The Washington Times

U.S. press freedom reaches new low, says global journalism organization

The U.S. hit a historic all-time low in press freedom, now ranking 64th globally, according to Reporters Without Borders’ 2026 World Press Freedom Index. The organization, also known by its French initials, RSF, which defends media access and journalists’ rights, is pointing the finger at President Trump’s return to the presidency. “The US has experienced a steady decline in the RSF Index over the past decade, but President Trump is pouring gasoline on the fire,” RSF North America Director Clayton Weimers said in a statement. “Trump and his administration have carried out a coordinated war on press freedom since the day he took office, and we will live with the consequences for years to come.” RSF cites six reasons: media ownership, Mr. Trump’s litigation against news outlets, press freedom legislation, economic constraints, declining trust in the media and journalists’ safety. Highly concentrated traditional and mainstream media ownership weakens media pluralism and exacerbates reductions in journalism jobs, which in turn causes a wave of layoffs in the U.S. media landscape, according to RSF. The president’s pressure on news outlets to soften their stance on him, attempts to dismantle U.S. public broadcasters, including NPR and PBS for “anti-Trump” coverage, halting aid funding

The long shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic creeps into the race for Ohio governor

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dr. Amy Acton, a Democrat running unopposed in her party’s primary for Ohio governor, faces some steep challenges in the coming general election. She is trying to be the first Democrat in 20 years to win the office in a state that has become dominated by Republicans. Her presumed opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, has national name recognition and a personal fortune that he is plowing into his campaign. But Acton’s most formidable obstacle may be a ghost from her recent past: the COVID-19 pandemic. Acton, a physician, was Ohio’s public health director when the coronavirus hit the United States in early 2020, causing a wave of deaths, anxiety and social disruption. As the government took aggressive action to combat it, Acton became a household name throughout Ohio. Six years later, the orders Acton signed at the urging of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine to battle the virus - closing schools, shuttering businesses, restricting sporting events and suspending voting in the 2020 primary - are drawing fresh attention as she runs for the state’s top office and have become a central line of criticism from Republicans. During campaign rallies, Ramaswamy has accused Acton of spreading dangerous “COVID ideology.” Her

Mexican governor indicted by the U.S. for drug trafficking says he'll steps down

MEXICO CITY — The governor of Mexico’s northern Sinaloa state said that he would temporarily resign after the United States charged him and nine other officials with drug trafficking in a bombshell indictment that has shaken the political establishment. In a short video announcement posted at midnight Friday, Gov. Rubén Rocha Moya, a high-ranking member of Mexico’s progressive ruling party Morena, denied accusations that he protected the powerful Sinaloa cartel and helped it smuggle drugs into the U.S. in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes. “My conscience is clear,” he said. “To my people and to my family, I can look you in the eye because I have never betrayed you, and I never will.” But he said he would take “temporary leave” from his post as governor to defend himself against what he called the “false and malicious” allegations and cooperate with the investigation launched by the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum to determine whether he should be arrested or extradited to the U.S. Sheinbaum, who has struggled to strike a balance between the interests of her party and pressure from President Donald Trump step up the fight against cartels, has so far refused to hand over Rocha

Former Miami Congressman David Rivera is convicted of secretly lobbying for Maduro's Venezuela

MIAMI — A former Miami congressman and longtime friend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was convicted Friday in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on behalf of Venezuela during the first Trump administration. Jurors found Republican David Rivera and an associate, Esther Nuhfer, guilty on all counts, including failing to register as a foreign agent with the Justice Department and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of their work for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Much as he did throughout the trial, Rivera looked stone-faced as the jury delivered its verdict. Rivera, 60, had been out on bond, but Judge Melissa Damian ordered him taken into custody, finding that he posed a flight risk because he has access to sizable funds, faces a potentially long prison sentence, and faces additional federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a related foreign lobbying case. The seven-week trial offered a rare glimpse into Miami’s role as a crossroads for foreign influence campaigns aimed at shaping U.S. policy toward Latin America, one highlighting the city’s reputation as a magnet for corruption and anti-communist crusaders among its sizable exile population. It included testimony from Rubio, Texas Congressman Pete Sessions and

