Lebanon calls for direct talks with Israel, accuses Hezbollah of betraying country

In a remarkable statement Monday afternoon, Lebanon called for direct talks with Israel on “permanent arrangements for security and stability on our borders,” while accusing the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah of betraying the country.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun detailed his plan during a virtual meeting with European Union officials, in which he leveled sharp criticism at Hezbollah and Israel for what he called “an attempt to corner my country.” He accused Israel of showing “no respect for the laws of war, nor for international laws.” Israel’s assault on Lebanon has displaced more than 600,000 people and killed more than 400, including scores of women and children, Aoun said.

But it is his criticism of Hezbollah that is significant. Calling the Shiite Muslim group “an armed faction … that places no value on Lebanon’s interest nor on the life of its people,” Aoun said Hezbollah “wanted to achieve the fall of the State of Lebanon, under aggression and chaos.” He accused the group of working “for the sake of the calculations of the Iranian regime.”

“After Hezbollah’s decision to enter the regional fight around Iran — a decision that put the Lebanese government in deep embarrassment — the main worry of Beirut’s authorities has become to clearly delink themselves from Hezbollah’s actions, mainly in order to spare the entire country the deadly costs of an all-out Israeli reprisal,” said Joseph Bahout, director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut.

Five Iranian women’s soccer players apply for asylum in Australia after fleeing team as supporters plead for action


Amid fears over their safety, five members of the Iranian women’s soccer squad have sought asylum in Australia and and are currently safe with police, a source told CNN Sports.

Members of the Iranian team, who’ve been playing in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, are at the center of growing calls for their exit from the country to be blocked for fear of persecution in Iran, their home country that’s at war with the US and Israel under a new hardline supreme leader.

It comes after the team remained silent during the national anthem before their first group stage match last week – a decision that many fear will be punished by the Iranian regime.

According to sports journalist Raha Pourbakhsh, at least seven players left the team hotel with five of those having now applied for asylum with the Australian Federal Police.

Iran–Israel War: Tehran deploys deadly cluster-equipped missiles on Israel, heightens civilian dangers that can outlast the conflict

Israeli military officials have claimed that Iran has now fired ballistic missiles carrying cluster munitions toward Israeli territory, marking the first reported use of such weapons in the current war. Cluster weapons are a controversial form of modern bombs; their unique characteristic is the ability to disperse dozens of smaller explosives over a wide area, effectively causing carpet bombing. Israeli defence officials say that some Iranian cluster missile warheads can release close to 800 submunitions mid-air, spreading destructive fragments across several kilometers.

Military analysts warn that the introduction of these weapons changes the dynamics of the conflict. Instead of a single explosion at one point, a cluster warhead can scatter bombs across a large zone, increasing the risk to civilians and leaving behind unexploded ordnance that can remain lethal long after the fighting ends.

At the centre of the debate now is not only the immediate military threat but also the question of how Iran developed this capability, especially in a country where scientists linked to advanced weapons programmes have frequently been targeted in assassinations. Israeli experts have suggested that external assistance may have played a key role, raising speculation about possible transfers of military know-how from Russia or China.

Israeli military officials claimed that at least one Iranian ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions struck central Israel during the latest round of attacks. Israeli reports suggest that the warhead split open at an altitude of about 4 miles, or roughly 7 km above the ground, and released close to 20 submunitions, dispersing them across a radius of 5 km.

Netanyahu says “there are many signs” Iranian supreme leader is “no longer with us”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that “there are many signs” that Iran’s supreme leader is “no longer with us,” while stopping short of saying definitively that he was killed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier told NBC that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials in Iran are still alive, as far as he knew. Iran has not published a video of Khamenei since the strikes began Saturday morning.

CNN previously reported that Khamenei was one of the targets of the opening salvo of strikes on Iran along with other senior leaders, but Israeli sources said there was no confirmation that Khamenei had been killed.

“There are many signs that this tyrant is no longer with us,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel had destroyed his compound.

Hockey marathon: Twin Cities kids battle for playoff spot as game enters 3rd day

A youth hockey playoff game between a pair of Twin Cities metro teams has turned into a marathon event, entering its third day on Wednesday.

The Cottage Grove and St. Paul U-12 girls teams started playing Monday night but the game was tied 1-1 after three regulation periods and six overtimes.

Play was suspended at 10:45 p.m. and resumed Tuesday with the seventh overtime. Despite playing through the 10th overtime, the game remained tied, leading to another suspension.

Now, the teams will convene against Wednesday night for the 11th overtime (and potentially additional periods). The match will resume at South St. Paul’s Doug Woog Arena.

Fire intentionally set at Renee Good memorial, Minneapolis police say

Police are investigating a suspected arson on Tuesday night at the memorial for Renee Good in south Minneapolis.

Good was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7. Since then, a community-curated memorial for her has stood at the site of her death on the 3300 block of Portland Avenue.

The Minneapolis Police Department said it received a report of a suspicious fire at the memorial around 8:46 p.m. Investigators say someone set fire to a pile of wood, damaging some of the items at the site. The fire had been put out by the time officers arrived.

Police say they are still investigating the circumstances around the fire. No arrests have been made.

FBI will not share access to Alex Pretti shooting evidence with Minnesota officials, BCA says

After weeks of calling for a joint and cooperative investigation into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, state officials have formally received a response: No.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) announced Monday that the FBI has formally notified the agency that it will not share access to any information or evidence connected to the Pretti killing.

BCA officials say they’ve reiterated requests for access to evidence for Good’s killing, as well as the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. However, state officials still haven’t received a definitive answer on whether or not the feds will reverse course and cooperate in those

“While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to thorough, independent and transparent investigations of these incidents, even if hampered by a lack of access to key information and evidence,” the BCA said in a press release. “Our agency has committed to the FBI and Department of Justice that should its stance change we remain willing to share information that we have obtained with that agency and would welcome a joint investigation. We will continue to pursue all legal avenues to gain access to relevant information and evidence.”

EPA rescinds landmark 2009 'endangerment finding' on greenhouse gases' harmful effect on climate

The Environmental Protection Agency has walked back a landmark environmental decision to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

Calling it "the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history," the EPA announced Thursday that it was "eliminating both the Obama-era 2009 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Endangerment Finding and all subsequent federal GHG emission standards for all vehicles and engines of model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond."

For more than 16 years, the EPA’s endangerment finding served as the scientific and legal foundation for federal regulations on carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping greenhouse gases. The 2009 decision found that certain greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The regulations that resulted cover everything from vehicle tailpipe emissions to the release of greenhouse gases from power plants and other significant emission sources.

President Donald Trump made the announcement at the White House, alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“The Endangerment Finding has been the source of 16 years of consumer choice restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans,” Zeldin said in a statement after the announcement. "The Trump EPA is strictly following the letter of the law, returning commonsense to policy, delivering consumer choice to Americans and advancing the American Dream."

Chair of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission removes member after heated hearing on antisemitism

The chairman of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission said Wednesday that he ousted a member of the commission after she sparred with fellow members during a contentious public hearing on antisemitism.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who chairs the commission, said on X that it was his call to remove Carrie Prejean Boller, a former Miss California USA, after tense exchanges during the hearing Monday over what constitutes antisemitism in the US.

Boller, during the hearing, defended conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has boosted conspiracy theories and embraced antisemitic rhetoric to her millions of online followers.

“Carrie Prejean Boller has been removed from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission,” Patrick said. “No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue. This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision.”