May 27 (Asia Today) — OpenAI said Wednesday it will expand artificial intelligence-based cyber defense cooperation with the South Korean government, public agencies and companies in key industries.

The company announced its Korea Cyber Action Plan during a press conference at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul’s Seocho District. The plan is designed to give government agencies, public institutions and companies broader access to OpenAI’s advanced AI cyber models.

Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, said AI has entered a third stage as an “intelligence utility,” becoming core infrastructure for the economy and society after earlier phases focused on capability breakthroughs and broader access.

Kwon said South Korea is well positioned to adopt AI because it is a digital-first society that quickly embraces new technologies and has a “full-stack economy” with global semiconductor companies including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

“Advanced cyber AI capabilities should not remain in the hands of only a few,” Kwon said. “Korea’s key defenders should be able to use them to strengthen collective security and public safety.”

“Korea is a very important country for OpenAI,” he said. “We hope to become an important partner in Korea’s AI transformation and in strengthening national resilience.”

The Korea Cyber Action Plan is part of Daybreak, OpenAI’s global cybersecurity initiative that aims to build security into systems from the earliest stages of development. OpenAI says Daybreak is designed to help cyber defenders identify threats, generate patches and verify fixes across code and systems.

A key part of the plan is expanding Trusted Access for Cyber, a program that gives verified defensive users access to specialized cyber AI models. OpenAI said in April it was scaling the program to thousands of verified individual defenders and hundreds of teams responsible for protecting critical software.

Kwon said access for the South Korean government to the government version of the program is in its final stage. He said OpenAI is also discussing adoption of the private-sector program with several Korean companies.

Asked about potential misuse of cyber models and data leakage risks, Kwon said OpenAI is controlling risk by granting access only to “trusted defenders” who go through strict verification.

He also said OpenAI supports data residency in South Korea, allowing data to be processed on domestic servers. Public agencies and companies may also choose an option in which data is not stored at all, he said.

Kwon said OpenAI has begun talks with the Korea AI Safety Institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. He said the company will draw on its experience working with AI safety institutes in the United States and Britain to help South Korea build its own model evaluation capabilities.

Before Wednesday’s announcement, OpenAI had been deepening cooperation with South Korea’s public sector. On May 18, Sasha Baker, OpenAI’s head of national security policy, visited South Korea and demonstrated the company’s latest cyber-focused models to major agencies including the science ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the National AI Strategy Committee.

On Tuesday, Kwon met with Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of science and ICT, to discuss AI security cooperation. OpenAI also signed memorandums of understanding with Korea Water Resources Corp. and Korea Technology Finance Corp.

Kwon emphasized the company’s expectations for the Korean market.

“Korea is a country with very favorable conditions to turn AI into national competitiveness,” he said. “Based on ChatGPT, Korea is already one of the top 10 markets globally, and the speed of AI adoption is very fast.”

OpenAI said use of Codex in South Korea is also growing quickly. Weekly active users of ChatGPT Codex in the country have increased tenfold since the beginning of the year, placing South Korea among the top five countries by usage.

More than half of the requests come from non-development work such as document writing, analysis, research and operations, showing the potential for wider enterprise use, the company said.

Kwon said changes in OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft have made it possible to provide OpenAI API services through a wider range of cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services, and that enterprise growth is expected to accelerate.

On pricing for enterprise services, Kwon said consumer subscriptions and corporate services are different, and that business customers already use contract-based pricing. Over the long term, he said OpenAI aims to provide stronger AI performance at the same cost or lower unit prices so more users can benefit.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260527010008011

Michele Spagnuolo allegedly used insider information to profit from bets on people on Google’s most-searched list.

A Google software engineer has been charged with fraud by US authorities after allegedly using insider information to win more than $1.2m in bets on the prediction market platform Polymarket.

Michele Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen residing in Switzerland, is accused of using confidential information to wager on the results of Google’s annual most-searched list, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday.

US prosecutors accuse Spagnuolo of using an account named “AlphaRaccoon” to make trades on various markets linked to the results of Google’s 2025 Year in Search.

The total sum of the bets was approximately $2.75m, according to the complaint, filed in federal court in New York.

Among the bets, Spagnuolo successfully predicted that indie pop musician d4vd would top the list for the most-searched for person last year, hours after accessing confidential data at Google, according to prosecutors.

Spagnuolo, 36, faces charges of commodities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

“Today’s charges reinforce a decades-old message: corporate insiders cannot use confidential business information to turn a profit in our markets,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said in a statement.

“Insider trading compromises the integrity of our markets, and the American people want this greed-driven conduct investigated and prosecuted,” Clayton added.

Bets on Maduro’s capture

Google said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement and that using confidential information to place bets is a serious breach of company policy.

Spagnuolo has been placed on leave, according to a Google spokesperson.

A Polymarket spokesperson said the company had worked closely with the US Attorney’s Office on the investigation and that the firm “is the only prediction platform to date whose cooperation has led to insider trading charges in the United States”.

“We are committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets as well as enforcing our rules and working with our regulators and law enforcement,” the spokesperson added.

Last month, a US soldier was charged with using classified military information to place bets on Polymarket regarding the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Prosecutors accuse Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, of cashing in on the US operation against Maduro, to the tune of more than $400,000.

Married at First Sight viewers said they ‘feel bad’ for one star after recent revelations

Married At First Sight viewers shared their concern after one of the brides accused her husband of being dishonest about a former partner.

The American version of the beloved reality programme is currently broadcasting on E4. Brand new episodes from its 19th series air weekdays at 8pm on the channel, and are also available to stream on Channel 4.

In a subtle departure from other iterations of the show, viewers follow just five couples from Austin, who have committed themselves to complete strangers. While some pairings are moving forward steadily, others are proving considerably more turbulent.

Wednesday’s (May 27) episode saw the couples mark a significant milestone. A full month had passed since they all walked down the aisle, meaning it was also one month since they first laid eyes on one another.

The couples organised a diverse array of activities to commemorate the occasion, with Pat and Rhonda rising early to watch a live space launch on their laptop. Meanwhile, Josh arranged to go skydiving with his wife Jalyn, reports OK!

Later, Josh struggled to rewrite his vows, revealing it had taken him four days to compose his original speech. The pair eventually made up, however tensions were soon to reach boiling point following an incident that occurred off camera.

As the episode drew to a close and the credits began rolling, a heated row between the two was broadcast. Jalyn revealed they had been socialising with some of Josh’s friends when the topic of ex-partners somehow arose.

Footage from a camera positioned within their apartment shows them arriving home in the middle of a heated debate. Josh tells her: “And it’s just like no. He didn’t say that Jayln and my ex are similar, he said that I similarly jumped into this like I jumped into it with my ex.

