senior

Barbara Boxer decided she was done. Entering her 70s, fresh off reelection to the U.S. Senate, she determined her fourth term would be her last.

“I just felt it was time,” Boxer said. “I wanted to do other things.”

Besides, she knew the Democratic bench was amply stocked with many bright prospects, including California’s then-attorney general, Kamala Harris, who succeeded Boxer in Washington en route to her selection as Joe Biden’s vice president.

When Boxer retired in 2017, after serving 24 years in the Senate, she walked away from one of the most powerful and privileged positions in American politics, a job many have clung to until their last, rattling breath.

(Boxer tried to gently nudge her fellow Democrat and former Senate colleague, Dianne Feinstein, whose mental and physical decline were widely chronicled during her final, difficult years in office. Ignoring calls to step aside, Feinstein died at age 90, hours after voting on a procedural matter on the Senate floor.)

Now an effort is underway among Democrats, from Hawaii to Massachusetts, to force other senior lawmakers to yield, as Boxer did, to a new and younger generation of leaders. The movement is driven by the usual roiling ambition, along with revulsion at Donald Trump and the existential angst that visits a political party every time it loses a dispiriting election like the one Democrats faced in 2024.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has become the highest profile target.

Last week, she drew a second significant challenger to her reelection, state Sen. Scott Wiener, who jumped into the contest alongside tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti, who’s been campaigning against the incumbent for the better part of a year.

Pelosi — who is 85 and hasn’t faced a serious election fight in San Francisco since Ronald Reagan was in the White House — is expected to announce sometime after California’s Nov. 4 special election whether she’ll run again in 2026.

Boxer, who turns 85 next month, offered no counsel to Pelosi, though she pushed back against the notion that age necessarily equates with infirmity, or political obsolescence. She pointed to Ted Kennedy and John McCain, two of the senators she served with, who remained vital and influential in Congress well into their 70s.

On the other hand, Boxer said, “Some people don’t deserve to be there for five minutes, let alone five years … They’re 50. Does that make it good? No. There are people who are old and out of ideas at 60.”

There is, Boxer said, “no one-size-fits-all” measure of when a lawmaker has passed his or her expiration date. Better, she suggested, for voters to look at what’s motivating someone to stay in office. Are they driven by purpose — and still capable of doing the job — “or is it a personal ego thing or psychological thing?”

“My last six years were my most prolific,” said Boxer, who opposes both term limits and a mandatory retirement age for members of Congress. “And if they’d said 65 and out, I wouldn’t have been there.”

Art Agnos didn’t choose to leave office.

He was 53 — in the blush of youth, compared to some of today’s Democratic elders — when he lost his reelection bid after a single term as San Francisco mayor.

“I was in the middle of my prime, which is why I ran for reelection,” he said. “And, frankly,” he added with a laugh, “I still feel like I’m in my prime at 87.”

A friend and longtime Pelosi ally, Agnos bristled at the ageism he sees aimed at lawmakers of a certain vintage. Why, he asked, is that acceptable in politics when it’s deplored in just about every other field of endeavor?

“What profession do we say we want bright young people who have never done this before to take over because they’re bright, young and say the right things?” Agnos asked rhetorically. “Would you go and say, ‘Let me find a brain surgeon who’s never done this before, but he’s bright and young and has great promise.’ We don’t do that. Do we?

“Give me somebody who’s got experience, “ Agnos said, “who’s been through this and knows how to handle a crisis, or a particular issue.”

Pete Wilson also left office sooner than he would have like, but that’s because term limits pushed him out after eight years as California governor. (Before that, he served eight years in the Senate and 11 as San Diego mayor.)

“I thought that I had done a good job … and a number of people said, ‘Gee, it’s a pity that you can’t run for a third term,’ ” Wilson said as he headed to New Haven, Conn., for his college reunion, Yale class of ’55. “As a matter of fact, I agreed with them.”

Still, unlike Boxer, Wilson supports term limits, as a way to infuse fresh blood into the political system and prevent too many over-the-hill incumbents from heedlessly overstaying their time in office.

Not that he’s blind to the impetus to hang on. The power. The perks. And, perhaps above all, the desire to get things done.

