Desmond Milligan

If you’re a car company that isn’t Tesla, it’s probably time to get frightened. Because now, when people buy a Tesla, every car comes with a free chauffeur. Since its earliest days, Tesla has advertised itself as having self-driving cars, but speaking as a long-time Tesla driver, I can attest that this wasn’t fully true. For awhile, they only self-drove on the highway, and when you activated the car’s Autopilot, you still had to keep your hands firmly on the wheel. It was more like driving a car with an assistant than owning a car that drove itself. Dashboard of a 2016 Tesla Model S with limited self-driving.That has changed. Over the past year, Tesla cars have gained the ability to drive themselves fully without any input from a driver. Now, I don’t need to put my hands on the wheel; I don’t need to do anything. I get in my car, put my hands in my lap, and say, “Tesla, drive me to a Mexican restaurant.” It just does it. It’ll even park itself when it gets there. Currently, other car manufacturers have a brief window of remaining relevancy because legal restrictions have forced Tesla to institute attention monitoring. This means that while I don’t have to touch the wheel, I do have to keep my eyes on the road, or the car will pull over. So I can’t watch old Star Trek episodes while the car goes down the road or scroll through Instagram. But the car doesn’t need me anymore, and at this point, I’m watching what’s in front of me as a formality. Davy Cricket, my current Tesla Model X, driving me home.So Tesla is selling chauffeur-driven limos while Mercedes is selling cars without an invisible Jeeves in them. Both are the same price. It’s like asking people to keep sweeping floors with a broom when they could buy a vacuum. It doesn’t matter what other features your car offers. Their car comes with a free driver. No amount of comfort, stereo speakers, or fancy oak paneling trumps a car’s ability to go places without you needing to touch the wheel. My wife drives an older Cadillac Escalade to haul around our four kids, and everything about her car is better than my Tesla Model X. It’s more comfortable, has more room, and is more pleasant to drive. But it doesn’t drive itself. I can’t own a car that doesn’t drive itself; I’d feel like a sucker and a fool. What I’d feel like owning anything other than a Tesla.Pretty soon, everyone else on the road will feel that too. The moment Tesla turns off attention monitoring (and it’s coming), you’ll start seeing Tesla drivers laughing their way through an episode of Seinfeld on their dash TV screens, while you’re stuck in traffic next to them, sweating through stop-and-go. When that day comes, other car companies are over. Done. Finished. No one else is close to having their own version of self-driving. Most have given up on trying. Meanwhile, the industry is trying to pretend that this huge thing isn’t happening, that Tesla is just another car company, and that, oh, look, things are totally normal. Sorry, Toyota. You’re selling washboards while Tesla is selling washing machines. You’re never going to get people to be content with beating their clothes on a rock in a stream. Exedra, my first Tesla, waiting for me to finish eating nachos in 2016.Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I underestimate the willingness of people to waste their time swerving around idiots when they could be working on a proposal or reading an X-Men comic. Elon Musk recently revealed that 50% of Tesla owners have never tried the self-driving function on their Teslas. Maybe they’re too afraid. Maybe they’re too stupid. But if you’re another car company, focusing on selling to self-flagellating, anxious Luddites probably isn’t a solid future business model. View the full article

The Mustang GTD Liquid Carbon is a new trim in the Mustang GTD range, meant to highlight the use of carbon fiber in the mighty GTD. The car debuted, appropriately, at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Historic Races. FordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFordFord View the full article

You never know how much someone will be willing to pay for another shot at their dream car. In the case of the Ferrari Daytona SP3, the answer is $26 million, according to Road & Track. That’s how much the final example of the hypercar sold for at RM Sotheby’s Monterey Car Week sale on Saturday evening. That price, which is more than seven times the pre-sale estimate, makes the vehicle the most expensive new Prancing Horse ever sold at auction. More from Robb Report Ralph Lauren Unveils the U.S. Team Uniforms for the Ryder Cup and an Accompanying Collection Meet 'Al Reem,' the New 263-Foot Superyacht That's Exploring the Mediterranean One of the Best Tequila Brands Just Dropped a New Barrel-Proof Reposado The Daytona SP3 in question is called the “Tailor Made” and is a one-off that was built after completion of the third Icona Serie model’s 599-unit production had been completed (making it no. 599 + 1). The hypercar’s sculpted exterior, inspired by the marque’s legendary sport prototype race cars, features a unique two-tone livery. The paint job combines Giallo Modena with exposed carbon fiber and is bisected by a full-length Ferrari logotype, which had previously not been used on one of the company’s road cars before. The interior is a bit more restrained, with black being the primary color, broken up only by yellow accents and a monotone racing flag motif. Untouched is the Daytona SP3’s V-12, which we think everyone will agree is a good thing. The naturally aspirated 6.5-liter mill is mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and makes 829 hp. The car can rocket from zero to 62 mph in under three seconds and reach a top speed of 211 mph. The SP3 was built and auctioned off with the specific goal of raising money for charity, but that doesn’t make its final gavel price any less impressive. RM Sotheby’s had announced that it expected the car to fetch more than $3.5 million, which is $1.25 million more than the Daytona SP3 cost originally. But when bidding was over, the winning bid came in at $26 million. Not only does that make it the most expensive new Ferrari sold at auction, but it also makes it the 13th most expensive car ever sold at auction. All proceeds from Saturday’s sale will go to the Ferrari Foundation. The charity is focused on helping fund educational initiatives around the world. Most recently, the foundation made a significant contribution to help rebuild the Aveson Charter School in Altadena, California, which was destroyed by this year’s Eaton wildfire. Click here for more photos of the Ferrari Daytona SP3 “Tailor Made.” Best of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World’s Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Sign up for RobbReports's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. View the full article

⚡️ Read the full article on Motorious It’s funny watching celebrities lose their cool when they get strapped into a race car.You might’ve heard that Ford is developing quite a few different iterations of their new Mustang. Along with the Darkhorse, Ecoboost, and possible Shelby models, you also have the GT additions. However, it’s just now striking people's minds that Ford is trying to turn their flagship pony car into a supercar. Whether or not the Mustang can ever be a super car is pretty much a matter of personal opinion. However, there’s no doubt that Ford has produced some really crazy performance models in their time which is exactly why they chose to show it off to none other than Jimmy Fallon. To address the confusing part of this whole ordeal, the Ford Mustang supercar refers to the racing class that it was built to compete in. Essentially, these vehicles are Australian in nature and built to operate within the supercar class of competitive motor sports. That’s why the brand uses the moniker for the Mustang even if it is a little confusing for those of us who know what a Mustang actually is, a muscle and pony car. It’s pretty crazy to think about just how much effort they put into these cars and it’s certainly present when watching the video. Jim Farley, the current CEO of Ford, has a bit of a flamboyant taste when it comes to promoting his vehicles. That’s exactly why he brought on comedian and late night talk show host Jimmy Fallon to feel the real power of Ford’s most iconic model. I ripping through gears in the sequential manual gearbox well also taking turns and corners shows us exactly what kind of handling capabilities the car has. Everything from the big spoiler on the back to the roaring sound of what seems to be a V-8 engine under the hood puts in the mood to have fun in this car which is exactly what Jim and Fallon did behind the wheel. Overall it’s a great car and hopefully will get to see a lot more of it as the seventh generation S650 Mustang continues to make its debut on the performance muscle car scene. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. View the full article

