London (BN24) – Three people were killed and another was critically injured Monday after a helicopter crashed during a flying lesson on the Isle of Wight, prompting a large-scale emergency response and an air accident investigation.
Hampshire Police said officers were alerted at 9:24 a.m. to reports that a helicopter had come down in a field off Shanklin Road near Ventnor. Emergency crews, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, fire services, and paramedics, were dispatched to the scene.
The aircraft involved was confirmed by Northumbria Helicopters as a Robinson R44 II, registered as G-OCLV. The company said the helicopter had taken off from Sandown Airport shortly after 9 a.m. with four people on board, including the pilot, for a training flight.
Authorities confirmed that three of the occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. The fourth, who survived, was airlifted to University Hospital Southampton in critical condition by the air ambulance’s critical care team.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it had launched an inquiry into the crash and dispatched a team to examine the wreckage. Police closed Shanklin Road and urged residents and tourists to avoid the area.
Witnesses described a terrifying scene as the aircraft spiraled before impact. Leigh Goldsmith, who was driving nearby, told the Isle of Wight County Press that she saw the helicopter “spiralling” before crashing into a hedge.
Darren Toogood, editor of the Island Echo, told Sky News the crash occurred along a busy high-speed road that sees heavy traffic, especially during the bank holiday. “It appears no vehicles were involved, which is incredible, given how busy this road would have been this morning,” he said.
Local MP Joe Robertson said the tragedy had shocked the community. “My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives in the helicopter crash outside Shanklin today,” he said in a statement. “It is very sad and tragic news during what should have been a happy Bank Holiday helicopter flight from Sandown Airport.”
Northumbria Helicopters said it is fully cooperating with authorities as investigations continue.
Texas (BN24) – Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has filed a federal lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing the tech giants of colluding to suppress competition in the rapidly expanding AI industry. The lawsuit, filed Monday in a Texas federal court, alleges that Apple and OpenAI struck an exclusive partnership that unfairly blocked Musk’s xAI and its products—including the Grok chatbot—from gaining visibility in Apple’s App Store.
According to the filing, Apple integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its operating system for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, effectively locking rivals out of top search rankings and reducing opportunities for AI challengers. xAI claims that Apple’s deal with OpenAI maintained monopolistic control over the AI marketplace while denying fair access to innovators.
“If not for its exclusive deal with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason to refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and the Grok app in its App Store,” the lawsuit stated. xAI is seeking billions of dollars in damages, alleging that the conspiracy has limited consumer choice and stifled innovation.
An OpenAI spokesperson dismissed the case, calling it part of Musk’s “ongoing pattern of harassment.” Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The lawsuit comes weeks after Musk publicly warned he would take Apple to court, accusing the company of making it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.”
A Fight Over the Future of AI
The case highlights growing tensions as Big Tech companies race to dominate artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer app in history following its late 2022 release, while Musk launched xAI in 2023 to compete in the same field. Earlier this year, Musk’s xAI acquired X, his social media platform, in a $33 billion deal to expand AI training data for its chatbot Grok. Musk has also integrated Grok into Tesla vehicles to enhance in-car digital assistants.
Legal experts say the case could mark a turning point for antitrust law and AI. Christine Bartholomew, a law professor at the University at Buffalo, said the lawsuit may push U.S. courts to define what constitutes a “market for AI” and how competition should be regulated in the space. “It’s a canary in the coal mine in terms of how courts will treat AI, and treat antitrust and AI,” she said.
Apple, meanwhile, has faced multiple antitrust battles over its App Store practices, including an ongoing case with Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite,” which forced Apple to loosen restrictions on app payments. Legal analysts say Apple could argue that its partnership with OpenAI was a business choice in a competitive landscape, while also citing security or operational reasons for restricting AI apps.
The Texas lawsuit is not Musk’s only legal battle with OpenAI. In a separate California case, Musk is suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman to block the company’s transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit business model. Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 but later split from the group, accusing it of betraying its founding mission.
With AI becoming a cornerstone of global tech competition, Musk’s case against Apple and OpenAI could shape not just the future of the App Store, but also how courts define antitrust boundaries in artificial intelligence.
NEW YORK (BN24) — Former Mexican cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, once one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world, pleaded guilty Monday in a U.S. federal court to orchestrating murders, drug shipments and bribery schemes during his decades at the helm of the Sinaloa cartel.
