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65 Americans Among More Than 1,300 Missing After Nepal Flash Floods

By
Zipporah Njoki
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At least 63 to 65 Americans were reported missing Thursday, according to differing counts from Nepal’s National Tourism Board, after catastrophic flash flooding triggered by a glacier collapse in Tibet killed more than 160 people and left over 1,300 people missing across Nepal and China, authorities said.

The tourism board’s American missing figure shifted within the day, cited at 65 in one count and at least 63 in a later count, reflecting the fluid nature of casualty reporting a day after the disaster. The Associated Press cautioned that missing person figures are likely to vary across agencies given differences in how data is collected, when it is reported, and gaps in coordination between those compiling the numbers and those conducting rescues in the affected area.

Americans were among more than 30 nationalities represented in the missing person counts released Thursday, many of them tourists in the region for trekking or on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a site sacred to Hindus.

Americans Missing

Nepal’s National Tourism Board reported 65 Americans missing in one count Thursday and at least 63 in a subsequent count, a discrepancy that had not been resolved as of the latest reporting. The figures place the United States among the nations with the highest number of missing citizens, behind only India and Ukraine in the tourism board’s tally.

The U.S. State Department has said it is aware of Americans affected by the floods and is tracking the situation closely, though it had not released its own independent count of missing citizens as of Thursday, relying instead on Nepalese authorities’ figures. The department has not detailed what, if any, consular or evacuation support it is providing to the missing Americans’ families.

Nepal

Nepal police reported at least 165 dead and 826 missing as of Thursday. Local reports citing the National Emergency Operation Center said the missing included 113 Nepali tourists, 85 security personnel from the army and police, 161 residents of Rasuwa district and one resident of Nuwakot district. Nepal’s National Tourism Board separately reported 517 foreigners missing, a figure tracked apart from the domestic totals released by police and emergency officials.

China

Chinese state media reported at least three deaths and 558 people missing in Gyirong County, Tibet, with CCTV reporting that 260 of those missing were foreign nationals. China’s foreign ministry separately said nearly 100 Chinese citizens were missing on the Nepal side of the border, a figure sharply revised down from an earlier Thursday estimate of about 800. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, addressing reporters in Beijing, said the missing foreigners in China included tourists, pilgrims and other personnel, but said a full nationality breakdown was still being verified.

Nepalese authorities said Thursday that rescuers had located about 100 previously missing Indian visitors and about 25 Chinese workers in the flood zone. It remained unclear whether that development had yet been reflected in the official missing person tallies, given how quickly the figures were changing.

Missing by Nationality

Nepal’s tourism board and other national governments reported the following missing person counts by nationality as of Thursday, though some figures differed slightly depending on the source and time of reporting:

  • India: Nepal’s tourism board reported 179 missing in one count and 177 in a later count, with officials saying most were on pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.
  • United States: See above.
  • Ukraine: Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said 53 Ukrainians were considered missing, including 46 tourists with whom Nepalese authorities had lost contact.
  • Malaysia: 51 missing, according to Nepal’s tourism board.
  • Australia: The tourism board reported 35 missing, while Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong reported 34.
  • Britain: 33 missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Canada: 25 missing, according to the tourism board.
  • South Korea: South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said nine citizens working at a hydropower plant were missing, with 10 more reported stranded.
  • Singapore: Eight missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Germany: Eight missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Russia: Eight missing, according to the tourism board.
  • South Africa: Six missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Latvia: Six missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Japan: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said five Japanese nationals were unaccounted for, an account matched by Japan’s embassy in Nepal.
  • New Zealand: Five missing, according to the tourism board.
  • France: Four missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Belgium: Three missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Spain: Three missing, according to the tourism board.
  • Others: The tourism board reported two missing each from Italy, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Ireland and the Netherlands, along with one each from Belarus, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, the Philippines, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Serbia and Sweden.

Why This Matters

The scale of the American missing count, more than 60 U.S. citizens unaccounted for in a single disaster, marks one of the larger mass casualty events involving American travelers abroad in recent memory, and is likely to draw sustained attention from U.S. officials and families as verification continues. The presence of dozens of missing Americans also raises practical questions about coordination between Nepalese search and rescue teams, working across remote and heavily damaged terrain, and the U.S. State Department’s ability to track and support citizens caught in a fast-moving foreign disaster zone.

More broadly, the international spread of the missing, spanning more than 30 countries, reflects the popularity of the Nepal-Tibet border region as both a trekking destination and a pilgrimage route to Mount Kailash, drawing large numbers of foreign visitors even during a less favorable monsoon season for trekking specifically. The sharp revision in China’s missing citizen count, from roughly 800 down to nearly 100 within the span of a single day, illustrates how unreliable early disaster estimates can be in remote, hard to access terrain where communication and verification remain difficult.

The discrepancies between different agencies’ figures, particularly the gap between Nepal police’s overall missing count of 826 and the tourism board’s separate figure of 517 foreigners, suggest overlapping but not fully reconciled tracking systems between security, tourism and emergency management authorities, a coordination challenge that is likely complicating both the rescue effort and the public’s ability to get a clear picture of the disaster’s true scope.

What Happens Next

Authorities in Nepal, China and the affected foreign governments are expected to continue updating and reconciling their missing person figures as search and rescue operations proceed. Thursday’s reported recovery of about 100 Indian visitors and 25 Chinese workers suggests the overall missing count could decline in the coming days as more people are located, though officials have not said how quickly updated, verified totals will be released.

Given the number of foreign governments involved, continued diplomatic coordination is likely as countries work to confirm the status of their citizens and, where necessary, arrange consular support or repatriation for survivors.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and Reuters

160 Killed, Hundreds Missing After Flash Floods Sweep Nepal

By
Emmanuel Paul
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Massive flash floods tore through communities along the Nepal-China border Wednesday, killing at least 160 people and leaving hundreds of tourists, workers and residents missing, officials said, in what may rank among the deadliest disasters in Nepal’s modern history.

Nepal police reported at least 157 confirmed deaths. China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported three deaths and 265 people missing in the Tibet region’s Gyirong County near the border, bringing the combined toll to at least 160. Officials cautioned that both figures remained preliminary as recovery efforts continued into the night.

The flood originated when an avalanche of ice and rock blocked the Lhende River, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, roughly 20 kilometers northeast of the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, according to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, which based its assessment on satellite imagery from Planet Labs. The resulting surge hit the settlement of Timure first before sweeping downstream through Syaphrubesi and other communities in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts.

