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May 29 (UPI) — The Trump administration announced plans Thursday to overhaul the Department of State, saying the federal agency has grown too big and costly while producing too few results.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that he has submitted the reorganization plan to Congress — a report that includes feedback from lawmakers, government bureaus and employees.
He first announced plans for the reorganization in April, calling his department “bloated, bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition.”
The report submitted to Congress, obtained by Politico, would reduce the State Department’s domestic workforce by 3,448 jobs, including recent reductions in positions and voluntary exits under the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program.
It also calls for the elimination of most offices under the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which champions American values abroad, including the rule of law and individual rights.
Positions to be created under the plan align with the Trump administration’s conservative reshaping of the federal government, including a deputy assistant secretary of state for Democracy and Western values, as well as a so-called Natural Rights Office that will “ground the department’s values-based diplomacy in traditional Western conceptions of core freedoms,” according to an international state Department notification to lawmakers states cited by Politico.
“Over the past quarter century, the domestic operations of the State Department have grown exponentially, resulting in more bureaucracy, higher costs and fewer results for the American people,” Rubio said Wednesday.
“The reorganization plan will result in a more agile Department, better equipped to promote America’s interests and keep Americans safe across the world.”
It was unclear how Congress would react to the proposal, but House and Senate Democrats on the foreign relations committees quickly rejected the plan as being detrimental to U.S. interests abroad.
They said it “hands over” Afghan allies who worked with the U.S. military to the Taliban, guts programs to protect people who protect democracy, fires thousands of employees without cause and moves foreign assistance programs to entities with no experience with managing them.
“We welcome reforms where needed but they must be done with a scalpel, not a chainsaw,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., ranking member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
“Taken together, these moves significantly undercut America’s role in the world and open the door for adversaries to threaten our safety and prosperity,” she said.
The overhaul comes as the Trump administration seeks to reshape and downsize the federal government in an effort to consolidate more power under President Donald Trump.
They’ve long been hedging their bets. But Southeast Asian nations are caught in the dispute between the United States and China. The trade-dependent countries are under threat from Trump’s tariffs, too. They face a delicate balancing act between economic survival and strategic neutrality. The message was clear at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – ASEAN’s recent summit in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Member countries are recalibrating their economic partnerships to insulate their economies. That includes a push to deepen trade ties with China and Gulf countries.
Rescue crews attend to victims after a man rammed a crowd gathered for a victory parade for the Liverpool FC soccer team in Liverpool on Monday. Photo by Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE
May 29 (UPI) — Police have charged a 53-year-old man for driving his vehicle into a crowd of people who had gathered for a parade to celebrate Liverpool FC’s title victory in the English Premier League soccer tournament.
At least 79 people were injured in the incident Monday when the man, Paul Doyle, from the West Derby area of Liverpool, drove a Ford Galaxy into the celebrants in the city center, video verified by the BBC shows. Some fans tried to divert the car before it hit more parade-goers.
Seven of the people who were injured remain hospitalized.
“I hope that all of those who were injured or witnessed this terrible incident are able — and given time — to heal and recover,” Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Jenny Sims said at a news conference, local media reported.
Doyle was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offenses and driving while “unfit through drugs,” police reported. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday. Police said the incident was not terrorism related and is believed to be an isolated event.
Local media reported that the driver of the vehicle followed an ambulance into the area that was supposed to have been restricted to traffic for the parade, local media reported.
Doyle’s LinkedIn profile says that he is the head of cyber initiatives at a data center and served in the Royal Marines from 1990 to 1994. Local media reported that Doyle is a married father of three.
“Neighbors described him as ” such a normal Liverpool dad” and a “genuinely pleasant family man,” The Times of London reported. “When police arrived at his house late on Monday night, the neighbors said they had assumed there had been a burglary.”
Police said officers are continuing to investigate the incident.
US administration said it will revoke the visas of Chinese students.
It is the latest move by the Trump administration in a campaign against US universities and international students: a decision to revoke the visas of Chinese students, who number in the hundreds of thousands in the United States.
The US secretary of state has also announced the suspension of interviews for new student visa applicants – and an increase in the vetting of their social media postings.
With China being the second-biggest source of international students in the US after India, the reduction in revenues for American schools and universities is expected to be heavy.
US President Donald Trump has already cut funding to Harvard University.
How are academia and research likely to be affected in the US – and around the world?