At age 92, Wilson maintains an active law practice in Century City and didn’t hesitate — “Yes!” he exclaimed — when asked if he considered himself capable of serving today as governor, even as he wends his way through a tenth decade on Earth.

His wife, Gayle, could be heard chuckling in the background.

“She’s laughing,” Wilson said dryly, “because she knows she’s not in any danger of my doing so.”

Sept. 28 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will attend a meeting organized by Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth that aims to gather hundreds of senior military officers near Washington this week.

Trump confirmed his Tuesday attendance with NBC News.

“It’s really just a very nice meeting talking about how we’re all doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things. It’s just a good message,” Trump told NBC Sunday. “We have some great people coming in and it’s just an ‘esprit de corps.’ You know the expression ‘esprit de corps?’ That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing and how we’re doing.”

Last week, Hegseth called on hundreds of military leaders, stationed all over the world, to travel for the meeting with top Pentagon officials.

The event is scheduled to be held at Quantico Marine Corps Base outside Washington. The base will host thousands of military members, top leaders, aides and security, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Senior military leaders were not informed about the purpose of the meeting, NBC reported.

The meeting is scheduled to happen just ahead of a looming budget deadline and potential government shutdown next week. The Trump administration has warned of mass layoffs and furloughs if the government stops operating if lawmakers cannot agree to a temporary spending plan to keep it operating.

The Congressional Research Service said that all 800 senior officers carrying the rank of brigadier general and above are required to attend the meeting.

The scheduled meeting has prompted heightened security concerns, The Washington Post reported.

Trump has said he plans to meet with Congressional leaders Monday in an attempt to overcome the budget impasse.

Sept. 14 (UPI) — The United States’ second-most senior diplomat expressed regret Sunday over the recent immigration raid at a Hyundai car battery plant in Georgia.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met Sunday with First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo to discuss cooperation in the continued efforts to resolve the diplomatic spat stemming from the raid, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, Park highlighted the “uncomfortable treatment” faced by hundreds of South Korean nationals who were detained and deported after the raid and the shock felt across the country at the incident.

“Deputy Secretary Landau expressed deep regret over the incident and proposed using it as a turning point to improve the [visa] system and strengthen the [Republic of Korea-United States] relationship,” the foreign ministry said. Landau was also said to have recognized the significant contributions and investments made by Korean companies for the “revitalization of the U.S. economy and manufacturing industry.”

He added that President Donald Trump is also “highly concerned” about this issue, and that he will ensure that Korean workers who return to the United States will not difficulty with reentering, South Korean officials said.

“The United States welcomes and encourages foreign investment in our country and therefore logically welcomes and encourages the personnel necessary to get those investments up and running,” Landau said in a post to social media after the meeting.

“These are the kind of visitors we want, who are creating American jobs and prosperity right here at home. Korean companies are poised to make massive new investments in our country in shipbuilding among other industries.”

More than 300 workers from South Korea were arrested earlier this month during the raid at the factory, which Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution operate. More than 150 other workers were also detained.

The raid was announced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and included officers from other agencies, such as Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It marked one of the largest immigrant raids in modern American history.

Last Sunday, a senior South Korean official said that the country will charter a plane for the return of hundreds of workers who were detained.

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, intending to provide financial security during the Great Depression. More than four years later, in January 1940, the first monthly Social Security checks were sent out. Since then, the program has grown tremendously to be one of America’s largest and most important.

In the 90 years that Social Security has been in place, it has benefited hundreds of millions of retirees. In fact, the program will make over $1.6 trillion in payments to around 72 million beneficiaries, including those receiving retirement benefits, disability benefits, and survivor benefits.

Image source: Getty Images.

A lot has changed with Social Security over the past 90 years. If you’re a current recipient, you can attest to how much continues to change — including eligibility, benefit calculations, and full retirement ages. But arguably the most important change happens annually with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

The annual COLA was put in place in 1972 to help retirees deal with inflation while receiving fixed monthly benefits. The official COLA percentage will be announced on Oct. 15, but retiree advocacy group The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) has routinely put out projections to help retirees plan ahead.

In its latest estimate released this month, TSCL has the upcoming COLA at 2.7%. Although the projection shouldn’t be taken as a guarantee, it’s worth taking a deeper dive into how the COLA works and what a 2.7% adjustment could mean for retirees.