What We Know So Far

Figures on the number of people missing varied across official sources. Nepal’s tourism board said 403 people were reported missing, including 341 foreign nationals. A separate statement from Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office cited a total of 391 foreign nationals and 44 security personnel missing, a figure that does not fully align with the tourism board’s count. Nepal police spokesperson Abi Narayan Kafle said at least 28 police officials were among the missing.

Tourism board spokesperson Sunil Sharma said 133 of the missing were Indian nationals on pilgrimage toward Mount Kailash in Tibet, a site sacred to Hindus. He said 47 missing were American, 34 Australian, 33 British and 24 Canadian. At least 62 missing Nepali citizens were trekkers in the Gosaikunda Lake area of Rasuwa, where the disaster coincided with the local Janai Purnima festival. South Korea’s government said either eight or nine of its citizens working on a hydropower plant were missing, with the exact figure differing between reports. Malaysia’s foreign ministry said it had lost contact with 11 citizens believed to be in Rasuwa, and Russia’s embassy in Nepal said four of its citizens in the affected area were unaccounted for.

Accounts also differed on the seismic activity connected to the disaster. The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake early Wednesday about 66 kilometers north of Kathmandu, near the border, before later reclassifying the event as a magnitude 5.2 landslide rather than an earthquake. The German Research Centre for Geosciences separately recorded a 4.4 magnitude quake approximately seven minutes before security camera footage on the Chinese side of the border captured people fleeing the floodwaters. Nepali officials initially suggested an earthquake may have triggered a glacial collapse, though later assessments from disaster authorities and climate researchers pointed primarily to an ice and rock avalanche blocking the river.

At least 19 bridges and nearly 40 kilometers of road were swept away nationwide. The flood also destroyed nine hydropower projects and an equal number of commercial bank branches, according to the Kathmandu Post. More than 300 vehicles and trucks waiting at a customs checkpoint in Timure were washed away, and officials said Rasuwa’s electricity remained out due to damaged hydropower infrastructure.

Survivor Accounts

Survivors described the flood’s sudden, overwhelming force. Keshav Prasad Baral, 68, said he tried to pull his wife to safety on their home’s terrace as mud surged in, but she was swept away before he could get her clear; he was rescued by helicopter four or five hours later. Rajendra Dhungana, chief customs officer in Rasuwa, said he initially thought an earthquake had struck when he felt the ground shake, then saw what looked like a nearly 100 meter wave crash down and destroy the Timure market within moments.

Tula Bahadur BK, a health worker in Rasuwa, described devastation everywhere he looked, saying riverside settlements had been completely swept away and that five of his own relatives were missing. Resident Shoyam Rajbhandari, describing the flood’s arrival in Dhunge bazaar, said the market was destroyed within half an hour as people were just beginning their workday, adding that the true number of dead or missing remained unknown.

Why This Matters

The disaster strikes a region already scarred by a similar flood along the same river system in July of last year, which killed at least 11 people and destroyed the Miteri Bridge connecting Nepal and China, with affected areas still not fully recovered. Security officials and disaster experts said Wednesday’s flood could surpass Nepal’s benchmark disaster, the 1993 floods in Sarlahi, Rautahat and Makawanpur that killed 1,400 people, depending on how many of the hundreds still missing are ultimately confirmed dead.

Climate researchers at the Kathmandu based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development said hydrological data showed the exceptional speed of the flood wave, with water levels on the Trishuli River rising as much as nine meters in half an hour. Disaster risk specialist Saswata Sanyal said the Lhende River has now flooded twice in 14 months, both times linked to glacial instability, and emphasized the need for early warning systems in what he called a warming Himalaya. Research has found glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates roughly doubling since 2000 due to rising global temperatures.

The disaster has exposed significant gaps in Nepal’s flood warning infrastructure. Automatic flood monitoring stations installed in the upper Bhotekoshi were swept away by the flood before they could transmit any alert, according to Binod Parajuli, a senior hydrologist at Nepal’s Flood Forecasting Division. Information about the flood did not reach his division until 8:56 a.m. Wednesday, relayed through district and national disaster authorities, and a warning was issued to downstream areas within four minutes, though it arrived too late for many communities in Rasuwa itself. Parajuli said the warning likely helped save hundreds of lives further downstream in Nuwakot even though it failed to reach people closer to the flood’s source in time.

Anil Pokhrel, former executive chief of Nepal’s disaster management authority, said similar cross-border warning failures have occurred before without being adequately addressed, and called for Nepal’s Foreign Ministry to establish a reliable mechanism with Chinese authorities to share early warnings when floods originate on the Tibetan side. Nepal and China signed a memorandum of understanding on disaster risk cooperation in 2019, but Wednesday’s disaster exposed a gap between that formal agreement and any functioning real-time warning mechanism. Following the flood, Nepali and Chinese hydrology officials held a virtual meeting Wednesday afternoon, after which China agreed to notify Nepal as soon as water levels begin rising on its side of the border going forward.

International Response

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Nepal’s leadership and pledged humanitarian assistance, saying Indian teams were closely coordinating on rescue and relief efforts. Nepali government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel said Nepal had formally requested rescue assistance from both India and China. United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said U.N. bodies were deploying to meet what he called a clearly massive humanitarian need. Australia, Britain, the European Union, Finland, France, Norway and Switzerland issued a joint statement expressing solidarity with Nepal and urging affected residents to follow local safety guidance.

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of Americans affected by the floods and was tracking the situation closely. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the floods absolutely devastating and said Canada was closely following developments. Flood alerts were also issued in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states, where authorities in Bihar said they had evacuated about 5,000 people across six districts, with plans to evacuate as many as 12,000 in total.

What Happens Next

Rescue helicopters continued ferrying survivors out of hard-hit areas including Syaphrubesi and Timure, though officials said aircraft could not land in some zones given the river’s continued elevated flow. Search and recovery operations were expected to continue for days given the scale of destruction and the number of people still unaccounted for.

Nepali officials face pressure to address the structural warning gaps exposed by the disaster, including Parajuli’s call for expanded real-time sensor networks capable of detecting flood risks before they cross into Nepali territory. Whether the renewed cooperation agreement reached with China on Wednesday translates into a functioning early warning system before the next flood season remains an open question, given that a similar formal agreement has existed since 2019 without preventing Wednesday’s disaster.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Reuters and the Kathmandu Post

Montana Man Kills 8 Family Members at Sunday Dinner Before Setting Home on Fire

By
Omonigho Daibo
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A man killed eight relatives, including four children, as they gathered for a weekly Sunday dinner at a family home in Billings, Montana, then set the house on fire before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials and family members said.