And then the way I explained it was like ‘Duh I jumped into this, I got married.’ So that’s where Peter said the similarities are. And that’s what brought up the whole ex thing. And I’m sure that’s what prompted the conversation between you and David. “

Josh and I were hanging out with his friends and we had a situation happen where we had a lot of talk Abou social media and what does it look like if your partner still has exes and what does that look like. And he was like I unfollowed her on Instagram and then I could feel something was off and it became evident that he didn’t

It is then revealed that Josh’s ex has seemingly DM’d him since getting married, prompting Jalyn to state: “I just don’t like that.” He insists that he is not hiding anything but she shares to the camera: “An unnecessary little lie, All I think of is turning into bigger lies. It definitely feels like a breach of trust or a lack of respect.”

She continues: “What is a mistake that you can work through and what is a red flag that you should leave for?” It didn’t take long for those watching along at home to share what they feel about the situation.

One fan said: “I hate the whole American ‘can’t ever speak to your ex again’ thing, ugh. And Josh shouldn’t have offered to cut contact with his ex, then not done it. I hope Josh gets the post nup, I don’t trust Jalyn.”

Another claimed: “Josh shouldn’t have said that he stopped following the ex when he didn’t and she shouldn’t have asked him to in the first place.”

While someone else noted: “Oh the ending where Josh still didn’t block his ex and seems like he’s still having conversations with her but then tells Jalyn that he doesn’t want a relationship with his ex, then why are you talking to her? I feel so bad for her.”

Married At First Sight USA continues tomorrow at 8pm on E4 and streaming on Channel 4

One year and four months ago, Jeremy Strohmeyer followed little 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson into a casino ladies’ room. His friend, David Cash, followed after them. There, Strohmeyer kidnapped, sexually assaulted and strangled Sherrice to death while Cash, according to his own testimony, watched the assault begin and then left without notifying authorities. Strohmeyer pleaded guilty to all the crimes, facing a lifetime in prison, and Cash remains at UC Berkeley. The disparate legal treatment of two young men who both appear so morally culpable has raised a lot passions, causing even a noted criminal defense attorney, Strohmeyer’s own Leslie Abramson, to call angrily for some retribution against Cash.

So why hasn’t Cash been charged? Many in the African American community believe that the whole case is about race. South-Central activists were highly critical of the Nevada district attorney’s willingness to accept a plea offer from Strohmeyer, wondering if the prosecution wouldn’t have been more eager to seek the death penalty through a trial if the victim were white and wealthy. Maybe. As a former public defender, it seems to me that the deal was typical when a defendant faces a real possibility of the death penalty. Moreover, as an opponent of the death penalty, I agree with Sherrice’s father when he said, “Killing that boy won’t bring my baby back.”

But when it comes to Cash, I wonder. This is not Mississippi in 1963. There is no great racist plot. Indeed, the public unease and outrage against Cash is a multiracial affair with blacks and browns, whites and reds, yellows and “mixeds” all horrified by his actions and indifference. But is there a subtle, perhaps unconscious combination of racial and class privilege causing the authorities to balk at charging a young middle-class white man with a bright future at an elite public university? Would they be so hesitant if he were darker hued, had no high school degree and had the uncertain economic future that too many young, poor black and brown men face?

It is said that neither Nevada nor California can charge Cash because neither state has a “good Samaritan” law–and they should.

I disagree with the pundits who oppose such laws with concerns that range from the infrequency with which Vermont uses its law to the suggestion that these laws turn “us into informants on each other.” It doesn’t matter if the new law is rarely used. Ideally, we hope that all criminal laws will rarely need to be used. What matters is that we believe that the moral obligation to help under certain circumstances is important. If so, then we should have a law for whenever it is needed. And these laws have less to do with us becoming informants on each other and everything to do with what we should already be doing for each other: helping each other out in times of need, regardless of our differences, because we are all part of a community.

But what about the laws we already have? Both states have laws that make accessories to a crime guilty of a crime. An accessory is the crime of knowing a felony offense has been committed and helping the perpetrator avoid arrest or trial. Several Nevada attorneys have suggested that Cash could be charged as an accessory for two reasons: If Cash saw the sexual assault and lied about it, that would be interference with the state’s ability to prosecute, or if Cash told friends, as he did, to keep quiet when they recognized Strohmeyer and Cash in the televised casino surveillance tape that, too, would hinder Strohmeyer’s arrest and prosecution. These attorneys are right. And their examples are bolstered by the fact that when Cash’s father told Cash that the two of them would have to go to the police, Cash’s first move was to call Strohmeyer and tell him, “Do whatever you’re going to do, but do it now.” It was a warning designed to help Strohmeyer avoid arrest or trial.

Frankly, as new information is revealed, the case against Cash grows stronger. While Cash swore under oath that he only witnessed the young girl struggling with Strohmeyer, Cash consistently told friends that he watched Strohmeyer molest the half-naked, terrified Sherrice. It was then, according to Cash’s former roommate, that Cash asked Strohmeyer that stomach-turning question “Was she aroused?” not after Strohmeyer left the bathroom and said that he’d killed Sherrice as Cash claims now.

If instead of ineffectually trying to stop his friend and leaving while “fear[ing] the worst,” Cash, in fact, encouraged his friend’s sick, deadly assault, Cash sounds more like an aider and abettor–beyond an accessory and as guilty as the principal. Surely, Sherrice’s hopes must have died when, in the last moments of her life, she saw her sole avenue of escape blocked by the head of the man in the next stall chatting with her assailant while she was tortured. One wonders whether Cash didn’t wait outside the bathroom door to act as a lookout for Strohmeyer. Moreover, this uglier version of Cash’s acts is evidence that he may have lied. The fact that he lied is more than perjury or inhibiting a police investigation or even protecting Strohmeyer. The lies are also about the specifics of what Cash himself saw and did and reflect his own consciousness of guilt.

If the Nevada authorities can look at all this and find no crime, it’s important to note that the California authorities could also charge Cash. Although the main crime, Sherrice’s murder, occurred in Nevada, many of the accessory acts–intimidating witnesses, lying to authorities, warning Strohmeyer–occurred in California. So the Nevada and the California authorities can do what justice demands.

Many of Cash’s fellow students are morally outraged and have taken action accordingly; the student council wanted to throw him out of school. Both the Nevada and California authorities ought to reexamine Cash’s immoral and illegal behavior and also act accordingly.

There was certainly some surprise when England boss Tuchel opted to leave Wharton out of his 26-man squad heading to the World Cup.