How the annual COLA is determined

To determine the yearly COLA, the Social Security Administration (SSA) looks at a specific measure of inflation called the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). It’s published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and takes into account the price of goods and services like food (groceries and restaurants), transportation (vehicles, gas, and public transportation), housing (rent and utilities), and healthcare (services, prescriptions, and insurance premiums).

The SSA uses a three-step process to come up with the specific percentage to set as the COLA:

1. Calculate the CPI-W average for the third quarter (July, August, and September) of the current year.
2. Calculate the same average for the previous year.
3. Set the percentage increase as the COLA for the upcoming year (rounding it up to the nearest 0.1%).

For example, the third-quarter CPI-W average in 2024 was 308.729, and the average in 2023 was 301.236. That 2.43% increase is how we ended up with the 2.5% COLA for 2025.

If the CPI-W decreases or stays the same, there is no COLA, and benefits remain unchanged. It’s not common, but it has happened (in 2010, 2011, and 2016).

US Inflation Rate data by YCharts.

Complaints about the COLA

A benefits increase sounds like a good thing for Social Security, and for the most part, it is. However, a major (and valid) complaint has been that the COLA isn’t typically enough to truly offset the effects of inflation.

According to TSCL, Social Security recipients have lost around 30% of their purchasing power since 2000. This means every $100 in benefits received in 2000 would only buy $70 worth of goods and services today. From 2010 to 2024, TSCL says that Social Security benefits lost 20% of their purchasing power; that’s far from ideal.

If TSCL’s 2.7% COLA estimate turns out to be true, the average monthly benefit would increase from $2,007 (July’s average) to $2,061. A $54 monthly increase is better than no increase, but retirees have likely seen their monthly expenses increase by more than that.

There aren’t any concrete plans in place to change how the SSA calculates the annual COLA. In the meantime, it’s best for retirees to assume that benefits alone may not fully keep up with inflation, and make efforts to adjust their spending accordingly.

THE Defence Secretary has caused a row at the top of the Armed Forces by dishing out a senior command job in secret.

John Healey was forced to U-turn after Strategic Commander General Sir Jim Hockenhull found out Royal Marine General Rob Magowan was to get his job when he leaves the post next April.

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The news came in an email blunder sent by Mr Healey’s private office.

Healey had promised the post of Strategic Commander, which oversees cyber and special forces, to Royal Marine General Rob Magowan.

It is one of the most powerful posts in the military, on par with commands of the Army, Navy and RAF.

Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin forced Mr Healey to back down, defence sources told The Sun.

Our source said: “This was a spectacular own goal.

“Hockenhull was furious. He stormed out.

“Then Magowan was told the deal was off — he was livid as well.”

Hockenhull regularly briefed Sir Kier Starmer on Ukraine and was well liked in Downing Street

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Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani and two of his sons affiliated to the group were killed in a raid, the US military says

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) forces have killed a senior ISIL (ISIS) leader and his two sons affiliated to the group in Syria’s Aleppo region, the US military has said.

A post on X on Friday said, “Early this morning in al Bab, Aleppo Governate, Syria, CENTCOM Forces conducted a raid resulting in the death of senior ISIS Leader, Dhiya’ Zawba Muslih al-Hardani, and his two adult ISIS-affiliated sons, Abdallah Dhiya al-Hardani and Abd al-Rahman Dhiya Zawba al-Hardani.”

“These ISIS individuals posed a threat to US and Coalition Forces, as well as the new Syrian Government, ” it added.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue ISIS terrorists wherever they are. ISIS terrorists are not safe where they sleep, where they operate, and where they hide. Alongside our partners and allies, U.S. Central Command is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS terrorists that threaten the region, our allies, and our homeland,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, US CENTCOM commander, said.

In late May, ISIL claimed responsibility for an attack on the Syrian army, representing the armed group’s first strike at government forces since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, according to analysts.

In a statement regarding that attack, ISIL said its fighters had planted an explosive device that struck a “vehicle of the apostate regime” in southern Syria.

ISIL, which views the new government in Damascus led by President Ahemd al-Sharaa as illegitimate, has so far concentrated its activities against Kurdish forces in the north.