Hamas say it has agreed to a new ceasefire proposal from mediators for the war in Gaza, but details of the proposal remain unclear. Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said on social media, “The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.” It’s unclear to what new proposal Hamas is referring and who put forward a new proposal. An Israeli source familiar with the issue told CNN, “Israel has not yet received anything from the mediators.” Qatari Prime Minister and minister of foreign affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani arrived in Egypt for discussions about ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian officials said Monday. Qatari officials met with US envoy Steve Witkoff last weekend in Spain. The most recent ceasefire negotiations focused on a 60-day ceasefire and the release of approximately half of the remaining 50 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. But the negotiations, which started with marked optimism, fell apart in late-July when the United States and Israel withdrew, accusing Hamas of not negotiating in good faith. The most difficult issues in the negotiations included the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the hostages, the size of the Israeli buffer zone around Gaza, and the scope of the Israeli withdrawal during the ceasefire. Hamas also demanded a comprehensive end to the war, which Israel has refused. This is a developing story and will be updated. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com View the full article

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) slammed California Democrats’ proposed House map on Monday, saying he’s taking measures to stop the new congressional lines from advancing. “Democrats across the nation have played politics with redistricting for decades, and this is just the latest example. Republicans who are following state and federal laws will not be lectured by people who abused the system,” Johnson wrote in a statement on the social platform X. “I have instructed the NRCC to use every measure and resource possible to fight the California Democrats’ illegal power grab,” he continued, referring to the House Republicans’ campaign arm. “I will continue to lead efforts to defend our House Republican incumbents and grow our majority so that we can continue to deliver on our commonsense, America First agenda.” California Democrats proposed a new set of congressional lines on Friday, which aim to neutralize the gains Texas is expected to make with their new proposed House map. Because the Golden State uses an independent redistricting commission to draw its House map, Democrats are looking to place the map before voters in a special election this November to get around the redistricting commission and do a mid-decade redrawing of their House maps. The moves in California came in response to Texas, as the White House has pushed the Lone Star State and other GOP states to redraw their House maps ahead of 2026. Republicans are bracing for a challenging midterm environment and are looking to offset potential losses next year. Unlike California, Texas only needs to pass new maps through the state legislature before it heads to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for his signature. Democrats have argued they need to do redistricting in response to Texas, saying their party has to fight fire with fire. Both parties have been criticized for taking the opportunity to redraw their House maps and both have been guilty of gerrymandering. Johnson is not the only Republican who’s signaled he’s against California’s move. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who championed redistricting reform when he was in office, also indicated on X he was gearing up to fight the Golden State’s proposed map. The Hill has reached out to a spokesperson for Newsom for comment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. View the full article

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India must stop buying and selling Russian oil if it wishes to garner favor with the Trump administration, which has upped tariffs on New Delhi to 50 percent. President Trump this month announced an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over the country’s purchases of Russian oil, arguing India is fueling Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine. The new tariff, which is set to take effect next week, adds to the 25 percent “reciprocal” tax on Indian imports already in place. Navarro doubled down on the administration’s position in an op-ed Monday in the Financial Times, saying the proceeds from the crude oil “flow to India’s politically connected energy titans, and in turn, into [Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s war chest.” “India’s dependence on Russian crude is opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world’s efforts to isolate Putin’s war economy. In effect, India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,” Navarro wrote in the op-ed. Navarro touted the “two-pronged policy” approach to tariffs on Indian imports, saying it will “hit India where it hurts — its access to US markets.” “If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one,” Navarro wrote. India has remained defiant in the face of U.S. tariff threats and has accused administration officials of being hypocritical. Past administrations encouraged the India-Russia energy trade to help stabilize global markets, and both the U.S. and Europe continue to spend billions on Russian energy and commodities. “In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable,” a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement earlier this month responding to Trump’s tariff threats over Russian oil. “Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the spokesperson added. The Navarro op-ed comes as Trump readied to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders to debrief after his historic summit with Putin on Friday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. View the full article