Palace may have not had a great domestic season given they finished 15th in the Premier League and went out of the FA Cup against non-League Macclesfield – but they have now won a European trophy and Wharton was hugely influential in that.

This Conference League final performance was another reason to be wondering why Wharton is not on the plane.

The decision to pick Brentford midfielder Henderson at the age of 35 over the 22-year-old Wharton may be the most eye-catching and surprising selection.

Henderson has obviously been picked for his experience but Wharton would probably have more to give on the pitch if you compare not only their performances this season but also last term.

“I understand why the manager has taken Henderson but for me if he is going to do that kind of job, take him as a coach,” said Hoddle. “Take him as a player-coach if you like but I think there was a spot there for Wharton.”

The re-emergence of Mainoo at Manchester United has also not helped Wharton given the Palace midfielder was in Tuchel’s squads for the last two international breaks and featured in qualifiers against Serbia and Albania before a friendly appearance against Uruguay in March.

Mainoo, given he was being frozen out at Old Trafford by Ruben Amorim for the first half of the season, was not involved under Tuchel until the March friendlies and now has won his way into favour.

Both were at Euro 2024 but Wharton never got on the pitch while Mainoo started all four knockout games, including the final.

Arsenal‘s Declan Rice is surely one of the first names on the team-sheet and Elliot Anderson is expected to partner him while Tuchel also has Bellingham, Eze and Rogers as midfield options.

It certainly feels a very harsh decision to leave someone like Wharton at home, even if Tuchel has many choices in the position.

May 27 (UPI) — The United States and Kenya are in talks to create a quarantine facility in Kenya for Americans exposed to Ebola, unnamed officials told multiple media outlets Wednesday.

The U.S. Public Health Service would staff the planned field hospital and isolate and monitor Americans exposed to or at risk of the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan.

The Kenyan government has not yet approved the plan, The Star, Kenya, reported.

The plan is to have the facility built with 50 beds within a week, with the potential to expand to 250 beds later, The Washington Post reported.

The staff at the Public Health Service has begun training at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to staff the Kenya facility, two people familiar with the response told The Post. But one person said they were concerned that the training was only three days.

The plan could keep U.S. citizens from re-entering the United States, a former official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who has worked on the Ebola response told CBS News.

“It would be unbelievably unethical and irresponsible to maroon Americans, given Kenya doesn’t have a proper Level 4 containment facility or much experience” in dealing with Ebola.

Nahid Bhadelia, director of Boston University’s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases who has cared for Ebola patients in multiple outbreaks, told The Post that creating a makeshift quarantine hospital overseas brings risks.

“My biggest concern would be that you cannot re-create the same quality of care or training among healthcare staff at an ad hoc center that you would at any of the well-trained and established hospitals that the U.S. has set up since 2014 to take care of these types of patients,” Bhadelia said. “I’m also concerned what this does is effectively discourage Americans and American organizations from working in the area if they know it will be difficult for them to come back in case of an emergency.”

Bhadelia added that if quarantined people contract the disease, staff “would need to be able to provide ICU-level care.”

Meanwhile, the American Foreign Service Association is calling on the State Department to send affected Foreign Services workers and their families home, saying they can be repatriated and monitored at the same U.S. facilities where Americans exposed during previous outbreaks were admitted.

“Those facilities still exist, and the government has the ability to transport people safely and without endangering other travelers,” the AFSA said in a statement.

“Foreign Service employees are there because the U.S. government sent them. They are entitled to the same standard of care that has always applied, including the right to come home.”

More than 220 people have died in the DRC in the latest outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. The World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern. WHO and partner agencies have reported more than 900 suspected cases in Congo and Uganda as of Tuesday.

The WHO reported Wednesday that fighting in Congo is also making it difficult for aid workers to respond to the outbreak.

Parisians cooled off in the city’s Saint-Martin canal as an unprecedented heatwave pushed temperatures across Europe far above seasonal norms. Swimmers ignored long-standing bans, swimming outside designated bathing sites.

Strictly Come Dancing finalist Amber Davies, who shot to fame when she won Love Island, has hit back at claims that she only went on the ITV2 dating show to try to make it to the West End stage

Amber Davies insisted that she didn’t go on Love Island just to further her stage career. The actress, 29, competed on the ITV2 reality dating show in 2017 and went on to win it alongside then-boyfriend Kem Cetinay.

Before her rise to fame, Amber trained in musical theatre at the Urdang Academy in London and openly spoke of her desire to make it to the West End whilst she was on the show. Following her victory on the programme, she was cast alongside Louise Redknapp in the London production of Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5, and then appeared in a UK tour of Bring It On: The Musical before returning to the West End to star in Back to the Future.

She followed this up with starring roles in Pretty Woman: The Musical and The Great Gatsby before enjoying a star turn on last year’s edition of Strictly Come Dancing, where she made it to the final alongside professional partner Nikita Kuzmin after being roped in at the last minute as a replacement for Dani Dyer.

However, Amber has now insisted she only went on Love Island because she couldn’t find employment elsewhere as she spoke with fellow West End star Jacob Fowler, who got his big break when he won Little Mix: The Search on the BBC in 2019.

Speaking on her Call To Stage podcast, she said: “A lot of people ask me, ‘Oh, did you do that just to get on the West End?’ No, I did it because I couldn’t get a bloody job! I didn’t want to work at a bar and Love Island were giving me a free holiday for six weeks. Luckily [it worked out]!”

Amber can currently be seen starring as Elle Woods in a UK tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical, but the production got off to something of a bumpy start amid various cast illnesses, and the TV star herself was forced to take time away from the part earlier this year.

While she was away, TikTok star Hannah Lowther took over the part but rumours of a “feud” between the two began to emerge, which both actresses quickly quashed, although comparisons of how each of them portrayed Reese Witherspoon’s signature role of a sorority-girl-turned-lawyer role continued to dominate social media.

Following her return to the show after fighting off a chest infection, Amber admitted that while she did sign up to be “in the spotlight” with her TV career, she never expected to receive the amount of online hate she has done over her stage work.

She said: “I know that going on Love Island put me in the spotlight. I didn’t know how much it was going to and I feel so grateful that 10 years on, I was on Strictly, and there’s so many amazing things that have happened to me. I definitely am used to it but I do have to prepare myself.”

“The last thing I do want to speak out about – this has broke my heart in ways that I can’t even possibly imagine. When I was doing Strictly I’d had a meeting with my team and they prepared me for the trolling and the opinions.

“Sometimes the opinions aren’t trolling but the opinions are mean, so it counts as trolling. I think sometimes when people leave mean comments, they forget that they are talking about an actual human being who is just working hard.

