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What to know about the Iran war today:The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitoring agency said at least ten vessels have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz since last Sunday, a weekly high since war broke out in February, and 23 attacks were recorded since the start of the month, almost double the average.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied Friday that Tehran sought nuclear weapons, expressed readiness for dialogue and condemned U.S. sanctions during talks with Georgia's prime minister.The Strait of Hormuz will reopen if the U.S. leaves the Middle East, a spokesman for Iran's army said Friday. "If it does not leave, we will expel it," Mohammad Akraminia wrote on X.  President Sisi says Egypt ready to defend Saudi Arabia "if requested" Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday said Egypt was ready to defend Saudi Arabia "if requested," as fighting flares between the kingdom and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.Since Yemen's war reignited in July, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi targets, including energy facilities and Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, where 13 people were killed in a single attack last Saturday.The Houthis have also blockaded the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-flagged tankers, piling pressure on energy exports as Iran presses its own blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian military academy, Sisi said Egypt was "not looking for a role to play" in regional conflicts, but added it was "inconceivable" for Cairo to stand by while Saudi Arabia was "harmed or its security and stability threatened.""Egypt, of course, with the directives of His Majesty King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will carry out any measure to protect you or defend you," he said.He added any deployment would require parliamentary approval and said he hoped lawmakers would convene in an emergency session to grant authorization "if it is requested of us.""I'm not talking about fighting anyone or attacking anyone," Sisi said. "We are speaking only about defense." Yemen's Houthis free 159 pro-government fighters under amnesty Yemen's Houthis on Saturday announced the release of 159 pro-government fighters under an amnesty announced after they seized swathes of land in a major offensive last month.The prisoners had "voluntarily surrendered themselves without fighting" as the Iran-backed group captured strategic positions along the Red Sea, Houthi official Abdelqader al-Murtada told a press conference in Sanaa.The Houthis' war with the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government reignited in July after four years of calm, triggering attacks on Saudi oil shipments and other targets including airports.The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the unilateral release of 159 prisoners and said it had given support by organizing interviews and health checks, contacting families and helping arrange transport.Murtada said 323 prisoners were released under the amnesty last month after surrendering in Hodeidah governorate. Iran backs "political process" to resolve Saudi-Houthi conflict, foreign minister says Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Tehran supports a "political process" to resolve the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi targets, including energy facilities and Riyadh's international airport, where 13 people were killed in a major attack one week ago."We support an inclusive and comprehensive political process as the only practical and sustainable way to resolve the issue," Araghchi said in a speech at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad.Araghchi repeated Iran's offer to mediate between the two sides. Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh previously said Riyadh has not responded to Iran's overture.On Friday, Iran denied having anything to do with the Houthi attacks, after Saudi Arabia accused Tehran of encouraging the group's escalation.In his speech, Araghchi also said "either we build security together, or we will endure insecurity together," adding Tehran was willing "to cooperate with all its brothers and neighbours to achieve the first option."The Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon are part of Iran's "Axis of Resistance" against Israel and the United States, which also includes armed groups in Iraq. Oil tanker reportedly hits mine in Strait of Hormuz Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps on Saturday said an oil tanker was on fire in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine in the waterway at the heart of the Middle East war."A supertanker in violation of regulations, carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil and attempting to pass illegally through the Strait of Hormuz, struck a mine, triggering an explosion and a fierce fire," the Iranian military said.The statement did not specify the exact location of the incident."The tanker attempted to cross the strait with U.S. support... by deactivating all its tracking systems," the Guards added, also posting a video of a vessel in flames during the night. Ship attacked by RPG fired from small boat, British maritime agency said The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitoring agency reported on Saturday a second attack on a ship off the coast of Saudi Arabia, which took place a day early.In a post on social media, the UKMTO said: "The master of a tanker has reported being attacked by an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) from a small boat, resulting in damage to the aft port quarter."Friday's attack is the second reported by the agency on that day off the coast of Al Jubayl in Saudi Arabia."Crew are accounted for and reported safe," the UKMTO said, but the full extent of the damage and environmental impact were not known at the time of the report. Ship struck by "unknown projectile" off the coast of Saudi Arabia, maritime agency says A British maritime agency said Saturday it had received a report of a vessel struck on the Persian Gulf on Friday.The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the tanker had been struck by an "unknown projectile" off the coast of Saudi Arabia."All crew are reported safe and have been evacuated. There is no reported environmental impact at the time of report," the statement added.The UKMTO had previously reported that October had become the busiest month for reported attacks on ships in the Strait Hormuz. Reported shipping attacks jump in Strait of Hormuz, British monitor says A British monitor says October has become the busiest month for reported attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since March, during the Iran war's opening months.That's as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it was "struggling to accurately report" the true number of attacks since most ships now refuse to report them.Still, UKMTO said 10 attacks were reported in the week ending Friday. One ship sank. Since early July, most attacks have occurred off Oman, where the U.S. military has been guiding vessels at risk of Iranian attack.There has been an uptick in attacks since President Trump late last month rejected a Tehran proposal to end the war and open the strait, though indirect negotiations have continued. 2 missiles strike airport in Yemen's port city of Aden, officials say Two missiles struck the airport in Yemen's port city of Aden on Friday night, police said, blaming Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the second such attack in less than a week.Police said no casualties were reported as fighting escalates in the latest front in the Iran war, one in which the rebels have attacked both neighboring Saudi Arabia and Yemen's internationally recognized government that's backed by the kingdom. A security official and a traffic controller told The Associated Press an area of the Aden airport that hosts a military unit aligned with the Saudi-backed government was hit. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Iran denies Saudi accusation of involvement in Houthi attacks Iran's foreign ministry on Friday rejected Saudi Arabia's accusation that Tehran was involved in Houthi attacks on the kingdom, offering to mediate between the two sides."The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement, reiterating Tehran's offer to act as a bridge between the Houthis and Riyadh.Regardless of how involved Iran has been in Houthi attacks, the two groups have long held close ties. They were once a relatively marginal group within what Iran calls its Axis of Resistance — a loose alliance of anti-Israel, anti-U.S. militant groups that includes Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon."The Houthis are the most powerful proxy within the Iranian network, hands down," said Mohammed Al-Basha, founder of the Basha Report, a U.S.-based risk advisory group. "Any U.S. military strategy planning a campaign on Iran will have to take into consideration what the Houthis will do next."Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have killed about 20 people in the last several weeks, including 13 in one strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport last weekend.CBS/AFP Iran's president denies nuclear ambitions, says country ready for talks Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied Friday that Tehran sought nuclear weapons, expressed readiness for dialogue and condemned U.S. sanctions during talks with Georgia's prime minister.In his meeting with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Pezeshkian also called for closer ties with Georgia, weeks after Tbilisi cut aviation links between the two countries following U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian airlines.The two met on the sidelines of a U.N. biodiversity summit in Armenia's capital, Yerevan."Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, and we consider the malicious propaganda against our country to be lies," Pezeshkian said, according to a statement from his office."We have always been ready for dialogue. They think they can force us to surrender, but we will not bow to coercion," he added, calling U.S. sanctions against Tehran "unjustifiable and inhumane."Georgia's Civil Aviation Agency said in September it would comply with U.S. sanctions, while Kobakhidze insisted Tbilisi was not imposing its own bilateral sanctions on Tehran. Saudi-hosted Asian Cup soccer tournament remains on schedule despite Houthi attacks Asian Cup organizers insisted Friday the continental soccer championship set to be held in Saudi Arabia in early 2027 remains on track despite a wave of missile and drone attacks on the host country in recent days.The Saudi organizing committee issued a statement Friday saying it is continuing to coordinate closely with the Asian Football Confederation. The tournament is scheduled for Jan. 7 to Feb. 5."Preparations across all organizational and operational areas are progressing according to the approved schedule, including work on venues, facilities and supporting services," Saudi organizers said. "The focus remains on delivering a world-class tournament experience for participating teams, fans and media from across Asia, while bringing the continent together through football."South Korea's Professional Footballers' Association had earlier expressed concerns following a series of attacks on the Asian Cup host country by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels."The continued military tensions and security instability in the Middle East are issues that can never be taken lightly," Lee Keun-ho, head of the South Korean player union, said in a statement. "The safety of our national team, as well as all players participating in the Asian Cup, is a serious concern."At least 19 people, including foreigners, have been killed in more than a week of Houthi attacks targeting the Riyadh international airport, the headquarters of Saudi oil giant Aramco and other aviation, oil and military facilities across the kingdom.Several sporting events have already been canceled or postponed in Saudi Arabia, including Netflix's Six Kings Slam tennis tournament; women's tennis' WTA Finals, which were moved to the U.S.; multiple matches for the Saudi soccer club Al-Nassr, which features Cristiano Ronaldo; and an Olympic qualifying event for BMX cycling.AP/CBS Attacks on Yemen government palace compound killed 5, officials say Attacks on the palace compound of Yemen's internationally recognized government Thursday killed at least five people and wounded more than a dozen others, government officials said.In a Facebook post late Thursday, Health Minister Qasem Buhaibeh said security guards and other employees at Maashiq palace in Yemen's southern port city of Aden were among the casualties.Aden has been the seat of Yemen's government since 2015. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they targeted a military operations headquarters associated with Saudi forces backing the government.Two of the missiles launched by the Houthis on Thursday struck near the headquarters of the Saudi-backed coalition forces in Aden, causing damage, a Yemeni government official said.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said Friday the missiles landed near the compound used by the coalition in Buraiqah, a neighborhood west of the palace. No senior officials were there at the time of the attack, he said. Saudi-led coalition intercepts missiles and drones Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki announced a series of interceptions in successive X posts on Friday, saying Saudi forces had destroyed a ballistic missile, two cruise missiles and three drones over Saudi Arabia or the Red Sea.In a first tweet, Al-Maliki said coalition forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched toward Yanbu.A second post announced the interception and destruction of two cruise missiles over the Red Sea.He then reported three drones had been intercepted and destroyed in Saudi Arabia's southern region and the Riyadh region. Iraq says Iran war has deprived it of $60 billion in oil export revenue Iraq has lost around $60 billion during the U.S.-Iran war, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Thursday, as the fighting has blocked or severely impeded a waterway crucial to its oil exports.OPEC member Iraq was producing about 4 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) before the conflict, and exporting about 3.5 million bpd – mostly carried by tankers out of the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz.Iran's ongoing threat to vessels that fail to seek its permission to transit the strait has forced Iraq, which lacks sufficient storage capacity, to halt most production and fall back on limited exports via Syria and Turkey, by truck and pipeline respectively. Syria is set to provide an overland oil route to bypass the strait, the head of Syrian Petroleum Co. said last week."Iraq has suffered losses estimated at around $60 billion during the recent war between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran," Hussein told his Italian counterpart in Rome, according to a statement from the Iraqi foreign ministry.After a heavy drop in production, Iraqi oil exports, which provide about 90% of the country's revenues, recovered modestly last month, reaching 2.6 million barrels per day between Sept. 1 and 21, according to the oil ministry. But at the same time, Iraq's foreign currency reserves have shrunk by $20 billion and consumer prices have risen sharply, plunging it into economic crisis.CBS/AFP Norwegian teen sentenced in U.K. to 20 years in prison for plotting murder for Iran-linked gang A Norwegian teenager convicted of traveling to Britain to carry out a contract killing on behalf of an international crime gang linked to Iran was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was found guilty in July of conspiracy to murder for agreeing to shoot someone unknown to him for $28,000 last year. He was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield, in northern England, with two guns and ammunition two days after arriving in the U.K.In bodycam video released by police from the early hours of March 19, 2025, Natland emerges topless from his room and mimes a shooting gesture at a firearms officer before being slammed against a wall.It remains unknown who his intended target would have been.Natland, who was working part time at a pizza restaurant at the time of his arrest, was recruited by a Swedish organized crime group known as the Foxtrot Network while he was playing a game online. The group has links to the Iranian government, according to London's counterterrorism police unit.Natland was hired by a 17-year-old known as "Generalen." A court in Norway last year convicted the teenager of attempting to "contribute to murder" and sentenced him to 14 years in custody. A 16-year-old is awaiting trial in Norway for his role in the conspiracy.CBS/AP Iranian navy says a tanker is burning in the Gulf of Oman The Iranian navy said Friday that it had identified a tanker on fire in what it called a prohibited area in the Gulf of Oman, east of the Strait of Hormuz.The navy's public relations office said in a statement that military surveillance teams "discovered and identified a violating oil tanker that had caught fire in a prohibited area."The vessel had "switched off its tracking systems and was attempting to pass through a prohibited area in the Gulf of Oman."The navy did not say how the tanker "caught fire" but added that "the consequences of uncoordinated movements along routes and in prohibited areas are the creation of insecurity and serious hazards for other vessels."At least three commercial vessels have been struck in the region in suspected Iranian attacks this week. Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will reopen if the U.S. "leaves the region" The Strait of Hormuz will reopen if the U.S. "leaves" the Middle East, an Iranian army official said Friday."If the United States leaves the region, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and collective security will be established with the participation of the countries of the region, and the global economy will improve," army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia wrote on X. "If it does not leave, we will expel it."He did not elaborate on whether he was calling for a withdrawal of military forces sent during the current war, all U.S. military forces across the region, or military and non-military U.S. government personnel.Though there were credible reports earlier this month of oil exports from the Persian Gulf ramping back up to near pre-war levels, Iran and the U.S. continue offering conflicting narratives, with the Trump administration insisting the Strait of Hormuz is open, but Tehran claiming it is closed to all traffic unless Iranian authorities grant permission. Greek maritime risk firm Marisks warned Thursday that ships continue to face "indiscriminate attacks," even if they turn off their tracking systems, which many ships have been doing to avoid detection. Iran president says conflict in Mideast amounts to "ecocide" Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called "ecocide" in the Middle East caused by "wars of aggression" against his country.Pezeshkian said the conflicts in Gaza and the wider Middle East had taken a significant toll on nature that extended beyond national borders and required "international solutions.""What has occurred in our region as a result of wars of aggression is ecocide, or environmental genocide, and it must be condemned," Pezeshkian said at a nature summit in Armenia that was attended by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.Pezeshkian decried an "atmosphere of distrust" between Iran and the U.S. in a recent interview with CBS News. "As long as they don't cease doing what they're imposing on us every day, it's difficult to trust them," he said. "Every day, they increase the sanctions against us. Every day, they threaten us. Every day, they strike us, and they don't honor what they have put in writing. So, if they engage in talks, will they actually follow through?"CBS/AFP White House prepares plans to use weapon dubbed "mother of all bombs" on Iran, sources say The White House and Pentagon have prepared plans to use a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb to hit military sites in Iran if ordered by President Trump, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.A Pentagon official told CBS News: "The Department of War plans for a wide range of operational scenarios to execute Presidential and Secretary level direction and to ensure mission success in any operational environment."A White House spokesperson said: "We do not comment on sensitive military plans that may or may not exist. President Trump keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."Last week, Mr. Trump said the U.S. would not attack Iran before the midterm elections. He also touted "productive conversations" with Iran, though he did not provide specifics.CNN first reported Thursday on the plans to use the Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, or MOAB, on Iran.Mr. Trump set a precedent for using the MOAB, also known as the "mother of all bombs," when it was used in 2017 to attack an Islamic State cave complex in Afghanistan. The bomb is the largest U.S. non-nuclear weapon, weighing upwards of 30,000 pounds at a cost of $170,000 per unit.Read more here.This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-yemen-houthis-saudi-arabia/

Pope Leo XIV was released from Rome's Gemelli Hospital on Saturday, four days after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung. The pope exited via the hospital's main entrance. A large crowd waiting outside the hospital cheered for him.   He shook hands with several people, then stopped to talk with a young woman who appeared to be wearing a bandage on her right arm and was holding a doll in the image of Pope Leo. The Pope was smiling. Once in the car, he waved to the crowd. His motorcade returned to Vatican City at 3:43 p.m. local time. The 71-year-old pope had a portion of his right lung removed and received a diagnosis of lung cancer earlier this week. No information about his prognosis has been publicly shared. Leo was initially expected to remain hospitalized until Oct. 20 but on Thursday he resumed some work activity, and doctors said Friday that tests confirmed "steady improvement in his recovery." On Saturday morning, the Vatican announced he would leave later in the afternoon. His personal physician and surgeon said in a separate statement that Leo was "deemed fit for discharge from the hospital" based on blood test results and a chest X-ray performed Saturday morning along with an assessment of his clinical condition.The Vatican also confirmed that Leo will recite the Angelus prayer from the window of the papal apartment on Sunday. The Vatican said Leo spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone on Friday, during which he "expressed his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky" in Ukraine. The pope also held separate meetings with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the dean of the College of Cardinals, and Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome.The Vatican had also released on Friday pictures of the American-born pope standing at an altar in green vestments, celebrating Mass at a small chapel in Gemelli Hospital.The pope was scheduled to travel to South America next month, but his ability to make the trip has been in question since his diagnosis. However, on Friday the Vatican published the names of journalists accredited to fly on the papal plane to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, signalling that the trip appeared to be going ahead.This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-leo-hospital-released-discharged-saturday-appearance/

