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Aug. 1 (UPI) — An attorney disciplinary board is recommending White House official Jeffrey Clark be stripped of his Washington, D.C., law license over his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election for President Donald Trump.

A majority of the nine-member Washington, D.C., Board on Professional Responsibility recommended Clark be disbarred on Thursday, stating Clark “was prepared to cause the Justice Department to tell a lie about the status of its investigation” into the 2020 general election.

“Lawyers cannot advocate for any outcome based on false statements, and they certainly cannot urge others to do so,” the panel said.

“Respondent persistently and energetically sought to do just that on an important national issue. He should be disbarred as a consequence and to send a message to the rest of the Bar and to the public that this behavior will not be tolerated.”

Of the nine members, seven voted for Clark to be disbarred, while two recommended he be suspended for three years and required prove his fitness to practice prior to reinstatement. The D.C. Court of Appeals will have the final say in the matter.

“The fight continues,” Clark said in response to the ruling on X.

Clark is the acting administrator of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, but was previously acting assistant head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division during Trump’s first term and a supporter of his boss’ false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

The letter at the center of the ruling is one that Clark drafted in late December 2020, after Trump lost the general election to then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

In the letter to Georgia officials, he said the Justice Department had “significant concerns” about the state’s election, despite the federal department being aware of zero issues. The letter recommended that Georgia’s governor call the state’s legislature into special session to consider replacing electors that supported Biden with those that were in favor of Trump — a plot that is now widely referred to as the fake electors scheme.

After being warned against sending the letter by two superiors, Clark, whose job at the Justice Department was not involved in elections, continued to advocate for it to be sent.

Trump also considered replacing then-Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Clark but later declined to name him head of the department after being informed that doing so would ignite mass resignations.

CANTON, Ohio — Trey Lance welcomes any opportunity that comes his way — a vexing four NFL seasons have only made him more eager — so Thursday night felt especially good.

Lance, the onetime third overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers, is battling for the Chargers’ backup quarterback job, and he made a compelling case in the Hall of Fame Game against the NFC darling Detroit Lions.

Although he didn’t put up gaudy numbers — completing 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns — he was as relaxed and at ease in front of the crowd of 18,144 at Tom Benson Stadium, as refreshing as the gentle evening breeze after a day of sprinkling rain.

“I was excited that we got this fourth preseason game,” Lance said after the 34-7 victory. “If I could play four games I’d be fired up about that.”

Lance, competing with Taylor Heinicke for the backup job to Justin Herbert, is on his third NFL team since being drafted in 2021. He was sidelined by injuries with the 49ers, then unseated by Brock Purdy. After that, Lance was a third-stringer for two seasons in Dallas. And keep in mind, he only played one full season at North Dakota State.

NFL analyst Sam Monson crunched the numbers and came up with this forehead-slapping stat: Lance has thrown a total of 781 pass attempts since he was 16. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, for instance, had 664 last season alone.

“He had the same kind of composure and poise and was just in control,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said of Lance after the game. “There’s a presence that I’ve been seeing all camp. He’s had a heck of a camp, and then he went out in the game and did that. Just the feeling of — he needs game reps, and you know he’s going to get them. It’s a great start for him tonight.”

Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes in the first half of the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday.

(David Richard / Associated Press)

As for that relatively minuscule number of pass attempts since high school?

Lance just turned 25 in May.

“Gosh, to be 25 again,” the coach said. “Wow, that’s the fat part of the bat, you know, for a quarterback. Excited about where he’s headed, happy to be in the middle of that story too. Just keep rolling. More reps next week.”

Here are five observations from the Chargers’ preseason opener:

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb.

Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza on Friday, the White House said.

At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday. The victims included 54 people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said. The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted.

Israel’s military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but reported no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire.

A security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.

Scramble for airdropped food

Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Thursday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida, a city in central Gaza. Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip.

The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream, fight and jostle for the parcels.

Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, said she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten, ultimately dropping the items and returning home empty-handed.

“I went and my children prayed that I’d return with food. They haven’t eaten or drank anything for two days,” she said as she wept.

Ahmed al-Khatib said someone stole a bag of flour from him, and he broke a tooth in the struggle.

Rana Attia, another displaced woman, said people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat. “We don’t want them to help us that way,” she said.

‘Worst-case scenario’

Despite the airdrops, the amount of aid getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed.

The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the territory.

Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza. The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

International organizations said that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for two and a half months, mean that the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.”

Israel criticized by allies

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israel’s actions in Gaza. It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire.

Berlin hasn’t joined major allies France, Britain, and Canada in saying it will recognize a Palestinian state in September. But in a statement ahead of his departure Thursday, Wadephul underlined Germany’s position that a two-state solution is “the only way” to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides.

“For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim,” Wadephul said.

A diplomatic push

Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It was the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since both Israel and the U.S. called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago. Witkoff said at the time that Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce.

“The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning.

Trump sent Witkoff to the region “in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, calling the president “a humanitarian with a big heart.”

The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Shurafa and Lidman write for the Associated Press. AP writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Sam Metz in Jerusalem and Imad Isseid in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Speakers at Los Angeles City Council meetings will be banned from using the N-word and the C-word, the council decided Wednesday.

The ban comes after years of tirades by a few speakers who attack officials’ weight, sexual orientation or gender and who sometimes use racial slurs.

Speakers will now receive a warning for using either word — or any variation of the word. If they continue with the offensive language, they will be removed from the room and possibly banned from future meetings.

Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is Black, has said that the use of the words during public comment has discouraged people from coming to meetings.

“It is language that, anywhere outside this building where there aren’t four armed guards, would get you hurt if you said these things in public,” he said earlier this year.

The council’s decision to ban the words could be challenged in court, with some legal scholars saying it could violate speakers’ 1st Amendment free speech rights.

In 2014, the city paid $215,000 to a Black man who was ejected from a meeting for wearing a Ku Klux Klan hood and a T-shirt with the N-word on it.

