security

May 24 (UPI) — Dozens of employees were reportedly relieved from their positions with the National Security Council, with an eye towards downsizing the agency’s workforce.

Over 100 staffers received a memo earlier this week from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, informing them they were being put on administrative leave, CNN reported, citing two official sources.

The NSC staff members were not given any warning before being placed on leave, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The decision was made by President Donald Trump after it was suggested by Rubio, The Post reported. Rubio also serves as a interim national security advisor to the president.

Trump fired his previous national security advisor Mike Waltz earlier this month, tabbing Rubio as an interim replacement. Waltz was later nominated to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

Since taking the second role, Rubio has favored reducing NSC staffing levels, Politico reported, with a plan of reducing the total workforce from around 350 people to a figure closer to 150.

“The right-sizing of the NSC is in line with its original purpose and the president’s vision,” Rubio said in a statement to Axios.

“The NSC will now be better positioned to collaborate with agencies.”

A White House official told Axios the NSC staff cuts were aimed at combating the “Deep State” within the agency. Another official told Axios it is Trump’s wish to keep Rubio as interim national security advisor “as long as possible.”

Early last month, the Trump administration fired a number of senior NSC advisors. The move came shortly after the president met with far-right podcaster Laura Loomer, although it’s unclear if the moves were related.

WASHINGTON — President Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size, lead to the ouster of some political appointees and return many career government employees back to their home agencies, according to two U.S. officials and another person familiar with the reorganization.

The number of staff at the NSC is expected to be significantly reduced, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter.

The shake-up is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being dramatically remade after the ouster early this month of Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, who had hewed to traditional Republican foreign policy on some issues.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security advisor since the departure of Waltz, who was nominated to serve as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.

The move is expected to elevate the importance of the State Department and Pentagon in advising Trump on important foreign policy moves.

The NSC, created during the Truman administration to counter the emerging Soviet threat after the end of World War II, is an arm of the White House tasked with advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policy and coordinating among various government agencies.

Trump was frustrated in his first term by political appointees and other advisors who he thought got in the way of his agenda.

There were roughly 395 people working at the NSC, including about 180 support staff, according to one official. About 90 to 95 of those being ousted are policy or subject-matter experts seconded from other government agencies. They will be given an opportunity to return to their home agencies if they want.

Many of the political appointees will also be given positions elsewhere in the administration, the official said.

The NSC has been in a state of tumult during the early going of Trump’s second term in the White House.

Waltz was ousted weeks after Trump fired several NSC officials, a day after the influential far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns to him about staff loyalty. Loomer has in the past spread 9/11 conspiracy theories and promoted QAnon, an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory, and took credit for the ouster of the NSC officials who she said were disloyal.

And the White House, days into the administration, sidelined about 160 NSC aides, sending them home while the administration reviewed staffing and tried to align it with Trump’s agenda. The aides were career government employees, commonly referred to as detailees.

This latest shake-up amounts to a “liquidation” of NSC staffing, with career government detailees on assignment to the NSC being sent back to their home agencies and several political appointees being pushed out of their positions, according to the person familiar with the decision.

A White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the overhaul, first reported by Axios, was underway. Andy Baker, the national security advisor to Vice President JD Vance, and Robert Gabriel, an assistant to the president for policy, will serve as deputy national security advisors, according to the White House official.

Waltz, during his short tenure heading the NSC, came under searing criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was used to discuss planning for a sensitive military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen.

Waltz has taken responsibility for building the text chain but has said he does not know how Goldberg ended up being included.

Loomer had encouraged Trump to purge aides who she believes are insufficiently loyal to the president’s “America first” agenda.

She also complained to sympathetic administration officials that Waltz was too reliant on “neocons” — shorthand for the more hawkish neoconservatives within the Republican Party — as well as what she perceived as “not-MAGA-enough” types, the person said.

It wasn’t just Loomer who viewed Waltz suspiciously. He was viewed with a measure of skepticism by some Trump loyalists who saw the former Army Green Beret and three-term congressman as too tied to Washington’s foreign policy establishment.

On Russia, Waltz shared Trump’s concerns about the high price tag of extensive U.S. military aid to Ukraine. But he also advocated for further diplomatically isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin — a position that was out of step with Trump, who has viewed the Russian leader with tolerance and admiration.

Waltz’s more hawkish rhetoric on Iran and China, including U.S. policy toward Taiwan, seemed increasingly out of step with Trump, who has favored military restraint and diplomacy toward some traditional adversaries — though not toward certain allies, such as his belligerent rhetoric about taking over Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal.

Associated Press writers Lee and Madhani reported from Washington and Kim from Fishkill, N.Y.

Genaro Garcia Luna, formerly a high-ranking government official, is serving a 38-year sentence for accepting bribes.

A Florida court has ordered Mexico’s former head of public security to pay more than $748m to his home country for his alleged involvement in government corruption.

Thursday’s ruling brought to a close a civil case first filed in September 2021 by the Mexican government.

The case centred on Genaro Garcia Luna, who served as Mexico’s security chief from 2006 to 2012. Garcia Luna is currently serving more than 38 years in a United States prison for allegedly accepting millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa cartel.

The Mexican government alleges that Garcia Luna also stole millions in taxpayer funds, and it has pledged to seek restitution, namely by filing a legal complaint in Miami, Florida, where it says some of the illegal activity took place.

On Thursday, Judge Lisa Walsh in Miami-Dade County not only required Garcia Luna to pay millions, but she also ordered his wife, Linda Cristina Pereyra, to pay $1.7bn. Altogether, the total neared $2.4bn.

In its initial 2021 complaint, the Mexican government – led at the time by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador – accused Garcia Luna, his wife and their co-defendants of having “concealed funds stolen from the government” and smuggling the money to places like Barbados and the US.

“Under the direction of the Defendant GARCIA LUNA, the funds unlawfully taken from the government of MEXICO were used to build a money-laundering empire,” the complaint wrote.

It alleged those funds were used to finance “lavish lifestyles” for Garcia Luna and his co-conspirators, including real estate holdings, bank accounts and vintage cars, among them Mustangs from the 1960s and ’70s.

Separately, Garcia Luna faced criminal charges for corruption, with US authorities accusing him of pocketing millions while in office for working on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel.

Through his work with Mexico’s federal police and as its security chief, US prosecutors say Garcia Luna accessed information that he later used to tip off the Sinaloa cartel, letting them know about investigations and the movements of rival criminal groups.

Garcia Luna was also accused of helping the cartel move its shipments of cocaine to destinations like the US, sometimes using Mexico’s federal police as bodyguards – and even allowing cartel members to wear official uniforms.