The fledgling Syrian government has had to contend with Israeli bombardment and incursions into its territory since al-Assad’s overthrow, as well as the eruption of sustained sectarian violence in the southern city of Suwayda in recent weeks.

The UK sanctions three units of the Russian military intelligence GRU agency and 18 of its officers.

The United Kingdom says it has sanctioned more than 20 Russian spies, hackers and agencies over what it called a “sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity” to destabilise Europe.

The Foreign Office said on Friday it was sanctioning three units of the Russian military intelligence GRU agency and 18 of its officers.

Those sanctioned include officers it said were involved in preparing the attack against Ukraine’s Mariupol theatre in the first month of the war in 2022, which killed hundreds of civilians of taking shelter inside the building.

It also sanctioned those it accuses of involvement in targeting former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were the victims of a nerve agent Novichok poisoning attack in 2018 in the UK.

“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

The UK also said Russia had targeted media outlets, telecoms providers, political and democratic institutions, and energy infrastructure in the UK.

British authorities have repeatedly accused Moscow of orchestrating malign activity, ranging from traditional espionage and actions to undermine democracy, to sabotage and assassinations.

Russia denies claims

Earlier this month, three men were convicted over an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in London that police said was carried out at the behest of the Wagner mercenary group.

Moscow has rejected such accusations, saying they were politically motivated and that it posed no threat to the UK.

In addition to the sanctions aimed at GRU, the British foreign ministry said it was sanctioning three leaders of the “African Initiative,” which it said was a Russian-funded social media content mill conducting information operations in West Africa.

The UK has recently ramped up its military spending to help change its approach to defence, partly to address threats from Russia, nuclear risks and cyberattacks.

The European Union and NATO also issued statements on Friday condemning what they described as Russia’s destabilising hybrid activities.

The UK move came on the same day the EU approved a new host of stiff sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

The EU sanctions package includes a lower oil price cap, a ban on transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines, and the targeting of more shadow fleet ships.

In a Congress addicted to bad ideas and bloated spending — something we saw again last week — it’s rare to find a tax policy with broad, bipartisan support that also happens to be good policy. Health savings accounts, known as HSAs, are one of those rare gems. They promote individual responsibility, reduce healthcare costs and enjoy overwhelming support from voters across the political spectrum.

The good news is that for all its flaws, the “Big Beautiful Bill” that was just signed by the president includes several expansions to the program.

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need tax-protected healthcare savings accounts. The tax code wouldn’t punish saving in the first place. Income would only be taxed once and not a second time through taxes on returns generated by savings. Families could set aside money for future expenses without being hit with additional penalties.

But that’s not the tax system we have. The double taxation of saving discourages people from preparing for medical and other costs.

Ideally, individuals would also be able to make their own decisions about health. But for the past century, Congress has used the tax code to pressure workers into accepting employer-controlled health insurance by penalizing those of us who choose otherwise. As Michael F. Cannon of the Cato Institute has demonstrated, this system effectively strips workers of control over roughly $1 trillion of their income. Imagine the possibilities if we could each demand more value and accountability for our share.

HSAs offer a partial solution to both of these problems. They can shelter a small portion of income and allow people to make their own decisions about some healthcare purchases without the government penalizing them. Since their creation in 2003, HSAs have become a lifeline for nearly 40 million account holders.

The accounts are triple tax-advantaged: Contributions go in tax-free, grow tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified medical expenses. They reward frugality, encourage price sensitivity (in a way most health insurance plans do not) and allow families to build health-related savings year after year.

Still, HSAs have benefited only a small segment of workers. To truly bring about individual healthcare freedom, it is essential that Congress expand them to everyone and end the preferential tax treatment for employer-based coverage. And to give credit where it’s due, Congress did indeed deliver on at least part of this agenda.

The House version of the budget included long-overdue HSA reforms, most notably a fix to a particularly maddening and regressive feature of current law: If you’re a working senior who needs to claim Social Security at 65 to make ends meet, you’re automatically enrolled in Medicare Part A — and disqualified from contributing to an HSA. A wealthier colleague who delays retirement can continue to enjoy tax-free contributions. Same job. Same employer. Different treatments based purely on wealth.

In addition to abolishing this injustice by allowing working seniors enrolled in Part A to remain eligible for HSA contributions, the House bill expanded the menu of healthcare options that can be paid for with HSA funds. It made gym memberships, personal training, preventive care and wellness among the new options — a smart, targeted reform.

