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Judge orders the Trump administration to return a Guatemalan deported to Mexico to the US

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man it deported to Mexico in spite of his fears of being harmed there.

The man, who is gay, was protected from being returned to his home country under a U.S. immigration judge's order at the time. But the U.S. put him on a bus and sent him to Mexico instead, a removal that U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy found likely lacked any semblance of due process.

Mexico has since returned him to Guatemala, where he is in hiding, according to court documents. An earlier court proceeding determined that the man, identified by the initials O.C.G., risked persecution or torture if returned to Guatemala, but he also feared returning to Mexico. He presented evidence of being raped and held for ransom there while seeking asylum in the U.S.

No one has ever suggested that O.C.G. poses any sort of security threat," Murphy wrote. In general, this case presents no special facts or legal circumstances, only the banal horror of a man being wrongfully loaded onto a bus and sent back to a country where he was allegedly just raped and kidnapped.

A message seeking comment was left with the Department of Homeland Security.

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Murphy's order adds to a string of findings by federal courts against recent Trump administration deportations. Those have included other deportations to third countries and the erroneous deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran who had lived in Maryland for roughly 14 years, working and raising a family.

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. from a notorious Salvadoran prison, rejecting the White Houses claim that it couldnt retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him. Both the White House and the El Salvadoran president have said they are powerless to return him. The Trump administration has tried to invoke the state secrets privilege, arguing that releasing details in open courtor even to the judge in privateabout returning Abrego Garcia to the United States would jeopardize national security.

In his Friday ruling, Murphy nodded to the dispute over the verb facilitate in that case and others, saying that returning O.C.G. to the U.S. is not that complicated.

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The Court notes that facilitate in this context should carry less baggage than in several other notable cases, he wrote. O.C.G. is not held by any foreign government. Defendants have declined to make any argument that facilitating his return would be costly, burdensome, or otherwise impede the governments objectives.

You should wear sunscreen even if you have darker skin. Here's why

People with darker skin still need to wear sunscreen for more reasons than one.

Too much ultraviolet exposure from the sun can lead to sunburn, dark spots and wrinkles, and increased risk of skin cancer.

The melanin in darker skin offers some extra protection from the sun, but dermatologists say that isnt enough on its own.

"Everyone needs sunscreen. But the reasons that one might be reaching for sunscreen may differ depending on your skin tone, said Dr. Jenna Lester, who founded the Skin of Color Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco.

Do darker-skinned people need sunscreen?

White people are overall more likely to get skin cancer compared to Black and Hispanic people. But Black and Hispanic people are less likely to survive the most dangerous kind of skin cancer called melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society.

Black patients more commonly get melanoma on their hands and feet places that are more shielded from the sun. Still, sunscreen is an additional protective layer that helps prevent a host of other problems including sunburns, hyperpigmentation after acne, rosacea and dark patches on the face.

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Dr. Oyetewa Asempa at Baylor College of Medicine often reminds her darker-skinned patients: All of the problems that youre coming to see me for are caused or worsened by the sun.

How much sunscreen do people of color need?

To stay safe in the sun, it's important to grab sunscreen with a sun protection factor or SPF of at least 30 and reapply every two hours. People headed for the pool or beach should put on sunscreen beforehand, remembering to reapply liberally and after getting out of the water.

Most people dont wear enough sunscreen when they apply, Lester said. Make sure to put two long fingers worth on the face and a hefty blob for the body.

Look for chemical-based sunscreens to avoid an ashy white cast. Two key ingredients in mineral-based products zinc oxide and titanium oxide are the culprits for that pesky discoloration on dark skin.

Tinted sunscreens contain pigments that block visible light from the sun, offering additional protection against dark spots. And wearing a hat or sun-protective clothing with an ultraviolet protection factor or UPF grading can provide an extra safety boost.

Whatever the sun protection routine, it's important to keep it up, Lester said. Some UV rays can climb right through car and house windows to cause sun damage even when indoors, making it even more important to take care of the skin while the sun shines.

It's about trying to make it a daily habit, she said. Consistency over intensity.

White House slashing staff in major overhaul of National Security Council, officials say

President Donald Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size, lead to the ouster of some political appointees, and return many career government employees back to their home agencies, according to two U.S. officials and one person familiar with the reorganization.

The number of staff at the NSC is expected to be significantly reduced, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter.

The shakeup is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being dramatically made over after the ouster early this month of Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz, who in many ways had hewed to traditional Republican foreign policy.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security adviser since the ouster of Waltz, who was nominated to serve as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.

The move is expected to elevate the importance of the State Department and Pentagon in advising Trump on important foreign policy decisions. But, ultimately, Trump relies on his own instincts above all else when making decisions.

The NSC, created during the Truman administration, is an arm of the White House tasked with advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policy and coordinating among various government agencies.

Trump was frustrated in his first term by political appointees and advisers who he felt gummed up his America First agenda.

There were roughly 395 people working at the NSC, including about 180 support staff, according to one official. About 90 to 95 of those being ousted are policy or subject matter experts seconded from other government agencies. They will be given an opportunity to return to their home agencies if they want.

Many of the political appointees will also be given positions elsewhere in the administration, the official said.

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The NSC has been in a continual state of tumult during the early going of Trumps second go-around in the White House.

Waltz was ousted weeks after Trump fired several NSC officials, just a day after the influential far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty.

And the White House, days into the administration, sidelined about 160 NSC aides, sending them home while the administration reviewed staffing and tried to align it with Trumps agenda. The aides were career government employees, commonly referred to as detailees.

This latest shakeup amounts to a liquidation of NSC staffing with both career government detailees on assignment to the NSC being sent back to their home agencies and several political appointees being pushed out of their positions, according to the person familiar with the decision.