In exchange, prosecutors say the cartel left money for him in hiding places, one of which was a French restaurant across the street from the US embassy in Mexico City. Some bundles of cash – offered in $100 bills – totalled up to $10,000.

After leaving office in 2012, Garcia Luna moved to the US. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. His defence lawyers have described him as a successful businessman living in Florida.

But in February 2023, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, convicted Garcia Luna on drug-related charges, including international cocaine conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. The following year, in October, he was sentenced to decades in prison.

The Mexican government, however, alleged in its civil lawsuit that Garcia Luna also led a “government-contracting scheme” that included bid-tampering and striking dubious deals as a form of money laundering.

Those contracts included deals for surveillance and communications equipment. The Associated Press news agency reported that one such contract was falsified, and others were inflated.

Garcia Luna is the highest-level Mexican government official to be convicted in the US.

A roughly 11-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway is set to reopen Friday ahead of Memorial Day weekend, reconnecting Malibu to the Westside after months of closures.

But less than 48 hours before the planned reopening, the state said Wednesday that it remains “in the dark” regarding the city of Los Angeles’ plans for providing security to the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades area just off the highway.

Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl countered that the mayor did, in fact, have a plan to keep the area secure and closed to non-residents.

“As PCH is reopened, we will have a strict security plan in place, as we have for months,” Seidl said Wednesday afternoon. He did not immediately respond when asked whether he had shared the city’s plan with the state.

The leader of the state’s emergency services agency sent a sharply worded letter earlier Wednesday to a senior official in Mayor Karen Bass’ administration, chiding the city for not answering questions despite weeks of outreach from the state.

As of Wednesday morning, the mayor’s office had yet to provide the state with a plan for how it plans to provide security to the Palisades as part of the reopening, or whether it plans to establish new security checkpoints on arterial streets into the community, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Times.

Seidl said Wednesday afternoon that the city would put new checkpoints in place, though he did not provide specifics.

The affluent coastal enclave has remained closed to the public since the devastating January wildfire, months after other fire-damaged neighborhoods reopened. But with the California National Guard set to leave at the end of the month, officials must decide how to move forward. There seems to be a consensus among both state and local officials that the neighborhood should remain closed to the public, though the logistics of that decision remain an open question.

Checkpoints currently block public access at major ingress points to the community. But the reopening of PCH would necessitate several new checkpoints.

“Over the last few weeks, Cal OES has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and City staff and officials – including as recently as yesterday – offering technical and financial resources to support the City as it develops a security plan,” Nancy Ward, who leads the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, wrote in the letter, saying the state would also provide financial support for federal reimbursement-eligible security costs.

“Despite this outreach, we remain in the dark regarding the City’s plans and have heard that the City may request a multi-week delay of the reopening of PCH – despite the incredibly hard work by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Caltrans, and many others to facilitate the reopening for Memorial Day,” Ward wrote.

Seidl said the city was not requesting a delay to the reopening.

The letter was sent from Ward to deputy mayor for public safety Robert Clark, Bass’ top aide overseeing police and fire issues.

Though she stopped short of directly criticizing Bass, Traci Park — the Los Angeles city council member who represents the Palisades — also expressed frustration with the process and lack of clarity.

“For months, Councilmember Park sounded the alarm on safety and called for a formalized plan from departments and consultants through the LA Recovery Committee, which she chairs. None have been forthcoming,” Park spokesperson Pete Brown said.

Concerned about the lack of movement, Park submitted her own proposal to the governor for Palisades safety as the highway reopens, Brown said.

The governor’s office had reached out to Park with concerns about the situation, according to someone familiar with the issue who was not authorized to speak publicly.

In late January, Bass briefly announced plans to reopen the Palisades to the public before reversing course less than 30 hours later after widespread outcry from community members who said the checkpoints should remain in place.

Newsom previously announced last month that the highway would reopen by the end of May, though he did not provide a specific date. His office declined to comment on the letter.

The soon-to-reopen section of highway, which spans from Chautauqua Boulevard just north of Santa Monica to Sweetwater Canyon Drive in Malibu will operate two lanes of traffic in both directions, according to a CalTrans document.

Skai Jackson says Deondre Burgin, the father of her 3-month-old son, has been abusing her since last spring, including suggesting that she drink bleach while she was expecting in order to terminate her pregnancy.

Jackson was granted a temporary restraining order against him Monday, according to court documents. The actor, her son and her dog Otis are covered by the order.

The former Disney Channel star, 23, detailed a litany of alleged abuses by Burgin, 21, in her request filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Most of them are from 2024, but the inciting event behind the filing appears to have been an alleged attack on Mother’s Day of this year. Jackson said in her filing that Burgin attacked her on May 11 while she was carrying son Kasai.

“He grabbed me by the hair, slammed my head on the back seat window of my car and hit me in the face while holding my son,” the “Jessie” and “Bunk’d” actor wrote in her filing. “Deondre caused me to have a bloody nose. I don’t feel safe with my son being around him due to his violent history. He also said ‘F’ my child.”

Last June, Burgin took Jackson’s phone so he could check her messages because a man had texted her, the filing says. Jackson said he then broke her iPhone and choked her against a kitchen counter.

“He demanded that I drink bleach to kill our unborn child,” Jackson wrote about the June incident. “He then walked me to the car with a knife in his hand telling me to get in the driver seat and if I called out for help he would stab me in the stomach. He then called his friend … telling him he was about to kill me. He then told me to drive to the doctor to get an abortion. When I tried to he asked me was I crazy and why would I want to kill our child.”

Jackson said she had video documentation from July when he allegedly punched through the door of an upstairs bathroom she had locked herself in for safety and choked her until she couldn’t breathe. Jackson said that in 2024, there was a six-month period where he choked her or slammed her head into a wall about once a week, destroyed a television and punched holes in her walls.

Jackson said Burgin threatened her with a handgun and also has a rifle and a switchblade, the filing says. The “Dragons: Rescue Riders” voice actor said he threatened in September 2024 to have a member of his family come kill her and her mother.

In October, Burgin allegedly threatened to kill her after she asked him to go to therapy, the documents said.

He stands 6-foot-4 to Jackson’s reported 5-foot-2, according to her application. She asked the court to stop him and his family from posting anything about her on social media, saying that he had threatened to post revenge porn.

The two have brushed up against authorities in the past because of alleged violence between them.

“The Man in the White Van” actor was arrested at Universal Studios Hollywood last August after she and Burgin were detained by security on suspicion of domestic assault. She was arrested by sheriff’s deputies after security footage showed she had pushed Burgin twice. However, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office didn’t pursue the case.