“What I wasn’t prepared for was the trolling that was going to come with Elle. I have worked…I am trying to find the words to explain this…I’ve been in this industry, I’ve done lots of jobs and I’ve never experienced trolling within the musical theatre industry as much as I have during this time.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.

WASHINGTON — Ethnic war in Kosovo is provoking a kind of civil war inside the Republican Party.

In rapid fashion, the conflict in the Balkans is widening a fissure in the GOP over America’s role in the world. While Democrats mostly have supported President Clinton’s course, Republicans are being torn in diametrical directions as Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s forces systematically expel hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo.

On one side, a band of traditional GOP internationalists–led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona–is urging Clinton to escalate the campaign against Milosevic, even to the point of sending ground troops to drive the Serbian forces from Kosovo.

On the other side, an assertive group of conservative nationalists–led by presidential hopeful Patrick J. Buchanan, but extending into Congress–is arguing that the United States should bring its forces home now and leave the problem to the Europeans. “I think . . . we should tell our partners, ‘Look, we’ve expended, almost exhausted our resources. . . . Now on May 1st, we’re going to be out of there and then you take over from there,”’ Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) argued Sunday.

This dispute marks the first real division in the Republican presidential campaign and, more importantly, a continued shift in the GOP’s center of gravity away from the internationalism that defined it through the Cold War.

Many in the GOP now appear increasingly drawn to an updated version of the old “fortress America” doctrine in which the United States increases its spending on defense but reduces its commitments abroad. Supporters describe this impulse as hard-headed nationalism. Critics, in both parties, deride it as isolationism.

“Republican foreign policy is now mired in pathetic incoherence,” the conservative Weekly Standard magazine said in an editorial last week.

In the first half of the century, the GOP was closely divided between internationalists and isolationists. When the Cold War dawned after World War II, that balance of power tilted toward the internationalists–whose victory was sealed by Dwight D. Eisenhower’s triumph over isolationist Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio for the GOP presidential nomination in 1952.

For nearly the next four decades, internationalists dedicated to containment of the Soviet Union held the upper hand in the GOP–even while isolationist sentiment in the Democratic Party grew after the Vietnam War.

A Role Reversal for Democrats, GOP

But the collapse of the Soviet Union eliminated the central rationale for engagement abroad among conservatives and has precipitated something of a role reversal between the parties during Clinton’s presidency. That process has reached a peak in the last few weeks with Republicans leading the opposition to U.S. involvement in Kosovo and Democrats (including many who opposed Vietnam) insisting on America’s obligation to ensure stability abroad.

When the Senate voted last month to authorize airstrikes in Kosovo, 70% of Senate Republicans voted no. Earlier, three-quarters of House Republicans voted against the use of American troops as part of an eventual North Atlantic Treaty Organization peace-keeping force in Kosovo. Virtually all Democrats in both chambers backed Clinton.

Those figures partly reflect Republican skepticism about Clinton’s ability to manage a military conflict and their sheer distrust of the president. But most analysts also see larger forces at work.

“It’s a complex fabric that’s giving us this situation here, from congressional feelings toward this president to the post Cold War fault lines,” said Marshall Wittmann, director of congressional relations at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

It is possible that tensions could sharpen among Democrats, too, if Clinton eventually asks for ground troops. But so far Democrats have offered little dissent from the president’s course.

On the other hand, the outbreak of fighting has widened the disagreement among Republicans. Overshadowed during congressional debates on Kosovo last month, internationalist Republicans have raised their voices since the bombings began.

Most ubiquitous has been McCain. Last week, McCain put off the formal announcement of his bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2000, saying that it was inappropriate while NATO was at war in Kosovo. But he has been inescapable on television arguing for an escalation against Milosevic, including the use of ground troops if necessary.

“For us to rule out any capability we have to bring this war to a successful conclusion is a mistake,” McCain said.

Others in this camp include Republican Sens. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and Charles Hagel of Nebraska, 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole and–more gingerly–Elizabeth Hanford Dole, who has not explicitly backed ground troops but said last week that “no options should be taken off the table.”

In a slightly different place are Republicans–led by former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger–who opposed the original decision to intervene in Kosovo but now say that NATO must do whatever it takes to defeat Milosevic to maintain its credibility.

Yet it remains unclear how much support these internationalists still command in the GOP.

Apart from McCain and Elizabeth Dole, the only other Republican contender who has accepted the possible use of ground troops is Texas Gov. George W. Bush–though his comments have been so tangled and conditional that the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page labeled them “Clintonian.”

Half of the GOP contenders–including former Vice President Dan Quayle and Ohio Rep. John R. Kasich–have opposed the bombing mission from the outset.

On Sunday, Inhofe and Buchanan raised the ante by calling for Clinton to cut off the military action already underway. Jack Kemp, the GOP’s 1996 vice presidential nominee, last week also urged Clinton to call off the attack and reopen negotiations. Rep. Tom Campbell (R-San Jose), who has criticized the mission, plans to introduce a resolution shortly that would require an up or down vote in Congress on whether to end American involvement.

Republicans opposed to the Kosovo mission extend beyond isolationist figures like Buchanan toward leaders with previously unquestioned credentials as internationalists–like Kemp and Quayle. But the GOP case against involvement is resurfacing arguments that echo earlier generations of isolationist thinking on the right.

One line of thought revives pre-Cold War conservative skepticism about excessive U.S. involvement in Europe. Quayle and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have argued over the last week that, if troops are required in Kosovo, European nations alone should provide them.

Most foreign policy analysts consider that an impractical prescription since the European governments have made clear that they will not commit troops unless the United States does.

Concerns About U.S. Military Deployments

A related line of Republican thinking on Kosovo echoes earlier “fortress America” thinking. This argument holds that Clinton has invested U.S. forces in too many conflicts–from Bosnia to Haiti to Kosovo–that do not truly threaten America’s vital interests.

By making so many deployments, these conservatives insist, Clinton is depleting the U.S. ability to respond to a true crisis–especially because they believe he has not provided enough funds for defense. As Kasich put it recently: “The United States has to maintain its strength and power so it can preserve stability in the world.”

Much like Clinton, the GOP internationalists think that argument is almost exactly backward. They argue that the United States cannot hold its position of world leadership if it walks away from a crisis of this magnitude.

The test of strength for these competing arguments could come in the weeks ahead if Clinton decides to seek congressional support for ground troops.

Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández’s said he was hoping for “somewhat good news tomorrow” after leaving Tuesday’s game with an oblique injury.