The controversial Qatari jet gifted to Trump is almost ready for takeoff

The U.S. Air Force has finished modifying and testing a Boeing 747 jet donated by Qatar for temporary use as Air Force One and expects to have it ready for President Donald Trump to use this summer, the service announced late Friday. The jet is currently being painted red, white and blue, the Air Force said in a news release. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury jet a year ago despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting an expensive gift from a foreign nation, as well as concerns about security and cyber intelligence. Trump has defended the gift as a way to save tax dollars. Trump has said he wouldn’t fly around in the aircraft when his term ends. Instead, he said, the plane would be donated to a future presidential library, similar to how the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece. Air Force officials said the former Qatari jet will serve as a “bridge” until Boeing is ready to deliver a pair of new aircraft, which is now expected in 2028. The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly

Rep. Andy Barr gets coveted Trump endorsement in Kentucky Senate race to replace McConnell

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — President Donald Trump on Friday endorsed Kentucky congressman Andy Barr in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Senate GOP leader. “Andy Barr has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from Kentucky,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Barr is facing former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and entrepreneur Nate Morris in the May 19 Republican primary. All three Republicans coveted the president’s endorsement in the conservative state, where Trump won 64% of the vote in the 2024 presidential race. Barr and Morris have run numerous ads featuring Trump, and Morris has received financial support from conservative ally Elon Musk. Republican candidates in the Kentucky race have made very little mention of McConnell during the campaign, reflecting the changing dynamics of the Trump-led GOP. Each has a connection to McConnell. Cameron is a former aide, Barr has referred to the senator as a mentor, and Morris worked as an intern in McConnell’s office. Trump once praised McConnell as an ally but more recently has been critical of the seven-term senator. The Democratic field includes former state lawmaker Charles Booker

Plane circles Fenway Park for an hour towing banner imploring Red Sox ownership to sell the team

BOSTON — A small plane towing a banner imploring Red Sox ownership to sell the team flew over Fenway Park on Friday while Boston and the Houston Astros took batting practice. The plane towed a banner with big red letters reading: “FIRE CRAIG! SELL THE TEAM!” The banner was aimed at Craig Breslow, Boston’s chief baseball officer, and Red Sox principal owner John Henry. Boston enters Friday game against the Astros in last place in the AL East, with a 12-19 record. Breslow fired manager Alex Cora on April 25 after a 17-1 road victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The small plane circled the ballpark for over an hour. Fans outside the park were seen looking up and trying to read the banner. With the Red Sox off to such a poor start this season, chants of “Sell the team!” have been heard at Fenway. Last week, those chants grew louder after the Red Sox were swept at home by their longtime rivals, the New York Yankees. The 50-year-old Cora was the manager of Boston’s last World Series team in 2018, which won a club-record 108 regular-season games. And, Cora was a member of the team’s 2007 World Series-winning club.

Hegseth pulls 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany amid Trump tiff with chancellor

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, days after the German chancellor criticized U.S. strategy in the war in Iran. The move follows Wednesday’s announcement from President Trump on Truth Social that the White House would be “studying and reviewing” a possible reduction in U.S. troop strength “over the next short period of time.” “This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Washington Times. A standard infantry brigade has about 3,000 to 5,000 personnel. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies … more > Pentagon officials said the troop pullout should be completed within six months to a year. There are about 35,000 U.S. active duty military personnel based in Germany, the largest U.S. troop presence in Europe. Major hubs for American service members include Ramstein Air Base and the Grafenwoehr Training Area. While President Trump has often called

Appeals court limits access to abortion drug by telemedicine

A federal appeals court has curtailed access to an abortion-inducing drug by telemedicine appointment and mail, putting on hold a Biden-era policy that had allowed mifepristone to be prescribed online and delivered by post. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguably the most conservative appeals court in the country, said Friday the Food and Drug Administration has admitted that it rushed the approval of remote dispensation of mifepristone. The FDA is in the middle of a do-over review, but the appeals court said it’s not clear when that might be completed. And in the meantime, the FDA’s approval must be stayed because it tramples on Louisiana’s broad abortion ban. “The public interest is not served by perpetuating a medical practice whose safety the agency admits was inadequately studied,” Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee, wrote for the court. The decision reverts availability of mifepristone to in-person visits at a health center. A lower court had found that the FDA regulation was likely approved in violation of the law, but it delayed enforcement of its ruling, saying both the FDA’s interest in its ongoing review and drug manufacturer Danco’s financial interests outweighed Louisiana’s interests. The circuit court said that

ICE failed to tell Justice Dept. it could reveal warrant to judge; murder suspect went free

