“An ICE agent who was part of the federal immigration surge in Minnesota earlier this year was charged with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, a Minnesota prosecutor announced Thursday. The agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., is accused of pointing a gun at the heads of two civilians in a vehicle, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. This is the first case of an ICE agent facing charges related to the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, which drew national outrage after the [murders] of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration authorities. Morgan was charged Thursday with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, one count for each victim, and there is a warrant out for his arrest, Moriarty said. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the charges.” (04/16/26)
“Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, whose tenure was marred by sexual assault allegations, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their home and then killed himself, police said. The couple’s two teenage children were inside the home when the shootings occurred, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, noting their son had placed the 911 call. Fairfax County police responded to the home in Annandale, Virginia, shortly after midnight Thursday, where they found a man and woman dead inside, police said earlier. The same firearm appears to have been used in both shootings, Davis said. The shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding ‘what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,’ Davis said.” (04/16/26)
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls Thursday to resign after it emerged that Peter Mandelson was initially denied security clearance for the post of ambassador to the United States, which he was eventually fired from over his close links to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Following the revelation in the Guardian newspaper, the government said Starmer was not aware that the Foreign Office had overruled a security vetting process for Mandelson to become U.K. ambassador to Washington ‘until earlier this week.’ Starmer has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Mandelson, who was fired in September 2025, had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.” (04/16/26)
“A bomb threat occurred at the home of the brother of Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday night, police in Illinois confirmed. The New Lenox Police Department issued a statement acknowledging the threat at the home, but after a comprehensive search, it was determined to be unsubstantiated.” (04/16/26)
“A 10-number mistake is costing a popular grocery store a seven-figure settlement. Trader Joe’s has agreed to pay out a $7.4 million settlement for a 2019 receipt snafu, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court documents. Affected customers could receive an estimated $102.45, although the figure could change depending on how many people join the lawsuit. … The lawsuit began on July 17, 2019, when a customer filed a class-action lawsuit in Florida against Trader Joe’s, court documents note. He claimed the company printed receipts for debit and credit card transactions that included 10 digits of the card number. Card transaction receipts can show a maximum of the last five digits of a card number, per the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.” (04/16/26)
“International Monetary Fund is not currently discussing an augmentation of Egypt’s two-year-old, $8 billion IMF loan program despite a severe impact from the Middle East war on the country’s economy, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday. … Speaking to reporters, Georgieva made it clear that the existing Extended Fund Facility arrangement, approved in late 2024, remains unchanged and that no talks are taking place to expand its size or scope. … The announcement comes as Egypt grapples with significant economic challenges triggered by the Iran-Gulf war that erupted on February 28. The conflict has disrupted regional energy markets, raised global oil prices, and created uncertainty in maritime trade routes, all of which have strained Egypt’s key revenue sources — particularly Suez Canal receipts and tourism.” (04/16/26)
“Sen. Chuck Schumer faced fresh calls to step aside as the Senate Democratic leader on Wednesday after he broke with the overwhelming majority of his caucus and voted against a pair of resolutions aimed at preventing the Trump administration from selling more US bombs and bulldozers to Israel. ‘Mr. Schumer, you are out of touch with the base of this party, and with your own caucus,’ said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who first called on Schumer to resign as Democratic leader last year, in a short video posted to social media following Wednesday’s votes. ‘Step aside!’ The two resolutions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), called for halting the sale of around $450 million worth of bulldozers, 1,000-pound bombs, and related military equipment to the Israeli government, which has repeatedly used American weaponry to commit war crimes in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria.” (04/16/26)
“U.S. military forces struck a vessel Wednesday in the eastern Pacific Ocean, [murdering] three men the Pentagon says were trafficking drugs. No U.S. personnel were harmed, the U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post. Several such strikes have been announced in recent days as the Trump administration continues its aggressive anti-cartel actions in international waters. At least 178 people have been [murdered] in the strikes since the effort began in early September, months before the U.S. raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.” (04/16/26)
“Europe has ‘maybe six weeks or so’ of remaining jet fuel supplies, the head of the International Energy Agency said Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations ‘soon’ if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called ‘the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,’ stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. ‘In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,’ he told The Associated Press.” (04/16/26)
“An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into Lebanon’s south, according to a senior Lebanese security source, fully severing almost a tenth of Lebanon from the rest of the country, after Israel destroyed other crossings during the war. Fighting continued to rage in south Lebanon on Thursday, notably in the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic prize that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military was about to ‘overcome,’ in a briefing a day earlier. A senior Lebanese official said that Lebanon’s assessment was that Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made. Israeli warplanes also unleashed an intense barrage of strikes Thursday on the southern town of Nabatiyeh, sending giant plumes of black smoke billowing over the regional hub of southern Lebanon.” (04/16/26)