Community members grieve at the site of a makeshift memorial in front of Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on October 16. - Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images On a sunny Oregon fall morning, parents dressed their children up and sent them to Silver Rail Elementary School for picture day. It’s the kind of picture parents return to years later, marveling at how small their children once were and how their smiles looked before their faces changed. But for some families, snapshots in their minds from that morning will carry a devastating, final memory of a child who never came home. Just hours after Steven and Angela Nuchols sent their 8-year-old daughter to school, they raced back to Silver Rail, desperate to know whether she was alive, they told local news outlet, The Bend Source. “It was crawling with police officers from all over the county,” Angela Nuchols told The Bend Source. “You’ve got guys in tactical gear, rifles. You’re just scared to death wondering, is your child OK?” For the Nuchols family, the next few hours before they were reunited with their daughter at a church were “the worst three hours of our lives,” Angela said. unknown content item - American schools have repeatedly seen the illusion of safety shattered within the walls of their classrooms. An elementary school in Bend, Oregon, was the latest among them, when a 16-year-old opened fire on Thursday, killing three children, including Rhoam Summer, aged 5; and two others, aged 8 and 11; as well as a 25-year-old teacher, Megan Lambert, police said. A 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were injured and taken to local hospitals, according to officials. When Gretchen Miller learned there was an active shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School, she called her husband and sprinted the block from their home to the school, where their son was inside. Ring camera video captured Miller racing down the street, frantically screaming, “There’s an active shooter at Silver Rail. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.” Another school turned into a crime scene; a violation of the sanctity of childhood. A drone view shows Silver Rail Elementary School, the day after a shooting, in Bend, Oregon, October 16. - David Ryder/Reuters 180 seconds of terror Michelle was a freshman in high school in California when she survived a school shooting in 2001. The trauma followed her into adulthood; she learned to scan rooms for exits, sit facing doors and live with anxiety and panic attacks. Long before the shooting, every school drop-off carried a quiet dread. Michelle, who is withholding her last name for privacy, would watch her children go, a pit in her stomach, wondering whether she would see them again. Then, on Thursday, her fifth-grade son called from Silver Rail Elementary School. “Mom, there’s a shooter.” Michelle was eating at an Olive Garden when her son’s voice came through his Apple Watch. She cried while recounting the moment, and said she immediately knew from the sound of his voice that something was terribly wrong. She told him she loved him, urged him to stay quiet and hung up to call 911. As she ran to her car, the call rang without an answer. She raced toward the school, about 10 minutes away. “I was like, how can this happen?” Michelle wonders, her voice shaking. “How can lightning strike twice?” A mother who lived through a 2001 school shooting comforts her son during Silver Rail Elementary shooting. - Michelle The first 911 call came at 12:59 p.m., after the driver of a red pickup truck saw a man approach the school, throw his long gun over the fence and climb over after it, police said Friday. When the pickup driver confronted him, the suspect opened fire, striking the truck at least three times. From her classroom window, fifth-grade teacher Kathy Sheil Smith watched the gunman walk toward the building. She called the main office, then pulled her students into a corner. “They were so afraid. The looks on their faces, it was really hard to see,” Sheil Smith told CNN affiliate KPTV, trying to hold back tears. “Some kids were praying, some kids were consoling other kids. But they were doing so quietly because they know you don’t make any noise.” She wondered whether she would live to see the end of the day. What mattered to her was that her students would. “I’m sure that every teacher at the school thought, ‘Today is the day that I am going to die,’” Sheil Smith told CNN affiliate KPTV. “Save my kids.” As Smith tried to shield her students inside the school, a terrifying picture was emerging. Around 12:59 p.m., emergency dispatchers received a flood of calls reporting that a person had entered the Silver Rail Elementary School and started shooting, according to Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz. At 1:01 p.m., police directed the school to go into lockdown. “Ms. Hawkins, the principal, was saying ‘lockdown, lockdown,’ and then the shots kept on going and going,” one 9-year-old student told CNN affiliate KGW, describing how he hid under a sink for 30 minutes, fearing the gunman would approach his classroom next. “I’m pretty sure a girl. She was saying, ‘Please, please, no,’ and then it was a shot and then dead silence,” he added. The gunman went directly into the classroom just left of the entrance and fired as many as 15 rounds, according to Krantz. The classroom was dedicated to special needs students, according to Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Steven Cook. A second driver, a 36-year-old father whose children attend the school, had witnessed the initial shooting, drove into the school parking lot and followed the suspect into the school with his legally secured 40-caliber pistol, police said. The bystander was identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco on Friday. A drone view shows a vehicle belonging to Kaylub Giamanco, the bystander who fatally shot the suspect, in a cordoned-off area at Silver Rail Elementary School, the day after a shooting, in Bend, Oregon, October 16. - David Ryder/Reuters A teacher — who was not injured — threw her cellphone at the shooter and tackled him in an attempt to get the gun away from him, the police chief said. When Giamanco heard gunfire and saw the teacher physically struggling with the gunman, Giamanco entered the classroom and fired, striking the suspect multiple times and killing him, police said. Less than half a mile away, business owner Sierra Jordan told CNN the familiar sound of children laughing and playing outside at recess gave way to the frantic arrival of ambulances. About three minutes after the first 911 call, it was over: At 1:02 p.m., police arrived and reported the shooter had been shot and killed by Giamanco. President Donald Trump called Giamanco “a great hero” who “took care of business.” A photo of Kaylub Giamanco - Kaylub Giamanco/Facebook “Had this not happened, had the bystander not neutralized the shooter? This could have been a much more tragic event than it was,” former FBI special agent Ken Gray told CNN. The shooter was identified as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II, a former special needs student at the school, Krantz said Friday. A Maverick 88 pump-action, 12-gauge shotgun was found near the suspect, who had about 44 remaining rounds of 12-gauge ammunition, Krantz added. The gun had been purchased by his mother, a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN earlier Friday. Tragedy plunges community into grief Bend, a picturesque city of about 100,000 people, sits in the high desert landscape of central Oregon. It is a city of sage-scented air, snow-capped peaks and the Deschutes River that cuts through the heart of downtown; a magnet for thrill-seekers finding solace in the nearby mountain trails, red rock cliffs and star-filled skies. Although the city has boomed in recent years, it remains a quiet corner of the American West where the wilderness begins just beyond the city streets and its brick front stores and breweries. “Bend is a place that people move to from bigger cities,” Former Bend Mayor Jeff Eager told CNN. “They move here because it’s relatively safe here; they move here because we have schools you can walk your kids to,” Eager said. “You can’t imagine that it happens here.” But against Bend’s picturesque backdrop, the aftermath looked devastatingly familiar. Parents rushing to a reunification center, hearts clenched with the hope of finding their children among the survivors. Police tape cordoned off the school as officers stood guard. An emergency worker holds up police tape at the scene of a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, October 15. - Rob Kerr/Reuters The minutes had passed so quickly for the rest of the world, but for the families waiting to learn whether their children were alive, the abrupt end of the gunfire wasn’t the end of their agony. The prevalence of school shootings in America should prompt a conversation about “responsible gun ownership,” Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum of Oregon told CNN. “This school, we had invested money in to make sure that it was locked. They did all of their drills as expected — everything that we’ve said that will protect kids up to now, and yet it didn’t work,” she said. “The laws don’t go far enough, fast enough for us to be able to intervene,” Bynum said. “We have to stop allowing our children to be shredded in schools, grocery stores, parks, churches. We have to stop this violence.” Investigators seek answers The Bend-La Pine school district — of which Silver Rail Elementary School is part — has multiple security measures in place such as secure entry vestibules, photo ID checks and visitor screenings, indoor and outdoor security cameras and upgraded locks on classroom doors that can be secured from inside, according to the district. Despite those measures, some of which were upgraded in 2022, the gunman was able to force his way into the elementary school by shooting at locked doors. It is not yet clear why the shooter was able to bypass security measures, the district’s superintendent said. Investigators are still working to establish a motive for the shooting, authorities said Friday. A search warrant was executed at the alleged shooter’s house on Thursday, according to a senior law enforcement official, who told CNN computers and other electronics were taken. Search warrants have also been obtained to gain access to the devices and extract data, according to the source. Local law enforcement and the FBI will examine the material for evidence that could help explain what led to the shooting. The shooter’s parents were cooperative and told investigators their son had attended Silver Rail Elementary School during their interview, the source said. During the pandemic, the shooter’s mother spoke with CNN affiliate KTVZ about her hopes that in-person classes would resume for children with special needs. The program was described as serving children with “intensive behavioral and social skills challenges.” She spoke briefly with CNN off camera from her balcony on Friday but declined to comment on how her son got access to the weapon. Authorities say that is still under investigation. The woman told CNN there were no warning signs. “I miss my boy. I’m so sorry,” the woman said as she cried and smoked a cigarette. In a message to the families of those killed, she said: “I’m so sorry, I wish I could have done something. I’m sorry for their loss.” Another chorus of thoughts and prayers Members of the Bend community gathered downtown in Drake Park on Thursday evening for a prayer vigil to support each other and grieve. Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler spoke while in tears alongside Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who was also crying. A large crowd of mourners held candles and hugged one another as they listened to prayers, music and community leaders. People wrote tributes in chalk. “NEVER again,” one person wrote. “Be at peace,” scribbled another. A young child knelt to place a lit candle on a step. By Friday, a makeshift memorial had taken shape outside Silver Rail Elementary School. Bouquets of flowers, toys and red, heart-shaped balloons lined a nearby crosswalk, just beyond yellow police tape. One mother, Ally Land, brought her children, 8 and 5, to the memorial. Her children don’t attend Silver Rail, but Land said she wanted to help them understand what had happened, answering their questions as best she could. “I asked them what they knew, and they just said, ‘I know that school’s canceled, so that they can make school safer tomorrow,’” Land told CNN. “We told them something terrible had happened, and we just followed their questions from there.” All Bend-La Pine Schools were closed on Friday, including activities and athletic events, the district said. But a day without classes cannot prevent the next shooting. The Silver Rail Elementary tragedy is the 36th shooting in the United States this year on K-12 school grounds, according to CNN’s analysis of multiple databases, including the Gun Violence Archive. “As a country, we still lack the courage to do anything to try to prevent these things from occurring,” CNN’s Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Charles Ramsey told CNN’s Elex Michaelson on Friday. “And it’s going to happen again.” Blake and Danielle Brinker were at their home outside Bend with Blake’s mother when they learned of the shooting, they told CNN. Blake said, describing his emotions at the time, as “just absolutely gutted.” The pair, who know people directly affected by the shooting, also visited the memorial. “Immediately could feel the energy of the community just stop on a dime,” Blake said. Danielle described Bend as “a very magical place.” A woman lights a candle during a candlelight vigil at Drake Park for victims of the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting, in Bend, Oregon, October 15. - David Ryder/Reuters The town was named in the top 75 safest midsize cities in the country, according to a SmartAsset study earlier this year. But Thursday’s deadly shooting isn’t the first in Bend. In 2022, a 20-year-old gunman, a Bend resident, killed two people after walking into a grocery store with an AR-15-style rifle and opening fire. Back in Bend, Cook, the district superintendent at Bend-La Pine Schools, spent Friday with staff at the school who are grappling with the devastating aftermath. “They are in so much pain, as we all are,” Cook said. “This has been a terrifying and traumatic experience that will affect us all profoundly for years to come.” Michelle, the 2001 school shooting survivor and a mother of children at Silver Rail Elementary School, carried for years the knowledge that gun violence could shatter an ordinary day without warning. But she’d hoped her children would never have to know what that’s like. “My friend said to me, this is generational trauma, this is a second generation that’s been through school shooting trauma,” Michelle told CNN. “How sick is that?” CNN’s Taylor Galgano, Helen Regan, Emma Tucker, Norma Galeana, Caroll Alvarado, Alisha Ebrahimji, Amanda Jackson, Leigh Waldman, John Miller, Rebekah Riess, Elise Hammond and Yan Kaner contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/17/us/bend-oregon-school-shooting-how-it-unfolded

WASHINGTON (AP) — Long before running for Congress, Marty O’Donnell was an award-winning music composer for the popular “Halo” video game franchise. His work drew legions of fans to an online forum, which the Nevada Republican has tried to turn into a galvanizing force as he tries to unseat a Democrat in a Las Vegas area district that could help decide House control. O’Donnell has served as the group’s de facto leader, referring to himself as its “benevolent dictator” while tapping its members for campaign cash and harnessing their enthusiasm in his bid. The campaign held a two-day event for forum members this month at a casino that included a video game tournament, panel discussions and speeches. There is another side, however, to what is known as “The Marty Army.” An Associated Press review of thousands of posts made on the forum between 2022 and 2026 found racial slurs, minimizations of Nazi Germany and defenses of white nationalist conspiracy theories. “It wasn’t a couple of crazies. The popular sentiment was, ‘Yes, slavery should be legal,’” said Deacon Dameron, a former group member who said O’Donnell banned him for calling another user a “dork.” Many views espoused in the forum, which is controlled by O’Donnell and his handpicked moderators, are at odds with some of the values articulated by the candidate and his campaign. For example, O’Donnell has staunchly defended Israel and condemned bigotry. In a statement, campaign spokesman Keith Schipper said O’Donnell “has zero tolerance for hate" in his forum. Since becoming aware of the issue in the spring, the campaign “dedicated a staffer to monitor” and “remove people that spew racist and antisemitic vitriol,” Schipper said. “Unfortunately, some posts have been missed over the years.” Schipper said nearly 200 users have been banned “because of hateful rhetoric, including many of the people flagged by the Associated Press. Marty’s support of Israel is unequivocal and, as seen in various interviews and online posts, he will not tolerate the rise of antisemitism in our country. Marty will continue to fight bigotry, misinformation, and hate toward Israel because it is the right and moral thing to do.” O’Donnell, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, is running against four-term Rep. Susie Lee in the Nov. 3 election as Republicans look to hang onto their razor-thin majority. In a sign of how Republicans are triaging their chances in a tough environment, they pulled back spending this week in a handful of congressional races, including O’Donnell’s. From ‘Halo’ to emoji slurs Most of the chat group’s comments concern video games and gaming strategies. A section is reserved for questions about O’Donnell’s work on “Halo” games. After O’Donnell announced his first run for Congress in 2024, when he finished fourth in the party primary, some discussions centered around news and policy. Many of the offensive and controversial remarks came in freewheeling replies to otherwise anodyne comments about current events, politics or games. In May 2022, for example, a member wrote, “WE STAND WITH MARTY.” Others reacted to the post using letter emoji to spell out — incorrectly — a racial slur for Black people. More soon chimed in, using emoji letters to invoke another anti-Black slur. Users were likely restricted from properly spelling out such words because, by design, the platform prevents emoji from being used more than once in reaction to a post. During a January 2025 discussion concerning free speech, a forum member expressed a desire to use a racial slur but refrained because “that’s not the attention Marty wants.” Dameron, the former group member, and another former user said posters relied on coded language because more overt racist comments were likely to draw scrutiny from moderators. The other user spoke on condition of anonymity over fears of retaliation. “The Marty Army” began as a fan forum “The Marty Army” began as an inside joke. Developers of “Halo” created the chat room in 2001 on a website devoted to the game. The name they chose was meant to invoke a club for rabid fans of the glam rock band Kiss. O’Donnell joined the chat group and assumed control of the forum. He relocated it to Discord, a popular online platform. His candidate website contains a link to the Discord chat group, which he has also publicized from his account on the social media platform X. “Hey all! If you’d like to be part of my run for Congress, you can be part of Marty’s Army,” O’Donnell said in an X post after he launched his 2024 campaign. O’Donnell has stated repeatedly that users who espouse racist or antisemitic views will be banned. He also threatened, at times, to delete posts. The AP found some users who espoused Nazi sympathies were kicked off the forum, but many of their posts remain. A user suggested in March 2024 that the Nazis “did some good things” that were “completely overshadowed by the terrible things they did.” Another that month asked, “Was Hitler really an evil guy?” “Like aside from the Holocaust,” the user added, “did he really even do anything wrong?” In February, a third member posted, “Heil Hitler.” O'Donnell said he wore a Mussolini mask Current and historical fascist figures have also drawn approval. O’Donnell wrote on the forum that he rejects fascism. But he also shared a photo of himself wearing what he said was a mask of Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator and key Hitler ally, that he wore to a Halloween party. O'Donnell's campaign denied he dressed up as Mussolini. “This mask was part of a scary Halloween costume nearly two decades ago. It was not labeled a Mussolini mask when he bought it nor was he dressed up as Mussolini for the holiday,” Schipper said. “He purchased it because it was the ugliest, creepy mask on the shelf. He jokingly referred to it as a ‘Mussolini mask’ years later because he realized it vaguely looked like Mussolini.” O’Donnell stated this year that he had been unaware of the resurgence of antisemitism. He told a conservative news outlet in September that he thought “that antisemitism is something we don’t have to worry about anymore.” “I guess it just went under the surface and it has been percolating there,” he added in the interview with the Washington Reporter, which was founded by Republican political strategists. O’Donnell made the comment after the news site Jewish Insider reported that he hosted Charles Cornish-Dale, a far-right influencer with Nazi sympathies, on his own podcast, “The Marty O’Donnell Show.” O’Donnell pledged to ban those who espouse antisemitism In the spring, O’Donnell warned users on the forum that if there was “even a hint of antisemitism” the offending member would be “instantly banned.” Users responded to his post with an emoji of an exaggerated nose and “GOY,” a sometimes disparaging Yiddish term for non-Jews. Some anti-hate groups view the use of the nose emoji as antisemitic, while goy is a term that has been appropriated by those who espouse antisemitic views. Wendy Melillo, an associate professor of journalism at American University who researches extremist chat rooms, said such comments were clearly “coded antisemitic hate speech.” Melillo said other posts she reviewed were more explicit. “There is nothing coded,” she said, “about ‘Heil Hitler.’” Some members of “The Marty Army” are aware the forum could pose a liability. In 2024, a user wrote that O’Donnell’s political career could face trouble “if someone does a vulnerability study and they find this server.”This article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/online-forum-controlled-nevada-gop-123530042.html

