crushing long-dominant political forces and possibly pushing the EU and Nato member state closer to Moscow. The performance, exceeding opinion poll forecasts, is one of the strongest results for a single party in a generation and may end, for now, the chronic instability that led to eight elections ‌in five years. Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party had 44.7 per...

The chief of China’s top economic planner has outlined strategies and priorities to safeguard economic security, as Beijing reassesses its preparedness and vulnerabilities amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israeli war on Iran. Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), warned external risks were mounting and said China had to reinforce its strategic reserves and response capabilities. “The evolution of the international situation is...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s fourth visit to Beijing in four years has once again drawn attention across Europe and the Atlantic, but perhaps less scepticism than before. In an era marked by intensifying US-China rivalry, geopolitical fragmentation and the European Union’s emphasis on “de-risking”, Spain’s sustained engagement with China is often seen as a strategic divergence from Brussels. That reading, however, underestimates both Spain’s intentions and the broader shift under way...

Pope Leo lamented during an event in Angola on Monday that many people in the world were being “exploited by authoritarians and defrauded by the rich”, the latest example of a forceful new speaking style he has adopted on his ‌four-nation Africa tour. The first US pope, who has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump with his more outspoken comments, told worshippers at a Mass in Saurimo, near the Democratic Republic of Congo border, that violence and oppression went against the Christian...

Russia said on Monday it had arrested a German woman found with a home-made bomb in her backpack in what it alleged was a Ukrainian-hatched plot to blow up a security services facility in the south. Russia has arrested dozens of people throughout the four-year war, mostly its own citizens, on allegations of working for Ukraine to carry out sabotage attacks. There has been a string of high-profile arrests of Western citizens since Moscow ordered its troops into Ukraine – typically on espionage...

Pakistan moved ahead on Monday with preparations for a new round of talks between the United States and Iran days before a tenuous ceasefire is set to expire, even as renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz raised questions about whether the meeting would take place. Over the weekend, the US attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel, known as the Touska, that it said had tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. The US Navy ordered the ship to evacuate its engine room before...

China’s trade with Iran and Gulf countries fell sharply in March as restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz tightened amid the US-Israeli war on Iran. Newly released data by Chinese customs showed imports from Iran plunged 48 per cent year on year last month, while exports to the country dropped 90 per cent. Across the broader Middle East, exports to eight Persian Gulf economies – including Saudi Arabia and Qatar – fell by 57 per cent, while imports declined by nearly 33 per cent. The disruption...

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Lesson for China? Iran’s low-cost 358 missile takes out million-dollar US assets 2. Hong Kong Sevens: Blitzboks win first title, Black Ferns go unbeaten again 3. The rupture: how Europe fell out of love with America 4. Closed? Open? Closed? Why is Iran changing course on the Strait of...

Yemen’s Tehran-aligned Houthi movement has threatened to besiege a second key Middle East waterway as Iran launched drone attacks against US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after a diplomatic effort to end the war appeared to collapse. A closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, would effectively sever Saudi Arabia’s only remaining oil export route. The kingdom has been shipping up to 7 million barrels of crude per day through the...

US federal prosecutors said on Sunday an Iranian national was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Tehran. Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with “brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan”, US Attorney Bill Essayli wrote in a social media post. A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, Mafi “is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent...

Israel on Monday told residents of south Lebanon ⁠to stay out of a belt of territory running the length of the border and not to approach the area of the Litani River, entrenching its grip over southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah. The US-mediated, 10-day ceasefire took effect on Thursday, largely halting the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that spiralled out of the ‌conflict between the United States and Iran. But it remains fragile, with Israeli troops...

British police have arrested two teenagers in connection with a weekend arson attack on a synagogue in northwest London, as Jewish leaders express concern about a wave of incidents targeting their community. Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes of London’s Metropolitan Police Service on Monday said officers arrested two young men, aged 19 and 17, overnight in relation to the attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in the borough of Harrow. The department has made 15 arrests related to six attacks on...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released on Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected. In the 10-minute address, Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen the Canadian economy by attracting new investments and signing trade deals with other countries. “The world is more dangerous and divided,” Carney said. “The US has fundamentally changed its approach to trade,...