Police said they responded to the home Sunday evening and heard gunfire coming from behind the house just before it became fully engulfed in flames. In a statement Tuesday, the Billings Police Department said investigators believe eight people, four juveniles and four adults, died in the attack, with the shooter’s death bringing the total number who died at the scene to nine. Recovery of the victims’ remains was still underway as of Tuesday, and the department said the scene would likely remain active for several more days.

Family members have asked that attention stay focused on the victims rather than the person responsible. “They want as little focus on him as possible,” family friend Jennifer Mercer said. “They just want the kids and the family to be remembered, not this person.” In keeping with that request, this report includes only the information necessary to understand what happened.

What We Know So Far

The victims spanned four generations of a blended family, according to Mercer, who spoke with permission from relatives Erica Jarussi Schneider and Adam Ghekiere. They included Megan Ghekiere and her two children from a previous marriage, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7; Megan’s two stepchildren, Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12; her parents, Dana Smith, 72, and Barb Smith, 69, who owned the home; and her grandmother, Evelyn Smith, 92, who used a wheelchair.

Brad Ireland, Megan’s former husband and father of Owen and Chloe, told the Associated Press that the man responsible had been living with his parents in Montana for years before they asked him to move out several weeks earlier. He returned unannounced Sunday evening, during the family’s regular weekly dinner. Adam Ghekiere, Megan’s husband, was at work and not at the home when the shooting occurred.

Charlotte, 12, called 911 during the attack. “The one thing we do know is that Charlotte was the hero,” Mercer said. “Charlotte called 911 and she tried to save her family.” Police arrived roughly 11 minutes after the first report of gunfire, made at 6:01 p.m.

Firefighters battled the blaze until around 1 a.m., according to Billings Fire Chief Matt Hoppel. The home sat in a subdivision outside municipal limits that was not required to have fire hydrants, and crews delayed entry until the scene was secured, allowing the fire to burn through much of the structure. Billings police spokesperson Jeff Stovall said the resulting damage to the home’s structural integrity has complicated the investigation and recovery effort.

Remembering the Victims

Mercer, who lived across the street from Landon and Charlotte, described the family as loving and close, saying the children got along well and that their parents remained amicable after Megan and Brad Ireland’s divorce six years earlier. She said Landon was a caring teenager who was always willing to help family and neighbors, and had been planning to get his driver’s license this week ahead of his sophomore year at Billings Senior High. Charlotte, about to start seventh grade, was funny and curious, with a particular love of searching for bugs outdoors, Mercer said. She said Charlotte’s parents recalled her living by her favorite phrase: “I love you more.”

The Smith family had relocated to Montana from the Seattle area. Megan moved to Billings with her children after her divorce and later remarried; her parents and grandmother followed and settled nearby.

Community Response

Mercer started an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs and other expenses for the surviving family, writing that the community lost two of its brightest lights in Landon and Charlotte, along with six other family members, in what she called a senseless act of violence. A second fundraiser was organized by Michael Solberg to support Adam Ghekiere, an airport rescue firefighter, describing the scale of his loss as almost unimaginable. Together the two fundraisers had raised nearly $120,000 by Tuesday afternoon.

Mercer said the community’s response had been overwhelming and that the family remains grateful despite the scope of their loss, adding that they hope to eventually be remembered for the fullness of their lives rather than the circumstances of their deaths. A community candlelight vigil is being planned.

Why This Matters

Officials said the Billings shooting is the 22nd mass killing recorded in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University. Criminologist James Alan Fox, who manages the database, said 15 of this year’s mass killings have stemmed from domestic disputes, a higher share than the roughly 50 percent average typically seen in U.S. mass killings.

It is the deadliest mass killing in the country since April, when a Louisiana father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, and wounded his wife and another woman. Brad Ireland said there had been warning signs in the years before Sunday’s attack that went unheeded, though he said he was unaware of any history of violence, describing periods of verbal hostility instead. Records checks in Montana and Washington found no prior arrests or criminal charges against the man responsible, and Ireland said he had struggled to hold steady employment after college.

What Happens Next

Billings police said they plan to share additional details of the investigation at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Recovery efforts at the scene are expected to continue for several more days given the condition of the burned structure.

The two community fundraisers remain active to support the surviving family members, including Landon and Charlotte’s mother and Adam Ghekiere, as they face funeral costs and time away from work in the aftermath of the attack.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and the Billings Gazette

Canada Strikes Back With Retaliatory Tariffs on About $20 Billion in US Goods

By
Emmanuel Paul
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Canada announced retaliatory tariffs Tuesday on roughly $20 billion worth of American goods, targeting more than 700 U.S. products in response to steep new U.S. tariffs on Canadian exports that took effect over the weekend.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the new duties, set at 15 percent, 25 percent or 50 percent depending on the product, will take effect September 8 and are designed to match the corresponding U.S. tariff rate on each targeted good. Reports differed slightly on the exact scope of the list, with some accounts citing more than 700 products and others citing more than 800 entries, a discrepancy that had not been resolved as of the latest reporting.

The list extends well beyond industrial goods, covering everyday purchases including seafood, cheese, clothing, cosmetics and toilet paper, alongside steel, aluminum, dairy products, appliances, farm equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics. Existing Canadian counter-tariffs on U.S. autos will remain in place.

What We Know So Far

Goods facing the steepest 50 percent tariffs include aluminum products, furniture, clothing and apparel, along with steel and aluminum items that had previously carried only a 25 percent counter-tariff. Appliances, dairy products including cheese, fish and seafood, and certain steel and aluminum derivatives will face 25 percent tariffs, while other products such as rubber molds and machinery parts will carry a 15 percent rate. Canadian officials said the goal is not to raise government revenue but to protect Canadian companies and reduce reliance on U.S. imports.

Canada also announced a support package worth 7.5 billion Canadian dollars, or about 5.4 billion U.S. dollars, for workers and businesses affected by the dispute. Officials said the government has now provided more than 30 billion Canadian dollars, or roughly 21.7 billion U.S. dollars, in tariff-related support since the start of 2025, an amount they said far exceeds what Canada has collected in retaliatory duties.

The retaliation follows the Trump administration’s 50 percent tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods, ranging from honey to hockey sticks, which took effect early Saturday after weeks of negotiations collapsed. That figure represents about 5 percent of the total value of goods Canada exported to the U.S. last year. The Trump administration separately listed more than 550 Canadian products subject to the new 50 percent rate, including natural honey, alcoholic beverages, ice skates and smartphones. Trump imposed those tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act, a Great Depression era provision never previously used, which allows tariffs of up to 50 percent on countries found to have discriminated against U.S. businesses. Trump has said Canada discriminated against U.S. autos, alcohol and dairy products following Canada’s earlier retaliatory measures.