Presenter:
James Bays
Guests:
Clay Harmon – Executive director of the Association of International Enrollment Management
Alexandra Miller – Immigration lawyer and senior adviser to Vecina, a non-profit group advocating for immigrant justice
Josef Gregory Mahoney – Professor of politics and international relations, East China Normal University
May 29 (UPI) — The final round of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday with nine contestants vying for the title.
The event pits 243 spelling champions from every state and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to determine which one earns the Scripps Cup during the spelling competition’s 100th year.
Contestants from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria also compete for the title.
National Spelling Bee contestants must not be older than age 15 or have progressed beyond the eighth grade. They advance to the National Spelling Bee by competing in regional competitions.
This year’s nine finalists are between the ages of 11 and 14.
Last year’s runner-up, Faizan Zaki, 13, from Allen, Texas, is among the nine finalists. He lost in a tie-breaking spell-off to last year’s winner, Bruhat Soma.
The winner receives a custom trophy, $52,500 in cash prizes, a commemorative medal and a one-year subscription to reference works from Merriam-Webster and the Encyclopedia Britannica.
All finalists receive at least $2,000, with the second-place finisher winning $25,000.
More than one person can tie for the championship. When two or more contestants tie for the title, each receives the $50,000 grand prize from the National Spelling Bee.
The finals will be aired live on ion, which is available via streaming and many television cable and satellite subscription services.
This year’s National Spelling Bee began on Tuesday, when 60 contestants were eliminated during a preliminary spelling and vocabulary round.
Another 84 spellers were eliminated later on Tuesday after completing a written spelling and vocabulary test.
Three quarterfinal rounds held narrowed the field to 57 semifinalists on Wednesday, and four semifinal rounds produced the nine contestants who qualified for Thursday night’s final round.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been held annually since 1925, when nine students competed for the title.
It was suspended from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The competition has created a historical archive to celebrate the spelling competition’s centennial year.
This year’s competition is its 97th and is being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., which has hosted the event since 2011.
Chairman of the Inaugural Committee and real estate investor Thomas J. Barrack Jr. stops to talk to members of the media in the lobby of the Trump Tower in New York, N.Y., in 2017. Barrack was appointed a special envoy to Syria Thursday. File Pool Photo by Anthony Behar/UPI | License Photo
May 29 (UPI) — The United States ambassador’s residence in Damascus, Syria, re-opened Thursday after being closed for 13 years, presaging a warming of relations between the two countries.
Tom Barrack, the current U.S. ambassador to Turkey, has also been appointed special envoy to Syria, and raised a U.S. flag outside the residence to inaugurate it, according to the Syrian run news agency SANA.
“Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop Radicalism, improve Relations, and secure Peace in the Middle East,” a statement from the State Department on X said. “Together, we will make America and the world, SAFE AGAIN!”
Barrack met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to witness the signing of an agreement with Middle Eastern countries aimed at developing a $7 billion, 5,000 megawatt energy project that would revitalize Syria’s aging and worn electricity grid and use it as the backbone of the new power project.
The new energy project could supply Syria with 50% of its electricity needs, according to a statement from Qatari-based UCC Holding, which is among the partners in the project.
In a further sign of warming relations between the United States and the Middle East, President Donald Trump met earlier this month with al-Sharaa in Riyadh, a move that prompted the United States to begin walking back sanctions imposed on Syria during the repressive regime of Bahsar al-Assad.
During the reopening of the ambassador’s residence Thursday, Barrack called lifting the sanctions a “bold move,” and said it comes with “no conditions, no requirements.”
Barrack credited Trump for “your bold vision, empowering a historically rich region, long oppressed, to reclaim its destiny through self-determination.”
Protesters held a silent vigil outside Harvard University’s commencement ceremony, demanding an end to US support for Israel’s war on Gaza. The demonstration came amid rising political pressure, as the Trump administration targets pro-Palestinian activism with deportation threats.
May 29 (UPI) — Hungry Gazans broke into an aid warehouse in central Gaza on Wednesday, which caused two reported deaths, according to officials with the U.N. World Food Program.
“Hordes of hungry people broke into WFP’s Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, in search of food supplies that were pre-positioned for distribution,” the WFP said Wednesday in a prepared statement.
“Humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control after 80 days of complete blockade of all food assistance and other aid into Gaza,” the WFP said.
The agency said “alarming and deteriorating conditions” in Gaza and a limited availability of humanitarian aid to “hungry people in desperate need of assistance” have increased risks associated with aid distribution.
“Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance,” the WFP said. “This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve.”
The WFP said initial reports indicate two died and several more were injured, but those reports were not confirmed as of Wednesday night.
Displaced Palestinians received food packages from a U.S.-backed foundation pledging to distribute humanitarian aid in southern Gaza on May 29, 2025. Photo by Hassan Al-Jadi/UPI | License Photo
Another 121 trucks owned by the United Nations and international organizations carrying flour, food and other aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, the BBC reported.
Wednesday’s warehouse incident occurred after Gazans overwhelmed two aid distribution sites in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported three Gazans were killed, 46 injured and seven others were missing after Israel Defense Forces fired warning shots into the air as crowds of hungry Gazans swarmed over one of the aid distribution sites, NBC News reported.
The U.N. Human Rights Office said 47 people were injured during Tuesday’s aid-distribution chaos and gunfire from Israel Defense Forces caused most of the injuries.
IDF and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation officials initially denied the reports and said no one was injured or killed during the first three days of food and aid distribution.
IDF soldiers fired into the air and did not shoot towards people, an IDF spokesperson told the BBC. The IDF is investigating the incident.
They said the GHF and IDF are preventing Hamas militants from stealing the aid from four distribution sites in southern and central Gaza, which Hamas has denied, the BBC reported.
The U.S.-supported GHF is in charge of distributing aid within Gaza after Israel ended an 11-week blockade of all aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip after a recent cease-fire deal collapsed.
At least four distribution points in southern Gaza are being used to deliver aid to Gazans, and more distribution sites are to be added, NBC News reported.
A rare visit to the Afghan village hit by the ‘mother of all bombs’ reveals lasting damage and unanswered questions.
In 2017, the US dropped the “mother of all bombs” in a remote village in Afghanistan’s Achin district. Al Jazeera made the journey to see what’s left: homes destroyed, health problems mounting, and no accountability in sight.
The Harvard University crest adorns a gate on the school’s campus in Allston, Mass., in April. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration Thursday from its attempt to deny Harvard University’s ability to admit international students. File Photo by CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE
May 29 (UPI) — A federal judge blocked the Trump administration Thursday from its attempt to deny Harvard University’s ability to admit international students.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said in a hearing she plans to issue a preliminary injunction requested by Harvard and then extended a temporary restraining order that stops the administration from any attempt to follow through on its threat.
Twenty-seven percent of Harvard’s student body consists of foreign students, and it filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration last week after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the termination of the school’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, or SEVP certification.
Noem said in a press release last week, “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”
The Harvard International Office’s Director of Immigration Services Maureen Martin filed a supplemental declaration in addition to the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, and among the concerns listed in the suit, she wrote: “As a result of the revocation notice, students and faculty alike have expressed profound fear, concern, and confusion. Faculty members and administrators have been inundated with questions from current international students and scholars about their status and options.”
CNN reported that Burroughs told the lawyers for both Harvard and the Trump administration to agree upon how to keep the student visa program in place, to which she added, “It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes.”
The Trump administration has also focused on Harvard’s finances in addition to the effort to block the enrollment of foreign students, as it announced Tuesday it plans to cancel all its contracts with Harvard University.
By contrast, about six out of 10 LGBTQ adults said gay and lesbian people are generally accepted in the US.
A new poll by the Pew Research Centre has found that transgender people experience less social acceptance in the United States than those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, according to LGBTQ adults.
About six out of 10 LGBTQ adult participants in the poll said there is “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of social acceptance in the US for gay and lesbian people, according to “The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today” report released on Thursday.
Only about one in 10 said the same for non-binary and transgender people — and about half said there was “not much” or no acceptance at all for transgender people.
The survey of 3,959 LGBTQ adults was conducted in January, after US President Donald Trump’s election, but just before his return to office when he set into motion a series of policies that question transgender people’s existence and their place in society.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order calling on the government to recognise people as male or female based on the “biological truth” of their future cells at conception, rejecting evidence and scientific arguments that gender is a spectrum.
A poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in May found that about half of US adults approve of the way Trump is handling transgender issues.
Transgender people are less likely than gay or lesbian adults to say they are accepted by all their family members, according to the Pew poll. The majority of LGBTQ people said their siblings and friends accepted them, though the rates were slightly higher among gay or lesbian people.
