Foreign

Trump Mulls Pardon for US Capitol Rioters, Vows to End Birthright Citizenship

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President-elect Donald Trump has said he will look at pardons for those involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot on his first day back in office next month.

“These people are living in hell,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press in his first broadcast network interview since winning November’s election.

The Republican also vowed to end automatic citizenship for anyone born in the country, but offered to work with Democrats to help some undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children.

In the wide-ranging sit-down, which was recorded on Friday, Trump promised to issue “a lot” of executive orders, including on immigration, energy and the economy, after he is inaugurated on 20 January.

While he suggested he would not seek a justice department investigation into Joe Biden, he said that some of his political adversaries, including lawmakers who investigated the Capitol riot, should be jailed.

Trump was asked whether he would seek to pardon the hundreds of people convicted of involvement in that riot, when supporters of his stormed Congress three months after his defeat in the 2020 election.

“We’re going to look at independent cases,” he said. “Yeah, but I’m going to be acting very quickly.”

“First day,” he added.

Trump continued: “You know, by the way, they’ve been in there for years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”

The president-elect made other news in the NBC interview aired on Sunday:

  • He offered a caveat on whether he would keep the US in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato): “If they’re paying their bills, and if I think they’re doing a fair – they’re treating us fairly, the answer is absolutely, I’d stay with Nato”
  • Trump said he would not seek to impose restrictions on abortion pills, though when asked to make a guarantee, he added: “Well, I commit. I mean…things change”
  • The Republican said Ukraine should “probably” expect less aid when he returns to the White House
  • Trump said he thinks “somebody has to find out” if there is a link between autism and childhood vaccines – an idea that has been ruled out by multiple studies around the world. Trump suggested his nominee for health secretary, vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr, would look into the matter
  • The president-elect repeated his promise that he will not seek to cut Social Security, nor raise its eligibility age, though he said he would make it “more efficient”, without offering further details
  • Pressed on whether his plan to impose tariffs on imports from major US trading partners would raise consumer prices for Americans, he said: “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow”

On the subject of immigration, Trump told NBC he would seek through executive action to end so-called birthright citizenship, which entitles anyone born in the US to an American passport, even if their parents were born elsewhere.

Birthright citizenship stems from the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that “all persons born” in the United States “are citizens of the United States”.

“We’re going to have to get it changed,” Trump said. “We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.”

Trump also said he would follow through on his campaign pledge to deport undocumented immigrants, including those with family members who are US citizens.

“I don’t want to be breaking up families,” he said, “so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.”

Trump also said he wants to work with Congress to help so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were shielded under an Obama-era programme, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which Trump once attempted to scrap.

“I will work with the Democrats on a plan,” he said, adding that some of these immigrants have found good jobs and started businesses.

Trump seemed to offer mixed signals on whether he would follow through on his repeated vows to seek retribution against political adversaries.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden this week issued a sweeping pardon to his criminally convicted son, Hunter. The Democrat is reported to be considering other blanket pardons for political allies before he leaves office next month.

Trump seemed to indicate that he would not seek a special counsel investigation into Biden and his family, as he once vowed.

“I’m not looking to go back into the past,” he said. “I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success.”

But he also said that members of the now-defunct, Democratic-led House of Representatives committee that investigated him “should go to jail”.

One member of the panel, former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, hit back at Trump on Sunday.

She said his comment that members of the committee should be jailed was a “continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic”.

In his NBC interview Trump also said he would not direct the FBI to pursue investigations against his foes.

But he also told the network: “If they were crooked, if they did something wrong, if they have broken the law, probably.

“They went after me. You know, they went after me, and I did nothing wrong.”

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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US Plans to Send Patriot Missiles to Ukraine

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The Pentagon says it will “rush” Patriot air defence missiles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of its new military aid package.

However Patriot systems for launching the missiles will not be sent, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Patriots were “urgently” needed to face a growing Russian air threat and “can and should save lives right now”.

On Saturday, Ukraine said Russia had carried out another massive air attack.

Authorities in Kharkiv said a hospital was damaged. Energy facilities in three regions were attacked, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said.

Russia attacked with cruise missiles, S-300 surface-to-air missiles and Iskander ballistic missiles, Ukraine said, adding that 21 were downed using aircraft, air defence systems and jamming.

Ukraine claimed to have hit two Russian oil refineries across the border. Footage from one in the Russian region of Krasnodar appeared to have caused a large explosion, though local authorities denied significant damage.

Russian authorities said on Saturday they had shot down some 68 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.

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Iran Attack: US Restricts Travel for Employees in Israel  

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The United States has restricted travel for its employees in Israel amid fears of an attack by Iran.

The US embassy said staff had been told not to travel outside the greater Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Beersheba areas “out of an abundance of caution”.

Iran has vowed to retaliate, blaming Israel for a strike on its consulate in Syria 11 days ago, killing 13 people.

UK Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron has phoned his Iranian counterpart to urge against further escalation.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the consulate attack but is widely considered to have been behind it.

Iran backs Hamas, the armed Palestinian group fighting Israel in Gaza, as well as various proxy groups throughout the region, including some – such as Hezbollah in Lebanon – that frequently carry out strikes against the Israelis.

Those killed in the consulate attack included a senior commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, as well as other military figures.

The attack came at a time of continuing diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Gaza spreading across the region.

Speaking on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden warned Iran was threatening to launch a “significant attack” and vowed to offer “ironclad” support to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was ready to meet any security challenge, warning that Israel would harm any country that caused it harm.

“We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively,” he said.

The commander responsible for US operations in the Middle East, Erik Kurilla, has travelled to Israel for talks with officials on security threats.

The Pentagon said the visit had been scheduled previously but had been brought forward “due to recent developments”.

Following a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lord Cameron said he had “made clear that Iran must not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict”.

“I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence,” he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the foreign ministers of China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to argue that further escalation is not in anyone’s interest.

BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi

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Appeal Court Freezes Texas’ Controversial Immigration Laws

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A Federal Appeal Court has frozen Texas’s controversial immigration law, one of the toughest laws of its kind enacted by a US state in modern times.

