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  • US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons

    US confirms for first time it has deployed space weapons

    In a historic and consequential announcement that marks a new phase of military expansion into outer space, the United States has formally confirmed it has placed an offensive offensive space weapon into Earth’s orbit, the first public acknowledgment of such capabilities by any world power.

    Troy Meink, US Secretary of the Air Force, told attendees at the annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Monday that positioning a weapon in orbit is a critical measure to protect US military forces from adversarial hostile actions. Meink emphasized that the US military is fully prepared to address rapidly evolving threats in the space domain, but declined to provide further details on the system’s operational capabilities or the exact timeline of its deployment.

    US military leaders have repeatedly justified expanding space-based military capabilities in recent years by pointing to emerging counter-space programs developed by Russia and China, which they claim are designed to target and disable American satellite infrastructure in any future large-scale conflict. The framework for this expanded military presence in space traces back to the Trump administration, which identified space-based defensive systems and interceptor missiles as core components of its proposed ‘Golden Dome’ national missile defense shield, built to intercept airborne and missile threats targeting the US homeland.

    The 1967 Outer Space Treaty universally bans the deployment of weapons of mass destruction in orbit, but major space-faring nations including the US, Russia, and China have all actively developed other space capabilities that fall outside the scope of the existing treaty, most notably systems designed to neutralize an adversary’s satellite networks. Satellites are the backbone of modern military operations, enabling encrypted communications, long-range surveillance, and precision navigation for armed forces around the globe.

    Last year, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order that formally expanded the mission scope of the US Space Force, clarifying that the branch is responsible not only for defending American space assets but also for conducting offensive operations in the domain. Established in 2019, the US Space Force is the first new branch of the American military created in more than 70 years, originally founded to secure hundreds of US military and intelligence satellites operating in orbit.

    A spokesperson for the US Space Force laid out the branch’s core doctrine in a statement, explaining that ‘space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest and control the space domain – employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities through disruption, degradation and even destruction, if necessary.’ The spokesperson added that these dual-capability systems can be deployed for both offensive and defensive operations at the direction of US combatant commands.

    The US confirmation comes against a backdrop of growing international concern over rising militarization of outer space. Earlier this year, declassified intelligence assessments revealed that two Russian satellites have reportedly intercepted communications from at least 12 European satellites since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Security analysts warn that these interceptions could have allowed Russian intelligence services to access sensitive transmitted data, and in a worst-case scenario, potentially seize partial or full control of the targeted European satellites.

    In 2024, the US publicly accused Russia of launching a satellite that it assesses carries capabilities to attack other orbiting space assets, a claim that Russia has never publicly addressed. The US Space Force currently assesses that China is integrating advanced offensive and defensive space capabilities into its broader military modernization program, while Russia formally recognizes space as an independent warfighting domain and views control of space as a decisive factor in determining the outcome of future major conflicts.

  • Supreme Court blocks Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in ballots

    Supreme Court blocks Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in ballots

    In a high-stakes legal ruling that marks a major political setback for former President Donald Trump and his administration, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a controversial plan to tighten restrictions on mail-in voting ahead of the 2026 November midterm elections. The nation’s highest court voted to leave in place a temporary injunction issued by a lower federal judge, which halted the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from implementing the new rules for mail-in ballots put forward by the Trump White House. The outcome marked a surprise split among the court’s conservative wing, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the court’s liberal majority to uphold the block, even as he signaled openness to ruling in the administration’s favor after the election cycle concludes.

    The policy at the center of the legal battle originated from a March executive order signed by Trump, who has long claimed widespread electoral fraud plagues U.S. elections. The order directed USPS to only deliver mail-in ballots to voters who appear on official state citizen registration lists, a change that critics warned would disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters. Multiple states joined voter advocacy groups to challenge the rule in court, arguing that the Trump administration’s overreach into election administration violated states’ constitutional authority to manage their own electoral processes.

    In his concurring opinion, Kavanaugh acknowledged that there was a reasonable argument that the final policy could fall within the statutory authority granted to USPS. However, he wrote that implementing the new regulation just months before a national election would qualify as arbitrary and capricious, writing that disrupting the election process so close to voting date carried unacceptable risks for voters. Only two conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, dissented from the majority ruling. In their dissent, Alito and Thomas dismissed the legal challenge to Trump’s executive order as a long-shot “Hail Mary pass” unlikely to succeed in future litigation, arguing that USPS holds broad statutory authority to regulate the delivery of mailed materials, including election ballots.

