Minimalist News

OpenAI Misses Revenue, User Targets As CFO Fears $1.5 Trillion In Commitments Can't Be Paid Earlier today, when previewing this week's earnings by the Mag 7 which account for over $10 trillion in market cap set to report Q1 results after the close on Wednesday, Goldman's Delta-One head Rich Privorotsky said that "Equities are being driven by one thing…AI spend", and warned that "it's hard not to respect the strength of the AI bid, but the velocity has been extreme. The upside surprise vs expectations has almost entirely come from AI spend…it’s the whole game."  Not only is the whole game, it is

"Racial-Profiling" Or Race-Baiting? Tom Steyer's Illiterate Take On English Proficiency Authored by Jonathan Turley, If you go to NASCAR to watch the cars crash, the Democratic gubernatorial race in California has been a thrilling pile-up. The recent debate saw all the Democratic candidates play the race card over a curious issue. When asked if they supported the move to rescind at least 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, every single Democrat declared the policy racist. The candidates also pledged to support truckers who cannot speak or read English. When Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate, said that being able to read English (and particularly English signs)

Kim Jong Un Opens Museum Commemorating Troops Killed Fighting For Russia, Blasts US 'Hegemony' North Korea has continued its surprising level of public acknowledgement of troop deaths in the Russia-Ukraine war, where it has maintained some 10,000 or more troops in support of Moscow. Starting last summer North Korea began issuing footage of coffins of slain DPRK troops being flown into Pyongyang, with Kim Jong Un in attendance. Now the 'pariah' nation long hated by Washington is taking publicizing its Russia operation a big step further, having newly opened a memorial museum in Pyongyang for its soldiers killed in the conflict.  KCNA via AFP What

SEC Issues Warning For US Investors On Phishing, Smishing, & Vishing Scams Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned investors recently that fraudsters use phishing, smishing, and vishing scams to attempt to compromise their financial, investment, or personal accounts. “Phishing, smishing, and vishing are types of scams where a fraudster tries to trick you into providing sensitive personal or financial information by posing as an entity you know or trust, such as an investment firm, bank, or some other personal service that you use,” the SEC said in an April 23 alert. Once a malicious

The Moral Malaise: The New York Times Makes The Case For "Microlooting" To Murder Authored by Jonathan Turley, “It is so hard to live ethically in an unethical society.” That lament heard this week from New York Times opinion culture editor Nadja Spiegelman could well be the Democratic Party’s epitaph. Spiegelman was interviewing two left-wing influencers about how everything from shoplifting to murder may be excusable today in light of the unfairness they see in society. The podcast, a product of the nation’s newspaper of record, reveled in the moral relativism that has taken over the American left. It featured the ravings of the

Bessent: IRGC Leaders 'Trapped' Like 'Drowning Rats' By US Blockade, Will Soon Face Uprising Over Coming 'Gasoline Shortages Next' Summary * Bessent describes IRGC leaders as now "trapped like drowning rats" amid the enduring US naval blockade of Iranian ports, which will soon result in gasoline shortages, anger & uprising * Putin tells FM Araghchi that he's been in contact with the new Supreme Leader, and says Iran fighting for 'sovereignty' * After a weekend of stalemate malaise, Iran reportedly offers new proposal for opening ship traffic, while postponing the thorny nuclear issue; Rubio says 'will not tolerate' Iran control of strait

Upcoming Weather Shift "Far From Drought-Breaker" For America's Parched Breadbasket Some of the worst drought conditions in a generation are plaguing America’s breadbasket just as spring planting season gets underway. Institutional desks, including UBS, have ramped up warnings about drought, fertilizer shortages, and what these current-day issues could morph into for the food supply chain later this year. The good news: parts of the central U.S. may finally see some weather relief, with several days of rain in the forecast. Whether that will be enough to materially improve soil moisture conditions remains the key question for agricultural desks this week. "The upcoming weather

Nearly 10,000 Pounds Of Methamphetamine And Marijuana Seized By US Authorities Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Around 10,000 pounds of marijuana and methamphetamine were seized by U.S. authorities in two separate incidents in recent weeks. A joint operation on April 20 intercepted a Go-Fast vessel with 3.2 tons of marijuana, the largest load of marijuana ever stopped in Colombian waters. Courtesy of the Joint Interagency Task Force/X “A joint operation on April 20th led by @ArmadaColombia intercepted a Go-Fast vessel with 3.2 tons of marijuana, the largest load of marijuana ever stopped in Colombian waters, preventing drug-trafficking organizations from

Democrat-Owned Brewery Complains About Failed Trump Assassination Attempt With Twisted Promise To Customers Minocqua Brewing Company, a craft-beer maker in Minocqua, Wisconsin, run by a Democrat activist, is facing fierce blowback after its social-media account appeared to mock a recent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and reiterated an earlier pledge to offer free beer on the day of his death. Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad (screenshot via Instagram) The company, owned by Kirk Bangstad - who ran as the Democrat nominee for Wisconsin’s 34th Assembly District in 2020 and founded an anti-Republican super PAC - posted on social media shortly after

Report Claims Iranian Jet Bombed American Base In Kuwait At War's Start Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, Iranian attacks on US bases across the Middle East have caused far more damage than the Trump administration has publicly acknowledged, and an Iranian fighter jet was able to bomb at least one US base, NBC News reported on Saturday, citing unnamed US officials. The administration has attempted to cover up the damage to US bases in the war, and has gone as far as requesting that Planet Labs and other satellite imagery companies black out war images, making it difficult to ascertain the damage. The NBC report said that the Pentagon