Pope Leo on Sunday recalled the “sorrow and great suffering” Angolans endured for centuries, as the American pope prayed at a Catholic shrine located at the site of an important hub of the African slave trade during Portugal’s colonial rule. Leo travelled to the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, nestled in the Angolan savannahs of baobab trees at the edge of the Kwanza River. It became a major pilgrimage destination after believers reported an appearance by the Virgin Mary around 1833. But the Church of...

Senior Cabinet ministers on Sunday rallied around UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose leadership is teetering over his decision to give Britain’s most important diplomatic job to Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer will face restive lawmakers in Parliament on Monday to fight for his job after the explosive revelation that Mandelson was appointed ambassador to the United States despite failing security checks. Starmer says he is “furious” that...

A man shot dead eight children – seven of them his own – early Sunday in the southern US state of Louisiana in an incident of domestic violence that spanned three locations, police said. The early morning massacre at a grey house in the city of Shreveport was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. Two women were shot and seriously injured, including the mother of some of the slain children. Three boys and five...

The head of Ukraine’s police patrol, Yevhen Zhukov, has handed in his resignation after two police officers were seen fleeing the scene when a gunman opened fire in Kyiv, killing at least six. “As an officer with combat experience, I have decided to tender my resignation from my current post. I believe this is the right thing to do,” said the police general at a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday. It comes after an unknown gunman killed at least six people and injured more than a dozen others in...

About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader. It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison. Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said...

Since America launched its “major combat operation” against Iran, several Nato allies have distanced themselves from Washington. Now America also risks losing ground in strategically important Southeast Asia to China. Could it face an erosion of influence similar to that suffered by Russia in Central Asia as a result of its “special military operation” in Ukraine? Soon after US President Donald Trump launched massive air and missile strikes on Iran on February 28, it became clear Washington...

Two enormous sandlike dunes at an old chemical processing plant in South Africa are at the centre of an exploratory US-backed project to extract highly sought-after rare earth elements from industrial mining waste. The Phalaborwa Rare Earths Project has US support through a US$50 million equity investment by the government’s International Development Finance Corporation and is part of accelerated US efforts to reduce its reliance on China for the minerals crucial for making electronic devices,...

Pro-Russian former president Rumen Radev is set for a runaway victory in Bulgaria’s election and may even secure a parliamentary majority, exit polls showed, potentially ending years of weak coalition governments and altering the European Union member’s foreign policy. An updated exit poll conducted by Sofia-based Alpha Research showed Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria with 44 per cent, far ahead of the long-dominant GERB party, led ‌by former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, at 12.5 per cent. If...

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) powered by large language models presents a significant breakthrough. For the first time, humans are communicating with computers using language instructions. This has enabled the use of AI agents to perform intelligent tasks involving some degree of advanced reasoning and complex logic. Vibe coding – the use of AI for programming and software development by lay persons – empowers end-user application deployments. One-person companies using AI agents to...

Three people in California have been sentenced for insurance fraud in a bizarre scam that involved someone dressed in a bear costume damaging luxury cars. The California Insurance Department said the three used a person in a bear suit to stage fake attacks inside a Rolls-Royce and two Mercedes in 2024, then submitted fraudulent claims seeking nearly US$142,000 in payouts from insurance companies. The department called it “Operation Bear Claw”. Two Los Angeles-area men and a woman pleaded no...

Pope Leo sought ⁠to downplay his feud ⁠with US President Donald Trump on Saturday, ⁠saying reporting about comments he has made so far during his Africa tour “has not been accurate in all its aspects”. Speaking to reporters in English aboard his flight to Angola for the third leg of his ambitious 10-day Africa tour, the first US pope said comments ‌he made two days earlier in Cameroon decrying that the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” were not aimed at Trump. That speech, said...

For the first time in its history – and in a striking departure from its long-standing doctrine of minimal economic intervention – Hong Kong is preparing to draw up a five-year plan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has asked all policy bureaus to help draft proposals by the end of the year. To lead the exercise, veteran civil servant Janice Tse Siu-wah has come out of retirement. The Legislative Council, not to be left out, has formed a committee supported by six coordinating groups spanning...