Report says, the decision came just hours after the Supreme Court allowed the measure, SB4, to take effect pending an appeal.

The legislation would allow officials in Texas to detain and prosecute unauthorised migrants.

Mexico, which borders Texas, has said it will refuse to accept any migrants deported by its authorities.

Migrant arrivals at the southern US border have risen to record highs during President Joe Biden’s administration, making it a top concern among US voters ahead of November’s presidential election.

The SB4 law in Texas was due to come into effect on 5 March but the Biden government has challenged it, calling it unconstitutional.

The decision to freeze the law is the latest in a string of judicial rulings deciding its fate.

If it were to come back into effect, it would mark a significant shift in how immigration enforcement is handled, as courts have previously ruled that only the federal government can enforce the country’s immigration laws – not individual US states.

BBC/Taiwo Akinola

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Court Convicts Michigan School Killer Teen’s Father of Manslaughter

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The father of a Michigan school gunman who killed four students has been convicted of manslaughter.

The trial heard that James Crumbley, 47, had ignored his 15-year-old son’s mental health needs, buying him the handgun he used in the November 2021 attack.

The jury deliberated for just over a day before coming to the verdict.

Jennifer Crumbley, his wife, is due to be sentenced next month after being convicted on the same charges.

James Crumbley was in court on Thursday evening for the verdict and appeared to show little reaction as it was read out.

The case against the Crumbleys marks the first time parents have been charged with manslaughter over their child’s role in a shooting in the US.

Their son, Ethan, killed fellow students Tate Myre, 16; Hana St Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. Seven people were also injured in the shooting.

He is serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Steve and Ai St Juliana lost their 14-year-old daughter Hana, who they said was kind and always checked in on others

Steve St Juliana, Hana’s father, said on Thursday evening that the prosecution of the Crumbleys was “just the beginning steps” when it came to dealing with gun violence in the US.

“Our children are dying on a daily basis in mass murders and we do very little about this,” he added.

“We can put people on the Moon, we can build skyscrapers, huge monuments like the Hoover Dam and we can’t keep our kids safe in schools.”

In February he told the BBC that “every day without [Hana] is a struggle”.

“She was always laughing, always causing people to laugh,” he recalled.

Prosecutor Karen McDonald, speaking at a press conference with parents of the four victims, said the verdict “does not bring back their children but it does mark a moment of accountability”.

“These parents [the Crumbleys] could have prevented this tragedy with just the smallest of efforts,” she said.

Earlier this week in her closing arguments to the jury of six men and six women, Ms McDonald called the attack at the Oxford High School “preventable and foreseeable”.

She added that James Crumbley’s actions had been “rare and egregious”.

He did not take even the slightest measures to ensure his son was not a threat after giving him a semi-automatic pistol as a gift, said the prosecutor.

Prosecutors also said the Crumbleys had not done enough to address their son’s declining mental health.

On the morning of the shooting, the two parents cut short a school meeting about a disturbing drawing their son had made to go to work and had declined to take him home.

School officials sent him back to class without checking his backpack, which contained a gun.

When Crumbley heard about the shooting, he rushed home from his job as a DoorDash delivery driver, looking for the weapon, the trial heard.

Crumbley’s defence lawyer, Mariell Lehman, argued that “James had no idea that his son was having a hard time”.

Crumbley did not testify, unlike his wife, who took the stand during her trial and tried to blame her husband.

Jennifer Crumbley and her husband bought the 9mm Sig Sauer pistol their son used just days before the shooting.

Prosecutors said the Crumbleys had also failed to ensure the weapon was safely stored.

“Parents and gun owners have a responsibility to prevent children from accessing deadly weapons,” said Nick Suplina, with the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, in a statement, adding the verdict “further underscores this critical duty of responsible gun ownership”.

The Crumbleys were charged by police within days of the killings.

Initially, the parents were supposed to be tried together but in November sought separate trials.

Both are scheduled to be sentenced on 9 April. A count of manslaughter carries a penalty of up to 15 years.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Alexei Navalny: Biden Slams Over 500 New Sanctions on Russia

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The United States has announced more than 500 new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and the death in custody of the opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

The sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment and Russia’s war machine, President Joe Biden said.

Export restrictions will be imposed on nearly 100 firms or individuals.

It is unclear what impact the sanctions will have on Russia’s economy.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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China Condemns US Veto of Call for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

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China has sharply criticised the US for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Beijing said the move sent the “wrong message” and effectively gave a “green light to the continued slaughter”.

The White House said the Algerian-proposed resolution would “jeopardise” talks to end the war.

The US has proposed its own temporary ceasefire resolution, which also warned Israel not to invade the city of Rafah.

There has been widespread condemnation of the US decision to block Algeria’s resolution as fighting continued in Gaza. It was backed by 13 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council – with the UK abstaining.

In response to the veto, China’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun said the claim the motion would interfere with ongoing diplomatic negotiations was “totally untenable”.

“Given the situation on the ground, the continued passive avoidance on an immediate ceasefire is nothing different from giving a green light to the continued slaughter,” he said.

“The spill-over of the conflict is destabilising the entire Middle East region leading to rising risk of a wider war,” he added.

“Only by extinguishing the flames of war in Gaza can we prevent the fires of hell from engulfing the entire region.”

Algeria’s top UN diplomat declared that “unfortunately the Security Council failed once again”. “Examine your conscience, how will history judge you,” Amar Bendjama added.

US allies were also critical of the move. France’s UN envoy Nicolas de Rivière expressed regret that the resolution had not been adopted “given the disastrous situation on the ground”.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington’s ambassador to the UN, said it was not the right time to call for an immediate ceasefire while negotiations between Hamas and Israel were continuing.

Her UK counterpart, Barbara Woodward, said the plan could “actually make a ceasefire less likely” by endangering talks.

Israel launched its operations in Gaza following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage.

The Israeli military campaign has left more than 29,000 people dead in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

The draft resolution proposed by the US calls for a temporary ceasefire “as soon as practicable” and on the condition that all hostages are released, as well as urging barriers on aid reaching Gaza to be lifted.