At the time, Jackson allegedly told authorities that she and Burgin were happily engaged and expecting a baby together.

A permanent restraining order will be considered at a June 9 hearing. The Times was unable to contact Burgin for comment. A representative for Skai Jackson did not respond immediately to The Times’ request for comment.

Former Times staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — Christine Farro has cut back on the presents she sends her grandchildren on their birthdays, and she’s put off taking two cats and a dog for their shots. All her clothes come from thrift stores and most of her vegetables come from her garden. At 73, she has cut her costs as much as she can to live on a tight budget.

But it’s about to get far tighter.

As the Trump administration resumes collections on defaulted student loans, a surprising population has been caught in the crosshairs: hundreds of thousands of older Americans whose decades-old debts now put them at risk of having their Social Security checks garnished.

“I worked ridiculous hours. I worked weekends and nights. But I could never pay it off,” says Farro, a retired child welfare worker in Santa Ynez, Calif.

Like millions of debtors with federal student loans, Farro had her payments and interest paused by the government five years ago when the pandemic thrust many into financial hardship. That grace period ended in 2023 and, earlier this month, the Department of Education said it would restart “involuntary collections” by garnishing paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security retirement and disability benefits. Farro previously had her Social Security garnished and expects it to restart.

Farro’s loans date back 40 years. She was a single mother when she got a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology and when she discovered she couldn’t earn enough to pay off her loans, she went back to school and got a master’s degree. Her salary never caught up. Things only got worse.

Around 2008, when she consolidated her loans, she was paying $1,000 a month, but years of missed payments and piled-on interest meant she was barely putting a dent in a bill that had ballooned to $250,000. When she sought help to resolve her debt, she says the loan company had just one suggestion.

“They said, ‘Move to a cheaper state,’” says Farro, who rents a 400-square-foot casita from a friend. “I realized I was living in a different reality than they were.”

Student loan debt among older people has grown at a staggering rate, in part due to rising tuitions that have forced more people to borrow greater sums. People 60 and older hold an estimated $125 billion in student loans, according to the National Consumer Law Center, a six-fold increase from 20 years ago.

That has led Social Security beneficiaries who have had their payments garnished to balloon by 3,000% — from approximately 6,200 beneficiaries to 192,300 — between 2001 and 2019, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

This year, an estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default and are likely to experience the Department of Education’s renewed forced collections, according to the January report from CFPB.

Debbie McIntyre, a 62-year-old adult education teacher in Georgetown, Ky., is among them. She dreams of retiring and writing more historical fiction, and of boarding a plane for the first time since high school. But her husband has been out of work on disability for two decades and they’ve used credit cards to get by on his meager benefits and her paycheck. Their rent will be hiked $300 when their lease renews. McIntyre doesn’t know what to do if her paycheck is garnished.

She floats the idea of bankruptcy, but that won’t automatically clear her loans, which are held to a different standard than other debt. She figures if she picks up extra jobs babysitting or tutoring, she could put $50 toward her loans here and there. But she sees no real solution.

“I don’t know what more I can do,” says McIntyre, who is too afraid to check what her loan balance is. “I’ll never get out of this hole.”

Braxton Brewington of the Debt Collective debtors union says it’s striking how many older people dial into the organization’s calls and attend its protests. Many of them, he says, should have had their debts canceled but fell victim to a system “riddled with flaws and illegalities and flukes.” Many whose educations have left them in late-life debt have, in fact, paid back the principal on their loans, sometimes several times over, but still owe more due to interest and fees.

For those who are subject to garnishment, Brewington says, the results can be devastating.

“We hear from people who skip meals. We know people who dilute their medication or cut their pills in half. People take drastic measures like pulling all their savings out or dissolving their 401ks,” he says. “We know folks that have been driven into homelessness.”

Collections on defaulted loans may have restarted no matter who was president, though the Biden administration had sought to limit the amount of income that could be garnished. Federal law protects just $750 of Social Security benefits from garnishment, an amount that would put a debtor far below the poverty line.

“We’re basically providing people with federal benefits with one hand and taking them away with another,” says Sarah Sattelmeyer of the New America think tank.

Linda Hilton, a 76-year-old retired office worker from Apache Junction, Ariz., went through garnishment before COVID and says she will survive it again. But flights to see her children, occasional meals at a restaurant and other pleasures of retired life may disappear.

“It’s going to mean restrictions,” says Hilton. “There won’t be any travel. There won’t be any frills.”

Some debtors have already received notice about collections. Many more are living in fear. President Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Department of Education’s dismantling and, for those seeking answers about their loans, mass layoffs have complicated getting calls answered.

While Education Secretary Linda McMahon says restarting collections is a necessary step for debtors “both for the sake of their own financial health and our nation’s economic outlook,” even some of Trump’s most fervent supporters are questioning a move that will make their lives harder.

Randall Countryman, 55, of Bonita, Calif., says a Biden administration proposal to forgive some student debt didn’t strike him as fair, but he’s not sure Trump’s approach is either. He supported Trump but wishes the government made case-by-case decisions on debtors. Countryman thinks Americans don’t realize how many older people are affected by policies on student loans, often thought to be the turf of the young, and how difficult it can be for them to repay.

“What’s a young person’s problem today,” he says, “is an old person’s problem tomorrow.”

Countryman started working on a degree while in prison, then continued it at the University of Phoenix when he was released. He started growing nervous as he racked up loan debt and never finished his degree. He’s worked a host of different jobs, but finding work has often been complicated by his criminal record.

He lives off his wife’s Social Security check and the kindness of his mother-in-law. He doesn’t know how they’d get by if the government demands repayment.

“I kind of wish I never went to school in the first place,” he says.

Sedensky writes for the Associated Press.

BEIJING — The new U.S. ambassador to China, former senator and business executive David Perdue, arrived in Beijing on Thursday, just days after China and the U.S. agreed to a temporary break in their damaging tariff war.

Perdue said on X that it is an honor to represent President Trump as ambassador.

“I am ready to get to work here and make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous,” he wrote.

Perdue, 75, had a long career as an executive in firms from clothing to retail. He was based in Hong Kong as head of the Asia operations for Sara Lee Corp. and later was president of the Reebok athletic brand and chairman and CEO of Dollar General stores.

A Republican, he was a senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021 and ran for governor of the state as a Trump-backed candidate in 2022 but lost in the Republican primary.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China was ready to “provide convenience” for Perdue to perform his duties.

“We have always viewed and handled China-U.S. relations based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. We hope the U.S. side will work with China in the same direction,” Lin said at a daily news briefing.