Republicans have a warning for their base: If you let Democrats retake the House, they’ll impeach Donald Trump again. “Democrats would vote to impeach (Trump) on their first day,” Speaker Mike Johnson claimed in an interview with the Shreveport Times this month. Conservative columnist Bryon York warned Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redistrict California was a veiled threat to "end the Trump presidency by using the constitutional procedure to end presidencies — impeachment.” And the National Republican Congressional Committee recently unleashed a digital ad framing the stakes of the midterms this way: Democrats' “Project 2026” agenda is to "impeach President Trump." As the GOP is girding for potentially tough midterms battles, it sees the spectre of impeachment as a reason for conservative-leaning voters to come to the polls in a year when Trump is not on the ballot. But so far, at least, Democrats seem wary of even talking about it. In conversations with roughly a dozen Democratic strategists and elected officials, there is little consensus about the party's strategy on impeachment. Many warned against focusing on it. “We should never, at least in the near future, use the ‘I’ word,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). “One of the things we learned is that articles of impeachment are also articles of recruitment for Trump.” Trump survived removal efforts and found his way back into power, even though Democrats said he was a threat to democracy. If anything, impeachment and his legal troubles before returning to office resulted in a fundraising boon for Trump. House Democratic leaders appear vexed at the prospect of making a third run at removing Trump from office after previous attempts ended in acquittals in the Senate. With the party needing only a handful of seats to take back the majority in the House, it is not clear the broader electorate is clamoring for another impeachment fight. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office declined to comment for this story. But a person close to House leadership, granted anonymity to discuss campaign strategy, blasted Republicans for going into “full fear mode” about the midterm elections. “There will be some emotional members who want to grab headlines with impeachment, however [House Democratic] leadership has thus far shown that it’s not a tool in our box” to hold Trump accountable, the person added, with House Democrats blocking attempts by some members to impeach him. “Of course impeachment is a tool of the Congress that should always be available and appropriate,” said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), who also chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “But right now, I think we're in a stage where we're trying to try this case out in the court of public opinion before we do anything else.” Even outside groups that were leading agitators for Democrats to launch impeachment efforts during Trump’s first term seem reluctant to deploy that same strategy again. “Impeachment is good, but it’s a symbolic act. It’s not enough,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible. So far this year, House Democrats have doomed efforts by their own caucus members to impeach Trump, including a majority of the caucus joining House Republicans to kill an impeachment push from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) over Iran airstrikes in June. House leadership successfully dissuaded Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) from moving forward with another article of impeachment stemming from Trump’s push to annex Greenland and on tariffs. Green plans to keep trying. “I will not stop and I promise you this president is going to be brought down. He’s got to be brought down,” Green said during a press conference this month in suburban Chicago. Speaking alongside several Democrats from the Texas legislature that left the state to prevent a quorum in Austin to pass the new Texas maps, Green vowed: “He will be impeached again.” For now, Green is considered an outlier among the caucus, but he was in 2018, too. Back then, House Democrats, led by then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, were initially uneasy about leaning fully into impeachment talks heading into the midterms. But the burgeoning blue wave that helped Democrats take back the House was propelled by a broader message from the party's base, who harnessed anti-Trump sentiment promising to hold Trump to account. Just two weeks after Trump was inaugurated in 2017, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said her “greatest desire is to lead him right into impeachment,” and she continued to call for his impeachment. Four articles of impeachment were introduced in that Congress, by Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Green of Texas on a range of offenses ranging from obstructing investigation by firing then-FBI Director James Comey, violations of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution and a pair of articles citing Trump's use of “racially inflammatory statements.” By 2019, about a week after being sworn in, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) revved up an anti-Trump audience proclaiming, “We’re gonna impeach the motherfucker!” While many of these key figures from past impeachments are still in Washington, the politics of impeachment have changed. Democrats have struggled to craft a coherent message and maintain a sustained fight against Trump and his Republican allies. Many Democrats see it as a fool's errand to go down that path again. “Absolutely not. It is bananas to even think about it,” said Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way. His organization has been trying to warn Democrats against engaging in maneuvers that make them look weak compared to Trump’s aggressive dismantling of federal government and political norms. Impeachment would be a “Trump dream,” he said, that plays into the president’s political strengths. Some frontline Democrats aren’t running away from impeachment, but they caution that more energy needs to be spent convincing voters Democrats have an agenda worth supporting. “Impeachment is simply one tool in the tool belt of opportunities to hold the other branch to account,” said Rep. Janelle Bynum, one of incumbent House members Democrats are preparing to defend in next year’s midterms. There are other tactics Democrats should deploy, according to Levin of Indivisible: “We want hearings, investigations, subpoenas, testimonies, oversight. Trump isn’t the only or even the most important target here — collaborators, capitulators, and enablers should know what’s coming.” For some, that includes going after those in the president’s orbit who are ramping up pressure campaigns on elected officials in red-leaning states like Texas, Indiana, and Missouri to take up off-year redistricting to create more winnable districts for Republicans to maintain control of the House. As both parties become entrenched in redistricting battles, some GOP operatives fear it may muddle the party’s ability to elevate a third Trump impeachment as top issue in the midterms. Republicans worry that without control of the House, Trump’s agenda will grind to a halt. Even with their slim control of both chambers of Congress, Republicans have had difficulty passing much legislation. Trump’s signature tax law was passed through a special reconciliation process requiring a simple majority of both chambers to pass. If Democrats get power back, Republicans warn, they’ll be looking to wield it. "If Hakeem Jeffries and Democrats get the majority, day one they're going to pass articles of impeachment," said Indiana Republican strategist Pete Seat, pointing to calls from the Democratic base to push back against Trump."How could they not?" Shia Kapos contributed to this report. View the full article

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * After two weeks away, Democratic state House members in Texas are returning to Austin, ending a walkout that temporarily derailed a Republican mid-decade redistricting scheme. Their return all but assures GOP passage of the new, rigged map. * Democrats in California, meanwhile, are moving forward with plans for a Nov. 4 election, which would clear the way for the legislature to redraw their congressional districts, potentially negating the impact of Texas’ gambit. * In related news, California Democrats have already unveiled a draft district map that would put the party in a position to gain an additional five U.S. House seats, matching the target number for Republicans in Texas. * As for the next round of gerrymandering fights in red states, the White House and its allies are reportedly eyeing Indiana and Missouri as states that could follow Texas’ example. * In Ohio, for Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has made it official, launching a comeback bid roughly 10 months after losing his seat. Brown will challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed earlier this year to fill the vacancy left by JD Vance after he became vice president. * In a bit of a surprise, Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten is ending his U.S. Senate campaign in Iowa and throwing his support behind fellow state Rep. Josh Turek. The winner of the Democratic primary will likely take on incumbent Republican Sen. Joni Ernst in the 2026 midterms. * With just 11 weeks remaining before Election Day 2025, the Virginia Police Benevolent Association announced last week that it’s endorsing former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger for governor, even as the group is backing GOP candidates in down-ballot contests. * And in a sign of the times, Donald Trump launched a fundraising appeal related to his failed summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Alaska. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com View the full article

The government of the United Kingdom has warned Irish novelist Sally Rooney against funding Palestine Action after she pledged support to the campaign group banned by the Labour-led government as a “terrorist” group last month. The prime minister’s office said on Monday that “support for a proscribed organisation is an offence under the Terrorism Act” and warned against backing such organisations. “There is a difference between showing support for a proscribed organisation, which is an offence under the Terrorism Act, and legitimate protest in support of a cause,” a spokesperson was quoted by PA Media. In an opinion piece in the Irish Times on Saturday, Rooney, the author of best-selling novels such as Normal People and Conversations with Friends, criticised the government’s move to ban the pro-Palestinian group. “Activists who disrupt the flow of weapons to a genocidal regime may violate petty criminal statutes, but they uphold a far greater law and a more profound human imperative: to protect a people and culture from annihilation,” she wrote in the article. Palestine Action was banned after its activists broke into a military base in central England in June and sprayed red paint on two planes in protest against the UK’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children. What’s Palestine Action?Since its founding in 2020, Palestine Action has disrupted the arms industry in the UK with “direct action”. It says it is “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”. Israel has been accused of widespread abuses in its 22 months of war on Gaza. The International Court of Justice in January 2024 said Israeli actions in Gaza were plausibly genocide. Since then, multiple rights organisations have called Israel’s war a genocide. In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. Rooney said she chose the Dublin-based newspaper to publicise her intention rather than a UK one as doing so “would now be illegal” in Britain after the government banned Palestine Action. “The UK’s state broadcaster … regularly pays me residual fees. I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can,” she wrote. Hundreds arrestedMore than 700 supporters of Palestine Action have been arrested in the UK, mostly at demonstrations, since the group was outlawed under the Terrorism Act 2000. “I feel obliged to state once more that like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend, I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it,” Rooney said. The spokesperson from the prime minister’s office said Palestine Action was proscribed “based on security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, following an assessment made by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre”. The government ban on Palestine Action came into force on July 5, days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated 7 million pounds ($9.3m) of damage to two aircraft. The group said its activists were responding to Britain’s indirect military support for Israel during the war in Gaza. Being a member of Palestine Action or supporting the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. It places the campaign group on the same legal footing as ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. More than 500 people were arrested at a protest in London’s Parliament Square on August 9 for displaying placards backing the group. The number is thought to be the highest ever recorded number of detentions at a single protest in the capital. At least 60 of them are due to face prosecution, police said. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has defended the proscription of the group, stating: “UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority.” “The assessments are very clear – this is not a nonviolent organisation,” she said. In her article, Rooney accused the UK government of “willingly stripping its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms, including the right to express and read dissenting opinions, in order to protect its relationship with Israel”. View the full article