A White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the overhaul, first reported by Axios, was underway but declined further comment.

Waltz during his short tenure heading the NSC came under searing criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was used to discuss planning for a sensitive military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen.

Waltz has taken responsibility for building the text chain but has said he does not know how Goldberg ended up being included.

Loomer had encouraged Trump to purge aides who she believes are insufficiently loyal to the Make America Great Again" agenda.

She also complained to sympathetic administration officials that Waltz was too reliant on neocons shorthand for the more hawkish neoconservatives within the Republican Party as well as what she perceived as not-MAGA-enough types, the person said.

It wasnt just Loomer who viewed Waltz suspiciously. He was viewed with a measure of skepticism by some in the MAGA world who saw the former Army Green Beret and three-term congressman as too tied to Washington's foreign policy establishment.

On Russia, Waltz shared Trumps concerns about the high price tag of extensive U.S. military aid to Ukraine. But Waltz also advocated for further diplomatically isolating President Vladimir Putin a position that was out of step with Trump, who has viewed the Russian leader, at moments, with admiration for his cunning in dealings with Trumps predecessors.

His more hawkish rhetoric on Iran and China, including U.S. policy toward Taiwan, seemed increasingly out of step with Trump who setting aside belligerent rhetoric about taking over Greenland from Denmark has tilted more toward military restraint and diplomacy in facing some of the United States' most challenging issues with adversaries.

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh in a sign he'll approve bid by Japan-based Nippon

President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. Steel will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh as part of what he called a planned partnership that seemed to signal that hell approve a bid by Japan-based Nippon Steel to make a big investment in the iconic American steelmaker, if not buy it outright.

Still, Trump's statement left it vague as to whether he is approving Nippon Steel's bid after he vowed repeatedly to block the deal to prevent U.S. Steel from being foreign-owned.

More recently, Trump suggested that Nippon Steel would invest in U.S. Steel, not buy it. But investors seemed to take his statement as a sign that he's approving some sort of merger, sharply pushing up U.S. Steel's shares, and the companies issued approving statements.

Nippon Steel said the partnership is a game changer for U. S. Steel and all of its stakeholders, including the American steel industry, and the broader American manufacturing base. U.S. Steel said it will remain American, and we will grow bigger and stronger through a partnership.

Nippon Steel's nearly $15 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel was blocked by former President Joe Biden on his way out of office and, after Trump became president, subject to another national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

In his statement Friday, Trump said that after much consideration and negotiation, US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh.

What Trump called a planned partnership will add $14 billion to the U.S. economy, he said, although it wasn't clear what the terms of the deal would be or who would control U.S. Steel under the arrangement. Neither company explained Friday how the partnership would be structured.

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Josh Spoores, the Pennsylvania-based head of steel Americas analysis for commodity researcher CRU, said that, from what hes seeing, this partnership is a green light for the acquisition.

Shares of U.S. Steel jumped 21% on the news, and continued rising in aftermarket trading.

Keeping U.S. Steel's headquarters had always been part of Nippon Steel's bid to buy it. To sweeten the deal, Nippon Steel had offered up a $2.7 billion commitment to upgrade U.S. Steel's two blast furnaces and pledged that it wouldn't import steel slabs that would compete with the facilities.

Nippon Steel also had pledged not to conduct layoffs or plant closings during the term of the existing labor agreement and to protect the best interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters.

U.S. Steel's CEO David Burritt warned last September that blocking Nippon Steel's bid would mean U.S. Steel would largely pivot away from investing in its two blast furnaces one just outside Pittsburgh and one in Gary, Indiana and it would raise serious questions about remaining headquartered in Pittsburgh.

U. S. Steel's board and stockholders approved Nippon Steel's bid last year. It has been opposed by the United Steelworkers union. The union had no immediate comment Friday.

As recently as December, Trump said he was "totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company.

Then in February, Trump suggested that Nippon Steel wouldn't buy U.S. Steel, as it had planned, but that it would instead invest in U.S. Steel.

Last month, Trump ordered a new national security review of Nippon Steels proposed bid.

Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners in first phase of a major exchange

Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange Friday, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase of the exchange brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had received the same number from Ukraine.

Its very important to bring everyone home, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, thanking all who worked to secure their return and pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to make more exchanges possible.

Dozens of relatives of prisoners cheered and chanted Thank you! as buses carrying the freed captives arrived at a medical facility in Ukraine's Chernihiv region. The men, some with expressionless faces and others unable to contain their emotions, got off the buses wrapped in Ukrainian flags for joyful reunions.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul last week to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russias 2022 invasion. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in U.S.-led efforts efforts to stop the fighting.

Exchanges at the Belarus-Ukrainian border

The swap took place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didn't herald any halt in fighting.

Battles continues along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes.

Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure targets in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing two workers and injuring eight others, according to regional Gov. Oleh Kiper. It was the first recorded attack on the port since March 11.

Moscow's forces attacked settlements in Kherson region with artillery, mortars and drones throughout the day, killing three civilians and injuring 10, according to the Kherson Regional Prosecutors Office.

They also shelled Kostyantynivka with artillery, killing one civilian, said Serhii Horbunov, head of the citys military administration.

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Emotional reunions for some, but others must wait

As the freed men entered the medical facility, people holding signs and photos of their relatives shouted names or brigade numbers, seeking any news of a loved one. The returning men inspected the photos, and a serviceman said he shared a cell with one of those on the sea of portraits held out toward him.

Vanya! cried Nataliia Mosych, among the gathered relatives, My husband!

She hadnt seen her husband, Ivan, for almost two years, she said, beaming with joy.

It is an unbelievable feeling. I am still in shock, Mosych said after he came outside to great his family following registration procedures inside the facility. I am really glad and we were not forgotten, and we still mean something for Ukraine.

