TOP NEWS

Israel has a long history of dismissing any legitimate criticism it faces as “anti-Semitic”.

So, how can anyone challenge Israel’s war on Gaza or its military raids in the occupied West Bank, without running the risk of being called anti-Semitic?

Or is this an easy way of shutting down any debate about Israel’s occupation?

Presenter: Tom McRae

Guests:

Phyllis Bennis – Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and international adviser at Jewish Voice for Peace

Saba-Nur Cheema – Political scientist at Goethe University Frankfurt

Gideon Levy – Columnist at Haaretz Newspaper

May 23 (UPI) — A six-person jury and three judges in Paris convicted eight people in the armed robbery against Kim Kardashian 8 1/2 years ago, but they won’t serve any more jail time.

Two others were acquitted in the trial that began April 28. Another person charged in the case had died and a 12th one was too ill to be tried.

The 44-year-old reality TV star and entrepreneur was gagged, bound with zip ties and robbed at gunpoint of jewelry worth several million dollars on Oct. 3, 2016. At the time, she had rented a luxury residence during Paris Fashion Week.

The 12 men and women were arrested in January 2017.

Seven men and one woman were found guilty on charges ranging from direct involvement in the robbery to lesser complicity in it.

They were sentenced to three to eight years in prison. Counting time served and with sentences mostly or entirely suspended, none will return to jail.

A ninth defendant was found guilty of illegally acquiring and possessing firearms but the panel cleared him of involvement in the robbery. A 10th defendant was acquitted.

“The sentences are fairly lenient,” David De Pas, the presiding judge, said in the ruling.

He cited the advanced age and health issues of many of the defendants as mitigating factors.

But he added: “You did harm.”

Kardashian won’t appeal, according to her lawyer, Leonor Hennerick, outside the courtroom.

“Kim Kardashian is aware of the decision and is satisfied,” Hennerick told reporters. “Justice has been served and she can now move on. She will continue with her rehabilitation project.”

The main suspects were dubbed the “grandpa robbers” in their 60s and 70s. Only two acknowledged their involvement.

The prosecution said they were “seasoned robbers” with extensive criminal records who had carefully prepared their heist. The lawyers also said they showed no empathy for Kardashian or for the night watchman, who was ordered to lead the robbers to her apartment.

They conducted one of the most daring celebrity heists in France’s recent history.

During testimony last month, Kardashian said she feared for her life during the robbery by five masked men.

“I absolutely thought that I was going to die,” Kardashian said in her May 13 testimony. “I kept telling them that I have babies, and that I needed to go home to my babies.”

She said two men entered her room dressed as police officers.

Most of her stolen jewelry was not recovered, including a $4 million diamond engagement ring from her then-husband Kanye West. Kardashian told the court the insurance payout for the jewelry was about $6 million.

The DNA of Aomar Aït Khedache, 69, was found at the scene but he denied accusations that he masterminded the robbery by recruiting accomplices, giving orders and arranging to sell the stolen diamonds in Belgium.

Yunice Abbas, 72, who acted as a lookout, wrote a book about the heist. Abbas’ hands shook from Parkinson‘s disease when he spoke in court

“I forgive you for what had taken place,” Kardashian tearfully told Khedache in court after he apologized to her. “But it doesn’t change the emotion, and the feelings, and the trauma, and the ways that my life is forever changed.”

Defendant Didier Dubreucq, 69, was absent from court several times to undergo chemotherapy for cancer.

Trial featured emotional testimony from Kardashian, who said the robbery was traumatising but forgave ringleader.

A Paris court has found eight men guilty of involvement in a 2016 armed robbery of the US celebrity Kim Kardashian, who described the incident as “the most terrifying experience of my life”.

Seven of the convicted received prison sentences of between three and eight years, some of which were suspended, and another received a fine.

The court did not order any additional time behind bars for the accused, with Chief Judge David De Pas saying that the defendants’ ages – six are in their 60s and 70s – and their health issues weighed on the court’s decision to impose sentences that he said “aren’t very severe”.

“The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family,” Kardashian, who was not present for the verdict, said in a statement on Friday.

“While I’ll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all. I remain committed to advocating for justice and promoting a fair legal system.”

De Pas told the convicted men that they had “caused fear” during the October 2, 2016, robbery of millions of dollars worth of jewels from the Kardashians in their hotel room during the Paris Fashion Week. During the theft, Kardashian was tied up and said she feared for her life.