    This ruling comes amid ongoing national debate over voting access and election integrity, with mail-in voting emerging as one of the most polarizing election policy issues in U.S. politics since the 2020 presidential election. This is a developing breaking news story, with additional details expected to be released in coming updates. Readers can access real-time updates via the BBC News mobile app, or by following @BBCBreaking on X for the latest alerts.

  • Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after three-month absence

    Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after three-month absence

    After a three-month absence triggered by a fall that landed him in the hospital, long-serving Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell made his public return to Capitol Hill on Monday, marking the first day of the chamber’s reconvening after a five-week recess. The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican, who has held his Senate seat for 41 years and stands as the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, stepped back to his duties just as lawmakers enter a critical final stretch of legislative work ahead of November’s midterm elections, contests that will redefine the partisan balance of power in Congress. McConnell is not seeking re-election, and his current term is set to expire in January.

    In comments to reporters ahead of casting a vote on a judicial nomination, McConnell acknowledged that his road to recovery has been far from straightforward, complicated by lingering effects of childhood polio that he has lived with for decades. “My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier,” McConnell said. “I’m still not quite back to 100%,” he added, noting that he “will do my best to be present for tough votes.” In his concluding statement, McConnell expressed his eagerness to resume regular work on behalf of his constituents back in Kentucky: “I’m glad to get back to more of business as usual on their [fellow Kentuckians’] behalf this month.”

    Footage captured of McConnell leaving his Washington D.C. residence showed the veteran lawmaker being assisted into a vehicle via wheelchair, though he appeared on the Senate floor just a short time later, where he was greeted by colleagues from both sides of the aisle. McConnell’s last recorded vote dated back to June 11, and as questions about his whereabouts grew over the following weeks, his office finally released a statement a month after the incident clarifying that he had fallen at his home on June 14 and been hospitalized to treat mild pneumonia that developed after the accident.

    McConnell’s extended absence sparked widespread political speculation about the state of his health, with Senate Democrats formally calling for greater transparency around the leader’s medical condition. This is not the first time public concerns have been raised about McConnell’s health in recent years: he suffered minor injuries from a fall in 2024, and a year prior, another fall left him with a concussion that required another hospital stay. In 2023, a public press conference appearance where McConnell froze mid-speech and stared blankly into space for an extended period also fueled widespread questions about his mental acuity.

    As Congress gets back to work, McConnell’s return brings a degree of stability to Senate Republican proceedings as the party fights to hold or expand its majority in the upcoming elections. With McConnell set to retire at the end of his term, the race to pick his successor as the top Republican in the Senate is already underway, though attention this month remains focused on the legislative agenda that will shape both parties’ closing arguments to voters ahead of November.

