U.S.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri judge has allowed new U.S. House districts backed by President Trump to be used in the November elections, rejecting a bid by to put the Republican-friendly districts to a statewide vote of the people.

The ruling Wednesday by Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green is a victory for Republicans seeking to hold onto their slim majority in the U.S. House. But the case is likely to end up in the state Supreme Court.

Missouri’s new districts already were used in the August primaries. On that same day, Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected a petition with thousands of signatures seeking to force a November referendum on the map. Hoskins asserted that Missouri’s Constitution doesn’t allow a referendum on congressional redistricting.

The judge agreed with Hoskins and other Republicans, who joined in defense of the new map.

“The Missouri Constitution does not supply any statement — let alone a clear one — reallocating authority over congressional redistricting away from the General Assembly to a referendum process,” Green wrote in the ruling.

Opponents of the redistricting plan quickly announced an appeal.

“Everyone knows that Cole County is not the final decision here,” said Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, who sued to try to place the new map on the ballot. “After months of delay, we are pleased to be moving forward to the Missouri Supreme Court to enforce our constitutional rights.”

Missouri’s redistricting targeted Democratic congressman

Missouri’s current U.S. House delegation is made up of six Republicans and two Democrats who were elected from districts with boundaries drawn after the 2020 census.

But Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe called the Legislature into a special session on redistricting last year after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries to their advantage ahead of the midterms.

Missouri’s revised map is designed to help Republicans defeat Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigns portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretches the remainder of Cleaver’s 5th Congressional District far eastward into Republican-heavy rural areas. About 59% of its voters are new to the 5th District, according to an Associated Press estimate.

State Sen. Rick Brattin won a Republican primary in the reshaped district in early August. Cleaver was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Republicans had argued that the new districts should be used in the November elections even if a voter referendum on the map was allowed to occur at the same time.

Lawsuit highlights dispute about referendum rights

The Missouri Constitution does not specifically say that a referendum can be used to decide congressional redistricting, nor does it forbid it, which is why the issue ended up in court.

Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office, which represented the secretary of state in court, argued that congressional redistricting is a legislative duty not subject to referendum without specific constitutional permission.

The attorney general and the Republican Party also argued it was too late to switch district boundaries before the November election. Changing districts after the primary would cause “widespread voter confusion” and an “erosion in confidence in the integrity of the state’s elections,” said John Gore, an attorney for national, congressional and state Republican committees.

The judge agreed, ruling that a district swap after the primary would violate federal law.

It’s been more than 100 years since a Missouri redistricting plan faced a referendum. In 1922, voters rejected a new congressional map passed by the Republican-led Legislature. The legitimacy of that referendum petition was not challenged in court.

Redistricting battle spread to numerous states

Missouri’s mid-decade redistricting effort has been among the most litigated nationally, triggering about a dozen lawsuits over the past year.

The Republican-led state was the second, after Texas, to respond to Trump’s call to redraw congressional districts. Several other states followed. All told, Republicans hope to win as many as 16 additional seats from new House maps enacted in eight states: Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Democrats, whose counterattack faced several setbacks, think they could win up to six additional seats from new districts in California and Utah.

It remains to be seen whether the redistricting works as intended for Republicans. The president’s party historically has lost congressional seats in the midterms, and Trump’s poor approval ratings could provide an extra hurdle for Republican candidates.

Lieb writes for the Associated Press. AP journalist Hannah Recht contributed to this report from Washington.

LOS ANGELES — U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport Iranians in 2025, newly released emails show, revealing a working relationship between the U.S. and Iranian governments despite tensions mounting between the countries.

Hundreds of emails exchanged between U.S. immigration officials, which were obtained by the National Iranian American Council and made public Tuesday, offer the most transparent play by play yet of how the two countries worked together to arrange for more than 100 Iranians to be flown back to Iran on three separate immigration flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026.

The emails show that Iranian officials had some influence over which Iranian immigrants in the U.S. were sent back to their home country, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials apparently heeded some last-minute changes to deportation lists at the request of Iran.

“Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases,” one unnamed ICE official wrote in late August, a month before the first deportation flight in September. Just over a week later, someone with the same job title moved to make another, unspecified change to the deportation list after they said they met with the “Director at the Iranian Embassy.”

“Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process,” the official wrote.

In a Sept. 26 email, just three days before the deportation flight left U.S. soil, an ICE official said in an email that the Iranian Embassy was still making requests for three additional Iranians on the flight. It’s not clear who ended up on the flight, which ended up being much smaller than initially planned. Iranian officials were still making requests the day the flight departed, although one official wrote that those requests were denied.

Coordination of the flights remained a high priority even as ICE officials acknowledged internally that Iranians were fleeing Iran amid the deadly 12-day war with the U.S. and Israel in June 2025, emails show. The flights departed just months after the U.S. and Israel agreed to a ceasefire with Iran.

The new emails highlight a clear departure from a decades-long practice by the U.S. of welcoming Iranian dissidents, exiles and others since the 1979 Islamic Revolution forced a large number of Iranians to flee.

The deportation of Iranians to a country whose government has a pattern of violent persecution against women, religious minorities and political dissidents has drawn significant criticism from human rights activists.

The Department of Homeland Security did not offer comment in response to an emailed request sent Tuesday afternoon.

Some deportees were handpicked by Iranian officials, emails show

Iranian officials acknowledged in September 2025 that as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under an agreement with the Trump administration. They said most of the Iranians had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally, while some faced other immigration issues.

It is not clear from the emails how frequently U.S. immigration officials had direct contact with the Iranian government. Sometimes messages were conveyed through Qatari officials, who helped charter the deportation flights through Doha, but other times officials reference regular meetings with the “Iranian delegation,” the “Director at the Iranian Embassy” and other unnamed Iranian officials.

It is not clear whether the people Iran put on the list had volunteered to repatriate or if they were forced. Previous reporting from The New York Times revealed that asylum-seekers were among those deported to Iran, while others said they were deported against their will.

At least one person was deported who wasn’t supposed to be, emails showed.

“An Iranian not included on the final manifest we sent to the Qatari MOI was boarded on the flight,” an unnamed U.S. official wrote.

In response, another unnamed U.S. official wrote, “I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane.”

U.S. prioritized deportation efforts during war

Emails suggest that pressure to carry out the Iranian deportations came from the highest levels of the Trump administration, even when U.S. and Israel were exchanging strikes with Iran in a 12-day conflict between June 13 and June 24, 2025.

Just days after Trump’s June 16 warning on social media that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” the former acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, called the repatriation of Iranian immigrants a “priority” in an email sent to the agency’s head of removal operations Marcos Charles and a number of unnamed staff.

Shortly after Lyon’s email, Charles forwarded the message to a group of officials whose names are redacted. An unnamed ICE official responded, warning that “removal will prove difficult” amid the ongoing conflict because Iran wasn’t issuing the travel documents for Iranians eligible for deportation. On top of that, the Iranian airspace was closed to all flights during the bombings and Iranians were fleeing the country.

Charles was unfazed, telling staff in a subsequent email to make a plan to deport 58 Iranians with final removal orders in ICE custody at the time.

“We need a plan forward ASAP,” Charles wrote. Another official, who name was redacted, urged colleagues to “identify a solution for this White House priority.”

Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council, said the emails undermine Trump’s assertions that the U.S. is at war with Iran to save ordinary Iranians from a repressive regime.

“It demonstrates that the top priority here was to kick out as many people as possible by whatever means necessary,” Abdi said.

Iranian officials had access to immigration detainees

On several occasions, the emails show ICE officials arranging for Iranian officials to meet for unspecified reasons with people detained in the U.S., echoing testimony from Iranian asylum-seekers in an unrelated lawsuit filed by an unaffiliated Iranian interest group in July.