About half of gay and lesbian people said their parents did, compared with about one-third of transgender people. Only about one in 10 transgender people reported feeling accepted by their extended family, compared with about three in 10 for gay or lesbian people.
According to the Pew poll, about two-thirds of LGBTQ adults said the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationally on June 26, 2015, increased acceptance of same-sex couples “a lot more” or “somewhat more”.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether Tennessee can enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in what is seen as a major case for the transgender community.
May 29 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department Thursday sanctioned a Philippines-based computer infrastructure company and its administrator for allegedly providing services for sites involved in cryptocurrency scams.
Treasury said Funnull Technology and administrator Liu Lizhi provides infrastructure for hundreds of thousands websites allegedly involved in the scams known as “pig butchering.”
“Today’s action underscores our focus on disrupting the criminal enterprises, like Funnull, that enable these cyber scams and deprive Americans of their hard-earned savings,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement.
The sanctions were imposed in close cooperation with the FBI.
The Treasury described the “pig butchering” scams as Southeast Asian organized crime using victims of labor trafficking to scam millions of unsuspecting people worldwide.
“The scammers leverage fictitious identities, the guise of potential relationships, and elaborate storylines to deceive victims into believing they are in trusted relationships. The scammers then steal victims’ assets by convincing them to invest in virtual currency through a fake website designed to look like a legitimate investment platform that reflects significant, but fabricated, returns on the investment,” the Treasury said.
When victims stop paying more into the scam, the Treasury said the scammer “will abruptly cease communication, taking the victim’s entire investment with them.”
Funnull’s role, according to the Treasury, is to buy IP addresses in bulk from major cloud services companies and then sell them to cybercriminals to host the scam web platforms.
Treasury said Funnell is linked to the majority of virtual currency investment scam websites reported to the FBI.
U.S. victims, Treasury said, have lost over $200 million with an average loss per person of $150,000.
The Treasury alleged that in 2024 Funnell bought a repository of code used by web developers and “maliciously altered the code to redirect visitors of legitimate websites to scam websites and online gambling sites, some of which are linked to Chinese criminal money laundering operations.”
According to Treasury the Lizhi, a Chinese national, is an administrator of Funnell involved in tasks allegedly including “assigning domain names to cybercriminals, including domains associated with virtual currency investment fraud, phishing scams, and online gambling sites.”
South African mother Racquel “Kelly” Smith (R) w got life in prison Thursday for selling her daughter Joshlin for $1,100. She, her boyfriend and a friend of the couple were all convicted for kidnapping and trafficking the girl. Smith shown at trial May 2, 2025 in Saldanha, South Africa. Photo by EPA-EFE/STRINGER
May 29 (UPI) — A South African mother who sold her 6-year-old daughter was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
Racquel “Kelly” Smith was sentenced to life in prison for trafficking her daughter, Joshlin, and 10 years in prison for kidnapping her.
Smith’s boyfriend Jacquen Appollis, and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were also handed the same sentences.
“There is nothing that I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose,” Judge Nathan Erasmus said in court.
Joshlin vanished Feb. 19, 2024, from the town of Middelpos in South Africa’s Western Cape. She has still not been found.
Witnesses testified in court that Smith sold her daughter for $1,100 to a traditional healer called a Sangoma who sought out the girl due to her eyes and skin.
“We will not rest until we find [out] what happened to Joshlin. We are continuing day and night looking for her,” Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile told local news outlets.
Judge Erasmus said the case left the Middelpos community “fractured.”
According to the BBC, Smith and the other defendants showed no emotion when their sentences were read out at trial in the Saldanha community center.
More than 30 witnesses testified in the eight-week trial.
Lourentia Lombaard, a neighbor and friend of Smith’s, testified that Smith admitted to her that she sold Joshlin.
A local pastor testified he heard Smith talk of selling her children in 2023 for $1,100 each, but she said she was willing to accept $275 each.
What: UEFA Champions League final When: Saturday, May 31, 9pm (19:00 GMT) Where: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany Who: Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs Inter Milan (Italy)
How to follow our coverage: We’ll have all the build-up from 5pm (15:00 GMT) on Al Jazeera Sport.
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season concludes at the dazzling Allianz Arena in Munich as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) meet three-time champions Inter Milan in the final of Europe’s premier club competition.
PSG will be appearing in just their second Champions League final, having lost their first to German side Bayern Munich in 2020.