Trump added further threats this week, saying on social media Monday that tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, automotive parts and steel would rise to 50 percent starting January 1, 2027. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the proposal would gradually dismantle Canadian auto production and accused Washington of trying to subordinate Canada, saying U.S. demands during the failed talks showed an intent to destroy major Canadian industries.

Accounts of why the negotiations collapsed differed sharply between the two governments. Carney said he ended talks late Friday after Washington proposed last-minute terms he called unfair and uneconomic, saying Canada could neither accept what the U.S. offered nor provide what it demanded. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer disputed that account, telling CNBC that Washington had offered to cut tariffs on steel and aluminum in half and reduce them substantially on autos and softwood lumber, but that Canada simply wanted more.

What Authorities Are Saying

Champagne said maintaining Canada’s economic sovereignty is non-negotiable and that the country would not accept restrictions on its ability to choose its own trading partners. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly urged Canadians to buy Canadian products as part of what she called a movement of resistance, and said she has remained in regular contact with the Canadian divisions of Honda, Ford Motor and Toyota given the auto industry’s importance to Ontario.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said the unpredictability of the tariff dispute creates worry and anxiety that makes it difficult for people and businesses to plan ahead. “It has an effect of sort of freezing people in place,” Hajdu said, describing hesitation around major decisions like investments, home purchases or business expansion.

The dispute has also spilled into personal exchanges between Trump and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a Carney ally. Ford told a Canadian radio show that Trump could “kiss my ass” and said Ontario would go at him full steam. Trump responded on social media by dismissing what he called Ford’s bluster and warning of far worse consequences for Canada. Ford later called Trump the “king of bankruptcies,” saying he would not take the bait. Trump escalated further Tuesday by threatening to rename Lake Ontario “Lake America,” a suggestion Joly dismissed as shenanigans, saying Canada would always call it Lake Ontario. Ford separately told the Associated Press this week that Ontario would be prepared to cut off electricity and critical mineral exports to the U.S. if the trade war worsens further.

Why This Matters

The dispute underscores how deeply integrated the U.S. and Canadian economies remain across sectors including autos, energy, agriculture and manufacturing, making a prolonged trade fight potentially costly for businesses and workers on both sides of the border despite the relatively narrow slice of total trade directly affected by the latest tariffs. Canada’s decision to structure its retaliation as a dollar for dollar match of U.S. rates, rather than a broader or more punitive response, suggests an effort to signal firmness without further escalating the conflict beyond what Washington has already imposed.

The personal animosity between Trump and Ford adds a volatile political dimension to what is otherwise a formal trade dispute, with both leaders trading public insults even as their governments continue managing the underlying economic conflict. That dynamic traces back at least to a 2025 Ontario television ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan warning against tariffs, which angered Trump enough that he briefly terminated trade talks and threatened additional tariffs at the time, though he did not follow through then.

Ford’s threat to cut off electricity and critical minerals, if realized, would represent a significant escalation beyond tariffs alone, given how reliant some U.S. regions are on Canadian energy exports, raising the stakes considerably beyond the current round of trade measures if the dispute continues to deteriorate.

What Happens Next

Canada’s new tariffs are set to take effect September 8, giving both governments a short window in which further negotiation or additional escalation remains possible. Trump’s threatened increase on Canadian auto and steel tariffs to 50 percent, set for January 2027, adds a longer term deadline that could shape the trajectory of the dispute well beyond the immediate retaliation announced this week.

Given the conflicting accounts from Carney and Greer over why talks collapsed, and the continued public sparring between Trump and Ford, the path back to renewed negotiations remains unclear. Both governments have signaled willingness to sustain economic pressure for an extended period, with Champagne pledging support for Canadian workers and industry for as long as necessary.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and NBC News

Gang Attack Near Haiti’s Capital Kills at Least 47

By
Zipporah Njoki
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Armed gang members attacked displaced people sheltering inside a church near Haiti’s capital over the weekend, killing at least 47 people and kidnapping more than 50 others, the United Nations said Tuesday, in what officials described as one of the largest mass kidnappings in Haiti in recent years.

The death toll rose as the investigation continued. Kenscoff Mayor Massillon Jean, referred to in some reports as Jean Massillon, initially told Agence France-Presse on Monday that around 40 bodies had been counted, with searches ongoing and some people still missing. By Tuesday, the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, known as BINUH, confirmed the toll had risen to at least 47, including at least five children. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said 22 of the victims were reportedly executed inside the church compound where they had sought shelter.

Jean described Sunday night’s attack as a night of terror in a town that has faced months of gang violence. “The bandits raided a displaced persons camp located in a church. They executed several people,” Jean said. Gang members also set fire to 25 homes and killed two government employees, including a member of Jean’s own security detail who was his cousin, he told the Associated Press.

What We Know So Far

The attack took place in Kenscoff, a mountainous municipality in the hills above Port-au-Prince that has faced sporadic gang incursions since the first major attack there in January 2025. Sunday’s assault was the largest yet in the area, according to the AP.

A man identifying himself as Izo 2, also known as “Didi,” claimed responsibility for leading the attack in a video posted to social media, threatening Haiti’s National Police Director Vladimir Paraison over the fate of the kidnapped hostages. “Paraison, if any of our soldiers are hurt, I will kill all of them,” he said. Romain Le Cour, head of the Haiti Observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, said Izo 2 leads the Kenscoff based armed group on behalf of and in coordination with Izo, or Johnson André, one of Haiti’s most powerful gang leaders.

Some survivors have accused the government of failing to provide adequate protection ahead of the attack, an accusation Haiti’s National Police has rejected. Le Cour said that if police and armored vehicles were indeed already stationed in Kenscoff before the attack, the failure to prevent it would raise serious concerns about the response.

The office of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé issued a statement expressing deep compassion for victims’ families and announced that security reinforcements would be sent to the area.

Why This Matters

Sunday’s attack undercuts recent claims that security conditions in Haiti were beginning to improve, arriving as the country prepares for general elections scheduled for December 13, its first in more than a decade. Le Cour said the attack represents a major political and security test for the government, police and the U.N.-backed international security mission alike, and suggested the gang’s threat to execute hostages functions as a trap: security forces face blame for inaction if they hold back, and blame from the gangs themselves if intervention leads to hostage deaths.