Unfortunately, the Senate stripped many of the House’s reforms, but enough were retained in the final version of the bill for it to expand access to HSAs and make a significant difference.

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, Americans enrolled in Bronze or Catastrophic Affordable Care Act plans may contribute to HSAs — around 7.3 million people who previously lacked access in 2025. The bill also allows HSA funds to pay for direct primary care memberships — modernizing how Americans can save for and manage healthcare expenses — and makes permanent the ability of high-deductible health plans to waive the deductible for telehealth visits.

By some measures, these might be the most popular tax provisions in the entire package. As Cannon has pointed out, large majorities of Democrats (73%), Republicans (74%) and independents (65%) have shown past support for HSAs. A Luntz poll found 83% support for working seniors on Medicare to be allowed to contribute to HSAs.

In other words, this wasn’t just smart policy, it was a political layup.

There is still a lot of work to be done, such as delinking HSA eligibility from high-deductible plans entirely, expanding contribution limits and eliminating barriers for all Medicare recipients. These moves would further reduce tax-code distortions and reinforce a healthcare system rooted in choice and accountability.

Nevertheless, HSA reform is one instance of the “Big Beautiful Bill” producing good and popular policy.

Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate.

Sunak’s appointment comes after resigning from the PM role last year after a loss to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party

Goldman Sachs has named former United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as a senior adviser, adding a veteran policymaker to its roster as banks navigate rising geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty.

The investment bank announced Sunak’s appointment on Tuesday.

Sunak, who remains a Conservative member of parliament from a seat in northern England, previously worked at Goldman as an analyst in the early 2000s before joining a series of hedge funds.

Through a combination of his past career in financial services and the family wealth of his wife, whose father co-founded the Indian IT services company Infosys, Sunak became the wealthiest British prime minister, drawing criticism of being out of touch with most UK voters.

He has remained largely out of the spotlight since resigning as leader of the Conservatives after the party’s worst defeat in more than a century in July last year. He took up posts at Oxford and Stanford universities earlier this year.

Goldman’s hiring of Sunak, who had also served as the UK’s finance minister, adds to a long list of senior politicians taking up positions in finance, where their policy backgrounds and global networks are viewed as strategic assets.

“I am excited to welcome Rishi back to Goldman Sachs,” Goldman CEO David Solomon said in a statement. “In his role, he will work with leaders across the firm to advise our clients globally on a range of important topics, sharing his unique perspectives and insights on the macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape,” Solomon said.

Former British finance ministers George Osborne and Sajid Javid have also made the move to finance with Osborne holding positions at asset manager BlackRock and advisory firm Robey Warshaw and Javid becoming a partner at investment firm Centricus.

July 4 (UPI) — The United States has sanctioned seven senior officials and one firm linked to Al-Qard Al-Hasan, a U.S.-designated, Hezbollah-controlled financial institution that came under attack last fall during Israel’s war against the Iran-proxy militia in Lebanon.

Thursday’s sanctions are the latest in a series by the U.S. Treasury targeting Hezbollah and follow U.S. actions against various revenue-generating operations of the militia during Israel’s war against Hamas, another Iran-backed group, in Gaza, which began in October 2023.

Al-Qard Al-Hasan was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury in July 2007, and its group of so-called shadow bankers in Lebanon was sanctioned in 2021.

On Thursday, the Treasury sanctioned Nehme Ahmad Jamil, 54, and his Tashilat SARL company he co-owns with Ahmad Mohamad Yazbeck, who was among the shadow bankers designated nearly five years ago.

Other senior officers at Al-Qard Al-Hasan sanctioned Thursday include Issa Hussein Kassir, 47, Samer Hasan Fawaz, 50, Imad Mohamad Bezz, 47, Ali Mohamad Karnib, 38, Ali Ahmad Krisht, 47, and Mohammed Suleiman Badir, 49.

According to the U.S. Treasury, these designations aim to disrupt Hezbollah’s sanctions-evasion schemes and help the Lebanese government curb the group’s influence.