"Let's Get Ruthless": Bulwark's Bill Kristol Suggests Illiberal Means Are Needed To Save Liberal Democracy Authored by Jonathan Turley, “Let’s get ruthless.” Those words are, unfortunately, nothing new in this age of rage. In just the last few weeks, various liberal pundits and politicians have been calling for radical and even violent action. Even comedian Margaret Cho publicly declared this week that “we need a feral, bloodthirsty, violent Democrat.” However, these words were reposted by Bill Kristol, the founder of the Weekly Standard and the current editor-in-chief of The Bulwark. Kristol was a leading conservative figure in the Republican Party. Kristol left the Republican Party and is now a vehemently anti-Trump writer. There

"Resurgence Of Electrification": Goldman Says EV Demand Gaining Momentum Amid Fuel Price Shock There were early signs during the third week of the U.S.-Iran conflict that EV demand was gaining traction in Asia, where the energy shock has been felt the hardest. That was followed by a separate note earlier this month confirming that EV demand was beginning to reaccelerate. Now, Goldman analysts led by Kota Yuzawa see global EV demand gaining momentum after several years of muted demand, as the fuel-price shock at the pump pushes consumers back toward EVs. Yuzawa noted that the share of the top 30 countries where the

HUD Rejects Transgender Ideology For Women's Shelters Authored by Catherine Salgado via PJMedia.com, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is removing radical transgender ideology from dozens of regulations, which will, among other things, reserve women’s shelters only for women, not for mentally ill men. HUD issued a press release on April 23 confirming that it is erasing "radical definitions of gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender" from some 50 regulations. Instead, HUD will apply the biological definition of sex and end the woke prohibition on "gender identity" discrimination. The latter meant that shelters specifically for men or women were required to accept

Bye-Bye Bibi? Israeli Opposition Leaders Join Forces In 'Together' Alliance To Topple Netanyahu Former Israeli prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid unveiled Monday that they are merging their parties into a joint ticket dubbed "Together - Led by Bennett" - as a major challenge to current leader Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming elections. During a press conference Bennett said the alliance with Lapid is the "most Zionist and patriotic act we have ever done, for the sake of our country" - adding that the "era of division is over." Netanyahu out soon? Will Benjamin Netanyahu be the next Prime Minister of Israel? Yes

"The Democrats Have To Cheat To Win": Voter Fraud Is Legion In America Via  Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com, The next big battle in elections is the 2026 Midterms in November.  Dr. Jerome Corsi has a Harvard PhD in political science.  He has written more than 30 books with many of them becoming best-sellers.  Dr. Corsi says the Democrats have been stealing elections nationwide for years.  This November, the Dems will try again, but team Trump is trying to stop the biggest ever voter and election fraud that robs the voice and will of “We the People.”  Dr. Corsi contends: > “I think this is probably one of the

22-Year-Old Indian Man Dupes "Horny" Guys Online With Fake Blonde Female MAGA Influencer A 22-year-old medical student from northern India found an unlikely way to fund his education: building a fake online influencer using artificial intelligence, according to The Daily Beast and Wired.  After struggling to earn money through more traditional side hustles like YouTube and selling study notes, he turned to generative AI tools to create “Emily Hart,” a fictional persona presented as a young, conservative American woman. Using platforms like Google Gemini, he crafted everything from her appearance to her captions, positioning her as a pro-Christian, pro-gun, and anti-immigration personality designed

A Feral And Savage Party Authored by James Howard Kunstler, > "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action." > > - Ian Fleming Don’t you love the way the news media pretends it can’t figure out the motive of Cole Tomas Allen, who tried to shoot-up Saturday’s White House correspondents’ gala. He was a creation of the very White House correspondents who ducked under their tables at the sound of his shots. Cole Tomas Allen had digested and internalized the “narrative” spewage of the Democratic Party’s propaganda department. MSNOW occupied his brain like a glistening parasite. CBS tried to amplify the shooter’s own

More Than 40 Mexican Mafia Members And Associates Indicted In California: DOJ Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A total of 43 alleged members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang were arrested this week on multiple charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the central district of California said on April 23. The Department of Justice in Washington on March 11, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the total includes individuals already in custody, with 25 of them being arrested in Orange County, California, on April 23. They face charges including kidnapping, extortion, fentanyl and

WHCA Shooter Charged With Attempted Assassination Of Trump Federal prosecutors charged Cole Tomas Allen, 31, the accused gunman in the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner shooting, with three criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate the president.  Fox News reports that Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh unsealed the case against Allen on Monday. Allen appeared in federal court wearing a prison jumpsuit and answered the judge respectfully. He did not enter a plea and was only informed of the charges.  The three counts include attempted assassination of the president, transporting a firearm across state lines, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. The

US Allows Venezuela To Fund Maduro's Defense After Court Challenge Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times, The United States will ease sanctions on Venezuela to allow its regime to pay legal fees for former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. drug trafficking case, according to a court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The April 24 filing states that the U.S. Treasury Department authorized an exception to existing sanctions, permitting funds to be used for Maduro’s legal defense. Maduro is awaiting trial on federal charges, including those related to narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. Attorney Barry

Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico was not aware of US participation until four officials were killed in car crash Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said on Monday that her government told the United States, in a diplomatic note, that the unauthorized presence of US officials at an anti-narcotics operation in the northern state of Chihuahua should not be repeated. The incident came to light after two US officials, along with two Mexican officials, were killed in a car crash on 19 April after the operation. Sheinbaum has said the federal government was not aware of the participation of the US officials, who were widely

Cocaine-trafficking rebels blamed for worst attack on civilians in decades, which also left 56 people injured The death toll in a Colombian highway bombing blamed on cocaine-trafficking rebels has risen to 21, the government said on Monday, in the country’s worst attack on civilians in decades and just ahead of elections. The attack on Saturday left 56 injured and buses and vans mangled on the Pan-American Highway, in the restive south-western Cauca department. Continue reading...