María Fernanda Arocha, a researcher with the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, said gangs have targeted Kenscoff because controlling it allows them to surround the upscale community of Pétion-Ville and dominate alternate routes linking the capital to Haiti’s southern region. She said security operations had reduced violence in Kenscoff by 66 percent between January and August before Sunday’s attack, but that gangs have increasingly expanded into vulnerable rural communities as police concentrate their limited resources on central Port-au-Prince.

The attack adds to a broader humanitarian crisis engulfing Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas. Armed groups control an estimated 70 percent of Port-au-Prince and swaths of territory in the country’s central region and beyond. Nearly 1.5 million Haitians are currently displaced nationwide, and more than 5 million face severe food insecurity, according to U.N. figures. Separate U.N. data released Tuesday found more than 3,050 people were killed nationwide between January and June, with about 1,400 injured, nearly 800 rapes reported between April and June, and at least 81 kidnappings reported over the same period, a figure the U.N. cautioned likely undercounts the true total since many families negotiate directly with kidnappers rather than involving police.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016. Its last president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July 2021 and has not been replaced, and the country’s political instability deepened further in early 2024 when a wave of gang violence forced the country’s unelected prime minister to resign.

What Happens Next

Government reinforcements are being deployed to Kenscoff in response to the attack, though it remains unclear how authorities intend to secure the release of the more than 50 people still held by the gang without triggering the retaliation threatened by Izo 2. Searches for additional victims and missing residents were continuing as of the latest reporting.

Mayor Jean said he remains optimistic that the state will continue working to eradicate gang activity in Kenscoff despite the scale of Sunday’s attack. “The atrocity of this crime reminds us that we have to continue working stronger every day to bring peace to the community,” Jean said. With general elections scheduled for December, the government’s response to the attack is likely to face continued scrutiny as a test of its broader security claims ahead of the vote.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and Le Monde, citing AFP

Dolly Parton, Beloved ‘Queen of Country’ Behind ‘Jolene’ Dies at 80

By
Zipporah Njoki
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0

Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose songwriting, voice and larger-than-life persona carried her from a two-room log cabin in the Tennessee mountains to global stardom, has died. She was 80.

Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, who served as her head of security for more than two decades, announced her death in a video posted to Instagram Tuesday. “This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago,” Seaver said, adding that she had died peacefully. Her publicist separately confirmed she died Tuesday in Nashville. A specific cause of death was not disclosed, though Parton had spoken openly in recent months about declining health that forced her to cancel a string of concerts and public appearances, including her withdrawal last week from the opening of a new Dollywood attraction after experiencing dizziness and dehydration.

Early Life and Rise to Fame

Parton was born January 19, 1946, in a two-room log cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children. Her father, an illiterate sharecropper who eventually owned a small tobacco farm, and her mother, who passed down a deep knowledge of traditional folk ballads, shaped both her work ethic and her musical foundation. Parton later described the family as “dirt poor,” crediting her father’s hard work and financial instincts for raising the household.

She began performing as a child in church, where her grandfather preached, and was playing guitar and singing on local television by age 10. At 13, she appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, introduced by Johnny Cash, and recorded her first single, “Puppy Love.” She moved to Nashville the day after graduating high school in 1964, following her uncle and fellow songwriter Bill Owens, and began building a career as a songwriter before releasing her debut album, “Hello, I’m Dolly,” in 1967.

That same year, she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show,” beginning a pivotal partnership with the established country star, who helped secure her a record deal at RCA and served as a producer as she developed a more polished, pop-leaning sound. Their duets became reliable radio hits, and Parton scored her first solo number one with “Joshua” before reaching the top five with “Coat of Many Colors,” a ballad about her mother sewing a coat from scraps of fabric that became a children’s book and television movie.

Breakthrough and Crossover Stardom

Parton’s defining hit came in 1973 with “Jolene,” a churning, pleading country standard that crossed over to pop audiences and has since been covered by artists including Miley Cyrus, Olivia Newton-John and The White Stripes. She left Wagoner’s show the following year amid reported tension between them, though they continued recording together for years afterward; their relationship later turned litigious when Wagoner sued her in 1979 over management fees and royalties.

She followed “Jolene” with “I Will Always Love You” in 1974, written as a farewell to her partnership with Wagoner. She turned down Elvis Presley’s request to record the song rather than share its publishing rights, a decision that paid off decades later when Whitney Houston’s 1992 cover, recorded for “The Bodyguard,” became a record-breaking chart topper and won Houston a Grammy that Parton herself presented.

“Here You Come Again,” a pop crossover hit in 1977 that Parton did not write, brought her first Grammy Award and cemented her as a multi-genre entertainer. Reflecting later on the stylistic shift, she said she had no fear of change and trusted her own instincts despite skepticism from others in the industry.

In 1980, Parton starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the workplace comedy “9 to 5,” writing its Oscar-nominated theme song, which topped the charts and became an anthem for working women. Critic Roger Ebert called her a natural-born movie star. She went on to appear in “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Joyful Noise,” while continuing a prolific recording career that included the hit duet “Islands in the Stream” with longtime friend Kenny Rogers and the platinum-selling “Trio” album alongside Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

Personal Life

Parton married Carl Dean, an asphalt paving contractor she met the same day she arrived in Nashville, in Georgia on May 30, 1966. The couple remained married until Dean’s death in 2025 at age 82, having largely kept their relationship out of the public eye over the decades. Parton said Dean’s genuine interest in getting to know her set him apart when they first met, and she later said “Jolene” was inspired by a flirtatious bank teller who had taken an interest in him.

Legacy and Philanthropy

Over a six-decade career, Parton wrote more than 3,000 songs, sold more than 100 million records worldwide and logged more than a billion online streams. She was nominated for 55 Grammy Awards, making her the third most nominated woman in Grammy history behind Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, with differing accounts placing her total wins at either 10 or 11, a discrepancy that remained unresolved across available reporting. She was also selected in 2025 for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, often described as an honorary Oscar, with the honor set to be presented in 2026.

Her philanthropic reach extended well beyond entertainment. Her Imagination Library, launched in part because her father struggled to read, has sent free books to children for decades. She held a telethon and established a foundation supporting residents affected by the deadly 2016 Smoky Mountains wildfire, contributed funding toward COVID-19 vaccine research, supported the American Red Cross, and helped fund efforts against the HIV/AIDS crisis. She received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022, saying she simply gave from her heart whenever she saw a need she could fill.