Many who were freed expressed shock and disbelief that they had been exchanged. Some had trouble remembering names and details of their lives before their capture.

One released POW joked in a video call with his girlfriend that he got a bit older in his three-year absence, and she replied he was as beautiful as ever.

Many relatives wept when it became clear their loved ones were not among those returning, and they hoped those who were released could at least offer some information about their husbands, brothers and sons.

Maybe my dad will come tomorrow, one small boy cried.

News of the prisoner release emerged when U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange.

A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said on the Truth Social platform. He said it would go into effect shortly.

He added in the post that "this could lead to something big??? apparently referring to other diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

No new Russia-Ukraine talks are set

After the May 16 talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a confidence-building measure and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive" peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished.

European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger armys battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.

The Istanbul meeting revealed both sides clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

The Kremlin has pushed back on a temporary halt to hostilities, and Putin has said any such truce must come with a freeze on Western arms supplies to Ukraine and an end to Ukraines mobilization drive.

A senior Ukrainian official said in Istanbul that Russia had introduced new, unacceptable demands to withdraw Ukrainian forces from huge swaths of territory. The official, who was not authorized to make official statements, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The proposal had not been previously discussed, the official said.

Putin has long demanded as a key condition for a peace deal that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 but never fully controlled.

Zelenskyy has warned that if Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and make unrealistic demands, it will signal deliberate efforts to prolong the war a move that should bring tougher international sanctions.

Russias Defense Ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20-23.

Ukraines air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday.

Justice Department reaches deal to allow Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

The Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the airplane giant to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to court papers filed Friday.

Under the agreement in principle" that still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay and invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the crash victims families, the Justice Department said. In return, the department would dismiss the fraud charge in the criminal case against the aircraft manufacturer.

Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits," a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.

"Nothing will diminish the victims losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers.

Many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, have spent years pushing for a public trial, the prosecution of former company officials, and more severe financial punishment for Boeing.

Although the DOJ proposed a fine and financial restitution to the victims families, the families that I represent contend that it is more important for Boeing to be held accountable to the flying public, Paul Cassell, an attorney for many of the families in the long-running case, said in a statement earlier this week.

Boeing was accused of misleading the Federal Aviation Administration about aspects of the Max before the agency certified the plane for flight. Boeing did not tell airlines and pilots about a new software system, called MCAS, that could turn the planes nose down without input from pilots if a sensor detected that the plane might go into an aerodynamic stall.

The Max planes crashed after a faulty reading from the sensor pushed the nose down and pilots were unable to regain control. After the second crash, Max jets were grounded worldwide until the company redesigned MCAS to make it less powerful and to use signals from two sensors, not just one.

Boeing avoided prosecution in 2021 by reaching a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department that included a previous $243.6 million fine.

A year ago, prosecutors said Boeing violated the terms of the 2021 agreement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws. Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to the felony fraud charge instead of enduring a potentially lengthy public trial.

But in December, U.S. District Judge Reed OConnor in Fort Worth rejected the plea deal. The judge said the diversity, inclusion and equity, or DEI, policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in picking a monitor to oversee Boeings compliance with the agreement.

12 people injured in stabbing at Hamburg train station, authorities say

An assailant stabbed people at the central railway station in the German city of Hamburg on Friday, injuring 12 people six of them critically, authorities said.

A suspect in the attack was arrested, police said in a post on the social network X on Friday evening.

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Hamburg's fire service said that six people sustained life-threatening injuries, while another three were seriously injured and three had slight injuries, German news agency dpa reported.

Authorities didn't give any information on the suspect or details of the attack.

The station in downtown Hamburg, Germany's second-biggest city, is a major hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

Paris court finds ringleader and 7 others guilty in 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian

A Paris court on Friday found the ringleader and seven other people guilty in the robbery of Kim Kardashian in 2016.

The court acquitted two of the 10 defendants. The sentences being read out by the court president ranged from prison terms to fines.

Aomar At Khedache, 69, the ringleader, got the stiffest sentence, eight years imprisonment but five of those are suspended. Three others who were accused on the most serious charges got seven years, five of them suspended.

With time already served in pretrial detention, none of those found guilty will go to prison.

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Khedache arrived at court walking with a stick, his face hidden from cameras. His DNA, found on the bands used to bind Kardashian, was a key breakthrough that helped crack open the case.

Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium. A diamond-encrusted cross, dropped during the escape, was the only piece of jewelry ever recovered.

The crime took place on the night of Oct. 2, 2016 during Paris Fashion Week. The robbers, dressed as police, forced their way into the glamorous Htel de Pourtals, bound Kardashian with zip ties and escaped with her jewelry a theft that would force celebrities to rethink how they live and protect themselves.

The accused became known in France as les papys braqueurs, or the grandpa robbers. Some arrived in court in orthopedic shoes and one leaned on a cane. But prosecutors warned observers not to be fooled.

The defendants faced charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and gang association.

Kardashians testimony earlier this month was the emotional high point. In a packed courtroom, she recounted how she was thrown onto a bed, zip-tied, and had a gun pressed to her on the night of Oct. 2, 2016.

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I absolutely did think I was going to die, she said. I have babies. I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.

She was dragged into a marble bathroom and told to stay silent. When the robbers fled, she freed herself by scraping the tape on her wrists off against the sink, then hid with her friend, shaking and barefoot.

She said Paris had once been her sanctuary a city she would wander at 3 a.m., window shopping, stopping for hot chocolate. That illusion was shattered.

The robbery echoed far beyond the City of Light. It forced a recalibration of celebrity behavior in the digital age. For years, Kardashian had curated her life like a showroom: geo-tagged, diamond-lit, public by design. But this was the moment the showroom turned into a crime scene. In her words, People were watching They knew where I was.