Eleven Iranians in immigration detention said they were forced to meet with Iranian government officials while in ICE detention. Those Iranian authorities knew intimate details about their asylum claims, according to the sworn declarations filed in a Washington, D.C., court in July.

The lawsuit alleges that U.S. immigration agencies have been illegally sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum-seekers with the Iranian government.

The U.S. government is allowed to work with government officials of foreign countries to coordinate deportation logistics. However, federal regulations passed in the late 1990s prohibit the government from sharing information that could reveal that the person getting deported applied for asylum.

DHS vehemently disputed the lawsuit’s allegations.

“These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are FALSE,” DHS said in a statement in July.

Riddle writes for the Associated Press.

Aug. 20 (UPI) — NASA and Katalyst Space have announced that the mission to boost the altitude of a Swift Observatory space telescope has failed.

The announcement came down on Wednesday after an attempt to use the LINK spacecraft ran into altitude control issues, NASA and Katalyst Space said in a press release. The spacecraft was meant to raise NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude.

LINK is still set to attempt rendezvous and proximity operations with the Swift Observatory.

“NASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it, and that is exactly what we did with this mission,” Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, said in a statement. “This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting.”

If the mission was successful, LINK would have allowed the Swift Observatory to extend its mission, the press release says. NASA expects Swift to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere this year.

The Swift mission launched in 2004. The observatory has been used to study gamma-ray bursts. While planned originally as a two-year prime mission, it has remained in operation in low Earth orbit for 21 years.

Increased solar activity has caused what NASA describes as a rapid “decay” of Swift’s low Earth Orbit.

The LINK spacecraft was launched on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket from Kawjalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean, on July 3.

Katalyst designed and manufactured LINK in less than a year after being awarded a $30 million Swift Boost contract from NASA in 2025.

“We knew this was a high-risk, high-reward mission — a first-of-its kind attempt, developed on an unprecedented timeline driven by the Sun’s activity,” Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s Astrophysics Division, said in a statement. “We were all hoping for more science from Swift. But we knew the takeaways from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained so much through the series of accomplishments up to this point.”

Aug. 20 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has nominated White House aide Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration, drawing anger from Democrats and criticism from a key Republican senator.

Trump announced his nomination of Overton to be the next FDA commissioner on his Truth Social platform Wednesday, calling the deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council “a ROCKSTAR in my administration.”

“She is known to take on the HARDEST issues, and bring me solutions that work best for the Country,” Trump said. “We need her leadership at the FDA now to ensure that the U.S. remains the WORLD LEADER for Scientific Discovery and CURES.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Overton will be tasked with overseeing agency policy concerning drugs, vaccines, tobacco products and much of the food supply, among other responsibilities. Kyle Diamantas, a friend of Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. has been serving as acting FDA commissioner since Marty Makary resigned as head of the agency in May following reported clashes with the Trump administration over its decision to authorize fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes.

“Heidi brings exceptional judgment, professionalism, discipline and an unwavering commitment to the American people,” Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement supporting her nomination to lead the FDA under him.

“I have seen her challenge assumptions, demand excellence and turn bold ideas into meaningful results.”

She has had an increasingly visible presence near the president in recent months and most recently appeared with him earlier this month when he signed an executive order to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children, which has sparked widespread concern among the medical community.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called Overton “a woman of deep faith, an accomplished physician and a champion of the America First agenda” as he congratulated her on the nomination.

“I have seen firsthand her ability to navigate complex policy challenges with conviction and clarity,” he said in a social media statement.

“She will serve our country well.”

While Republicans praised Trump’ pick, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor, broke ranks, saying that while he respected her experience as a physician, “I have strong concerns about her nomination,” citing her lack of managerial experience of a large organization, such as the FDA, which is dealing with staffing and morale issues.

“Additionally, Dr. Overton’s active role in last week’s nonsensical vaccine executive order calls into question her commitment to standing up for sound science and protecting children’s health,” he said online.

“That alone is almost disqualifying.”

Cassidy, who represents Louisiana, will play a key roe in her confirmation as chairman of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee a key vote in whether she is confirmed. Republicans can afford to lose only three votes on the Senate floor, as they only hold a 53-seat majority. The two independent senators caucus with the Democrats, who are all expected to all vote against her nomination.

“Heidi Overton is a far-right, anti-abortion extremist who has no business leading the FDA,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement.

“The American people deserve someone who will put science and facts FIRST, not another Trump sycophant who will make it their mission to attack medication abortion.

“I will vote NO.”

Reproductive health organizations also criticized Trump’s pick, pointing to Overton’s celebration of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, returning oversight of abortion to the states, as a “huge victory” and to her advocacy for what they described as the politicization of government agencies when she worked at the far-right America First Policy Institute think tank.

“Donald Trump is trying to put an anti-abortion extremist in charge of any agency that could seriously undermine reproductive healthcare — including the agency that could roll back access to mifepristone nationwide,” Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju said in a statement, referring to a prescription oral medication used to terminate an early pregnancy.

“Her nomination is another alarming step in Trump’s plan to weaponize every part of the federal government to restrict abortion nationwide.”

Aug. 19 (UPI) — President Donald Trump declared “economic warfare” against Iran on Wednesday night amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Few specifics were offered about what this apparent intensification of Trump’s maximum pressure campaign would look like, but the president said it would be “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!”

“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump said in his social media statement.

Financial institutions, businesses, airports and government entities accused of providing “any type of lifeline to Iran” will face what Trump called “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” though he did not elaborate further.

“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW,” he said. “You know who you are. This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY.”

To enforce the plan, Trump called on all U.S. allies to work with Washington to isolate Iran.

“These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide,” he said.

The announcement came hours after Trump told reporters at the White House that there are more sanctions the United States could impose on Iran.

“Well, we have things that we could sanction,” he said. “We have very draconian sanctions and we’ll see what happens.”

Earlier Wednesday, Trump also said formal negotiations with Iran could restart “at some point,” while suggesting there was no urgency to resume talks.

“Right now, I think the situation is so good, but maybe at some point,” he said.

Trump has long relied on economic pressure as a means to coerce Iran. During his first term, after unilaterally withdrawing the United States from an Obama-era multinational accord aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Trump launched his maximum pressure campaign of sanctions and other punitive measures against Tehran, failing in its objective to force Iran back to the negotiating table on a new deal. Instead, Iran began gradually reducing its compliance with the nuclear accord.

Trump reinstated that maximum pressure campaign after returning to the White House last year. The Treasury has since folded its sanctions efforts into a campaign it calls Economic Fury, complementing Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign that began Feb. 28 and ended May 5, though the broader war continues.

Trump has been seeking a phased end to the war, but negotiations have stalled over competing demands concerning the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is seeking to restore freedom of navigation through the important energy route, while Iran is seeking to retain the leverage it gained by restricting passage through the strait.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — A Missouri judge ruled Wednesday against voters seeking to put a Republican redistricting effort in the state to a referendum, stating that the new GOP-favored maps can be used in November’s midterm elections.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green ruled that referendum provisions in the state’s constitution do not apply to congressional redistricting.

“The Missouri Constitution does not supply any statement — let alone a clear one — reallocating authority over congressional redistricting away from the General Assembly to a referendum process,” Green wrote in his ruling.

The People Not Politicians coalition that filed the lawsuit told UPI in an emailed statement that what was important was that a ruling had been made, while accusing the Republicans of stalling the litigation process and stating that the case can now move forward toward the Missouri Supreme Court.

“The most important thing that happened today is that there was a ruling,” PNP Executive Director Richard von Glahn said.

“The state has tried to slow down the judicial process for months and now that we are out of Cole County, the real decision will be made. Our case now moves forward.”