Military video shows boat moving swiftly in water before explosion leaves it in flames The US military said on Sunday three men were killed when it struck a boat it claimed was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This latest strike – which follows dozens of similar attacks on alleged drug boats in recent months – brings the US campaign’s death toll to at least 185, according to a tally compiled by Agence France-Presse. Continue reading...

The court sided with a Canadian hiker who deliberately challenged the order imposed to curb spread of wildfires As wildfires raged across Nova Scotia last summer, the Canadian province made a simple plea to residents: stay away from the woods. As the situation deteriorated, authorities turned the request into a prohibition: anyone caught hiking under the shade of the forest canopy faced a C$25,000 fine – a figure more than half the average worker’s yearly salary. Continue reading...

OpenAI said the company had identified an account using abuse-detection efforts, but determined at the time it didn’t meet threshold for legal referral The head of OpenAI has written a letter apologizing that his company didn’t alert law enforcement about the online behavior of a person who shot and killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. In the letter posted on Friday, Sam Altman expressed his deepest condolences to the entire community. Continue reading...

Japan Airlines will introduce the robots for trial run at a Tokyo airport amid country’s surge in inbound tourism and worsening labour shortages Japan’s famously conscientious but overburdened baggage handlers will soon be joined by extra staff at Tokyo’s Haneda airport – although their new colleagues will need to take regular recharging breaks. Japan Airlines will introduce humanoid robots on a trial basis from the beginning of May, with a view to deploying them permanently as a solution to the country’s chronic labour shortage. Continue reading...

Efforts continue to free two trapped passengers in wreckage after long-distance train collides with commuter train outside Jakarta, injuring 81 The death toll from a train collision near the Indonesian capital Jakarta has risen to 14 with another 84 injured, the train operator said on Tuesday, as rescuers worked to extract survivors still trapped in the wreckage. The collision between a commuter train and a long-distance train happened late on Monday in Bekasi, just outside Jakarta. Continue reading...

Regime used its isolation after closing borders to escalate killings when global scrutiny disappeared, NGO claims North Korea dramatically increased its use of the death penalty after closing its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, using its isolation to escalate killings when international scrutiny disappeared, according to a report mapping 13 years of executions under the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un. The number of documented cases of executions and death sentences increased by 117% in the nearly five years after North Korea sealed its borders in January 2020 compared with an equal period before the closure, according to a report by the Transitional Justice

Hundreds of senior staff in territory benefit from nearly £30,000-a-year grant per child not available to staff in group’s other hubs HSBC is reportedly reviewing a perk that covers school fees for bankers in Hong Kong as part of a big overhaul of the bank under its chief executive, Georges Elhedery. Europe’s largest bank is considering whether to scrap the perk for new employees or make changes to total compensation, Bloomberg News reported. No decisions have been made yet. Continue reading...

Woman’s body found in Iwate prefecture last week, soon after a police officer was injured in bear attack nearby Rested but famished bears emerging from hibernation in Japan are already coming into contact with humans, with the pace of sightings outstripping that seen in 2025, a record year for bear attacks. According to media reports, the animals have been spotted with surprising frequency in urban areas in the country’s north-east, with authorities urging caution among people planning to spend the coming Golden Week public holidays in the countryside. Continue reading...

Australia is dependent upon UK’s ability to deliver new submarines but report says ‘cracks are already beginning to show’ “Cracks are already beginning to show” in the UK’s funding for the Aukus agreement that could derail the ambitious nuclear submarine plan, a British parliamentary inquiry has found, highlighting a threat to Australia’s security. UK shipbuilding has been under-funded for decades and the country’s submarine availability is “critically low”, the House of Commons defence committee’s report found. Continue reading...

Lauren Ashley Mastrosa given 18-month community corrections order after book was read by handful of advance readers The author behind an offensive novel depicting toddler role-play has been convicted but spared jail for penning child abuse material. Lauren Ashley Mastrosa, a 34-year-old former marketing executive for a Christian charity, wrote Daddy’s Little Toy under the pen name Tori Woods and published it through an online pre-release in March 2025. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The White House has nominated David Brat, a former Republican member of the US House of Representatives, to be the next ambassador to Australia. Brat represented Virginia in Congress and served two terms before he was defeated by a Democrat in 2018 in a close race. He is currently a vice-president of business relations at Virginia’s Liberty University. It wouldn’t fund the entire amount of that extra storage, but it would help make a contribution … Obviously, this comes at a cost … But given what we’re

The NSW premier, who was unequivocal in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, has now linked the fate of his state’s laws with those of the Queensland legal challenge * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has said he will only ban the slogan “globalise the intifada” if a potential constitutional challenge to a similar ban in Queensland is unsuccessful, the strongest indication yet that the state government may not seek to proscribe the contested phrase at all. Minns

Google also rejects need for reform after Albanese government reveals draft news bargaining incentive scheme * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits. But tech giants Google and Meta have criticised the government’s change. Google rejected the need for the reform and was scathing Labor didn’t include AI

Journalists face rising threats while media ownership is concentrated in fewer hands, leading civil liberties group warns Journalists in the EU face increasing levels of harassment, threats and violence, while news outlets are owned by a shrinking number of proprietors and public trust in the media has plummeted, a report has found. The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said the findings of its fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, should place EU officials “on high alert”, with media freedom and pluralism “under sustained attack” across mainland Europe. Continue reading...