Afterward, she stopped posting her location in real time. She stripped her social media feed of lavish gifts and vanished from Paris for years. Other stars followed suit. Privacy became luxury.

Defense attorneys asked the court for leniency, citing the defendants age and health. But prosecutors insist that criminal experience, not frailty, defined the gang.

Even for Frances painstakingly thorough legal system, observers commented about how long it took for the case to be tried.

Kardashian, who once said, This experience really changed everything, hopes the verdict will offer a measure of closure.

Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander voted as the NBA's MVP, continuing run of international player wins

The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple. He's the best player on an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had the best record this season and set a league mark for margin of victory. If that wasn't enough, he also won the scoring title.

That's an MVP year.

Gilgeous-Alexander was announced Wednesday as the NBA's Most Valuable Player, his first time winning the award. It's now seven straight years that a player born outside the U.S. won MVP, extending the longest such streak in league history.

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and five rebounds per game this season, leading the Thunder to a 68-14 record. The Thunder outscored teams by 12.9 points per game, the biggest margin in league history.

He becomes the second Canadian to win MVP; Steve Nash won it twice.

His value is his confidence, Oklahoma Citys Kenrich Williams said of Gilgeous-Alexander, his Thunder teammate for the last five seasons. His confidence that he has in himself and the confidence that he instills in every one of his teammates, including the coaches.

Denver's Nikola Jokic a winner of three of the last four MVP awards was second, despite a season for the ages. He averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, the first center to average a triple-double and the first player since all those stats were tracked to finish in the NBAs top three in all three of those categories.

It was the sixth instance of a player finishing a season averaging a triple-double at least 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds per game. Russell Westbrook did it four times and Oscar Robertson once, but only one of those triple-double seasons led to an MVP win.

Hes a special player, Jokic said of Gilgeous-Alexander earlier this week when the Thunder eliminated the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. His shot selection, his shot capability ... hes always there. Hes a special player.

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Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game, was third. He started this run of international players winning MVP; Antetokounmpo, of Greek and Nigerian descent, won in 2019 and 2020.

Jokic, a Serbian, won in 2021, 2022 and 2024. And Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, who was born in Cameroon but since became a U.S. citizen, won the award in 2023.

Now, it's Gilgeous-Alexander a son of Ontario, where hockey reigns carrying the MVP flag.

The MVP award, like most other NBA honors, was voted on by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league and cast ballots shortly before the start of the playoffs.

The other awards that were part of that voting process and have already had their results unveiled: Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson winning coach of the year, Atlantas Dyson Daniels winning most improved player, San Antonios Stephon Castle winning rookie of the year, Clevelands Evan Mobley winning defensive player of the year, New Yorks Jalen Brunson winning clutch player of the year and Bostons Payton Pritchard winning sixth man of the year.

Other awards announced by the league since the end of the regular season: Golden States Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award, Warriors teammate Draymond Green won the hustle award, Oklahoma City's Sam Presti won executive of the year and Bostons Jrue Holiday won the sportsmanship award for the second time in his career as well as the leagues social justice award.

British climber reaches Everest summit for a record 19th time and plans a 20th

A British climber who scaled Mount Everest for the 19th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the worlds highest peak by a non-Sherpa guide, returned from the mountain Tuesday and said he is already planning his next attempt.

Kenton Cool from southwest England, reached the 29,032-foot summit Sunday before flying on a helicopter with his clients back to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

I am 51 now, and I have been coming here since 2004 to climb Everest, Cool said at Kathmandu's airport. I have at least one more climb for next year maybe 20 or 21 (total). After that I'll start climbing other mountains in Nepal.

Cool has scaled Everest almost every year since 2004.

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He was unable to climb it in 2014 because the season was canceled after 16 Sherpa guides were killed in an avalanche, and again in 2015 when an earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 19 people. The 2020 climbing season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Only Nepali Sherpa guides have scaled the peak more times than Cool. Kami Rita holds the record for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest at 30 times. He is currently on the mountain and is expected to attempt to reach the top in the next few days.

Cool said his climb was smooth and that he faced no problems, but he noticed that many climbers were trying to reach the peak on the same day.

Hundreds of climbers and their guides are on the mountain during the popular spring climbing season, when weather conditions are most ideal on the peaks.

Mountaineering is an amazing sport which is open to everybody, but you just need to be part of it responsibly and we have seen some people coming to Everest perhaps they do not have the experience that they should, Cool said, adding that it was not necessary to limit the number of climbers each season.

The climbing season finishes at the end of this month. Weather conditions then deteriorate with the monsoon season making climbing more difficult.

Ex-assistant tells of cleaning up booze, drugs and baby oil after Sean 'Diddy' Combsโ€™ sex marathons

Sean Diddy Combs ' one-time personal assistant testified Wednesday that he was in charge of cleaning up hotel rooms after the hip-hop moguls sex marathons tossing out empty alcohol bottles, baby oil and drugs, tidying pillows and making it look as if nothing had happened.

An implied part of the job was that protecting him and protecting his public image were important to him," George Kaplan told jurors at Combs federal sex trafficking trial. Thats what I was keen on doing."

Kaplan, who worked for Combs from 2013 to 2015, said the Bad Boy Records founder would sometimes summon him to a hotel room to deliver a medicine kit, a bag full of prescription pills and over-the-counter pain medications. He said Combs dispatched him to buy drugs including MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

Kaplan, 34, was granted immunity to testify after initially telling the Manhattan court that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Prosecutors contend Combs leaned on employees and used his music and fashion empire to facilitate and cover up his behavior, sometimes making threats to keep them in line and his misconduct hush-hush.

Kaplan testified that Combs threatened his job on a monthly basis, once berating him for buying the wrong size bottled water. Combs' longtime girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, testified that Kaplan quit after seeing Combs beat her.