Aomar Ait Khedache, the 69-year-old ringleader of the gang dubbed by the French press as the “grandpa robbers”, used a cane to walk into the courthouse.

Khedache was given a sentence of eight years in prison, five of which were suspended. Three others were given seven years with five suspended. Three more received prison sentences ranging from three to five years, mostly or completely suspended, and an eighth person was found guilty on a weapons charge and fined. Due to time served in jail, none of the accused will return to detention.

Two of the 10 defendants were acquitted.

The trial was heard by a three-judge panel and six jurors, before whom Kardashian testified last week.

During an emotional testimony, Kardashian recounted the harrowing experience of the robbery and the fear she felt being at the mercy of a group of armed men. During the theft, she was thrown onto a bed, tied up and had a gun pressed to her.

“I absolutely did think I was going to die,” she said. “I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”

Kardashian is known for her interest in law and obtained her law degree in the United States earlier this week. She has also been an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform.

Earlier in the trial, a letter written by Khedache expressing remorse for his actions was read to Kardashian, who said that she appreciated the letter and forgave him, even if nothing could change the “trauma and the fact that my life was forever changed”.

Kedache again asked for “a thousand pardons” via a written note on Friday, with the other defendants also using their final remarks before the court to say that they were sorry for their actions.

May 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump announced Friday afternoon that U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel will form a “planned partnership,” keeping the American company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh rather than in Japan.

The Tokyo-based steelmaker’s $14.9 billion bid to acquire its U.S. rival was blocked on national security grounds before President Joe Biden left office on Jan. 3.

Politico described it as a purchase by Nippon Steel, and CNBC as a merger. U.S. Steel, which was founded in 1901, has about 22,000 employees with revenue of $15.6 billion in 2024. Nippon, which traces its roots to Japan Iron & Steel Co. in 1934, has about 113,640 workers with revenue of $43 billion in 2019.

“I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation, US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “For many years, the name, ‘United States Steel’ was synonymous with Greatness, and now, it will be again.”

He said the partnership will create at least 70,000 jobs and add $14 billion to the U.S. economy, with the bulk of the investment in the next 14 months. He gave no details on the partnership.

“This is the largest Investment in the History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he wrote.”My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA. From Pennsylvania to Arkansas, and from Minnesota to Indiana, AMERICAN MADE is BACK.”

He said he is planning “a BIG Rally” at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh on May 30.

Besides Pittsburgh, U.S. Steel has mills in Gary, Ind.; Ecorse, Mich.; and Granite City, Ill.

“CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!” he ended the post.

U.S. Steel shares rose 21.9% to $52.01 at closing Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Trump disclosed the news at 3:25 p.m., 35 minutes before closing.

In April, Trump ordered a new review of the proposed acquisition, directing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to determine “whether further action in this matter may be appropriate.” CFIUS is made up of the departments of the Treasury and Justice and other critical agencies.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., which lost out to Nippon in its bid to purchase U.S. Steel, has since purchased a Canadian steel producer.

The deal was first announced in December 2023.

In rejecting the purchase, Biden said: “This acquisition would place one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national security and our critical supply chain

“It is my solemn responsibility as president to ensure that, now and long into the future, America has a strong domestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad; and it is a fulfillment of that responsibility to block foreign ownership of this viral American company.”

On Feb. 11, Trump restored a 25% tariff on steel and increased the aluminum tariff from 10% to 25%.

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the European Union, Ukraine and Britain had received exemptions, “which prevented the tariffs from being effective,” according to the order.

“Foreign nations have been flooding the United States market with cheap steel and aluminum, often subsidized by their governments,” Trump wrote.

“The United States does not want to be in a position where it would be unable to meet demand for national defense and critical infrastructure in a national emergency.”

On April 2, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on the worst trading partner offenders, including 24% against Japan, but one week later paused them for 90 days.

Donald Trump’s decision to ban Harvard from enrolling foreign students has caused irreparable damage, says one student leader. The order was the latest move in the administration’s escalating battle with the Ivy League school. A federal judge has now temporarily blocked it.

May 23 (UPI) — Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday addressed the 1,048 graduates of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., telling them, “Your country needs you now more than ever.”

During the ceremony, Marine 2 circled Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, and there was Blue Angels flyover.

During the ceremony, Vance, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was deployed to the Iraq War, watched as 786 men and women received Navy assignments and 262 went to graduates who now will serve in the Marines.