Attorney Wayne Spindler, who often uses offensive language at council meetings, said Wednesday that he plans to sue the city over the ban. He said he will read Tupac Shakur lyrics, including offensive curse words, until he is banned from a meeting.

“I’m going to file my $400-million lawsuit that I already have prepared and ready to file. If you want to make me the next millionaire, vote yes,” he said during public comment Wednesday.

Spindler was arrested in 2016 after submitting a public comment card showing a burning cross and a man hanging from a tree. On the card, he also wrote “Herb = [N-word],” referring to Herb Wesson, the council president at the time, who is Black. Prosecutors declined to press charges against Spindler.

Armando Herman, who attended the City Council vote Wednesday, is also a frequent offender.

At a City Council meeting earlier this month, Herman said the council was trying to suppress his speech, repeatedly referring to himself as a white N-word. He also used the C-word to describe an official in the room.

In 2023, a judge barred Herman from attending in person any public meetings at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, where the L.A. County supervisors meet, after he allegedly sent sexually suggestive emails to four female supervisors. He denied sending the emails.

Numerous other members of the public have spoken against the new rule, saying it violates their freedom of speech.

“You’re so weak you have to curb freedom of speech for everyone, and you know this is going to bring lawsuits,” said Stacey Segarra-Bohlinger, a member of the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council who often punctuates her remarks with singing, at the council meeting earlier this month.

“This is an attack on free speech,” she added.

A senior State Department official who was fired as a speechwriter during President Trump’s first term and has a history of racially charged, incendiary statements has been appointed to lead the embattled U.S. Institute of Peace.

The move to install Darren Beattie as the institute’s new acting president is seen as the latest step in the administration’s efforts to dismantle the organization, which was founded as an independent, nonprofit think tank. It is funded by Congress to promote peace and prevent and end conflicts across the globe. The battle is currently being played out in court.

Beattie, who currently serves as the undersecretary for public diplomacy at the State Department and will continue in that role, was fired during Trump’s first term after CNN reported that he had spoken at a 2016 conference attended by white nationalists. He defended the speech he delivered as containing nothing objectionable.

A former academic who taught at Duke University, Beattie also founded a right-wing website that shared conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and he has a long history of posting inflammatory statements on social media.

“Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work,” he wrote in October 2024. “Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men.”

A State Department official confirmed Beattie’s appointment by the Institute of Peace board of directors, which includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. “We look forward to seeing him advance President Trump’s America First agenda in this new role,” they said in a statement.

The institute has been embroiled in turmoil since Trump moved to dismantle it shortly after taking office as part of his broader effort to shrink the size of the federal government and eliminate independent agencies.

Trump issued an executive order in February that targeted the organization and three other agencies for closure. The first attempt by the White House team known as the Department of Government Efficiency, formerly under the command of tech billionaire Elon Musk, to take over its headquarters led to a dramatic standoff.

Members of Musk’s group returned days later with the FBI and Washington Metropolitan Police to help them gain entry.

The administration fired most of the institute’s board, followed by the mass firing of nearly all of its 300 employees, in what they called “the Friday night massacre.”

The institute and many of its board members sued the Trump administration in March, seeking to prevent their removal and to prevent DOGE from taking over the institute’s operations. DOGE transferred administrative oversight of the organization’s headquarters and assets to the General Services Administration that weekend.

District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell overturned those actions in May, concluding that Trump was outside his authority in firing the board and its acting president and that, therefore, all subsequent actions were also moot.

Her ruling allowed the institute to regain control of its headquarters in a rare victory for the agencies and organizations that have been caught up in the Trump administration’s downsizing. The employees were rehired, although many did not return to work because of the complexity of restarting operations.

They received termination orders — for the second time — after an appeals court stayed Howell’s order.

Most recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the U.S. Institute of Peace’s request for a hearing of the full court to lift the stay of a three-judge panel in June. That stay led to the organization turning its headquarters back over to the Trump administration.

In a statement, George Foote, former counsel for the institute, said Beattie’s appointment “flies in the face of the values at the core of USIP’s work and America’s commitment to working respectfully with international partners.” He also called it “illegal under Judge Howell’s May 19 decision.”

“We are committed to defending that decision against the government’s appeal. We are confident that we will succeed on the merits of our case, and we look forward to USIP resuming its essential work in Washington, D.C., and in conflict zones around the world,” he said.

Fields and Colvin write for the Associated Press.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, accuses Supreme Court justice of behaving ‘like every dictator’, after assets and accounts frozen.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the freezing of the accounts and assets of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s third son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, while the former president may now face arrest over his activities on social media.

Eduardo, a Brazilian congressman who has been active in Washington, DC, drumming up support for his father’s court battle, called the decision “another arbitrary and criminal decision” by Moraes.

“Moraes relies on illegal decisions to protect himself from the consequences of his crimes. Like every dictator,” Eduardo Bolsonaro said in a post on X on Tuesday.

“If he thinks this will make me stop, I make it clear: I will not be intimidated, and I will not be silenced. I prepared myself for this moment,” he said.

“This is just another demonstration of abuse of power and confirms everything I have been denouncing in Washington and to authorities worldwide,” he added.

CNN Brasil first reported that the confidential court decision was issued on Saturday as part of a probe into Eduardo Bolsonaro’s conduct in the United States.

In a separate court order issued on Monday, Justice Moraes, who oversees the criminal case in which the former president is accused of plotting a coup to overturn the result of the 2022 election, said any attempt to circumvent a court ruling in which he ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet and banned him from using social media could result in arrest.

Brazilian news outlet G1 reported that Moraes summoned Bolsonaro’s lawyers to clarify their client’s alleged non-compliance with his court order restricting his use of social media. According to G1, Moraes gave the lawyers 24 hours to present an explanation, adding that if the defence does not adequately justify Bolsonaro’s online behaviour, he may order the immediate arrest of the former president.