German chancellor suggests Trump administration is being outwitted at negotiating table by Tehran The US is being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership, according to Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, who suggested the Trump administration was being outwitted at the negotiating table by Tehran. Two days ago Donald Trump cancelled a trip by US negotiators to Islamabad for indirect talks with an Iranian delegation. A previous round in the Pakistani capital two weeks earlier, when JD Vance, the American vice-president, led the US delegation, broke up without progress. Continue reading...

Families say ‘Ulm 5’ have been detained under extreme prison conditions since arrest last September Five pro-Palestinian activists have appeared in court over an attack on an Israeli arms company in Germany, charged with causing approximately €1m of damage. Prosecutors say the defendants, aged 25 to 40, trespassed and yelled pro-Palestinian statements as they destroyed office equipment, sensitive measuring devices and smashed windows at a site linked to Elbit Systems in the southern city of Ulm. Continue reading...

China sold goods worth about $148bn to EU in first quarter of year, but imported just $65bn The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc. New data showed China’s trade surplus – where its exports to the EU exceeded imports from the bloc – was $83bn (£61bn) in the first three months of 2026. Continue reading...

Across country, at least 14 have been injured as Zelenskyy highlights importance of air defences Top EU officials and Hungary’s incoming government will discuss on Wednesday the changes Budapest needs to push through to release €17bn in EU funds that have been blocked due to rule-of-law concerns under the outgoing government of Viktor Orbán. Some of the frozen funds, such as €11bn euros ($13bn) from the post-pandemic Recovery Fund, must be drawn by mid-August, or be irrevocably lost, Reuters noted. Continue reading...

Tehran’s UN envoy says ‘full respect’ of Iran’s rights also key for lasting regional stability US is being ‘humiliated’ by Iran’s leadership, says Friedrich Merz Lebanon’s minister for the environment has accused Israel’s military of committing “an act of ecocide” in the foreword to a report detailing the harm done to the country’s natural resources during the invasion of 2023 to 2024. Israeli military aggression “reshaped both the physical and ecological landscape” of southern Lebanon, according to the report, which does not consider the impacts of Israel’s latest barrage of attacks this spring. The scale and intentionality of the damage to forests, agricultural lands,

Claim by environment minister opens new report into profound ecological damage allegedly done by IDF forces Lebanon’s minister for the environment has accused Israel’s military of committing “an act of ecocide” in the foreword to a report detailing the harm done to the country’s natural resources during the invasion of 2023 to 2024. Israeli military aggression “reshaped both the physical and ecological landscape” of southern Lebanon, according to the report, which does not consider the impacts of Israel’s latest barrage of attacks this spring. Damaged 5,000 hectares (12,350 acres) of forest cover, including broadleaf, pine and stone pine stands, destroying habitats, disregulating local

Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy say criticising Israeli government is not disloyalty but a Jewish obligation The UK’s most senior progressive rabbis have warned that Israel’s current political direction risks becoming “incompatible with Jewish values”, while insisting that criticism of the country’s government is “a Jewish obligation” rather than an act of disloyalty. Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, co-leads of Progressive Judaism – the newly formed movement representing around a third of synagogues in the UK – said Israel’s trajectory could pose an “existential threat” not just to the country itself but to Judaism. Continue reading...

The RSF leadership, accused of committing genocide, used UAE as a ‘safe haven’ for family members and their wealth, records show A network linked to the leadership of a militia accused of genocide has amassed a vast property portfolio in Dubai as part of a sprawling “paramilitary-industrial complex” across Africa and the Middle East, an investigation has revealed. Family members, sanctioned individuals, and entities linked to the leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, have acquired more than 20 luxury properties, worth £17.7m, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Sentry, a US investigative

Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says actions of the United States ‘strike at the heart of international law’ as blockade continues in strait of Hormuz Iran is proposing that shipping companies should pay charges for specific services when they cross the strait of Hormuz, in a move that would enable it to raise money from shipping traffic without presenting the payment as a toll. Iran’s framing is designed to maximise political and legal support for the plan it is developing with Oman. Iran has made a solution to its demands an essential precondition to winding down the conflict, including an end to its effective

Pakistan officials dismiss Afghan media reports and official statements about strikes on university in Kunar province as ‘blatant lie’ Mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan on Monday struck a university and civilian homes in north-eastern Afghanistan, killing seven people and wounding at least 85, Afghan officials said. Pakistan denied the accusation of targeting a university. Continue reading...

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were to travel to Islamabad to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations Donald Trump said he has told US envoys not to go to Pakistan for more talks with Iran, shortly after Tehran’s top diplomat left Islamabad late on Saturday. Trump added to Fox News: “They can call us anytime they want.” The White House on Friday said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan’s capital to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations. Continue reading...

Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers A large ice block on the route just above the Mount Everest base camp has forced hundreds of climbers and local guides to delay their attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. The serac between base camp and camp one was unstable and risky for climbers, said Himal Gautam of Nepal’s department of mountaineering on Friday. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry calls remarks of rightwing podcast host shared by Trump ‘uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste’ The Indian government has denounced a social media post shared by Donald Trump that described India as a “hellhole”, calling the comments inappropriate and “in poor taste”. On Wednesday, Trump posted a four-page transcription of remarks made by the conservative podcast host Michael Savage that denounced the US constitutional right to citizenship of everyone born in the country. Continue reading...

British foreign secretary told to impose new measures as ruble-pegged cryptocurrency A7A5 is supported in country More than 20 MPs and peers have called on the foreign secretary to take action against institutions and individuals in Kyrgyzstan allegedly facilitating large-scale Russian sanctions evasion. They urged the UK to levy personal sanctions against three top Kyrgyz officials for their alleged role in facilitating Russian sanctions evasion more broadly, and more specifically for allowing Kyrgyzstan to host infrastructure supporting the cryptocurrency A7A5. Continue reading...

Philip Barton gives evidence to foreign affairs committee, with Morgan McSweeney due later this morning, ahead of vote this afternoon Q: Do you think your concerns about Mandelson had any influence on David Lammy asking you to leave early? No, says Barton. Continue reading...

Education secretary says children will face restrictions and government will consider range of views on their form Children in the UK will face restrictions on their use of social media but the government remains open-minded about what form the limits will take, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has said. Phillipson told broadcasters on Tuesday she had concerns about the content that under-16s were exposed to online and the length of time they spent staring at screens. Continue reading...

In latest stage of £42m restoration project, 30-strong team removed mast from Nelson’s Battle of Trafalgar flagship There is only one correct way to extricate a 15-tonne wrought iron mast from one of the world’s most famous and beloved warships – very slowly, and with extreme care. Which is precisely what a 30-strong team, led by shipwrights and riggers, did on Monday night into Tuesday morning, when they lifted the foremast from HMS Victory as part of a £42m conservation project. Continue reading...

Monarch to allude to recent strains in special relationship in speech to both houses during four-day state visit King Charles is expected to allude to recent strains between the UK and US in a rare address by a monarch to the US Congress as he will underline that “time and again our two countries have always found ways to come together”. The king’s remarks in a speech to both houses on Tuesday will come after Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a trade deal signed by the UK and US, mocked the Royal Navy and insulted the UK prime minister. Continue reading...

Energy company hails ‘exceptional’ contribution of oil trading operations as profits hit $3.2bn in the first quarter * Business live – latest updates BP’s quarterly profits have more than doubled after a jump in oil and gas prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The energy company said on Tuesday that underlying profits for the first quarter were $3.2bn (£2.4bn), up by more than 130% from $1.38bn in the equivalent period a year ago. It is the company’s highest quarterly profit since 2023 and outstripped City forecasts of $2.67bn. Continue reading...

First lady accuses the comedian of ‘hateful and violent rhetoric’ over joke made days before the White House press dinner shooting Jimmy Kimmel has refused to apologise for a joke made days before the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting in which he described Melania Trump as glowing “like an expectant widow”, after both Donald Trump and the first lady accused him of inciting violence. On Monday Melania Trump accused Kimmel of “hateful and violent rhetoric” and “atrocious behavior”, and said it was “time for ABC to take a stand” against the comedian, who has long been critical of Trump and his policies. Continue

Positions ‘terminated, effective immediately’, says email to scientists sent on president’s behalf, in move labelled ‘dangerous attack’ on US innovation The Trump administration has fired members of an independent board that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF). Members of the National Science Board received an email on Friday sent from the Presidential Personnel Office “on behalf of President Donald J Trump” stating that their position was “terminated, effective immediately”. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. * Suspect charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at press dinner * Sign up for the Breaking News US email Here’s more about the timing of King Charles’s visit today with Donald Trump at the White House. According to Trump’s official schedule, the president will greet King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House at 4.15pm ET. Shortly after, they’ll have tea and then tour a beehive at the White House. Continue reading...

Alleged shooter, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, charged with three federal crimes in White House press gala attack The suspected gunman who tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner appeared in federal court on Monday and was charged with three federal crimes, including attempting to assassinate the president. The alleged shooter, identified by law enforcement agencies as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance in southern California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the US president, transportation of firearms to commit a felony, and unlawful discharge of a firearm during violence. Continue reading...

Paramedics on Atlanta-Portland flight help Ashley Blair give birth to ‘gorgeous’ Brielle Renee just before landing When baby Brielle Renee was born, new mom Ashley Blair was flying high – quite literally. Blair unexpectedly went into labor shortly before her full Delta flight from Atlanta to Portland touched down on Friday night. The surprise birth was just one of two medical emergencies on board that emergency medical technicians Tina Fritz and Caarin Powell responded to during the flight, capping the end to their vacation in the Dominican Republic, the pair told the Associated Press. They were helping another passenger when flight crews

Nearly 25 years after rap star Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC was killed, a man admitted in court on Monday to a role in the shooting that stymied investigators for decades. Jay Bryant pleaded guilty to a federal murder charge, telling a judge that he helped other people get into a recording studio to ambush the DJ, born Jason Mizell. “I knew a gun was going to be used to shoot Jason Mizell,” Bryant told a federal magistrate. “I knew that what I was doing was wrong and a crime.” Bryant’s admission...