The White House has previously avoided the word “ceasefire” during UN votes on the war, but it is unclear if or when the Security Council will vote on the proposal.

It also states a major ground offensive in Rafah would result in more harm to civilians and their further displacement, including potentially into neighbouring countries – a reference to Egypt.

But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was “committed to continuing the war until we achieve all of its goals” and no pressure could change it.

BBC/Adetutu Adetule

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Biden Kicks, Tells Special Counsel ‘My Memory is Fine’

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US President Joe Biden has hit back angrily at an investigation that found he mishandled top secret files and struggled to recall key life events.

“My memory is fine,” he insisted in a surprise news briefing.

He gave an emotional response to a claim that he could not recollect when his son died, saying: “How the hell dare he raise that?”

The inquiry found Mr Biden “wilfully retained and disclosed” classified files, but decided not to charge him.

Department of Justice Special Counsel, Robert Hur determined Mr Biden had improperly kept classified documents related to military and foreign policy in Afghanistan after serving as vice-president.

The scathing 345-page report, released earlier in the day, said the president’s memory had “significant limitations”.

Even as Mr Biden sought to rebut reporters’ questions about his age and mental acuity, he inadvertently referred to Egyptian leader Abdul Fattah al-Sisi as the “president of Mexico”.

Asked to comment on the latest in the Israel-Gaza war, he said: “I think as you know initially, the president of Mexico, Sisi, did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in.”

Mr Hur interviewed the 81-year-old president over five hours as part of the inquiry.

The special counsel, a Republican appointed to the role by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland, said Mr Biden could not recall when he was vice president (from 2009 to 2017), or “even within several years when his son Beau died” (2015).

At Thursday night’s news conference, an emotional Mr Biden lashed out at the passages casting doubt on his recollection of events.

“Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, was none of their damn business,” he said.

“I don’t need anyone to remind me when he [Beau Biden] passed away.”

BBC/Titilayo Kupoliyi

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US Kills Senior Commander of Iran-Backed Militia

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A senior commander of an Iran-backed militia has been killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad.

A leader of Kataib Hezbollah and two of his guards were in a vehicle when it was targeted in the east of the Iraqi capital. All three of them died.

The Pentagon said the commander was responsible for directing attacks on American forces in the region.

The US has linked the militia to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three US troops last month.

In the wake of that attack, Kataib Hezbollah said it was suspending attacks on American troops to prevent “embarrassment” to the Iraqi government.

Wednesday night’s drone raid happened in Baghdad’s Mashtal neighbourhood, sparking several loud explosions.

It was a precise strike on a moving vehicle in a busy street and the car was reduced to a fiery wreck.

One of the victims has been identified as Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a senior commander in Kataib Hezbollah.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the attack at 21:30 local time (18:30 GMT) had killed the “commander responsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces in the region”.

“There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time,” the Centcom statement said.

When a BBC team reached the scene, crowds of protesters gathered chanting: “America is the biggest devil.”

There was a heavy police presence, joined by Swat teams from Iraq’s interior ministry.

The BBC team tried to get close to the burnt-out vehicle but was driven back by onlookers who said journalists were not welcome.

“You are foreigners,” one man shouted, adding “and foreigners are to blame for this”.

The raid comes days after the US launched 85 strikes in the Iraq-Syria border area in retaliation for the fatal 28 January drone attack on American troops at a base in Jordan.

President Joe Biden described last Friday’s wave of attacks as just the beginning of the US response.

The drone raid in the Iraqi capital will be seen as a major escalation.

But it was perhaps inevitable that the American strategy would include targeting not only infrastructure used by the groups, but also their senior leaders.

Shortly after Wednesday’s attack, militias in the country called for retaliation against the US.

Harakat al Nujaba – another group blamed for attacks against American troops – released a statement promising a “targeted retaliation”, adding that “these crimes will not go unpunished,” according to AFP.

On 4 January, the US launched an airstrike in Baghdad that killed a senior leader of Harakat al Nujaba.

American forces have been hit with more than 165 rocket and drone strikes since the Israel Gaza war began on 7 October.

The US has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighbouring Syria in a mission to combat the Islamic State terror group, says the Pentagon.

The American military has also recently launched attacks against the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen, in response to attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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US Hits Houthis with More Strikes

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The US carried out further strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen on Sunday, US Central Command (Centcom) says.

Centcom said the US struck a land-attack cruise missile and four anti-ship missiles that “were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea”.

The latest action comes a day after joint US-UK strikes on Houthi targets.

The US has also warned that it intends to take further action against Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria.

On Friday, the US struck targets linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militias in Iraq and Syria, responding to the deaths of three US soldiers in a drone attack on a military base in Jordan on 28 January.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan told US media on Sunday there would be “more steps” to deter the militias.

Meanwhile US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East on a trip that will include stops in Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the West Bank.

Mr Sullivan said Mr Blinken’s “top priority” would be a deal between Israel and Hamas that sees hostages released in exchange for a pause in fighting in Gaza.

“We are going to press for it relentlessly” but the ball is in Hamas’s court, Mr Sullivan said.

Israel’s offensive against Hamas has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says. It was triggered by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,300 people.

The Houthis say they began attacking shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Hamas, forcing major shipping companies to avoid the waterway and hitting international trade.

Egypt has said its revenue from the Suez Canal plunged by almost half in January, with the number of ships travelling through the key trade artery last month down by more than a third.

Saturday’s joint US-UK strikes lit up the night sky in the south of Yemen’s capital city, Sana’a, with one human rights activist and local resident telling the BBC houses were shaking.

Houthi officials struck a defiant tone in response to the US-led strikes – and vowed to respond.

Reacting to Saturday’s strikes, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, wrote on X: “These attacks will not deter us from our moral, religious, and humanitarian stance in support of the resilient Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and will not go unanswered or unpunished.”

Earlier, the White House warned that its air strikes on Iran-backed targets in Iraq and Syria were just “the beginning, not the end” of its response to Iran.

Iran has denied any involvement in the deadly drone attack on the US base in Jordan. A group linked to Iran, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, has claimed responsibility.