Kaplans testimony resumes Thursday. He'll be followed by rapper and actor Kid Cudi.

Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, is expected to testify about his brief relationship with Cassie in 2011. Prosecutors say Combs was so upset that he arranged to have Cudis convertible firebombed.

Also Wednesday, a federal agent showed jurors two handguns he said were found in a March 2024 raid at Combs Miami-area home, along with photos of ammunition and a wooden box marked Puffy one of his nicknames that the agent said contained psilocybin, MDMA and other drugs.

Investigators also found items prosecutors say were hallmarks of freak-offs," including dozens of bottles of baby oil and lubricant, said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Gerard Gannon.

Combs lawyer Teny Geragos suggested the search which involved 80 to 90 agents, an armored vehicle smashing the security gate, handcuffed employees and boat patrols was overkill. Combs Los Angeles mansion was also searched.

Gannon confirmed the federal investigation began the day after Cassie filed a lawsuit in November 2023 alleging that Combs abused her for years and involved her in hundreds of freak-offs" with him and male sex workers. Combs soon settled for $20 million, she said.

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Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he leveraged his fame and fortune to control Cassie and other people through threats and violence. His lawyers say the evidence reflects domestic violence, not racketeering or sex trafficking.

Jurors also heard from a psychologist who delved into the complexities of abusive relationships. Dawn Hughes explained victims often experience a low sense of self and tend to stay with abusers because they yearn for love and compassion they experienced in a relationships early honeymoon phase.

Hughes also explained how a victims memory can sometimes become jumbled retaining awareness of abuse, but mixing up details. Hughes, who was paid $6,000 by the prosecution to testify, didnt examine or mention Cassie or Combs, but her testimony paralleled some of what Cassie said she experienced with him.

Cassie testified that she started dating Cudi in late 2011. Although she and Combs broke up, they still engaged in freak-offs," she said. It was during such an encounter that Combs looked at her phone and figured out she was seeing Cudi, Cassie said.

Cassie's mother, Regina Ventura, testified Tuesday that Cassie emailed her in December 2011 that Combs was so angry about the relationship that he planned to release explicit videos of her and have someone hurt Cassie and Cudi. Regina Ventura said Combs also demanded $20,000. Scared for her daughter's safety, she said she sent Combs the money, only to have it returned by Combs days later.

Cassie testified that she broke up with Cudi before the end of the year.

It was just too much, she said. Too much danger, too much uncertainty of, like, what could happen if we continued to see each other.

After Cassie reunited with Combs, he told her that Cudi's car would be blown up and that he wanted Cudi's friends there to see it, Cassie said.

Trump presses South African president over killings of white farmers

President Donald Trump appeared to catch South African President Cyril Ramaphosa off guard during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

With reporters present, Trump questioned Ramaphosa about the killings of white farmers in South Africa.

People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety," Trump said. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases theyre being killed.

In a surprising move, Trump asked for the lights in the Oval Office to be dimmed and played a 4-minute video that the White House described as "proof of persecution in South Africa." The footage showed South African politician Julius Malema calling for violence against white South Africans, as well as images of what the administration alleges was white "Afrikaner" farmers being evicted from their land.

Ramaphosa distanced himself from Malema, emphasizing that he is a member of an opposition party and does not represent the South African government.

We are completely opposed to that, Ramaphosa said.

The South African government participated in the meeting, calling it an opportunity to reset its relationship with the U.S., which has cut funding due to what President Trump has described as "white genocide." The two nations have worked together on a host of issues in the past, including trade and investment in the African continent. In fact, according to the Congressional Research Service, South Africa has remained America's largest trading partner on the continent since 2019.

Despite the obvious tension in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Ramaphosa remained calm, allowing others in the room, including professional golfers from South Africa, to articulate how the U.S. can help it combat crime in the country. This is also not the first time there has been friction between President Trump and Ramaphosa. During his first term, President Trump criticized his South African counterpart about "white genocide" as well.

According to the farmers' union representing white farmers in South Africa, there were 32 farm murders in 2024 out of nearly 20,000 total homicides. Most of the victims were farm workers.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem appears to misunderstand the definition of habeas corpus

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the constitutional provision that allows people to legally challenge their detention by the government is actually a tool the Trump administration can use in its broader crackdown at the U.S.-Mexico border. She called habeas corpus "a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their rights."

Noem, testifying before a congressional committee Tuesday, gave that response when asked by Sen. Maggie Hassan to define the legal concept.

"That's incorrect," the New Hampshire Democrat swiftly interrupted Noem, defining the "legal principle that requires that the government provide a public reason for detaining and imprisoning people." Hassan, a former attorney who practiced in Boston, went on to call habeas corpus "the foundational right that separates free societies like America from police states like North Korea."

The back and forth follows comments by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who said earlier this month that President Donald Trump is looking for ways to expand his administration's legal power to deport migrants who are in the United States illegally. To achieve that, Miller said the administration is "actively looking at" suspending habeas corpus.

RELATED STORY | The Trump administration is considering suspending habeas corpus. What does that mean?

What is habeas corpus?

The Latin term means, literally, "you have the body." Federal courts use a writ of habeas corpus to bring a prisoner before a neutral judge to determine if imprisonment is legal.

Habeas corpus was included in the Constitution as an import from English common law. Parliament enacted the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, which was meant to ensure that the king released prisoners when the law did not justify confining them.

The Constitution's Suspension Clause, the second clause of Section 9 of Article I, states that habeas corpus "shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it."

Has it been suspended previously?

Yes. The United States has suspended habeas corpus under four distinct circumstances during its history. Those usually involved authorization from Congress, something that would be nearly impossible today even at Trump's urging given the narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus multiple times during the Civil War, beginning in 1861 to detain suspected spies and Confederate sympathizers. He ignored a ruling from Roger Taney, the Supreme Court 's chief justice. Congress then authorized suspending it in 1863, which allowed Lincoln to do so again.