On a sunny day, the graduates raised their right hands and swore to protect the Constitution as they were officially commissioned. In unison, they shouted “I do” when the oath was finished.

They walked up to the stage to shake Vance’s hand and receive their diploma.

Divided into 36 companies, they later tossed caps into the air, a Naval tradition.

“It will be you, the graduates gathered here today, who will lead the way for the rest of us,” Vance said. “Your service will bring new challenges and environments, including ones unfamiliar even to those who served before you. You will deploy new equipment, new systems, and new technology. And, through those experiences, it is you who will learn, who will teach others and will help our services and our entire country adapt to the future we’re confronting.”

This was Vance’s first remarks to service academy’s graduates as vice president.

“The extraordinary education you received is an investment by the American people, an investment not only in your courage, but in the strength of your minds and the promise of your leadership because your nation rests easier knowing that we have the most brilliant strategists and tacticians standing guard,” Vance added.

Vance noted that they would be leading troops in regions with military powers, including China and Russia.

To the graduates, guests and military personnel, he touted the Trump administration’s policies.

He described President Donald Trump‘s visit last week to the Middle East as “historic.”

Vance told the crowd how his administration’s foreign policy is different from predecessors by moving away from nation-building and prioritizing American interests.

“No more undefined missions. No more open-ended conflicts,” Vance said.

He voted that Trump and himself would “never ask you to do anything without a clear mission and a clear path home.”

The vice president described the military’s targeted and limited airstrikes this spring against the Houthis in Yemen as the type of mission the Trump administration would prioritize. The goal was to stop Houthi militants from attacking American ships in the Red Sea.

“We pursued that goal through overwhelming force,” Vance said. “That’s how military power should be used: Decisively.”

Earlier he was greeted by demonstrators protesting the Trump administration’s policies

Several groups advocating for racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights rallied across the street on the grounds of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. From a distance, they protested deep cuts to social services in the proposed budget.

The Naval Academy stopped considering race, ethnicity or sex in admissions. Nearly 400 books exploring White supremacy, race and racism in America; gender identity; and sexuality and diversity were removed from the academy’s library after an executive order by Trump. Many have since been returned to the library’s shelves.

“I’m sure some of you share my politics and some of you don’t,” Vance said, “but I know today I speak for a grateful nation when I say, ‘We are rooting for you, Naval Academy Class of 2025, we are proud of you and we depend on you. Congratulations. Godspeed.’ “

The U.S. Naval Academy’s Class of 2025 includes 751 men and 298 women from all 50 states. Fourteen international students from 13 countries will return home to serve in their respective armed forces. The class began with 1,186 candidates: 838 men and 348 women.

Midshipmen said the graduation of four challenging years at the academy was surreal.

“After today, I’m a commissioned officer in the greatest fighting force. There’s a little bit of nerves,” political science major Lucas Merritt, 23, of Georgia, who is going into the Marine Corps, told The Baltimore Banner. “I feel ready.”

“Our sailors and Marines’ lives are literally in our hands,” Rebecca Wiley, 21, of Houston, who will work on submarines in Charleston, S.C., said after studying naval architecture and mechanical engineering. “I’m nervous to do a good job, but that just shows that I care.”

Joseph Lee, a 22-year-old from Kansas, studied chemistry and will go to medical school.

They will join approximately 92,000 Naval Academy alumni who have graduated since 1845.

Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, discusses Trump’s plan to build a Golden Dome defence system for the US, and whether it’d be wise, or even possible.

May 23 (UPI) — State parks in Florida are now protected from commercial construction after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the State Park Preservation Act into law Thursday.

The act, which will take effect in July, prevents developers from constructing hotels, golf courses or other commercial enterprises in any of Florida’s 175 state parks.

Pinellas County Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross, who also is an environmental scientist, posted to social media Friday that the act establishes “protections for all 175 state parks against commercial development,” and also thanked “everyone who fought for this bill, and who stood up to preserve our home.”

Republican Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, Highland Beach, called the passage of the act a “bipartisan, bicameral legislative victory,” on her X account Thursday, and then quoted “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss to close her post with “I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.”

The new law came after a backlash caused by a purported plan proposed by the state in 2024 and allegedly leaked by the Florida Wildlife Federation to allow commercial development at nine different state parks. All future developments are not completely banned but will instead need to be conservation-minded, and support nature-friendly activities such as camping, hiking and kayaking.

