The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have taken control of a strategic Red Sea coastline, further complicating shipping routes in the region. At the same time, strikes inside Saudi Arabia forced the shutdown of a critical oil pipeline, the country's energy ministry confirmed.

#Iran #houthi #arabia #taken

SEOUL, Aug 15 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Saturday for talks with North ‌Korea to pursue peaceful coexistence, saying Seoul would seek ‌safeguards to prevent conflict and noting the need to replace the peninsula's armistice with a "peace regime".
In a speech marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from ******* anese colonial rule, Lee said the two Koreas should hold a sit-down for coexistence.
He urged dialogue between North ‌Korea and concerned parties ⁠to end the 1950-53 Korean War, which was stopped by a ceasefire, not a peace ⁠treaty, and said discussions could also explore effective measures to curb Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities.
Lee said Seoul would take preemptive and sustained steps to ease tensions and build layered safeguards to contain escalation.
Lee's ‌call largely builds on his pledge last year to respect North Korea's system and seek peaceful coexistence with Pyongyang.

#seoul #coexistence #korea

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is being criticized by Florida's lone Jewish Republican in Congress as she works to unseat two fellow House Democrats.
Tlaib is appearing at a rally in Fort Lauderdale Friday held by left-wing groups in support of three congressional candidates, according to a flier posted on Instagram, including two socialists running to unseat Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
"I think that it's no coincidence that she's coming to target two of the remaining Jewish Democrats," Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.
Jeffries Declines To Back Wasserman Schultz As Black Leaders Revolt Over District Switch
Rep. Rashida Tlaib speaks during the DWC x the Mamas' Caucus hearing "Moms Pay the Price: The Republican Affordability Crisis" at the Rayburn House Office Building on April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

#House

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lawyer Kamalpreet Chohan ran her finger down a list of 57 names of people scheduled to appear during a morning of hearings at the immigration court in California's capital and pointed out one glaring absence.
"None of these folks are represented," she said.
Chohan is the coordinator of a program that sends volunteer lawyers to immigration courts to ***** ist people without representation and help them navigate the complicated legal system where the stakes are a future in America or deportation.
Appearing without a lawyer opens up even greater risk under the second Trump administration, with the courts playing a key role in its mass deportation agenda. Courts are increasingly denying asylum, deportation officers have arrested immigrants in court hallways, the administration has packed courtrooms to cut backlogs and reduced lead time on hearings, prompting people to miss them.
Data shows that legal representation can be vital to winning in court but many immigrants, unable to pay for a private lawyer or find a pro bono one, navigate the system without an attorney at their side.

#courts #court #chohan #hearings

HAMDEN, Ohio (AP) — Just days after authorities removed 16 children from a squalid home and arrested four adult relatives, the question looms over their southern Ohio village: How could this have happened, for years, unnoticed, right here?
Neighbors of the family in tiny Hamden, employees at local stores where they shopped and even the investigators who responded to the scene have been left to wonder that aloud and to themselves, and the limited information shared by investigators doesn't offer a full answer.
The children weren't enrolled in school, the family moved around over the past two decades, and neighbors said they'd never spotted the kids. The children remained mostly confined to a small room in the house, investigators said, under deplorable conditions.
"Right under our noses and ******* ody was able to help them sooner," said Emily Collins, 27, owner of VC Farm & Floral in nearby McArthur. "It's just crazy that all the wonderful things going on in our little Hallmark town and this is what puts us on the radar. It's really sad," said the mother of three, who was compelled to decorate the sidewalk with bright flowers and stars drawn in chalk to cheer herself up.
Authorities said they had gone to the home Tuesday on an unrelated investigation and discovered the children — ages 1 1/2 to 18 years old — some of whom were unable to speak.

President Donald Trump signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Iran to wind-down four months of war, but critics, including politicians and media figures who typically support the president, say it concedes too much to a radical Iranian regime. So how does it stack up with the Obama administration's 2015 deal with Iran which Trump attacked on the campaign trail and then repealed as president? NBC's Keir Simmons reports in this week's Sunday Focus.

A 17-year-old boy was beaten into a coma near Madison Square Garden following Game 4 of the NBA Finals, New York City police said Friday while releasing a photo of a suspect sought in connection with the ****** ault.
The incident occurred Wednesday night around 11:45 p.m., according to the New York Police Department, amid rowdy celebrations following the New York Knicks' win.
A group of unknown individuals approached the teen in front of 237 W. 35th St. in Midtown Manhattan, where a "verbal dispute ensued about the New York Knicks," police said.
Dozens arrested as fans go berserk after Knicks' historic comeback in NBA Finals
Detectives reviewed video that shows someone apparently telling the crowd celebrating by saying, "Spurs in 7," ABC New York station WABC reported.