But the US accuses Tehran of having its “fingerprints” on the attack and said the drone was Iranian-made.

In a letter to the US Congress on Sunday, President Joe Biden said the retaliatory strikes on Friday had targeted facilities used by Iran’s armed forces – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – and militia groups linked to the IRGC.

Iran’s IRGC is believed to have armed, funded and trained Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

Mr Biden said sites hit included those used for “command and control, weapons storage, training, logistics support, and other purposes”.

And he added that the strikes aimed to deter these groups from further attacks, and were taken in a way “to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties”.

He also said that he would “direct additional measures, including against the IRGC and IRGC-affiliated personnel and facilities, as appropriate”.

The American retaliation is also drawing growing condemnation from others in the region, including from the Iraqi and Syrian governments.

“No warning was given during the strike or the night of the strike,” Farhad Alaaldin, a senior adviser to Iraq’s prime minister, told the BBC’s Newshour programme about Friday’s strikes.

He added that the “issue of warning or no warning makes no difference to the fact of the matter that Iraq is a sovereign state”.

A crowd gathered in Baghdad on Sunday to mourn 17 militia members killed in the US air strikes.

The group chanted “America is the greatest devil” and held up pictures of the victims as they followed a fleet of ambulances carrying their bodies.

Oman’s foreign minister also spoke on Sunday to express his “grave concerns over the continuous escalation in the region”, in a statement shared with the Oman News Agency.

Badr Albusaidi questioned the effectiveness of US retaliatory attacks, noting that “such actions compromise the region’s safety, stability, and efforts to tackle challenges like violence and extremism”.

Washington believes the strikes have “had a good effect in degrading militia capabilities”, Mr Sullivan said on Sunday.

He said the US was not looking to wage an open-ended military campaign in the Middle East but “is prepared to deal with anything that any group comes” at them with.

He declined to say whether the US had ruled out strikes inside Iran.

Since the strikes in Iraq and Syria on Friday, there has been one attack on American forces, a US defence official told the BBC.

The attack in question targeted US forces based at Euphrates in Syria using rockets. The official said there were no injuries or damage.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Missile Attack on Al Asad Airbase Injures US Military Personnel

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A number of US military personnel have been injured in a missile attack on an airbase in western Iraq.

The US military’s Central Command said an Iran-backed militia targeted the Al Asad airbase, which hosts American troops, with ballistic missiles and rockets on Saturday evening.

An unspecified number of US personnel were “undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries”.

At least one Iraqi service member was wounded in the attack.

The strike against the base was claimed by a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. According to the US-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the group emerged in late 2023 and is comprised of several Iran-affiliated armed groups operating in Iraq.

It has claimed other attacks against US forces in recent weeks. And Al Asad base has been attacked repeatedly in recent years.

The US military said most of the missiles fired on Saturday were intercepted but some evaded air defences and hit the base, adding that an assessment of the damage is ongoing.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on US positions in Iraq and Syria by Iran’s proxies in the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza conflict last October.

The US military and allies have also intervened to stop Houthi missile attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

US forces carried out another airstrike on Saturday against the Houthis – an Iran-backed rebel group controlling much of western Yemen. The US military said it targeted a launch site, after identifying an anti-ship missile “that was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and prepared to launch”.

The Iranian military has carried out a number of missile strikes in recent days against targets in Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus which killed five senior members of Iran’s security forces.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Principal Who Saved Iowa Pupils from Gunman Dies

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A principal shot while protecting his pupils from a gunman at his Iowa school has died from his injuries.

Dan Marburger “acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way” as a student opened fire at Perry High School near Des Moines, officials said.

He tried to distract the gunman before being shot, giving students a chance to flee, according to his daughter.

His family announced on Sunday that “after 10 days, he lost his battle and this tragedy took his life”.

Six others suffered injuries and 11-year-old Ahmir Joliff was killed in the attack on 4 January. The sixth-grader was shot three times, authorities said.

Mr Marburger, who had been head of Perry High School since 1995, died at 08:00 local time on Sunday, his wife Elizabeth wrote on a GoFundMe page launched for his family.

“Although Dan is no longer fighting with us here, his family will continue to deal with the unfathomable for many days, weeks, and years to come.”

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said he would “forever be remembered for his selfless and heroic actions”.

She ordered flags across the state to fly at half-mast until sunset on the day of Mr Marburger’s funeral.

The shooting began at around 07:30 (13:30 GMT) on 4 January in the school cafeteria where pupils were eating breakfast, authorities said.

That is where Mr Marburger intervened and tried to “talk down” the suspect, identified as Dylan Butler.

“It is absolutely zero surprise to hear he tried to approach and talk Dylan down and distract him long enough for some students to get out of the cafeteria,” his daughter Clare wrote in a Facebook post. “That’s just dad.”

Butler, a 17-year-old student, was later found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

An Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman told the AP news agency he had a shotgun and handgun – as well as a “pretty rudimentary” explosive device among his belongings.

The incident took place less than two weeks before Monday’s Republican presidential caucuses in Iowa.

Shortly after the shooting, President Joe Biden was briefed and the White House contacted the Iowa governor’s office.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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US Downs Houthi Missile Fired Towards Warship

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The US military says it has shot down a missile fired towards one of its warships from a Houthi area of Yemen.

The anti-ship cruise missile fired towards the USS Laboon in the Red Sea was downed off the coast of Hudaydah by a US fighter aircraft.

No injuries or damage were reported in the incident on Sunday afternoon.

It comes after the US and UK launched strikes aimed at degrading the military capability of the Houthis, who have been attacking Red Sea cargo ships.

The US and UK hit nearly 30 locations in Yemen on Friday, reportedly including arms depots, logistical hubs and air defence systems.

The US followed up on Saturday with another strike on a Houthi radar site.

President Joe Biden has said he would not “hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary”.

Similarly, the UK says it is prepared to launch further action against the Houthis.

Prominent Houthi supporter, Hussain Al-Bukhaiti told the BBC on Sunday that fighters would target US and UK battleships if strikes on Yemen continued.

