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A former senior CIA official whose case made headlines after FBI agents found over $40 million in gold bars in his Virginia home will remain in prison pending a trial in the case, a federal judge ruled Friday.During Friday’s detention hearing for David Rush, who allegedly lied about his education and military background in applications to join and be promoted within the agency, prosecutors called the former CIA officer a “master manipulator.”“Mr. Rush is in a world of trouble,” prosecutor Gavin Tisdale told Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday morni

Ex-CIA employee accused of stealing from agency is ordered to remain in jail ahead of trial

ICE will no longer report deaths of detainees who have recently been released from custody

Cost of Minneapolis ShotSpotter system at center of City Council debate

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Macron, Starmer and Merz to meet Zelenskiy in London on June 7, Elysee says

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday, the Elysee said in a statement. "This meeting will allow them to continue their close coordination on our shared agenda of continuing support for Ukraine and increasing pressure on Russia’s war effort," the statement said. "Russia is facing military, economic, and strategic failure — and persists, unsuccessfully, on the front lines in a deadly war."* Meeting is due to take place in London.* Zelenskiy wants Europ

Trump administration asks banks to monitor employers paying unlawful workers

Switzerland agrees joint military plan with France for G7 summit

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Norway rejects US claim on forced labour, opposes tariffs

Norway rejects a U.S. assessment that the Nordic country has failed to prevent forced labour, its foreign minister told Reuters, adding that the allegation was unfounded and should not be used by President Donald Trump to justify new tariffs.The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, including Norway, after determining they had failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labour, an assertion many U.S. trading partners rejected."We strongly disagree with the U.S. authorities' assessment that Norway is not doing enough to prevent forced

Beyond the pitch: Brokerages bet on sector winners as soccer World Cup set to kick off

Treasury warns banks of 'red flags' tied to customers in the US illegally

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ICE to stop reporting deaths of recently released detainees amid scrutiny

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ending its policy of reporting deaths of recently released detainees, the Department of Homeland Security said – a policy change that comes amid increasing scrutiny over the deaths of immigrants in federal custody.The previous policy, adopted during the Biden administration, required the agency to review and report all fatalities of federal detainees, including those occurring up to 30 days after release from custody.The change in policy was first reported by the Washington Post, which cited a memo from acting director David Venturella sent to agency

Trump’s intel choice had no intel experience. He didn’t even have security clearance

Before he was announced as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US intelligence community, Bill Pulte did not have a security clearance granting him access to highly-classified information – meaning he lacked what has long been considered a basic prerequisite for the job he will soon occupy, according to three sources familiar with the matter.On Thursday, days after Trump’s announcement that Pulte would serve as acting director of national intelligence, the office he is expected to lead – at least temporarily – initiated the vetting process for his security clearance by requesti

Trump says he will not nominate Pulte to be permanent intelligence chief

US sanctions Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in latest move to pressure island's leadership

Crime|Health|Political|US

Trump administration escalates legal push for medical records of trans minors

The Trump administration’s demands for sensitive medical records of transgender minors are facing fresh scrutiny in court as it ramps up its efforts by using a grand jury in Texas to force providers of gender-affirming care to comply.The initial use of so-called administrative subpoenas to get the information was shut down in case after case over the last year by jurists appointed by presidents from both parties who said the administration is conducting a baseless fishing expedition into gender-affirming care.In an apparent bid to overcome those roadblocks, prosecutors in Texas, where a spra

Crime|Entertainment|Lifestyle|US|World

Brendan Banfield sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife, stranger amid affair with his family’s au pair

Brendan Banfield, the Virginia man convicted of killing his wife and a stranger as part of an elaborate plot with the family’s au pair, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole after facing his victims’ loved ones in court.“The level of cruelty, calculation and inhumanity in this case reflects something far deeper than anger or impulse – it reflects evil, which is why I carry no burden and find no hesitation in sentencing you to life,” Judge Penney S. Azcarate said as she handed down the sentence.Banfield and the au pair – who were having an affair – lured Joseph Rya