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is visiting Armenia for talks on a planned corridor linking Azerbaijan near the border with his country, days after Iran said it would block the project included in a United States-brokered peace accord that puts a potential Washington presence on Iran’s doorstep. The land corridor, dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), is part of a deal signed earlier this month in Washington between former foes Armenia and Azerbaijan. US President Donald Trump said the deal granted the US exclusive developmental rights to the transport corridor. Washington was also signing bilateral agreements with both countries to increase cooperation in areas like energy, trade and technology, including artificial intelligence. Before departing for the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday, Pezeshkian described the possible presence of American companies in the region as “worrying.” “We will discuss it [with Armenian officials] and express our concerns,” he told state television. The proposed route would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave, passing near the Iranian border. Tehran has long opposed the planned transit route, also known as the Zangezur corridor, fearing it would cut the country off from Armenia and the rest of the Caucasus while bringing potentially hostile foreign forces close to its borders. Since the deal was signed on August 8, Iranian officials have stepped up warnings to Armenia, saying the project could be part of a US ploy “to pursue hegemonic goals in the Caucasus region”. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described it as a “sensitive” issue, saying Tehran’s main concern is that it could “lead to geopolitical changes in the region”. “They [Armenian officials] have assured us that no American forces … or American security companies will be present in Armenia under the pretext of this route,” he told the official IRNA news agency. The proposed corridor has been hailed as beneficial by other countries in the region including Russia, with which Iran has a strategic alliance alongside Armenia. Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Tehran would block the initiative “with or without Russia”. Trump “thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years”, Velayati told state-affiliated Tasnim News soon after the deal was signed, adding that the area would become “a graveyard for Trump’s mercenaries”. Moscow cautiously welcomed the deal, saying that it supported efforts to promote stability and prosperity in the region. Similarly to Iran, however, it warned against outside intervention, arguing that lasting solutions should be developed by countries in the region. Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought a series of wars since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan that had a mostly ethnic Armenian population at the time, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan Baku took control of the territory in a military operation in 2023, leading to an exodus of the ethnic Armenian population. Armenia last year agreed to return several villages to Azerbaijan in what Baku described as a “long-awaited historic event”. View the full article

The death toll from last week's fire at an industrial plant in Russia's Ryazan region has risen to 24, with at least another 157 people injured, officials said Monday. The fire broke out Friday at the Elastik plant in Shilovsky district, around 155 miles southeast of Moscow. Emergency crews continued searching through debris, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said. State news agency RIA Novosti has reported that a gunpowder workshop at the facility caught fire and triggered an explosion. Images released by officials show some of the building reduced to rubble. Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire. Local authorities declared Monday a day of mourning in Ryazan. In this photo, released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, Emergency Ministry employees clear debris at an industrial plant following Friday's fire at the facility in the Shilovsky District, Ryazan region, around 155 miles southeast of Moscow, Russia. / Credit: / APAccording to the 112 Telegram channel, which has deep sourcing in law enforcement, the blast was allegedly triggered by a rogue shell detonation. The factory had received multiple warnings from authorities on labor safety previously, it added. Images shared by the emergency ministry showed one of the factory halls reduced to rubble and officials said a search and rescue operation was still ongoing. Russia's main investigative body has opened a criminal case into violating industrial safety rules, indicating that the blast was unlikely to have been triggered by a Ukrainian attack. Since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has retaliated with a series of sabotage attacks on Russian industry and infrastructure. But fatal factory accidents are not uncommon in Russia, due to chronic safety violations caused by mismanagement. In 2021, another deadly blast killed 17 people at the same plant, as a result of which some of its management received prison sentences. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan on the Trump-Putin summit, sanctions and more Laufey on creating her own sound A robotics activist's remarkable crusade View the full article

Island communities off the coast of North Carolina are bracing for flooding ahead of the year’s first Atlantic hurricane, Hurricane Erin. Although forecasters are confident that the storm won’t make direct landfall in the United States, authorities on a few islands along North Carolina’s Outer Banks issued evacuation orders and warned that some roads could be swamped by waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters). The monster storm intensified to a Category 4 with 140 mph (225 kph) maximum sustained winds early Monday while it started to lash the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeast Bahamas, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the southeast Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, the hurricane center said. Here is what to know about Hurricane Erin. Storm surge, high winds expected along North Carolina’s coast Forecasters say Erin will turn northeast — and away — from the eastern U.S. Still, the storm is expected to bring tropical storm force winds, dangerous waves and rip currents to North Carolina’s coast. That is according to Dave Roberts of the National Hurricane Center. Coastal flooding in North Carolina is expected to begin Tuesday. Evacuations were being ordered on Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island along North Carolina’s Outer Banks even though the storm is unlikely to make direct landfall. Authorities warned that some roads could be swamped by waves of 15 feet (4.6 meters). The orders come at the height of tourist season on the thin stretch of low-lying barrier islands that juts far into the Atlantic Ocean. There are concerns that several days of heavy surf, high winds and waves could wash out parts of the main highway running along the barrier islands, the National Weather Service said. Some routes could be impassible for several days. Portions of Highway 12 on Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands are most at risk for storm surge, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said. Erin’s outer bands hit parts of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands with heavy rains and tropical-storm winds on Sunday. Potentially devastating impacts Storm surge is the level at which sea water rises above its normal level. Much like the way a storm’s sustained winds do not include the potential for even stronger gusts, storm surge doesn’t include the wave height above the mean water level. Surge is also the amount above what the normal tide is at a time, so a 15-foot storm surge at high tide can be far more devastating than the same surge at low tide. Fluctuating strength Erin’s strength has fluctuated significantly over the past week. The most common way to measure a hurricane’s strength is the Saffir-Simpson Scale that assigns a category from 1 to 5 based on a storm’s sustained wind speed at its center, with 5 being the strongest. Erin reached a dangerous Category 5 status Saturday with 160 mph (260 kph) winds before weakening. It is expected to remain a large, major hurricane into midweek. “You’re dealing with a major hurricane. The intensity is fluctuating. It’s a dangerous hurricane in any event,” the hurricane center’s Richard Pasch said. Lethal summer of floods Although Erin is the first Atlantic hurricane of the year, there have been four tropical storms this hurricane season already. Tropical Storm Chantal made the first U.S. landfall of the season in early July, and its remnants caused flooding in North Carolina that killed an 83-year-old woman when her car was swept off a rural road. And at least 132 people were killed in floodwaters that overwhelmed Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. Just over a week later, flash floods inundated New York City and parts of New Jersey, claiming two lives. View the full article