  • I got paid $5,000 to move to a place I’d never heard of

    I got paid $5,000 to move to a place I’d never heard of

    Across the United States, a growing shift in where Americans choose to live is reshaping small and mid-sized communities, driven by skyrocketing living costs in major urban centers and the widespread normalization of remote work post-pandemic. For many households, the dream of stable homeownership and financial breathing room has become unobtainable in large coastal cities – pushing thousands to pack their belongings and head for smaller, lower-cost towns that are rolling out the welcome mat with tangible financial incentives.
    Brianna Beyrouti, a single mother working remotely for a national bank, embodies this growing trend. Just one year ago, she was trapped in a cycle of paycheck-to-paycheck living in Portland, Oregon, one of the country’s most expensive major metro areas. “I was absolutely financially drowning,” Beyrouti recalled. “Even a small unexpected expense, like new shoes for the kids, would send my budget into chaos. As a single parent, every financial burden falls solely on my shoulders.”
    Last year, Beyrouti took advantage of a population growth incentive program and moved 2,000 miles east with her two children to Muncie, Indiana – a quiet small city of 65,000 residents, home to a state university and abundant open green space. The program covered $5,000 of her relocation costs, a boost that made the cross-country move feasible. What followed was a life-changing shift in her financial stability: Beyrouti kept her existing position with the bank, meaning her $107,000 annual salary stayed the same – but her cost of living plummeted.
    In Portland, Beyrouti paid $1,290 a month for a small rental apartment. In Muncie, she purchased her first detached family home, where the combined monthly cost of her mortgage, property insurance, and property taxes comes out to just $1,100. When factoring in Indiana’s lower state income tax, reduced car insurance premiums, and cheaper energy bills, Beyrouti now saves roughly $600 every month. This newfound financial flexibility has allowed her to say “yes” to her children’s requests that were once out of reach – including the first family vacation her youngest child has ever taken. “My quality of life has increased dramatically,” she said. “I’m actually able to enjoy life now, not just scrape by.”
    Beyrouti is far from the only American making this kind of move. A 2025 analysis from the National Association of Realtors confirms that housing affordability is now the top motivating factor for Americans relocating across state lines. Major population centers including New York City, Los Angeles, and Portland have all recorded sustained population dips in recent years, a trend accelerated by the post-Covid-19 rise in permanent remote work that eliminates the need for workers to live close to corporate office hubs.
    For many small towns that have struggled with decades of population decline, this shift presents a rare opportunity to reverse years of outmigration. Muncie, for example, saw its population climb to 65,466 last year, up from 65,194 in 2020 – though it remains well below its 1990 peak of 71,828. To attract new remote-working residents from out of state, Muncie’s city council partnered with MakeMyMove, a national platform that connects workers with relocation incentive programs across hundreds of small US communities, to offer $5,000 in cash for moving costs. Participating communities pay MakeMyMove a subscription fee to list their programs, and many add extra perks to stand out, from complimentary local cinema tickets and restaurant gift cards to free bottles of regional wine.
    So far, roughly 100 families have relocated to Muncie through the MakeMyMove program, and the platform reports it helped 1,000 people relocate across the country last year, with projections to hit 1,500 relocations in 2026. Another participant, scientist Elena Chrysostomou, made a similar move in 2024, leaving the expensive coastal city of San Diego, California, for Jacksonville, a rural Illinois town of just 17,700 people. The Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation offered her $5,000 in cash plus an additional $4,000 quality-of-life package that includes free gym memberships and local golf course access.
    Like Beyrouti, Chrysostomou experienced an immediate transformation in her financial outlook. In San Diego, she paid $3,000 a month to rent a small one-bedroom apartment. In Jacksonville, she now owns a three-bedroom home with a monthly mortgage of just $1,868. She also secured a new job in her field with a 22% pay raise, and her commute shrank from 15 minutes by car to just one minute. “I never thought I’d be able to afford a house on my own,” Chrysostomou said. “I always assumed I’d need a partner to qualify, and even then it would have been nearly impossible in San Diego. This move has given me so much more freedom, security, and independence.”
    While both women say they have no regrets about their relocations, they acknowledge the tradeoffs that come with moving from a major metro area to a small town. Drawbacks include a far narrower range of entertainment and dining options, the emotional weight of leaving friends and family behind, and practical hurdles like helping children adjust to new schools – a challenge Beyrouti encountered in her first months in Muncie. Unlike in Portland, where Beyrouti could walk to neighborhood parks and grocery stores, she now relies on her car for every trip off her property.
    Even with these adjustments, both women say the benefits far outweigh the downsides. For thousands of other Americans grappling with unaffordable housing and stagnant wages in big cities, their stories highlight a growing path to financial stability that has only become possible through the combination of remote work and proactive small-town recruitment policies.

  • Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Trump say Putin ally paid for some wedding festivities as a ‘gift’

    Donald Trump Jr and Bettina Trump say Putin ally paid for some wedding festivities as a ‘gift’

    A new ethics controversy has emerged surrounding former U.S. President Donald Trump’s family, after Donald Trump Jr.’s wife Bettina publicly confirmed that a Kremlin-linked Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin covered a portion of the couple’s lavish 2026 wedding celebrations. The confirmation follows an investigative exposé published by independent watchdog outlet ProPublica earlier this month, which first detailed that Umar Kremlev, head of the International Boxing Association (IBA) and a key ally of the Russian president, contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the high-end Bahamian wedding festivities.

    In a joint Instagram statement posted Monday, Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina acknowledged Kremlev’s financial support, framing the contribution as an extravagant personal gift from a close friend. “Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us after our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” the couple wrote. Photos of the couple released last week show the pair disembarking from Air Force One during an official visit to Ireland on September 12, just days before the controversy came to light.

    According to ProPublica’s investigation, the couple exchanged vows on a private Bahamian island before moving the three-day celebration to a second exclusive island venue that costs roughly $100,000 per night to rent. Kremlev covered the full cost of two nights at this venue, in addition to a $70,000 private fireworks display for the event. Kremlev, who has longstanding close ties to the Kremlin, received the Order of Friendship — one of Russia’s highest state honors — from Putin personally, and earlier this year joined the Russian president on an official delegation visit to China. He leads the IBA, which was suspended by the International Olympic Committee in part over the organization’s refusal to cut financial ties with Gazprom, Russia’s state-backed energy giant that provides core funding for the boxing body.