On Friday, Bolsonaro described the decision by Moraes to prohibit his social media use as “cowardice”, and said he intended to continue engaging with the media to ensure his voice was heard.

Vera Chemim, a Sao Paulo-based constitutional lawyer, told the Reuters news agency that she believed the country’s former leader is now on shaky ground, noting that media interviews, while not explicitly mentioned in the court order, could still be used to justify Bolsonaro’s arrest.

“Bolsonaro is now completely silenced,” she said. “Any misstep could lead to a preventive arrest.”

The tightening restrictions on Bolsonaro come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Brazilian court officials, and specifically Justice Moraes, were conducting a “political witch-hunt” against the former president. As a result, the US was revoking travel visas for “Moraes and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members”, Rubio said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula swiftly labelled Washington’s decision to impose visa bans on court officials “arbitrary” and “baseless”, saying that foreign interference in his country’s judiciary was “unacceptable”.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods starting on August 1, as he called on Lula to drop the charges against Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, whose right-wing policies while in power earned him the nickname “Trump of the Tropics “, has denied that he led an attempt to overthrow the government but acknowledged taking part in meetings aimed at reversing the 2022 election outcome.

Florida’s top emergency official asked a federal judge on Monday to resist a request by environmentalists to halt an immigration detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz in the middle of the Florida Everglades because their lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction.

Even though the property is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida’s southern district is the wrong venue for the lawsuit since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state’s middle district. Decisions about the facility also were made in Tallahassee and Washington, Kevin Guthrie, executive director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said in a court filing.

“And all the detention facilities, all the buildings, and all the paving at issue are sited in Collier County, not Miami-Dade,” Guthrie said.

Environmental groups filed a lawsuit in Florida’s southern district last month, asking for the project being built on an airstrip in the heart of the Florida Everglades to be halted because the process didn’t follow state and federal environmental laws. A virtual hearing was being held Monday on the lawsuit.

Critics have condemned the facility as a cruel and inhumane threat to the ecologically sensitive wetlands, while Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials have defended it as part of the state’s aggressive push to support President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has praised Florida for coming forward with the idea, as the department looks to significantly expand its immigration detention capacity.

Schneider writes for the Associated Press.

LAS VEGAS — The Clippers signed guard Bradley Beal on Friday after the final two years of his contract were bought out by the Phoenix Suns earlier this week and he cleared waivers.

Beal, 32, is a three-time All-Star and 13-year NBA veteran. He signed a two-year contract worth $11 million, with a player option for 2026-27, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein.

Beal averaged 17 points, 3.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 32.1 minutes while starting 38 of 53 games for the Suns last season. Beal shot 50% from the floor, 39% from three-point range and 80% from the foul line.

Beal joins a veteran Clippers roster led by Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Beal will get a chance to move past his two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons in Phoenix.

“Players of this caliber are very rare, and they’re hard to come by,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said in a statement. “He’s been the best player on his team. You can put him in so many different spots and he’ll find ways to score: out of pick-and-roll, coming off screens, catch-and-shoot. He can create his own or he can play off the ball. He’s a great cutter. He’s also a great playmaker who is going to make everybody else better.”

First loss of summer for the Clippers

The Clippers’ bid to remain unbeaten in NBA Summer League play was derailed by a slow start Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets.

After scoring only 11 points in the first quarter while falling behind by double digits, the Clippers eventually trailed by 25 late in the third quarter only to see a furious fourth-quarter rally fall short in an 81-76 loss.

Jordan Miller had a game-high 23 points with 14 rebounds for the Clippers. Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Cam Christie each scored 16 while Trentyn Flowers had 12 points for L.A.

The Clippers (3-1) shot only 36% from the field and 23.7% from three-point range. Christie and Flowers shot a combined four of 21 from deep.

The Nuggets (1-3) did not fare much better, shooting 38.7% from the field and 30% from three-point range.

DaRon Holmes III led the Nuggets with 19 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Spencer Jones contributed 17 points and six rebounds in the win.

The Clippers will play in a consolation game against the Memphis Grizzlies at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Lakers fall to Celtics

Bronny James scored a game-high 18 points and had five assists in an 87-78 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night in Las Vegas.

The Lakers (1-3), who led 26-21 after the first quarter, committed 21 turnovers that led to 24 points for the Celtics, who outscored L.A. 19-9 in the second quarter. Boston opened a 15-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

DJ Steward contributed 14 points and five assists for the Lakers while Christian Koloko and Cole Swider each scored 12.

Boston was led by Jordan Walsh’s 17 points and six rebounds. Hugo Gonzalez scored 13 for the Celtics.

The Lakers shot 44.3% from the field but only 21.4% (six of 28) from three-point range. The Nuggets shot 38.7% from the field and 31.8% from deep.

The Lakers completed Summer League play against the Denver Nuggets in the Friday nightcap.

Tournament time

Six teams went unbeaten in four games in Las Vegas, with the Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings advancing to a two-day tournament to determine a champion.

The Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves also went unbeaten but did not advance to the tournament based on tiebreakers, the first of which is point differential.

Toronto was seeded first and will play No. 4 Sacramento at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first semifinal while No. 2 Oklahoma City plays No. 3 Charlotte at 4 p.m. The winners will play at 7 p.m. Sunday for the title.

Etc.

New Orleans rookie Derik Queen is likely to miss at least the start of training camp after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. He was injured Tuesday during a Summer League game and the team said he will be evaluated again in approximately 12 weeks.

Food intended to feed 27,000 starving children in Afghanistan and Pakistan will soon be incinerated in the wake of President Donald Trump’s closure of the United States’ aid agency.

A senior US official on Wednesday said nearly 500 tonnes of high-energy biscuits, to be used as emergency food for malnourished young children, expired this month while sitting in a warehouse in Dubai.

Under questioning by lawmakers, Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state in charge of management, tied the decision to the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which closed its doors on July 1.

“I think that this was just a casualty of the shutdown of USAID,” Rigas said, adding that he was “distressed” that the food went to waste.

