“A Tunisian appeals court on Tuesday upheld the three-and-a-half-year prison sentences of two prominent journalists jailed for alleged financial crimes, according to their lawyer. The journalists, Mourad Zeghidi and Borhen Bsaies, were sentenced in January for money laundering and tax evasion — accusations they denied. … Since President Kais Saied staged a sweeping power grab in 2021, rights groups have denounced a regression in freedoms in Tunisia. Dozens of Saied’s critics are currently behind bars. The case against Zeghidi and Bsaies has been condemned by media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as ‘judicial harassment.'” (05/13/26)
“The Senate on Wednesday rejected a Democratic-led measure to halt the war in Iran, in a sign of durable Republican support for the military campaign even after the lapsing of the legal deadline for the Trump administration to receive lawmakers’ approval to continue it. The resolution failed by a vote of 50 to 49, with three Republicans joining nearly all Democrats in supporting the measure. The vote marked the latest setback for congressional Democrats, who have pledged to continue bringing the war powers measures to the floor even though each of them has failed.” [editor’s note: The war has been illegal from the start. The two CONSTITUTIONAL options were for Congress to declare war before it started, or impeach and convict Trump now for having illegally started it; the “war powers resolution” is just virtue/vice signaling – TLK] (05/13/26)
“The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the murder conviction of Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted in March 2023 of double homicide of his wife and son. The court ordered a new trial, saying that Mary Rebecca ‘Becky’ Hill, who served as the court clerk in Colleton County, exercised ‘improper external influences’ during Murdaugh’s first trial. Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian said in a statement that Murdaugh will remain in custody. The state supreme court voted unanimously on the decision. ‘Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial,’ their ruling said.” (05/13/26)
“A federal appeals court has ruled that Donald Trump will not have to pay the $83.3m defamation award to writer E Jean Carroll until the US supreme court either reviews the case or rejects an appeal. The second US circuit court of appeals in New York issued the order on Monday …. But the court also required that Trump increase the bond by $7.46m, to account for interest that would accrue on Carroll’s award during any further legal proceedings before the nation’s highest court. … In January 2024, a Manhattan jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $83.3m for defaming her in 2019 after she accused him of raping her inside the dressing room of a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. It came a year after a separate jury awarded Carroll $5m in damages after finding Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll.” (05/13/26)
“Doctors who examined Nobel Peace laureate and activist Narges Mohammadi more than a week after she collapsed at a prison in Iran say she needs months of treatment, her foundation said Wednesday. An angiography procedure showed two of her main arteries have significant blockage and that her vascular disease has significantly deteriorated since she last had the procedure in 2024, the foundation said in a statement. Mohammadi, 53, was urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in northwestern Iran on May 1 after she fell unconscious. She was released on bail nearly 10 days later and transferred to a hospital in Tehran where her specialists examined her. The attending physician said her blood pressure continues to fluctuate, in part due to damage to part of the brain that is responsible for such regulations. The doctors recommended an eight-month treatment course in an environment ‘free from external stressors, where she can receive permanent care and long-term treatment.'” (05/13/26)
“A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed to The Hill’s broadcast partner NewsNation that President Trump will select Dave Venturella to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an acting capacity after the departure of Todd Lyons, who is currently serving as the acting ICE chief. Lyons is expected to leave the administration for a role in the private sector on May 31, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced in a post on social platform X last month. … The Senate has not confirmed a director for ICE since 2017, resulting in almost ten years of the agency having a leader in an acting capacity.” (05/12/26)
“A survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse has told how the late sex offender sexually abused her while he was under house arrest for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Roza, who was recruited from Uzbekistan as a teenager by Epstein’s associate and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, spoke publicly for the first time alongside a number of victims in a field hearing that was organised by House Democrats. She told the session that she was introduced to Epstein by Brunel in July 2009, was offered work by Epstein ‘to help me with my financial troubles,’ and he later subjected her to rape over a period of three years. Democratic lawmaker Robert Garcia said the unofficial hearing was held in West Palm Beach, Florida, because it was ‘where Epstein’s crimes first came to light.'” (05/13/26)
“The seven-strong ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party said Tuesday that it would seek to dissolve the Knesset and trigger early elections, because of the coalition’s failure to pass a law enshrining the decades-old exemption of Haredi yeshiva students from military service. Multiple opposition MKs promptly submitted bills for the dissolution of parliament, with the Yesh Atid party seeking to begin the process on Wednesday. Nonetheless, it was not immediately clear when and whether such a vote would be held, whether it would pass, and, if so, when elections might be held. In any case, general elections must be held no later than October 27, 2026. … UTJ, a core member when Netanyahu assembled his coalition after the 2022 elections, formally pulled out of the government and the coalition last year in the protracted dispute over the legislation.” (05/13/26)
“Meta Platforms said Wednesday it’s rolling out an ‘incognito’ mode for WhatsApp users to have private conversations with its AI chatbot, a move intended to ease privacy concerns about sensitive information that users share in chats. The social media company said in a blog post that incognito chat mode provides a way to have private, temporary conversations with Meta AI, its artificial intelligence assistant that’s been available on WhatsApp for a few years. Messages will be processed ‘in a secure environment’ that even Meta can’t access, won’t be saved by default and will disappear when exiting a session, Meta said. Generative AI systems have been dogged by privacy concerns because the large language models that underpin these systems are trained on vast troves of data, sometimes including personal information provided by users themselves in their conversations with AI chatbots.” (05/13/26)
“President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the nation’s U.S. House districts received mixed results Tuesday as South Carolina senators defied his desires but Missouri’s top court upheld a new map that could help Republicans win an additional seat in the November midterm elections. … Trump urged South Carolina to redraw its congressional districts ahead of the November elections in an attempt to help Republicans win another seat. A House committee endorsed a map Tuesday that could eliminate the state’s only Democratic-held seat, and the chamber voted previously to let lawmakers return after their regular work ends Thursday to further consider redistricting. But the Senate had to give permission too. The 29-17 vote failed, coming just two votes short of the two-thirds needed, as five Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition.” (05/12/26)