US Senate passes $70 billion in new funds for ICE, Border Patrol

Trump says he thinks progress is being made on Lebanon

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Europe|Health|World

Norway’s crown princess on waiting list for lung transplant

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been placed on a waiting list for a transplant due to “life-threatening chronic lung disease,” the country’s royal household has announced.The 52-year-old princess will not be able to fulfil her duties as a working member of the royal family, according to a press statement issued by the palace on Friday. The princess, who is married to the heir to the Norwegian throne, Haakon, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic progressive lung disease with a poor prognosis, in 2018.“The progression of The Crown Princess’s lung disease is seriou

World

Exclusive: Iran supreme leader’s adviser says talks deadlocked over $24 billion and warns of wider war

A potential peace deal between the United States and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a top Iranian official told CNN on Friday, warning that the US would “enter into a dark corridor” should it resume fighting.“The negotiations are at a deadlock and (US President Donald) Trump must break this deadlock,” Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told CNN in an exclusive interview in Tehran. “The ball is in Trump’s court.”Iran has reportedly demanded the release of $12 billion in fr

Top Iranian official: Trump and Iran's supreme leader will not meet

US appeals court to hear challenge to Trump's White House ballroom

Science|Technology|World

Astronauts briefly take shelter during repair to fix leak on the International Space Station

NASA on Friday temporarily ordered astronauts to take shelter during repairs to fix a fresh leak aboard the International Space Station. The five astronauts moved into the SpaceX capsule that is docked at the station while cosmonauts worked to fix the leak, which is on the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory. The decision was made “out of an abundance of caution,” NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said via X. The crew left the capsule and returned to regular operations after repair work was paused. That part of

Science|Technology|World

NASA directs its ISS crew members to board spacecraft amid leak repair attempt

Five astronauts were forced to seek shelter aboard a spacecraft attached to the International Space Station as their crewmates worked to assess a leak in the Russian-controlled side of the orbiting laboratory.The cracks and leaks on a portion of the space station operated by Russia, located in a transfer tunnel between a module called Zvezda and a docking hatch, have been a known concern for some time. But the NASA statement suggested the situation had potentially worsened.“Following new leaks, Roscosmos has elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5,” NASA

Lego launches 12,060-piece Sagrada Família — its biggest ever set

Trump says he will not nominate Pulte to be permanent intelligence chief

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Europe|Political|World

In public letter, Ukraine's Zelenskyy calls on Putin for direct negotiations in a neutral country

Europe|Political|World

Zelenskiy, in open letter, invites Putin to talks to end the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in which he proposed the two leaders meet to agree an end to more than

Business|Economy

Trump administration’s plan to spin off mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie faces new uncertainty

Economy|Election|Finance|Political

California's slow ballot count makes it a target for critics. It doesn't mean elections are rigged

Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|Technology

The US economy added a stronger-than-expected 172,000 jobs last month

Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|Technology

Wall Street giants tout SpaceX as Musk speaks at pre-IPO investor event

Wall Street's investment banking giants are feting hopeful buyers of Elon Musk's SpaceX at splashy events that kicked off on Thursday,

Business|Crime|Economy|Technology|Travel

Copilot of United jet that struck a light pole realized flight was low, but not in time, report says

Economy|Political|World

Hezbollah rejection clouds Lebanon ceasefire and prospects for ending Iran war

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militia rejected a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Thursday and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from

Business|Economy|Health|Lifestyle|World

Melinda French Gates donates $215 million to improve women's health worldwide

Melinda French Gates is expanding her efforts to improve women's health worldwide, pledging $215 million for contraceptive access and maternal care, as well as initiatives for middle-age women

Election|Political|World

South Korea Lee's ruling party sweeps local elections, but loses Seoul mayor race

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's ruling Democratic Party swept most major local races in elections held on Wednesday, but suffered a

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From LA to Scottsdale: The Founder Behind AdDynamix Is Building the Bridge Between AI and Business Tools

An LA digital advertising veteran of 28 years has moved to Scottsdale and is building what he calls the missing piece between business software and the AI assistants people now use every day. SCOTTSDALE, AZ. When Benoit Pecqueur talks about his latest company, he sounds less like a founder pitching a product and more like an operator who got tired of watching the same problem repeat itself. “Most small business owners are watching the AI revolution from the sidelines,” he says. “Not because they don’t want it. Because their tools don’t talk to ChatGPT or Claude. Their accountant still pulls