The Houthis are a political and military group in control of a large part of Yemen, including the capital. They are key allies of Hamas and are thought to receive weapons from Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy.

BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi

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‘Private Message’ to Iran Follows US Strikes on Houthis

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President Biden says the US has delivered a “private message” to Iran about the Houthis in Yemen after the US carried out a second strike on the group.

“We delivered it privately and we’re confident we’re well-prepared,” he said without giving further details.

The US said its latest strike was a “follow-on action” targeting radar.

Iran denies involvement in attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

However Tehran is suspected of supplying the Houthis with weapons, and the US says Iranian intelligence is critical to enabling them to target ships.

Joint UK-US airstrikes targeted nearly 30 Houthi positions in the early hours of Friday with the support of Western allies including Australia and Canada.

A day later, the US Central Command said it carried out its latest strike on a Houthi radar site in Yemen using Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain had “no choice” but to take military action against the Houthis in Yemen, in response to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Writing in the Telegraph, he said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had agreed to a request by the US to assist with the “limited and targeted” strikes.

A Houthi spokesman told Reuters the strikes had no significant impact on the group’s ability to affect shipping.

The Houthis are an armed group from a sub-sect of Yemen’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. Most Yemenis live in areas under Houthi control. As well as Sanaa and the north of Yemen, the Houthis control the Red Sea coastline.

The official Western government line is that the ongoing air strikes on Houthi targets are quite separate from the war in Gaza. They are “a necessary and proportionate response” to the unprovoked and unacceptable Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, they say.

In Yemen and the wider Arab world they are viewed rather differently.

There, they are seen as the US and UK joining in the Gaza war on the side of Israel, since the Houthis have declared their actions to be in solidarity with Hamas and the people of Gaza. One theory even says that “the West is doing Netanyahu’s bidding”.

It is still possible that these airstrikes will have a chilling effect on the Houthis. They will certainly degrade their capacity to attack ships in the short term.

But the longer these airstrikes persist, the greater the risk that the US and UK get sucked into another conflict in Yemen.

It has taken the Saudis more than eight years to extricate themselves from there after it intervened in the country’s civil war – and the Houthis are now more entrenched than ever.

About 15% of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, the US says. This includes 8% of global grain, 12% of seaborne oil and 8% of the world’s liquified natural gas.

The US says the group has so far attempted to attack and harass vessels in the Red Sea and the gulf of Aden 28 times.

Some major shipping companies have since ceased operations in the region, while insurance costs have risen 10 times since early December.

London and Washington have backed Israel following the 7 October attacks by Hamas in which about 1,300 people were killed and some 240 were taken hostage.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign of air strikes and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza have killed 23,843 Palestinians so far, according to the Hamas-run health ministry on Saturday, with thousands more believed dead under rubble.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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US, UK Hit Houthi Rebel Targets in Yemen

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US and UK forces have carried out air strikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen

Strikes are reported in the capital Sanaa, the Houthi Red Sea port of Hudaydah, Dhamar and the north-western Houthi stronghold of Saada

President Biden says the strikes are in response to attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis on ships in the Red Sea since November

The Houthis control much of Yemen and say they are supporting ally Hamas by targeting shipping headed to Israel

The Houthis’ deputy foreign minister warns US and UK will “pay a heavy price” for this “blatant aggression”

Royal Air Force warplanes helped carry out the “targeted strikes” against military facilities, says UK PM

PM Rishi Sunak adds that the strikes are “limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence”

The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided support as part of the mission, says Biden

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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US, UK Could Act against Houthi Rebels over Mass Attacks

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The US and UK have hinted they could take military action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels after they repelled the largest attack yet on Red Sea shipping.

Carrier-based jets and warships shot down 21 drones and missiles launched by the Iran-backed group on Tuesday night.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding an immediate end to the Houthi attacks.

The text endorsed the right of UN member states to defend their vessels. The Houthis reacted scornfully to it.

Their spokesman Mohammed Ali al-Houthi called the resolution a “political game”. They claim to be targeting Israeli-linked vessels, in protest at Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The UN resolution demanded “that the Houthis immediately cease all such attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security”. Eleven nations voted for it, but Russia, China, Mozambique and Algeria abstained.

Earlier, the US and several allies warned of “consequences” for the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Asked about potential strikes in Yemen, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Watch this space.”

The International Chamber of Shipping says 20% of the world’s container ships are now avoiding the Red Sea and using the much longer route around the southern tip of Africa instead.

The Houthis said they targeted a US ship on Tuesday providing support to Israel. It was the 26th attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since 19 November.

The US military said Iranian-designed one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at around 21:15 local time (18:15 GMT).

Eighteen drones, two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile were shot down by F/A-18 warplanes from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, which is deployed in the Red Sea, and by four destroyers, the USS Gravely, USS Laboon, USS Mason and HMS Diamond.

HMS Diamond shot down seven of the Houthi drones using its guns and Sea Viper missiles, each costing more than £1m ($1.3m), a defence source said.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Later, Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea confirmed its forces had carried out an operation involving “a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones”.

“It targeted a US ship that was providing support for the Zionist entity [Israel],” he said.

“The operation came as an initial response to the treacherous assault on our naval forces by the US enemy forces,” he added, referring to the sinking of three Houthi speed boats and killing of their crews by US Navy helicopters during an attempted attack on a container ship on 31 December.

He added that the rebels would “not hesitate to adequately deal with all hostile threats as part of the legitimate right to defend our country, people and nation”.

Mr Sarea also reiterated that the Houthis would continue to “prevent Israeli ships or ships heading towards occupied Palestine from navigating in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the [Israeli] aggression [on Gaza] has come to an end and the blockade has been lifted”.

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “very concerned” because of the risks the situation posed to global trade, the environment and lives, as well as the “risk of the escalation of the broader conflict in the Middle East”.

Mr Shapps warned on Wednesday that the UK and its allies had “previously made clear that these illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and if continued the Houthis will bear the consequences”.

“We will take the action needed to protect innocent lives and the global economy,” he added.