But on Wednesday, an MRI exam showed a “significant tear” in his left oblique, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Hernández is expected to be out six to eight weeks, but recovery timelines for oblique strains vary, depending on how long it takes the player to become symptom-free.

“You don’t really know what the timeline is, but it’s certainly warranting an IL stint,” Roberts said.

In a corresponding move, infielder Alex Freeland was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City.

After returning from a offseason surgery on his left elbow, the 34-year-old Hernández went four for four, including a home run and two RBIs.

However, Hernández said he tweaked his oblique during batting practice Monday, though he felt fine enough to play. The pain returned after his third-inning home run swing, and he was pulled in the top of the fifth Tuesday.

In his absence, the Dodgers will be splitting time between Freeland and Hyeseong Kim, with Freeland getting the majority of the reps. The Dodgers are also navigating third baseman Max Muncy’s return.

“Right now, he’s earned the opportunity to get some looks consistently, and it’s a credit to him to go back down and play well,” Roberts said of Freeland.

In 33 games with the Dodgers, Freeland collected 23 hits and 2 home runs, walking 11 times.

But his time in the minor leagues was productive, as he hit .265 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 11 games with the Comets.

“It was great, that’s what we talked about doing is going down there and knocking the door down and taking that frustration out on those pitchers,” Roberts said. “And that’s what he did.”

• Share via Close extra sharing options

Freeland’s next step is to show he can make those improvements against Major League pitching. His first chance will be against the Colorado Rockies’ Tomoyuki Sugano as Freeland was inserted into the starting lineup at second base.

“You know you’re in a big room, and you’re trying to find your way, not make mistakes,” Roberts said of Freeland. “[He has to] give himself some grace and go out there and play hard and be a tough out. Go out there and play defense, and then good things happen.

With Freeland playing, Kim will take a backseat. In the 27-year-old’s 42 games with the Dodgers, Kim hasn’t reached his previous successes from last season. Currently, he is batting .254 with 29 hits and 11 RBIs.

When asked about how the Dodgers plan to balance also getting Kim some at-bats, Roberts replied: “Hyeseong’s gotten a lot of runway, certainly versus right-handed pitching, and I think that right now it’s skewing towards Alex getting more of the opportunities.”

Uganda has closed its border with neighbouring DR Congo for four weeks in an effort to contain an Ebola outbreak. Authorities say at least seven cases, including one death, have been confirmed, while hundreds are being monitored.

SAVANNAH Guthrie has quietly dropped hundreds of thousands on private investigators in a desperate attempt to find her mother months after she was abducted from her home.

The U.S. Sun can report that the Today anchor, 54, has shelled out around $500,000 to keep the search going for Nancy, 84, after losing faith in the official investigation. 

Though many have lost hope that Nancy will ever be found, Savannah “has told everyone involved that the search will continue for as long as necessary,” an insider told The U.S. Sun.

“She is not prepared to stop looking for her mother. She feels that depending only on the official investigation is not enough anymore – that’s why she’s investing so heavily in private investigators and outside specialists.”

The source said that the heartbroken daughter has hired an “entire independent team” who are “working leads every day” to help bring her beloved mother home.

This top-notch team includes former agents, security experts, and investigators, the insider claimed.

Read More Savannah Guthrie

‘ISN’T SHE RICH ENOUGH?’

Inside Savannah Guthrie’s plan for ‘second act’ in entertainment

According to the insider, the veteran journalist became disillusioned with the official investigation.

“She became increasingly disappointed with how communication from authorities changed over time,” they added.

“What once felt urgent started to feel far more routine.”

“When Savannah learned there would no longer be direct contact with the sheriff, she took that very personally,” the insider continued.

“She felt the family was being pushed further away from the center of the investigation.”

Meanwhile, a second insider explained: “The financial cost has become enormous, but Savannah doesn’t care about the money.”

“Right now, every dollar is worth spending if it helps bring her mother home.

“By now, the costs have climbed well into the mid-six figures. 

“And remember,  Savannah was once willing to pay a ransom, so spending big on the search is nothing new for her.”

“She keeps telling friends the same thing: The family can’t stop searching.

“Hope is the only thing driving her right now.”

The second insider claimed Savannah is still “emotionally devastated,” despite her smiley demeanor on the morning show each day.

“But she still believes there’s a chance her mother can be found, and that belief is what keeps the private search going every single day.”

Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack was the first to report on Savannah’s ongoing investigator efforts into Nancy‘s disappearance. 

More than 100 days have passed since Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her bed in the early morning hours of February 1.

As the Pima County Sheriff’s Office remains tight-lipped, a feud has erupted behind the scenes between local cops and the highest levels of federal law enforcement.

FBI Director Kash Patel went on national television to blast local authorities, claiming they completely botched the opening hours of the investigation. 

Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Patel emphasized that while missing persons cases technically fall under local jurisdiction, the first 48 hours are the absolute most critical window to find someone alive. 

According to the FBI chief, federal agents were left twiddling their thumbs for four straight days before locals finally let them in.

Once the Bureau secured access, they immediately bypassed local roadblocks to recover chilling Nest security camera footage from Guthrie’s front porch. 

The terrifying video shows a masked predator messing with potted plants to block the camera view before tearing the device off the wall. 

Patel took direct credit for the breakthrough, noting the Bureau had to coordinate directly with Google just to get those haunting images out to the public.

The finger-pointing did not stop there. Patel openly slammed Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos for bypassing the FBI’s world-class crime lab in Quantico, Virginia. 

Instead, local police shipped crucial DNA evidence found inside Nancy’s home to a private laboratory down in Florida.

Timeline of Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance

Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared from her home on February 1, 2026.

Timeline:

• January 31: Nancy is last seen by her family
  • 5:32pm: Nancy travels to her daughter’s home for dinner, about 11 minutes from her own house.
  • 9:48pm: Family members drop off Nancy Guthrie at her home in Tucson. Her garage door closes two minutes later.
• February 1: Nancy is reported missing and a search begins
  • 1:47am: Nancy’s doorbell camera disconnects
  • 2:12am: Camera software detects a person moving in range of the camera. There is no video, and Nancy does not have a storage description.
  • 2:28am: Nancy’s pacemaker app disconnects from her phone, which is later found still at her house.
  • Around 11am: A parishioner at Nancy’s church calls the mom’s children and says she failed to show up for service.
  • 11:56am: Family members arrive at Nancy’s house to check on her.
  • 12:03pm: The family calls 911 to report Nancy missing.
  • 8:55pm: The Pima County Sheriff’s Office gives its first press conference and reveals some clues found at Nancy’s home caused “grave concern.” Sheriff Chris Nanos says helicopters, drones, and infrared cameras are all being utilized in the search.
• February 2: Search crews pull back. Nancy’s home is considered a crime scene. Savannah releases a statement thanking supporters for their prayers, which her co-hosts read on Today.
• February 3: A trail of blood is pictured outside Nancy’s home, where there were reportedly signs of forced entry. Nanos admits they have no suspects, no leads, and no videos that could lead to Nancy’s recovery. He and the FBI beg for more tips and accounts.
• February 4, 8pm: Savannah and her siblings release a heartbreaking video directed at their mother’s abductors asking for proof she is alive and saying they’re willing to work with them to get her back.
• February 5: FBI offers $50,000 reward for information on the case.
  • 5pm: First ransom demand deadline for millions in Bitcoin passes. Guthrie family releases demand to speak “directly” to the kidnappers, saying, “We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”
  • Blood is confirmed to be Nancy’s.
• February 7: Savannah and her siblings share a video stating they received a message from kidnappers and are willing to pay.
• February 9, 5pm: Second ransom demand deadline, reportedly with “much more serious” conditions.
  • Savannah posts a video asking the public to report anything strange to law enforcement.
• February 10: The FBI release surveillance footage of the armed masked suspect outside Guthrie’s house on the night she disappeared.
• February 11: A man is detained in Rio Rico, about 19 miles south of Tucson. The individual was released after being questioned by authorities.
• February 12: Suspect described as 5’9″-5’10” carrying a black Ozark Trail backpack (Walmart exclusive).
• February 13: A second man is detained by police after being pulled over by Pima County officers near a Culver’s in Tucson. The man, identified as Luke Daley, was questioned and has since been released.
• February 15: DNA is collected from a discarded glove found 2 miles away that matches surveillance.
• February 16: Sheriff Nanos clears the Guthrie family and their spouses of any involvement.
• February 24: The Guthrie family increased the family’s reward for information to $1million.
• March 4: DNA on the glove is traced to a restaurant worker, and the person is cleared of any involvement.
• March 16: ABC News reports that more images have been obtained from motion-activated cameras.
• March 26: Savannah’s first on-camera interview since her mother’s disappearance airs.

Patel claimed he had hundreds of federal agents and intelligence analysts deployed to Phoenix and Tucson on standby, ready to flood the neighborhood and process the DNA evidence within days. 

He expressed frustration that the Bureau was sidelined, arguing their premier lab could have cracked open better leads by now.

Sheriff Nanos is fiercely hitting back against the narrative. 

In an official statement, Nanos denied keeping the feds in the dark, insisting that members of the FBI Task Force were actually boots-on-the-ground at the scene alongside local detectives from the very beginning. 

Nanos fired back that both his department and Nancy’s own family notified federal authorities immediately.

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden sued the Justice Department on Tuesday in an effort to block the release of audio recordings and transcripts of the former president’s interview with a ghostwriter that were obtained by the special counsel who investigated his handling of classified documents.

Biden’s lawyers said in a lawsuit filed in Washington’s federal court that the Justice Department plans to release the files to Congress and a conservative group, the Heritage Foundation, after the department had previously argued that they were exempt from disclosure under the public records law.

Biden’s lawyers argued that the disclosure would “constitute an unwarranted invasion of President Biden’s privacy.”

“Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home,” his attorneys wrote. “And when the U.S. Department of Justice obtains that private information through a criminal investigation, the Department bears a particular responsibility to protect it from disclosure.”

At issue in the case are audio recordings and transcripts of Biden’s interviews at his home in 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs. The files were scrutinized by special counsel Robert Hur as part of his investigation into the president’s improper retention of classified documents, from his time as a senator and as vice president.

Hur’s yearlong investigation led to a 345-page report that questioned Biden’s age and mental competence but recommended no criminal charges against the then-81-year-old. Hur said he found insufficient evidence to successfully prosecute a case in court.

Biden has separately fought the release of the audio of his interview with Hur. The House in 2024 voted to hold Biden Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over that audio after the White House exerted executive privilege, shielding it from Congress.

The transcripts of five hours of Biden interviews with federal prosecutors was released that same year. While Biden was adamant that he treated classified information seriously, the transcript shows that he was at times fuzzy about dates and details and he said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.

Republicans have argued Biden was being given a pass by his own Justice Department and that Trump had been unfairly victimized by prosecutors. Democrats, for their part, stressed Biden’s cooperation in the investigation and strongly contrasted that with the separate criminal case against Trump, who was accused of refusing to return classified documents requested by the National Archives that he had at his Florida estate.

Richer writes for the Associated Press.

The Granada Hills and Carson softball programs know each other so well they might as well put on their MaxPreps schedule before the season a date for their annual game to decide the City Section Open Division championship.

It’s happening for a fourth consecutive season Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Legacy High in South Gate. Last season, Granada Hills ended a three-game losing streak to the Colts.

On Wednesday, both teams won their semifinal games. Granada Hills’ No. 1 and No. 2 batters in the lineup, Elysse Diaz and Zoe Justman, had big games in a 12-9 win over San Pedro. They combined to go five for eight with five RBIs. Justman had a home run. Gina Evangelista hit an inside-the-park grand slam.

San Pedro scored five runs in the seventh to give the Highlanders a little scare.

At Carson, the Colts came away with a 12-2 semifinal win over Birmingham. Sophomore Anaiyah Popoalii had a home run, double and three RBIs. Olivia Lomeli went three for four with three RBIs. Pitcher Isabella Campos threw a complete game.

The Trump administration has sought to pressure international officials who scrutinise reported abuses by Israeli forces.

The United States government has returned UN human rights expert Francesca Albanese to a list of sanctioned individuals after a judge had granted a temporary injunction against the designation.

On Wednesday, an update appeared on the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) website, indicating that Albanese had been added to the agency’s list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), without offering further details.

Albanese serves as the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, and her criticism of Israeli policies has made her a target under US President Donald Trump.

In July 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement announcing sanctions against Albanese, accusing her of “lawfare” and “biased and malicious activities” against Israel.

He also cited her recommendation that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, which it ultimately did in November 2024.

The announcement was one in a series of actions the Trump administration has taken against critics it sees as hostile to US and Israeli interests.

The sanctions barred Albanese from entering the US and froze her assets in the country. They also prevented any US-based entity from doing business with her.

Albanese, an Italian citizen, has close ties to the US: Her daughter is a US citizen, and the family maintains a residence in the country.

In February, members of Albanese’s family filed a lawsuit on her behalf, stating that the sanctions had disrupted her life, even preventing her from accessing her bank account.

The lawsuit also accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate those who speak out against Israeli rights abuses.