Missouri Republicans spearheaded efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map last summer as part of President Donald Trump‘s push for GOP-led states to create more GOP-favored seats for November’s midterm elections.

The map, signed into law in September, redraws a Democrat-held district in Kansas City to be more rural, positioning it to lean more favorably toward Republicans. Of the state’s eight House seats, two are currently held by Democrats. The redraw is expected to reduce that to one.

Voters have challenged the redistricting effort. In December, PNP submitted more than 300,000 signatures to Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, a Republican, to trigger a statewide referendum on the issue. While PNP contended that delivering the signatures would pause use of the new map, Hoskins disagreed.

In May, the state Supreme Court upheld the new map, while rejecting an argument that submitting referendum petitions automatically suspended the map.

On the day of the Aug. 4 primary, Hoskins issued a certificate finding PNP’s referendum petition was insufficient, stating the state’s Constitution does not permit referenda on congressional maps, prompting PNP to file a lawsuit that evening.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, celebrated Wednesday’s decision in a social media statement, calling Green’s decision a “quick, common-sense ruling.”

“Missourians voted for candidates using this map in August, and they deserve the ability to elect those candidates in November,” he said.

The Republican Party also cheered it as a “resounding victory for Missouri voters and election integrity.”

“The court rejected Democrats’ latest scheme to overturn lawful congressional maps and create chaos ahead of the election. Missouri’s maps were fairly enacted by the legislature, upheld in court and used in this year’s primary. Today’s ruling makes clear those maps will stand,” Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement.

The nationwide GOP effort to redraw maps comes as Trump has repeatedly voiced concern about potential impeachment proceedings if Republicans lose the House in November. Creating additional Republican-leaning seats increases the GOP’s chances of maintaining control of the chamber, making impeachment less likely while strengthening the Republicans’ ability to advance Trump’s agenda.

Texas was the first state to move on mid-decade redistricting, kicking off a gerrymandering arms race in which Democratic-led states sought to counter with their own maps and Republican-led states responded with additional redraws.

Since summer 2025, 17 statesMike Kehoe have moved to redistrict, with 10 states having changed their maps, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Of those 10 states, eight adopted GOP-favored maps while two adopted maps expected to benefit Democrats.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Wednesday approved a $15.5 billion budget for Dulles International Airport, setting the stage for renovations proposed by President Donald Trump.

The board approved the proposal for the Revitalizing Washington Dulles International Airport Project, an initiative launched by the Department of Transportation in December.

The approval includes $3.75 billion for new underground tunnels which will replace the airport’s shuttle system, the renovation of Concourses C and D, and $6.2 million for the reconstruction of the main terminal.

The project is slated to begin in late 2027.

Trump said during a briefing at the White House last month that more than 5 million square feet will be either new or renovated space at the airport. He called the airport in its current state “a terrible place to be.”

The president said in July that the estimated cost of the project is more than $20 billion.

About $14.2 billion of the funding will come from new bond issuances, $200 million from grants and $1.1 billion in Passenger Facility Charges: fees that travelers pay for using the airport.

New expenditures included in the budget amount to about $48 million, MWAA’s report says.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will buy back about twice the usual amount of its bonds in a move to prevent rising interest rates on mortgages and consumer loans.

The department, which is led by Secretary Scott Bessent, said it will target the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year portion of the market. Those bonds have faced a buyers’ strike since late June, CNBC reported.

Treasury said it will at least double the maximum size of its usual buyback, from $2 billion to “at least” $4 billion, an announcement from the department said. The buyback operation will be from Sept. 9 through Nov. 4.

The yields on longer-term debt have been at their highest levels since 2007, pushed up by war with Iran and other concerns, such as growing competition for financing with borrowers and growing federal deficits, Politico reported.

After the announcement, yields plummeted, while stock market futures spiked, CNBC reported.

The 10-year note dropped 6 basis points to 4.647% and the 30-year bond plunged 9 basis points to 5.196%. A basis point equals 0.01%. Yields and prices move in opposite directions.

It’s the latest move by Bessent to affect treasury yields.

The department conducted a joint operation with Japan to boost the yen, which was trading at its weakest against the dollar in about 40 years. He had warned in January that Japanese government bonds were causing issues in the U.S. treasury market.

The department also recently alluded to possibly issuing less longer-term debt in the future, Politico reported.

“This increase in buyback operation sizes reflects Treasury’s desire to provide greater liquidity support in longer-dated nominal sectors where there is consistent strong sponsorship from market participants, as evidenced by the significant volume of high-quality offers Treasury routinely receives in longer-dated buyback operations,” the department’s press release said.

The move “can help crowd in potential buyers tempted by the prior run-up in yields and force some near-term short-covering, while discouraging investors from going max short in the future for fear of being ambushed again,” Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a client note, CNBC reported.

“But the operation changes almost nothing in terms of the fundamentals, in particular the unchanged need to finance the tidal wave of hyperscaler debt in addition to very large government deficits,” Guha added.

It could actually end up making the Federal Reserve‘s job of getting inflation back to 2% more difficult, said RSM Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas.

The buyback could artificially suppress yields and make controlling inflation more challenging.

“Bessent is a political actor. His interest is purely short-term and is organized around the upcoming election and not a return to price stability,” Brusuelas wrote.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Dr. Heidi Overton, a White House policy aide, to lead the Food and Drug Administration.

The decision was reported by the Washington Post, The New York Times and Politico, all citing anonymous sources. Overton is an aide at the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and will be tapped to be the next FDA commissioner, sources say.

Overton will replace Marty Makary, who left the position in May, and the Senate will have to confirm her to the position.

The FDA commissioner is one of the most powerful jobs in U.S. health care. The FDA oversees drugs, vaccines, tobacco products, the bulk of the food supply and more. The position has remained open longer than expected as some have turned it down over fears of administration interference, the Post reported.

The position has been run by acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, a friend of Donald Trump Jr., and a former partner at the law firm Jones Day.

Overton is board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine and was a general surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where she also earned a doctorate in clinical investigation. She worked at the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. She has also written articles calling abortion “corrosive” to women. She called abortion pills “far more dangerous to women” and has called for more controls on the pills.

In September, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Overton and Calley Means worked on a Make America Healthy Again strategy report calling for more review of chemicals in food and an increase in oversight over pharmaceutical advertisements, The Times reported.

Makary left the position in May because he disagreed with the administration’s policy of allowing tobacco and e-cigarette companies to sell flavored vapes. The White House had been pressuring Makary to allow the vapes, but he disagreed, citing their appeal to teens and young adults.

The FDA approved mango and blueberry vapes just after Trump had lunch with tobacco executives, The Times reported.

While she is a doctor and has been present for many FDA announcements at the White House, she hasn’t run a large agency before. The FDA has thousands of employees and shapes food safety and pharmaceutical policies.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — David Morens, a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases employee, pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to hide federal records during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morens made his guilty plea on Tuesday in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the United States. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a scheme to evade Freedom of Information Act requests and the Federal Records Act by hiding federal records.

Morens is one of three people alleged to be part of the scheme. He faces up to five years in prison.

The person referred to as “co-conspirator 1” by the Justice Department was a CEO of a New York-based nonprofit that received the “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence” grant in 2014. That grant is a key part of the indictment as its termination precipitated the alleged scheme.

Co-conspirator 1 created a subaward with the grant and awarded it to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan China, which has been the subject of theories that the COVID-19 virus leaked from the lab, sparking the pandemic.

The Justice Department said that Morens and two co-conspirators carried out the scheme after one of the co-conspirators’ National Institute of Health grant was terminated. The three people involved planned the scheme to restore the terminated grant.

In his guilty plea, Morens admitted that he hid emails that related to the pandemic in a personal account to avoid them being publicly released, circumventing public records laws. He had previously explained that he did this to stop the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 and to protect Dr. Anthony Fauci from receiving threats.