Congress acted similarly under President Ulysses S. Grant, suspending habeas corpus in parts of South Carolina under the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, it was meant to counter violence and intimidation by groups that opposed Reconstruction in the South.

Habeas corpus was suspended in two provinces of the Philippines in 1905, when it was a U.S. territory and authorities were worried about the threat of an insurrection, and in Hawaii after the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor but before it became a state in 1959.

Writing before becoming a Supreme Court justice, Amy Coney Barrett co-authored a piece stating that the Suspension Clause "does not specify which branch of government has the authority to suspend the privilege of the writ, but most agree that only Congress can do it."

What has the Trump administration said about suspending it?

Miller has said the administration is considering trying.

"The Constitution is clear, and that of course is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion," he told reporters outside the White House on May 9.

"So, I would say that's an option we're actively looking at," Miller said. "Look, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not."

Asked by Hassan on Tuesday if she supported the provision, Noem said she did, adding that "the president of the United States has the authority under the Constitution to decide if it should be suspended or not."

Hassan, who responded by saying that even Lincoln had obtained "retroactive approval" from Congress, then asked Noem if she would follow a court order overturning a theoretical suspension of habeas corpus, or if she would follow Trump's decision.

Noem said she was "following all court orders ... as is the president," prompting Hassan to say "that is obviously not true for anybody who reads the news."

John Blume, a professor at Cornell Law School, said Noem's response to Hassan was either evidence that she "fundamentally misunderstands habeas corpus" or "was giving an answer she knew was wrong to appease the president."

Should the administration argue that the constitutional provision should be suspended due to what Trump officials have characterized as an "invasion" by migrants, Blume said he felt such a position would be "very unlikely to fly" with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Could the Trump administration do it?

It can try. Miller suggested that the U.S. is facing an "invasion" of migrants. That term was used deliberately, though any effort to suspend habeas corpus would spark legal challenges questioning whether the country was in fact facing an invasion, let alone one that presented extraordinary threats to public safety.

Federal judges have so far been skeptical of the Trump administration's past efforts to use extraordinary powers to make deportations easier, and that could make suspending habeas corpus even tougher.

Trump argued in March that the United States was facing an "invasion" of Venezuelan gang members and evoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime authority he has tried to use to speed up mass deportations. His administration acted to swiftly deport alleged members of Tren de Aragua to a notorious prison in El Salvador, leading to a series of legal fights.

Federal courts around the country, including in New York, Colorado, Texas and Pennsylvania, have since blocked the administration's uses of the Alien Enemies Act for many reasons, including by raising questions about whether the country is truly facing an invasion.

If courts are already skeptical, how could habeas corpus be suspended?

Miller, who has been fiercely critical of judges ruling against the administration, advanced the argument that the judicial branch may not get to decide.

"Congress passed a body of law known as the Immigration Nationality Act which stripped Article III courts, that's the judicial branch, of jurisdiction over immigration cases," he said earlier this month.

That statute was approved by Congress in 1952 and there were important amendments in 1996 and 2005. Legal scholars note that it does contain language that could funnel certain cases to immigration courts, which are overseen by the executive branch.

Still, most appeals in those cases would largely be handled by the judicial branch, and they could run into the same issues as Trump's attempts to use the Alien Enemies Act.

The U.S. system of government is divided into three branches: executive (the president), legislative (Congress) and judicial (the courts).

Have other administrations tried this?

Technically not since Pearl Harbor, though habeas corpus has been at the center of some major legal challenges more recently than that.

Republican President George W. Bush did not move to suspend habeas corpus after the Sept. 11 attacks, but his administration subsequently sent detainees to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, drawing lawsuits from advocates who argued the administration was violating it and other legal constitutional protections.

In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo detainees had a constitutional right to habeas corpus, allowing them to challenge their detention before a judge. That led to some detainees being released.

Markers in blood and urine may reveal how much ultraprocessed food we are eating

Molecules in blood and urine may reveal how much energy a person consumes from ultraprocessed foods, a key step to understanding the impact of the products that make up nearly 60% of the American diet, a new study finds.

Its the first time that scientists have identified biological markers that can indicate higher or lower intake of the foods, which are linked to a host of health problems, said Erikka Loftfield, a National Cancer Institute researcher who led the study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine.

It can potentially give us some clues as to what the underlying biology might be between an ultraprocessed food association and a health outcome, Loftfield said.

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Ultraprocessed foods sugary cereals, sodas, chips, frozen pizzas and more are products created through industrial processes with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives not found in home kitchens. Theyre ubiquitous in the U.S. and elsewhere, but studying their health impacts is hard because its difficult to accurately track what people eat.

Typical nutrition studies rely on recall: asking people what they ate during a certain period. But such reports are notoriously unreliable because people dont remember everything they ate, or they record it inaccurately.

Theres a need for both a more objective measure and potentially also a more accurate measure, Loftfield explained.

To create the new scores, Loftfield and her colleagues examined data from an existing study of more than 1,000 older U.S. adults who were AARP members. More than 700 of them had provided blood and urine samples, as well as detailed dietary recall reports, collected over a year.

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The scientists found that hundreds of metabolites products of digestion and other processes corresponded to the percentage of energy a person consumes from ultraprocessed foods. From those, they devised a score of 28 blood markers and up to 33 urine markers that reliably predicted ultraprocessed food intake in people consuming typical diets.

We found this signature that was sort of predictive of this dietary pattern thats high in ultraprocessed food and not just a specific food item here and there, she said.