⁠Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in the United States on Monday for a four-day trip, welcomed by self-proclaimed royal fan Donald Trump even as the US president has differed with the British government over the Iran war. The state visit, by far the most high-profile and consequential of Charles’ reign, marks the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from British rule, and is the first to the country by a British ‌monarch in two decades. After landing at Joint...

Lebanon’s social affairs minister has backed calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, but cautioned the process would take time before a “political settlement” could be reached, calling the group a “community” and not merely a militant organisation. Haneen Sayed told a discussion in Washington on Monday that disarming Hezbollah – an Iran-backed militant group – was a demand of her government and its people, and that it “must happen”. “Of course, we understand that implementation is not easy. It’s...

US President ⁠Donald Trump said on Monday that Jimmy Kimmel should immediately be fired by ABC and parent company Walt Disney, joining his wife Melania Trump in calling out the late-night talk show host for a monologue he delivered prior to a shooting near a gathering of journalists and politicians over the weekend. Kimmel said last Thursday, in a parody segment on the upcoming White House correspondents’ dinner, that Melania Trump “had a glow like an expectant widow”. Trump and the first lady...

Pope Leo and new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally met for the first time on Monday, in a symbolic encounter at the Vatican in which the leaders of the long-separated Catholic Church and Church of England exchanged gifts and prayed together. Mullally, the first woman to serve as spiritual leader of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, was ‌welcomed by Leo, the first US leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, into his formal office at the Vatican’s ornate apostolic palace. The two, who...

Following high-level mediation efforts in Islamabad over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Monday. The diplomatic surge comes as US President Donald Trump convened his senior national security team to evaluate a fresh Iranian peace proposal, delivered via Pakistan, aimed at ending the months-long Middle East crisis and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The White House confirmed the proposal called...

Archaeologists and researchers at the ancient Roman site of Pompeii have used artificial intelligence for the first time to digitally reconstruct the face of a man killed in the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that smothered the city, offering a new way to understand one of history’s most famous natural disasters. The digital portrait represents a man whose remains, along with those of another person, were discovered as they attempted to flee the city towards the coast of what is now Italy...

Nato is considering ending its recent practice of holding annual summits, six sources told Reuters, a move that could avoid a potentially tense encounter with US President Donald Trump in his final year in office. Trump’s administration has engaged repeatedly in scathing criticism of many of the US-led defence alliance’s 31 other members, most recently berating some for not providing more help to US military operations against Iran. The frequency of Nato ‌summits has varied over the alliance’s...

A small plane crashed on Monday in South Sudan near the capital Juba, killing all 13 passengers and the pilot, local officials said. On top of instability, conflict and poverty, South Sudan also lacks reliable transport infrastructure with frequent plane crashes attributed to overloading and bad weather. The plane was a Cessna that departed Juba International Airport at 9.15am local time and crashed about 20km (12 miles) from the capital with no survivors, the South Sudanese Civil Aviation...

Britain’s parliament will vote on Tuesday on a possible inquiry into Prime Minister Keir Starmer, looking at whether he misled the House of Commons ‌over the appointment of former US ambassador Peter Mandelson. Any such inquiry could have serious implications for Starmer’s future. He has so far resisted pressure to quit over his decision to hire Mandelson, but if found to have knowingly misled parliament his position would likely become untenable. House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said he...

The bitter legal fight between Elon Musk ⁠and the leadingAIe firm, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, may come down ⁠to a few pages in one executive’s personal diary. “This is the only chance we have to get out from Elon,” wrote Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and a co-founder, in the autumn of 2017. “Is he the ‘glorious leader’ that I would pick?” Brockman’s diary entry is part of the thousands of pages of internal documents revealed in court since Musk, one of the original co-founders of OpenAI,...

The Strait of Hormuz is usually described as a chokepoint. Today, it is more than that. It is the hinge point between war and peace in the Gulf. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade passes through this narrow waterway. When it was secure, the global economy barely noticed it. As soon as it was threatened, prices jumped, shipping costs rose and military tensions spread beyond the region. Today, the issue is even larger than economics. If the status of the strait is left unresolved,...

US law enforcement officials are reassessing security arrangements after ⁠a gunman opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, raising questions about ⁠how he was able to get so close to an event attended by President Donald Trump, cabinet members and lawmakers. Two former Secret Service agents and three senior US officials told Reuters on Sunday that federal agents appeared to carry out their plan to protect the president effectively on Saturday night, stopping the...

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. As DJI duels Insta360, China sharpens global hardware edge amid US scrutiny 2. Did China just hint that its next aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered? 3. Reverend Derek Li, father of injured Hong Kong Mirror dancer Mo Li, dies 4. 3 killed in Japanese Type 10 tank blast that has military...

Two of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most formidable political rivals said on Sunday they were joining forces in a bid to oust his coalition government in the coming election expected later this year. The former prime ministers - right-wing Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid - issued statements announcing the merger of their parties, Bennett 2026 and There is a Future. “We are standing here together for the sake of our ‌children. The State of Israel must change direction,”...

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Sunday killed 14 people, the deadliest day since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war came into force over a week ago. It came as Israel and the Iran-backed group traded fresh accusations of breaching the fragile truce, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was “vigorously” targeting Hezbollah and the group vowing to keep responding to “violations”. Israel’s military has carried out repeated strikes...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country would continue to support Russia’s policies and he discussed the international political situation with Russia’s defence minister, state media KCNA reported on Monday. A Russian delegation including Defence Minister Andrei Belousov attended a completion ceremony for a ‌‌memorial honouring North Korean soldiers killed while fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces staged an incursion in 2024, KCNA said. Russia launched a full-scale...