Parton also built a lasting business legacy through Dollywood, her Tennessee theme park that became a major economic driver for the region and features a replica of the log cabin where she was born, alongside ventures spanning television specials, frozen food and publishing, including a bestselling novel co-written with James Patterson.

Despite her broad, generation-spanning popularity, Parton was famously private about politics. She said she had opinions like anyone else but had long ago learned to keep them to herself, given how many fans she had across the political spectrum.

Tributes

Seaver’s Instagram announcement offered the first public confirmation of her death, describing her as having lived in the light and now in the arms of Jesus. Additional tributes from the entertainment industry and public figures were expected to follow in the coming days as news of her death spread.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and The Independent, citing statements from Bryan Seaver and Dolly Parton’s publicist, along with past interviews Parton gave to the Associated Press, NPR and other outlets over the course of her career.

New $103K H-1B Visa Fee Proposed by DHS After Court Block

By
Omonigho Daibo
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0

 The Trump administration on Monday released a proposed regulation to impose a fee of more than $100,000 on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, moving to formally codify a charge that has already been temporarily in effect for the past year and remains tied up in federal court.

The proposed rule, posted Monday in the Federal Register by the Department of Homeland Security, would set the fee at $103,265, sharply raising costs for visas heavily relied upon across the tech, education and research sectors. It could be finalized by the end of the year.

Trump first imposed the fee on a temporary basis last year. A federal judge ruled in June that version of the fee was illegal and blocked its collection, a decision now under review by a Boston-based appeals court. A separate court is considering whether a judge properly rejected a challenge to the fee brought by a major business group. Trump’s temporary fee is set to expire in September, one year after it was first issued, adding urgency to the administration’s push to establish a permanent version through formal rulemaking.

What We Know So Far

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with specialized training, offering 65,000 general visas annually plus another 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees, approved for terms of three to six years. Fees typically ranged between $2,000 and $5,000 before Trump’s order. The new fee would not apply to foreign citizens already in the United States on student visas, who make up a large share of new H-1B recipients, nor to renewals of existing visas.

About 70 employers had paid the $100,000 fee across 85 visa applications as of late February, according to court filings. Trump invoked presidential authority under immigration law to restrict the entry of foreign nationals deemed detrimental to U.S. interests in imposing the charge.

The fee is being challenged in court by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Democratic-led states, and a coalition of unions and employers. Those lawsuits could be amended to challenge the newly proposed permanent rule once it is finalized. Plaintiffs argue that the president’s authority to restrict entry does not extend to overriding the statute that created the H-1B program, and that Homeland Security cannot impose fees or generate federal revenue without congressional approval. The administration has countered that the fee is not a traditional tax and that courts have limited power to question the president’s authority over entry restrictions.

Employer demand for H-1B visas has fallen sharply amid the broader immigration crackdown. Employers registered for about 344,000 H-1B visas last year, down more than 25 percent from 2024 and less than half the 794,000 sought in 2023, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. The administration has separately ordered enhanced vetting of H-1B applicants and proposed a new selection process favoring higher-skilled, better-paid workers. Earlier in August, Homeland Security introduced a separate rule adding fees of up to $4,500 for H-1B extension applications and for transferring employees based overseas to U.S. positions.

What Authorities and Business Groups Are Saying

Trump and other critics of the H-1B program argue it is exploited by companies seeking to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. Business groups and individual companies counter that the program addresses a genuine shortage of qualified American workers in certain fields and allows U.S. employers to recruit top global talent.

Why This Matters

The proposed permanent fee represents a significant escalation of the administration’s effort to reshape skilled immigration policy, moving from a temporary measure already found unlawful by a federal court to a formal regulatory process aimed at establishing the fee on lasting legal footing. The sharp decline in visa applications since the fee’s introduction suggests it has already reshaped employer behavior well before any court has resolved its legality, raising questions about the program’s long-term role in sectors like technology and research that have historically relied heavily on H-1B talent.

The legal dispute also centers on a broader constitutional question about the limits of executive authority over immigration and revenue generation, since the plaintiffs’ core argument, that Homeland Security cannot impose fees without congressional approval, extends beyond the H-1B program itself to touch on separation of powers principles that could shape future executive actions on immigration fees more broadly.

What Happens Next

The Federal Register posting opens a formal rulemaking process that could result in the fee being finalized by the end of the year, even as related litigation over the original temporary fee continues in the Boston-based appeals court and a separate case addressing the business group’s challenge. Whether the administration can finalize the permanent rule before Trump’s temporary fee expires in September remains unclear given the pending court review.

Plaintiffs challenging the fee are expected to amend their lawsuits to target the newly proposed permanent rule once it is finalized, setting up continued legal conflict over the fee’s legality even as the rulemaking process moves forward in parallel.

Reporting drawn from Reuters and The Independent

Mail Voting Restrictions Allowed by Supreme Court for Midterms

By
Omonigho Daibo
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0

The Supreme Court opened a path Monday for the Trump administration to move forward with an executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can take effect before the fast-approaching midterm elections.

The court’s 6-3 conservative majority did not rule on the legality of the order itself. Instead, it found that the 23 mostly Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that sued lacked legal standing to challenge it at this stage, since federal agencies had not yet finalized rules to implement it when the states filed suit. “The Court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell,” the majority wrote in an unsigned order.

The ruling lifted a June injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts, who had found that Trump lacked constitutional authority to direct changes in how states administer federal elections. A separate, broader injunction Talwani issued in August, blocking the Postal Service nationwide from enforcing the order’s tighter mail ballot rules in a case brought by voting rights groups, remains in place and was not addressed by Monday’s ruling.

What We Know So Far

Trump’s executive order, signed in March, directs the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of citizens eligible to vote in each state and instructs the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to voters on those approved lists. It also directs the Justice Department to prioritize investigating and prosecuting election officials who issue ballots to people deemed ineligible. The Postal Service released a finalized rule implementing the order late Friday, requiring states to provide voter lists and to use unique barcodes on outbound and return ballot envelopes, with plans to make the rule official Wednesday.

The timeline is tight. North Carolina begins sending ballots to overseas and military voters on September 4, with other states following in the coming weeks. Election officials have expressed concern about implementing sweeping new procedures on such short notice, including redesigning and reprinting ballot envelopes that counties typically order a year or more in advance. Jennifer Morrell, chief executive of the Elections Group, which supports election officials nationwide, called the timing reckless given how close the changes come to the election.