Albanese has been vocal in her assessment that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, a view echoed by leading human rights experts around the world. More than 75,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on the Strip.

Albanese is not alone in facing economic penalties for her work. Since taking office for a second term, Trump is estimated to have issued sanctions against nine ICC judges, as well as prosecutors for the court.

The judges and prosecutors were reportedly involved in probes into abuses by US and Israeli forces.

Legal experts have condemned the sanctions as an assault on international law and an effort to shield the US and its allies from scrutiny.

On May 13, US District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of former President George W Bush, ruled in favour of the Albanese family’s lawsuit, granting a temporary injunction against the sanctions.

Leon found that the Trump administration had used the penalties to curtail Albanese’s constitutionally protected speech. He also stated that Albanese could not be blamed for the ICC’s actions.

“It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC’s actions,” Leon wrote. “They are nothing more than her opinion.”

As a result of the ruling, Albanese was removed from the sanctions list this month.

But the Trump administration appealed Leon’s order. It also said it would restore her to the sanctions list as soon as it was able, though it is unclear what prompted Wednesday’s change.

Both the US and Iran have recently signaled progress on efforts to reach a deal to end their conflict, though their accounts of its terms differ on some issues across respective media narratives, Anadolu reports.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said an agreement with Iran to end the war was “largely negotiated” and awaited finalization.

On Sunday morning, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency also published a report on the details of a potential agreement. However, certain aspects of what has been agreed seem to diverge.

Here is a comparison of the US and Iranian versions of the deal by key issues.

Strait of Hormuz

Citing a US official, Axios said the deal that Washington and Tehran are close to signing would extend a ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened.

During the 60-day period, the Strait of Hormuz would be opened without any tolls, and Iran would remove the mines it has placed there to ensure unrestricted maritime passage.

In return, Washington would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, added the report.

The New York Times also said it was informed by three senior Iranian officials that Tehran had agreed to a memorandum of understanding to halt fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said on Sunday that the agreement could, if successful, result in a “completely open” Strait of Hormuz, with no tolls or restrictions on passage.

“They don’t own it. It’s an international waterway,” Rubio told reporters of the strait, in remarks that came during his visit to India.

A report by Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim, however, said that the Strait of Hormuz will not fully return to its pre-war status if the agreement is reached.

Instead, the number of ships allowed to pass would be restored to pre-war levels within 30 days, the outlet added.

Tehran also demands an end to the US blockade on its ports, arguing that no changes will be made in the strait if the blockade remains in place.

For its part, the US argues that the quicker Iran removes the mines and allows shipping to resume, the sooner the blockade will be lifted.

READ: Iran ready to reassure world it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, president says

Sanctions relief and release of frozen Iranian assets

Iran was seeking the immediate unfreezing of funds and a permanent lifting of sanctions, but the US position indicates these measures would only be granted after Iran made concrete concessions, according to the Axios report.

As part of the proposed 60-day agreement, the US is offering temporary sanctions waivers that would allow Iran to sell its oil freely. These waivers are explicitly linked to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, removing mines, and ending restrictions on maritime traffic. Once these steps are taken, Washington would also lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Tehran, however, says no agreement will be reached unless at least a portion of the frozen Iranian assets is released immediately. Iranian media confirmed the discussion of temporary oil sanctions waivers in the latest US proposal but insisted on broader and more permanent sanctions relief.

Nuclear file

The Axios report said the draft deal includes commitments from Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons, along with provisions to negotiate a suspension of uranium enrichment and the removal of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The Iranian media reports, however, indicate that Tehran has not yet accepted anything on its nuclear program.

A potential deal would involve a 60-day negotiation window on Iran’s nuclear program, according to Tasnim.

Extent of ceasefire

Both US and Iranian media reports suggest that the cessation of hostilities would mean a halt to fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.

This was also highlighted by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Saturday, when he said Tehran was prioritizing an end to hostilities across all fronts, including Lebanon.

Context

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. Tehran retaliated with strikes targeting Israel, as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation and was later extended by Trump indefinitely. Washington and Tehran also held rare direct talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on April 11-12, but have failed to reach an agreement.

Trump’s Saturday remarks came after Pakistani army chief Asim Munir’s visit to Tehran. The visit was the second of its kind in recent weeks, as Munir is directly involved in Islamabad’s mediation efforts.

READ: Trump says Iran talks ‘constructive’ but blockade will remain until final deal is reached

KATIE Price has found hubby Lee Andrews after two weeks — and he claims he was detained on suspicion of spying.

She spoke to conman Lee, 43, for two minutes this morning after his dad put her in touch. Katie, 48, says the call came from Dubai’s Al Awir jail.

She said: “It was very rushed but he said the authorities out there thought he was a spy.”

Relieved Katie added: “I told him how worried I’d been and that I loved him.”

Panicked Katie raised the alarm on May 13, telling fans Lee had been tied up, put in a van and taken to a “black site” after being “arrested”.

Now she says Lee has told her he was detained on suspicion of spying, and is being held at Dubai’s Al Awir prison.

LONG LOST LEE

Katie Price reveals first chat with husband Lee after he’s ‘arrested’

HE’S BACK!

Katie Price reveals she’s FOUND ‘missing’ husband Lee after ‘call from prison’

Katie’s contact with her husband came after his dad Peter texted her to explain his whereabouts.

She said: “I have found him. He is alive, and he is OK. I told him how worried I had been and told him I loved him.

“It was very rushed, but he said the authorities out there thought he was a spy. I don’t know much more than that right now.”

Lee, who lives full-time in Dubai, is believed to have been arrested on May 14.

The Sun, however, understands he has been detained over claims relating to a private civil matter. Authorities have confirmed to us he was NOT held over spying charges.

He is due for release on Monday, but must pay a four-figure fine.

Lee once reposted an Instagram post suggesting he should be the next James Bond.

And he is seen “acting” in an excruciating 2016 video on his YouTube channel titled “Charity TV show: The Agent”.

A comment adds: “Featuring billionaire defense (sic) contractor H.E Weslee Peter John Andrews.”

Espionage is one of the most serious crimes in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2018 Brit PhD student Matthew Hedges was held at Dubai airport on suspicion of spying.

He was jailed for life but pardoned and released following intense international pressure.

In the days before Lee’s arrest he had moved belongings out of his rental apartment, and had moved in briefly with his father, staying in his run-down villa.

It is not known where he disappeared to after this, and his family filed a missing person’s report at the British embassy in Dubai.

On May 19, The Sun told how Lee duped our Clemmie Moodie into investing £1,000 on the promise of quadrupling her investment. It was a bogus scheme, seemingly using documents made using AI.