The Florida Wildlife Federation posted a note of appreciation to its website Thursday, with thanks given to the Florida Senate and House “for their unanimous support of this legislation every step of the way,” and it called the law “a massive win for wildlife, outdoor spaces, and future generations who will get to experience Florida’s natural wonders just as they should be: wild and natural.”

Josh Paul, the first US official to resign over Israel’s war on Gaza, joins The Take to explain why he stepped down, his new efforts lobbying in Washington, DC, and why he believes that US support for Israel’s war fuels conflict abroad and makes Americans less safe at home.

May 23 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday recommended new tariffs on the European Union, citing difficulties trading with the bloc.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that the United States should implement a “straight 50% tariff” on goods imported from the EU beginning on June 1.

“The European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of taking advantage of the United States on trade, has been very difficult to deal with,” Trump wrote.

“Our discussions with them are going nowhere!”

He said the proposed tariffs were in response to trade barriers that negatively impact American companies including value-added taxes, corporate penalties and “unjustified lawsuits against American companies,” which he said have resulted in a trade deficit of $250 billion a year between the United States and the EU, adding the number is “totally unacceptable.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News he hoped the tariff warning would “light a fire under the EU.”

“I’ve said before, [the] EU has a collective action problem here. It’s 27 countries, but they’re being represented by this one group in Brussels. So some of the feedback that I’ve been getting is that the underlying countries don’t even know what the EU is negotiationg on their behalf,” Bessent said.

The United States has inked trade deals with Britain and China to reduce tariffs and Bessent said the proposed EU tariffs were in response to the bloc’s “pace” in current negotiations.

“There are 18 important trade deals that we have to do. I’m working mostly on Asia. And that group has moved forward with some very interesting proposals, they’re negotiating in good faith,” he said.

Earlier this month, the EU said it was preparing a list of imported U.S. goods that could be subject to tariffs should the two sides fail to reach a trade deal.

That list was valued at approximately $107 billion.

Trump in early April said the United States planned to impose 20% tariffs on goods from European Union countries.

He later temporarily lowered that number to 10% while the two sides negotiated, while the EU also paused 25% retaliatory tariffs during the 90-day window.

Aid agencies have continued to criticise Israel after it announced it had sent a small convoy of trucks carrying vital supplies into Gaza.

COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory, confirmed on Friday that 107 trucks had entered the enclave the previous day, loaded with flour, medicine and equipment.

However, aid agencies and others have condemned Israel’s policy to allow only minimal volumes of aid into Gaza, which the Israeli military has been blockading for close to three months.

They insist that the supplies are nowhere near enough for the millions trapped in the territory, and add that even the small amounts making it in are not making it to people due to Israeli attacks and looting.

The shipments follow Israel’s announcement on Sunday that it would permit “minimal” humanitarian aid into the territory for the first time since implementing a total blockade in early March.

Amid warnings of mounting famine and humanitarian disaster, Israel said that the decision to allow aid into Gaza was driven by diplomatic concerns.

Global outrage has been rising as the 11-week siege has progressed, leaving Gaza’s 2.1 million people on the brink of starvation, with medicine and fuel supplies exhausted.

The United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has branded the aid deliveries “a drop in the ocean” and warned that far greater access is required to address the escalating crisis.

The UN estimates that at least 500 trucks of aid are needed daily. Since Monday’s announcement, only 300 trucks have made it in, including Thursday’s convoy, according to COGAT.

Attacks and looting

Aid agencies also state that even the aid that is being allowed into Gaza is not reaching people.

“Significant challenges in loading and dispatching goods remain due to insecurity, the risk of looting, delays in coordination approvals and inappropriate routes being provided by Israeli forces that are not viable for the movement of cargo,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Hamas officials said on Friday that Israeli air strikes had killed at least six Palestinians guarding aid trucks against looters.

An umbrella network of Palestinian aid groups said that just 119 aid trucks have entered Gaza since Israel eased its blockade on Monday, and that distribution has been hampered by looting, including by armed groups of men.

“They stole food meant for children and families suffering from severe hunger,” the network said in a statement.

The UN’s World Food Programme said on Friday that 15 of its trucks were looted in southern Gaza while en route to WFP-supported bakeries.

‘Most people living off food scraps’

Inside Gaza, the situation continues to deteriorate.

Dr Ahmed al-Farrah of Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera that the health system is overwhelmed.