The U.S. reached a weekend deal with China to reduce sky-high tariffs on each other’s goods, an agreement Trump has referred to as a victory.

The U.S. agreed to cut the 145% tax Trump imposed last month to 30%. China agreed to lower its tariff on U.S. goods to 10% from 125%. The lower tariff rates came into effect on Wednesday.

Worldwide, markets have responded to the agreement with gusto, rebounding to the levels before Trump’s tariffs, but many business owners remain wary.

Along with tariffs and China’s massive trade surplus with the U.S., the two have tangled over security in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

The U.S. has also been a harsh critic of China’s crackdown on human rights in ethnic areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang and in Hong Kong, and is a strong supporter of Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that China says is its own territory and threatens to invade.

With the 90-day tariff suspension being a notable exception, relations have hit lows not seen in decades. A reminder of that was Perdue’s predecessor Nicholas Burns’ order this year banning American government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens, a throwback to the Cold War.

Perdue was confirmed by the Senate on April 29. While in the Senate, he served on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Banking, Budget, and Agriculture committees. He also chaired the Subcommittees on Sea Power and State Department Oversight and “traveled extensively to strengthen U.S. partnerships across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe,” according to his official biography.

He was born in Warner Robins, Ga., and grew up on his family’s farm. He and his wife have two sons and three grandsons.

May 12 (UPI) — Gaza is under the threat of widespread famine as nearly 500,000 Palestinians are facing catastrophic food insecurity, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported on Monday.

About 96% of the population in the Gaza strip is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, classified as Phase 4, the organization says. About 22% are classified as facing catastrophic acute food insecurity — Phase 5 — which is described as “an extreme lack of food, starvation and exhaustion of coping capacities.”

“Goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks,” the organization said, according to the United Nations. “The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity. In a scenario of a protracted and large-scale military operation and continuation of the humanitarian and commercial blockade, there would be a critical lack of access to supplies and services that are essential to survival.”

This comes two months after Israel instituted a total blockade of Gaza, cutting off humanitarian aid.

The United States has thrown its support behind a plan to deliver private aid to Gaza, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Friday. He did not say when aid will begin to arrive.

“It is going to require the partnership not only of governments but of [non-government organizations], charitable organizations and nonprofits from around the world,” Huckabee said.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification shared skepticism of the plan for Israel to distribute aid into Gaza, citing “significant access barriers for large segments of the population.” It adds that the proposal is highly insufficient.

The organization warns that the Gaza Strip is likely to fall into a Phase 5 risk of famine by the end of September if Israel’s large-scale military operation continues.

“The latest announcements suggest that this worst-case scenario is becoming more likely,” the IPC’s report says.

U.N. High Commissioner for Humanitarian Rights Volker Turk echoed IPC’s skepticism of Israel’s plan. Turk said in a statement that it threatens the existence of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“This would only compound the misery and suffering inflicted by the complete blockade on the entry of basic goods for almost nine weeks now,” Turk said in a statement. “Gaza’s residents have already been deprived of all lifesaving necessities, particularly food, with relentless Israeli attacks on community kitchens and those trying to maintain a minimum of law and order. Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime.”

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continued throughout the weekend into Monday. A school for Palestinian refugees, operated by the United Nations, was struck in the attacks on Saturday. Four people were killed in a bombing at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency facility in North Gaza on Friday.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports 52,862 Palestinians have been killed and 119,648 have been injured in the conflict.

The Trump administration announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, a state program that provides monthly cash benefits to aged, blind, and disabled non-citizens who are ineligible for Social Security benefits due to their immigration status.

The investigation began in Los Angeles, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles field office issuing a Title 8 subpoena to California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release.

According to the department, the subpoena requests all records from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, the agency that administers the state program, to determine if ineligible immigrants received supplemental security income from the Social Security Administration over the last four years.

“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

“The Trump Administration is working together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally,” Noem added. “If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over. While this subpoena focuses only on Los Angeles County — it is just the beginning.”

According to Homeland Security, its Los Angeles investigations field office is subpoenaing records including applicants’ name and date of birth, copies of applications, immigration status, proof of ineligibility for benefits from the Social Security Administration and affidavits that supported the application.

The investigation comes after President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on April 15 to stop immigrants lacking documentation from obtaining Social Security Act benefits in what he called a bid to stop incentivizing illegal immigration and protect taxpayer dollars.

The memorandum directed the secretary of Homeland Security to ensure unauthorized immigrants do not receive funds from Social Security programs and prioritized civil or criminal enforcement against states or localities for potential violations of Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.

It also expanded the Social Security Administration’s fraud prosecutor program to at least 50 U.S. attorney ofices and established a Medicare and Medicaid fraud-prosecution program in 15 U.S. attorney offices.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CHELSEA have launched a probe after hundreds of away fans infiltrated the home end for Thursday’s Conference League match.

Supporters of Swedish side Djurgarden were able to buy tickets in almost every section of Stamford Bridge for the semi-final second leg.

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Cops and stewards had to intervene to keep the peace during the game, which Chelsea won 1-0.

Chelsea claim to be cracking down on illegal ticket sales and are going digital with seat allocation from next season in a bid to beat the touts.

The visiting supporters made no attempt to remain anonymous and sang loudly throughout the 90-minute match.

Footage from inside the ground on the night shows one section of Stamford Bridge being completely taken over by visiting fans, which saw Chelsea release an update during the game and relocate fans in the impacted areas.

One fan captured a video showing fans clashing in the Matthew Harding Stand of the stadium during the match, with another showing fans brawling in the West Stand concourse at half-time.

The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust released a damning statement following the game and asked fans to come forwards to present evidence for an formal investigation.

The statement said: “During Thursday’s UEFA Conference League vs. Djurgården, a huge number of away supporters were able to infiltrate large areas of the home end.

“This is the most serious breach of stadium security in recent memory, and it significantly undermines any security protocols Chelsea FC put in place ahead of the fixture.

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“As a result, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust will formally write a letter of complaint to Chelsea FC’s COO and Head of Security.

“We will call for a formal investigation by the club into the ticket sales process and Chelsea FC’s security response during the match.

“The findings of this investigation and any subsequent recommendations must be made available to supporters.

“The CST invites all supporters who attended the fixture on Thursday to submit written, photographic, and video evidence they captured during the fixture.

“The CST will then collate this evidence and then submit it to Chelsea FC.”

A Chelsea statement read: “We will be reviewing all ticketing arrangements following this evening’s match and commit to implementing all necessary changes following this review.

“We will also share all our findings with the Fan Advisory Board.”