Fauci has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to the case.

Morens served as a senior adviser at NIAID’s Office of the Director between 2006 and 2022. The Justice Department indicted him in April on five counts related to the plan to hide federal records from the public.

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (UPI) — South Korea and the United States will significantly scale down their ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday, cutting it short by almost a week following an order by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“South Korea and the United States have agreed to make partial adjustments to the exercise period and scale at the suggestion of the U.S. side,” the JCS said in a statement.

“First, it was decided to adjust the duration of this UFS exercise to run from the 17th to the 21st,” the statement said. “Second, it was decided to conduct the combined field maneuver training on a reduced scale.”

The allies are discussing specific details of the field training reduction, the JCS added.

Ulchi Freedom Shield began Monday and was originally scheduled to run through Aug. 27.

The move comes after Trump called for the drills to be “substantially reduced” in a Truth Social post Sunday, saying they are expensive and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Wednesday morning that Seoul was not given advance notice of Trump’s directive.

“Neither our government nor officials within the U.S. government had any prior knowledge of what President Trump revealed on Truth Social,” Cho said at a parliamentary hearing. “Consequently, we were not notified beforehand.”

In his Sunday post, Trump said Pyongyang “has been unthreatening and respectful” while he has been in the White House.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump touted his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying Kim had “always treated me with great respect.”

“I understand him. He understands me,” Trump said, adding that Kim had responded to his requests for talks but providing no further details.

The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported Tuesday that Trump is pushing aides to arrange a meeting with Kim as soon as this fall, although no official planning is underway. Trump has privately discussed holding talks during his next trip to Asia, which could come in November when world leaders gather for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China.

North Korea, meanwhile, has not publicly responded to Trump’s overture. In a commentary published earlier Wednesday, before Seoul announced the reduction, the state-run Korean Central News Agency criticized Ulchi Freedom Shield as “frantic exercises” pushing the Korean Peninsula to the “threshold of a war.”

The commentary threatened that Pyongyang would continue exercising its “right to self-defence” to counter what it called military threats from the allies.

North Korea frequently condemns U.S.-South Korean military drills as rehearsals for an invasion.

Trump similarly called for suspending or scaling back the exercises in his first term, when he pursued direct diplomacy with Kim that included summits in Singapore and Hanoi and a brief meeting at the DMZ.

After the 2018 Singapore summit, Trump surprised observers by announcing that the United States would halt what he called “provocative” joint military exercises with South Korea. That year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise was canceled, while several subsequent drills were reduced in scale.

Japan has issued an unusually direct criticism of its U.S. ally after Washington imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye.

Japan’s foreign ministry described the sanctions as “very unfortunate” and reaffirmed Tokyo’s support for the ICC and its role in prosecuting serious international crimes. The statement marks a rare public disagreement between Tokyo and Washington over an issue of international law.

The dispute comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies its campaign against the Hague based court. Washington has increasingly challenged the ICC over its investigations and arrest warrants involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as its earlier investigation into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

For Japan, however, the issue is particularly sensitive. Tokyo depends heavily on the United States for its national defence, yet it has consistently supported the ICC and the broader international legal framework surrounding it.

Why Did the U.S. Sanction ICC Officials?

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the sanctions targeted individuals involved in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials from governments that have not consented to the court’s jurisdiction.

Among those sanctioned was Tomoko Akane, a Japanese judge who serves as ICC president. Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese senior trial lawyer, was also targeted. Seye was part of the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and has been nominated for election as an ICC judge.

Washington argues that the ICC has exceeded its authority by pursuing officials from countries that have not accepted its jurisdiction.

The United States is not a member of the ICC and has repeatedly objected to the court’s actions involving American personnel and Israeli officials.

The latest sanctions therefore represent another escalation in Washington’s confrontation with the institution.

Why Is Japan Supporting the ICC?

Japan joined the ICC in 2007 and has consistently supported its role in prosecuting war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Tokyo’s foreign ministry said Japan remains committed to strengthening the rule of law internationally while maintaining communication with countries involved in the dispute.

Japan’s position reflects its broader commitment to international institutions and rules based governance.

For Tokyo, the ICC is not simply a legal institution. It is part of a wider international order in which disputes and allegations of serious crimes are addressed through established legal mechanisms.

That creates an obvious tension with Washington’s increasingly confrontational approach.

Why Is This Significant for U.S. Japan Relations?

Japan rarely criticises the United States publicly, particularly on issues involving national security.

The two countries maintain a close military alliance, with U.S. forces playing a central role in Japan’s defence and regional deterrence.

Japan’s decision to openly describe the sanctions as “very unfortunate” therefore carries diplomatic significance.

It does not indicate that Tokyo is abandoning Washington or challenging the broader alliance. Instead, it demonstrates that the two countries can maintain close security cooperation while disagreeing sharply over international law.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important as U.S. foreign policy under Trump diverges from the positions of several traditional allies.

The ICC Dispute Is Also Creating Friction in Europe

Japan is not the only U.S. ally to object to the latest sanctions.

The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC, has also criticised Washington’s action. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands opposed the sanctions and invited Akane to discuss continued support for the court.

The development places Washington increasingly at odds with European partners as well as Japan.

The disagreement therefore extends beyond the U.S. relationship with a single international institution. It raises broader questions about how far America’s allies are willing to follow Washington when its policies conflict with international institutions they continue to support.

What Do the Sanctions Actually Do?

The sanctions have significant practical consequences.

They freeze any U.S. assets held by the targeted individuals and largely cut them off from the American financial system. Because most internationally active banks maintain close connections with the U.S. financial system, the effects can extend beyond American jurisdiction.

The U.S. Treasury Department has also authorized a temporary wind down of transactions involving Akane and Seye through September 17.

The measures therefore do more than express political disagreement. They can directly affect the ability of sanctioned individuals to conduct international financial activities.

Washington’s Wider Campaign Against the ICC

The sanctions against Akane and Seye are part of a broader U.S. campaign against the court.

Washington previously imposed sanctions on several ICC prosecutors and judges after the court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant and pursued an earlier investigation involving U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Rubio has also indicated that the administration intends to intensify efforts against the ICC through diplomatic pressure on other countries.

According to Reuters, Washington has sought to encourage countries to leave the institution, with at least five countries already responding to the call.

The strategy therefore goes beyond individual sanctions. It represents an attempt to challenge the ICC’s legitimacy and reduce its international reach.

Why Does Japan’s Position Matter?

Japan’s response is significant because Tokyo has generally been closely aligned with Washington on major strategic questions.

Japan faces a challenging regional security environment involving China, North Korea and wider tensions in the Indo Pacific. Maintaining a strong U.S. alliance remains central to Japanese security policy.

Yet Tokyo has also invested heavily in supporting international institutions and the rule of law.

The ICC dispute highlights the possibility that these two pillars of Japanese foreign policy can sometimes pull in different directions.

Japan may need American military power for its security while simultaneously disagreeing with Washington on how international law should operate.

That is not necessarily a crisis in the alliance, but it illustrates its increasingly complicated political foundations.

Could the Dispute Deepen Divisions Among U.S. Allies?

The ICC controversy could contribute to a wider pattern of disagreement between Washington and its traditional partners.

The United States is increasingly willing to use economic and diplomatic pressure against international institutions it considers hostile to American interests. Several European governments, by contrast, continue to view those institutions as essential components of the rules based international order.

Japan’s criticism adds an important Asian voice to that disagreement.

If more U.S. allies openly defend the ICC, Washington could face growing diplomatic isolation on the issue even while maintaining strong bilateral security relationships.

That could make the dispute increasingly difficult to contain as a narrow disagreement between the United States and an international court.

How Far Can Japan Disagree With Washington?