“Most people now live off food scraps of what they had in stock,” he said. “I predict there will be many victims because of food insecurity.”

Palestinian Health Ministry officials said on Thursday that at least 29 children and elderly people have died in recent days from starvation-related causes, with thousands more at risk.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s  spokesperson said aid is being distributed via UN mechanisms, but stressed the amount reaching Gaza “is not enough”.

The leaders of Britain, France and Canada warned Israel on Monday their countries would take action, including possible sanctions, if Israel did not lift aid restrictions.

“The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law,” a joint statement released by the British government said.

“We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions,” it added.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused the trio of being “on the wrong side of history” and “supporting “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

May 23 (UPI) — A prisoner swap is underway Friday between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian officials said.

The swap, involving 1,000 prisoners from each side, began on Friday and was not yet completed, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, The Kyiv Independent and CNN reported.

The process of exchanging the prisoners is expected to take several days, CNN reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however posted on his Truth Social account Friday that the swap had been completed.

“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” Trump said. “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big?”

A source familiar with the matter, however, told The Kyiv Independent the swap was still ongoing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted to social media Thursday that the prisoner swap “was perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Turkey.”

“We are working to ensure that this result is achieved,” he wrote.

The two sides met last week in Istanbul and Zelensky continued that Ukraine’s Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov is involved with the “organization of the process and the implementation of the agreement,” but several other prominent members of the Ukrainian government have also taken part in the process.

Zelensky also added that his team is “clarifying the details for each individual included on the lists submitted by the Russian side.

“Returning all of our people from Russian captivity is one of Ukraine’s key objectives,” he said.

He also posted Monday that “the most significant outcome of the meetings [in Turkey] was the agreement to conduct a prisoner exchange in a 1,000-for-1,000 format.”

Additionally, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War had announced on Telegram last week that Russia had returned the bodies of 909 Ukrainian soldiers.

East African rights groups condemn Tanzania, saying human right activists ‘abandoned’ at border show signs of torture.

A Ugandan human rights activist, arrested in Tanzania after travelling to the country to support an opposition politician at a trial for treason, has been tortured and dumped at the border, according to an NGO.

Ugandan rights group Agora Discourse said on Friday that activist and journalist Agather Atuhaire had been “abandoned at the border by Tanzanian authorities” and showed signs of torture.

The statement echoes reports regarding a Kenyan activist detained at the same time and released a day earlier, and supports complaints of a crackdown on democracy across East Africa.

Atuhaire had travelled to Tanzania alongside Kenyan anticorruption campaigner Boniface Mwangi to support opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who appeared in court on Monday.

Both were arrested shortly after the hearing and held incommunicado.

Tanzanian police had initially told local rights groups that the pair would be deported by air. However, Mwangi was discovered on Thursday on a roadside in northern Tanzania near the Kenyan border.

Agora Discourse said it was “relieved to inform the public that Agather has been found”. However, the rights group’s cofounder Jim Spire Ssentongo confirmed to the AFP news agency on Friday that there were “indications of torture”.

‘Worse than dogs’

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been accused of increasing authoritarianism, amid rising concerns regarding democracy across East Africa.

Activists travelling to Lissu’s trail accused Tanzania of “collaborating” with Kenya and Uganda in their “total erosion of democratic principles”.

Several high-profile political arrests have highlighted the rights record of Hassan, who plans to seek re-election in October.

The Tanzanian leader has said that her government is committed to respecting human rights. However, she warned earlier this week that foreign activists would not be tolerated in the country as Lissu appeared in court.

“Do not allow ill-mannered individuals from other countries to cross the line here,” Hassan instructed security services.

Several activists from Kenya, including a former justice minister, said they were denied entry to Tanzania as they tried to travel to attend the trial.

Following his return to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Mwangi said that he and Atuhaire had suffered a brutal experience.

“We were both treated worse than dogs, chained, blindfolded and underwent a very gruesome torture,” he told reporters.

“The Government of Tanzania cannot hide behind national sovereignty to justify committing serious crimes and human rights violations against its own citizens and other East Africans,” the International Commission of Jurists in Kenya said in a statement.

US President Trump’s relentless attacks on institutions, the rule of law and the press have left many fearing for the future of American democracy. So is the United States sliding into authoritarianism?

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to one of the pre-eminent historians of fascism, Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University, Ruth Ben-Ghiat.