US President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned US$400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. “It’s time to build the ballroom,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said plainly on Sunday on social media, posting a letter in which Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate gave the National Trust for Historic...

Geopolitics, at its core, examines how geography shapes international politics, power distribution and security dynamics. One enduring idea is geographer Halford Mackinder’s “heartland” theory, which situates Eurasia as the central arena of global power competition. In 1904, Mackinder argued that the vast land mass of Europe and Asia – what he called the “world island” – contained a pivotal core, the “heartland”, rich in resources, population and strategic depth. His dictum – “Who rules Eastern...

The ⁠Italian government has extradited to ⁠the United States a Chinese man wanted by authorities there on hacking charges that include stealing Covid-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The source ‌declined to say when Xu Zewei was flown out of Italy, saying only that he was already in the United States. The move follows a ruling by a top Italian court earlier this month allowing the extradition. Xu was arrested in Milan on July 3 at ⁠the request of US...

The state visit by Britain’s King Charles to the US would take place as planned, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday, following a shooting at a Washington media gala. The incident late on Saturday at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association came less than 48 hours before Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States. The palace said Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, the first lady Melania and other guests were unharmed and later on...

Mali’s military rulers faced a security crisis on Sunday after coordinated nationwide attacks by jihadist fighters and separatist rebels this weekend killed the defence minister and reportedly left a key northern town in rebel hands. There was no word from the junta leader General Assimi Goita, who has not been seen since the attacks began at dawn on Saturday. The offensive, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of...

Strikes across Ukraine, Russian-occupied territory and Russia over the past day killed at least 16 people, authorities said on Sunday as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster prompted new warnings about risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s more than four-year invasion of its neighbour. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the anniversary with a warning that Russian attacks risk repeating history. “Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of...

The China-Europe railway network has evolved in the past decade from a nascent logistical experiment into a growing commercial alternative to maritime and air freight. In the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, it might now be assuming an unanticipated role as a key security provider for transcontinental supply chains. What began as sporadic trial runs has matured into a sprawling web of rail connections that currently links 235 cities across 26 European countries with more than 120 Chinese...

The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad opened in Damascus on Sunday. Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad, and who is also a cousin of the former president, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people,” the state-run news agency SANA reported. Najib was in that position in 2011 when...

People streamed into the central square of Slavutych in the early hours of Sunday, placing candles on a large radiation hazard symbol laid out on the ground as a midnight commemoration began for those killed in the Chernobyl disaster 40 years ago and the thousands who risked deadly radiation exposure to contain its aftermath. Residents show up for the vigil each year despite wartime curfews and official warnings against large gatherings during Russia’s war on Ukraine. The April 26, 1986 disaster...

In the span of a few days earlier this month, developments that usually sit in separate policy compartments began to converge. Abu Dhabi’s crown prince arrived in Beijing as President Xi Jinping used the visit to set out China’s four-point position on the Iran war. Pakistan, now central to keeping US-Iran diplomacy alive, said no date was fixed for the next round of talks. Washington escalated pressure on buyers of Iranian oil and the banks handling related funds. Reports circulated of yuan use...

The shooting on Saturday night of a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner raises questions yet again about the protection afforded to America’s political leaders at a time of increased political violence. Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which US President Donald Trump headlined this year. Yet a suspect with a shotgun and other weapons ‌managed to get just a floor above the Washington...

The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump. Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the...

Watch a cheap commercial drone destroy a battle tank on the frontlines in Ukraine, or a cut-price Iranian Shahed menace Tel Aviv, then ask yourself why Southeast Asia’s defence ministries are suddenly very interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. The answer was on full display last week at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, where vendors from Abu Dhabi to Pretoria were chasing deals in one of the global arms trade’s hottest emerging markets. “There is huge demand from the...

It was meant to be a glitzy Saturday night at a Washington ballroom featuring President Donald Trump, but the glamour was shattered by gunshots that left guests diving to the floor and the US leader bundled out by security personnel. Trump was seated on the dais at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner – the first time he is attending as president – when loud bangs disrupted the revelry and caused him and others on stage to look up in alarm. Video captured by news outlets...

Student mental health is a matter of great concern. According to the latest data from the Education Bureau, the number of secondary students with mental health issues has doubled over the past five years, from 660 in 2020-21 to 1,330 in 2024-25. In recent years, the government and various stakeholders in society have worked to halt the continued rise in student suicides. However, the number of suspected suicide cases still rose by 10 per cent between 2024 and 2025, from 28 to 31. To help...

US President Donald Trump and other top administration officials were likely targets of a gunman who tried to storm a White House correspondents’ dinner, the acting US attorney general said on Sunday, after a major security breach in the heart of Washington. Chaos erupted at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night as shots were fired near a security checkpoint outside the subterranean ballroom where the glitzy, high-profile event was being held. Secret Service agents, weapons drawn, rushed to...

The death toll ⁠from an explosives ⁠attack on a highway ⁠in southwestern Colombia rose to 20 on Sunday, authorities said, as the government blamed a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrilla ‌group for the bombing. The attack happened on Saturday when an explosive device was detonated on a bus traveling along the Pan-American Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. So far, 15 women and five men are among the victims, according to Octavio Guzman, governor of the region of Cauca. He wrote on...

Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to “forcefully attack Hezbollah targets” after the army accused it of breaching the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry had said earlier that “Israeli enemy strikes on a...

Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would not take up his seat in parliament following his party’s landslide defeat in this month’s election but wants to stay on as Fidesz’s leader to lead a process of “renewal”. The most dominant figure in Hungarian politics since the fall of communism in 1989, Orban has sat in Hungary’s legislature for 36 years without interruption, serving as prime minister for the past sixteen years. “I’m not needed in parliament now but in the...

A former University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend – two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, authorities said Saturday. Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, students at USF, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa,...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad again on Sunday, just hours after US President Donald Trump told his special envoys not to go to Pakistan for ceasefire talks. Araghchi had left Pakistan’s capital on Saturday night after meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table after Trump last week announced that a two-week...

Pope Leo has called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty on Saturday, a day after the US administration mulled expanding the penalty. “The dignity of the person is not lost even after very serious crimes are committed,” Leo said in a video message marking the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois. “The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from the moment of conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves...

Palestinians on Saturday buried a woman pregnant with twins and two of her children who were among at least 13 people killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. The toll on Friday included two men who were killed in Gaza City, and eight others killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to local hospitals. Officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said the eight people, including four police officers, were killed after Israel targeted a police vehicle. While the heaviest fighting has mostly...

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry says Afghans who helped America’s war effort and have been stuck in Qatar in the hope of reaching the United States can safely return to Afghanistan. The statement on Saturday by foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi comes after reports emerged that the Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send 1,100 Afghans who assisted the US during its war in Afghanistan, and relatives of US service members, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An...

An attack by “unknown armed terrorists” has been carried out on military barracks and other targets in the capital Bamako, the military in Mali reported on Saturday. Attacks had also occurred in other locations in the country, the general staff reported. Fighting was ongoing, a brief statement said. Witnesses reported intense fighting in a town near the capital where junta leader General Assimi Goita lives, and in other key cities. Mali, a landlocked West African country, has been ruled by a...

Every time a European leader lands in Beijing with a business delegation, the same speculation follows: is the Atlantic consensus beginning to crack? Is part of Europe drifting towards China and away from Washington? In Spain’s case, the drama expires on contact with the record. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s four visits to Beijing in four years have not produced a European pivot, a strategic vision or a narrower trade imbalance. They have produced market access for agricultural goods. Call it...

Argentina has called for talks with the UK over the Falkland Islands after reports the US could review its position on the South Atlantic territory in retaliation for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s lack of support for the war in Iran. Downing Street had earlier insisted the sovereignty of the Falklands was “not in question”. That came after a leaked internal Pentagon email set out options for President Donald Trump’s administration to punish Nato allies for refusing to join the US-Israeli strikes...

Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least six people, officials said on Saturday, most of them in an attack on a residential building in the eastern city of Dnipro. Over 30 people were injured, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said. Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia launched 47 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as 619 drones of various types. Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022. Air raid sirens sounded across the country with residents urged to...

After once backing liberal causes, the Google co-founder has praised President Trump, donated to Republicans and spent $57 million to try to block a California billionaire tax.

The Republican-controlled Legislature is meeting in Tallahassee this week to vote on the map, which would apply for the 2026 midterms if passed.

Oral arguments on Monday morning lasted about an hour. It was not clear how justices would rule.

Representative Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey, who has missed nearly two months of votes in Washington, said he expected to fully recover from a “personal medical issue” but gave no other details.

Presidents use state visits to show off all that is appealing about American culture. But the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner has cast a shadow over the visit.

The state visit of King Charles III comes at a moment of tension over the war in Iran between President Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla gathered with Washington’s famous and not so famous for an off-the-record evening.

Jamie Ding, a self-described “faceless bureaucrat” from New Jersey, became a TV sensation during his 31-game winning streak.

Ding’s approach to dressing, with his spectacular spectrum of sweaters, suited a contestant who remained ice-cube calm as he climbed up the show’s leaderboard.

Officials have argued in court filings that the projects are exempt from federally required assessments, but are scrambling after a judge disagreed.

In exchange, the companies will invest in oil and gas projects, echoing an earlier deal with the French energy giant TotalEnergies.

The case could help determine the future of thousands of lawsuits against the maker of a popular herbicide over claims that it causes cancer.

In the world’s fastest aging society, artificial intelligence is being used to make care calls to older adults who live alone and to fight dementia.

The nonfiction and novels we can’t stop thinking about.

Even as the electric vehicle market has slumped, there are more long-range E.V.s under $40,000 than ever before.

Residents signed petitions, organized rallies and held strategy sessions over karaoke, debating how far to push the authorities in their dispute with a developer.

Each act of political violence further frays our threadbare social fabric, laying the foundation for authoritarianism.

Haiti’s revolution shocked the world. America still isn’t over it.

The event “was supposed to be an evening of fun and merriment,” Jon Stewart said, “until, like most things in America, it was interrupted by gunfire.”

With towering hairdos and perfect harmonies, she and her cousins Ronnie and Estelle brought a fresh edge to the girl-group sound in hits like “Be My Baby.”

The New York jail complex uses video games as part of its strategy to reduce violence with programming for good behavior.

The system brought down trees and power lines across several states. A man in Michigan was killed when a tree fell on him, the authorities said.

The rapper will perform in “Moulin Rouge!” for the final time on Friday, though the production didn’t say why she was leaving more than two weeks early.