A few of the markers, notably two amino acids and a carbohydrate, showed up at least 60 times out of 100 testing iterations. One marker showed a potential link between a diet high in ultraprocessed foods and type 2 diabetes, the study found.

To confirm the findings, Loftfield measured the scoring tool with participants in a carefully controlled 2019 National Institutes of Health study of ultraprocessed foods.

In that study, 20 adults went to live for a month at an NIH center. They received diets of ultraprocessed and unprocessed foods matched for calories, sugar, fat, fiber and macronutrients for two weeks each and were told to eat as much as they liked.

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Loftfields team found that they could use the metabolite scores to tell when the individual participants were eating a lot of ultraprocessed foods and when they werent eating those foods.

The results suggested the markers were valid at the individual level, Loftfield said.

Its still early research, but identifying blood and urine markers to predict ultraprocessed foods consumption is a major scientific advance, said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, who was not involved in the study.

With more research, these metabolic signatures can begin to untangle the biologic pathways and harms of UPF and also differences in health effects of specific UPF food groups, processing methods and additives, he said.

Loftfield said she hopes to apply the tool to existing studies where blood and urine samples are available to track, for instance, the effect of consuming ultraprocessed foods on cancer risk.

At a time when support for government research is being cut, funding remains uncertain.

Theres a lot of interest across the board scientifically, public interest, political interest in the question of: Does ultraprocessed food impact health and, if so, how? she said. How can we fund the studies that need to be done to answer these questions in a timely way?

New salmonella outbreak tied to same Florida grower with tainted cucumbers last year

U.S. health officials are investigating a new outbreak of salmonella illnesses tied to a Florida grower whose tainted cucumbers were linked to more than 550 illnesses last year.

Cucumbers grown by Florida-based Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales have been linked to illnesses in at least 26 people in 15 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported late Monday. At least nine people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported.

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The cucumbers were sold to restaurants, stores and food service distributors between April 29 and May 19 and may still be within their shelf life this week. Illnesses were reported between April 2 and April 28, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak was detected as part of a follow-up inspection in April to a 2024 outbreak that sickened 551 people and led to 155 hospitalizations in 34 states and Washington, D.C. In that outbreak, investigators found salmonella bacteria linked to many of the illnesses in untreated canal water used at farms operated by Bedner Growers and Thomas Produce Company.

In the current outbreak, officials found salmonella bacteria from samples on the farm that matched samples from people who got sick.

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Health officials are investigating where the potentially contaminated cucumbers were distributed. Several people who fell ill ate cucumbers on cruise ships leaving ports in Florida, according to the CDC. Organic cucumbers are not affected, officials said.

Retailers should notify consumers who may have bought the tainted produce. If consumers don't know the source of cucumbers, they should throw them away, officials said.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever, severe vomiting, dehydration and stomach cramps. Most people who get sick recover within a week. Infections can be severe in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, who may require hospitalization.

'Dilbert' cartoon creator says he has same prostate cancer as Joe Biden

The creator of the Dilbert comic strip, which was canceled by most newspapers two years ago over the creators racist comments, said Monday that he has been diagnosed with the same aggressive prostate cancer as former President Joe Biden.

I have the same cancer that Joe Biden has, Scott Adams said Monday during an episode of his YouTube show, Real Coffee with Scott Adams. So, I also have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones.

RELATED STORY | Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis sparks support and political scrutiny

He made the announcement after extending his respect and compassion and sympathy for Biden and his family. Biden announced his diagnosis on Sunday and said he and his family were reviewing treatment options with his doctors.

Adams, 67, said he's always in pain, uses a walker to get around and that he expects to die sometime this summer.

It's basically intolerable, he said of the pain.

Adams said he has had time to process his diagnosis and that it has given him time to say goodbyes, get his affairs in order and do all the things he needed to do.

Dilbert the comic strip first appeared in 1989, poking fun at office culture. It ran for decades in numerous newspapers but disappeared with lightning speed in 2023 following racist remarks by Adams.

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On his YouTube show at the time, among other things, he described Black people as a hate group and said he would no longer help Black Americans.

He later said he was being hyperbolic, yet continued to defend his stance.

Various media publishers across the U.S. denounced the comments as racist, hateful and discriminatory while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work.

The editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, which dumped Dilbert in 2022, said the comic strip went from being hilarious to being hurtful and mean.

Trump officials set new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children

Annual COVID-19 shots for healthy younger adults and children will no longer be routinely approved under a major new policy shift unveiled Tuesday by the Trump administration.

FULL INTERVIEW: Dr. Matthew Sims, the Director of Infectious Diseases Research at Corewell Health, talks with us about the new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children. New change in COVID-19 vaccination policy

Top officials for the Food and Drug Administration laid out new requirements for yearly updates to COVID shots, saying they'd continue to use a streamlined approach that would make vaccines available to adults 65 and older as well as children and younger adults with at least one health problem that puts them at higher risk.

But the FDA framework urges companies conduct large, lengthy studies before tweaked vaccines can be approved for healthier people. In a framework published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, agency officials said the approach still could keep annual vaccinations available for between 100 million and 200 million adults.

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The upcoming changes raise questions about people who may still want a fall COVID-19 shot but don't clearly fall into one of the categories.

Is the pharmacist going to determine if you're in a high-risk group? asked Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The only thing that can come of this will make vaccines less insurable and less available.

The framework, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is the culmination of a series of recent steps scrutinizing the use of COVID shots and raising major questions about the broader availability of vaccines under President Donald Trump.

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For years, federal health officials have told most Americans to expect annual updates to COVID-19 vaccines, similar to the annual flu shot. Just like with flu vaccines, until now the FDA has approved updated COVID shots when manufacturers provide evidence that they spark just as much immune protection as the previous year's version.