Accused Mexican former drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada sits with his attorney Frank Perez, at the courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. September 13, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
The 75-year-old kingpin, who led the cartel alongside the notorious Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, admitted before U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn that he directed a violent criminal empire responsible for smuggling more than 1.5 million kilograms of cocaine, as well as heroin and fentanyl, into the United States. Zambada faces a mandatory life sentence following his guilty plea to racketeering conspiracy and running a continuing criminal enterprise.
Reuters’ report states that sporting gray hair, a beard, and prison-issued clothing, Zambada appeared frail as he walked into the packed courtroom filled with Drug Enforcement Administration officials and other U.S. agents. Speaking softly through a Spanish interpreter, he acknowledged his role in decades of violence and corruption, including ordering assassinations and bribing politicians and police in Mexico to shield cartel operations.
“Many innocent people also died,” Zambada said in Spanish while reading a prepared statement. “I apologize to everyone who has suffered or has been affected by my actions.”
Zambada’s plea deal came after the Justice Department confirmed earlier this month that it would not pursue the death penalty against him or Rafael Caro Quintero, another aging Mexican cartel boss facing U.S. prosecution. His sentencing is scheduled for January 13, 2026.
Zambada, who began his criminal career in 1969 planting marijuana, was arrested in July 2024 after landing on a remote New Mexico airstrip with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo’s sons. While Guzman Lopez has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges, U.S. prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty in his case either.
The guilty plea comes amid heightened pressure from President Donald Trump on Mexico to dismantle its most violent drug organizations. In recent weeks, Mexico extradited more than two dozen suspected cartel operatives to the United States after receiving assurances they would not face capital punishment.
Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, said his client is not cooperating with U.S. authorities. Even so, the guilty plea marks a dramatic downfall for a man who evaded capture for decades and remained a shadowy figure at the top of the cartel long after El Chapo’s arrest and extradition.
Kyiv (BN24) – Ukraine has escalated its campaign of drone warfare deep inside Russian territory, striking oil refineries, fuel terminals and export infrastructure in a direct assault on the most critical sector of President Vladimir Putin’s economy. The coordinated attacks have ignited massive fires, disrupted fuel supplies and underscored Kyiv’s resolve to weaken Moscow’s war machine even as U.S.-backed peace talks loom.
Firefighters extinguish oil tanks at a storage facility that local authorities say caught fire after the military brought down a Ukrainian drone, in the town of Klintsy in the Bryansk Region, Russia January 19, 2024, in this still image taken from video. Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
According to Ukrainian officials and independent energy analysts, at least 10 major oil processing plants and terminals were targeted in the past month, knocking out nearly 17 percent of Russia’s refining capacity—roughly 1.1 million barrels per day. The drone strikes have already led to gasoline shortages across southern Russia, occupied parts of Ukraine, and even as far as Russia’s Far East, forcing drivers to queue for hours and switch to higher-priced fuel grades.
“This is a big hit to our family budget. It’s really noticeable,” said Svetlana Bazhanova, a resident of Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea, where fuel shortages have left motorists scrambling.
Fires continued to burn Monday at Russia’s Novoshakhtinsk refinery following a Ukrainian drone strike, while facilities owned by major energy giants such as Rosneft and Lukoil have also been damaged in the Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Krasnodar and Volgograd regions. Attacks have additionally hit the Druzhba pipeline and Novatek’s massive Ust-Luga export terminal on the Baltic Sea.
The refinery assaults come at a sensitive moment. Russia is experiencing peak seasonal demand for gasoline driven by farmers and summer tourism, further straining supply. Even before the latest attacks, Moscow had tightened its gasoline export ban in July to cope with domestic demand spikes. Long lines at fueling stations in Vladivostok highlighted the growing crisis, with local officials blaming shortages on the influx of tourists.
Analysts say Ukraine’s strikes serve multiple purposes: directly undermining Russia’s ability to fund its war through oil revenues, raising the cost of Moscow’s military campaign, and challenging perceptions that Kyiv is losing ground as President Donald Trump and Putin discuss potential peace deals.
Russia remains the world’s second-largest oil exporter, and crude flows have been redirected largely to China and India as Western sanctions cut off European markets. Washington has pressured Beijing and New Delhi to scale back purchases, but Moscow’s discounted oil has kept revenue flowing. Still, the damage to refining capacity risks pushing up costs at home just as the Kremlin boosts defense spending by 25 percent—the highest level since the Cold War.
“The affected refineries have lost only part of their capacity, but this could still create serious disruptions for domestic fuel supplies,” said Sergei Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and former executive at Gazprom Neft.