Later, the defence secretary said in a TV interview that Iran was “behind so much of the bad things happening in the region” and warned the Islamic Republic and the Houthis that there would be “consequences” if the attacks on shipping did not stop.

Asked if there could be Western military action against Houthi targets in Yemen, or even targets inside Iran, he replied: “I can’t go into details but can say the joint statement we issued set out a very clear path that if this doesn’t stop then action will be taken. So, I’m afraid the simplest thing to say [is] ‘watch this space’.”

He was referring to a statement put out a week ago by the UK, US, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore, who launched “Operation Prosperity Guardian” last month to protect Red Sea shipping.

They said the attacks posed “a direct threat to the freedom of navigation that serves as the bedrock of global trade in one of the world’s most critical waterways”.

It may not have had the bravado of Mr Shapps’ “watch this space” warning, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also clear in his condemnation of the incident.

Speaking to reporters at an airport in Bahrain during a Middle East tour, he was pressed by BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher about whether it was time that talk of consequences turned to US action.

Mr Blinken responded that he did not want to “telegraph” a US military move, but that he had spent the past four days in the region warning the Houthis to cease their aggression.

They have not only refused, but after this latest strike have claimed they are specifically targeting US ships.

Almost 15% of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, which is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez canal and is the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The fear is that fuel prices will rise and supply chains will be damaged.

The Houthis say they have been targeting Israeli-owned or Israel-bound vessels to show their support for the Iran-backed Palestinian group Hamas since the start of the war in Gaza in October.

Formally known as the Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), the Houthis began as a movement that championed Yemen’s Zaidi Shia Muslim minority.

In 2014, they took control of the capital, Sanaa, and seized large parts of western Yemen the following year, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in support of the international-recognised Yemeni government.

The ensuing war has reportedly killed more than 150,000 people and left 21 million others in need of humanitarian assistance.

Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of smuggling weapons, including drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, to the Houthis in violation of a UN arms embargo. Iran has denied the allegation.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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No Palestinian should be pressured to leave Gaza- Blinken Says

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Palestinians must not be pressured into leaving Gaza, and must be allowed to return to their homes on terms and conditions.

Report says, Mr Blinken condemned statements by some Israeli ministers, who called for the resettlement of Palestinians elsewhere.

The US official was in Qatar on his latest Middle East tour.

His comments come following reports that dozens of people were killed at a refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Footage from Jabalia shows bodies lying in the rubble of a destroyed building – many of them women and children.

The Israeli military has not yet responded to the reports.

More than 60 Palestinians have reportedly also been killed in the past day in the southern city of Khan Younis.

The Jabalia camp has been hit several times since Israel began its war against Hamas following the unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October.

Some 1,200 people were killed – most of them civilians – and about 240 others taken hostage in the Hamas raids.

More than 22,000 people – mostly women and children – have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. It has reported at least 113 deaths over 24 hours of Israeli bombardment.

“Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” Mr Blinken said on Sunday. “They cannot, they must not be pressed to leave Gaza.”

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Palestinians to leave Gaza and make way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom”.

And National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir this week issued a call “to encourage the migration of Gaza residents” as a “solution” to the crisis.

The official line from the Israeli government is that Gazans will eventually be able to return to their homes, though it is yet to outline how or when this will be possible.

Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Health officials said even medical facilities including hospitals are now unsafe.

Three international medical aid groups announced they were pulling out of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza after Israel issued evacuation orders.

A representative of the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme that they were “hugely concerned by this development”.

“What it means is that a hospital that was already over-crowded and overloaded and well beyond its capacity is now without absolutely critical reinforcement to support it as it deals with an ever-increasing number of casualties,” said Gemma Connell.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that, more than 600 patients and health workers were forced to leave the hospital, according to its director.

“Their locations are not currently known,” said Mr Tedros in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr Blinken’s latest trip to the Middle East comes amid rising tensions in the region, with concerns that the war in Gaza could spread.

Saleh al-Arouri, a top Hamas official, was assassinated in a suspected Israeli attack in southern Beirut on Tuesday along with six others – two Hamas military commanders and four other members.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed movement in Lebanon, described Arouri’s assassination as a “flagrant Israeli aggression” that would not go unpunished.

Hezbollah then fired rockets into Israel on Saturday as a “preliminary response” to the killing of Arouri.

BBC/Taiwo Akinola

Foreign

Presidential Race: US Supreme Court Decides Trump’s Fate

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The US Supreme Court has said it will hear a historic case to determine if Donald Trump can run for president.

The justices agreed to take up Mr Trump’s appeal against a decision by Colorado to remove him from the 2024 ballot in that state.

The case will be heard in February and the ruling will apply nationwide.

Lawsuits in a number of states are seeking to disqualify Mr Trump, arguing that he engaged in insurrection during the US Capitol riot three years ago.

The legal challenges hinge on whether a Civil War-era constitutional amendment renders Mr Trump ineligible to stand as a candidate.

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear Mr Trump’s appeal came after attorney generals from 27 states filed a brief asking the court to reject Colorado’s ruling.

In it, they argue that removing Mr Trump from the ballot would “create widespread chaos”.

“Most obviously, it casts confusion into an election cycle that is just weeks away,” reads the submission.

“Beyond that, it upsets the respective roles of the Congress, the States, and the courts.”

The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution bans anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office, but the former president’s lawyers argue it does not apply to the president.

His lawyers have argued: “The Colorado Supreme Court decision would unconstitutionally disenfranchise millions of voters in Colorado and likely be used as a template to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters nationwide.”

Mr Trump has also appealed against a decision by electoral officials in Maine to remove him from the ballot.

Following the Supreme Court’s announcement on Friday, Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold said she had certified the state’s ballots for the upcoming presidential primary elections and that Mr Trump’s name was on them.

The primary ballots, held in each state, will help to determine which presidential candidates run in November’s election.

Colorado’s is set for the beginning of March – soon after the Supreme Court decision on Mr Trump’s case is expected.

“The United States Supreme Court has accepted the case, and Donald Trump will appear on the ballot as a result,” Ms Griswold said in a statement.