An illegal immigrant wanted for murder in another country was set free from immigration detention after ICE failed to tell the Justice Department that it could tell a federal judge about the arrest warrant, government lawyers said. The U.S. attorney’s office in Rhode Island said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had told prosecutors there was a murder arrest warrant from the Dominican Republic for Bryan Rafael Gomez. But ICE gagged the prosecutors, saying they couldn’t reveal that information publicly. That left them to defend ICE’s detention of Mr. Gomez without being able to reveal the warrant. “I had been informed by ICE about the petitioner’s pending arrest warrant issued on January 24, 2023, from a court in the Dominican Republic and that I could not disclose that information,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Bolan said in a filing Friday. “I relied on ICE’s representation that I was not permitted to disclose that information and understood that a legitimate law enforcement reason prevented disclosure.” U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose ordered Mr. Gomez released on April 28. Homeland Security responded to the release with a scathing statement attacking Judge DuBose as an “activist Biden judge” who had released a “violent criminal illegal alien.”

Four Georgia women, including two former mail carriers, indicted in $4.9 million theft scheme

Federal prosecutors have indicted four Atlanta-area women, two of whom are former U.S. Postal Service mail carriers, with charges related to an alleged $4.9 mail theft scheme. The Justice Department alleged Thursday that between March 2020 and September 2025, Shanda Goode, 57, at the time a worker at a post office in Atlanta, and Carnisha Hamilton, 42, then a worker at a post office in Marietta, Georgia, stole mail containing checks, credit cards and other valuable items. Ms. Goode and Ms. Hamilton are accused of selling the stolen goods to Francina Sutton, 46, who was previously convicted on forgery, identity theft and other theft charges. Sutton, prosecutors said, used the credit cards and other items and cashed checks stolen from the mail. Sutton is alleged to have worked with Tonya Bailey, who was at the time an assistant financial center manager at a bank in Alpharetta, Georgia, nearly 23 miles northeast of Atlanta, to open bank accounts in the names of unsuspecting victims as part of cashing those checks, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors accused Sutton of going into Ms. Bailey’s bank while masked in February 2023 and opening an account for an entity with a name similar to that

Arizona Coyotes fans trying to keep connection with franchise after its move to Utah

PHOENIX — The Mammoth have generated a buzz in Utah, igniting a new fan base with a trip to the playoffs in their second season. The previous fan base back in the desert still feels a connection with the franchise once known as the Arizona Coyotes and the players who set the foundation for its current success. But there’s also a strange detachment from seeing the team they once rooted for playing in a city more than 600 miles away under a different name. “I’m a hockey fan and I’ve been cheering for them; most of those guys, that team, that organization were here,” Maricopa County Supervisor Tom Galvin said on Friday. “But in many ways, I feel disconnected from them. They’re playing in Utah, they have Utah fans, they play in a Utah arena.” Galvin is trying to bring NHL hockey back to the Phoenix area. Not long after the Coyotes left for Utah in 2024, he helped create an advisory committee that includes former Olympian Lyndsey Fry and Andrea Doan. Fry, who grew up in the Phoenix area, has been a stalwart in Arizona youth hockey through various programs and spearheads community relations for the committee. Doan has

Nurse Sarah Danh recovering after Japan honeymoon collapse

Sarah Danh, 27, a labor and delivery nurse at Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, is off life support and breathing on her own, according to her uncle Khang Le, who has been providing regular updates to supporters on Facebook. Ms. Danh and her husband, Luke Gradl, married on March 21 and flew to Tokyo on April 8. She fell ill the following day and was rushed to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with acute liver failure, among other serious conditions, and placed in the intensive care unit. “Since my last update, Sarah’s condition has been improving each day, and she is physically getting stronger,” Mr. Le wrote on Facebook on Thursday. “She is no longer on life support and is breathing on her own. She has also been able to wiggle her toes and move her arms.” Ms. Danh was medically evacuated back to San Antonio on April 21 aboard a flight coordinated by AirMed and arranged in part through her employer, HCA Healthcare. The evacuation had been delayed for nearly two weeks due to her unstable condition. During her hospitalization in Japan, doctors identified acute liver failure along with kidney failure and rising intracranial pressure. She also suffered