The administration has relied on a federal database to determine citizenship that court records show contains incomplete and inaccurate information, and some eligible voters have had their registrations improperly revoked after being misidentified as noncitizens. Noncitizen voting does occur but remains rare; New Jersey recently disclosed it had inadvertently registered thousands of noncitizens due to a software error, including about 340 who went on to cast ballots in recent years. Research on the broader question, including a 2025 Brookings Institution study, found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast. Roughly 30 percent of all ballots in the 2024 presidential election were cast by mail, according to federal data, a method that has grown increasingly popular among voters of both parties.

A coalition of Republican-leaning states filed a competing brief supporting the federal government, arguing states would still have input on the final voter lists used to implement the order.

What Authorities Are Saying

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, writing in dissent, said the ruling needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the midterm elections and described it as letting “another shoe drop in the Kafkaesque nightmare that our precedents have been steadily creating for certain plaintiffs who seek to bring election-related challenges.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Elena Kagan, wrote separately that states should not have to wait to challenge the order, noting that Monday’s decision did not address whether Trump’s actions to influence the 2026 elections are lawful.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the decision a painful setback but said it would not be the final word, vowing continued legal action. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said the ruling was procedural and that states would keep fighting the order, writing on social media that states, not the Postal Service or the president, run elections. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the ruling allows the administration to move ahead for now with what he called a plan to disenfranchise voters, and said California would sue again.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the order was designed to make it harder for Americans to vote in pivotal elections that will determine control of Congress, and pledged Democrats would fight attempts to alter mail voting rules before November.

David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research, said the court created chaos by waiting weeks after the administration’s filing, and just days before mail ballots go out, to rewrite the rules. Richard Hasen, a UCLA law professor who directs the school’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, called the ruling narrow and technical, predicting the underlying issue could return to the court soon and that further delay would leave states even less time to comply if the order eventually takes full effect.

Why This Matters

Mail voting has long been a target for Trump, who has claimed without credible evidence that it enables widespread fraud, including blaming it in part for his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. Studies, including the Brookings analysis cited above, have consistently found fraud involving mail ballots to be extremely rare, even as mail voting has grown more popular across the political spectrum. The Supreme Court itself previously ruled 5-4 against a Trump-backed challenge to counting ballots that arrive after Election Day, in a case decided through full briefing rather than the emergency docket used in Monday’s ruling.

Restricting mail-in voting carries direct political stakes heading into the midterms, since Democratic voters have traditionally used mail ballots at higher rates than Republican voters, meaning new restrictions could disproportionately affect Democratic turnout in a cycle where control of both chambers of Congress remains closely contested.

The order is part of a broader push by Trump to reshape federal election administration, including pressing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register and photo identification to vote, firing members of a bipartisan federal election commission, and threatening to withhold funding from states that do not comply with new voting procedures before November. Talwani’s original ruling found that the Constitution gives states the primary role in administering elections, with Congress holding limited authority to set national standards and the president holding an even narrower role, a framework that remains central to the ongoing legal dispute even after Monday’s procedural ruling.

What Happens Next

The case returns to the lower courts, where litigation is expected to continue over both the standing question the Supreme Court addressed and the separate, still-active nationwide injunction blocking the order’s mail ballot provisions. Voting rights groups suing over the order have accused the administration of violating that injunction by publishing the Postal Service rule anyway, and asked Talwani over the weekend to declare the rule void and bar further implementation; the judge has ordered government lawyers to respond by Tuesday morning, telling them they were ignoring the confusion the rule’s publication would cause.

Given the tight window before ballots go out in North Carolina and other states, further emergency litigation is likely in the coming days. Legal experts including Hasen have suggested the core legal questions the Supreme Court avoided addressing on the merits are likely to return to the justices before the midterms are resolved, particularly if lower courts issue conflicting rulings as the compliance deadlines approach.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Reuters and The Washington Post

Pakistan Holds Talks in Iran as US Prepares New Sanctions

By
Emmanuel Paul
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0

Pakistan’s army chief traveled to Tehran on Monday on a mediating mission as the United States prepared to unveil what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against a single country.

Bessent is scheduled to detail the new measures at a press conference Monday afternoon, targeting Iran’s trading partners nearly six months into its conflict with the United States and Israel. In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Sunday, Bessent described the coming announcement as an economic D-Day, warning that nations continuing to engage with Iran’s economy through what he called appeasement should consider the consequences of doing so.

Iran dismissed the threat and warned it would halt all oil exports from the Gulf if what it called the economic war continues. Iranian authorities also renewed warnings to shipping companies against transiting the Strait of Hormuz without permission, listing 45 vessels it said had violated its rules and threatening retaliation against any ship-to-ship transfers involving them.

What We Know So Far

Pakistani army chief Asim Munir, who has built a personal relationship with President Donald Trump, arrived in Iran for talks Monday, according to Iranian media. Pakistan described the visit as part of its effort to promote regional peace and stability, and a Pakistani source said Munir was expected to meet with people close to Iran’s supreme leader. Two Pakistani sources said Trump called Munir last week, with one saying the central request was to help bring Iran back to the negotiating table.

The U.S. and Iran have not struck each other’s militaries directly in recent weeks, though the last official face to face talks between the two sides took place in June, and attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have continued since then. A projectile struck a tanker west of the Saudi port city of Yanbu in the Red Sea on Monday, sparking a fire on the main deck, according to shipping monitors from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, who did not identify who launched the projectile. Iran’s Houthi allies said last month they would block Saudi oil exports diverted to the Red Sea specifically to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s currency, the rial, hit a new record low Monday, trading about 25 percent below its January level, as traders anticipated higher prices if tighter sanctions further restrict the country’s export capacity. The currency’s earlier slide had already prompted protests in January that were violently suppressed.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed the latest U.S. moves, which Washington has said are intended to bring down the Iranian government, saying previous such declarations from the United States had ultimately come to nothing. China’s foreign ministry separately said sanctions and pressure tactics do not work and that Beijing would do what is necessary to protect its own interests, after Bessent had urged China, long the largest buyer of Iranian oil, to cooperate with the U.S. effort. A U.S. blockade of Iranian ports renewed in mid-July has already cut Iranian oil flows to China.

What Authorities Are Saying

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned Sunday that continued economic pressure would prompt Iran to halt oil exports entirely, both through the Strait of Hormuz and from anywhere in the Persian Gulf, and said Iran would treat any country’s participation in or support for the U.S. economic campaign as an act of war.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said Monday that Tehran would respond harshly to expanded sanctions, including measures targeting countries it views as cooperating with Washington. “Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” Baghaei said. “Our hands are not tied.”

Iranian officials who spoke with Reuters, while maintaining a defiant public posture, privately expressed concern that further economic punishment could deepen hardship, reignite unrest and further erode the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy.