“Through their roles at AQAH, these officials sought to obfuscate Hezbollah’s interest in seemingly legitimate transactions at Lebanese financial institutions, exposing these banks to significant AML/CFT risk while allowing Hezbollah to funnel money for its own benefit,” Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender said in a statement.

“As Hezbollah seeks money to rebuild its operations, Treasury remains strongly committed to dismantling the group’s financial infrastructure and limiting its ability to reconstitute itself.”

Hezbollah became involved in the Israel-Gaza war a day after it began, launching rockets into northern Israel.

In October, with much of Gaza destroyed and tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, Israel intensified its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, launching ground and artillery operations, seeking to eradicate the militant group in order to prevent it from further attacking Israel.

Among its targets was Al-Qard Al-Hasan, with dozens of its branches destroyed in Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern and eastern Lebanon.

Glenavon’s 16-year-old forward Chris Atherton has left Mourneview Park to join Chelsea.

The Northern Ireland Under-17 international made headlines in September 2022 when he became the youngest senior footballer in the United Kingdom at 13 years and 329 days old.

The teenager, who joined the Glenavon academy at four years old, broke the senior record when he came on as a second-half substitute for the Lurgan Blues during a 6-0 win over Dollingstown in the BetMcLean Cup.

Atherton beat the record set by Jordan Allan, who played for Airdrie aged 14 years and 191 days.

He was a first-team regular for Glenavon throughout the 2024-25 season, scoring his first Irish Premiership goal against Loughgall in March, as Paddy McLaughlin’s side finished 10th in the table.

Glenavon announced his exit on X, with a post stating: “Chris Atherton – blue still the colour.

“We can confirm that academy product Chris Atherton has left the club to sign for Chelsea We wish him the best in his career & hope he and his family won’t be strangers at MVP.”

United States Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have said that the US is not seeking to topple the government in Iran via “regime change” and is not at war with the country in the wake of its unprecedented surprise attack overnight on three of Iran’s nuclear sites.

The comments on Sunday followed Washington, DC joining Israel’s strikes on its arch-foe, which have been met by daily retaliatory strikes from Iran and are now in their 10th day.

Vance said on Sunday that the US had successfully set back Iran’s nuclear programme, adding that US President Donald Trump now hopes to pursue a diplomatic solution.

Speaking on the NBC News show Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, he maintained his country was “not at war with Iran, we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear programme”.

“We do not want to protract this or build this out any more than it’s already been built out. We want to end their nuclear programme,” Vance said, adding: “We want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here.”

Meanwhile, Hegseth claimed the series of US strikes against Iran “devastated” its nuclear programme, as he asserted Washington was not seeking “regime change” in Tehran.

There has been no independent confirmation of how heavily the US strikes impacted the sites, or Tehran’s nuclear efforts, which it has repeatedly said are for civilian purposes only.

The Pentagon chief urged Iran’s leaders to find an off-ramp to the conflict after Trump announced the strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordow, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people”.

“I can only confirm that there are both public and private messages being delivered to the Iranians in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table,” Hegseth added in the news conference with General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“This mission was not, and has not, been about regime change,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier that the US strikes on his country have blown up any possibility of diplomacy and strongly intimated a response was in gestation.

During an address to a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Sunday, Araghchi said the US crossed “a very big red line” by attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Trump’s intervention – despite his past pledges to avoid another “forever war” – threatens to dramatically widen the conflict after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last week, with Tehran vowing to retaliate if Washington joined in.

The US and Iran had been engaged in multiple rounds of nuclear talks brokered by Oman before Israel launched a strike on Iran, unconditionally supported by the US, earlier this month.

‘Bombers took off from US’

Standing alongside Hegseth, Caine said that an assessment of the destruction sustained at Iran’s nuclear facilities will take time to confirm.

“I think PDA [preliminary damage assessment] is still pending and it would be way too early for me to comment on what or what may not still be there,” he said. He confirmed B-2 bombers were launched from the US on Friday for an 18-hour flight to their targets for the “strike package”.

“Operation Midnight Hammer” included several “deception and decoy” manoeuvres. High-speed suppression fire was used to protect the B-2s, and Caine said there’s no indication “any shots were fired” by Iranian defences.

“Iran’s fighters did not fly and it appears Iran’s missile systems did not see us,” Caine said.

He declined to comment on specific moves taken to protect US troops based in the Middle East from potential Iranian retaliation.