May 23 (UPI) — The GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has called on President Joe Biden‘s physician and former White House aides to sit for interviews as it investigates an alleged cover-up of the former president’s health.

“The cover-up of President Biden’s obvious mental decline is a historic scandal,” Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement Thursday. “The American people deserve to know why this decline began, how far it progressed and who was making critical decisions on his behalf.”

Concerns about Biden’s age and mental capacity plagued his re-election campaign and the perception of his fitness for office, following a poor showing at a debate against Donald Trump in June, led to his eventual withdrawal from the race.

In the past week, there has been renewed interest in Biden’s health after he announced he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the publication of books that allege his mental capacity while in office had diminished since his election.

Allegations and conspiracy theories have been made by President Donald Trump and Republicans that there was a Democratic coverup of Biden’s decline while in office and that someone else other than the 46th president was making decisions during his term in office.

Comer, who led a failed multiyear impeachment investigation into Biden and his family during the Biden administration, sent letters on Thursday to Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician and longtime family friend, and four of his close aides, demanding they sit for transcribed interviews.

The four aides to receive letters from Comer are: Neera Tanden, former director of the Domestic Policy Council, Anthony Bernal; former assistant to the president and senior adviser to former first lady Jill Biden; Annie Tomasini, former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff; and Ashley Williams, former special assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office operations.

In the letter to O’Connor, Comer wrote that the committee is “investigating the accuracy, transparency and credibility of your medical assessments” of Biden during his presidency, citing his February 2024 report that described then-president as “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the president.”

“Further, the Committee remains interested in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden’s physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as president. Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee seeks to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people.”

Biden announced his prostate cancer diagnosis on Sunday.

Trump — who has long attacked Biden over his border policies, often describing them as “Biden’s open borders” — did an about-face following his former political opponent’s cancer announcement and shifted blame to those in Biden’s inner circle whom he now accuses of being behind the alleged cover-up.

“Joe Biden was not for Open Borders, he never talked about Open Borders … it wasn’t his idea to Open the Border, and almost destroy our Country … It was the people that knew he was cognitively impaired and that took over the Autopen,” Trump said on his Truth Social media platform.

“This is TREASON at the Highest Level!”

Comer said he wants responses to his letters by May 29 and is seeking to schedule interviews between June 2 and 25.

The Trump administration blocked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students on Thursday. The move marks a sharp escalation in tensions between the White House and the Ivy League university.

SEOUL, May 23 (UPI) — North Korea began a full-scale investigation into an accident that damaged a new warship at its launch ceremony this week, state-run media reported Friday, with investigators vowing that those culpable “can never evade their responsibility for the crime.”

The accident occurred on Wednesday at the Chongjin Shipyard during the launch ceremony for the 5,000-ton destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was in attendance, called the incident a “criminal act” and said it “could not be tolerated.”

South Korea’s military assessed afterward that the North had attempted to “side-launch” the vessel by sliding it into the water sideways rather than launching it from a drydock, a technique analysts believe Pyongyang had never used before.

Satellite imagery captured by Airbus Space and shared on X on Thursday by British research organization Open Source Centre showed the warship listing on its side, draped by blue tarpaulins. OSC called the coverings “a visible attempt to contain the disaster.”

While the North’s initial media account on Thursday claimed that sections of the ship’s hull were crushed during the launch mishap, Friday’s report in state-run Korean Central News Agency downplayed the damage.

“Detailed underwater and internal inspection of the warship confirmed that, unlike the initial announcement, there were no holes made at the warship’s bottom,” the KCNA report said.

The hull starboard was scratched and seawater flowed into the stern section, KCNA said, calling the extent of the damage “not serious.”

It would take around 10 days to restore the warship’s damaged side, the report added.

Kim Jong Un blamed government officials, engineers and shipyard workers for the incident, KCNA reported on Thursday. He warned that their “irresponsible errors” would be dealt with at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party central committee next month.

The accident “brought the dignity and self-respect of our state to a collapse,” Kim said, and ordered the ship to be restored before the June meeting.

Hong Kil Ho, manager of the Chongjin Shipyard, was summoned by authorities, the KCNA report said Friday.

The ruling party’s Central Military Commission instructed investigators to determine the cause of the accident and find those responsible for it, KCNA said.

“No matter how good the state of the warship is, the fact that the accident is an unpardonable criminal act remains unchanged, and those responsible for it can never evade their responsibility for the crime,” the military commission said.