Despite sanctions and military pressure, Russia has managed to sustain its war economy, producing record numbers of artillery and weapons. Yet growth has slowed, and the strikes highlight the vulnerability of its energy infrastructure to long-range Ukrainian drones.
The conflict has increasingly become a war of attrition, with both Moscow and Kyiv extending the battlefield beyond the front lines. For Ukraine, hitting the heart of Russia’s oil network is both a symbolic and strategic move—demonstrating its reach while signaling that any peace deal will come at a price for Putin’s economy.
Gaza (BN24) – Israeli forces struck one of Gaza’s largest hospitals on Monday and then hit it again as journalists and emergency workers rushed to the scene, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more, according to local health officials.
The attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is among the deadliest to hit medical facilities and members of the press during the 22-month war that began after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel. The strikes came as Israel signals plans to expand its offensive into densely populated areas of the enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the incident as a “tragic mishap” and said the military was conducting an investigation. Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, an Israeli army spokesman, reiterated that Israel does not deliberately target civilians and accused Hamas of using hospitals as cover, but did not specify whether militants were present at the time.
The first projectile hit the hospital’s fourth floor, which houses operating theaters and staff quarters, shortly after 10 a.m. Minutes later, as rescuers and journalists in orange vests climbed an external stairwell, a second strike struck the staircase, killing 18 more people, witnesses said.
Among the dead was Mariam Dagga, 33, a visual journalist who frequently reported from the hospital and had recently documented the struggle of doctors to save starving children. Four other journalists working with Al Jazeera, Reuters, and Middle East Eye also lost their lives.
Israeli media later reported that two artillery shells had been fired at the hospital, targeting what troops suspected was a Hamas surveillance camera mounted on the roof.
The United Nations, along with Britain, France, and other governments, condemned the attack. Asked about the strike, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was initially unaware of the incident but added, “I’m not happy about it. I don’t want to see it.”
A British doctor working at Nasser Hospital described “scenes of chaos, disbelief and fear,” with bloodied patients flooding overcrowded wards where IV drips already lined the corridors. “It leaves me in another state of shock that hospitals can be a target,” the doctor said, speaking anonymously to avoid reprisals.
Gaza hospitals have repeatedly been struck throughout the conflict. Israel maintains that Hamas operates in and around such facilities, though officials often provide limited evidence. Health facilities that remain functional are now overwhelmed not only by war casualties but also by the rising toll of famine and malnutrition spreading across the territory.
Alaska (BN24) – U.S. fighter jets intercepted a Russian military aircraft operating near Alaska on Sunday, marking the third such encounter in the past week, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-35 military aircraft over the Chukchi Sea,19 Feb. 2025. NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America including meeting presence with presence. (U.S. Department of Defense photo)
In a statement, NORAD said one E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft, two F-16 fighters and two KC-135 Stratotankers were dispatched to the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, known as ADIZ, after radar detected a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not cross into U.S. or Canadian territory, NORAD said. The command emphasized that such activity in the ADIZ occurs regularly and “is not considered a threat” to North America.
An ADIZ is a defined stretch of international airspace beyond a nation’s sovereign boundaries where all aircraft must identify themselves for national security reasons. The Alaskan ADIZ serves as one of the key perimeters where U.S. and Canadian forces routinely monitor Russian military movements.
Sunday’s interception follows two similar incidents earlier in the week. On Aug. 20 and Aug. 21, NORAD deployed F-16 fighters to intercept Russian Il-20 aircraft also operating in the ADIZ.
“NORAD employs a layered defense system of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne surveillance, and fighter aircraft to detect, track and respond to unidentified or foreign aircraft,” the command said, noting that its readiness posture remains constant. “NORAD remains prepared to employ a range of response options in the defense of North America.”
The latest string of interceptions highlights the continued monitoring of Russian military activity in the Arctic and Pacific regions, which U.S. defense officials have said is expected to persist as tensions remain high between Washington and Moscow.
Maryland (BN24) – Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the elusive former leader of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, is expected to plead guilty Monday in U.S. federal court to charges stemming from decades of directing one of the world’s most violent and expansive drug trafficking empires.
Zambada, 77, is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Brooklyn for a change-of-plea hearing, a move that would bring an extraordinary chapter in the history of organized crime closer to an end. Prosecutors confirmed in a recent filing that he is prepared to admit guilt to one count of racketeering conspiracy and another of operating a continuing criminal enterprise.