Aid officials managed to save 622 tonnes of the energy-dense biscuits in June – sending them to Syria, Bangladesh and Myanmar – but 496 tonnes, worth $793,000 before they expired this month, will be destroyed, according to two internal USAID memos reviewed by Reuters, dated May 5 and May 19, and four sources familiar with the matter.

The wasted biscuits will be sent to landfills or incinerated in the United Arab Emirates, two sources said. That will cost the US government an additional $100,000, according to the May 5 memo verified by three sources familiar with the matter.

Trump has said the US pays disproportionately for foreign aid, and he wants other countries to shoulder more of the burden. His administration announced plans to shut down USAID in January, leaving more than 60,000 tonnes of food aid stuck in stores around the world, Reuters reported in May.

The food aid stuck in Dubai was fortified wheat biscuits, which are calorie-rich and typically deployed in crisis conditions where people lack cooking facilities, “providing immediate nutrition for a child or adult”, according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said lawmakers had specifically raised the issue of the food with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March. In May, he promised lawmakers that no food aid would be wasted.

“A government that is put on notice – here are resources that will save 27,000 starving kids, can you please distribute them or give them to someone who can?

“Who decides, no, we would rather keep the warehouse locked, let the food expire, and then burn it?”

Rigas said that the US remained the world’s largest donor, and he promised to learn further details about the biscuits.

“I do want to find out what happened here and get to the ground truth,” he said.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 percent of all contributions recorded by the UN. It disbursed $61bn in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data.

The Trump administration notified Congress in March that USAID would fire almost all of its staff in two rounds on July 1 and September 2, as it prepared to shut down. In a statement on July 1 marking the transfer of USAID to the State Department, Rubio said the US was abandoning what he called a charity-based model and would focus on empowering countries to grow sustainably.

The WFP says 319 million people have limited access to food worldwide. Of those, 1.9 million people are gripped by catastrophic hunger and on the brink of famine, primarily in Gaza and Sudan.

A cause of death has been revealed for Aussie actor Julian McMahon, who played Dr. Doom in two “Fantastic Four” movies and Christian Troy in the TV drama “Nip/Tuck,” among other roles.

McMahon died of cancer, according to a statement from Kelly McMahon, his wife.

He had head and neck metastatic cancer, and he ultimately succumbed to lung metastasis, according to CNN, which obtained a cremation approval summary report from the medical examiner’s office in Pinellas County, Florida. An investigator with the office declined to confirm the details of the report in an after-hours call with The Times.

McMahon died July 2 at age 56. His remains have been cremated, the medical examiner’s report said.

“Julian loved life,” Kelly McMahon said in her statement. “He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible.”

A representative for the actor could not immediately be reached.

Those who worked with McMahon took to social media to mourn the loss of the actor.

Joely Richardson, who played the role of Julia McNamara on “Nip/Tuck,” shared a statement on Instagram following McMahon’s death.

“We worked together for many years, covering every possible storyline and then some,” said Richardson. “I remember the episode when we all had to age up with prosthetics — how we laughed then, and how it’s making me cry today … You lived a large life my friend, bravo.”

Alyssa Milano recounted her memories with McMahon on the set of “Charmed.” The pair’s characters — Phoebe Halliwell and Cole Turner — were married in the ’90s fantasy series.

“Julian was more than my TV husband,” Milano said on Facebook and Instagram. “He was a dear friend. The kind who checks in. The kind who remembers. The kind who shares. The kind who tells you the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable — but always with love.”

McMahon had many roles on his resume. One fan noted in an X comment that, no matter what part he played, his performance was captivating.

“Julian McMahon had that rare presence — magnetic, mysterious, unforgettable. Whether a villain or a hero, a conflicted soul or a charming friend, he pulled you in,” one user shared in an X comment.

“Julian McMahon’s legacy will live on,” another user shared in an X post. “Through Charmed, through Cole Turner. He raised many kids around the world he didn’t even know about.”

McMahon is survived by his wife, Kelly, and his 25-year-old daughter, Madison, according to People. He had Madison with his ex-wife, Brooke Burns, who played Jessie Owens in “Baywatch.” The two divorced in 2001.

Burns shared a picture of McMahon with their daughter on Instagram. The caption included only a broken heart emoji.

On Tuesday, McMahon’s family posted a picture of the smiling actor to his Instagram account.

“For all of those who loved Julian, thank you,” the caption read.

A top US Department of State official waived nine mandatory counterterrorism and anti-fraud safeguards to rush a $30m award last month to a controversial Gaza aid group backed by the Trump administration and Israel, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an internal memorandum.

Jeremy Lewin, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) associate, signed off on the award despite an assessment in the memorandum that the GHF funding plan failed to meet required “minimum technical or budgetary standards”.

The June 24 action memorandum to Lewin was sent by Kenneth Jackson, also a former DOGE operative who serves as an acting deputy US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator. The pair has overseen the agency’s dismantling and the merger of its functions into the State Department.

Lewin also overrode 58 objections that USAID staff experts wanted GHF to resolve in its application before the funds were approved, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

Lewin, who runs the State Department’s foreign aid programme, cleared the funds only five days after GHF filed its proposal on June 19, according to the June 24 “action memorandum” bearing his signature.

“Strong Admin support for this one,” Lewin wrote to USAID leaders in a June 25 email, Reuters reported, that urged disbursement of the funds by the agency “ASAP”.

Lewin and Jackson have not issued comments on the matter.

The documents underline the priority the Trump administration has given GHF despite the group’s lack of experience and the killing of hundreds of Palestinians near its Gaza aid distribution hubs.

GHF, which closely coordinates with the Israeli military, has acknowledged reports of violence, but claims they occurred beyond its operations area.

Lewin noted in the email that he had discussed the funds with aides to Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s negotiator on Gaza, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s office.

He acknowledged that authorising the funds would be controversial, writing, “I’m taking the bullet on this one.”

‘Inhumane and deadly’

There was no comment from the White House.