Off the Florida panhandle, a violent shark attack caught on camera left a man fighting for his life. Authorities say two staff members from a naval facility in Panama City went for a swim when the shark attacked one of them. NBC News' Steve Patterson has more.

In recent years, with inflation problematic and higher interest rates impacting investors of all types, many turned to gold for protection and portfolio diversification. And the yellow metal subsequently surged in price, surpassing numerous price records on its way toward the $5,000 per ounce mark. But another precious metal has quietly but impressively grown at the same time: silver.
Long considered the cost-effective precious metal alternative to gold, the price of silver has surged recently and is now up by more than 200% from where it sat in January 2025. And that remarkable growth could easily continue in the weeks and months ahead, especially if certain economic conditions are met. This potential can be both daunting and encouraging for prospective investors – and advantageous for those who are already invested in the metal or considering adding more to their portfolio right now.
To better determine the value of investing in silver now, it helps to know where the price currently stands. So, what is the price of silver per ounce now? That's what we'll outline below (and explain why getting invested now could make the most sense).
Protect your portfolio with gold and silver here now.
What is the price of silver today?

After a blitz of congressional redistricting ahead of the midterm elections, a national battle for partisan control is about to enter a new phase that could affect representation on everything from tax rates to social safety net programs, teacher salaries, housing regulations and local road repairs.
Georgia's Republican-led Legislature will convene June 17 for a special session focused on redistricting for the 2028 elections. The agenda includes new voting districts not only for Congress, but also for the state House and Senate — and potentially even the state's utility regulatory commission.
It will mark the first time since a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened minority voting protections that a state legislature will attempt to redraw its own districts. Mississippi Republicans and New York Democrats also could undertake legislative redistricting before their 2027 and 2028 elections, respectively.
Ir remains to be seen, though, how many legislatures will follow, and whether the outburst of mid-decade redistricting will extend down to county commissions, city councils and school boards that make myriad decisions affecting people's lives. The impact could be widespread.
"The stakes here are not political, they are deeply human," said Joe Kennedy III, founder of Groundwork Project, a nonprofit that supports local civil rights and democracy organizations.

President Donald Trump reportedly is reconsidering the $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" described in his May 18 settlement agreement with the IRS, which was designed to compensate people who claim they were targeted by the Biden administration for "improper and unlawful political, personal, and/or ideological reasons." That brazenly corrupt scheme, which provoked vigorous objections from Republican legislators and ran into two judicial roadblocks last week, "has become a distraction," an unnamed administration official told Axios.
Although "the president believes government was weaponized against people," that official added, "this isn't the time and vehicle" for addressing those grievances. In other words, doling out taxpayer money to Trump's allies under the pretext of a lawsuit that pitted the president against agencies he oversees turned out to be unexpectedly controversial. It's a mystery why Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche ever thought that plan was a good idea.
Trump sued the IRS and the Treasury Department in January, preposterously alleging that an IRS contractor's illegal leaking of his tax returns had caused "at least" $10 billion in damages. In addition to offering an improbable estimate of the injury he had suffered, Trump missed the statutory deadline for filing such claims. And although he argued that the IRS had failed to properly oversee its contractors, it was not clear whether the agency could be held liable for the crimes of someone it did not employ. But the Justice Department, which was charged with representing the IRS in court, never bothered to mount a defense.
That failure underlined the blatant conflicts of interest created by the case, both sides of which were represented by lawyers who work for Trump. "I'm supposed to work out a settlement with myself," Trump acknowledged a few days after filing the lawsuit.
That bizarre situation prompted Kathleen Williams, the federal judge overseeing the case in the Southern District of Florida, to question whether it involved a genuine controversy between adverse parties, as required for the lawsuit to proceed. Williams ordered briefing on that issue by May 20. The Justice Department dodged that order by announcing the settlement, which Williams never had a chance to review, two days before the deadline.

Ukraine has a new mid-range drone called the Morrigan that's hitting areas Russia once deemed safe.
The 412th said it used the drone to attack the R-280 highway, about 50 to 75 miles from the front.
Ukraine has been increasingly using these types of drones to push Russia's supply lines back.
Ukrainian troops released new details of the secretive mid-range drone they're using to batter Russia's R-280 logistics highway far behind the southern front lines.
The 412th Nemesis Brigade, of the Unmanned Systems Forces, published close-up and pre-launch footage on Saturday of the strike aircraft, dubbed the Morrigan.

Police are responding to a bomb threat at a Chase bank in California where a person is reportedly being held inside. NBC News' Steve Patterson has the latest.