To President Trump’s supporters, the one-sided trade “deals” negotiated with the United Kingdom, Japan and most recently the European Union may seem like victories. They may seem like a vindication of the president’s supposed street-savvy negotiating style. In reality, they are self-defeating in their economics and harmful to America’s alliances. Under the trade arrangement concluded at the end of July, the EU will scrap tariffs on U.S. imports and commit to large-scale purchases on American energy and defense systems, as well further U.S. investment. In exchange, the EU gets a U.S. tariff of 15 percent, vastly exceeding average tariff rates across the industrialized world in the post-war era. At the risk of stating the obvious, the three “deals” are not trade agreements in any meaningful sense. They lack the legal weight that foreign trade agreements carry. Nor do they entail a liberalization of trade — rather, they ratify America’s imposition of new tariff barriers against some of its closest allies, while also extracting concessions from these nations under threat of even higher tariffs. Because tariffs are effectively taxes on Americans, the U.S. economy and consumers are the first and foremost losers of these new “deals,” especially in sectors where imports from the three partner economies serve as inputs into U.S. economic activity. The BMW plant in Spartanburg, S.C., to cite just one example, uses a lot of EU-made components; barring special, yet-unannounced carve-outs, its production has just become less competitive. Jobs will be lost, just as they were lost in the aftermath of Trump’s first-term steel and aluminum tariffs across industries that rely on those metals. The geopolitical ramifications are even more pernicious. “It’s about security, it’s about Ukraine,” the EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said to justify the European concessions back in July, not anticipating that the deal would have little impact on the administration’s planned rapprochement with Russia, on full display in Alaska on Friday. American alliances since 1945 have been sustained by a perception of the U.S. as a fundamentally different kind of global superpower, one that was neither predatory nor seeking domination for its own sake. While Russia and China may have had control over their clients or over nations that they subjugated by brute force, the U.S. had real friends — at least until now. Europeans, the Japanese, or the Koreans have generally hoped for our leadership, comfortable in the knowledge that our decisions will be informed, at the very least, by a basic sense of decency. That sense is being shaken to the core. Trump is transforming a rules-based, voluntary system of international cooperation, imperfect as it was, into a system of quasi-colonial extortion. The MAGA camp might derive a sense of satisfaction from humiliating “free-riding” U.S. allies, but the resulting arrangements are not sustainable. Canada and Mexico have learned that even a proper free trade agreement negotiated with a Trump administration and ratified by Congress offers little protection against new arbitrary tariffs. It will soon dawn on voters in Japan, the U.K. and the EU — if it hasn’t already — that their country’s trade deals are both hopelessly unbalanced and subject to change by Washington at a moment’s notice. Even if the deals hold in the short term, they are bound the produce a political backlash, which will make the prospect of working together with the U.S. on matters of mutual interest far less likely. There was a reason why the Japanese government postponed the announcement of its trade deal with the U.S. until after its recent upper house parliamentary election, from which it has emerged badly bruised. Similarly, the European Commission will have a hard time selling its deal with Trump to member states — whose cooperation is essential if the promises of hundreds of billions in U.S.-bound investment and purchases of American goods are ever going to materialize. For decades, there have been voices in European politics decrying America’s real or imaginary domination of the old continent. Today, they have a real, tangible grievance they can hold on to: The EU is essentially promising a large transfers of wealth to the U.S., in the form of future military and energy purchases as well as outbound investment, while acquiescing to being subjected to a trade policy that would have been essentially unthinkable a few months ago. If the Trump administration were purposefully trying to peel the EU, the U.K. and Japan away from America’s system of alliances, it would be hard-pressed to find a more surefire method than these deals. They put to rest a benevolent vision of America that has underpinned our soft power worldwide for 80 years. Dalibor Rohac is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. View the full article

California Sen. Adam Schiff (D) is requesting information from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about its recent approval of a megamerger between entertainment giants Paramount and Skydance, a deal that has been overshadowed by President Trump’s rocky relationship with CBS News. In a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr, Schiff outlined a series of concerns, including those related to the $16 million settlement paid by Paramount to Trump weeks before the merger’s approval and subsequent meetings the FCC had following the settlement. “The sequence of actions and statements leading up to and following the FCC’s merger approval … raises significant questions and alarm that the FCC — an independent regulatory agency — has become a vehicle for President Trump to exact personal retribution and undermine the freedom of the press,” the Democrat wrote. The FCC approved the Paramount/Skydance merger just days after the settlement payment, which Paramount made to get the president to agree to drop a lawsuit he had filed over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris that aired last fall. As part of its bid to the FCC, leaders at “New Paramount,” promised to retool CBS’s editorial strategy to represent a more “diverse” set of viewpoints and do away with corporate diversity policies. Democrats and media watchdogs have slammed the FCC’s approval of the $7 billion deal, arguing the massive media conglomerate’s payment to Trump could violate federal bribery law. “The FCC’s recent actions are especially troubling considering President Trump’s history of disparaging the press and undermining the protections afforded to them by the Constitution,” Schiff wrote in his letter to Carr. “He has repeatedly accused news agencies of bias or unfair reporting when the coverage is unfavorable to him.” Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. View the full article

Two months into his second term as president, Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order intended to overhaul dramatically how elections are administered in the United States, taking aim at everything from voter registration requirements to election equipment to mail-in ballot deadlines. NBC News noted that the “reforms,” if implemented, would’ve risked “disenfranchising tens of millions of Americans.” But that wasn’t the only problem. As The Washington Post summarized soon after, “The U.S. Constitution designates the power to regulate the ‘time, place and manner’ of elections to the states, with the proviso that Congress can step in and override those laws. It gives no specific power to the president to do so. Election experts said that Trump was claiming power he does not have and that lawsuits over the measure were all but guaranteed.” Predictably, the executive order faced immediate legal challenges, and a federal judges blocked the Republican’s outlandish power grab from going forward. He’s apparently not giving up. NBC News reported: Trump said in a post to Truth Social that he would sign an executive order to try to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines, a move that would almost certainly face immediate challenges in court. The president said in the post that he was ‘going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS’ and voting machines. The 288-word online tantrum — complete with six exclamation points, a robust number of sentences written with the caps lock on and the word “woke” — was remarkable in its inanity. Trump claimed that no other country on the planet “uses Mail-In Voting,” which isn’t even close to being true. He similarly accused Democrats of cheating in elections, which also isn’t true. But the Republican, who’s become increasingly unsubtle about his authoritarian ambitions, also made clear that he’s eyeing yet another power grab, claiming an administrative authority over elections that the Constitution explicitly gives to states. “Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes,” Trump wrote, peddling a legal absurdity. “They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.” As part of the same tirade, the president added, “WE WILL BEGIN THIS EFFORT ... by signing an EXECUTIVE ORDER to help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm Elections.” Given the circumstances, that is the sentence that worries me most. Trump’s hysterics have become the background noise of our civic lives, and his lies have become about as common as the sunrise. But when the president starts talking about the steps he’s prepared to take related to next year’s midterm elections — or perhaps more accurately, next year’s scheduled midterm elections — that’s when alarm bells start going off. He’s already talked about a new census count to help Republicans in the 2026 cycle, which coincides with a White House effort to get red states to rig their district maps to boost GOP candidates. And now Trump is eyeing another presidential directive to ensure his version of “honesty” is applied to next year’s elections. Journalist and historian Garrett Graff noted in response to the latest online rant from the White House, “This is step one in how we lose free and fair elections. It’s not that Trump will ‘cancel’ the midterms. It’s just everyone has to vote in person, and urban downtowns will be filled with ICE checkpoints and intimidating National Guard troops to ‘double check’ that only citizens vote.” This article was originally published on MSNBC.com View the full article