Large numbers of police were on duty as they were in the previous round when the notorious Legia Warsaw ultras also gained entry into home sections of the ground.

Chelsea’s own chairman Todd Boehly owns a stake in US-based Vivid Seats which is an unauthorised ticket resale site.

A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘Officers were deployed to support stewards at Stamford Bridge last night after a number of away fans were identified in home stands.

“The fans had purchased tickets but not for the appropriate part of the ground.

“A number of away fans who had found themselves in the home stands climbed into the designated away stand where they remained without incident.

“Where away fans remained in home areas, officers and stewards provided a visible presence to ensure any incidents or altercations could be dealt with.

“While there were six arrests outside the ground for various offences including assault and possession of drugs, there were no arrests within the ground.” 

Chelsea ratings vs Djurgarden as Dewsbury-Hall makes most of rare start but Sancho should have done better

CHELSEA coasted their way into the Conference League final thanks to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s first-half finish.

Enzo Maresca’s men had done the difficult work last week with a thumping first-leg win.

But Dewsbury-Hall gave the home fans something to cheer about with a smart finish.

Tyrique George fed the midfielder, who cut inside Djurgarden defender Miro Tenho before slotting home.

From there, Chelsea were going through the motions – and no wonder given how poor their Swedish visitors were.

Here’s how SunSport’s Jack Rosser rated the Chelsea stars…

Passengers enjoying a luxurious cruising break were abruptly told of a dangerous zone the ship would be crossing -banning guests from going outside over a series of hours

Cruise passengers enjoying the luxury of sailing were abruptly warned of a dangerous zone they were crossing in a terrifying announcement.

Guests on the cruise ship named the Queen Anne were told in a now viral TikTok video it would be operating a “heightened level of security alertness”. The video was posted by the account, lillydapink, a self-proclaimed cruise and travel influencer. It started off fairly normal, documenting the deck and sharing a basic warning about the trip hazard of the fire hoses.

It says: “Please be careful when walking around the promenade deck as these poles are trip hazards and must be stepped over carefully.” The announcement continues on as normal before taking an abrupt turn.

Lillydapink suddenly begins documenting from the interior of a cabin, with the overhead speaker sharing the following warning: “This area is known for piracy threats as reported in the world media. Therefore we will be operating at a heightened level of security alertness during this period.”

The warning continues on: “The external promenade deck will be closed on both sides from 9pm to 5am overnight between the night of the March 14 and 15. And no guests will be allowed access during these times for the duration of the transit.”

The foreboding announcement is accompanied by video of passengers peering intently out at sea through binoculars. Lillydapink captures footage of a cruise ship worker doing the same.

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The video has already been viewed over two million times and was followed by more TikTok videos capturing the subsequent safety announcements on the ship – amounting to over 20 million views in total.

In a subsequent video, a follow up message said: “During the hour of darkness, only essential deck lights will be on to reduce the ship’s external lighting. “n the unlikely event of an emergency a broadcast will be made by the bridge with the following instructions: ‘Guests are to proceed to their stage rooms. Guests with a window or balcony should proceed to the corridor outside their stage room, ensuring the stage room door remains closed.’”

Lillydapink shares that this specific message was shared as the ship crossed from Darwin to Manila. While the safety messages are lengthy and repeated, Lillydapink shared in her captions that they don’t feel particularly scared.

In one TikTok video documenting the warning, they wrote: “I am not worried at all. In fact, it’s quite an interesting experience.” They continued: “The ship is safe and well protected, so I will sleep well tonight. Unless the pirate alarm goes off, of course.”

Some viewers in the comment section said they were not as blasé about the messages. “After watching captain Philips… I don’t fancy this,” wrote one viewer. Another commented: “another reason why I will never go on a cruise”.

Others took the message quite light-heartedly, with a few making Pirates of the Caribbean references. “I’d be disappointed if I didn’t see jack sparrow and the black pearl,” wrote one user. Another said: “I guess suggesting a Pirates Of the Caribbean theme night for a cruise ship is in poor taste”.

One commenter identifying as a former Cunard employee wrote: “I worked for Cunard for many years. [The security message] is for prevention and ALWAYS happens when sailing through pirate waters. Trust me it’s a different story if they were actually in convoy with pirates!”

WASHINGTON — Wall Street veteran Frank Bisignano was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday to lead the Social Security Administration, taking over at a turbulent time for the agency that provides benefits to more than 70 million Americans.

The Senate confirmed Bisignano in a 53-47 vote.

Bisignano’s confirmation comes after a months-long series of announcements at the Social Security Administration of mass federal worker layoffs, cuts to programs, office closures and a planned cut to nationwide Social Security phone services, which were eventually walked back.

Many of the changes are driven by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire advisor Elon Musk, who said this week that he is preparing to wind down his role with the administration. The upheaval has made Social Security a major focus of Democrats, including former President Biden, who said in his first public speech since leaving office that Republican President Trump has “taken a hatchet” to the program.

Bisignano, a self-professed “DOGE person,” has served as chair of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm since 2020. He is a onetime defender of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. Bisignano takes over from the agency’s acting commissioner, DOGE supporter Leland Dudek. Bisignano’s term ends in January 2031.

Asked during his March confirmation hearing whether Social Security should be privatized, Bisignano responded: “I’ve never heard a word of it, and I’ve never thought about it.”

Democrats and activists have for weeks railed against Bisignano’s confirmation, holding rallies and other events protesting his nomination.

During the final roll call vote, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden called Bisignano “unfit” to be the steward of Americans’ Social Security benefits. Wyden said Trump wants Bisignano to “gut” Social security, and that Republicans who support Bisignano’s confirmation would be responsible if their grandmother misses a Social Security check and can’t pay rent.

“By confirming Mr. Bisignano, the Senate will be signing a death sentence to Social Security as we know it today,” Wyden said.

The chaos at the the agency began shortly after acting commissioner Michelle King stepped down in February, a move that came after DOGE sought access to Social Security recipient information. That prompted a lawsuit by labor unions and retirees, who asked a federal court to issue an emergency order limiting DOGE’s access to Social Security data.

Most recently, the full panel of judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 9 to 6 not to lift restrictions on the access that DOGE has to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.

Also in February, the agency announced plans to cut 7,000 people from the agency payroll through layoffs, employee reassignments and an offer of voluntary separation agreements, as part of an intensified effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce.

Dudek also announced a plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices. That sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population. That plan has since been rolled back.

The Social Security Administration provides benefits to roughly 72.5 million people, including retirees and children.

Hussein writes for the Associated Press.

