“First lady Melania Trump denied that she had a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein or that she had any ties to his crimes in a head-turning White House address Thursday. … Trump has previously taken legal action over claims related to herself and Epstein with three publishers issuing apologies for publishing claims that the sex offender introduced her to her future husband. … She did not answer any questions shouted by reporters as she left.” (04/09/26)
“For the second year in a row, the Trump administration is proposing slashing federal funding for tribal colleges and universities. President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal calls for a $1.5 trillion increase to defense spending and would carve billions of dollars out of programs that fulfill trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations, including entirely eliminating funding for the Institute for American Indian Arts, the country’s only federally funded college for contemporary Native American arts. The budget proposal released last week also calls for cutting funding for TCUs, as well as funding for two schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education: Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico. Students at both colleges sued the BIE last year over funding and staffing cuts made by the administration.” (04/09/26)
“The West African affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State have clashed in Niger for the first time, according to a statement from one of the groups, a development that analysts said signals an intensification of their years-long rivalry. Al Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wal‑Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP) engaged in their first skirmishes in 2019 and have since clashed hundreds of times, resulting in more than 2,100 deaths, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a conflict monitoring group. That fighting had unfolded exclusively in Mali and Burkina Faso until last week when ISSP fighters attacked a JNIM position in the Tillaberi region of western Niger.” (04/09/26)
“An ‘opportunistic’ thief who stole a handbag containing an emerald-encrusted Fabergé egg and watch set worth up to £2.2m from a central London pub has been jailed for more than two years. Enzo Conticello, 29, took Rosie Dawson’s handbag which she had placed between her legs on the ground as she stood outside the Dog and Duck in Soho on 7 November 2024. The Fabergé items were in her handbag after she had taken them for display at a work event earlier that evening. They have not been recovered. Conticello — also known as Hakin Boudjenoune — was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud by false representation and one count of theft at an earlier hearing. The court heard Conticello was after ‘easy money’ and that he had handed over the bag, which also contained a laptop and credit cards, to buy drugs.” (04/09/26)
“Federal authorities have arrested and charged an Army veteran with top secret clearance on accusations of sharing classified national defense information with a journalist, who is accusing the Trump administration of retaliating against a whistleblower. Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, N.C., was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday, a day after she was arrested by the FBI, the Justice Department said in a statement. … Williams is a named source in Seth Harp’s The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, an investigative nonfiction book about a string of unsolved murders at the special operations base that was published in August. In a book excerpt published by Politico, Williams alleges sexual harassment and discrimination within Delta Force at the North Carolina base.” (04/09/26)
“A 300-million-year-old tentacled sea creature has lost its crown as the world’s oldest octopus, after scientists found evidence that it’s not an octopus at all. Newly published research concludes that fossilized remains listed by Guinness World Records as the earliest known octopus belong instead to a relative of a nautilus, a cephalopod with both tentacles and a shell. University of Reading zoologist Thomas Clements, the lead researcher behind the new findings, said the fossil, Pohlsepia mazonensis, has long been the subject of scientific debate. ‘It’s a very difficult fossil to interpret,’ he said. ‘To look at it, it kind of just looks like a white mush. If you look at it and you are a cephalopod researcher and you’re interested in everything octopus, it does superficially look a lot like a deep-water octopus.'” (04/09/26)
“The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem has reopened to Palestinian worshippers after a 40-day closure by Israel. Video verified by Al Jazeera showed Palestinians streaming through its gates early on Thursday morning. Around 3,000 worshippers attended morning prayers. Access had been completely prohibited, or restricted to a few dozen faithful at Christian, Jewish and Muslim sites following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28. Israel often imposes restrictions, especially on Palestinian worshippers.” (04/09/26)
“Donald Trump has broken his silence on a key question [sic] surrounding the US-Iran ceasefire deal. The US president addressed reports about the agreement’s scope in a new interview, and his answer has already drawn sharp reactions from multiple world leaders. US President Donald Trump told PBS News that Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement between Washington and Iran. Trump cited Hezbollah as the reason for Lebanon’s exclusion, adding that the situation ‘will get taken care of.’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Lebanon’s exclusion from the deal, according to Axios. Trump also described Israel’s continued strikes on Lebanon as ‘a separate skirmish,’ PBS NewsHour’s Liz Landers reported on X.” [editor’s note: There’s no “question.” Lebanon was part of the deal as announced. The main purpose of the Israeli strikes in Lebanon is probably precisely to get the larger war going again – TLK] (04/09/26)
“Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will not comply with a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee next week for questioning on her handling of the Epstein files. Bondi, who was ousted from her post earlier this month, previously told reporters she will ‘follow the law’ in responding to a subpoena from the panel. ‘The Department of Justice has stated Pam Bondi will not appear on April 14 for a deposition since she is no longer attorney general and was subpoenaed in her capacity as attorney general,’ a committee spokesperson said. The panel will reach out to Bondi’s personal attorney ‘to discuss next steps,’ the spokesperson added.” (04/08/26)
“Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has attracted another opposition Conservative lawmaker to the Liberal party, further assuring that he will soon have a majority government. Ontario Member of Parliament Marilyn Gladu alluded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to Canada’s sovereignty and economy for her decision to defect to Carney’s governing Liberals. Trump has talked about making Canada the 51st state and has applied punishing tariffs on certain key sectors. ‘The past year has been like no other Canada has ever faced,’ Gladu said in a statement Wednesday. ‘I’ve heard from constituents that you want serious leadership and a real plan to build a stronger and more independent Canadian economy.’ Gladu is the fifth Member of Parliament to defect to Carney and the fourth Conservative.” (04/08/26)