Reuters said Witkoff and Rubio did not reply to a question about whether they were aware of and supported the decision to waive the safeguards.

The State Department told Reuters that the $30m was approved under a legal provision allowing USAID to expedite awards in response to “emergency situations” to “meet humanitarian needs as expeditiously as possible”.

“The GHF award remains subject to rigorous oversight, including of GHF’s operations and finances,” the statement said. “As part of the award, GHF was subject to new control and reporting requirements”.

A GHF spokesperson told Reuters, “Our model is specifically designed to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. Every dollar we receive is safeguarded to ensure all resources — which will eventually include American taxpayer funds — reach the people of Gaza.” The spokesperson added that such requests for clarification from the US government about fund applications were routine.

Speaking about the nine conditions that were waived, the spokesperson said, “We are addressing each question as per regulations and normal procedure and will continue to do so as required.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry has said at least 743 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,891 others injured while seeking assistance at GHF aid sites.

The GHF, which began operating in the bombarded Palestinian enclave in late May, has drawn widespread criticism amid multiple reports that its contractors, as well as Israeli forces, have opened fire on aid seekers.

Leading humanitarian and human rights groups have demanded the immediate closure of the GHF, which they accused of “forcing two million people into overcrowded, militarised zones where they face daily gunfire and mass casualties”.

Amnesty International has described the group’s operations as an “inhumane and deadly militarised scheme”, while the UN insists that the model is violating humanitarian principles.

Palestinians under bombardment in Gaza, where a famine looms as Israel maintains a crippling blockade, have no choice but to seek aid from the GHF despite the risks involved.

WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable, which was first reported by the Washington Post.

The recipients of the scam messages, which were sent by text, Signal and voicemail, were not identified in the cable, a copy of which was shared with the Associated Press.

“The State Department is aware of this incident and is currently investigating the matter,” it said. “The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department’s cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents.”

It declined to comment further due to “security reasons” and the ongoing investigation.

It’s the latest instance of a high-level Trump administration figure targeted by an impersonator, with a similar incident revealed in May involving President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles. The misuse of AI to deceive people is likely to grow as the technology improves and becomes more widely available, and the FBI warned in the spring about “malicious actors” impersonating senior U.S. government officials in a text and voice messaging campaign.

The hoaxes involving Rubio had been unsuccessful and “not very sophisticated,” one of the officials said. Nonetheless, the second official said the department deemed it “prudent” to advise all employees and foreign governments, particularly as efforts by foreign actors to compromise information security increase.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“There is no direct cyber threat to the department from this campaign, but information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised,” the cable said.

The FBI has warned in a public service announcement about a “malicious” campaign relying on text messages and AI-generated voice messages that purport to come from a senior U.S. official and that aim to dupe other government officials as well as the victim’s associates and contacts.

This is not the first time that Rubio has been impersonated in a deepfake. This spring, someone created a bogus video of him saying he wanted to cut off Ukraine’s access to Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service. Ukraine’s government later rebutted the false claim.

Several potential solutions have been put forward in recent years to the growing misuse of AI for deception, including criminal penalties and improved media literacy. Concerns about deepfakes have also led to a flood of new apps and AI systems designed to spot phonies that could easily fool a human.

The tech companies working on these systems are now in competition against those who would use AI to deceive, according to Siwei Lyu, a professor and computer scientist at the University at Buffalo. He said he’s seen an increase in the number of deepfakes portraying celebrities, politicians and business leaders as the technology improves.

Just a few years ago, fakes contained easy-to-spot flaws — inhuman voices or mistakes such as extra fingers — but now the AI is so good, it’s much harder for a human to spot, giving deepfake makers an advantage.

“The level of realism and quality is increasing,” Lyu said. “It’s an arms race, and right now the generators are getting the upper hand.”

The Rubio hoax comes after text messages and phone calls went to elected officials, business executives and other prominent figures from someone who seemed to have gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, the Wall Street Journal reported in May.

Some of those who received calls heard a voice that sounded like Wiles’, which may have been generated by AI, according to the newspaper. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles’ number, the report said. The government was investigating.

Lee writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Eric Tucker and David Klepper contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.

The comments by Trump appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that stockpiles have declined too much.

“We have to,” Trump said. ”They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. We’re going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily.”

The pause had come at a difficult moment for Ukraine, which has faced increasing — and more complex — air barrages from Russia during the more than three-year-long war. Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least 11 civilians and injured more than 80 others, including seven children, officials said Monday.

The U.S. turnaround on weapons for Ukraine

The move last week to abruptly pause shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds and weaponry took Ukrainian officials and other allies by surprise.

The Pentagon affirmed late Monday that at Trump’s direction, it would resume weapons shipments to Ukraine “to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops.” Still, spokesman Sean Parnell added that its framework for Trump to evaluate military shipments worldwide continues as part of “America First” defense priorities.

Trump, speaking at the start of a dinner he was hosting for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, vented his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has struggled to find a resolution to the war in Ukraine but maintains he’s determined to quickly conclude a conflict that he had promised as candidate to end of Day One of his second term.

He has threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry to try to prod Putin into peace talks.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said last week that Trump has given him the go-ahead to push forward with a bill he’s co-sponsoring that calls, in part, for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil. The move would have huge ramifications for China and India, two economic behemoths that buy Russian oil.

“I’m not happy with President Putin at all,” Trump said Monday.

Russia’s transport minister is found dead

Separately, Russia’s transport minister was found dead in what authorities said was an apparent suicide — news that broke hours after the Kremlin announced he had been dismissed by Putin.

The firing of Roman Starovoit followed a weekend of travel chaos — airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of drone attacks from Ukraine. Russian officials did not give a reason for his dismissal.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but Russian commentators said the air traffic disruptions have become customary amid frequent Ukrainian drone raids and were unlikely to have triggered his dismissal.

Starovoit, 53, served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024. Russian media have reported that his dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region, where he served as governor before being appointed transportation minister.