Japan’s criticism of the ICC sanctions should not be interpreted as a fundamental rupture in the U.S. Japan alliance.

Tokyo remains heavily dependent on Washington for defence and security, and there is little indication that the ICC dispute will fundamentally alter that relationship.

Its importance lies elsewhere.

Japan is signalling that alliance solidarity does not necessarily require complete alignment on international law.

For Tokyo, supporting the ICC is consistent with a broader foreign policy objective: maintaining an international system governed by rules and institutions rather than purely by the power of individual states.

Washington’s position is increasingly different. The Trump administration views the ICC as a potential threat to American sovereignty and to officials from the United States and allied governments who could face prosecution by the court.

This creates an unusual strategic contradiction.

The United States and Japan remain closely aligned against major security challenges in the Indo Pacific, yet they are increasingly capable of finding themselves on opposite sides of debates over the international legal order.

The consequences could extend beyond the ICC itself.

If Washington continues using sanctions and diplomatic pressure against international institutions while its allies continue defending them, the United States may find that its strategic partnerships remain strong militarily but become more divided politically.

For Japan, the challenge will be maintaining its essential alliance with Washington without abandoning its support for the international legal institutions it considers important.

The ICC dispute therefore reveals a broader tension within the U.S. alliance system: strategic partners may remain united on security while increasingly disagreeing over the rules and institutions that are supposed to govern international politics.

With information from Reuters.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — Federal prosecutors have charged a man from the Bronx with hate crime offenses alleging he assaulted a security guard and a congregant in a racially motivated attack at a Manhattan synagogue last week.

Larry Montes was arrested following the alleged attack at Central Synagogue on Friday and was charged by New York State.

On Tuesday, the Justice Department charged him with two counts of committing hate crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and one count of damage to religious property resulting in bodily injury, which carries a maximum 20 years’ imprisonment.

“These charges serve as notice that the Department of Justice will intervene to protect the public in the face of antisemitic and racially motivated attacks,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Montes was allegedly among some 375 people who attended Shabbat service Friday night at the synagogue. During the service, he is alleged to have stood up and begun shouting and then struck two ceremonial silver candlesticks, which were damaged.

As a security guard attempted to remove Montes from the building, Montes allegedly uttered profanities about those in attendance and allegedly punched a woman.

After being handcuffed, he allegedly looked at a Black security guard cursed and called him a racial slur, before spitting on and head-butting the security guard.

During an interview with law enforcement, Montes allegedly issued antisemitic statements.

As of the end of July, there were 360 hate crime incidents committed in New York City, 205 of which were motivated by anti-Jewish bias, according to the city statistics.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Stocks fell on all three major U.S. indices Tuesday as investors were spooked by elevated bond yields and the prospect of higher oil prices as the war between the United States and Iran drags on without apparent resolution.

Tech stocks led the downturn as the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.3%, followed by losses on the S&P 500 (0.6%) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (0.2%).

Most analysts put the blame for the markets’ poor showing on news that 30-year Treasury yield surpassed 5.3% for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2007, reflecting sagging demand from global buyers willing to underwrite sovereign U.S. debt.

Concerns over rampant government deficit spending and the United States’ burgeoning debt of nearly $40 trillion are pushing treasury yields higher, analysts noted.

The shorter 10-year Treasury, meanwhile, ended above 4.7%, compared to below 4% before the start of the Iran War in February.

Rising “T-bill” yields are considered a danger signal for the broader economy and consumer spending because they can have the knock-on effect of pushing up virtually all borrowing costs, from auto loans to mortgages.

The latter is being reflected in costlier mortgage rates. A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage on Tuesday stood at 6.75% after ending last week at 6.69%.

Meanwhile, oil prices on Tuesday reached their highest level in more than two weeks after President Donald Trump threatened to “bomb” Oman if it interferes with his plans to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark Brent crude futures traded around $91 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose to $84 per barrel.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — President Donald Trump late Tuesday announced a three-day pause on imposing 50% tariffs on Canada less than two hours before they were to go into effect, saying a trade deal has been made.

The tariffs were to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, but were delayed by Trump’s announcement on social media issued about 90 minutes before the deadline.

No specifics on what the deal entailed were offered, though Trump said the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline project, revoked by former President Joe Biden over climate change concerns, “may be awoke from the grave!”

The deal remains to be finalized, he said.

While congratulating Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that the deal includes “comprehensive access for all American goods,” economic security commitments, digital trade alignment and other provisions protecting the U.S. market.

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada has yet to comment.

Greer had been leading negotiations with Canadian representatives ahead of the deadline. He said last week that the negotiators were reviewing options and that he expects Canada to drop certain measures it had already taken in response to the U.S. tariffs, The New York Times reported.

“If a country retaliates against us, we’re obviously not going to tolerate that,” Greer told reporters Friday. “We’ll take action. My sense is the Canadians want to have a more conciliatory approach, but we’ll see.”

Trump signed orders in July to impose 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, including cement and hockey sticks, representing about 2% of the entire trade between the United States and Canada, starting Wednesday.

“President Trump is taking action to hold Canada accountable for its continued discrimination against and unreasonable and unequal treatment of U.S. commerce that has burdened and disadvantaged hard-working Americans,” the White House said in a statement at the time.

On Aug. 5, he called Canada “nasty” in a Las Vegas speech.

“Canada’s nasty. They are. They’re nasty,” Trump said. “I love the people, but they’re nasty. Nasty leadership.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump spoke on the phone Monday, a Carney spokeswoman said. She didn’t give any details.

Canadian negotiators also want to ease the tariffs already imposed on Ottawa industries. There are tariffs of up to 50% on steel, aluminum and autos. Some tariffs also affect Canadian softwood lumber.

Canadian lumber manufacturing CEO John Brink told CTV that tariffs have devastated the lumber industry. He said, “most of the lumber industry in Canada is paying up to 45.16% in tariffs and duties combined. So the effect has been devastating.”

Brink said about half of British Columbia’s lumber manufacturing capacity has shut down.

“There used to be 800 secondary manufacturers in British Columbia alone. We are now down to about 50. Not all due to tariffs and duties, but due to a combination of [factors],” Brink added.

“I think the big question for the United States is: Are they even interested in securing an agreement, a deal, some kind of operational détente, or is Trump’s real objective just to flex? Is it just to demonstrate he’s in control? In which case, we’re chasing a phantom deal,” CTV News political commentator Scott Reid said.

He added that the deadline will be “the most important, most significant and most treacherous of Mark Carney’s political career.”

Greer has said he expects Canada to make concessions if a deal goes through. But not everyone in the Great White North wants that.

“Canadians elected Mark Carney to both stand up to Trump while also trying to negotiate a deal, or negotiate down the tariffs, and I don’t think those are mutually exclusive, but it is a narrow path for sure,” said Brian Clow, a former senior official in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s government, The Times reported.

If no deal is made, expect the trade war to escalate, Clow said.

“If the U.S. decides to proceed with imposing these new tariffs tomorrow, Canada, although this current government has eased back on retaliation, will have to respond in some way,” he said.

Former senior White House trade adviser Kelly Ann Shaw told CTV that negotiations look “promising” for Canada.

“I’ve been involved in a number of international trade negotiations and other negotiations throughout my career, and the hardest issues always get resolved at the very last moment,” Shaw told CTV Tuesday.

“So I don’t expect any sort of announcement until later today, possibly as late as midnight,” Shaw said. “But the fact the two parties are still at the table, I take as a good sign.”

Trump has long used tariffs as a mechanism for both punishment and negotiation, and during his second term, he attempted to impose sweeping tariffs, including against Canada, but they were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.

The tariffs paused late Tuesday were to join the 10% import duty on many Canadian goods, as well as previously imposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on products, such as steel, aluminum, copper, automobiles and softwood lumber.