“Our joint force remains ready to defend the United States – our troops and our interests in the region,” said Caine.

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, said Hegseth gave a very clear message on behalf of the US that this is not an open-ended operation, although there was a warning that while it is intentionally limited, the capabilities of the US military are not.

“What is clear is this was a well-coordinated operation,” Fisher said.

“But as we heard from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they obviously still have to get full intelligence from the site, and this will take some time,” Fisher said. “So they don’t know whether it has been a huge success. But what it does do is send a real message.”

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS there were no planned military operations against Iran at the moment.

‘No fatalities’ in Iranian sites

Trump announced that the US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites in a “very successful attack” overnight into Sunday.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Trump’s decision to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran has escalated an already intensive conflict and threatens a potential all-out regional war.

The head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said there were no fatalities in the US strikes on the nuclear facilities, according to Iranian state television.

An Iranian health ministry spokesperson cited by state media said none of those injured in the US attacks and sent to hospitals had radiation contamination.

On Saturday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear programme “cannot be taken away… by threats or war”. Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb.

Trump has stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck Iran on June 13, repeating his insistence that it could never have nuclear weapons. He seemed to be uncertain of whether to move militarily, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have been one of the key voices he was attuned to.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Scott Lucas, a professor of US and international politics at University College Dublin, said the reason Trump decided to strike Iran after appearing to opt for diplomacy until recently was “Because Donald Trump got played by the Israelis; some might say manipulated.”

Racing on the final day of the Isle of Man TT has been delayed because of rain around the course.

Clerk of the course Gary Thompson said road closures around the circuit had been pushed back by four hours, with a further update due at 12:30 BST.

Saturday’s race schedule features the blue riband Senior event, due to be held over six laps of the Mountain Course, now scheduled to start at 14:45.

As it stands, the A18 Mountain Road is set to close at 13:00, with the lower part of the course due to shut an hour later at 14:00.

North Korea has arrested a fourth official over the failed launch of a new warship that has enraged the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

Ri Hyong-son, deputy director of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Munitions Industry Department, was “largely responsible for the serious accident” last week, state-run news agency KCNA said on Monday.

The 5,000-ton destroyer had tipped over and damaged its hull, in what Kim had described as a “criminal act” that “severely damaged the [country’s] dignity and pride”.

The vessel is being repaired under the guidance of an expert group, KCNA said.

Mr Ri, who is part of the party’s Central Military Commission, is the highest level official arrested over the incident so far.

The commission commands the Korean People’s Army and is responsible for developing and implementing North Korea’s military policies.

Over the weekend, Pyongyang also detained three officials at the northern Chongjin shipyard, where the destroyer was built and where its launch failed.

The officials were the chief engineer, its construction head and an administrative manager.

Kim earlier said Wednesday’s incident was caused by “absolute carelessness, irresponsibility and unscientific empiricism”.

It is not clear what punishment they might face, but the authoritarian state has been known to sentence officials it finds guilty of wrongdoing to forced labour and even death.

It is uncommon for North Korea to publicly disclose local accidents, though it has done this a handful of times in the past after failed satellite launches.

Some analysts believe Kim’s swift and severe response was meant as a signal that Pyongyang will continue to advance its military capabilities.

“This sends a clear message to South Korea and the US that North Korea isn’t going to stop in trying to repair and strengthen its naval technology,” Edward Howell, a North Korea expert at Oxford University told ABC news.

A commentary on Seoul-based Daily NK, a news outlet focussing on North Korea, suggests that Kim’s “transparency, however reluctant” shows he views naval modernisation as such a critical priority, and that “even public failures cannot derail the broader narrative of military advancement”.

Last week’s shipyard accident comes weeks after North Korea unveiled a similar warship in another part of the country.

Kim had called that warship a “breakthrough” in modernising North Korea’s navy and said it would be deployed early next year.

When Charles Dickens began his 1859 novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with the legendary line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” who knew that it would aptly describe the state of amateur football in 2025?

From college athletics to high school athletics, if you’re a parent, coach, athlete or fan, you have plenty of stories to tell. Take notes, because there’s so much material you’ll be able to write a book, launch a podcast or participate in court cases still to be decided.