The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one of the reasons for deficiencies in Russia’s defensive lines that failed to stem a surprise Ukrainian incursion in the region launched in August 2024.

Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said.

Russia recently has intensified its airstrikes on civilian areas. In the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.

Russia’s bigger army also is trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched.

Ukraine calls for more military aid

The strain of keeping Russia’s invasion at bay, the lack of progress in direct peace talks and last week’s halt of some promised U.S. weapons shipments have compelled Ukraine to seek more military help from the U.S. and Europe.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the pause in weapons to Ukraine came as part of a “standard review of all weapons and all aid” that the U.S. “is providing all countries and all regions around the world. Not just Ukraine.”

Leavitt said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the global review to ensure that “everything that’s going out the door aligns with America’s interests.”

Zelensky says Ukraine has signed deals with European allies and a leading U.S. defense company to step up drone production, ensuring Kyiv receives “hundreds of thousands” more this year.

“Air defense is the main thing for protecting life,” Zelensky wrote Monday on Telegram.

That includes developing and manufacturing interceptor drones that can stop Russia’s long-range Shahed drones, he said.

Extensive use of drones also has helped Ukraine compensate for its troop shortages on the front line.

One person was killed in the southern city of Odesa, another person was killed and 71 were injured in northeastern Kharkiv, and falling drone debris caused damage in two districts of Kyiv, the capital, during nighttime drone attacks, Ukrainian authorities said.

Russian short-range drones also killed two people and injured two others in the northern Sumy region, officials said. Sumy is one of the places where Russia has concentrated large numbers of troops.

Also, nine people were injured and seven killed in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, regional head Vadym Filashkin said.

More Russian long-range drone strikes Monday targeted military mobilization centers for the third time in five days, in an apparent attempt to disrupt recruitment, Ukraine’s Army Ground Forces command said.

Regional officials in Kharkiv and southern Zaporizhzhia said at least 17 people were injured.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that its troops shot down 91 Ukrainian drones in 13 Russian regions overnight, as well as over the Black Sea and the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Novikov and Madhani write for the Associated Press. AP writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

United States immigration agents have detained prominent Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. and are working to deport him, with officials saying he has “an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested Chávez, 39, in Studio City on Wednesday and are processing him for expedited removal from the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

A Homeland Security news release said Chávez had been flagged as a public safety threat, but “the Biden administration indicated in internal records he was not an immigration enforcement priority.”

Last year in January, officials said, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Chávez and he was charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture or import of a short barreled rifle. He was later convicted of the charges.

Chávez’s manager, Sean Gibbons, told The Times they are currently “working on a few issues” following the boxer’s arrest but had no further comment.

Michael A. Goldstein, a lawyer who has worked with Chávez in previous cases, said his client “was detained outside of his residence by 25 or more ICE and other law enforcement agents.”

“They blocked off his street and took him into custody leaving his family without any knowledge of his whereabouts,” Goldstein said. “The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community. Mr. Chavez is not a threat to the community.”

The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, widely regarded as the greatest boxer in his country’s history, Chávez Jr. faced off on Saturday against influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul and lost.

Two weeks before the Anaheim bout against Paul, Chávez held a public workout in Maywood, where he spoke to The Times. He revealed that one of his trainers had skipped the training session out of fear of immigration enforcement.

“I was even scared, to tell you the truth. It’s very ugly,” Chávez said. “I don’t understand the situation — why so much violence? There are a lot of good people, and you’re giving the community an example of violence. I’m from Sinaloa, where things are really ugly, and to come here, to such a beautiful country with everything… and see Trump attacking immigrants, Latinos, for no reason. Not being with God makes you think you know everything. Trump made a bad decision.”

He added: “After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want to be deported.”

When U.S. officials announced the arrest Thursday, they referred to Chávez as an “affiliate of the Sinaloa cartel.” The Trump administration has designated the Mexican drug trafficking group as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

According to the Homeland Security news release, Chávez entered the country legally in August 2023, with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024. He had filed an application for lawful permanent resident status last year in April, officials said, based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, a U.S. citizen, who U.S. officials said “is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”

El Chapo, a known fan of Chávez Sr. during his fighting days, is now serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after a 2019 conviction for his leadership role in the Sinaloa cartel.

Muñoz was previously in a relationship with Edgar Guzmán Loera, El Chapo’s eldest son, who was killed in Sinaloa in 2008.

The couple had a daughter, Frida Sofía Guzmán Muñoz. Following Edgar’s death, Muñoz distanced herself from the family and moved to the United States, eventually beginning a relationship with Chávez. Their daughter, Frida Sofía, has recently launched a music career and frequently attends her stepfather’s fights, including the most recent fight in Anaheim.

Chávez has faced criticism over alleged associations with figures linked to drug trafficking. In lengthy social media videos, he has claimed friendship with Ovidio Guzmán, another son of El Chapo who court records show has agreed to plead guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago.

Last year, on Dec. 17, according to the Homeland Security news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chávez was “an egregious public safety threat.”

“However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chávez was not an immigration enforcement priority,” the release stated.

According to the release, Chávez was allowed to reenter the country on Jan. 4 at the San Ysidro port of entry.

“Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27,” the Homeland Security release stated.

Chávez has been in the boxing spotlight since childhood, often walking to the ring alongside his father. He began his professional career in 2003 and reached the pinnacle in 2011 when he won the WBC middleweight title against Sebastian Zbik. He defended the belt three times before losing it to Sergio Martínez in 2012.

However, his career has been plagued by discipline issues, substance abuse, and struggles with making weight. In 2017, he faced fellow Mexican star Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision loss that marked a turning point in his career’s decline.

Nicknamed “El Hijo de la Leyenda” (“Son of the Legend”) or simply “JR,” Chávez Jr. has had legal and personal troubles in recent years. He was arrested on suspicion of weapons possession and later entered a residential rehab facility. His battle with addiction has frequently played out in the public eye, including viral social media disputes with his father, one of his most vocal critics, yet also his most steadfast supporter.