Canada responded by imposing a temporary 25% tariff on certain wood cabinets and vanities, as well as a 25% tariff on U.S. vehicles, as well as selected steel and aluminum products, among others.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — The United States on Tuesday sanctioned two senior officials of the International Criminal Court, as the Trump administration cracks down on the global tribunal it calls a threat to U.S. sovereignty.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the rest of the Trump administration has aggressively targeted the court over arrest warrants it issued in November 2024 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on allegations of war crimes committed during the war in Gaza.

Though not a member of the court, the United States has rejected the warrants, even under the former Biden administration, and has been critical of its jurisdiction over U.S. citizens and potential for politicization. Under the administration of President Donald Trump, Washington has used its powers to target the court with punitive measures.

On Tuesday, Rubio unveiled sanctions against ICC President Tomoko Akane and ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on accusations that they were “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.”

“The ICC has repeatedly attempted to assert authority over nationals of the United States and other countries that have not consented to its jurisdiction or ratified the Rome Statute,” he said in a statement, referring to the international treaty that established the court in 2002 to try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

“This sets a dangerous precedent.”

UPI has contacted the Hague-based court for comment.

The sanctions, which freeze all property of those designated, come under an authority given to the secretary of state by an executive order Trump signed in the presence of Netanyahu at the White House in February 2025, during his third week back in office.

Last month, Rubio announced the launch of a whole-of-government campaign to dismantle the threat the Trump administration alleges it poises to the United States. Along with increased sanctions and visa revocations of ICC personnel, the campaign includes encouraging other countries to exit the court and increased scrutiny of countries that receive U.S. assistance but do not criticize the ICC, as well as nations under the so-called U.S. security umbrella are also being urged to reject the ICC’s authority to prosecute U.S. officials and service members.

“The ICC has become a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in language of international law while undermining the very principles of justice,” said Netanyahu, whom the ICC has accused of using starvation as a weapon of war and crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.

“I commend Secretary of State Marco Rubio for leading the Trump administration’s determined efforts against the ICC’s illegitimate overreach, and for making clear that the corrupt officials who lead the ICC will face consequences,” he added in the statement.

The court described Trump’s executive order in February as an unprecedented attack that undermines its ability to administer justice and a threat to international law that protects millions of victims.

Following the announcement Tuesday, the Netherlands came to the court’s defense while international human rights organizations chastised the United States.

“International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates,” Foreign Affairs Minister Tom Berendsen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said in a statement, saying he has invited Akane to discuss the country’s support.

“We fully support the court and its staff,” he said.

Margaret Satterthwaite, the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, said she was “alarmed” by the sanctions being imposed on judicial operators for doing their jobs.

“Sanctioning independent judges and lawyers for their work to end impunity and ensure justice for the most grave crimes is a shocking betrayal of the Nuremberg promise and a violation of the human rights guarantee of fair trial and access to justice,” she said in a statement.

Erika Guevara Rosas, senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns at Amnesty International, rebuked the punitive action as a “reprehensible assault” on the international justice system that was part of an intimidation campaign meant to obstruct its work.

“These sanctions are not about sovereignty. They are about shielding powerful actors from accountability and punishing those tasked with investigating and prosecuting the gravest crimes under international law,” she said.

Kenneth Roth, senior fellow at Yale University and former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that Trump was sanctioning the court “so that American and Israeli officials can commit war crimes (and worse) with impunity.”

“No one should accept this utter lawlessness,” he said.

Last week, HRW and three other human rights groups sued the Trump administration over sanctioning judges and prosecutors of the ICC.

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Medical experts and a family member testified in a Massachusetts courtroom Tuesday that Lindsay Clancy’s mental health was so precarious that she cannot be held responsible for the strangulation deaths of her three children.

A trio of doctors and Clancy’s former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy, each testified in her defense as her attorneys sought to show the 36-year-old defendant is not guilty of murdering her children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — at their Duxbury, Mass., home on Jan. 24, 2023 due to mental illness.

While not denying she killed the children, they contend she is not criminally responsible because she was suffering from bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis.

The Plymouth County, Mass., District Attorney’s Office, however, argues that Clancy was not experiencing psychosis when she strangled the children and jumped from a window, suffering permanent paralysis from the waist down.

After the prosecution rested its case last week, the defense continued with its own case.

Among the medical experts taking the stand Tuesday was Dr. Paul Zeizel, a clinical and forensic psychologist who testified about meeting with Clancy at the hospital after the killings.

After testifying that Clancy told him she had “fuzzy” memories of the killings, he said she told him she heard a man’s demanding she kill the children and then herself.

Zeizel forcefully suggestions of having “planted” that story with Clancy.

Also testifying for the defense was another medical expert, former medical examiner Dr. Elizabeth Laposata, who spoke about the injuries Clancy suffered in her suicide attempt in an apparent effort to counter prosecutors’ suggestions that she had not jumped out a window.

Another medical witness, Dr. Donald Condie, testified that Clancy exhibited symptoms consistent with postpartum depression, such as brain fog and anxiety.

The day’s testimony also included emotional words from Susan Clancy, the mother of Patrick Clancy, who said the couple had a “very good relationship,” WBTS-TV reported.

“She was very nurturing, very loving, she was a wonderful mother. Wonderful,” she said of Lindsay. “She loved her children, all of them, very, very much.”

A former nurse, Susan Clancy she said she noticed a change in Lindsay’s personality after the birth of Callan, the youngest child.

“She reached out to me in November and told me that she felt unwell,” she said. “Mostly, she had insomnia, she was losing her appetite, she was very anxious and sad.”

The U.S. Army has chosen Hanwha Defense USA to advance to the next phase of its Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC) program. The company will now provide prototypes of its wheeled 155mm K9 Mobile Howitzer for further testing. This, in turn, could lead to its adoption as a replacement for the Army’s existing towed 155mm M777 howitzers.

“The U.S. Army announced today an agreement with Hanwha Defense USA, Arlington, Virginia, for the development of prototypes for the Mobile Tactical Cannon program, a critical priority in the Army’s ongoing continuous transformation and long-range fires modernization efforts,” according to a press release the service put out this evening. “Awarded competitively under an Other Transaction Authority (10 U.S.C. Section 4022), the firm-fixed-price agreement will provide the Army with up to 18 wheeled Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems for rapid prototyping, testing, and Soldier experimentation over an estimated four-year period of performance. The amount of this action is $100,302,961 with a total cumulative face value of $262,903,274.”

OTAs are a contracting mechanism that U.S. government agencies regularly use to help accelerate advanced research and development and prototype efforts.

The Army’s release does not explicitly mention the K9 Mobile Howitzer (K9MH), also known as the K9A2. However, Hanwha Defense USA has confirmed that this is the design it will be supplying in its own press release. The company had also announced this would be its entry for the MTC competition back in March. American Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Elbit Systems USA had also been in the running.

“The agreement provides for the accelerated delivery of six prototype MTC systems, with an option for an additional 12. Soldiers will use these platforms in a series of operational experiments to assess performance, reliability, and supportability in realistic combat conditions,” the release adds. “This Soldier-centric, experiment-driven approach reflects the Army’s continuous transformation initiative to rapidly deliver lethal capabilities, incorporate immediate Soldier feedback, and adapt the force to pace emerging threats in multi-domain operations.”

The K9MH was developed from Hanwha’s earlier tracked K9 design, variants and derivatives of which are already in service in South Korea, as well as Australia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, India, Norway, Poland, and Turkey. Both the tracked and wheeled designs share the same 52-caliber 155mm cannon. Caliber here is a measurement of length in relation to the diameter of the barrel. A 52-caliber 155mm barrel is just under 26 and a half feet long. The M777’s barrel is 39 calibers long, or just around 16.7 feet.