For PSG manager, Luis Enrique, it is just the latest chapter in his record of climbing to new highs – first from release by Real Madrid, as a youngster, and then by winning the 2015 title treble at Barcelona as a coach, the club where he also made his name as a player.
Road to the final
PSG, backed by owners Qatar Sports Investments, booked their place in the Champions League final earlier in May. The Paris-based side beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Parc des Princes, winning their semifinal tie with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.
Inter Milan beat Barcelona 7-6 on aggregate, with the second leg in Italy going to extra time despite the Spanish club leading in injury time in normal time.
How did PSG and Inter fare in their league seasons?
Inter Milan finished second in Serie A in a dramatic final round showdown with Napoli, who began the final day with a one point advantage.
PSG were dominant in the 2024-25 Ligue 1 season, wrapping up the domestic title by an incredible 19 points – and that was despite slacking off towards the end of the season with three straight winless matches to end their campaign.
Their last outing, however, was the French Cup final, which resulted in a 3-0 win against Reims last Saturday.
Retired star football player Thierry Henry, second right, in an interview with Inter Milan’s French forward Marcus Thuram, right, as part of the club’s media day on May 26, 2025 in Italy before the final [Piero Cruciatti/AFP]
Which French forward will prevail?
PSG’s gifted French forward, Ousmane Dembele, overcame a slow start to the season to reel off one of the greatest offensive performances in Europe this season.
In 50 appearances this season, the 27-year-old Dembele scored 32 goals – and he was huge part of an incredible 30-match unbeaten league run by PSG.
Inter Milan’s French international Marcus Thuram has netted 18 goals in 52 appearances this season.
Son of Lilian Thuram, a legendary French World Cup winner, Marcus was born in Italy, where his father was representing Parma at the time.
The 27-year-old has scored twice for France in 29 appearances for his country, and has proved a fine foil for Inter’s top scorer this season, Lautaro Martinez.
Where will the final be played
The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final will take place at the Munich Football Arena.
The 75,000 seat venue, better known as Allianz Arena, is the home of current German Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich.
It’s the first time a German venue has held the Champions League final since 2012.
One of the world’s great football venues – the ‘Allianz Arena’ stadium in Munich, Germany [Matthias Schrader/AP]
Have PSG ever played Inter?
This will be the first time that Inter and PSG meet in a competitive fixture.
The teams last played in a preseason friendly on August 1, 2023 at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. Inter won the contest 2-1 with Stefano Sensi scoring the game-winner in the 83rd minute.
Stefano Sensi of Inter scores the game-winning second goal during the preseason friendly match between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Internazionale on August 1, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan [Shi Tang/Getty Images]
Why did star player Hakimi leave Inter for PSG?
Current PSG defender Achraf Hakimi last played for Inter Milan in the 2020-21 season.
The Spanish-born speedy right-back, widely regarded as one of the best full-backs in the world, was a casualty of Inter’s huge cost-cutting drive caused, in large part, by the financial debts attributed to the COVID-19 shutdown period.
Hakimi appeared in 37 matches for the Italian giants, scoring seven goals and racking up eight assists as Inter won their first domestic league title since 2010.
Achraf Hakimi played for Inter Milan in the 2020-21 season [File: Nicolo Campo/Light Rocket via Getty Images]
Team News: PSG
Out: None Doubtful: None
Enrique has a fully fit squad to choose from, no doubt boosted by the fact that PSG wrapped up the French top flight with six games to spare – thereafter managing the players’ workloads in the run-up to the final.
Inter pushed champions Napoli to the wire in Serie A – which concluded last Friday – so will inevitably feel heavier in the legs.
Inter fullback Benjamin Pavard and striker Lautaro Martinez are both expected to be fully fit, with the latter having returned to the bench in recent matches.
“My wish is to have everyone available on Saturday evening,” Inzaghi said. “We’re going to approach the final in the best possible way.”
PSG’s head coach Luis Enrique, centre, celebrates at the end of the French Cup football final [Aurelien Morissard/AP]
Form guide
PSG (all competitions, most recent first):
W-W-W-W-L
Inter Milan (all competitions, most recent first):
W-D-W-W-W
What the managers had to say
Luis Enrique, PSG manager: “It’s Inter Milan’s second final in three years. They’re ready. They’ve not made too many changes to their side. It’s a team that dominates from set pieces. It’s up to us to go into the final in the right frame of mind.
“We’ve grown a lot this season and the players have progressed a lot. I think the strength of the team is the most important thing. You learn something every day after many years of experience as a coach, and I’m improving all the time with this group.”