According to Homeland Security, Chávez was convicted in 2012 of driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to 13 days in jail and 36 months of probation.

Goldstein, Chávez’s lawyer, noted that his client is a public figure who has been living and working in the U.S. without issue in recent weeks. Goldstein pointed to his recent fight, saying, “His workouts were open to the public and afforded law enforcement countless opportunities to contact him if he was indeed a public threat.”

“He has been focused on his own personal growth and mental health,” Goldstein said. “He is in full compliance with his mental health diversion and all court obligations. For this reason, we fully expect his only pending case to be dismissed as required by statute.”

In 2023, according to Homeland Security, a judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Chávez “for the offense of organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes of weapons trafficking and manufacturing crimes.”

The release said the warrant was for “those who participate in clandestinely bringing weapons, ammunition, cartridges, explosives into the country; and those who manufacture weapons, ammunition, cartridges, and explosives without the corresponding permit.”

Mexican authorities, who typically do not reveal the full names of suspects in criminal cases, said Thursday that federal prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Julio “C” in March 2023 for organized crime and arms trafficking. A news release from Mexico’s equivalent of the attorney general’s office said U.S. officials had started the process of turning him over to face justice.

Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell contributed to this report.

MOSCOW — President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues by phone on Thursday, the Kremlin said, in their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House.

While discussing the situation around Iran, Putin emphasized the need to resolve all issues by political and diplomatic means, said Yuri Ushakov, his foreign affairs advisor.

The United States struck three sites in Iran on June 22, inserting itself into Israel’s war aimed at destroying Tehran’s nuclear program.

On the conflict in Ukraine, Ushakov said Trump emphasized his push for a quick halt to the fighting, and Putin voiced Moscow’s readiness to pursue talks with Kyiv.

At the same time, the Russian leader emphasized that Moscow will seek to achieve its goals in Ukraine and remove the “root causes” of the conflict, Ushakov said.

Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine’s push to join NATO and protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted that any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia’s territorial gains.

Thursday’s call follows the Pentagon’s confirmation that it’s pausing shipment of some weapons to Ukraine as it reviews U.S. military stockpiles. The weapons being held up for Ukraine include air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment.

The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. They both requested anonymity to discuss what is being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details.

Ushakov said a suspension of some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine wasn’t discussed in the Trump-Putin call.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he may talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension of U.S. weapons deliveries.

“I hope that maybe tomorrow, or close days, these days, I will speak about it with President Trump,” he said.

Asked about his expectations from the Trump-Putin call, he said that “I’m not sure that they have a lot of common ideas, common topics to talk [about], because they are very different people.”

The previous publicly known call between Trump and Putin came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran.

The resumed contacts between Trump and Putin appeared to reflect both leaders’ interest in mending U.S.-Russian ties that have plummeted to their lowest point since the Cold War amid the conflict in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first direct telephone call in almost three years.

Isachenkov writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Lorne Cook in Aarhus, Denmark, contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons as part of its announced pause to some arms shipments amid U.S. concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, officials said.

The details on the weapons in some of the paused deliveries were confirmed by a U.S. official and former national security official familiar with the matter. They both requested anonymity to discuss what is are being held up as the Pentagon has yet to provide details.

The pause includes some shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds.

Elbridge Colby, Defense Department undersecretary for policy, said the decision to halt some weapons comes as Pentagon officials have aimed to provide Trump “with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end.”

“At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for administration defense priorities,” Colby added in a statement.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, blasted the move that came just days after Russians forces launched one of the biggest air assaults on Ukraine since it started the war more than three years ago.

“U.S.-made air defense systems, including the Patriot platform, are the centerpiece of Ukraine’s defenses against Russian strikes. They work. They save lives every day,” Kaptur said. “But there are no parallel defensive alternatives for Ukraine if the U.S. stops supplying these vital munitions.”

One of the officials said other weaponry being held up includes the AIM-7 Sparrow — a medium-range radar homing air-to-air missile — as well as shorter-range Stinger missiles and AT-4 grenade launchers.

The Pentagon review that determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged comes just over a week after Trump helped forge a ceasefire between Israel and Iran to end their 12-day conflict. The U.S. has provided air defense support to Israel, Qatar and other Mideast neighbors. It’s unclear if that conflict had any impact on Trump’s move in Ukraine.

The U.S. deployed air defenses systems as it knocked down an Iranian ballistic missile assault last month launched on the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The retaliatory strike from Tehran against the U.S. military installation came days after Trump ordered a barrage of strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites.

Mascaro and Madhani write for the Associated Press.

Durdle Door, on the Dorset coast, has been the only UK beach to be named among a National Geographic list of 14 inspiring coastal spots to be visited at least once in a lifetime

There’s no need to jet off to far-flung destinations for a beach holiday when you can have a lovely day out in the UK instead.

Arguably, this has never been more true than now, thanks to the roasting hot sunshine that is baking most of the UK. And because a Dorset beach has just been ranked among the top 14 in the world.

Durdle Door on the south coast was the only UK beaches – to make it onto National Geographic’s global list. This iconic stretch of sand, located about 25 miles from Bournemouth, is famous for its stone arch, one of the most renowned in the world. The limestone arch is believed to have formed 10,000 years ago.

Carved out of the stone by waves over millions of years, the slightly surreal structure gives the beach an otherworldly feel. The name Durdle is derived from an old English word ‘thirl’, which means to pierce, bore or drill.

READ MORE: Mum fighting for life after tragic hotel accident caused by mosquito bite

“On Dorset’s magnificent Jurassic Coast—a UNESCO World Heritage site along the southeastern shores of England—this beach and its namesake limestone arch are absolute showstoppers. The world-famous Durdle Door arch formed over millions of years by erosion caused by the crashing sea. Its fitting name comes from the Old English wordthirl, meaning “to pierce, bore, or drill,” National Geographic wrote in praise of Durdle Door.

