“A Christian father of 11 has reached a settlement with the Department of Justice after facing up to 10 years in prison for protesting at a Tennessee abortion clinic in March 2021. Paul Vaughn was convicted of violating the FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits ‘threats of force, obstruction or inflict property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.’ … The Biden DOJ also added a felony conspiracy charge carrying up to 10.5 years in prison. Vaughn pursued legal action against the Justice Department over his prosecution. He shared first with Fox News Digital that he recently reached a seven-figure settlement with the government agency. … Trump pardoned Vaughn and 23 other pro-life protesters convicted under the FACE Act by the Biden administration Department of Justice.” (07/28/26)
“U.S. healtcare giant Johnson & Johnson said it has reached a proposed $5.5 billion settlement to resolve most remaining lawsuits alleging its talc-based baby powder and other products caused ovarian cancer. The agreement, announced Monday, follows more than a decade of litigation, including nearly a decade of consolidated federal litigation in New Jersey, along with related cases throughout the country. Tens of thousands of claimants accused Johnson & Johnson of marketing its talc products for feminine hygiene and failing to adequately warn consumers about an alleged cancer risk, despite studies dating back to the 1980s reporting an association between genital talc use and ovarian cancer.” (07/28/26)
“A federal judge on Monday ordered U.S. immigration authorities to release a key witness in the [murder] of a Mexican homebuilder by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered the release of Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego from ICE custody within 48 hours, after the judge previously blocked his deportation. Ellison agreed with Rojas Pliego’s argument that his detention violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights. … Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was [murdered] by an ICE officer during a traffic stop. All three passengers were [abducted by the gang].” (07/28/26)
“The Las Vegas police officer who shot and killed a local homeowner after the man called 911 for help has resigned from the department, authorities said. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Officer Alexander Bookman resigned effective March 27. News 3 also reached out to the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, which said Bookman was eligible to return to work but chose to resign. The resignation follows the shooting death of Brandon Durham, 43, who was killed less than 15 seconds after Bookman entered Durham’s home on November 12, 2024. … Body-worn camera video showed Bookman kicking down Durham’s front door, entering the home and shooting Durham as he struggled over a knife with an intruder police identified as Alejandra Boudreaux.” (07/27/26)
“Iran on Tuesday hanged two men convicted in a case of killing four police officers during January protests, state media reported. A report by Mizanonline. ir, affiliated to the country’s judiciary, identified the two as Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi, saying they also set a police station on fire and damaged public properties in the central city of Isfahan, some 250 miles south of the capital, Tehran. The two men are the latest executed from among the tens of thousands who were arrested during a January crackdown on nationwide protests.” (07/28/26)
“Myanmar’s military-backed parliament approved a law on Tuesday that authorises capital punishment for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres, the speaker said. The ‘Anti-Online Scam Bill’ was passed after MPs approved changes to a draft bill at a combined meeting of the lower and upper houses Tuesday morning in the capital Naypyidaw, Union Parliament Speaker Aung Lin Dwe said during a live television broadcast. Lower house MP Aye Chan confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the death sentence remained in the approved version of the law. … Internet fraud factories have flourished in war-torn Myanmar, part of Southeast Asia’s thriving scam economy, targeting web users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment cons.” (07/28/26)
“Police in Chile say they have captured a man convicted years ago of the kidnapping and murder of popular folk singer Victor Jara under military ruler Augusto Pinochet. Nelson Haase was one of a group of officers given jail terms for the killing, which took place just five days after the coup which brought Pinochet to power in 1973. He was sentenced to 25 years. Haase took flight when the sentence was announced in August 2023 but was found by police on Saturday in the south of the country. Jara, who became famous in the 1960s and 70s for his protest and pacifist songs and supported the ousted socialist president Salvador Allende, was subjected to torture and shot 44 times.” (07/28/26)
“Haiti’s CEP electoral council on Monday scheduled the first presidential elections in a decade for December with a runoff in February, after plans to hold the vote in August with a December runoff were postponed over security concerns. Haiti has not held elections since 2016. Its last president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in 2021, after delaying a vote. Successive governments have been tasked with holding an election but said insecurity amid a conflict with powerful armed gangs made it impossible.” (07/27/26)
“U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday, with wars in Iran and Ukraine at critical stages and his ties with both leaders markedly different. Relations with Zelenskiy have warmed as Ukraine has blunted Russian advances, while Netanyahu arrives amid growing White House frustration over the lack of progress toward a broader settlement in the Iran conflict and criticism from some of Trump’s supporters who oppose deeper U.S. involvement in the Middle East. The two men are in Washington to attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Republican who was one of Trump’s closest allies and who frequently tried to coax Trump into providing more support for Ukraine’s war.” (07/28/26)
“Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed on Sunday night to accelerate negotiations for a trade agreement between China and Mercosur, a striking reversal for Brasilia, which for years led resistance to such a deal in the South American bloc. The two leaders spoke by telephone for more than an hour, according to a statement from the Brazilian presidency, and ‘coincided on the importance of speeding up the talks for a Mercosur-China agreement that contemplates the necessary flexibilities’. … The call came days after a 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on [American buyers of] part of Brazil’s exports took effect.” (07/28/26)