Simone Inzaghi, Inter Milan manager: “The players did something extraordinary. We played four amazing games against two world-class teams like Bayern and Barcelona. It was great to celebrate this achievement [reaching the final] here with our fans.”
What is the prize money
Winner: €20m ($22.5m)
Runners-up: €15.5m ($17.5m)
The UEFA Champions League trophy [File: Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
May 29 (UPI) —Smokey Robinson and his wife, Frances Robinson, filed a defamation suit against a group of women who have accused him of sexual assault.
The cross-complaint suit claims the sexual assault allegations by four former housekeepers, filed on May 6, were “fabricated” in order to support an “extortionate scheme.”
The suit contends that the Robinsons did not harm or abuse the former housekeepers and seeks to force the women who filed their suit using “Jane Doe” names to be publicly identified.
It also alleges they first demanded $100 million before filing the suit.
“When the Robinsons resisted the extortionate demands, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit,” attorney Christopher Frost wrote.
The suit further alleges that John Harris, an attorney for the housekeepers, and his firm Harris and Hayden, defamed Robinson by referring to the singer as a “serial and sick rapist” who must be stopped.
Harris and Hayden said in a Wednesday statement they will file a motion to strike down Robinson’s suit based on California’s law on “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPP.
The law was designed to prevent harassing lawsuits filed by wealthy celebrities and corporations intended to silence free speech and intimidate accusers.
To succeed in legally striking down a SLAPP lawsuit, defendants must show they are being sued for “any act … in furtherance of the person’s right of petition or free speech under the United States Constitution or the California Constitution in connection with a public issue.“
“The cross-complaint … is nothing more than an attempt to silence and intimidate the survivors of Mr. Robinson’s sexual battery and assault. It is a baseless and vindictive legal maneuver designed to re-victimize, shift blame and discourage others from coming forward,” lawyers for the women accusing Robinson said in a statement to USA Today.
The women accusing Robinson alleged in their suit that Robinson committed sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, and gender violence for years.
On May 15, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Robinson is under criminal investigation for sexual assault.
Israeli settlers stake their claim to West Bank land near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba near the Palestinian city of Hebron in July 2022. It was unclear whether the outpost was one of 22 granted legal status under Israeli law by Israel’s security cabinet. File photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE
May 29 (UPI) — Israel unveiled plans Thursday for the most significant expansion of its presence in the occupied West Bank in years after approving 22 new Jewish settlements.
The scheme gives legal recognition to the 22 settlements, which already exist but are unofficial, said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Katz said the step would “prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel,” but the Palestinian Authority and at least one anti-war group in Israel condemned the move.
Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh called the Israeli government’s approval of the new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including in East Jerusalem, a “dangerous escalation” that was an affront to international legitimacy and international law, including at least one U.N. Security Council Resolution.
He also called on Washington to intervene to halt “Israeli tampering” with what he said had implications for the entire region.
The Peace Now protest movement said the move would “dramatically reshape the West Bank and entrench the occupation even further.”
Israel’s some 160 settlements on disputed land it has occupied for almost six decades since the 1967 Six-Day War with its Arab neighbors are illegal under international law. But Israel argues it has a legal claim on the grounds that the West Bank is fundamental to its security and for religious and historic reasons dating back to the Balfour Declaration and beyond.
Calling the settlement approvals “a historic decision,” Smotrich dismissed criticism of the move, saying Israel was not seizing foreign lands but reclaiming “the inheritance of our fathers.”
“This is a great day for settlement and an important day for the State of Israel. Through hard work and tenacious leadership, we have succeeded in creating a profound strategic change, returning the State of Israel to a path of construction, Zionism, and vision,” he wrote in a post on X.
“Settlement in the land of our ancestors is the protective wall of the State of Israel — today we have taken a huge step to strengthen it. The next step – sovereignty!” said Smotrich.
Katz and Smotrich’s statements came hours after the governments of Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain issued a joint communique reaffirming their commitment to the implementation of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
Only a “viable, contiguous Palestinian State, with internationally recognized borders, comprised of Gaza and the West Bank and with East Jerusalem as its capital, can fully satisfy the legitimate national aspirations and the needs of peace and security” of both peoples, read the dispatch issued after the representatives of the four nations met Wednesday.
Israel announces 22 new illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, fuelling fears of further annexation and erasure.
