Mirroring Gaza, Israel is destroying towns and villages in southern Lebanon

April 30, 2026, 5:00 AM ET
By Kat Lonsdorf, Jawad Rizkallah

MANSOURI, Lebanon — The center of the village lies in ruins. A row of single-story shops blown out, goods scattered on the ground, glass shattered along the sidewalk. Homes and buildings are crumpled into themselves, unrecognizable. The mosque is blackened and burned, the minaret split in two. A Lebanese civil defense emergency vehicle is crushed next to the rubble, its windshield smashed.

Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla near Crete and detains 175 activists

55 minutes ago
David Gritten

Pro-Palestinian activists say at least 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near the Greek island of Crete.

The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) denounced the action as "piracy", saying those on board had been seized unlawfully more than 965km (600 miles) from Gaza, which is under an Israeli naval blockade.

Timmy the Humpback Whale Is Free After Spending Weeks Stranded in the Shallows of the Baltic Sea

Two private investors funded the latest rescue following multiple unsuccessful attempts
By Moná Thomas
Published on April 29, 2026

NEED TO KNOW

• Timmy the humpback whale was rescued after weeks of being stuck in shallow waters off Germany's Baltic coastline
• A rescue mission funded by two private investors transported Timmy to deeper waters near Denmark
• Local officials say the unique rescue operation was a groundbreaking success

Man accused of spying for Russia arrested in Berlin, prosecutors say

The suspect allegedly gave his Russian intelligence handler information about German military aid for Ukraine and photos of NATO military convoys moving along motorways.

Copyright AP Photo

By Franziska Müller & Gavin Blackburn

Published on 29/04/2026 - 14:17 GMT+2

Iran’s highly enriched uranium likely is still at the Isfahan site, UN nuclear chief tells AP

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Updated 2:08 PM PDT, April 29, 2026

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by airstrikes last year and faced less intense attacks in this year’s U.S.-Israeli war, the U.N. nuclear agency’s leader told The Associated Press.

Supreme Court guts key provision of Voting Rights Act

By John Kruzel / REUTERS

REUTERS/WILL DUNHAM/FILE PHOTO

WASHINGTON >> The U.S. Supreme Court today gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act — making it harder for minorities to challenge electoral maps as racially discriminatory under the landmark civil rights law — in a victory for Louisiana Republicans and President Donald Trump’s administration.

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon says a credit-led recession would be ‘worse than people think’

Dimon says Europe should adopt Draghi competitiveness proposals

By Nora Redmond

Published: April 29, 2026 at 8:07 a.m. ET

Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says an economic downturn sparked by weakness in credit would encompass more than just the private credit segment and be worse than many expect.

Trump threatens Iran with AI picture of himself with a gun: ‘No more Mr. Nice guy!’

Politics
Published Wed, Apr 29 2026
4:54 AM EDT
Updated 2 Hours Ago
Key Points

• Trump threatened Iran in a Truth Social post on Wednesday morning.
• The post comes as the crucial Strait of Hormuz stays blockaded and as the status of talks with Iran remains uncertain.
• Attempts to continue negotiations in the last few days appear to have stalled.

Trump orders extended naval blockade of Iran

Robert White

Last updated 29 April 2026 7:41am BST

Key moments

• President targets Iranian economy
• US aides are preparing for a prolonged blockade rather than a return to conflict. 
• King 'agrees with me' on Iran, says Trump

The President claims His Majesty supports the mission to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended naval blockade of Iran. The US president suggested he would continue squeezing the Iranian economy and oil exports rather than resume bombing. Mr Trump believes a return to conflict, or a withdrawal from the region, would carry more risk than maintaining the naval blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports, officials told the Wall Street Journal.

Here we go again: AI deletes entire company database and all backups in 9 seconds, then cheerfully admits 'I violated every principle I was given'

Software AI News

By Rich Stanton 

Published 11 hours ago

"If you pay for car airbags and they don’t deploy because they don’t exist is that your fault because you got in the accident?"

How Bernie Sanders convinced Democrats to oppose arming Israel

The Vermont Independent’s long-running campaign to block arms sales is demonstrating a sea change in the Senate Democratic Caucus.

By Calen Razor

04/28/2026 

04:45 AM EDT

When Bernie Sanders moved last April to block a U.S. arms sale to Israel, only 14 Democratic senators joined the Vermont independent.
What a difference a year makes: When Sanders objected to another Israeli arms sale this month, 39 other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus joined him — a sea change that has raised eyebrows from Washington to Jerusalem.

Justice Department legal argument for the White House ballroom reads like a Trump social media post

By MICHELLE L. PRICE
Updated 1:32 PM PDT, April 28, 2026

The Associated Press 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is pressing for the dismissal of preservationists’ lawsuit over the planned $400 million White House ballroom after the shooting at Saturday’s media gala. But its latest court filing reads more like a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump than a document crafted by government lawyers.

Federal agents conducting raids tied to investigation into alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota

It was not immediately clear how many raids occurred on Tuesday morning. The raids were not connected to immigration operations.

By Michael Kosnar and Rebecca Cohen

April 28, 2026, 5:31 AM PDT 

Updated April 28, 2026, 10:11 AM PDT

Federal law enforcement agencies are conducting a series of raids connected to the investigation into alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota on Tuesday morning, federal authorities have said.

89-year-old man arrested for allegedly wounding at least 4 people with a shotgun in Greek capital

By ELENA BECATOROS
Updated 7:15 AM PDT, April 28, 2026

Photo: Documento

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Greece on Tuesday arrested an 89-year-old man who allegedly opened fire with a shotgun in a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding at least four people.

Ingenious? Orwellian? Or both? Supreme Court considers constitutionality of 'geofence' warrants

 n  p  r 

April 27, 2026
5:00 AM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court hears arguments Monday about a relatively new law enforcement technique that allows police to tap into giant tech-firm databases to find out who was near the scene of a crime and may have been involved. Essentially the question before the high court is whether that technique is ingenious, Orwellian, or both? And, ultimately, is it constitutional?

Iran FM blames US for failure of talks as he meets Putin

AFP teams in Saint Petersburg, Tehran and Moscow

Mon, April 27, 2026

 
Iran's top diplomat blamed Washington Monday for the failure of Middle East peace talks during a visit to Russia, where President Vladimir Putin promised him Moscow's support in ending the war.

Trump not happy with latest Iran proposal to end the war, US official says

By Parisa Hafezi and Steve Holland

April 27, 2026 7:01 PM PDT

Updated 1 hour ago
Summary

• Latest Iranian plan would set aside nuclear issue until after war ends, Iranian sources say
• Trump unhappy with delaying deal on Iran nuclear program, official says
• Iran demands blockade be lifted before any negotiations begin

The Gray Tide: Latin America’s Demographic Transformation

By Laurence Blair

April 21, 2026

A perfect storm of plunging birth rates and rapidly aging populations will break over Latin America in coming decades. Is there a silver lining?

Retirees in Buenos Aires protest pension changes by the government of President Javier Milei in September.Catriel Gallucci Bordoni/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on Latin America’s demographic transformation | Leer en español | Ler em português

MONTEVIDEO—For more than 25 years, Jardín Sonrisitas (“Little Smiles Kindergarten”) taught kids their ABCs in Villa del Cerro, a working-class portside district in Uruguay’s capital. But in December, the beloved kindergarten closed: one of three local creches to shut in as many years.