Twenty states and Washington, DC, sued the Trump administration on Monday, alleging that it is improperly withholding hundreds of millions of dollars meant to help victims of crimes in order to force states into cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts. The states, all of which have Democratic attorneys general, are asking federal judge to strike down the conditions the Justice Department has established to receive the grant money, which are used to help crime victims with things like medical bills, funeral costs, counseling, emergency shelter, crisis hotlines and legal support. If the threats came to fruition, the states allege, states would be forced to choose between fully cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, or having to scale back or shut down those programs. “This brazen attempt to use funding that supports our most vulnerable residents to strong-arm California and states nationwide into doing the federal government’s job for it, is blatantly beyond the power of the president,” California Attorney General Rob Bonda said in a statement. The demand is the latest in a series of battles between the administration and individual states over Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown. Trump and his Justice Department have prioritized their work to expel migrants who are here illegally and to dismantle state and local-level protections, often referred to as sanctuary policies. Attorney General Pam Bondi published a list of places that have sanctuary policies, which includes 12 states and Washington, DC, 4 counties, and 18 cities. The department has also filed several lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdictions in an effort to push them into complying with immigration enforcement, including suits against Illinois and New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com View the full article

A federal judge in Miami was hearing arguments on Monday that detainees at the remote immigration jail in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” are routinely subjected to human rights abuses and denied due process before being deported. The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is one of two separate actions before the courts that could lead to the closure of the controversial facility celebrated by Donald Trump for its harsh conditions. District court judge Kathleen Williams is expected to rule this week in the other case, brought by an alliance of environmental groups and a Native American tribe, claiming that the immigration jail has inflicted irreversible damage to the fragile wetlands. Earlier this month, Williams issued a temporary restraining order against the state of Florida halting new construction and expansion of the tented camp, although its operations for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) were allowed to continue. The jail currently holds an estimated 700 detainees. Monday’s hearing, before district court judge Rodolfo Ruiz in the same downtown Miami courthouse, was focused on alleged breaches of immigrants’ rights during their detention. Eunice Cho, an attorney for the ACLU, told reporters at a pre-hearing press conference on Thursday that the situation at “Alligator Alcatraz” was “anomalous from what is typically granted at other immigration facilities”. She expanded on the allegation during an interview on Sunday with Miami news channel Local 10, claiming the government was “running roughshod” over detainees’ constitutionally mandated protections. “We are hearing stories of officers who are going around the facility pressuring people to sign voluntary removal orders without being able to speak to counsel,” Cho said. “We heard a case of an intellectually disabled man being presented with a paper … he was told that he should sign the paper to get a blanket, and it turned out to be a voluntary departure form. And he was deported very soon after.” Related: ‘Petri dish for disease’: attorney raises alarm of possible Covid outbreak at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Cho also challenged assertions by Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, and the state’s department of emergency management (DEM) that operates the facility for Ice, that all the detainees held there had broken the law, and had either criminal records or active criminal proceedings against them. “What is very clear is that the people who are being held at Alligator Alcatraz are far from the picture of what the government has been trying to paint them as,” she said. “There are people who have no criminal history whatsoever, people who have been living in the United States and Florida for decades, have had the same job for over 20 years, have five children and families here.” She said the ACLU had spoken with attorneys for some of the detainees who submitted sworn testimony to the court alleging the abuses. They include immigrants being held in cages in extreme heat, swarms of mosquitos, backed up or non-functioning toilets, and temperamental air conditioning units that leave temperatures alternately freezing or sweltering. An attorney for one detainee said last week he believed a respiratory virus, possibly Covid-19, was “running rampant” through the facility. The Florida DEM has not responded to several requests by the Guardian for comment. The ACLU is asking Ruiz to order closure of the jail, which was hastily constructed on a disused airstrip with disaster relief funds and opened early in July. Democrats who toured the facility decried what they said were inhumane conditions inside, and cited cases where non-criminals and even a US citizen child was taken there. Related: Florida governor says state will open ‘deportation depot’ immigration jail Lawyers for the defendants, the justice department and the state of Florida, have argued that the Miami court has no jurisdiction over the camp because it is located in neighboring Collier county, and the case should be held in Florida’s missile district instead. Ruiz has indicated he will rule on a venue after Monday’s hearing, and indicated at a pre-trial hearing last week that he believed at least some of the arguments might pertain to the adjacent district. DeSantis announced on Thursday that the state was beginning construction on a new federal immigration jail for an additional 1,300 detainees at the closed Baker correctional institute in northern Florida. The governor nicknamed that facility “the deportation depot”. Protests outside Alligator Alcatraz, meanwhile, continue to grow. Noelle Damico, director of social justice at the Workers Circle, said almost 300 people attended a rally on Sunday afternoon, and that protests would continue every weekend until the camp was closed permanently. View the full article