The Israeli government says it will establish 22 illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of some so-called “outposts” already built without government authorisation, in a move decried by Palestinian officials and rights groups.
Defence Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the decision on Thursday, with Katz saying that it “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,” using an Israeli term for the occupied West Bank.
He added it was also “a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel”.
Smotrich, himself a settler on illegally occupied Palestinian-owned land and an advocate for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, hailed the “historic decision”.
In a statement, the Likud party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the move as a “once-in-a-generation decision”, emphasising its strategic value in fortifying Israel’s hold along the eastern border with Jordan.
Israeli settlers erect structures for a new Jewish seminary school, in the settler outpost of Homesh in the Israeli-occupied West Bank May 29, 2023 [File: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]
Israel has already built more than 100 illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small outposts to larger communities with modern infrastructure.
The West Bank is home to more than three million Palestinians, who live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority governing in limited areas.
The Palestinians see the territory as an integral part of a future state, along with occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza.
Palestinians slam ‘dangerous escalation’
Palestinian officials and rights groups slammed the Israeli government’s decision, warning that the expansion of illegal settlements would further harm the prospects for a future Palestinian state.
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the decision, calling it a “dangerous escalation” and a “challenge to international legitimacy”.
He accused Israel of fuelling instability in the region and warned the move breaches international law. “This decision violates all international resolutions, especially UN Security Council Resolution 2334,” he said, adding that all settlement activity remains illegal and illegitimate.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri condemned called on the United States and the European Union to take action.
“The announcement of the building of 22 new settlements in the West Bank is part of the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people,” Abu Zuhri told the news agency Reuters.
The Israeli NGO Peace Now said the move “will dramatically reshape the West Bank and further entrench the occupation”.
“The Israeli government no longer pretends otherwise: the annexation of the occupied territories and expansion of settlements is its central goal,” it said in a statement.
“This is the largest batch of illegal Israeli settlements to be approved in one decision,” reported Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim from the occupied West Bank.
“Israeli settlements are strangling Palestinian communities inside the West Bank,” said Ibrahim. “These new settlements fill the gaps, making a future Palestinian state almost impossible on the ground. Israel is using this moment – while global attention is fixed on Gaza – to cement its occupation.”
The settlement announcement comes just weeks ahead of a high-level international conference, jointly led by France and Saudi Arabia at the United Nations, aiming to revive the long-dormant process to agree a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
President Donald Trump said Harvard University is refusing to tell the United States government who its international students are.
On May 22, the Trump administration stripped Harvard of the federal government certification that lets it enrol international students. A federal judge on May 23 temporarily blocked the administration’s effort.
“Part of the problem with Harvard is that there are about 31 percent of foreigners coming to Harvard … but they refuse to tell us who the people are,” Trump told reporters on May 25. “We want a list of those foreign students and we’ll find out whether or not they’re OK. Many will be OK, I assume. And I assume with Harvard many will be bad.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says Harvard did not provide the information it requested about the university’s international students. DHS cited that as one reason for revoking Harvard’s certification. But Harvard disputed that in its lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Courts have not yet ruled on whether Harvard complied with providing DHS with the additional information it requested. DHS asked for details about students’ activities, including “illegal” and “dangerous or violent activity”. However, immigration law experts said Trump’s statement that the US government doesn’t know the identities of Harvard’s international students is incorrect.
US colleges and universities that enrol international students must be certified under the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, called SEVP.
SEVP’s database “contains all information about every student visa holder. Addresses, courses, grades, jobs, social media accounts and much more”, Charles Kuck, an Atlanta-based immigration lawyer and Emory University law professor, said.
Harvard has been certified to enrol international students since 1954, according to court documents. As part of the certification, the university is required to report to the US government detailed information about its international students.
Schools renew their SEVP certification every two years. In its lawsuit, Harvard said the university’s “seamless recertification across this period – spanning more than 14 presidential administrations”, is evidence of its compliance.
Additionally, to enter the US, all international students must apply for and be issued student visas via the State Department. To be eligible for a student visa, a person must be enrolled in an SEVP-certified university. The visa application process requires students to provide the US government with detailed biographical information.
When contacted for comment, a White House spokesperson said Trump was “making a simple ask” for Harvard to comply with the government.
What is the Student and Exchange Visitor Program?
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program “collects, maintains, analyses and provides information so only legitimate foreign students or exchange visitors gain entry to the United States”, the DHS website says. “SEVP also ensures that the institutions accepting non-immigrant students are certified and follow the federal rules and regulations that govern them.”