K9 and K10 prove compatibility with US munitions during a live-fire demonstration at YPG

In general, longer barrels on howitzers translate to greater range. Hanwha says the maximum range of the K9MH is just over 37 miles (60 kilometers), though it is unclear if this is only when using rocket-assisted or other specialized ammunition. The stated maximum range of the M777, even when using specialized rounds, is just under 20 miles.

As a self-propelled howitzer, the 8×8 K9MH also offers the benefit of integrated mobility over the towed M777, which requires a separate vehicle to move it from point A to point B. “Its emplacement/displacement times of under 30 seconds enables ‘shoot and scoot’ tactics,” according to Hanwha’s website.

The K9MH can also carry 40 rounds of ammunition onboard, as well as be rapidly reloaded in the field via a companion K10 resupply vehicle.

“We’re focused on creating a U.S.-anchored K9 Mobile Howitzer manufacturing network – with Opelika, Alabama, as the current phase I launch point – that can deliver advanced Mobile Tactical Cannons at the speed and scale the U.S. Army needs,” Jason Pak, Hanwha Defense USA Head of Land Systems-Artillery, also said in a statement.

“Hanwha’s global supply chain and local production experience in Australia, Egypt, Poland and Romania demonstrate a proven commitment to local execution we’re excited to bring to the U.S.,” Michael Coulter, Hanwha Defense USA CEO, said in his own statement. “Localization is central to Hanwha’s global business model, leveraging our global leading industrial technology and process in Korea to create sovereign industrial strength in the U.S., whether it be in shipbuilding, munitions or combat vehicles.”

The Army has been actively exploring the idea of replacing the M777 with a new wheeled self-propelled howitzer since at least 2019, and has even conducted shoot-offs of various designs in the past. The service has also made clear that its selection of Hanwha Defense USA to advance in the MTC effort does not guarantee that it will field the K9MH.

“Data and insights gained from these experiments will directly inform senior leaders’ decisions on future fielding. If approved for fielding, MTC will replace M777 towed artillery systems in select formations, significantly increasing their lethality, mobility, reliability, and survivability on the modern, highly transparent battlefield,” per the Army’s release today. “By rapidly prototyping these systems, the Army is advancing a more mobile and adaptable fires formation aligned with the rigorous demands of large-scale combat operations.”

The release does not elaborate on what “select formations” might be in line to eventually receive K9MHs. However, a past MTC contracting notice says the initial focus is on replacing M777s within Brigade Combat Teams equipped with Stryker wheeled light armored vehicles. Airborne, airmobile, and ‘leg’ infantry brigades also have M777s that could be supplanted by new wheeled self-propelled howitzers.

The possibility of the Army replacing at least a portion of its existing M109-series tracked self-propelled 155mm howitzers has also been raised in the past. However, the service’s press release today makes clear that the focus of the MTC program right now is still on replacing towed M777s. There is a long-standing debate about the relative pros and cons of wheeled versus tracked self-propelled howitzers, with the U.S. Army long having favored the latter. Tracked designs typically offer greater off-road mobility and are often more heavily armored. They are also generally heavier overall, which can negatively impact mobility and transportability more broadly, and can be more costly to acquire and operate.

“If you look at the [fight] in Ukraine on either side, it’s really hard to move out and get fires ready to go. … The Paladin [the name applied to the latest A6 and A7 variants of the M109] is just incapable of it at speed,” Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll told members of the House Appropriations Committee at a hearing earlier this year. “And so while we think the Paladin will be in our lives for a while, because we want to be good custodians of the assets the American taxpayer has given us, we think that new purchases to balance that platform out should be something different.”

At that time, Driscoll was defending his service’s omission of funding for any more M109A7s in its Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal.

It is worth noting here that both sides in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine have and continue to employ tracked and wheeled self-propelled howitzers, as well as towed types. The war has underscored the continued importance of artillery, in general. At the same time, mobility, and greater speed while on the move, are ever more important considerations in an era of drone warfare and expanded kill chains that put anything that stays in one place too long at higher risk

MTC is part of a larger Self-Propelled Howitzer-Modernization (SPH-M) effort that could also include the separate acquisition of a new tracked self-propelled howitzer. There have been several abortive Army attempts to replace the venerable M109 family since the 1990s. This includes the advanced XM2001 Crusader, which was canceled in 2002 ostensibly due to growing costs. The service axed the more recent XM1299, developed under its Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ECRA) program in 2024. The XM1299 featured a 58-caliber cannon and had a demonstrated range of 40 miles (just over 60 kilometers). The Army has previously said that the length of the barrel presented technical challenges that contributed to the program’s cancellation.

XM2001 Crusader Howitzer Prototype

Since the XM1299’s cancellation, the Army has also been investing heavily in new long-range artillery shells, including ramjet-powered types.

Today’s announcement is also another important win for South Korea’s defense industry, which has made major export gains globally in recent years. Poland, in particular, has become a huge customer for South Korean arms exports, including versions of the K9. Further progress in the U.S. Army’s MTC program could offer a major inroad into the American market for Hanwha.

With today’s announcement, the Army has taken an important new step toward adding a new wheeled 155mm self-propelled howitzer to its arsenal.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Aug. 18 (UPI) — A group of university organizations and labor unions filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new government rule that limits the time international students can spend in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the final rule last month, ending the previous “duration of status” policy for international students.

Under that rule, the United States admitted students with F-1 and J-1 visas for the duration of their status: That is, they entered to pursue a course of study and remained until they earned their chosen degree or degrees.

Students needed to maintain a required course load and comply with the general conditions of their immigration status. There are about 1.5 million students with F-1 and J-1 visas in the United States.

Under the changed policy, international students are capped at four-year stays unless they undergo a federal review to be considered for an extension. Such reviews are to include submitting biometric information and undergoing security, identity and fraud screening.

In announcing the final rule, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the duration of status policy “undermined national security” and that the new rule restores the U.S. ability to “properly screen and manage those who remain in our country.”

The group filing the lawsuit Tuesday asked for a preliminary injunction stopping the new rule before it is implemented. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration (one of the parties to the lawsuit) said the Department of Homeland Security did not adequately justify or assess the rule, address public comments on it or consider better alternatives.

“These changes will create significant uncertainty and administrative burdens for international students and exchange visitors and the institutions that support them,” the Alliance said in a statement. “They will also interfere with academic decision-making, disrupt students’ educational and professional plans and undermine the ability of U.S. colleges and universities to attract and retain global talent.”

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, also a party to the lawsuit, said the new rule shows that the United States is “once again breaking the law for its own political purposes and, in doing so, is hurting Americans and American enterprise.”

“And it’s using international students — who we’ve welcomed here to help us — as its pawns,” Weingarten said. “American is a leader in cutting-edge research because generations of scientists from every corner of the globe have been free to pursue difficult questions, challenge conventional wisdom, collaborate openly and publish their findings — without political interference.”

The new rule also requires journalists with I visas to renew their status every 240 days. Jon Schleuss — the president of the NewsGuild-CWA, also a party to the lawsuit — said those visas support the important work of international journalists in the United States.

“Our First Amendment makes it clear that the United States is supposed to be a champion of a free press, not an opponent,” Schleuss said. “These rule changes are just another attempt by this administration to chill reporting done by talented journalists.”

Aug. 18 (UPI) — Two counties and two cities are suing the Trump administration over conditioning national security funding on local governments adopting sweeping election procedures, calling the requirement illegal federal overreach.

The Brennan Center for Justice filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., Harris and El Paso counties, Texas, and Columbus, asking it to declare the decision to impose election administration conditions on grants unlawful and enjoin its enforcement.