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged supporters Saturday to speak out in defense of new U.S. sanctions against Russia, hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing a sweeping package of restrictions targeting the Russian economy. The White House decision has further raised fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow’s escalating assaults with winter approaching. Russian attacks overnight killed at least four people, including an ambulance driver, and wounded dozens, officials said. Ukrainian drones killed a woman in a Russian border region and disrupted flights at Moscow's airports, according to Russian authorities. In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy described Trump's move to put sanctions on hold as unfortunate, but did not directly criticize the U.S. leader despite deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington in recent days. “A decision was unfortunately made in America to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act, which was supposed to impose truly effective pressure on Russia to bring this war to an end,” Zelenskyy wrote. Later, in audio clips answering journalists’ questions, Zelenskyy thanked Democrats and Republicans who backed the legislation and praised its bipartisan support. He said blocking it would encourage Russia to continue killing and do nothing to bring the war to an end. He also added that limiting Ukraine’s ability to retaliate against Russian attacks would not bring peace. “Nevertheless, we very much hope — and I personally hope — that the president of the United States of America will do everything possible to make Putin stop the killing, stop the attacks on our energy infrastructure, and end this war,” he said. Critics say Trump's decision helps Putin Named after late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the legislation had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling Russia's 4 1/2-year-old war against Ukraine. The bill had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving. Trump personally signed the legislation just last month and his move came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation. The president told Congress that the pause was in the national interest but gave no further details. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who co-drafted the bill, said in a statement that Trump was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.” “These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,” Blumenthal said. Trump’s unexpected decision comes a week after he stunningly said the U.S. had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine in its war with Russia. Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” The decision has been pilloried by Republicans and Democrats alike who say it will help Russia execute its war against Ukraine — without making a difference to global fuel prices, which are elevated mostly due to Trump’s war on Iran. Kyiv says Moscow carried out a ‘massive’ energy strike Zelenskyy also said Saturday that Moscow had carried out a massive strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, targeting more than 15 sites across the country. “The sheer scale and unrelenting pace of Russia’s strikes, specifically against our energy sector, are unfortunately having severe consequences,” he said. Ukraine’s air force said that Russian forces launched four cruise missiles and 332 attack drones overnight. All of the missiles and 289 of the drones had been suppressed or destroyed, it said. Russia’s heavy bombardment of the power grid ahead of winter has been an annual feature of the war, aimed at wearing down Ukraine’s appetite for the fight by denying civilians heat and running water. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is stockpiling ballistic missiles for more attacks in the coming months. Russian attacks killed three people in the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, Vadym Liakh, head of the city military administration, said Saturday. Writing on social media, Liakh said that two apartment blocks were partially destroyed and other homes damaged. A Russian strike also killed an ambulance driver in Ukraine’s Kherson region, head of the local military administration Yaroslav Shanko said. The strike, which used guided bombs, wounded at least 33 others, he said. Ukrainian drones kill 1, ground hundreds of flights at Moscow airports Elsewhere, a Russian woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian border region of Belgorod, local officials said. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Saturday that its forces had shot down 610 Ukrainian drones overnight over 15 Russian regions, as well as the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that more than 100 drones were shot down en route to the Russian capital. More than 350 flights were canceled or delayed at Moscow's airports, local media reported, as planes were grounded in response to incoming drones. The Kremlin announced Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had approved a government program to help restore trade and logistics facilities damaged in drone attacks. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraineThis article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/zelenskyy-urges-support-us-sanctions-101109241.html

The Trump administration plans to reduce state and local dependency on federal disaster aid and could move Federal Emergency Management Agency workers out of Washington, D.C., according to an internal FEMA memo obtained by POLITICO.FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton wrote in an Oct. 15 memo — confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of it — that the agency will “strengthen state and local emergency management capacity” in an effort to lower reliance on the federal government.“Reducing federal dependency requires partners to build, maintain, and exercise the capabilities needed to manage incidents effectively,” the seven-page memo to agency employees says.In a separate section, the memo says, “FEMA must reduce unnecessary centralization in Washington, D.C.,” and that “regional and field teams are often closest to disaster survivors, state and local officials, emergency managers, and community partners.”The memo is the clearest indication that the administration will follow through on President Donald Trump’s long-stated desire to shift disaster management to states and reduce the federal role in preparation and recovery.It’s also the first indication of Hamilton’s priorities since he became the first permanent FEMA administrator in Trump’s second term in August. A series of acting leaders had run FEMA since January 2025, and their temporary status precluded the agency from making structural changes.Although Trump has called for weakening FEMA since his first week in office, no new policies emerged, creating uncertainty about the future of federal disaster aid.Trump has indirectly discouraged reliance on federal disaster aid by taking far longer than his predecessors — including Trump in his first term — to act on state requests for help after major storms, floods, wildfires and other disasters.Hamilton’s memo echoes recommendations of a Trump-appointed FEMA review panel to build state and local capacity and make it harder for states to qualify for federal disaster aid.The memo also has general language about “eliminating unnecessary steps, reducing administrative burden” and taking other action to expedite and simplify FEMA’s notoriously slow and laborious process of approving aid.Shana Udvardy of the Union of Concerned Scientists said she worries that the memo “seems to promote efficiency and accountability over the welfare of communities.”“When you have a lot of focus on accountability and efficiency, you’re going to have staff losing focus on the bigger picture of resiliency,” said Udvardy, UCS’ senior climate policy resilience analyst. “It’s really hard to know what this is going to look like in practice.”FEMA did not respond to a request for comment on the memo.The agency has limited ability to revise its own policies, which are mostly set by federal law. Congress hasn’t changed FEMA operations significantly since 2018, and congressional leaders have shown little interest in bipartisan legislation to overhaul the agency.Hamilton says in his memo that the objectives he outlined “will guide FEMA’s planning, budgeting, program management, operations, and partner engagement. Each office, region, and program must assess whether its current activities align with these priorities and identify opportunities to improve execution.”This article originally appeared on Politico at https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/16/fema-state-reliance-federal-aid-01124455

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is escalating its fight with California ahead of next month's midterm election, warning that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizen voters are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution. The letter Friday from a senior Justice Department official and obtained first by The Associated Press is the latest salvo in an ongoing tussle with heavily Democratic California, coming just a day after the Trump administration sued the state to prevent it from counting mail ballots from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed. “The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant. Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” warns the letter from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department. It adds: “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.” The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel's office and also is copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, effectively putting the entire state on notice. In response to the letter, Logan said his office is focused on conducting a fair and secure election while noting that Election Day is a mere 18 days away. “The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is best for this to be addressed in court,” he said. The other offices and the state attorney general did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is unclear how many individuals the Justice Department might look to try to investigate and charge, though any federal criminal cases in the Los Angeles area would be handled by the office of Bill Essayli, the region's top federal prosecutor and one of the Justice Department officials who filed the federal complaint Thursday against California. Trump weighed in late Friday, sharing on Truth Social a link to a news story about the letter and adding: “They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!” The Trump administration has made the pursuit of noncitizen voters a priority Sent less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election, the letter adds to simmering tensions over voter rolls between California and the Justice Department and reflects the Trump administration's aggressive hunt for noncitizen voters. It has made the issue a priority this year, including by demanding detailed voter information — including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — from the states. The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election. In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, alleging that as many as 250,000 noncitizens were registered in those states. Election officials there were skeptical of the claim, including Weber, the California secretary of state. That same month, the Republican administration claimed Nevada had 1,500 noncitizen voters on its voter rolls. But after the federal government identified them to the state, the number of actual registered noncitizens turned out to be zero. That experience is backed up by research and investigations in various states, which make clear that voting by noncitizens is extremely rare. The letter follows a Justice Department lawsuit The Justice Department lawsuit was filed after California officials were given, and did not meet, a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contained a list of 20,000 names. The federal government says those are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election, although the secretary of state said the administration has provided no evidence to support that claim. The state mails ballots to all registered voters. Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor, said the letter “ups the ante by threatening election officials with potential criminal prosecution.” “It is deplorable that rather than work cooperatively and assist states in their election administration responsibilities, the federal government is making escalating threats and unreasonable demands beyond its power in the middle of an ongoing election,” he said. Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general who teaches at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, dismissed the idea that an attempted prosecution of an election official using the letter’s rationale would hold up. “Courts haven’t been buying what DOJ has been selling, and nothing in this letter is calibrated to change course,” he said. “Fortunately, election officials — not just in Los Angeles, but across the country — are equipped to stand up to aggressive bullying. And the law is on their side.” Over 23 million people are registered statewide, and a handful of competitive congressional races in other California districts could determine which party controls the U.S. House for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. The Trump administration's escalating threats against California come as Democratic lawmakers are urging the Justice Department to honor its longstanding policy of not interfering in U.S. elections. Earlier Friday, Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Dick Durbin, D-Il., wrote to Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding that the Justice Department commit to not seizing ballots or other election materials before the midterm elections are certified. ___ Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.This article originally appeared on Associated Press at https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/california-officials-process-ballots-suspected-222821147.html

A wildfire exploded in Orange County on Friday, forcing evacuations as it burned several homes and threatened dozens more. The Norte Fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the San Clemente area, growing to 465 acres in about three hours, according to the Orange County Fire Authority and CalFire. Firefighters battle the Norte Fire in San Juan Capistrano, California, on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. AFP via Getty Images A man throws water from a bucket onto a fire as smoke billows from the Norte fire as wildfires rages. REUTERS The blaze had “impacted” several homes off Via La Mira in San Juan Capistrano. Getty Images The OCFA later confirmed that six homes had been damaged or destroyed in the blaze, having earlier cited four “impacted” homes off Via La Mira in San Juan Capistrano. Crews battle a wind-driven brush fire that burned several homes and threatened hundreds of others in San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente, Friday. O.C. Fire Authority officials said the Norte Fire started around 11:30 a.m. and grew to 250 acres by 1 p.m., prompting evacuation orders. AFP via Getty Images A firefighter works to douse a fire on the roof of a house engulfed in flames during the Norte Fire. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong Crews battle a wind-driven brush fire burning several homes in the area of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. KTLA A firefighter suffered heat exhaustion, but no other injuries were reported. Aerial footage from KTLA showed several homes burning as the fire appeared to threaten several more. “Crews are aggressively attacking the fire from the ground and air. Please continue to avoid the area,” CalFire wrote in an update. The Norte Fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the area of Portico Del Norte and quickly grew to at least 50 acres AFP via Getty Images The Norte Fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the San Clemente area and quickly grew to at least 50 acres by around noon, according to the Orange County Fire Authority and CAL FIRE. Crews fight the Norte Fire in San Clemente as it threatens homes in the area. FOX 11 Los Angeles Evacuation orders were issued for San Juan Zones 4, 5, and 10 as well as San Clemente Zones 12 and 13. Evacuation shelters were set up at the San Juan Capistrano Community Center and the San Clemente Community Center. Heat, strong winds, and dry conditions were fueling the blaze as firefighters and aerial support worked to stop its spread. Nine schools in the Capistrano Unified School District dismissed students early due to the blaze, after earlier telling students to stay indoors due to the smoke. Heat, strong winds and dry conditions were fueling the blaze as firefighters and aerial support worked to stop its spread. KTLA San Clemente Mayor Rick Loeffler told KTLA the city had been making preparations for a fire. “We actually instituted a goat program about a year ago, a pilot program to have goats start clearing our hillsides,” he said. “The county supplied a pumpkin tank at the top of our ridge, which allows helicopters to come in and resupply their water quickly.” A firefighter works to douse a fire on the roof of a house engulfed in flames during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong The fire was one of several burning in Southern California on Friday. The Bryson Fire was ripping through the hills north of Malibu, burning 147 acres as of early Friday evening. The blaze burned just north of Encinal Canyon Road and was threatening the LA County juvenile detention facility Camp Fred Miller to its east and the Malibu Country Club to its west. Malibu officials were not aware of any homes damaged or destroyed by the fire. One firefighter was under unknown circumstances. The city remains still under a Red Flag Warning and a heat advisory until Saturday at 8 p.m. Ongoing Red Flag Warnings in effect across much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties have signaled ideal conditions for fires to break out. Meanwhile, the Henderson Fire near Camp Pendleton in San Diego had scorched more than 2,000 acres as of early Friday evening, with 17% containment. Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here! This article originally appeared on California Post at https://nypost.com/2026/10/16/us-news/dangerous-norte-fire-in-san-clemente-fueled-by-santa-ana-winds/

ToplineA federal magistrate judge threatened Friday to levy sanctions against President Donald Trump for failing to “participate” in his own defamation lawsuit against the BBC, after the broadcaster informed the court that Trump had backed out of a planned deposition in the case and suggested he couldn’t be interviewed until next year.President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn as he departs the White House on October 12 in Washington, DC. Getty ImagesKey FactsMagistrate Judge Enjolique A. Lett issued an order Friday directing Trump to file a response to the BBC regarding his deposition by Oct. 22, noting the court had already “admonished” the president for his “lack of participation” in the case “to no avail.”Failing to “strict[ly]” comply with the court’s schedule for discovery in the case, Lett wrote Friday, “will lead to sanctions.”Trump has sued the BBC for $10 billion, claiming the broadcaster allegedly defamed him by “deceptively” editing a video of the president’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021 for a 2024 documentary, in order to falsely suggest Trump was trying to incite violence on Jan. 6 and bias viewers against him in the 2024 election.As part of discovery in the lawsuit—where both sides gather evidence to support their case—the BBC is trying to get a deposition from Trump, which it said in a filing Tuesday was supposed to take place Friday.After first failing to coordinate with the BBC about the logistics for the deposition, Trump’s lawyers told the broadcaster the president wouldn’t be able to attend the deposition because of “other matters of national importance,” and wouldn’t be available to testify until January 2027 at the earliest—despite discovery in the case being scheduled to end in December.Trump’s legal team did not directly respond to the threat of sanctions or the BBC’s request for the court to force Trump to be deposed, but alleged in a statement to Forbes that the president’s lawsuit “is holding the BBC accountable for its defamation and reckless election interference.”What to Watch forThe BBC has asked the court to compel Trump to be deposed in the case in a reasonable timeframe, and Lett agreed Friday to discuss the issue at a hearing on Oct. 22. It remains to be seen if the judge could levy any sanctions against Trump or his attorneys, and what those punishments could look like if so.Crucial QuoteThe BBC noted in its filing Tuesday that the court “has been required to intervene at every juncture to cajole even the most basic participation in the discovery process out of” Trump, quoting a past case that argued it’s “not the court’s role, nor that of opposing counsel, to drag a party kicking and screaming through the discovery process,” especially when Trump “was the party which filed this lawsuit” in the first place. The president “chose to file this lawsuit and, in doing so, he accepted the obligations of civil litigation,” the BBC’s attorneys argued to the court.TangentThe debate over Trump’s deposition is one of several taking place in the BBC case, as the broadcaster is also seeking testimony from Trump allies like his children Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The BBC told the court in August that it had so far been blocked from serving subpoenas to the president’s family members in person because of their Secret Service protection, claiming the subpoenas were necessary because the Trump children and Kushner have “personal knowledge” of Trump’s “intention” behind his Jan. 6 speech. The court ruled in October that the broadcaster could instead serve the Trump family through alternate means—like sending a certified letter or contacting their attorneys—paving the way for those depositions to take place. The BBC was less successful in getting a deposition from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who assisted Trump’s then-chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 6 and has testified to Congress about the attack on the Capitol. Hutchinson asked the court to throw out her subpoena, and the court agreed, siding with Hutchinson’s argument that her testimony would be “irrelevant” and would “subject her to oppression and harassment.”Key BackgroundTrump sued the BBC for defamation in December over its 2024 “Panorama” documentary, which aired in the U.K. before the 2024 election, but did not air in the U.S. The documentary quoted the president as telling supporters on Jan. 6, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol... and I’ll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.” In actuality, Trump said, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.” He then made the comment to “fight like hell” more than 50 minutes later. The BBC has apologized to the president for the editing job, saying it gave “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action,” but has strongly denied it was defamatory. While Trump initially argued the BBC’s editing job had hurt his businesses, the lawsuit now only argues that it harmed his personal reputation, as the court allowed the president to narrow his lawsuit after the BBC asked Trump to turn over significant financial information about his assets and the value of his businesses. Further ReadingBBC Says Secret Service Won’t Let It Subpoena Ivanka, Don Jr. And Jared In Trump Defamation Case (Forbes)Court Lets Trump Narrow BBC Lawsuit So He Can Keep Hiding Financial Information (Forbes)This article was originally published on Forbes.comThis article originally appeared on Forbes at https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/10/16/judge-threatens-to-sanction-trump-after-he-backs-out-of-deposition-in-10-billion-bbc-case/