Before our front-page revelations, two of Lee’s exes shared horror stories involving the fraudster.

Texan nurse Crystal Janke said she had put £123,000 into one of his schemes on the promise of getting £1million, only to lose it all.

Lee’s ex-fiancée Alana Percival — who he proposed to over rose petals and champagne five weeks before rehashing the method with Katie — branded him a manipulative narcissist who feigned a heart condition for sympathy.

Alana claimed he was a swindler and told Katie to “run for the hills”.

Mum-of-five Katie and Lee wed in Dubai in January, days after meeting in person for the first time. He is said to be subject to a travel ban there following imprisonment for fraud last October.

Lee has been exposed for faking his CV, claiming he had worked for the King’s Trust and had a doctorate from Cambridge university.

He has never worked for the Labour Party — as he had claimed on his LinkedIn page.

Last week Katie admitted she was “giving up the search” for Lee after deleting an update about his situation.

She told podcast The Katie Price Show she was “leaving it to the police”, adding: “There’s nothing more I can do, that I can say.

“I’m just staying quiet because it’s getting ridiculous now, people taking the p**s out of everything.”

Katie added: “The police are now handling it, the British police, British consulate, the Foreign Office, Interpol they’re looking for Lee. All I can do is just get on with my life. I’ve got lots of exciting things coming up, and I’m just waiting for a call. What am I supposed to do, sit here and cry and do nothing, stay in bed? For my own sanity, I am taking a step back.”

Last weekend Lee’s dad Peter told the Daily Mail: “Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped but is under arrest. I don’t know on what charge. I’m not sure where he is being held.”

Katie wrote: “This is fake news. Lee is still missing. Me and his family know what’s going on and are working with the authorities.”

The drama started earlier this month when Lee was due to fly to the UK for an interview with Katie on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

He failed to turn up, leaving her to face the music on her own, humiliating her in the process.

• IN tomorrow’s Sun, we reveal how HSBC investigated Clemmie’s payment to Lee, and within 24 hours her money had been returned — vindicating allegations of him being a scammer. The bank’s head of fraud reveals the steps you can take to avoid getting swindled and how to claim back your money, step by step, should you have fallen victim to a similar scam.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to tax 100% of the money Californians receive from President Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund for his political allies.

Trump’s Justice Department had announced last week that it would establish a $1.776-billion fund to compensate allies of the president who claim they have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” under the Biden administration’s Justice Department.

“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100% of those proceeds,” the governor told reporters Thursday.

“That’s an action the state of California can take …[and] it’s an action we look forward to taking.”

Just how Newsom would do so remains unclear. He indicated that he would need action from the Democratic-led California Legislature to impose the new tax. If adopted, the measure would likely face legal challenge.

The fund has prompted outrage from Democrats and some Republicans — including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who said in a statement that the “slush fund,” which would “pay people who assault cops,” was “utterly stupid.”

Newsom’s remarks about Trump’s settlement fund came on Thursday as he signed a bill designed to prevent election interference ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

The bill, Senate Bill 73, restricts law enforcement agencies and officers — including those from federal agencies — from interfering with state and local election officials, such as confiscating ballots, voter rolls or voting machines without a warrant.

The governor said the bill is meant to address “legitimate anxiety” over threats to election integrity after Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s decision to seize ballots from the county’s voter registrar as part of a fraud probe. Bianco, a long-time Trump supporter, is one of the top Republicans running to succeed Newsom after the end of his second and final term as governor.

Newsom also pointed to ICE and Border Patrol’s decision last November to stage an event near Dodger Stadium, calling it a “show of force designed to intimidate free expression and free speech.”

“That’s why we have to step up and we have to draw the line,” Newsom said. “We have to clarify the rules of engagement… there are fines associated with this, criminal fines and jail time of three years, so that’s a warning [to] the folks out there that think they can do the bidding of the Trump administration.”

Newsom said he expects Trump to interfere with the upcoming election — noting that the president has falsely claimed that he “won” California in the last election.

“Every single thing that Donald Trump is saying only suggests that he will do more, not less, to intimidate and to impact the outcome of this election,” Newsom said. “I absolutely expect the worst again, because we’ve been on the receiving end of it.”

The Lakers informed employees Wednesday there would be a round of layoffs as the organization continues restructuring under new ownership, according to multiple people.

Those familiar with the situation but unable to speak publicly confirmed to The Times that at least 15 people across multiple departments, including communications, marketing and sales, would be laid off.

Since Dodgers owner Mark Walter took over as the majority owner of the Lakers in a record-setting $10-billion deal that was finalized in October, the franchise has gradually overhauled both business and basketball operations.

The team hired a new assistant general manager this week, bringing Rohan Ramadas in from the New Orleans Pelicans to oversee strategy and data systems. The front office, led by president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, will hire another assistant general manager focused on scouting and player development.

The Lakers functioned as a family business for more than 45 years under the ownership of the late Jerry Buss and his children. They blossomed into one of the premier sports teams in the world, but the ownership change brought swift business changes.

Former Dodgers executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen became the Lakers’ president of business operations and created two positions to boost revenue and oversee business strategy.

Michael Spetner, who also most recently worked for the Dodgers, was hired as chief strategy and growth officer while Ryan Kantor, a former business executive with the Clippers, joined as the vice president of global partnerships.

Times staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.

May 27 (UPI) — Representatives for the Chinese military on Wednesday said forces used electronic interference attacks to drive off a Dutch frigate that was near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea

The Chinese army’s Southern Theater Command posted on its official social media account that the Dutch ship, the De Ruyter, “illegally intruded into China’s Xisha Islands” and a helicopter stationed onboard had entered Chinese airspace, the South China Morning Post reported. The Paracel Islands are called the Xisha Islands in China.

The islands are about 190 miles from China’s Hainan province. They’ve been under Chinese control since 1974, although Vietnam and Taiwan also claim them.

Chinese forces “took necessary measures including verbal warnings and warning electronic interference,” said Zhai Shichen, representative for the Chinese army’s Southern Theater Command.

“We firmly oppose such acts and solemnly demand that the Dutch side immediately cease its infringement and provocative actions,” Zhai said, USNI News reported. “The Chinese military will maintain a high state of alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty, security, and regional peace and stability.”

The Netherlands has not issued a statement on the incident, the South China Morning Post said. It reported that Zhai also said the ship was “extremely liable to trigger misunderstanding and miscalculation” in its actions.

USNI News said the De Ruyter was deployed to the region as part of the five-month-long Pacific Archer mission, which “aims to promote freedom of navigation and foster ties with allies and partners.”