“This is the kind of federal overreach we’ve come to expect from the Trump administration,” Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin said in a statement emailed to UPI. “To threaten law enforcement and public safety funding our agencies rely on, to withhold dollars that protect our communities for a partisan power grab is not only improper, it’s dangerous.”

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has taken a series of actions he says are to improve election integrity and security but that Democrats and civil rights advocates have described as efforts to interfere with and undermine U.S. elections.

In June, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under the Department of Homeland Security, updated compliance requirements for Homeland Security Grant Program funds, which are to help local governments prevent terrorism. Conditions added include creating a plan for transitioning to hand-marked paper ballots, conducting a 5% post-election manual audit and citizenship verification for all poll workers and registered voters, among others.

FEMA said it will withhold 20% of the recipient’s total HSGP funding until receipt of proof of compliance with the new requirements.

The jurisdictions suing the administration described the withholding of funds as FEMA holding their money “hostage” and its new election-related conditions “arbitrary and capricious.”

“Never before has FEMA purported to regulate how states and counties run elections,” they said in the lawsuit, stating that such a change would require congressional authorization, which FEMA does not have.

“The power to administer elections belongs to the states, subject only to conditions imposed by Congress — not the president, not the secretary of Homeland Security and not FEMA.”

The plaintiffs state that FEMA has not provided a “reasoned explanation” for the change in funding administration while ignoring the legal, financial and logistical “chaos” the new conditions will cause with midterm elections less than two months away and the potential harm withholding anti-terrorism funds could cause.

“Holding cities hostage by threatening anti-terrorism funding if they don’t go along with the president’s absurd election manipulation is as dangerous as it is illegal,” Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in a statement.

“We’re fighting back to protect public safety and election integrity. We will not be bullied by this president and his administration.”

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has responded to his overtures for talks, one day after he ordered a sweeping reduction in U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, citing his “very good relationship” with Kim.

Trump made the remarks during a press availability in the Oval Office, fueling speculation that his directive could be aimed at reopening dialogue with Pyongyang.

Asked why Kim had not responded to his requests for a conversation, Trump replied, “How do you know he hasn’t responded?”

“He has,” Trump said when pressed. He declined to elaborate, saying only that developments were “very positive.”

Trump went on to tout his personal relationship with Kim, saying the North Korean leader had “always treated me with great respect.”

“I understand him. He understands me,” Trump said. “He didn’t like Biden. He didn’t like Obama. He didn’t like anybody, but I get along with him very well.”

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said the allies’ Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which began Monday, are expensive and “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea. He said Pyongyang “has been unthreatening and respectful” while he has been in the White House.

Trump also noted that South Korea declined his request to help with the denuclearization of Iran.

“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” he wrote.

In a text message to reporters on Monday, an official with Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Ulchi Freedom Shield drills had started as scheduled.

“The UFS exercise is proceeding as planned,” the official said.

Later in the day, the presidential Blue House released a statement saying that Seoul was “paying close attention” to Trump’s comments, adding that it hoped friendly relations between Washington and Pyongyang would lead to meaningful peace talks between the two countries.

“To this end, we will exert necessary diplomatic efforts as a pacemaker under close cooperation with the United States,” the statement said.

The Blue House added that it has actively participated in international discussions for a cease-fire in Iran and freedom of passage in the Strait of Hormuz and is “closely discussing practical and military contribution measures with the U.S. side.”

As of Tuesday, it was not clear what aspects of the exercise would be reduced under Trump’s order. In a statement reported by news agency Yonhap, the Pentagon said it “is actively working on executing the Commander-in-Chief’s directive.”

The order drew criticism from Democrats in Congress, who warned that reducing the exercises could undermine military readiness and weaken confidence in U.S. security commitments.

“When President Trump cuts military exercises to flatter a dictator or punishes South Korea for declining to join a war he started, all of our allies — and adversaries — think that America’s commitments are negotiable,” Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. “Kim Jong Un has won a propaganda victory and South Korea, one of our strongest allies, has been punished for no reason beyond Trump’s ego.”

Peter Lee, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said Trump’s order reflects his transactional approach to the alliance and longstanding skepticism about the costs of U.S. military commitments in South Korea.

“This latest directive should also be seen as a reminder that President Trump still has many cards he can play to pressure South Korea,” Lee told UPI. “The task for the Lee administration is therefore how to reduce this ‘unfaithful ally’ narrative that President Trump periodically returns to and instead lean into the ‘model ally’ framing that others such as [Defense] Secretary Hegseth have touted.”

Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump’s move went beyond his repeated public overtures to Kim and appeared aimed at drawing the North Korean leader back to the negotiating table.

“This is really the first concrete action he’s taken to try to entice Kim, and he’s used the timing of these exercises as the way to do it,” Cha said during a CSIS discussion Monday.

Pyongyang has not yet publicly responded to Trump’s announcement, and Cha said he did not expect an immediate reaction.

“I’m sure it’s a message that’s been heard … but I don’t think the North Koreans are going to respond right away,” he said. “I think they’re going to bide their time and wait a little bit.”

Trump similarly called for suspending or scaling back the exercises since his first term, when he pursued direct diplomacy with Kim that included summits in Singapore and Hanoi and a brief meeting at the DMZ.

After the Singapore summit in 2018, Trump surprised observers by announcing that the United States would halt what he called “provocative” joint military exercises with South Korea. That year’s Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise was canceled, while several subsequent drills were reduced in scale.

In his White House press availability, Trump denied that he was prioritizing North Korea over Washington’s allies in South Korea.

“I’m actually making it much safer,” he said in response to a question.

Trump also elaborated on his request for South Korea’s assistance with the war in Iran, saying he raised the issue in a recent call with President Lee Jae Myung.

“I said, ‘Would you like to give us a little hand? We don’t need help with Iran, but if you’d like, give us a hand with Iran.’ He said, ‘No thanks,'” Trump said.

Trump said he viewed Seoul’s refusal as a matter of “fairness,” citing the cost of maintaining U.S. forces in South Korea and his longstanding push for Seoul to shoulder more of the expense.

“We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbor, and you are not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran,” he said.

The United States has roughly 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.

Later Monday, Trump posted a meme of Kim on his Truth Social account. The image showed the North Korean leader surrounded by military officials and speaking into a telephone, with the caption: “Hey Donald, we cool … right?”

Aug. 18 (UPI) — The Pentagon has directed 30 U.S. academic institutions to immediately and comprehensively review their collaborations for ties to “foreign entities of concern” under threat of losing future federal research funding.

The Department of Defense announced the directive Monday, giving the unidentified institutions until Aug. 31 to report their findings in order to maintain eligibility for federal grants.

“Universities are critical partners in executing a wide range of Department of War research programs, and the Department must therefore ensure that our research investments are well protected from foreign exploitation,” Joseph Jewell, assistant secretary of Defense for Science and Technology, said in a statement, referring to the Defense Department by its secondary title authorized by President Donald Trump last year. Its statutory name remains the Department of Defense.

The audits are part of a broader effort to protect Defense Department research from foreign adversaries and follow legislation Congress passed in December 2024 as part of the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act requiring annual reviews of research grants for compliance with Pentagon research-security policies.

The institutions are to review academic, financial and research ties with entities identified under Section 1286 of the fiscal year 2019 NDAA, as well as those associated with rebranded Confucius Institutes.

The list includes 130 academic and research institutions located in China, Russia and Iran. The list was updated last month.

The Pentagon said the audits are to protect U.S. taxpayer-funded research from getting into the hands of adversarial nations as well as from unauthorized transfer and intellectual property theft. It added that the audits will also aid the Department of Defense in better anticipating emerging threats and adapting to evolving adversarial tactics.

The Department of Defense “has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security,” Emil Michael, under secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said in a statement.

The institutions are also being directed to implement mitigation plans that include terminating what the Pentagon called “problematic partnerships.”