The US federal budget deficit for 2026 officially came in Friday at $1.992 trillion, a final tabulation to close out the government's fiscal year and another reminder of Washington's spiraling reliance on red ink.This deficit number represents about 6% of the US gross domestic product and was a result of $5.403 trillion in total revenues for the fiscal year against total spending of $7.396 trillion.The 2026 reading is a 12% jump from 2025's $1.775 trillion deficit.These final numbers came in the Treasury Department's Monthly Statement for September, which covers the final month in the US government's fiscal calendar.The red ink has led to dire warnings from economists that the US now routinely runs annual deficits that were previously seen only during recessions and wars. The gross US national debt passed $40 trillion in August and now sits above $40.3 trillion.The latest "Debt to the Penny" reading from the Treasury Department came this past Wednesday, putting the gross US national debt at $40,329,229,827,541.02.A bus shelter in Washington display the US National debt in August. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation)Jemal Countess via Getty ImagesRead more: How the soaring federal debt affects you personallyThe independent budget hawks at the Committee for a Responsible Budget noted in a recent analysis that "the country's future fiscal outlook is even more dismal," noting that annual deficits could reach $3.1 trillion by 2036 without a change in the fiscal trajectory.The group noted that annual interest costs on the debt are now $1.1 trillion, a record 3.4% of GDP, making it the second-largest line item in the government's budget. Interest on the debt still costs less than Social Security, but it is now more expensive than either Medicare or the defense budget.Members of President Trump's team have tried to downplay this year's tabulation — the highest annual deficit reading other than 2020 and 2021, when budgets were inflated by COVID-era spending — as a blip and insist that the US fiscal situation is getting under control.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has focused on the Supreme Court-ordered tariff refunds that have turned a revenue stream into a cost center for the government in recent months.Indeed, the impact of tariff refunds has been significant: $144.6 billion in tariff refunds were given out over the past year — but analyses of the deficit also show a variety of factors that have driven up deficits.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and President Trump are seen during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 7. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)Anna Moneymaker via Getty ImagesA Hamilton Project tracker of government expenditures shows how government spending has increased at a steady pace in 2026. The tracker looks at spending by calendar year and shows that as of Oct. 14, government spending has jumped each of the last three years.At this point in 2024 — the last year of Joe Biden's presidency — the government had spent $5.76 trillion. On Oct. 14, 2025, spending had grown to $6.13 trillion. So far this year, the government has spent $6.65 trillion.One of the drivers, a Bloomberg Government analysis found, is spending on Trump administration priorities, especially the Department of Homeland Security, whose budget is up 146% from 2025 to 2026.Revenue downturnThe revenue side of the US government's budget equation has also faltered on some fronts in 2026, in part due to tax cuts implemented by Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill."A monthly budget review from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released last week noted that tariff revenues declined, as did corporate income tax collections.The group calculates that corporate income taxes decreased by 16% in 2026 as the new tax cuts allowed corporations to take larger deductions "and offset the increases in those receipts that otherwise would have been expected, given the rise in corporate income."Tariffs were also a significant factor, with the Supreme Court's decision in February striking down Trump's tariffs leading to a refund process in the months that followed that has made tariffs barely a profitable undertaking for the government in 2026.The $144.6 billion in tariff refunds nearly halved the gross receipts of $317.8 billion. And at least some additional tariff refunds could be seen in the months ahead, with the government recently launching "Phase 3" of the refund process.This turnabout in tariffs led to a deficit approximately $140 billion higher than projections from just a few months ago. In February, before the tariff refunds were ordered, the CBO projected a $1.85 trillion annual deficit for this year.Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow's stock pricesRead the latest financial and business news from Yahoo FinanceThis article originally appeared on Yahoo Finance at https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/article/the-us-federal-budget-deficit-for-2026-just-came-in-its-1992-trillion-191917669.html

Watch: Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in West Bank during olive harvest Dozens of masked settlers have attacked Palestinians and set fire to cars and olive trees during the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.A BBC team witnessed one of several attacks in farmland near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah. A local official said the attacks had injured 12 Palestinians, including four dual Palestinian American citizens. A foreign journalist was also among those hurt.Driving into the area early in the morning, we came across the first signs of the violence: a stream of cars carrying wounded Palestinian olive farmers racing out along the narrow stony track, piled high with olive picking equipment, as smoke rose from several fires nearby.The bloodied face of Majdi Fheed peered out from the backseat of one car."We were getting our olive trees and almost 15 Jewish guys … started attacking us with guns, with rocks, with special weapons. They hit me on my head [and] my neck – look, I am bleeding!"Yaser AlKam, a council member from the neighbouring village of Turmus Aya told me Majdi - an American citizen - was attacked by settlers with nail-studded sticks, and needed treatment for deep wounds on his head. His elderly mother was also injured.Another man ferrying the injured to hospital told us that settlers had attacked them with sticks while they harvested their olives, and had burned three cars – including one of his own."As soon as we got to the land and put our things on the ground, they started to come, so we ran away" said a woman next to him. Several Palestinian-American citizens and a foreign journalist were left injured following the attack [BBC] Asked about the violence, a US State Department spokesperson said they were aware of the reports."We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and call for investigations, arrests, and convictions, of those responsible," the spokesperson said.Watching the vehicles stream past her, 73-year-old Imm Khaldoun told me emphatically that, no matter what happened, she would always return to her land. "This is my land. It's my right [to be here]" she told me.The UN says the past two weeks have already seen more attacks by violent Israeli settlers than during the entire harvest season last year.Olive picking in the West Bank is now a test of speed, with trees rapidly stripped of fruit as soon as the sun rises, before violent Israeli settlers attack.In another olive orchard nearby, we watched as dozens of farmers used power-tools to strip the trees as fast as they could – one eye on the ridge above us, where a group of settlers at a new illegal outpost had already gathered, and were watching the olive harvest below.Standing on ladders, the Palestinian farmers worked quickly, sending streams of olives onto the plastic sheets laid out under the trees. Three villages had come together to harvest these olives, the landowner Amin Khalil, told me, as a form of protection against attack. He said his land was now surrounded by seven Jewish settlements and outposts. Yaser AlKam was left bloodied from the attack [BBC] All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. Outposts – small encampments on hilltops – are illegal under Israeli law as well, but many still receive state support."This is a hotspot – there are seven settlements around here," Amin Khalil told me. "This year, all the people came together because when there are just a few people working alone at the edge of the village, the settlers attack. So all the families are working together today."But the tactic doesn't work today. As we watch, dozens of settlers, all dressed in black, begin moving down the hill towards us, setting fire to several groups of olive trees.There are shouts of panic from the Palestinian farmers, yelling for children to get out of the field. Some begin swiftly wrapping up the olives to leave.But with large numbers of people on both sides, the confrontation stalls into an uneasy stalemate. We see settlers with slingshots hurl stones towards us, and young Palestinian men running to throw stones in return.As Israeli forces arrive, the standoff explodes into action. Settlers begin running down towards us as the farmers swiftly retreat. Some Palestinians set off fireworks to try and push the settlers back. The UN says settler attacks this year have so far killed one Palestinian and injured more than 120 others [Reuters] American journalist Heidi Levine of the Washington Post was injured in the attack. She described how dozens of settlers ambushed her as she was reporting at the scene."I got jumped," she said. "I was on the ground and they were kicking me and I was trying to hold onto my camera and my bag. I had my helmet and flak jacket on which protected me. They made me stand up and they kicked me again, and this went on for at least 10 minutes."In a statement, Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray said Levine had been clearly identifiable as a journalist. "We are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities," he said.