    As Donald Trump Jr. is currently a private citizen and holds no official position in the U.S. government, accepting financial gifts from foreign nationals is not a violation of U.S. law. Even so, government ethics watchdog groups have warned that the arrangement creates a clear public perception of conflicts of interest, given the recipient’s status as the eldest son of a sitting U.S. president and the leading 2026 presidential candidate from the Republican Party.

    Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonpartisan ethics watchdog, argued that the lavish gift comes with implied strings attached. “People don’t just give hundreds of thousands of dollars to a random acquaintance without wanting something,” Libowitz said. “You can see how [Putin] would enjoy all this press about how people in his circle are cozying up to people in the president’s circle.”

    Libowitz added that both the former president — a billionaire whose net worth runs into the billions — and Donald Trump Jr., who Forbes estimates has a personal net worth of roughly $300 million, could easily have covered the full cost of the wedding to avoid ethical concerns. “His father is worth billions he could have picked up the tab. Clearly they just didn’t want to pay for it,” Libowitz said. “They don’t really care about the ethical ramifications.”

    Representatives for Donald Trump Jr. have pushed back on the ethics concerns, emphasizing that the pair share only a personal friendship and have no formal business ties. A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. confirmed the friendship to ProPublica, and an ally of the president’s son directed the BBC to the couple’s Instagram statement. Kremlev’s office also issued a confirmation of the friendly relationship to the outlet, noting that the pair first met several years ago, and Kremlev attended a portion of the wedding celebrations.

    High-profile attendees at the wedding also included Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump’s daughter, and her husband Jared Kushner, who served as a senior White House advisor during Trump’s first presidential term and led U.S. diplomatic negotiations with Iran, Russia and parties in the Middle East. This controversy marks a new chapter in longstanding scrutiny of Trump family ties to Russian interests: during the 2016 presidential election, the Trump campaign faced widespread controversy over potential improper connections to Russia, which led to a multi-year special counsel investigation. During that probe, particular scrutiny focused on a pre-election meeting Donald Trump Jr. arranged at Trump Tower with a Russian national offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

  • Legendary costume designer Bob Mackie dies aged 87

    Legendary costume designer Bob Mackie dies aged 87

    Legendary American fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie, whose glittering, boundary-pushing creations dressed some of the biggest names in entertainment from Cher to Elton John, has passed away at the age of 87.

    The official confirmation of his death came via a statement posted to his Instagram account on Monday, which read: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr Bob Mackie passed away today. He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”

    Widely nicknamed the “Sultan of Sequins” for his signature love of sparkling, embellished designs, Mackie carved out an unparalleled career spanning more than six decades, earning a Tony Award, nine Emmy Awards, and three Academy Award nominations for his work across stage and screen. Even in his final years, he remained active in the industry: last year, Sabrina Carpenter wore one of his custom designs to the MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2024, Miley Cyrus stepped out in a Mackie creation for her Grammy Awards performance, where she took home the award for Record of the Year for her hit single *Flowers*.

    One of Mackie’s most iconic contributions to fashion history came from his decades-long collaboration with superstar Cher, which reshaped public perceptions of bold fashion on red carpets and television. His most famous work for the singer remains the groundbreaking Mohawk-inspired ensemble Cher wore to the 1986 Academy Awards, a piece widely known as her “revenge outfit”. Cher had been widely expected to earn an Oscar nomination for her leading role in *Mask* that year, but was snubbed by voters. In the 2024 documentary *Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion*, Cher explained that the striking look was intentional: “I didn’t get nominated for a movie that everyone thought I would actually win for [Mask] – so was dressing that night for a kind of revenge.”

    The showgirl-inspired costume featured a towering plumed Mohawk headdress and left the star’s midriff completely exposed, a choice that shocked audiences and critics alike in the 1980s. The look has since been cemented in pop culture and fashion history as one of the most daring, extravagant red carpet designs of all time. In a 2010 interview with the BBC, Mackie reflected on his early work with Cher, noting that she stood out from every other performer in the industry at the time: “Everybody just went crazy over this woman as she could wear anything.” Mackie’s designs also helped Cher make television history, when she became the first woman to show her belly button on U.S. broadcast television.

    Beyond his work with Cher, Mackie created some of the most recognizable stage costumes for music’s biggest stars. One of his most famous creations is the bedazzled Los Angeles Dodgers uniform Elton John wore for his historic 1975 performances at Dodger Stadium, a look that remains one of the singer’s most iconic. Following news of Mackie’s death, Elton John paid tribute to the designer in an Instagram post, writing: “Every time I put something on that Bob made, I felt very, very special. His costumes were works of art, and he will go down as one of the most legendary designers ever in Hollywood.”