Idaho State Police have released more than 500 pages of documents compiled during their investigation of the University of Idaho student murders and into killer Bryan Kohberger. They include dozens of witness interviews, photographs and other evidence obtained before and after Kohberger's arrest – from the start of the investigation when they had few leads to the end, after Kohberger was already in custody and police had DNA linking him to the scene. Some of the interviews shed new light on the victims as well as Kohberger's mindset before the slayings. A fellow graduate student at Washington State University, where Kohberger was pursuing a Ph.D. in criminology, told state detectives that Kohberger butted heads with classmates and faculty. Idaho Murders Timeline: Bryan Kohberger Plea Caps Yearslong Quest For Justice Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Boise, Idaho, for brutally stabbing four University of Idaho students to death nearly three years ago.Kohberger was rude and condescending toward women whose field of study focused on "sexual burglary," she said, and other people in the department pegged him as a potential "incel" (involuntary celibate) and "possible future rapist." However, she told police, they did not suspect he was the killer. Read On The Fox News App She said he expressed interests in "the emotions of what it felt like when committing a crime" and "how offenders might avoid getting caught." Kohberger had also briefly discussed the murders, which happened 10 miles away in Moscow, Idaho, with his peers, calling them "horrible." He suggested that "maybe it was a one and done type of thing," according to the documents. Bryan Kohberger Pleaded Guilty To Idaho Student Murders, But These Key Questions Remain Unanswered Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death.There were other red flags. According to one person interviewed by police, Kohberger told a disabled classmate that his project partner needed to be "physically perfect" and that her disability "would not be acceptable." At one point, a professor had to escort a female WSU student to her car because Kohberger's "behavior was of concern." The school received more than a dozen complaints about his conduct, including reports of "inappropriate behavior." The documents also delve into concerns from Kaylee Goncalves, 21, one of the four victims, who said she believed she spotted someone stalking her from the tree line outside the house at 1122 King Road, just steps from the University of Idaho campus. In one incident, she believed a man was staring at her from next to a dumpster in the street near their house. In another, she told friends that a man followed her to her car in the parking lot at a nearby WinCo grocery store, then tried to open her door after she got in. Inside The Horror: Idaho Four Crime Scene Photos Reveal Bloody Aftermath Of Attack A watchman parked outside 1122 King Road on Dec. 11, 2022, four weeks after four students were stabbed to death inside.At another point, someone broke into Goncalves' parked car, moved some of her personal belongings, including lip gloss, placed her suitcase in the street and stole her underwear. According to one interview, a WSU faculty member told police that a grad student there reported that her apartment had been burglarized in the weeks before the murders – and someone stole "intimate items" including her perfume and underwear. The professor said she raised Kohberger's red flags with other colleagues in a meeting about his future in the program. "He is smart enough that in four years we will have to give him a Ph.D.," she said, according to police records. "Mark my word, I work with predators, if we give him a Ph.D. that's the guy that in that many years when he is a professor, we will hear is harassing, stalking, and sexually abusing of his, I thought would be his, you know, his students at wherever university he ended." She also said that Kohberger's research on burglars differentiated "sexually motivated burglars" from "regular burglars." The other victims were Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. Next to Mogen's left hip, police found what would turn out to be a crucial part of the case – a tan leather Ka-Bar knife sheath with Kohberger's DNA on the snap, left behind on the victim's tan comforter in her third-story bedroom. Kohberger ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and another of felony burglary weeks before he would have gone to trial. The plea deal avoided the death penalty, and Kohberger received four consecutive sentences of life with no parole plus another 10 years. He waived his rights to appeal and to seek a sentence reduction. This is a developing story. Stick with Fox News Digital for updates. Fox News' Peter D'Abrosca and Julia Bonavita contributed to this report. Original article source: Idaho murder documents reveal victim's stalking fears and Kohberger's 'inappropriate behavior' at school View the full article

Canada's Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is looking to clinch his return to parliament in a by-election on Monday, with voting underway in one of the country's most right-wing districts. Poilievre had been on track to be his country's next prime minister until US President Donald Trump's return to power upended Canadian politics. Poilievre's Conservatives blew a massive polling lead in the run-up to Canada's April general election, as voters backed the new Liberal leader, Prime Minister Mark Carney, to confront Trump. In a stinging humiliation, Poilievre lost to a Liberal in his own constituency, an Ottawa-area district he had represented for two decades. He vowed to stay on as the Conservative party head, but needed a seat in parliament before he could return as leader of the opposition. The MP for Battle River-Crowfoot -- a rural district in the western province of Alberta where Conservatives dominate -- offered to step down so Poilievre could run for his seat. Polls have opened in Monday's vote, with Poilievre the favorite to win. Elections Canada has been forced to use a special ballot after a protest group successfully nominated 214 candidates for the vote. The Longest Ballot Committee group, which wants election law reform, says it is not motivated by partisan ideology, but has targeted Poilievre previously. Voters on Monday will have to write the name of their preferred candidate on their ballot, not tick a box, a measure designed to spare people finding the correct name on a 214-candidate list. Assuming he returns to parliament, experts say Poilievre may struggle to rebuild momentum in a political arena heavily shaped by Trump. Analysts say some voters still view Poilievre as a Trump-aligned figure, a major liability in Canada, where attitudes towards Washington are at historic lows after the US president threatened to annex his northern neighbor and imposed punishing tariffs. bs/aha View the full article

While students in New Britain, Connecticut return to class, one teacher remains sidelined, worried she could lose her job as a dispute over her classroom cross keeps her away from the job she loves. "I dream about my teaching experience almost every day," Marisol Arroyo-Castro told Fox News on Monday. "I didn’t realize how much I really love teaching now that I cannot go back, and the reason that I cannot go back is just so sad." Arroyo-Castro, a devout Catholic, was suspended and allegedly "threatened with termination" last December after refusing to remove a crucifix beside her desk, according to her legal representatives. Public School Teacher Reveals Years-long Effort To Expose Alleged Student Abortion Scandal First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit religious liberty law firm, along with legal firm WilmerHale, fired off a warning letter to the Consolidated School District of New Britain the following month, accusing the district of violating Arroyo-Castro's constitutional rights with the move. Read On The Fox News App The group claimed that the school "pressured [Arroyo-Castro] to resign or retire early and sign an agreement not to sue the district," adding that she has been "threatened" with termination unless she agrees to hide the crucifix. First Liberty senior counsel Keisha Russell said Arroyo-Castro was asked to hide the crucifix inside or under her desk. Parent Groups, Religious Liberty Experts Hail Scotus Upholding Parents Rights In Lgbtq Books Case "It's pretty clear to me that the school district is not interested in the inclusion of people like Marisol," Russell said on "Fox & Friends First." "They said, ‘you can have it up, but it must be hidden…’ and we felt like that was just completely unacceptable. "We're in America, and a teacher is being asked to hide her crucifix and, if not, she's being punished for it. That's completely unacceptable." Russell said the nonprofit intends to "keep pressure" on the district and "certainly" welcomes federal intervention. "We know our president is a champion of religious liberty, so we're going to just keep going. Hopefully, the decision that we're waiting for from the District Court of Connecticut is favorable but, no matter what, we're just going to keep the pressure on the district," she added. Responding to the case, the Consolidated School District of New Britain issued the following statement to Fox News: "We have continued to operate in good faith and both [Marisol Arroyo-Castro] and her attorneys have declined all of the options put before her. "We will continue to follow legal guidance throughout this process and remain committed to upholding both the law and the values of inclusion, neutrality and respect for all." Arroyo-Castro said she fears she could lose her job over the dispute. "I believe wholeheartedly that I can lose my job for this, but it's unbelievable to lose it because of my faith, because I always had a cross. I never thought that the cross was a problem for anyone." Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report. Original article source: Connecticut teacher fears classroom cross dispute could cost her job View the full article

