“Nick Reiner will not be given the death penalty if he is found guilty of murder — and has his slain parents to thank. Prosecutors have taken the steep punishment off the table for the alleged killing in part because of the views of Rob and Michele Reiner, both were against capital punishment, according to LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who held a press conference before Reiner’s hearing Tuesday. His siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, also would have had a difficult time coping with potentially playing a role in executing their brother, TMZ reports. Hochman also revealed he discussed the decision to take the death penalty off the table with Reiner’s siblings before making the announcement. Reiner was indicted on August 12 for the murder of his parents, with a special circumstance of lying in wait added.” (09/15/26)
“Thailand and Cambodia ’s foreign ministers exchanged opening statements in Singapore on Tuesday at the first meeting to settle a sea border dispute under a U.N. agreement on maritime law for compulsory conciliation. At issue is territory claimed by both that is believed to contain large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons. The decision to take the matter to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, was triggered by Cambodia in June after Thailand terminated a 25-year-old memorandum of understanding meant to resolve overlapping maritime claims.” (09/15/26)
“Prosecutors in Colombia have accused former foreign minister Laura Sarabia of abusing her power after she made her nanny take a lie detector test. The scandal erupted in 2023, when Colombian news weekly Semana reported that a woman Sarabia had employed to look after her son had been hooked up to a polygraph and questioned over the alleged disappearance of a case full of cash from Sarabia’s flat.
Sarabia, who was the chief of staff for President Gustavo Petro at the time, resigned in June 2023 but was later appointed as foreign minister and, following her resignation from that post, as Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. She has denied any wrongdoing. … Prosecutors said Sarabia abused her position as his chief of staff by ordering police to question her nanny, Marelbys Meza, over the alleged disappearance of the cash, which was said to amount to several thousands of dollars.” (09/15/26)
“The Defense Department’s inspector general revealed Monday that the United States is facing a shortfall in ammunition as a result of its costly war in Iran. In a first-of-its-kind mandatory report to Congress, the inspector said that between Feb. 28 and June 30, Operation Epic Fury (OEF) had an estimated cost of $33.4 billion, with $22.3 billion of that spent on munitions alone. ‘The munitions expenditure on OEF has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply,’ the report states.” (09/15/26)
“Thomas Matthew Crooks, the Pennsylvania man who killed a bystander and seriously wounded two others in a failed assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, had no friends as a teenager and used the alias ‘Bob Dole’ while ordering suspicious packages before an anonymous donor paid for his body to be cremated, according to federal documents viewed by Fox News Digital. The records turned over to the Senate show Thomas’[s] actions were a surprise to his family, and his motive is still a mystery. … Crooks, 20, typically collected packages addressed to the Dole alias before his father, who worked late, came home. He was shot and killed after opening fire at a Trump rally in July 2024.” (09/15/26)
“Hungary’s government has submitted a bill to parliament to amend anti-LGBTQ rules for minors that were introduced under former nationalist leader Viktor Orban. The law, which was created as an add-on to the country’s existing child protection regulations in 2021, banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ to under-18s. The same law was later used to ban Pride marches. … The bill submitted on Monday aims to remove references in the 2021 legislation banning the ‘promotion’ or ‘display’ of homosexuality and gender transition to minors. It would now refer simply to material that can ‘seriously impair the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development’.” (09/15/26)
“Two Oakland Police Department officers are facing federal charges after allegedly conspiring with a federal aviation official to fake their helicopter pilot certifications. Prosecutors said the scheme happened between July 2023 and March 2024, when the two officers, Brandon Mart and David Mac, allegedly worked with William Miller, an aviation inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration, to fraudulently receive their certificates. The officers are accused of submitting fake documents related to ‘checkrides,’ according to an indictment filed on Aug. 27. A checkride, which is required to obtain a pilot certification, includes a practical flight test with specific maneuvers and an oral exam covering topics like aviation regulations and aircraft systems. The indictment alleges Mart received three fraudulent checkride certifications and Mac received one, even though the officer failed to complete all of the requirements or some checkrides never occurred at all.” (09/14/26)
“A cooling tower at Yankee Stadium is one of 10 in the South Bronx that has been ordered for disinfecting on Monday after testing positive for Legionella bacteria. The cleaning order by the New York City Health Department follows an outbreak of a new Legionnaires’ cluster in the South Bronx. A tower at Lincoln Hospital and another at Boricua College Bronx Campus have also been flagged for cleaning. … New York City health officials announced the first fatality related to the cluster on Friday. Health officials were investigating the origin of the cluster and have tested 24 cooling towers so far.” (09/14/26)
“The US Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to restrict voting by mail before November’s midterm elections, in a setback for the White House. The justices upheld a federal judge’s order that temporarily blocked the US Postal Service (USPS) from moving forwards with new requirements for postal ballots. But it is unlikely to be the final word on the matter. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative, agreed with the ruling, but indicated he might later rule in Trump’s favour as litigation in the case continues. … Kavanaugh wrote in the opinion that there was ‘at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority’. But he argued that ‘applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious’. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, also conservatives [sic], dissented.” (09/14/26)
“Oil prices rose on Tuesday as investors monitored further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and continued uncertainty over the timing of talks concerning the Strait of Hormuz. Benchmark Brent crude futures increased 2.0% to $107.83 per barrel by 04:19 ET, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.1% to $103.50 per barrel. Talks between Iran and Gulf states concerning the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz remained on hold after Oman said a planned Monday meeting had been postponed. Oman did not provide a new date for the discussions. Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen carried out further strikes against Saudi Arabia on Monday and continued operations around the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.” (09/15/26)