Navy's new flying gas station will soon be ready for autonomous carrier missions

The Navy’s new autonomous flying fuel tanker completed its maiden flight this week, executing a series of maneuvers and tests for two hours in what officials said was a key step for unmanned carrier operations. The MQ-25A Stingray is the Navy’s first operational, carrier-based unmanned aircraft system, designed primarily to serve as an aerial refueling tanker. By taking over the refueling mission from crewed jet fighters like the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Stingray will significantly extend the combat range and strike capability of a Carrier Air Wing, officials said. “The MQ-25A is not just an aircraft. It’s the first step in integrating unmanned aerial refueling onto the carrier deck, directly enabling our manned fighters to fly further and faster. This capability is vital to the future of naval aviation,” said Rear Adm. Tony Rossi, who oversees the Navy’s executive office for unmanned aviation Navy and Boeing pilots controlled the mission by sending commands to the aircraft and monitoring its performance from a ground control station [GCS] at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, about 25 miles east of St. Louis. Once airborne, the Stingray executed a pre-determined mission plan that validated its flight controls, navigation, and safe integration with the GCS,

Man climbs bridge in District, unfurls black cloth in Iran war protest

A man climbed an arch of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and unfurled a black ribbon to protest the Iran war in what the Metropolitan Police Department is calling a “barricade situation” that blocked traffic. Police got to the scene and spotted the person on top of the bridge shortly after 3 p.m. Friday. Officers are trying to get the person to come down, per a post on X. The police told WJLA-TV that the northbound lanes of South Capitol Street SE across the bridge are currently blocked off as they deal with the situation. The man has been identified as Guido Reichstadter, who posted a photo from atop the arch on X and said that “revolutionary nonviolent non-cooperation with evil is our right, power & responsibility.” End the warsBring down the Trump regimeStop AIRevolutionary nonviolent non-cooperation with evil is our right, power & responsibility pic.twitter.com/Fwbwl5STy0 — Guido Reichstadter (@wolflovesmelon) May 1, 2026 Mr. Reichstadter told documentarian Ford Fischer, who posted video of Mr. Reichstadter climbing up the arch and unfurling a long, ribbon-like black cloth, that he was protesting the administration for its “lawless, evil atrocities that it has perpetrated on Americans and on the world.” The protest is

Kentucky man charged in deadly bank robbery after high-speed chase

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An 18-year-old Kentucky man who led police on a high-speed chase Thursday night has been charged by federal investigators in a bank robbery that left two people dead. Brailen Weaver is charged with armed bank robbery and firearms offenses that caused death, according to federal court records. Weaver entered a branch of U.S. Bank in Berea on Thursday, just before 2 p.m. and “immediately shot and killed a male victim” and then fatally shot a teller, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court Friday. He checked multiple drawers in the bank and then fled, the affidavit said. Investigators have not said if any money was taken from the bank. “While there is no longer imminent danger, we understand that the tragedy is far from over for the community,” Olivia Olson, special agent in charge of the Louisville FBI office, said at a news conference Friday. “The only solace that we can offer is that this individual, who valued a stolen dollar more than two human lives, will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Friday he would pursue state murder charges against Weaver. Court records say

Catholic priest who criticized Trump immigration crackdown named West Virginia bishop

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The next bishop for West Virginia Catholics will be an El Salvador-born advocate for immigrants who has opposed President Trump’s immigration crackdown policies. Pope Leo XIV announced Friday the appointment of the Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, an auxiliary bishop in Washington, D.C., as the new leader of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which comprises West Virginia, one of the nation’s least racially diverse states. Menjivar-Ayala, 55, fled El Salvador’s civil war as a teen in the late 1980s, eventually crossing illegally into the United States in 1990, he told The Associated Press in an interview last year. But within “a couple of weeks” he gained humanitarian protection, later was granted a visa as a religious worker, and became a U.S. citizen two decades ago. Nonetheless, he feels close to immigrants who have been caught up by raids, including last year’s federal law enforcement surge in Washington, because “that could have been me,” he said in 2025. The Catholic Church has long advocated for humane treatment of migrants and refugees in the United States and around the world. Menjivar-Ayala and other U.S. church leaders have strongly condemned the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies while also affirming a nation’s right