(WJW) – Searches are resuming Monday morning at Edgewater Beach and Huntington Beach, where multiple people were reported missing. 22-year-old dies after car goes over E. 9th Street Pier At Edgewater, Cleveland Fire Lt. Mike Norman told FOX 8 a man fell off the Edgewater pier Sunday night around 7:45 p.m. Norman said the incident was confirmed via video. Witnesses told Cleveland Fire the victim struck his head when he fell. Crews will be back out when the water calms on Lake Erie, Norman said. Cleveland couple dies, 2 children injured in North Carolina crash At Huntington Beach, the Cleveland Metroparks Police Department is investigating the disappearance of two people. Just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Cleveland Metroparks sent an alert. “Cleveland Metroparks Police Department is currently responding to a report of two individuals missing off the shore of Huntington Beach.” Metroparks Police told FOX 8 Monday that the missing people are two young men – ages 19 and 22. The search for them resumed Monday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. View the full article

AMC Theatres closed three of its Illinois locations, including one theater in Pekin that shut down after more than 25 years of operation. Here's what we know. AMC in Mattoon closesThe chain closed its AMC CLASSIC Mattoon 10 theater, located at 2509 Hurst Dr. AMC in Pekin closesAMC CLASSIC Pekin 14, located at 1124 Edgewater Dr., also closed. AMC in Marion closesAMC CLASSIC Illinois Centre 8, located at 3107 Civic Cir. Blvd. in Marion, has permanently shut its doors as well. Story continues after photo gallery. Why is AMC closing theaters?AMC Theatres Media Relations Manager Cassie Kennard previously told the Peoria Journal Star that AMC routinely reviews theaters in its circuit and opportunities outside of the circuit to make decisions that will "best strengthen the company." She encouraged guests "to continue enjoying the AMC experience" at remaining nearby theaters. AMC locations in IllinoisAMC has remaining locations in 37 Illinois cities. Find a theater near you at amctheatres.com, the chain's official website. Mike Kramer contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Journal Star: AMC closes theaters in Pekin, Mattoon, Marion. See why, which locations remain View the full article

Not much has changed in the last 33 years at Sherri Kelley’s property in Addison. The lot in the oceanside Down East town has a mobile home in which her parents had lived before she inherited the property. After hearing that appraisers wanted to access the interior of the mobile home, Kelley felt her privacy was being invaded. She took to social media, which began a thread in which fellow Addison residents voiced similar concerns and at first exacerbated her worries. “If it’s on Facebook, it’s true, right?” she joked. All ended well. Kelley’s worries were assuaged by appraisers. She eventually realized that letting assessors into the mobile home, mostly unchanged since the early 1990s with carpeting worn down to thread, may actually drive down her tax burden. Addison is one of many towns that are doing their first revaluations since the pandemic boom in home values. From far-flung towns to Portland and its suburbs, the process is heightening worries about high property taxes that are already the subject of battles over school budgets that have marked a summer of political strife in many Maine towns. In Bangor, many homeowners didn’t let assessors into their homes when the city launched its first valuation in nearly four decades. Yarmouth homeowners whose property taxes were recently raised told CBS News 13 they would have reconsidered school budget votes if they had known of the impact. As a tax assessor, Garnett Robinson receives his share of grief from discontented taxpayers: “I have people say, ‘How can you sleep with what you do?’” While he’s quick to stress that many people have legitimate concerns, he says a lot of that frustration is misplaced. New assessments do not raise taxes. They simply determine what proportion of a town’s taxes each property owner pays. Generally, equal shares of residents have taxes go up, have them go down and have them stay the same. For example, Bridgton recently finished its first revaluation in nine years. The total taxable value of the town skyrocketed from $1.1 billion to around $2.5 billion. But local officials more than halved the town’s tax rate to account for the rise in value, something it is now highlighting in a pop-up notice on its website. “The people that go up, they should have been paying a higher tax for a while,” said Robinson, whose Dixmont-based firm, Maine Assessment and Appraisal Services, mostly works for smaller towns. “Those that go down, they’ve been overpaying.” The impact can be heavy in coastal or lakeside areas or other places that have seen heavy development in the past decade, including parts of Portland where typical homes were affordable in the 1990s but now have going rates of $700,000 or even more when they go on the market. The property tax, which is the dominant way local government is funded, has long been a painful one for Maine. It comes in the form of large payments and hits low-income Mainers harder as a share of income than rich ones. The nearly $3.2 billion taken in by cities and towns in 2023 was up 39 percent from a decade earlier, outpacing the rate of inflation. No one entity is responsible for the tax. City and town budgets are set by their governing boards or in town meetings. Then school boards send their budgets out for approval. Counties also get their money by levying property taxes on the municipalities in their areas. In a state with a long tradition of local control, efforts from Augusta to rein in local spending often run into roadblocks, including former Gov. John Baldacci’s school consolidation effort of the early 2000s. Last year, the Democrats who control the Legislature rankled Republicans by repealing a law from that era that capped annual property tax levies. Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, reminded her constituents of that in a recent video nodding to the local budget issues across the state. But State Economist Amanda Rector noted in testimony last year that many cities and towns were bypassing the cap or wrongly calculating it. This year, Gov. Janet Mills signed a law establishing a task force to study property tax relief after the proposal was passed by legislators with broad bipartisan support. Several big ideas around changing the tax have been floated in recent years, including taxing businesses at higher rates than homes, but they have not yet gained traction. Scarborough assessor Nicholas Cloutier, who was appointed to the task force by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, said while the group has yet to formally meet, he is open to hearing about possible changes to the revaluation process. “Communication and proactive working with residents so everyone understands and is on the same page is imperative,” he said. Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural politics as part of the partnership between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers. View the full article

Hurricane Erin is currently east of the Bahamas, heading north. While models don't see the cyclone making landfall on the U.S. East Coast, its trajectory parallel to the coastline will unsettle the ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center. This week of Aug. 18 will not be a good time for beach swimmers, as dangerous rip currents are expected along most of the U.S. East Coast, including Delaware beaches, according to a statement by the National Weather Service (NWS). Small crafts should refrain from navigating coastal waters, as waves could reach 12 feet tall. The NWS expects hazardous conditions for small crafts to continue until 6 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 22. Coastal flooding expected in DelawareThe Mount Holly office of the NWS issued a coastal flood advisory for Sussex County in Delaware. Up to one foot of inundation is expected in low-lying areas near shorelines and also in inland tidal waterways on Mon. Aug 18, from 4 to 10 p.m. The NWS advices that some partial or full road closure are possible. Other advisories might be published as the week elapses and the hurricane comes closer. An early forecast for the week expects coastal flood risk in the afternoon hours into the evening. Small craft should refrain from sailing as choppy waters are expected at the Delaware Bay. Juan Carlos Castillo is a New Jersey-based trending reporter for the USA Today Network. Find him on Twitter at _JCCastillo. This article originally appeared on Delaware Beaches: Coastal flooding expected today in Delaware as Erin moves closer View the full article