The destroyer was the second warship introduced by North Korea in recent weeks, following the launch of its 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer at the Nampo Shipyard on April 25. That vessel is armed with a wide range of weapons, including supersonic cruise missiles and strategic cruise missiles, according to North Korean reports.

Photos released by the North showed that the Choe Hyon’s missile and radar systems resemble those found on Russian vessels, prompting speculation that Pyongyang received technical assistance from Moscow in its development.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs.

The warship damaged during the launch accident appears to be similarly equipped to the Choe Hyon, South Korea’s military said Thursday.

About 50,000 people are still isolated across New South Wales after a powerful weather system dumped months of rain in three days.

Record-breaking floods in eastern Australia have killed four people and stranded tens of thousands after days of relentless rain.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Christopher Minns visited affected communities on Friday, some of which have experienced their worst flooding on record this week.

Minns praised emergency workers and volunteers, who have rescued 678 people in recent days – 177 of them in the past 24 hours.

“It’s an amazing, heroic logistical effort where, in very difficult circumstances, many volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to rescue a complete stranger,” Minns told reporters.

“Without the volunteers, we would have had hundreds of deaths and we’re in deep, deep gratitude.”

As well as the four victims killed, one person is reported missing.

About 50,000 people are still isolated across New South Wales, the country’s most populous state. Entire towns remain cut off and roads submerged after a powerful weather system dumped months of rain in three days.

Flash floods tore through rural communities, washing away livestock, damaging homes, and turning streets into rivers. Coastal areas are now littered with debris and dead animals.

Authorities have warned returning residents to remain vigilant.

“Floodwaters have contaminants, there can be vermin, snakes … so you need to assess those risks. Electricity can also pose a danger as well,” said Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Damien Johnston.

Australia has faced a string of extreme weather events in recent years, a trend experts attribute to climate change.

“What once were rare downpours are now becoming the new normal – climate change is rewriting Australia’s weather patterns, one flood at a time,” said Davide Faranda, a climate researcher at ClimaMeter, in comments carried by the Reuters news agency.

The storm system has now moved south towards Sydney, causing further disruption.

Train services, including airport services, were affected by flooded tracks. Sydney airport shut two of its three runways for an hour on Friday morning, delaying flights.

Officials also warned that Warragamba Dam, which supplies 80 percent of Sydney’s water and is currently at 96 percent capacity, may soon overflow.

May 22 (UPI) — The United States will impose sanctions on Sudan after determining that its military used chemical weapons against its breakaway paramilitary forces during their civil war, the State Department said.

The determination that the government of Sudan used chemical weapons last year was made by the United States on April 24 under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 and was delivered to Congress on Thursday.

The sanctions, which include restrictions on U.S. exports and access to U.S. government lines of credit, will be imposed on June 6, following the 15-day Congressional notification period, the department said.

The Sudanese government has yet to respond to the development.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a brutal civil war since April 15, 2023, following years of political instability.

In March, the Sudanese military captured the capital, Khartoum, marking a significant victory in the war that has killed an estimated 150,000 people and continues to rage.

The United States has accused both SAF and RSF of committing crimes against humanity and, last month, said atrocities committed by the paramilitary forces meet the threshold of genocide.

In January, The New York Times reported that the SAF used chemical weapons at least twice against the RSF since the war began in remote areas of the country. Officials cited in the report said the chemical weapon used was chlorine gas.

Sudan has denied the accusation.

The Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 is a U.S. law that requires the president to impose sanctions on countries determined to use chemical weapons.

Sudan is also a signatory to the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which obliges all signatories to chemically disarm by destroying their stockpiles of chemical weapons.

“The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and uphold its obligations under the CWC,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

“The United States remains fully committed to hold to account those responsible for contributing to chemical weapons proliferation.”

May 23 (UPI) — The Pentagon is sending an additional 1,115 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Northern Command announced Thursday.

The troops are being deployed to Joint Task Force-Southern Border to provide sustainment, engineering, medical and operational capabilities, USNORTHCOM said in a statement.

Securing the border has been a top priority of President Donald Trump. On Jan. 20, his first in office, Trump declared a controversial emergency at the southern border, claiming “America’s sovereignty is under attack.”

Two days later, the Defense Department announced the first deployment of some 1,500 troops to the border.

With the announcement Thursday, the deployment grows to some 10,000 troops.

Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security asked the Pentagon for more than 20,000 National Guard members to support Trump’s crackdown on immigration.