    Pop singer Pink, who wore multiple Mackie designs throughout her career including the entire wardrobe for her 2009 Funhouse tour, also shared a heartfelt tribute. “I was so lucky to be dressed by him for so long. He was loving, wickedly funny and an absolute genius,” she wrote, adding a playful, fitting tribute: “There are going to be some fabulously dressed angels.”

    Born Robert Gordon Mackie in Monterey Park, California in 1939, Mackie got his start in the industry as a sketch artist for prominent French-American costume designer Jean Louis. One of his earliest career assignments saw him sketch the iconic sheer nude dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang her legendary rendition of *Happy Birthday, Mr. President* to John F. Kennedy in 1962.

    In his personal life, Mackie married Hollywood singer and actress Lulu Porter in 1960, and the pair welcomed a son, Robin, before divorcing three years later. Robin passed away from an AIDS-related illness in his early 30s. From 1963 until his partner Ray Aghayan’s death in 2011, Mackie shared his life and work with Iranian fashion designer Aghayan. In a 2018 interview with *The Guardian*, the designer, then 79, joked that he was the oldest active working designer in Hollywood. When asked if he ever planned to retire, he gave a simple, firm answer: “I hope not.”

  • Don Jr.’s wedding secretly bankrolled by oligarch close to Putin

    Don Jr.’s wedding secretly bankrolled by oligarch close to Putin

    An explosive new investigation from Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom ProPublica has uncovered that a Kremlin-linked Russian oligarch secretly covered hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for Donald Trump Jr.’s 2026 Bahamas wedding, a revelation that has sent shockwaves through U.S. national security circles and reignited longstanding concerns about Russian efforts to infiltrate former President Donald Trump’s inner circle.

    The three-day wedding celebration, held across two ultra-exclusive private Bahamas islands famous for appearing in *Pirates of the Caribbean* and *Casino Royale*, wrapped on May 24. The lavish event featured scantily clad themed dancers, a five-tier funfetti cake airlifted from Florida, fireworks launched from a offshore barge, oceanfront villa accommodations for 50 guests, a beachside DJ set, beer pong tournaments, and spearfishing excursions for attendees. Trump Jr.’s bride, socialite Bettina Anderson, wore a bespoke silk reception gown that took a London-based fashion house 150 hours to embroider, while the groom underwent cosmetic jaw contouring ahead of the ceremony. In a post-wedding Instagram post, Anderson called the event “everything we dreamed of and more.” What guests and the public did not know at the time was that most of the event’s largest costs were covered by Umar Kremlev, a 43-year-old Russian tycoon with deep ties to President Vladimir Putin.

    Based on financial records reviewed by ProPublica and interviews with three individuals with direct knowledge of the wedding arrangements, Kremlev footed the bill for the rental of the second private island where the main reception and guest accommodations were located, a property that rents for roughly $100,000 per night. He also covered the cost of the $70,000 fireworks display, and his team assisted with core event planning. All payments were processed through IB Challenger, an IBA-affiliated financial entity registered in Dubai, where Kremlev relocated most of the International Boxing Association’s operations in 2022 amid growing Western sanctions on Russia.

    Kremlev, who currently serves as president of the IBA, the global governing body for amateur boxing, has longstanding close ties to the Kremlin. A background check of his career reveals a rapid rise to wealth and power that aligns perfectly with his connections to Putin’s inner circle. Born Umar Lutfulloyev with a prior criminal record for extortion and battery, he changed his name to Kremlev in 2010 and joined the Night Wolves, a Russian government-backed biker gang with deep ties to the Kremlin. His connection to Alexei Rubezhnoi, the current head of Putin’s presidential security detail, helped him seize control of the Russian Boxing Federation in 2017, and he rose to lead the IBA in 2020. At the time, the organization was on the brink of collapse, and Kremlev injected tens of millions of dollars in funding from Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom to keep it afloat. Former senior IBA officials have confirmed that Kremlev openly uses the organization as a tool of Russian soft power to advance Putin’s geopolitical goals.

    Through the Kremlin’s patronage, Kremlev has amassed a massive personal fortune, holding dominant positions in Russia’s sports betting industry, national lottery, and the country’s largest car dealership network, which was nationalized and transferred to him in 2023. He has already been sanctioned by Ukraine over his ties to Putin’s security services and his links to an organization accused of abducting children from occupied Ukrainian territories, allegations he has not publicly refuted. In 2023, the International Olympic Committee stripped the IBA of its rights to organize Olympic boxing over persistent governance failures and a refusal to disclose its funding sources, a move that left Kremlev eager to court Western political allies to reverse the decision.