As part of the programme, DHS manages the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System which maintains records on international students and certified universities. Immigration law dictates what records universities must keep and report to maintain certification.
These records include “US entry and exit data, US residential address changes, programme extensions, employment notifications, and program of study changes”, Sheila Velez Martínez, University of Pittsburgh immigration law professor, said. “The information is available to US government agencies.”
The certification programme does not provide visas to students. The federal State Department issues visas. To apply for a student visa, a person must fill out a form and schedule an interview. As part of the application process, students must provide biographical and employment information, including information about their relatives, and answer security questions, including about their criminal records.
Trump administration says Harvard failed to provide international students’ information
On April 16, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent Harvard a letter requesting information about every international student enrolled in the university. Noem asked for “relevant information” about international students’ “illegal activity”, “dangerous or violent activity”, “known threats to students or university personnel” and “known deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel”.
Noem said failure to comply with the request would “be treated as a voluntary withdrawal” from the SEVP certification programme.
On April 30, Steve Bunnell, a Harvard lawyer, responded to Homeland Security with information about 5,200 international students, according to Bunnell’s email included in the court filing.
The university said it did not seek to withdraw from the certification and said that while parts of Noem’s request used terms not defined in the immigration law that dictates what information universities must provide, “Harvard is committed to good faith compliance and is therefore producing responsive materials that we believe are reasonably required” by law.
According to Harvard’s lawsuit, the information included student identification numbers, names, dates of birth, countries of citizenship and enrolment information such as academic status, coursework and credit hours. Harvard also provided information about international students who left and why they left, which can cover a “range of reasons, including but not limited to disciplinary action”, Harvard’s email to DHS said.
On May 7, DHS responded saying the information Harvard provided “does not completely address the Secretary’s request”. It reiterated its original request.
Harvard responded on May 14 saying it was “not aware of any criminal convictions” of international students and identified three students who received disciplinary consequences.
As for students who deprived the rights of classmates, faculty or staff, Harvard said it did not find any.
On May 22, Noem sent Harvard a letter saying the university’s certification had been revoked.
“As a result of your refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security pertinent information … you have lost this privilege.”
Our ruling
Trump said Harvard University “refuse(s) to tell us” who its international students are.
To enrol international students, Harvard, and all other certified institutions must provide the US government with detailed biographical information about every international student at its institution. That includes students’ names, addresses, contact information and details about their coursework.
Additionally, all international students must have student visas to enter the US. To get these, students who have enrolled in a government-certified university must apply via the State Department. That process also requires students to provide biographical and security information to the federal government.
May 29 (UPI) — Thousands of First Nations people in northern Manitoba are being evacuated as the central Canadian province issued a state of emergency to battle fast-moving wildfires, officials said.
There are a number of wildfires burning across thousands of acres in northern Manitoba, mostly near the border with Saskatchewan.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents 26 First Nations communities in the province, said in a statement that evacuation orders have been issued for nearly 17,500 people in four First Nations communities with two more communities on evacuation notice.
“A lot of our First Nations are under threat because of the fires that have consumed a lot of territory in our area, and I’m just asking all of you, my relatives, to be strong and to be brave and to be courageous during this very difficult time,” MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a recorded statement published to Facebook.
“This is a very, very critical time in our First Nations.”
Premier Wab Kinew of Manitoba on Wednesday declared a provincewide state of emergency, which will be in effect for 30 days to ensure federal, provincial and local resources can be deployed in a coordinated response.
Manitoba has declared a province-wide state of emergency to safely evacuate and shelter 17,000 people – the largest wildfire evacuation in recent memory.
To those leaving home: you’re not alone. These measures protect you. We’ll get through this – together. pic.twitter.com/sLSU0X06qt— Wab Kinew (@WabKinew) May 29, 2025
A statement from the provincial government states that evacuation orders have beeb issued for the city of Flin Flon and the First Nations of Pimicikamak and Mathias Colomb.
“This is the largest evacuation in many Manitobans’ living memory,” Kinew said during a press conference.
“This is a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is a moment of concern. But I want to tell you that your fellow Manitobans will welcome you. We will get through this difficult period, and we will get through this trying period the way we always do — by working together. “
He said he has spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who agreed to his request for assistance from the Canadian Armed Forces.
The military, he said, will be aiding with evacuation flights to the province’ capital of Winnipeg.