But FDA's new guidance appears to be the end of that approach under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who has filled the FDA and other health agencies with outspoken critics of the governments handling of COVID shots, particularly their recommendation for young, healthy adults and children.

Tuesdays update, written by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and FDA vaccine chief Vinay Prasad, criticized the U.S.s one-size-fits-all approach and states that the U.S. has been the most aggressive in recommending COVID boosters, when compared with European countries.

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We simply dont know whether a healthy 52-year-old woman with a normal BMI who has had Covid-19 three times and has received six previous doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will benefit from the seventh dose, they wrote.

Outside experts say there are legitimate questions about how much everyone still benefits from yearly COVID vaccination or whether they should be recommended for people at increased risk. An influential panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to debate that question next month.

The FDA framework announced Tuesday appears to usurp that advisory panel's job, Offit said. He added that CDC studies have made clear that booster doses do offer protection against mild to moderate illness for four to six months after the shot even in healthy people.

Maintenance worker charged in connection with New Orleans jail break

Authorities have arrested a 33-year-old Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office maintenance worker in connection with the escape of 10 jail inmates, the Louisiana Attorney General's office said Tuesday.

Sterling Williams admitted to law enforcement that one of the escapees advised him to turn the water off in the cell before the men slipped away through a hole behind a toilet, the Attorney Generals office said in a statement.

Instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed allowing the inmates to carry out their scheme to successfully escape, it said.

Williams is charged with 10 counts of principle to simple escape and malfeasance in office.

Sheriff Susan Hutson has said she believes the jail break was an inside job and last week told reporters her agency had suspended three employees pending an investigation.

RELATED STORY | Expert highlights failures leading to escape

Its almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help, she said of the Orleans Justice Center, a correctional facility where 1,400 people are being held.

The inmates escaped early Friday while the lone guard watching them went to get food.

At least one of the steel bars protecting plumbing fixtures appeared to have been intentionally cut using a tool, the sheriffs office stated.

The inmates quickly shed their uniforms and changed into regular clothes.

The absence of the inmates, many charged with or convicted of violent offenses such as murder, was not reported for hours. Four have since been apprehended and six remain at large.

Since the escape, Hutson has pointed to long-standing deficiencies such as faulty locks and staffing shortages. But a growing number of state and local officials have said blame for the escape rests squarely on her for failing her responsibility to keep inmates locked up.

The New Orleans City Council is scheduled to discuss the jail break with the sheriff's office and other authorities Tuesday.

Passenger jet had to abort takeoff to avoid runway collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport

When a passenger jet roaring down the runway toward takeoff at New York's LaGuardia Airport had to slam on the brakes earlier this month because another plane was still on the runway, Renee Hoffer and all the other passengers were thrown forward in their seats.

Hoffer wound up in the emergency room the next day after the near miss on May 6 because her neck started hurting and her left arm went numb.

"The stop was as hard as any car accident I've been in," Hoffer said.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that they are investigating the incident in which a Republic Airways jet had to abort takeoff and slam to a stop because a United Airlines plane was still taxiing across the runway. The close call happened despite the airport being equipped with an advanced surface radar system that's designed to help prevent such close calls.

In audio from the tower that ABC obtained from the website www.LiveATC.net, the air traffic controller said to the pilot of the Republic Airways jet: "Sorry, I thought United had cleared well before that."

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At the time that the controller was directing the Republic Airways jet to take off, a ground controller on a different radio frequency was directing the United plane to a new taxiway after it missed the first one it was supposed to use to exit the runway.

When the passengers got off the plane after the close call at 12:35 a.m., Hoffer said the gate agents refused to even give them hotel vouchers for the night because they blamed the weather,r even though another passenger said she had an app on her phone that showed another plane was on the runway.

Hoffer said she's been stuck in a customer service nightmare since the flight Republic was operating for American Airlines ended abruptly. She said neither the airline nor the FAA has answered her complaints while she continues to nurse the pinched nerve in her neck that the ER doctors identified.

Both the airlines and the airport referred questions to the FAA.

The number of close calls in recent years has created serious concerns for the FAA, NTSB and other safety experts. The NTSB's investigation of a February 2023 close call in Austin highlighted the concerns, but there have been a number of other high-profile near misses. In one case, a Southwest Airlines jet coming in for a landing in Chicago narrowly avoided smashing into a business jet crossing the runway.

LaGuardia is one of just 35 airports across the country equipped with the FAA's best technology to prevent such runway incursions. The ASDS-X system uses a variety of technology to help controllers track planes and vehicles on the ground. At the other 490 U.S. airports with a control tower, air traffic controllers have to rely on more low-tech tools like a pair of binoculars to keep track of aircraft on the ground because the systems are expensive.

Expanding the systems to more airports is something Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would like to do if Congress signs off on his multi-billion-dollar plan to overhaul the nation's aging air traffic control system.

But it's clear the technology is not perfect because close calls continue happening. The FAA is taking a number of additional steps to try to reduce the number of close calls, and it plans to install an additional warning system at LaGuardia in the future.

But the rate of runway incursions per 1 million takeoffs and landings has remained around 30 for a decade. The rate got as high as 35 in 2017 and 2018. But generally, there are fewer than 20 of the most serious kind of incursions where a collision was narrowly avoided or there was a significant potential for a crash, according to the FAA. That number did hit 22 in 2023 but fell to just 7 last year.

To help, there are efforts to develop a system that will warn pilots directly about traffic on a runway instead of alerting the controller and relying on them to relay the warning. That could save precious seconds. But the FAA has not yet certified a system to warn pilots directly that Honeywell International has been developing for years.

The worst accident in aviation history occurred in 1977 on the Spanish island of Tenerife, when a KLM 747 began its takeoff roll while a Pan Am 747 was still on the runway; 583 people died when the planes collided in thick fog.

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