Former US president Barack Obama met New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the first time on Saturday at a child care centre where they read to preschoolers and led a singalong. The meeting comes as Mamdani, a democratic socialist who marked his 100th day in office just over a week ago, is also trying to build a working relationship with Republican US President Donald Trump. Obama and Mamdani did not take questions after reading the book Alone and Together to the children and leading a singalong of...

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday she had “no regrets” about symbolically handing over her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump in January. “There is a leader in the world, a head of state in the world who risked the lives of his country’s citizens for Venezuela’s freedom,” she told a news conference in Madrid. Machado presented her Nobel Prize to Trump when she met him in the White House just two weeks after he ordered US forces to attack Caracas and...

A Canadian man accused of helping 14 ⁠people in the province ⁠of Ontario kill themselves by selling a ⁠legal but deadly substance online will avoid a murder trial by pleading guilty to lesser charges, his lawyer said on Saturday. Kenneth Law, 60, will plead guilty to counselling or aiding suicide under a deal with Crown prosecutors that will see more serious ‌first-degree murder charges withdrawn, Matthew Gourlay of Henein Hutchison Robitaille said in an email. Law’s case is scheduled to return...

A gunman who killed at least six people in the streets of Kyiv on Saturday before taking hostages and barricading himself in a nearby supermarket has been shot dead by police, Ukrainian officials said. The head of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, Ihor Klymenko, said in a statement on social media that special tactical police units stormed the store after attempts to contact the gunman with a negotiator failed. The attacker was killed while resisting arrest, he said. Speaking to reporters at the...

Mexican ⁠President Claudia Sheinbaum and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez ⁠met in Barcelona on Saturday after a summit of progressive leaders, signalling a rapprochement during the first presidential visit to the Mediterranean country in eight years. The meeting took place during Sheinbaum’s visit to Barcelona to attend the fourth “In defence of democracy” summit, a gathering ‌of global leftist leaders to mobilise advocates of these movements against the far-right. Sheinbaum’s trip marks a softening of...

US President Donald Trump on Saturday directed his administration to speed up reviews of certain psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, which recently has been embraced by combat veterans and conservative lawmakers despite having serious safety risks. Ibogaine is banned under the federal government’s most restrictive category for illegal, high-risk drugs. But the administration is taking steps to ease access to psychedelics that Trump said were already designated as potential breakthroughs by...

UK counterterror officers are investigating an arson attack on a shop in an area of London with a large Jewish population, police said on Saturday, following similar incidents in recent weeks. No one was injured in the fire on late Friday in Hendon, in the northwest of Britain’s capital, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement, without specifying the business targeted. It comes after police arrested two people over a separate arson attack on a synagogue in nearby Finchley, on Wednesday,...

In Canada, fans and foes of Chinese electric vehicles are holding their breath for brands like BYD to hit the market. Whether they love them or not, they share the hope that Chinese carmakers will help to bring all EV prices down, as affordability becomes a growing concern for consumers. Companies including BYD, Geely, Nio and Xpeng are preparing to roll out sales locations in Canada, seizing the opportunity of warmer ties between the two countries. Ottawa struck a milestone trade deal with...

When Alina Dotsenko returned to her museum after Ukrainian forces retook the southern city of Kherson from Russian forces in late 2022, she found thousands of artworks had vanished. “I walked in and saw empty storage rooms, empty shelves. My legs gave way, and I just sat down by the wall, like a child,” the Kherson Art Museum director said. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, the museum held more than 14,000 works in a collection “ranging from America to Japan”. As the Russians...

Iranians striving to maintain a semblance of normal life after weeks of US and Israeli bombing and a deadly crackdown on protesters in January remain daunted by the future, as damage from air strikes ⁠and internet cuts take a toll. With talks expected on extending a truce and agreeing an end to the conflict, shops, restaurants and government offices have stayed open. On sunny spring mornings, city parks are busy with picnicking families and young people playing sports, while others gather at...

A US appeals court allowed President Donald ⁠Trump’s administration on ⁠Friday night to continue construction ⁠of a US$400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, setting a June hearing to review a Washington judge’s order halting the project. An order by a three-judge ‌panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit put the lower court’s preliminary injunction on hold for now, giving the panel time to consider the US Justice Department’s...