May 5 (UPI) — Israel’s security cabinet voted over the weekend to reportedly increase military operations in Gaza, and to establish a permanent presence.

Sources familiar with plan shared details and the results of the vote with CNN, NBC News and ABC News.

An Israeli official told CNN the new plan for Israel’s war in Gaza involved “the conquest of territory and remaining there,” to displace the Palestinian population to southern Gaza and conduct “powerful strikes” against Hamas.

Officials also said the expansion of the conflict will be implemented gradually and provide opportunities for a new cease-fire and hostage release deals before U.S. President Donald Trump visits the region later this month. Trump is slated to land in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar next week, but Israel is not part of the planned itinerary.

The cabinet meeting also reportedly involved a possible lift on the blockade Israel has placed on humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, which has been in place for over eight weeks.

Both an Israeli source and a U.S. State Department official told CNN the United States and Israel have discussed a method to deliver aid to Gaza that would bypass Hamas, and that a related announcement could be made “in the coming days.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says over 52,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, which includes more than 2,400 since mid-March when a cease-fire that had been in place for two months was broken.

Many people choose to tie a brightly coloured ribbon to their suitcases when they check their luggage to make it easier to spot them at their destination airport

A baggage handler has revealed why passengers should avoid tying ribbons to their suitcase before jetting off on holiday.

Many travellers opt for adding distinctive markers, such as ribbons or stickers, to their luggage to make it more easily identifiable on the baggage carousel. According to an airport worker, this tactic may backfire, potentially preventing the suitcase from being loaded onto the flight altogether.

In an interview with RSVP Live, the worker explained: “Ribbons people tie onto their suitcases to help identify them can cause issues with the bag being scanned in the baggage hall. If the bag can’t be scanned automatically it can end up in manual processing, which could mean your bag doesn’t make it to the flight. Take old stickers off the bag, it can cause confusion with the scanning process.”

READ MORE: UK passport holders urged to claim free travel card before going abroad this summer

He added people should never pack marzipan as it can have the same density as explosives. As a result, both the bag – and the bag’s owner – are hauled off the flight.

It comes after an expert warned travellers about turning airplane mode off during a flight.

Whilst many airlines offer purchasable Wi-Fi, passengers still cannot use cellular service on planes. This means travellers cannot call people at 35,000 feet or even do some doom-scrolling, unless they purchase Wi-Fi. Experts have also now warned why taking your phone off airplane mode may be risky.

Any interference could “potentially lead to missing critical information like traffic alerts, runway assignments, or changes to the route. Any misunderstanding of these transmissions could lead to dangerous situations very quickly,” commented Bobby Dutton, a commercial pilot, flight instructor, and engineer who runs the website Think Like a Pilot.

Whilst most aircraft today are built to limit the risk of interference, Sigurdsson explained it could still happen and the risk is especially important “during critical phases of flight such as take-off and landing”. He added that: “Aviation safety is based on layers of protection, and restricting cellular signals in flight is one of them.”

Dutton also explained that aviation is about making good choices “before you get in trouble” and if there is an chance that cellular service could cause an issue, airlines should be proactive in eliminating the threat. Banning cellular activity in the skies means airlines are being proactive to best enhance safety provisions.

Sigurdsson concluded that while “a single phone may not cause a major issue, multiple active devices transmitting signals inside the cabin” can create a bigger safety risk. If airlines did allow passengers to use cellular service on planes, most passengers would be likely to use their phone and therefore the risk would be increased.

Another reason why passengers cannot use cellular service on planes is due to airlines wanting to minimise distractions during take off and landing, Sigurdsson commented. “The crew needs passengers’ full attention,” he said. “Using personal devices can delay responses in case of an emergency”.

READ MORE: ‘Comfortable’ linen trousers from GAP are a must-have for easy, breezy summer style

MADISON, S.D. — Dakota State University hasn’t experienced the student protests taking place at other U.S. colleges. Nestled in rural South Dakota, most of the nearly 4,000 students have been focused on their studies or job hunts, avoiding politics and partisan groups.

Until now.

The university administration decided to award an honorary doctorate to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and invited her to give a commencement speech May 10, bringing politics to the campus.

In response, students have planned a rally on graduation day opposing the former South Dakota governor and the Trump administration and expect protesters from across southeast South Dakota to join them.

They want to speak out against the federal government’s immigration policies, which are being implemented with Noem’s oversight, on behalf of peers who fear for their legal status. They also are expected to protest Noem’s anti-LGBTQ+ actions during her time as governor.

Some students and faculty also said they thought the honorary degree was too high an honor to bestow upon her.

Among Dakota State students, many are unsure if they should join the objections or stay quiet to avoid the kind of punishments suffered by students at more outspoken colleges.

“The atmosphere is tense,” humanities instructor Daniel Spencer said. “Students are afraid of making their voices heard.”

Students studying in its renowned cybersecurity program have traditionally been hesitant to take political stances because they fear potential blowback when they later seek government and private sector jobs.

The school’s location in Madison, a small town about an hour’s drive northwest of Sioux Falls, also is a factor.

“Many of our students are from rural South Dakota, and there’s a bit of an unwillingness to confront authority,” professor emeritus Dale Droge said. “We don’t have very many students in the political sciences or history where they might be thinking about these more civil rights kind of actions.”

Hundreds of international students who attend Dakota State and haven’t yet been affected by recent Homeland Security actions are weighing their participation options. The agency had terminated the legal status of more than 1,000 international students before reversing course and outlining a new policy for those terminations.

“I have international students coming to me from outside of the senate, across campus, who expressed to me that they don’t want to get involved in any of this because they have fears of getting their visas revoked,” said Anden Wieseler, a Dakota State junior and student senate vice president.

Noem’s support for the school

The school selected Noem because she was an “unwavering champion of Dakota State” during her time as governor, university spokesperson Andrew Sogn said in a written statement to the Associated Press.

Noem, who received a political science degree from South Dakota State University, supported Dakota State’s cybersecurity initiatives and helped secure millions of dollars in funding, cementing the school’s standing as a national cybersecurity leader, Sogn said.

“She was asked to share remarks with DSU’s graduates based on her distinguished and groundbreaking career in public service, and her many efforts to support the citizens of the state of South Dakota and the nation,” Sogn said.

Noem’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Dakota State President José-Marie Griffiths nominated Noem to receive an honorary doctorate, though the university declined to provide details of the offer. The general faculty and student senate voted against the nomination, with only one of the 15 student senators voting in favor of the nomination, Wiesler said.