    Kremlev’s presence at the wedding reception, alongside a large contingent of Russian associates that included a senior executive at a Russian defense contractor and Kremlev’s top IBA deputy, left many American attendees confused. Multiple guests noted that the Russian group often stood apart from other attendees and conversed only in Russian. Notably, Kremlev and his associates are entirely absent from the hundreds of wedding photos and videos shared publicly by the Trump family, with only the top of Kremlev’s head visible in the background of one candid group photo. Trump Jr. later described the wedding on his podcast as a small, intimate gathering of only close friends, saying he intentionally kept the guest list tight.

    The news that Kremlev covered the bulk of the wedding’s costs has drawn sharp condemnation from U.S. national security experts, who warn that the arrangement creates a massive counterintelligence risk, especially given Trump Jr.’s role as one of his father’s most senior and trusted political advisors. As a key figure in the current Trump political movement, Trump Jr. has played a central role in vetting second-term Cabinet picks and was publicly credited by Vice President JD Vance as critical to his selection as vice presidential nominee.

    “If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something,” explained Frank Montoya Jr., a retired senior FBI counterintelligence official. “Oligarchs like Kremlev almost always act in coordination with the Russian government. This should be unthinkable for the son of a U.S. president. End of story.”

    Holden Triplett, who served as White House counterintelligence director on the National Security Council during Trump’s first term and previously worked for the FBI in Moscow, noted that Russian intelligence has long used financial gifts to cultivate connections with the family members of senior U.S. political leaders. “Money is a tried-and-true method to gain access,” Triplett noted.

    In response to ProPublica’s questions, a spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. did not deny that Kremlev covered the wedding costs. The spokesperson confirmed that the two men are personal friends who met through a mutual acquaintance in the hunting community and bonded over their shared love of boxing and outdoor activities, adding that the pair have no formal business relationship. Kremlev’s press office echoed that framing, saying the pair have maintained a friendly relationship for a couple of years, and that Kremlev has never discussed political matters with Trump Jr. The press office described Kremlev as a businessman and philanthropist, but declined to comment directly on the payments from the Dubai-based IBA entity.

    Jared Kushner, Trump Jr.’s brother-in-law and a senior advisor to former President Trump who has led U.S. negotiations with Russia over Ukraine, did not respond to requests for comment. The White House and the Russian government also declined to issue any comment on the revelations.

    The disclosure of Kremlev’s secret payment is not the first sign of budding collaboration between the pair. In September 2025, Kremlev invited Trump Jr. to speak on a panel at an IBA event in Istanbul, where Trump Jr. spoke out against transgender women participating in women’s sports and shared the stage with Kremlev and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. After the event, the IBA released a statement hinting at deeper future collaboration, saying “this alliance will not remain symbolic. More joint initiatives will follow.” Kremlev also sent an open letter to former President Trump after his 2025 inauguration, asking the White House to investigate the IOC’s decision to strip the organization of its Olympic status and expressing optimism about working together to “make the Olympic movement great again.”

    This long-awaited revelation comes nearly a decade after the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, where Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian attorney expecting to receive damaging information on Hillary Clinton, a meeting that became the core focus of the Mueller investigation into Russian election interference. While the Mueller report concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Trump Jr., the new discovery of a secret financial gift from a Kremlin-linked oligarch will almost certainly reignite scrutiny of the Trump family’s longstanding ties to Russian interests.

  • US scraps limits on emissions from coal and gas power plants

    US scraps limits on emissions from coal and gas power plants

    In a high-stakes move that upends years of U.S. climate policy progress, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin has formally announced the elimination of key pollution regulations targeting coal and natural gas power plants, rolling back signature climate and public health measures put in place during the Biden administration.

    Zeldin defended the decision, arguing that the existing rules unfairly targeted American power generation facilities, even as he claimed U.S. energy production is already cleaner than that of any other nation. The EPA claims that repealing the bulk of the Biden-era regulations will unlock $310 billion in economic savings and push down consumer energy costs across the board. In its official statement, the agency contends that the Biden-era rules overstepped its regulatory authority by mandating unproven emissions control technologies that effectively forced premature plant retirements, rather than setting achievable performance standards.