The proceedings come nearly a year after Zambada was arrested in Texas and extradited to New York. Federal prosecutors had previously announced they would not pursue the death penalty, paving the way for negotiations that led to his scheduled guilty plea.
Once regarded as untouchable, Zambada spent decades avoiding capture while co-leading the Sinaloa cartel with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was sentenced in 2019 to life in prison after his own conviction in the same courthouse. Together, prosecutors say, the two men transformed the cartel from a regional operation into a global narcotics network that flooded the United States with cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Zambada’s leadership, according to court filings, relied on a militarized security structure that employed heavily armed guards and a cadre of hitmen, or “sicarios,” who carried out targeted assassinations, kidnappings and torture to protect cartel interests. The U.S. government has long described the Sinaloa cartel as the most dominant trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere.
Zambada had initially pleaded not guilty last year to a sweeping indictment that included drug trafficking, firearms violations and money laundering offenses. His legal team has not publicly commented on the expected plea deal.
The guilty plea would mark a milestone in a decades-long U.S. effort to dismantle the cartel’s leadership. While Guzmán’s imprisonment and Zambada’s pending conviction represent major victories for prosecutors, the cartel continues to operate under the control of Guzmán’s sons, known as “Los Chapitos,” who remain targets of U.S. law enforcement.
Zambada, who spent years in the shadows as the cartel’s strategist while Guzmán drew the spotlight, now faces a sentencing hearing that could effectively ensure he spends the rest of his life in federal custody.
WASHINGTON (BN24) — National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-crime initiative began carrying firearms Sunday evening, marking a significant escalation in the deployment’s posture, according to federal officials.
Most of the Guard members are now armed with their standard-issue M17 pistols, while a smaller contingent has been equipped with M4 rifles, a Defense Department official confirmed. The troops are authorized to use their weapons only for self-protection and, as the federal task force overseeing the mission emphasized, “as a last resort” in response to an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.
The deployment, which includes more than 2,200 National Guard soldiers and airmen — a majority from outside the District — was ordered earlier this month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to bolster Trump’s crime reduction push in the nation’s capital. Hegseth’s directive authorized roughly 2,000 troops to carry firearms, reversing an earlier policy that had left Guard members unarmed while assisting local law enforcement with safety patrols, traffic control, and public order.
On Sunday evening, armed National Guard troops wearing “MP” patches were seen patrolling D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood. Officials said Guard members involved in safety and security operations will be armed, while those assigned to “beautification” efforts, such as community restoration and public improvement projects, will likely remain unarmed.
The Army said all Guard members tasked with carrying firearms undergo regular training, refresher courses, and annual weapons qualifications. A White House official told NBC News that despite being armed, the troops are not currently making arrests but will continue to focus on protecting federal facilities and supporting law enforcement during arrests.
The task force is also reviewing a request by local police to increase National Guard presence at several metro stations as schools across the District reopen.
Trump has framed the expanded National Guard mission as a necessary measure to combat crime and homelessness in Washington, pointing to deployments from Republican-led states as proof of national support for his initiative. West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey sent more than 400 troops, the largest single state contribution, which he described as a “show of commitment” to Trump’s plan. Troops have also been dispatched from South Carolina, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
According to D.C. police data, violent crime had dropped about 27% compared with the previous year at the time Trump ordered the deployment. Still, critics, including Democratic leaders, accuse Trump of using the National Guard as a political tool, targeting cities led by Black officials and employing what they describe as intimidation tactics.
On Sunday, Trump escalated his rhetoric further by threatening to send troops into Baltimore following a dispute with Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. Referring to Baltimore as “crime-ridden,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime,” using a derogatory nickname for California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The deployment of National Guard troops for routine crime control in major U.S. cities remains highly unusual. Historically, the force has been mobilized for natural disasters, riots, and periods of acute civil unrest, not for sustained law enforcement missions in the nation’s capital.
KATSINA, Nigeria (BN24) — Nigerian military airstrikes freed at least 76 hostages, including women and children, during a raid on militant hideouts in the country’s northwest, officials said Saturday.
The strikes targeted criminal strongholds around Pauwa Hill in the Kankara district of Katsina state during the early hours of the morning, according to Nasir Mu’azu, the state commissioner for internal security. Authorities said the operation was launched as part of a manhunt for a notorious kidnapper.
Among those freed were victims of a recent assault on a mosque in Unguwan Mantau, where at least 50 worshippers were killed. “However, it was regrettably noted that one child tragically lost his life during the ordeal,” Mu’azu said.