This is not the first time that the Dorset beach has picked up some silverware. Back in 2022 it was also named among a list of the best 100 in the world in 2022 on Beach Atlas’s global list alongside the likes of Bora Bora, Copacabana and Turtle Beach.

“The beautiful beach curving up to the arch is a mix of sand and gravel, and the water is as clear as can be. Another wonderful natural phenomenon can be found nearby – The Purbeck Beds,” Beach Atlas glowing review at the time tempted.

“A distinctive formation of exposed rock containing reptile and early mammal fossils. But to those who don’t dabble in geology, it’s just a beautiful sight of interesting rocks. There are also sea caves, but don’t enter them because of the dangers of cliff falls.”

Due to its incredible fame and beauty, Durdle Door does get very busy especially in the high season, but off peak it can be a little quieter. If you want to brave the crowd and visit during the summer months then prepare to walk a while, as the car park at the cliff top above the beach fills very quickly.

Access to the beach is on foot, down a path and steps. It takes around 15 minutes and trainers or walking boots will be required if you want to tackle it as the path can be steep and challenging to traverse.

Once you reach the base of the cliffs, a number of caves which have been carved out by the sea are visible – however these are unstable and cliff falls are common so it would be very unwise to enter them.

BALTIMORE — A federal lawsuit could open a new chapter in an escalating legal battle in Maryland, where officials are struggling to address an unexpected onslaught of claims alleging child sexual abuse in state-run juvenile detention facilities.

With thousands of similar claims already pending in state court, the litigation has raised questions about how Maryland will handle the potential financial liability.

The new federal suit, filed Wednesday on behalf of three plaintiffs, seeks $300 million in damages — an amount that far exceeds caps imposed on claims filed in state court. It alleges Maryland juvenile justice leaders knew about a culture of abuse inside youth detention facilities and failed to address it, violating the plaintiffs’ civil rights.

A message seeking comment was left Thursday with the state’s Department of Juvenile Services. The department generally doesn’t comment on pending litigation. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General declined to comment.

An estimated 11,000 plaintiffs have sued in state court, according to the attorneys involved. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said Wednesday that he believes negotiations for a potential settlement are ongoing between attorneys for the plaintiffs and the attorney general’s office. Officials have said the state is facing a potential liability between $3 billion and $4 billion.

Lawsuits started pouring in after a state law passed in 2023 eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims in Maryland. The change came in the immediate aftermath of a scathing investigative report that revealed widespread abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It prompted the archdiocese to file for bankruptcy to protect its assets.

But Maryland leaders didn’t anticipate they’d be facing similar budgetary concerns because of claims against the state’s juvenile justice system.

Facing a potentially enormous payout, lawmakers recently passed an amendment to limit future liabilities. The new law reduces caps on settlements from $890,000 to $400,000 for cases filed after May 31 against state institutions, and from $1.5 million to $700,000 for private institutions. It allows each claimant to receive only one payment, instead of being able to collect for each act of abuse.

Suing in federal court allows plaintiffs to sidestep those limits.

“Despite Maryland’s recent unconstitutional legislative efforts to insulate itself from liability for the horrific sexual brutalization of children in its custody, Maryland cannot run from liability under Federal law,” plaintiffs’ attorney Corey Stern said in a statement. “The United States Constitution was created for all of us, knowing that some would need protection from the tyranny of their political leaders.”

The three plaintiffs in the federal case allege they were sexually abused by staff at two juvenile detention centers. While other lawsuits have mainly presented allegations of abuse occurring decades ago, the federal complaint focuses on events alleged to have happened in 2019 and 2020. The plaintiffs were 14 and 15 years old.

The victims feared their sentences would be extended if they spoke out, according to the complaint. They accuse state officials of turning a blind eye to a “culture of sexual brutalization and abuse.”

Stern said he anticipates more federal claims will be forthcoming.

Skene writes for the Associated Press.

British pop star Liam Payne’s final TV appearance is finally on the horizon, less than a year after he died suddenly in Argentina.

Netflix on Tuesday released the trailer for its upcoming singing competition series “Building the Band,” which features the late One Direction singer as one of its guest judges. The series, set to premiere July 9, could bring a sense of closure for fans of Payne, who began his singing career as a contestant on the competition series “X Factor.”

In the teaser, Payne offers his wisdom to aspiring singers, urging them, “I need to feel the connection between you guys.” The singer knew a thing or two about group chemistry: during his second “X Factor” foray in 2010, judges Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger decided Payne should join fellow contestants Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson to form One Direction. Despite losing the crown, the quintet went on to become a pop sensation best known for songs including “What Makes You Beautiful” and “Story of My Life.”

“Building the Band” reunites Payne with Scherzinger, whose role is judge and mentor. Destiny’s Child alum Kelly Rowland also serves as a guest judge. Backstreet Boys singer and Payne’s friend AJ McLean is the show’s host. The series features 50 singers who work with the veteran musicians to form six bands.

Netflix confirmed Payne’s posthumous appearance earlier this month as it released a first look and announced the series’ premiere date. The streamer wrapped production on “Building the Band” before Payne’s death and received support from the singer’s family to push forward. Payne’s “family reviewed the series and is supportive of his inclusion,” Netflix said in a statement to Deadline.

Payne died Oct. 16 after falling from a balcony at a Buenos Aires hotel. He was 31. Shortly after his death, officials determined the singer died from multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. Officials announced in December that Payne also had traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he fell.

Two hotel workers and Payne’s friend Rogelio “Roger” Nores were three of five people charged for their alleged involvement in the singer’s death but were cleared of those charges in February. Appeals court judges ruled at the time that Nores did not have a role in Payne’s “obtaining and consuming alcohol” and that he could not have taken actions to prevent Payne’s death.

The two remaining suspects — charged in December with allegedly supplying Payne with narcotics before his death — will stand trial, officials announced earlier this month.