Why This Matters

The standoff centers on the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed before the war began nearly six months ago. Iranian attacks and threats have severely disrupted traffic through the waterway, and the U.S. has not yet succeeded in dislodging Iran’s grip on the strait despite months of pressure. Iran has maintained a consistent set of demands for reopening it fully, including lifting the U.S. naval blockade, withdrawing American forces from the region, and securing reparations for war damages, while separately pursuing talks with Oman on jointly managing the waterway regardless of whether a broader deal with the U.S. materializes.

Iran entered the conflict already facing high inflation, energy shortages and deep structural economic weaknesses, and now must contend with disrupted trade, lost production and the cost of rebuilding infrastructure damaged during the war. Thousands of people have died since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on February 28, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, a campaign that degraded much of Iran’s conventional military capacity and killed the country’s then supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while leaving the true state of Iran’s nuclear program still unknown to American and Israeli officials.

Despite that damage, Iran has retained enough missile and drone capability to strike its Gulf neighbors and bring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill, pushing up global fuel prices in the process. Sanctions have historically driven up basic goods prices inside Iran, though the country’s economy has shown some adaptive capacity over years of prior sanctions, developing new trading partners and domestic industries, an adaptability that will likely be tested further by the scale of measures Bessent has promised.

Pakistan’s mediating role adds a notable new dimension to the diplomatic landscape, given Munir’s direct relationship with Trump and Pakistan’s stated interest in regional stability, though it remains unclear whether Islamabad can meaningfully influence Iran’s position given the entrenched demands on both sides.

What Happens Next

Bessent’s press conference Monday afternoon is expected to detail the specific measures included in the new sanctions package, which officials have suggested will target not only Iran directly but also countries seen as continuing to engage with its economy. Oil prices eased Monday after two weeks of gains, as investors took profits ahead of the announcement.

Whether Munir’s mediation trip yields any movement toward renewed formal talks between the U.S. and Iran remains uncertain, particularly given Iran’s continued insistence on its full set of preconditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. With Iran’s currency at a record low and its economy under mounting strain, the coming weeks are likely to test whether economic pressure alone can shift Tehran’s position, or whether it instead hardens Iran’s resolve as officials have suggested privately they fear domestically.

Reporting drawn from Reuters and the Associated Press

Father of USS Lincoln Sailor Taken Into Immigration Detention

By
Omonigho Daibo
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0

The father of a U.S. sailor deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln was taken into federal immigration detention over the weekend, the sailor said in a Facebook post, as the ship remained at sea in the Middle East during a record-setting deployment.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, 48, originally from Nicaragua, during a vehicle stop in Key West on Saturday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Sunday. His son, Joshua Aviles, has served aboard the Lincoln for more than nine months as the carrier logged over 200 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a modern-day record that has drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers.

Accounts differed sharply on Aviles’s immigration status. His wife, Argelia Aviles, told the Associated Press that her husband holds a work permit and has lived in the United States for 19 years. Joshua Aviles wrote in his Facebook post that his father carries a driver’s license, Social Security card and employment authorization, and that the family has been pursuing a green card for him through proper immigration channels. The Department of Homeland Security, however, said Aviles Roa entered the country unlawfully and would remain in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody pending removal proceedings. That direct conflict between the family’s account of his legal status and the government’s characterization had not been resolved as of the latest reporting.

What We Know So Far

Argelia Aviles said her husband, a handyman in Key West, left the house Saturday to take his car to the mechanic when he was arrested. “He dedicates himself only to work so he can put food on the table at home. He is a good father. He loves his children with all his soul,” she said.

Joshua Aviles described learning of his father’s arrest while still aboard the Lincoln. “I’ve been deployed for over nine months, out at sea in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country that has given me everything,” he wrote, adding that he received the call about his father’s detention Saturday morning. “This is heartbreaking for me. I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal.”

A Homeland Security spokesperson said having a family member in the military does not exempt someone from immigration enforcement. “Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws,” the department said, adding that the Trump administration does not selectively enforce immigration law.

Katherine Delgado, Joshua Aviles’s sister, said her brother joined the military partly in hopes of improving their father’s chances at citizenship and easing his fear of arrest. She said the family has struggled with limited contact during Joshua’s deployment, including weeks without knowing his whereabouts and reports that he was not getting enough food, prompting her to spend hundreds of dollars on care packages, some of which never arrived. Delgado said Joshua is expected home soon following news that the Lincoln would be withdrawn from the Middle East, but that he will return without his father.

Argelia Aviles said the extended deployment had already weighed heavily on her husband, who was looking forward to his son’s return before the ship’s stay at sea stretched well past the original timeline. “He was excited,” she said. “He wanted to hug his son, as he hadn’t seen him for nine months.”

Why This Matters

Aviles Roa’s detention is part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration rolling back informal protections that had shielded immediate family members of active-duty troops from aggressive immigration enforcement. The Associated Press found in what it described as the first accounting of such cases, which the government does not formally track, that at least six family members of service members have been deported and one has self-deported under the current enforcement push. One spouse, held for more than a month in federal detention, was removed from a deportation flight to Brazil only after AP’s reporting on the case.

A program known as military parole-in-place has historically allowed spouses, children and parents of active-duty service members and veterans to pursue legal status from within the country, though not everyone qualifies, including those who overstayed visas or previously sought legal status at the border. Whether Aviles Roa’s situation intersects with that program remains unclear given the conflicting accounts of his legal status.

The case also lands amid intensifying scrutiny of conditions aboard the Lincoln itself, where sailors have described extended workdays, food shortages and deteriorating morale during the ship’s record-breaking deployment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously dismissed reports of poor conditions aboard the carrier as completely misrepresented, a characterization that stands in tension with firsthand accounts from sailors and their families, including the Aviles family’s description of Joshua working more than 250 consecutive days without a break.

What Happens Next

Aviles Roa remains in ICE custody as the government pursues his removal. His family has not indicated whether they plan to challenge the proceedings or provide documentation supporting their claim that he holds legal work authorization and has a pending green card application.

The Lincoln departed the Middle East on Saturday, and Joshua Aviles is expected to return home in the coming weeks, though without his father present given the ongoing detention. The Navy did not immediately respond to requests for comment on either the ship’s conditions or the sailor’s family situation, and the Pentagon referred questions about the Lincoln’s deployment to the Navy directly.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Reuters and The Independent, citing Argelia Aviles, Joshua Aviles’s Facebook posts, Katherine Delgado, and a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.

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