Female inmate allegedly pummeled by transgender prisoner sues Washington state

An inmate is challenging Washington state’s policy allowing biological males to be housed in female prisons based on gender identity, saying she was beaten up by a convicted child sex offender who identifies as female. The America First Policy Institute sued on behalf of the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, which opposes gender ideology, and Faith Booher-Smith, 28, a prisoner at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor. Booher-Smith said she was attacked in the cafeteria by transgender inmate Christopher Scott Williams. “For apparently no reason known to Ms. Booher-Smith, Williams approached her silently from behind and struck her on the side of her face with his fist, then grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground before kicking her repeatedly with such force that she sustained visible injuries, including, facial bruising, a laceration in her mouth, and swelling to her jaw and eye,” said the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. An elderly female guard witnessed the attack last Aug. 7, but “froze” and “screamed in fear for her safety” instead of intervening, according to the filing. “Williams is a six-foot-four, ’biologically intact’ male and convicted child sex offender

Black voters could lose congressional seats after Supreme Court guts Voting Rights Act protection

The Supreme Court’s gutting of a key Voting Rights Act protection is threatening to erase hard-won congressional representation for Black voters in Louisiana and Alabama — and Democrats are racing to court to stop it. The high court ruled Wednesday that Louisiana’s majority-Black district map violated the Voting Rights Act, reversing a lower court order that had guaranteed Black voters — and Democrats — a majority in two of the state’s six congressional districts. Under the previous map, Republicans held five of six seats. The ruling left Louisiana’s electoral future unsettled. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, declared a state of emergency to halt voting — even though tens of thousands of absentee ballots had already been mailed and some had been cast and returned. Democrats immediately sued. “This court is asked to do something simple: stop a state from canceling an election that is already underway,” challengers said in a lawsuit filed Thursday. A lower court agreed, barring Louisiana from using the old 5-1 Republican map. In Alabama, state officials argued the ruling clears the way for a similar GOP-friendly redraw. The NAACP and the National Redistricting Foundation urged the Supreme Court not to fast-track those cases while voters are

Adm. Caudle, chief of naval operations, outlines 'hedge' strategy to maintain U.S. dominance

The U.S. is currently incapable of building ships faster than China, so the head of the U.S. Navy is pushing a next-generation doctrine of smarter force packaging and autonomous system integration to sustain American naval dominance globally. U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle says beating Beijing on the shipbuilding front may not be feasible in the near term, because it would require production “at a higher rate than we have previously done.” “I can’t outbuild, certainly China, I can’t outbuild the rest of the Navy’s problems,” Adm. Caudle said in an exclusive video interview with The Washington Times’ Threat Status platform. “That’s just not a strategy that I think is even a viable one,” he said in the Threat Status Influencers video published on Thursday. While China has in recent years surpassed the U.S. in total ship numbers, with an estimated 370 Chinese naval ships compared to the roughly 295 American ships, the U.S. Navy maintains considerably superior power projection. The American force is bolstered by a fleet of larger, more advanced aircraft carriers and other dominant world-traversing vessels. However, concerns are great in U.S. national security circles about the Pentagon’s ability to maintain global naval dominance

Trump says construction for UFC fight arena at White House will begin next week

Construction on the temporary venue holding an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the White House in June will begin next week, President Trump said. “The arena, they’re going to start building it over the next week,” he told reporters Friday. The 4,500- to 5,000-seat venue will hold the custom-built octagon fighting cage on the South Lawn of the White House, and an additional 100,000 spectators can watch the fight on screens at the White House Ellipse, a 52-acre park just south of the Executive Mansion’s grounds, he added. “It’s all free,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s going to be great.” The UFC and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, are paying for the estimated $60 million cost of the White House event. UFC CEO Dana White has said that the promotion is covering all expenses, including the roughly $700,000 to $1 million for South Lawn restoration. A 90-foot-tall, 160-foot-by-160-foot, open-air, dome-like structure that will serve as the center stage for the event, nicknamed “The Claw,” has been on display in Lititz, Pennsylvania. “UFC Freedom 250,” the seven-fight UFC event, will commemorate America’s semiquincentennial, falling on June 14 on the 80th birthday of Mr. Trump, who is a longtime fan of the

More people taking the train as gas prices climb higher

Ridership numbers for Amtrak and Florida’s privately-owned railroad Brightline were up in March, as some travelers opt out of driving because of higher gasoline prices due to the Iran war. Nearly 17.5 million riders traveled by rail nationwide in March, a roughly 5% year-over-year increase of about 814,000 riders, Amtrak said in a recent report. Dorothy English, who switched from traveling by car to using the train, told NPR that she paid $140 in gasoline to drive from Florida to New York. That’s why on a trip this week from New York to North Carolina, she opted to take Amtrak with a layover in the District of Columbia. “The train is cheaper. So I said, let me take the cheaper way out,” Ms. English said. The increased rail ridership was seen in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, various state-supported train routes, and Amtrak’s long-distance routes. The Northeast Corridor had a slightly higher ridership in March, at about 7.68 million riders versus about 7.6 million on state-supported routes and 2.2 million on long-distance routes, the report said. The state-supported routes, however, had slightly higher year-over-year growth, adding 414,000 riders compared to 396,000 for the Northeast Corridor and just 4,000 for the long-distance routes.