The rescues come amid a surge of violence across Nigeria’s northwest and north-central regions, where heavily armed gangs have carried out mass kidnappings, village raids, and deadly attacks linked to disputes between herders and farmers over scarce land and water. Last month, gunmen killed at least 150 people in a single assault in north-central Nigeria, underscoring the scale of the crisis.
Mu’azu described the latest air campaign as “part of a broader strategy to dismantle criminal hideouts, weaken their networks and put an end to the cycle of killings, kidnappings, and extortion that have plagued innocent citizens.”
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is also battling a separate jihadist insurgency in its northeast, where violence has killed more than 35,000 people and displaced over 2 million, according to the United Nations.
In addition to the hostage rescue, the military confirmed that 35 militants were killed Saturday in separate targeted airstrikes in the northwest. Despite stepped-up counterinsurgency operations under President Bola Tinubu, authorities acknowledge that militant violence remains persistent across multiple regions.
BALTIMORE (BN24) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose arrest and fight to stay in the United States has become a flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, surrendered Monday morning to U.S. immigration authorities in Baltimore, but a federal court order has temporarily paused efforts by the Trump administration to deport him to Uganda.
The 30-year-old Salvadoran national was wrongfully deported in March to a notorious prison in his native El Salvador. He was returned to the United States in June, but only to face human smuggling charges that his lawyers call preposterous and vindictive.
The Trump administration has said it is trying to deport Abrego Garcia months before his trial is scheduled in Tennessee, alleging he is a danger to the community and an MS-13 gang member. He denies the gang allegation, pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges and has asked a judge to dismiss the case on grounds of vindictive prosecution.
The court order signed by Chief Judge George Russell III automatically pauses any effort by the Trump administration to immediately deport Abrego Garcia. Any immigrant seeking review of their detention in a Maryland federal court is covered by the order, which blocks their removal from the United States until 4 p.m. on the second business day after their habeas corpus petition is filed.
In June, the administration sued all of Maryland’s 15 federal judges to challenge the standard order that provides automatic protection for detained immigrants pursuing habeas corpus cases.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys filed a new federal lawsuit shortly after he surrendered to immigration authorities, though the court documents were not immediately publicly available. They filed it in the federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has been presiding over a string of hearings for the original case challenging his wrongful deportation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that Abrego Garcia is being processed for deportation, but the court order creates a temporary legal barrier to any immediate removal efforts.
Abrego Garcia’s attorney, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, confirmed that a lawsuit had been filed in federal district court in Maryland shortly after his client’s detention, seeking an order that he not be deported while his case proceeds.
“I expect there’s going to be a status conference very promptly, and we’re going to ask for an interim order that he not be deported, pending his due process rights to contest deportation to any particular country,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said.
The attorney has previously criticized the government’s deportation plans, saying the administration is attempting to use the immigration system to punish his client by “attempting to send him halfway across the world, to a country with documented human rights abuses and where he does not even speak the language.”
Abrego Garcia has an American wife and children and has lived in Maryland for years. His case became a high-profile example of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration after he was mistakenly sent to El Salvador despite a federal judge’s earlier determination that he faced a “well-founded fear” of violence there.
The human smuggling charges that brought him back into federal custody stem from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee for speeding, where officers found nine passengers in his vehicle and discussed their suspicions of smuggling activity among themselves. However, Abrego Garcia was allowed to continue driving with only a warning at the time.
Federal officials have argued that Abrego Garcia can be deported because he entered the United States illegally and because a U.S. immigration judge deemed him eligible for removal in 2019, though not specifically to his native El Salvador. Uganda recently agreed to accept deportees from the United States, provided they do not have criminal records and are not unaccompanied minors.
The case has drawn significant attention from immigration advocates who argue it demonstrates potential abuses within the federal deportation system. Critics contend that the government’s shifting deportation destinations and timing of the criminal charges suggest retaliatory prosecution rather than legitimate law enforcement.
Justice Department spokesperson Chad Gilmartin has defended the prosecution, stating that “a federal grand jury has charged Abrego Garcia with serious federal crimes, underscoring the clear danger this defendant presents to the community.”
The temporary court protection provides Abrego Garcia’s legal team additional time to challenge both the criminal charges and the deportation proceedings while his attorneys argue that their client is being unfairly targeted for having successfully contested his initial wrongful removal to El Salvador.