The split 4-3 decision by Colorado’s high court last month marks the first time in US history that the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate from the ballot.

This is the first time the Supreme Court will consider how to interpret the clause.

Mr Trump is the current Republican front-runner for a likely rematch against President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in this November’s election.

Courts in Minnesota and Michigan have dismissed attempts to disqualify Mr Trump. Other cases, including in Oregon, are pending.

The US Supreme Court has a conservative majority – with three justices appointed by Mr Trump when he was president.

But they overwhelmingly ruled against him in his lawsuits challenging his defeat to Mr Biden in 2020.

The court on Friday agreed to take up the case in an expedited manner, with oral arguments scheduled for 8 February.

Mr Trump’s legal team is due to file their opening brief by 18 January.

The group arguing for Mr Trump’s disqualification must submit its argument by 31 January.

The involvement of the top US court has drawn comparisons to the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore, which ended in a lawsuit at the Supreme Court.

The conservative-majority court’s decision to halt Florida’s vote recount essentially handed victory to Mr Bush.

University of Richmond Professor Cart Tobias says the “exceptionally fast track” was “predictable and necessitated by the growing number of cases being filed in various states around the country”.

With state primary elections fast approaching, there is a “compelling need for election officials in many states to prepare” and also they “need for time to plan and execute smooth voting processes on short notice”.

Cases at the Supreme Court normally take between four and 12 months – in contrast with the few weeks that justices have currently scheduled.

The timeline makes it likely that the court will issue a ruling ahead of the Super Tuesday primary election in March, when Colorado and many other states hold their election to decide on each party’s candidate for president.

On the day of the US Capitol riot, supporters of Mr Trump stormed Congress as lawmakers were certifying Mr Biden’s election victory.

That day the then-president held a rally outside the White House where he repeated false claims of mass election fraud as he urged protesters to “fight like hell”, but also to march “peacefully” to the Capitol.

Mr Trump’s critics argue that he should be disqualified not only for his actions during the riot, but for his and his campaign’s efforts to overturn the lection result in Republican-aligned states that he lost.

While Mr Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election are the focus of trials in federal court and a state court in Georgia, he has not been criminally charged with inciting insurrection in either case.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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US Judge Exonerates Inmate after 48 Years in Prison

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An Oklahoma judge has exonerated a man who spent 48 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, the longest known wrongful sentence in the US.

Glynn Simmons, 70, was freed in July after a district court found that crucial evidence in his case was not turned over to his defence lawyers.

On Monday, a county district attorney said there was not enough evidence to warrant a new trial.

In an order on Tuesday, Judge Amy Palumbo declared Mr Simmons innocent.

“This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned… was not committed by Mr Simmons,” said Oklahoma County District Judge Palumbo in her ruling.

“It’s a lesson in resilience and tenacity,” Mr Simmons told reporters after the decision, according to the Associated Press. “Don’t let nobody tell you that it can’t happen, because it really can.”

Mr Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison for the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb.

Mr Simmons was 22 years old when he and a co-defendant, Don Roberts, were convicted and sentenced to death in 1975.

The punishments were later reduced to life in prison because of US Supreme Court rulings on the death penalty.

Mr Simmons had maintained his innocence, saying he was in his home state of Louisiana at the time of the murder.

A district court vacated his sentence in July after finding that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defence lawyers, including that a witness had identified other suspects.

Mr Simmons and Mr Roberts were convicted in part because of testimony from a teenager who had been shot in the back of the head. The teenager pointed to several other men during police line-ups and later contradicted some of her own testimony, the National Registry of Exonerations said.

Mr Roberts was released on parole in 2008.

Wrongfully convicted people who serve time in Oklahoma are eligible for up to $175,000 (£138,000) in compensation.

Mr Simmons is currently battling liver cancer, according to his GoFundMe, which has raised thousands of dollars to help support his living costs and chemotherapy.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Nigeria Assures US of Press Freedom

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Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to the fundamental principles of press freedom, stressing its pivotal role in fostering a vibrant democracy and transparency in governance.

Alhaji Mohammed Idris stated this when he received the US Charge d’Affaires to Nigeria, David Greene, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

“While we are for press freedom, we also want to call on the government of the United States to support efforts at instituting best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms towards reducing the spate of misinformation, fake news, and misinformation,” Idris said.

In a statement, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Rabiu Ibrahim, says the Minister also reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to democracy, saying it was important for the United States, as a key ally, to deepen support for the Tinubu administration and its efforts towards the reengineering of the Nigerian economy on the strength of the Renewed Hope Agenda, which focuses on food security, poverty eradication, growth, job creation, access to capital, social inclusion, the rule of law, and the fight against corruption.

According to the Minister, President Bola Tinunu has since hit the ground running in his quest to attract foreign investment through his physical presence at various economic forums, engagements with business leaders and key stakeholders in Paris, India, and the Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh.

“As you well know”, Idris informed the US envoy, “President Tinubu is in Berlin, Germany, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa Conference, in furtherance of his determination to retool the Nigerian economy through strategic partnership.”

Mr Greene, in his response, said the United States is fully behind Nigeria’s democracy and is supportive of its media growth through the offer of consistent training over the years, adding that Nigeria is a critical partner in regional security and economic development.

FRCN ABUJA/Adetutu Adetule

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Super Fog: Seven Dead in New Orleans Multi-Car Pile up

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At least seven people have died after a dense “super fog” caused a huge, 158-car pile-up near New Orleans.

Thick fog and fumes from multiple marsh fires mingled to reduce visibility for drivers commuting on Monday.

Twenty-five people were injured in the crash on Interstate 55 in St John the Baptist Parish, said police, who warned the death toll could rise.

Some vehicles caught fire and were abandoned, leaving a trail of burnt-out wreckages and mangled metal.

Police said the motorway will remain closed until at least midday on Tuesday.

“A portion of the crash scene caught on fire shortly after the initial incident. One tanker truck carrying a hazardous liquid is being off-loaded due to a compromised tank/trailer,” Lt Melissa Matey said in a statement.

One car was driven off the road and into the water, but the driver was safely rescued, police told WWL-TV.