Trump gives Spirit Airlines final bailout offer as airline considers shutting down

President Trump confirmed the White House is considering a deal to bail out financially distressed Spirit Airlines. “I guess we’re looking at it,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday at the White House. “If we could do, we’d do it, but only if it’s a good deal.” “No institution has been able to do it, but I said I’d like to save the jobs, but we’ll have an announcement sometime [Friday],” he said. “We gave them a final proposal.” Spirit Airlines is preparing to shut down operations, after a last-ditch effort to secure a $500 million federal rescue package reportedly collapsed. When asked what has been holding up the deal, Mr. Trump said, “We’re looking at trying to help them. It’s something we’re not looking to get involved with, but if we can, it’s 14,000 jobs.” He added, “I would say we are driving a tough deal but it’s one of those things. We will do it or we won’t.” The budget carrier, which reshaped American aviation over the last twenty years by selling inexpensive tickets and charging fees ranging from printed boarding passes to seat selection, has been strangled by high fuel costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, a failed merger and

Montgomery County to close its only charter school

The Montgomery County Board of Education has approved a plan to close its only charter school at the end of its first year amid claims it ignored students’ special needs. The board voted 6-2 on Thursday to adopt Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s proposal to shutter the Mecca Business Learning Institute by June 30. Enforcement of the resolution is pending the outcome of a state appeals process. In voting to revoke Mecca’s charter, the board’s majority also rejected an alternative plan from school leaders to stay open. Their decision came after district officials testified that the middle school in Germantown failed to provide legally required individualized education programs to 10 students with documented learning disabilities. “We were going in weekly to work with them, and there was no movement,” Margaret Cage, the school system’s chief of specialized support services, told the board. Ms. Cage said that while Mecca was making progress with one student, nine others had been out of compliance since November. Mecca has filed an appeal with Maryland’s Office of Administrative Hearings. It accuses the district of pushing for closure without following its own due process rules. “The case is still proceeding, and we have no

While peace talks dawdle, Trump's war on Iran is transforming the Middle East

President Trump’s war on Iran is fundamentally reshaping the Gulf region, from near-term shocks to Tehran’s oil-based economy under a crippling U.S. naval blockade to the long-term impact of the United Arab Emirates ditching the OPEC cartel. Israel and Lebanon are talking to each other for the first time in decades about dealing with Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists, and Tehran’s surprise drone attacks are forcing Gulf nations to reshuffle their priorities and alliances. Taken together, the developments show that Mr. Trump’s decision to bomb Iran is overhauling economies and diplomatic relations in real time and will reverberate in the region for months, and possibly years, to come. Iran’s oil economy faces a major test As peace talks drag on, much of the focus in the U.S. has been on social media taunts between Mr. Trump and Iranian leaders and the faltering talks in Pakistan, which is serving as a mediator. Yet Mr. Trump’s decision to block maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports is having a tangible impact on Iran’s ability to move oil and gain revenue. SEE ALSO: Trump says Iran ‘not there’ yet in offering an acceptable deal “The U.S. blockade is beginning to materially disrupt Iran’s oil flows,

Trump retirement order expands access built by Biden law

President Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Treasury Department to launch TrumpIRA.gov, a federal portal connecting workers to private-sector retirement accounts — but the matching benefits at the heart of the initiative were created by a law signed by his predecessor, President Biden. The order directs Treasury to have the site operational by Jan. 1, 2027, when the federal Saver’s Match program takes effect. That program — which offers qualifying lower-income workers up to $1,000 per year in government retirement contributions — was not created by Mr. Trump’s order. It was created by the SECURE 2.0 Act, a bipartisan retirement overhaul that Mr. Biden signed into law on Dec. 29, 2022, as part of a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill. “For millions of Americans who lack employer-sponsored plans, this will be really revolutionary,” Mr. Trump said at an Oval Office signing ceremony Thursday. What Mr. Trump’s order does is build a delivery mechanism, TrumpIRA.gov, designed to make the existing Saver’s Match accessible to the roughly 56 million workers who currently have no employer-sponsored retirement plan and thus no easy path to claim it. When asked about the Biden-era origins of the program, White House spokeswoman Kush Desai pointed