    Beyond the core power plant emission rules, the EPA is also moving to eliminate all remaining greenhouse gas regulatory frameworks governing the U.S. power sector. Zeldin first proposed the changes last year, framing them as a measure to protect affordable, reliable energy access for households and industries alike, reducing costs for everything from home heating and transportation to agricultural production and manufacturing, while strengthening U.S. national energy security.

    Critics have soundly rejected the EPA’s justification, warning that the rollback carries severe risks for public health and will derail progress toward U.S. carbon emission reduction targets. The Biden-era rules were designed to cut carbon pollution across power plants, vehicles, and industrial facilities, and independent projections estimated the regulations would prevent 4,500 premature deaths annually from pollution-related illness. The EPA dismissed these concerns Monday, arguing that potential public health harms are too uncertain and disconnected to be specifically linked to the U.S. power sector.

    Nathaniel Keohane, president of the independent non-profit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, called the rollback “a giant step backward” for U.S. climate action. “In repealing carbon pollution standards for power plants, EPA has ignored sound science and economics and abdicated its responsibility to protect public health and welfare,” Keohane said in a statement responding to the announcement.

    Scientific data and global climate bodies back up critics’ core concerns: the United Nations confirms that fossil fuels including coal and gas are the single largest driver of human-caused global climate change. As the world’s second-largest emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases, trailing only China, the U.S. sees roughly 25% of its total annual emissions come from the power sector – around 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, a total that exceeds the entire national emissions of all but a handful of countries worldwide.

    U.S. power sector emissions have trended downward for two decades amid declining coal use, with only a small uptick recorded last year. But the rollback aligns with long-standing policy goals of the Trump administration, which has consistently pushed for a revival of the U.S. coal industry and repeatedly criticized renewable energy sources including wind and solar.

    The full long-term impact of the decision on U.S. emissions and global climate action remains uncertain. Many energy researchers cast doubt on the prospect of a large-scale coal resurgence, pointing to the dramatic cost declines for clean energy technologies such as solar power over the past decade that have made renewables far more economically competitive than fossil fuels. Previous independent analysis from the Rhodium Group found that rolling back U.S. climate regulations would slow national emissions cuts, but would not reverse the overall downward trend entirely.

    Monday’s announcement is not the first time the current Trump administration has rolled back climate action. In February, the EPA reversed a landmark scientific finding from the Obama era that formally classified greenhouse gases as a threat to public health – a decision that is currently being challenged in court by multiple U.S. states and local governments. The rollback also follows a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that stripped the EPA of much of its authority to regulate cross-state greenhouse gas emissions, after the court sided with 19 states and major coal industry groups that argued the agency had overstepped its regulatory mandate.

  • Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour after ‘Free Palestine’ speech

    Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour after ‘Free Palestine’ speech

    A major controversy has roiled the live music industry after prominent American rapper Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from his opening act slot on Ed Sheeran’s North American *+–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour* (branded the Loop Tour by sources) following public pro-Palestinian remarks he made during two opening sets earlier this month. The fallout has pulled in other high-profile artists and reignited fierce global debates over artistic expression, political speech in entertainment venues, and the conflation of anti-Israel criticism with antisemitism.

    Macklemore, a longstanding public advocate for Palestinian rights, first made his remarks during a September 4 stop at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where he addressed the packed crowd alongside headliner Sheeran. “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” he told attendees. He followed the statement with a performance of his track *Hind’s Hall*, a song that condemns Israeli military operations in Gaza, paired with on-screen video footage of widespread destruction in the besieged enclave.

    The performance immediately drew fierce backlash from pro-Israel advocacy groups. New York-based campaign organization StopAntisemitism accused the rapper of ambushing unsuspecting fans, arguing that attendees had purchased tickets to see Sheeran perform, not be subjected to what the group called “anti-Israel propaganda.” Undeterred, Macklemore doubled down on his remarks during the following night’s show at the same venue, directly addressing Jewish audience members: “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you,” he said, adding that he wanted to ensure Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank knew they had not been forgotten by the global public.

    The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of the ongoing 11-month conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began after a Hamas-led cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed approximately 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Israel launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza in response, and Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health, whose casualty figures are widely deemed reliable by the United Nations, reports that more than 73,780 Palestinians have been killed in the operation to date. Israel rejects accusations of genocide, stating its military actions are carried out in self-defense and in compliance with international law.

    As pressure mounted, the Israeli-American Council launched a public petition urging Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the tour lineup, arguing that a commercial headlining concert was not an appropriate venue for political activism, and accusing the rapper of spreading “biased messaging and disputed claims.” In a lengthy, nearly 1,000-word statement posted to Instagram September 15, Macklemore confirmed he had been cut from the tour after a week of what he called “difficult conversations” with his long-time friend Sheeran that ended in “a place of fundamental disagreement.”