“It’s all crazy,” said future Hall of Fame football coach Matt Logan of Corona Centennial.

Football isn’t in a crisis but it is in a black hole with stakeholders seeking an escape path.

With final rules still not adopted in how name, image and likeness is supposed to work and college programs not only paying their own athletes but high school recruits, too, everyone is adjusting on the fly. Parents trying to navigate the changes are hiring agents, who are showing up to high school camps trying to find clients. There’s the college transfer portal and something similar in high school that saw more than 17,000 students switch schools in California last year.

Until NIL rules are figured out, it’s roll your eyes and don’t be surprised at anything.

Some elite high school players have been reclassifying their graduation years to take advantage of money opportunities. And that’s after parents held them back entering high school to be bigger, stronger and faster as a 16-year-old freshman.

It’s all legal and even logical but the changing landscape is riddled with pros and cons and bad actors.

One big concern in high school sports is that parents might be too focused on scholarships for their kids and earning NIL money while forgetting the real reason people play sports — for the love of the game.

“For me, the whole value in sports has been degenerated,” Logan said. “You don’t play sports to get a scholarship. You play to learn how to lead, how to take orders, how to be a good teammate, how to work together. This could be the only chance to have fun, play with their friends, have a great experience.”

There have been football scandals in recent years — twice at Narbonne High, which had City Section championships taken away in 2019 and 2024 for using ineligible players. Now the football community is focused on what the Southern Section intends to do this fall about Bishop Montgomery, which supposedly has numerous transfer students (some from Narbonne) and is so confident it’ll ‘ll be declared eligible that a trip to Hawaii and a nonleague game against powerful Mater Dei have been scheduled.

Every week, coaches have to decide how to deal with players and parents who have little patience and many options. It’s a balancing act, and for the elite of the elite, coaches can’t even count on juniors returning as seniors because of opportunities to skip ahead to college.

“I understand why they are doing it. They have my full support,” said Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse, who’s losing star defensive lineman Richard Wesley to Oregon a year early after he reclassified to the class of 2026.

Ellinghouse is embracing the idea his job is to “put them into positions to have life-changing opportunities.”

There are many different paths to success and failure. Remember how LaVar Ball didn’t care that his youngest son, LaMelo, was 13 years old playing summer basketball as a freshman for Chino Hills. He threw him in against older players and the rest is history. He averaged 25.2 points this season for the Charlotte Hornets as a 23-year-old in his fifth NBA season.

There are others who were 19-year-old seniors in high school, stopped developing, kept switching schools and will probably blame their coaches for not making the pros when the truth is it’s difficult to become a professional athlete.

It is the best of times with all kinds of money to be given out for being a good athlete. It is the worst of times because many of the treasured lessons from playing amateur sports no longer receive priority treatment. What happened to the importance of getting a college degree?

It will take someone with magical ideas to return a balance to the amateur sports world.

May 15 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department Thursday sanctioned two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators for what it said were roles in coordinating financial transfers to the group.

“Today’s action underscores Hezbollah’s extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender in a statement. “As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities.”

Treasury sanctioned Mu’in Daqiq Al-‘Amili as a senior Hezbollah official involved in coordinating the delivery of cash from Iran to senior Hezbollah officials in Lebanon.

Jihad Alami was sanctioned for allegedly receiving and distributing the funding.

Treasury said following the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Amili “coordinated the delivery of at least $50,000 to Alami in Lebanon, which was collected from Iran likely for onward transfer to Gaza.”

Fadi Nehme, described by Treasury as an accountant and business partner of Hezbollah’s Chief of its Central Finance Unit, was also sanctioned as an alleged Hezbollah financial facilitator.

Treasury said Senior Hezbollah official Hasan Abdallah Ni’mah was sanctioned for his alleged role in funding and networking for Hezbollah across Africa. That included managing millions of dollars in transactions, according to the Treasury.

“As of August 2022, Ni’mah coordinated the delivery of hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars to the Hezbollah-aligned Islamic Movement of Nigeria,” the Treasury said in a statement. “Ni’mah has had longstanding connections with senior Hizballah leaders, including the now-deceased Hezbollah Secretary General Nasrallah.”

The Treasury Department said it will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities.”

Treasury’s Faulkender said in a statement, “As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities.”