Fear of speaking out

“There is a fear among a lot of the international student body on speaking on this matter, just a result of the current political climate,” said Tyler Sprik, a freshman and student senator. “That’s part of the reason me and several other senators have become so involved — it’s because a lot of our colleagues can’t.”

Faculty members also are apprehensive to share their opinions publicly. Some said the administration discouraged them from speaking to media and joining student rallies. Some cited President Trump’s heightened scrutiny on higher education as reason for caution.

Other students said they feared reprisal from the administration and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they didn’t want to jeopardize their jobs.

Sogn said that faculty members are welcome to speak with the media.

South Dakota faculty are afforded fewer protections than in other states due to a 2020 state law outlawing faculty unions at public colleges.

Droge is troubled by the reluctance to speak out.

“It is very concerning to me that we’ve reached a point in not just Dakota State, but in so many institutions that people are afraid to speak freely even on issues like this of free speech and principles and ethics,” Droge said. “These things aren’t against the university in any way, but it’s about allowing people to speak their minds freely.”

Some faculty members also said having a high-profile figure at commencement may take attention away from the graduates.

“The biggest chatter I’ve heard from students and other faculty is first and foremost concern that there will be a disruption to the commencement, which we all feel is so important to the students that are there,” said Stephen Krebsbach, a computer science professor.

Still, many students are preparing for the rally.

“The students’ attitude is clear. No honor for Noem. Give commencement back to the graduates and listen to us,” Sprik said.

Raza writes for the Associated Press.

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser (NSA), a key policy-shaping role, and tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take over the role in the interim.

Trump announced that he was nominating Waltz to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations. “Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

“I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation,” Waltz posted on X Thursday.

The senior official’s reassignment comes in the aftermath of the so-called “Signalgate” incident and his leaning towards aggressive military action against arch foe Iran.

What were the main reasons behind Waltz’s removal?

The army veteran came under heavy criticism after creating a group on the Signal messaging app with other top officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to discuss military attack plans on Yemen.

The group’s chat became public after the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the group mistakenly. After Goldberg published extracts from the chat, Waltz said he took “full responsibility” for the mistake.

The scandal cast a doubt on Trump’s national security team, with both Waltz and Hegseth coming under fire. Several Democrats called for their resignation in the immediate aftermath of the scandal.

While attending a cabinet meeting held by Trump last week, Waltz was also photographed using a modified and less secure version of Signal to text top officials.

According to The Washington Post, he also upset Trump after engaging in “intense coordination” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the possibility of launching military strikes on Iran.

As the Trump administration continues to pursue Omani-mediated talks with Tehran, Waltz reportedly frustrated the president by adopting an increasingly hawkish stance that favoured military aggression.

Netanyahu’s office, however, denied the daily’s report that claimed he had “intensive contact” with Waltz.

Moreover, he was reported to have built up tensions with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who increasingly felt he was not fit for the Trump team.

Who else is Trump sacking?

Along with Waltz, the president is kicking out his deputy, Alex Wong, according to US media reports, becoming the first senior White House officials to be fired from the second Trump presidency.

A number of inspectors general, federal workers, and senior military officials, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command General James Slife, have also been fired.

During his first term, Trump sacked a large number of senior officials, including FBI Director James Comey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, and NSAs John Bolton and Michael Flynn.

Why are MAGA supporters targeting Waltz?

Waltz has come under fire from some recognised figures in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) camp backing Trump, mainly for a perceived lack of loyalty to the president and a difference in policy approach.

Steve Bannon, a former chief White House strategist and influential figure, criticised Waltz for his hawkish foreign policy stance, particularly his support for military interventions.

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, highlighted a 2016 video in which Waltz criticised Trump’s remarks about military service members as a sign of his disloyalty.

She also accused Waltz of appointing staffers with anti-Trump sentiments and targeted his deputy, Wong, for alleged ties to Chinese interests.

But JD Vance backed him, arguing that his reassignment was not a demotion but a strategic move that would allow Waltz to better serve the administration in a new diplomatic role.

What’s next for Waltz?

Waltz will now have to secure confirmation from the Senate to become the new US envoy to the UN, in what is expected to be a challenging path.

Waltz is a former army green beret with deployments to Afghanistan that earned him a bronze star for valour. He has written extensively about military strategy and robustly supports national defence.

The Republican is also a former member of the US House of Representatives and used to work as a counterterrorism adviser in the Pentagon during the George W Bush administration.

But the Signalgate controversy, his reported unauthorised communications with Israeli leaders, and opposition by Democrats in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could work against him.

Who is Waltz’s replacement?

For now, and without any specific time period announced, Rubio is taking over as NSA.

Rubio, himself one of the more hawkish figures in the White House, is assuming more responsibility in a move that could be aimed at consolidating foreign policy leadership and streamlining the decision-making process.

This is the first time since the 1970s that the secretary of state is also acting as NSA.

Trump has not confirmed any potential replacements for Waltz in the future, but Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff and Ric Grenell are some of the top figures in his circle.

Miller is a senior policy and homeland security adviser known for his hardline immigration and foreign policy stances. Witkoff is serving as special envoy, leading the talks with Russia, Iran, and the Palestinian group Hamas. Grenell is the acting director of national intelligence and a former ambassador to Germany.

THIRTEEN security guards kidnapped from a major gold mine have been found dead after being kept hostage for a week.

The security staff disappeared in the mountains near Pataz, northern Peru, as bloody mining turf war grips the region.

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The group has been sent out to confront a group of illegal miners in the area, but were attacked and snatched.

Throughout the week, the gang sent threatening messages to the victims’ families.

The mining company that employed the workers, La Poderosa, said search-and-rescue teams recovered their remains on Sunday.

The company said on Sunday: “This morning, after intense search efforts, the police rescue team was able to recover the bodies of the 13 workers who were kidnapped […] by illegal miners in collusion with criminal element.”

It continued: “The spiral of uncontrolled violence in Pataz is occurring despite the declaration of a state of emergency and the presence of a large police contingent which, unfortunately, has not been able to halt the deterioration of security conditions in the area.”

Peru‘s interior ministry said organised crime investigators were probing the deaths, and vowed its agents were “fully empowered to use their firearms if the circumstances warrant it”.

In the city of Trujillo, west of Pataz, some of the victims’ relatives waited for the bodies of their loved ones to be transferred to the morgue there.

Abraham Dominguez, whose son Alexander was found dead, told channel Canal N: “We want justice, that this doesn’t just stop here.”

Peru declared a state of emergency last month after being plagued by a wave of violent crime – with the mining industry a particularly vicious battleground.

La Poderosa said 39 of its workers had been killed by criminal groups fighting for control of the mines around Pataz since it began operations there in the 1980s.