From Trump adviser to disbarred attorney, John Eastman eyes a Supreme Court comeback

John Eastman, the attorney who advised President Trump on how to challenge the 2020 election results, tells “Seen, Heard & Whispered” that he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate his license to practice law. The California Supreme Court disbarred him on April 15, saying he acted dishonestly in helping Mr. Trump mount his challenges. State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said Mr. Eastman “advanced false claims about the 2020 presidential election to mislead courts, public officials, and the American public.” But Mr. Eastman said in an email that there were “significant federal constitutional issues under both the First Amendment (free speech, right to petition) and Due Process clause” that give him hope for a challenge. “We can and will ask the U.S Supreme Court to review,” Mr. Eastman said. SEE ALSO: Did Obama’s roast really launch Trump’s political career? Lara Trump says not so fast Mr. Eastman, former dean of the Chapman University School of Law, had advised Mr. Trump to direct Vice President Mike Pence to refuse the certification of the 2020 election results, citing fraud. He faced several legal challenges, including an indictment in Fulton County, Georgia. That was ultimately dismissed after a court booted

Gunshots, a kitchen closet and questions: inside the chaos of the White House Correspondents Dinner

“Seen, Heard & Whispered” was among those in the ballroom Saturday, when an armed man attempted an attack on the White House Correspondents Association’s annual dinner — and because of where we sat, it was immediately clear that we’d heard gunshots. The dinner, also known as “Nerd Prom,” has been held at the Washington Hilton for years, with organizers saying it provides the biggest space possible for the event. Now that’s all under scrutiny. The ballroom, located in the hotel’s lowest level, is a large oval with an elevated stage along one of the longer curves. The main floor is sunken by several steps, and there are several entrances to the room. “Seen, Heard & Whispered”’s table was near the perimeter on the opposite side of the stage — which put us near one of those doors and left no mistake about the sound of the gunshots in a hallway outside. SEE ALSO: Did Obama’s roast really launch Trump’s political career? Lara Trump says not so fast We fled into a kitchen near the table and hid in a cleaning closet, along with a handful of other attendees and some of the kitchen staff. But others who were in the

Oscars organization expands international film eligibility, addresses AI in new rules

The organization behind the Oscars is for the first time addressing the eligibility of films that use artificial intelligence in new rules for the 2027 Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday released updates across many categories, stressing the importance of human authorship while not banning AI. The new rules also include significant changes to the much-criticized international film category, expanding eligibility to include films that won top qualifying awards from prestigious film festivals like Cannes, Venice and Toronto. “As we do every year, we made a lot of, we think, really smart and progressive changes,” film academy CEO Bill Kramer told The Associated Press. “Obviously, as the academy becomes more global, we need to think about how we are inviting international films into the Oscars conversation.” AI and the Oscars As part of its annual review of Oscar eligibility rules, the academy is tackling one of the global filmmaking community’s biggest concerns: generative artificial intelligence. The new rules state that “the tools neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination” and that the academy and each branch “will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at

Kathy Griffin rallies to Kimmel's defense as Trump presses ABC to fire host

Comedian Kathy Griffin came to the defense of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel this week, drawing on her own turbulent experience with presidential scrutiny after Mr. Kimmel’s joke about first lady Melania Trump ignited a firestorm that has since drawn in federal regulators. Ms. Griffin addressed the controversy Tuesday on her Talk Your Head Off podcast, expressing solidarity with Mr. Kimmel while lamenting that no one had mounted a similar defense when her career collapsed in 2017 following a photograph in which she posed with a prop resembling a bloodied, severed head of President Trump. “I’m just gonna be honest: It still hurts. It was nine years ago for me … It still hurts that nobody did stuff like this for me where they would dedicate a whole episode to just standing up for the First Amendment,” Ms. Griffin said, according to Breitbart. “Because my First Amendment rights were truly violated because I had the actual Department of Justice coming after me, not a private company, so that’s what’s happening to Jimmy right now.” Ms. Griffin also noted that Mr. Kimmel made his now-controversial quip two days before a gunman attempted to crash the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25.