Mike Tregre, sheriff of St John the Baptist, said an estimated 100 people were stranded and school buses were being used to transport them to their destinations.

Clarencia Patterson Reed, 46, who was driving to Hammond, told local media she was able to avoid hitting the car in front of her, but the vehicles behind her began slamming into her car.

“It was ‘Boom. Boom.’ All you kept hearing was crashing for at least 30 minutes,” she said.

She was able to get out of her car, but her wife was trapped inside and was injured.

The National Weather Service in New Orleans described the weather phenomenon as a “super fog”, cautioning that similarly dangerous weather conditions could appear later this week.

On its website, it states super fog can form when a mixture of smoke and moisture from damp, smouldering vegetation mixes with cooler air.

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Hollywood Writers Move to End US Studio Strike

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Screenwriters in the US say they have reached a tentative deal with studio bosses that could see them end a strike that has lasted nearly five months.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said it was “exceptional – with meaningful gains and protections for writers”. WGA members must still have a final say.

It is the longest strike to affect Hollywood in decades and has halted most film and TV production.

A separate dispute involves actors, who are also on strike.

The writers’ walkout, which began on 2 May, has cost the California economy billions of dollars.

The WGA leadership and union members need to agree a three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before they return to work.

The guild’s message on the proposed deal said details still had to be finalised, and it was not yet calling off the strike, but “we are, as of today, suspending WGA picketing”.

BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi

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Florida Police Stunned Sighting 10-Year-Old Driver on Highway

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Police in Florida got a shock when the driver they stopped on a major highway turned out to be a 10-year-old boy.

The boy and his 11-year-old sister were stopped in Alachua, hundreds of miles from where they were reported missing by their mother earlier in the week.

Police said the pair had made their runaway bid after she had confiscated their electronic gadgets.

“Much to their surprise deputies observed a 10-year-old male driver exit, with his sister,” they said.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s office described the traffic stop as “high risk” and late at night – 03:50 local time (07:50 GMT) on Thursday.

The white sedan the pair had been travelling in had been reported missing by their mother in North Port, Florida, a city more than 200 miles (320km) from Alachua.

Officers learned that “both children were upset with their mother because she took away their electronic devices, which is believed to have been done because they were not using them appropriately”, the sheriff’s office said.

Police added there was no reason to believe they were being mistreated at home.

The children’s mother drove three hours north to Alachua to collect her children.

“Our detectives did speak with their mother at length who was clearly doing her best to raise two young children and she was very receptive to the recommendations they provided in helping her get assistance,” police said.

The legal age to obtain a learner’s permit in Florida is 15, while drivers must be 18 years old to apply for a full licence.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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El Chapo’s Son, Ovidio Guzmán-López Extradited to US

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A son of the infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has been extradited to the US on drug trafficking charges, the US Attorney General has said.

Ovidio Guzmán is suspected of leading, along with his brother, the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel his father founded.

Ovidio is also accused of having ordered the murder of a singer who had refused to perform at his wedding.

He was arrested in January in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa and has been in custody ever since.

“This action is the most recent step in the Justice Department’s effort to attack every aspect of the cartel’s operations,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement regarding the extradition.

“The fight against the cartels has involved incredible courage by United States law enforcement and Mexican law enforcement and military service members, many of whom have given their lives in the pursuit of justice.”

Mr Garland also thanked the Mexican government for its assistance in getting Ovidio to the US.

There was no immediate reaction to the extradition by the Mexican authorities.

It comes days after the 33-year-old’s father’s wife, Emma Coronel, was released from jail in the US after being sentenced in November 2021 on drug trafficking charges.

Her husband is serving a life sentence at a supermax jail in Colorado for leading the Sinaloa cartel.

Ovidio Guzmán is one of four children El Chapo had during his relationship with Griselda López in the 1980s and 90s. The oldest of them, Edgar, was killed in a cartel shootout in 2008.

El Chapo also has other children from his previous marriage and from his subsequent relationship with Coronel.

Guzmán, also known as “El Ratón” (The Mouse), was arrested outside the city of Culiacán following a six-month surveillance operation.

Twenty-nine people died in the firefight which ensued and members of his cartel burned buses and cars to block access roads to prevent police reinforcements from reaching the city.

Ovidio was flown to Mexico City in a helicopter for fear that if he was transported by road his hitmen would try to attack the convoy.

In June 2020, the security forces briefly detained him but were ordered by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to release him “so as not to put the population at risk” as Sinaloa gunmen torched buses and engaged in gun battles with police and soldiers.

He had been in hiding for the following 18 months before his re-arrest in January 2023.

The Sinaloa cartel is a transnational criminal organisation that is estimated by US law enforcement officials to have smuggled more than 1,000 tonnes of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and heroin into the US.

The cartel’s hitmen kidnapped, tortured and killed members of rival gangs to consolidate its power.

Members have also bribed police officers and high-ranking politicians in Mexico and across Central America to turn a blind eye to drug shipments or even tip the cartel off about impending raids.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Murderous Cavalcante captured by Belgian Malinois  

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A murderer who escaped from a US jail two weeks ago was captured by a law enforcement dog after a heat-sensing aircraft located him, authorities say.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, was arrested in a wooded area in Pennsylvania on Wednesday as he tried to crawl away from officers who had surrounded him.

ABC7 Chicago

More than 500 officers hunted him down after he escaped on 31 August.

He was sentenced to life in prison last month for killing his ex-girlfriend in front of her two children in 2021.

But just a week after he was sentenced, Cavalcante “crab-walked” between two walls and scaled a razor-wire fence to escape Chester County Prison, about 30 miles (50km) west of Philadelphia, where he had been awaiting transfer to a different facility.

The two-week manhunt spanned a large area of the state and put residents of Chester County on edge, with earlier sightings prompting police to advise residents to lock their doors and stay inside.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Cavalcante was “apprehended with no shots fired” shortly after 08:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

He credited the “extraordinary work” of law enforcement and “a tremendous assist from members of the public” for Cavalcante’s capture.

BBC/Adebukola Aluko

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