In December 2023, illegal miners attacked the same site with explosives, killing nine people and wounding at least 20.

A gang armed with explosives and other weapons burst into the mine, taking four people hostage.

Bodies recovered from outside the mine showed signs of burns resulting from the detonation of explosive devices.

The attackers raided the mine, “violently confronting internal security personnel from the company“, Peru’s interior ministry said at the time.

At least seven arrests were made and weapons seized following that attack.

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La Poderosa drafted in more security guards in response to the string of attacks.

Following the 2023 assault, Angela Grossheim, the head of the mining industry group SNMPE, said: “Formal mining is under attack.

“Illegal mining today is the country’s main illicit activity, even bigger than drug trafficking.”

Peru is a major gold and copper supplier for the world.

It has an unusual tolerance for illegal miners, which it allows to operation with some protections as they plan to legalize their operations.

Illegal mining boomed into a lucrative industry as the metals became more lucrative and new mining techniques emerged.

The Peruvian government has struggled to mount a response – and the turf wars are increasingly lawless.

Country on high alert since MI5 warning last year about ‘potentially lethal’ Iran-backed activities.

The United Kingdom has arrested eight men, including seven Iranian nationals, as part of two investigations regarding alleged threats to national security.

London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrests on Sunday, saying five men, including four of the Iranian nationals, were detained on suspicion of “preparation of a terrorist act” while the other three are being held under national security legislation introduced in 2023 to counter the actions of hostile states.

In the first operation, which took place on Saturday, counterterrorism police arrested four Iranians along with the other individual, whose nationality was still being established, in London, Swindon and the Greater Manchester area in relation to “a suspected plot to target a specific premises”.

The five men were aged 29 to 46. The four Iranians were arrested under the Terrorism Act while the fifth man was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

“This is a fast-moving investigation,” Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Dominic Murphy said, adding that police were exploring “various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter”.

In the second operation, which took place on the same day, counterterrorism police arrested three Iranian nationals aged 39, 44 and 55 in London under the National Security Act, which gives law enforcement greater powers to disrupt “state threats”, including foreign interference and espionage.

The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday that the three London arrests were “not connected to the arrest of five people yesterday”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the threats as “serious”, saying the government was working with police and intelligence agencies to “keep the country safe”.

The arrests were made amid heightened concerns about Iranian operations on UK soil after the head of Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service said last year that the UK had uncovered 20 Iran-backed plots posing “potentially lethal threats” since 2022.

In 2023, an Austrian national was convicted of carrying out “hostile reconnaissance” against the London headquarters of Iran International, a broadcaster that is critical of Iran’s government.

The following year, a British journalist of Iranian origin who worked for Iran International was stabbed in London.

In February a former British soldier was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of spying for Iran.

Iran has repeatedly rejected suggestions that it has been behind plots to attack the UK.

In March, Tehran summoned the British ambassador in response to the accusations and conveyed a formal protest.

And in October, Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused the UK of hosting “terrorist” groups that promote violence.

May 2 (UPI) — Britain’s Prince Harry, the duke of Sussex, will not get increased taxpayer-funded security while in that country after losing a legal battle Friday.

Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos ruled against Harry’s legal team in the British Court of Appeal, arguing he “could not say that the duke’s sense of grievance translated into a legal argument for the challenge to Ravec’s decision.”

Security for the prince and his family will now remain below the level normally provided to other Royal Family members by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee.

Harry’s level of security protection while in Britain was downgraded in 2020 when he and wife Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, announced they would “step back” from their duties as members of the Royal Family.

The family argued that the reduced security forced them to stop regularly visiting Britain because of safety concerns.

Harry and Meghan moved to Southern California after stepping back from the Royal Family, where they continue to reside.

Last year, Harry lost a decision in Britain’s High Court of Justice to have the regular security level reinstated. He took his fight to the British Court of Appeal, which heard the case last month over two days in London.

Lawyers for the youngest son of King Charles III, had previously argued that Ravec’s treatment of Harry, his wife and two children was unlawful. They accused the agency of targeting the family through a “bespoke process” and Harry was “singled-out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment.”

Britain’s High Court rejected the arguments, calling the Ravec decision “legally sound.”

“Even if there had been a risk analysis from the risk management board, it would very likely have only confirmed the threat, vulnerability and impact levels which the Duke of Sussex had faced when earlier risk analyses were undertaken,” Vos, the President of the court’s Civil Division, wrote in his ruling Friday.

“But it would have had nothing to say on the critical features of the changed situation, namely the need for protective security on future uncertain visits and the government’s appetite for risk.”

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to clear the way for Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency to access Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans.

The emergency appeal is the first in a string of applications to the high court involving DOGE’s swift-moving work across the federal government.

It comes after an order from a judge in Maryland restricted the team’s access to Social Security under federal privacy laws.

Social Security holds personal records on nearly everyone in the country, including school records, bank details, salary information and medical and mental health records for disability recipients, according to court documents.

The government says the DOGE team needs access to target waste in the federal government. Musk, now preparing to step back from his work with DOGE, has been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud. The billionaire entrepreneur has described it as a “ Ponzi scheme ” and insisted that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.

Solicitor Gen. John Sauer argued Friday that the judge’s restrictions disrupt DOGE’s important work and inappropriately interfere with executive branch decisions. “Left undisturbed, this preliminary injunction will only invite further judicial incursions into internal agency decision-making,” he wrote.

He asked the justices to block the order from U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander in Maryland as the lawsuit plays out.

An appeals court previously refused to immediately to lift the block on DOGE access, though it split along ideological lines. Conservative judges in the minority said there’s no evidence that the team has done any “targeted snooping” or exposed personal information.

The lawsuit was originally filed by a group of labor unions and retirees represented by the group Democracy Forward. The Supreme Court asked them for a response to the administration’s appeal by May 12.

More than two dozen lawsuits have been filed over DOGE’s work, which has included deep cuts at federal agencies and large-scale layoffs.

Hollander found that DOGE’s efforts at Social Security amounted to a “fishing expedition” based on “little more than suspicion” of fraud.

Her order does allow staffers to access data that has been made anonymous, but the Trump administration has said DOGE can’t work effectively with those restrictions.

The nation’s court system has been ground zero for pushback to President Donald Trump’s sweeping conservative agenda, with about 200 lawsuits filed challenging policies on everything from immigration to education to mass layoffs of federal workers.

In the cases that have reached the Supreme Court so far, the justices have handed down some largely procedural rulings siding with the administration but have rejected the government’s broad arguments in other cases.

Whitehurst writes for the Associated Press.