Their backgrounds stand out. And not in a good way. Two bankruptcies and six law enforcement jobs in three years. An allegation of lying in a police report to justify a felony charge against an innocent woman – an incident that led to a US$75,000 settlement and criticism of his integrity. A third job candidate once failed to graduate from a police academy, then lasted only three weeks in his only job as a police officer. Their common bond: all were hired recently by US Immigration and Customs...

Two US Army soldiers have been injured after encountering a brown bear in a mountainous training area in Anchorage, according to the military. The incident happened on Thursday as the soldiers were taking part in a “land navigation training event” in Arctic Valley, part of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s training area. The soldiers were receiving medical care as of Friday, a military official told the Anchorage Daily News. Queries sent to base were not immediately returned on Friday. The...

The Trump administration and Anthropic’s CEO on Friday discussed working together for the first time since a dispute earlier this year between the Pentagon and the artificial intelligence firm over how that company’s models should be used. The meeting between CEO Dario Amodei and White House staff, which took place amid growing ‌fears the AI start-up’s latest model will supercharge cyberattacks, suggests the two sides might be on a path to rebuilding trust. The Trump administration, central...

Spain and Brazil signed a flurry of agreements at Pedro Sanchez and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s first bilateral summit, as the Spanish leader seeks to build an alliance to counter US President Donald Trump. “The relationship between Spain and Brazil goes far beyond the strictly bilateral,” Sanchez told reporters after signing 15 deals covering areas including critical minerals, telecommunications and artificial intelligence. “Peace and the values that sustain it are being attacked by a...

Congress passed a short extension to a high-profile surveillance law on Friday after failing to secure the long-term reauthorisation pushed by US President Donald Trump. The brief pause comes after a late-night attempt to reauthorise the law for ‌five years failed in the House. It sets up another round of wrangling over whether and how to reform what is known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the National Security Agency to surveil foreigners using data...

France and Britain said on Friday that they would lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the force was being set up as they co-chaired international talks in Paris focused on ensuring free-flowing trade through the critical shipping corridor. The...

Betty Yee, the former state controller, had faced pressure to drop out after hovering near the bottom of polls for months. The move could help Democrats begin to unify behind a front-runner.

Helped by a favorable national environment and strong candidate recruitment, Democrats are tied or ahead in four Republican-held seats, polls show.

Voters in Virginia will decide on Tuesday whether to redraw the state’s congressional map in an attempt to eliminate all but one safe Republican district.

The state claimed the e-commerce giant pressured brands like Levi’s and Hanes to ask competing retailers to raise prices on certain products.

The kea gained fame for learning to use a pebble to groom himself. Scientists were astounded by his next innovation.

A high-energy laser weapon and a power struggle between federal agencies brought a night of hassles to the city.

The shooting spree on Sunday also left two adults wounded.

The singer is accused of sexually abusing Celeste Rivas Hernandez before killing the teenager with a sharp instrument and mutilating her body.

New documents reveal what professors did to help Jeffrey Epstein get inside Harvard’s gates.

During intense grilling in Parliament, Prime Minister Keir Starmer blamed civil servants for not telling him that Peter Mandelson had been rejected for top security clearances.

A new deal, which would allow The Onion to use the Infowars name and website address, must be approved by a Texas judge.

Boston held its 130th Marathon on a chilly day that was the crowd endured and the athletes relished.

Schiff has said he won’t perform in countries with what he calls strongmen leaders, a list that still includes the United States and Russia.

The comically self-serious and outrageous 1936 morality tale, which warned the public about marijuana, became an unintentional parody and midnight-movie classic decades later.

The jobs are coming back, despite President Trump’s tariffs and harsh immigration enforcement.

Trump wants to pay for the military, not child care. History shows that the armed services are at their best only when soldiers’ kids are cared for.

Catholic preschools in Colorado that decline to enroll families with L.G.B.T.Q. children or parents sued to participate in a state-funded program.

Prosecutors investigating his social media company, X, had summoned him for a meeting. His no-show reflected a broader dispute over regulation.

Carmine G. Agnello Jr. had pleaded guilty to fraudulently collecting more than $1 million in small-business loans, some of which he invested in cryptocurrency.

The eight letters by the 19th-century Romantic poet to his fiancée, Fanny Brawne, were taken decades ago from a Whitney family estate on Long Island.