    Tour promoter Messina Touring Group told *Rolling Stone* that the decision came after multiple venues on the tour stated they would not allow Macklemore to take the stage, a refusal that would have forced full tour cancellations and disrupted plans for hundreds of thousands of ticket holders. Macklemore, who noted he and Sheeran have been close friends for 13 years, said he empathizes with the difficult position the headliner was placed in, but criticized Sheeran for declining to take a public stance on the issue.

    “Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed,” he wrote in his statement. Addressing repeated accusations of antisemitism leveled against him, Macklemore argued that bad-faith accusations of antisemitism have become a tool to silence criticism of Israeli policy. “When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying ‘Free Palestine’ gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability,” he added. Despite his early removal, Macklemore framed the brief two-show run as a success: “If my words succeeded in turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”

    The controversy has since expanded to draw in another Grammy-winning artist: American singer Pink, who is Jewish, faced widespread online backlash after she reposted content criticizing Macklemore’s actions. Critics attacked Pink across a range of personal and professional issues, from her parenting choices to decades-old comments about fellow female pop stars Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. Pink later released a public statement clarifying her position, noting she does not speak on behalf of the Israeli government or any other state. She argued that Macklemore had no right to dismiss Jewish fans’ discomfort with his on-stage political messaging, which included graphic footage of war violence displayed to a crowd of casual concertgoers: “You don’t get to decide that for us,” she wrote. Pink also referenced a past controversy involving Macklemore, when in 2014 he apologized for wearing a costume featuring a large hooked nose and black beard, an outfit widely condemned as an antisemitic caricature. Sheeran has not yet issued any public comment on the situation, and it remains unclear which artist will replace Macklemore for the remaining dates of the tour.

  • Immigrants held in small outdoor cages at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida, investigators find

    Immigrants held in small outdoor cages at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida, investigators find

    A damning new report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s independent Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has pulled back the curtain on abusive and substandard conditions at Florida’s now-closed controversial immigrant detention site dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” confirming widespread violations of basic hygiene, safety and humane treatment standards.

    Constructed in just eight days back in 2025 along Florida’s protected Everglades wetlands — a region infamous for its large population of wild alligators — the facility was launched via executive order from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, with federal taxpayer funds covering all operational costs. Though the site was framed as a temporary overflow facility for migrant detention, it quickly gained national notoriety for its harsh conditions, even drawing a quip from former President Donald Trump, who toured the site in July 2025, that detained immigrants would need to “learn how to run away” from the area’s native alligators. Civil rights organizations immediately condemned the facility as fundamentally inhumane from its opening, and DeSantis announced its permanent closure in June 2026, reiterating that it was always intended to be a temporary operation.

    The OIG, an independent oversight body within DHS whose current leader was appointed by Trump during his first presidential term, carried out an unannounced inspection of the site in January 2026, months before its closure. Its investigation uncovered a pattern of dangerous and noncompliant operations that deviate sharply from national detention standards.

    One of the most alarming findings centers on the facility’s use of tiny 18-square-foot outdoor metal cages, which site administrators labeled “calming areas” for de-escalation and private time. Between the facility’s opening in July 2025 and the OIG inspection in January 2026, a total of 79 detained immigrants were held in these enclosures for periods ranging from a few minutes to nearly two hours, with at least one detention used as a disciplinary punishment. The OIG concluded that the use of such restrictive small cages is “unprecedented among detention facilities” across the United States, and explicitly dangerous. “The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment,” the report reads.

    Beyond the improper use of metal cages, the inspection confirmed multiple failures to meet basic standards for healthcare, hygiene, food, safety and adequate living space. Detainees previously told the BBC they were denied necessary prescription medication and access to regular hygiene services, claims the OIG investigation validated. Inspectors documented that detainees were only permitted to shower three times per week, and shower facilities were heavily infested with small insects. Detainees also reported, and inspectors confirmed, a lack of access to reliably clean drinking water, with no way to properly sanitize the plastic drinking cups provided to them. The facility also failed to meet minimum space requirements, leaving detainees held in cramped housing units where they spent the vast majority of their time with no room to move.

    In its official response included in the OIG report, DHS pushed blame for the facility’s operations onto Florida state officials, noting that state authorities held full control over day-to-day management of the site, even as the federal government covered operating costs. The BBC has reached out to DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Governor DeSantis for additional comment on the report’s findings, and has not yet received responses.