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said personnel had been despatched to the area "following a report of a violent confrontation". It said a female journalist had been injured during the confrontation. And that "all circumstances" surrounding the incident would be examined.As the farmers retreated, the sound of live ammunition cracked across the fields. It was unclear if settlers or Israeli forces were firing.Minutes later, Israeli forces began firing tear gas into the Palestinian fields to end the confrontation – a well-worn Israeli pattern of managing these conflicts.The UN says settler attacks on the olive harvest this year have so far killed one Palestinian and injured more than 120 others across the West Bank.Illegal Jewish outposts have mushroomed here over the past few years, clustering in closer around Palestinian olive groves.What we witnessed was part of a pattern being repeated day after day, as settler outposts here increase.The yearly olive harvest has become a litmus test of how the policies of Israel's fiercely pro-settlement government are affecting Palestinians here, by presiding over growing violence by extremist settlers, and fuelling Jewish claims to the land. More on this topic Palestinian woman in hospital after being clubbed by masked Israeli settlerBBC witnesses Israeli settlers' attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank This article originally appeared on BBC at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c65ynk7212vqo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Byahoo.north.america%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An illustration of a white dwarf star glowing green. A new study finds that some dying stars would appear colorful to human eyes (if we could get close enough to see them). | Credit: Mark A Garlick/University of Warwick Stellar cores called white dwarfs come in an astonishing array of colors, including what scientists say is the first known green star and the reddest star ever found, new research reveals.A white dwarf star is the dense, cooling core that remains after a low- to medium-mass star runs out of fuel. The new study, published Thursday (Oct. 15) in the journal RAS Techniques and Instruments, shows that white dwarfs come in far more colors than their name suggests.White dwarf stars got their moniker because the first known examples glowed in either white or pale blue. The new study, however, suggests that "white" dwarfs also emit visible-light colors like pink, green, cyan, purple and yellow."Most stars, including most white dwarfs, behave like 'perfect radiators,' so their colour is set almost entirely by temperature. But nobody had really looked into what else might be possible for white dwarfs," Mark Hollands, an astronomer at the University of Warwick in the U.K. and first author of the study, said in a statement. "It turns out these incredibly dense stars can produce colours nobody expected, and some of them genuinely surprised me." The variety of colors is possible due to white dwarfs' densities compared with main-sequence stars, the study suggests. Cooler white dwarfs have a density of about 1 gram per cubic centimeter, much like flowing water on Earth. The density of these white dwarfs is also millions of times denser than the sun's visible surface, or photosphere, leading to unusual conditions."Any trace elements that may be present, such as carbon, calcium and sodium, interact with the surrounding dense helium plasma and absorb light across a wider range of colours than they would at lower densities," the researchers said in a statement. "This shifts a star's colour away from the orange, white and blue [typical] of a perfect radiator."Color-accurate simulated images of white dwarfs. The varying amounts/compositions of accreted material and white dwarf temperatures allow for a diverse array of colors, including green.  | Credit: Mark Hollands/University of WarwickWhite dwarfs are far away and small, making it difficult to verify their color. So, in the new study, astronomers inferred the colors using spectra, the distinctive chemical fingerprints produced by stars' light. The team analyzed the spectra within a model of color vision that the human eye can see, making the color pop out. Scientists found that carbon-rich white dwarfs tend to be purple or pink, while those that contain debris from asteroids or comets are usually yellower. Cyan or pale-blue white dwarfs occur when hydrogen and helium molecules strike each other in very dense atmospheres.Related storiesNewly discovered 'fountain of youth' phenomenon may help stars delay death by billions of yearsNASA scientists 'weigh' a white dwarf for the first time using a space-time trick predicted by EinsteinThis collapsed star is turning into a gigantic diamond before our eyesThe team also discovered WD J1330+6435 — a green star that contains rocky material. The green comes from the additional elements of calcium, lithium and sodium in the star's atmosphere, creating a unique "chartreuse green appearance" that would be visible to the human eye, if we could see it up close. "The traces of sodium in the atmosphere of this white dwarf absorb the orange part of the spectrum, leaving behind a ghostly green glow," Hollands explained, adding that the one-of-a-kind green star "feels like something out of science fiction." The team also discovered what is likely the reddest star ever found. This white dwarf, called WD J1011+2845, is located roughly 48 light-years from our planet. It has carbon closer to its surface — because the element is being lifted from the interior, due to strong convection currents — that is bending the star's light. This process is making a "deep salmon-pink glow" because the carbon molecules are obstructing the star's other wavelengths.Overall, in the sample of stars studied — 151 white dwarfs within 65 light-years of Earth — about 1 in 30 white dwarfs glowed in a color other than white. This could mean there are far more colorful stellar remnants littering the universe than anyone anticipated.This article originally appeared on Live Science at https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/white-dwarf-stars-can-be-purple-pink-and-even-green-surprising-new-study-finds

Iranian chess grandmaster Mitra Hejazipour made headlines in 2020 when she was expelled from the Iranian women's national chess team for refusing to wear the mandatory hijab. She now lives in Paris and recently became the French women's champion in the lightning blitz competition. She has been a French citizen for a few months and will probably play in the French women's national team in the future. Currently, Hejazipour works for an engineering company in Paris, having studied software engineering in France. We met up with Hejazipour in Paris to talk about her decision to abandon the mandatory hijab and how Vida Mowahed - the young girl who, five years ago, decided to hang her scarf on a stick near the Revolution Square in Tehran - has impacted her personal life. Can you tell us about your first encounter with the mandatory hijab? Mitra Hejazipour: Since I grew up in a religious and traditional family, accepting hijab was a normal thing for me. But the first time I was told that you must wear this mask, I did not like it and felt bad. When we left the country and travelled to other countries, I saw that female athletes sometimes fell behind because of the mandatory hijab and had to work harder to make up for the lost points. Of course, in chess, the hijab is less of an intervention, but as soon as they impose the hijab on you and keep repeating it, it gets on your nerves. Mandatory hijab is a double pressure, especially when you don't believe in something from the bottom of your heart and you think you have to accept what you don't accept. I also remember that I was nine years old and I was second in the world under 10 girls chess tournament. A German chess-playing boy of my age wanted to shake my hand to congratulate me, but my manager told me that it was not right." Mitra Hejazipour - Mohsen Bezenjani Your trips were often monitored by security forces. Can you tell us about those experiences? Surveillance was everywhere, they were trained to be with us and monitor everything. They kept warning us. I remember my first foreign trip with the youth team, when the security forces checked that we ate halal food and that we wore loose-fitting clothes. They kept reminding me to wear hijab. We could not even leave the hotel without their permission. Everywhere you turned, they were present and all our behaviour was monitored. Tell us about your decision to attend the Moscow chess tournament without the mandatory hijab? In December 2019, I participated in the Moscow competition without a hijab. Of course, before that I also wrote a text on Instagram and supported the women of Elkhebal Street. When the women of the revolution took off the headscarf, many people criticized them. This made me angry and I wanted to support them. But they called me and my family on behalf of the federation and threatened me." What threats? They told me to delete this post quickly. But I had made my decision and I was angry and I didn't answer the phones. My mother was called and she told me crying that they might arrest me. They were very scared. That's why I had to take that post down. How did you come to the decision to appear in the Moscow chess tournament in 2019 without a hijab? At that time, I was playing in a club in France and I went to Moscow directly from France. Since the beginning of the competition, I used to travel everywhere without hijab. Probably the teammates were in contact with the federation and the story had reached their ears. First, they called very simply and said that you should wear hijab and if you don't, they may boycott the federation. The head of the federation sent me a message saying that you must observe your hijab. He said, "It's very important for us, otherwise we'll throw you out of the tournament and you won't be able to play anymore." Threats like that. But I had made my decision and I wanted to support Vida Mowahed and the women of Elkhebal Street, and deal with the issue of compulsory hijab. After I played without a hijab, the head of the federation made a statement and said that I was kicked out of the national team and that I will not be able to play for the rest of my life. Mitra Hejazipour - Mohsen Bezenjani Did you inform your family at the time that you weren’t going to appear with a hijab? No, this was a personal decision. As I said, I had not talked to my family. I knew that this decision had consequences, but I wanted not to drown myself in it so that they would not stop my decision. What was the reaction of other chess players? I was not supported - at least among chess players. They almost cut off contact with me. I only had a relationship with Sara Khadim al-Sharia and we used to talk to each other. Sara recently decided to participate in the same competitions without hijab and left the country. What of the stereotypes outside of Iran – how have you experienced your life in France? Although I carry those stereotypes here too, the experience I had made me get out of these frameworks and think more easily and set higher goals for myself and be sure that I can achieve my goals. Here you think, wanting is being able. Here, women are not considered the second gender. And I can draw important goals for myself and try to achieve them. What was the impact of Vida Mowahed and the women of Elkhebal Street on changing your approach to the hijab issue? When Vida Mowahed went to the electrical box near the Revolution Square in Tehran, took off her hijab and tied a scarf on a stick, her decision had a great impact on me. His work was shocking to me. I was asking myself why I didn't protest against this forced pressure all these years and why I was with the crowd and obeyed like everyone else. Her courage was very admirable to me. I was very impressed by Vida Mohed. Vida Mowahed - Social Networks How did Mahsa Amini's death affect you? The death of this young girl was very sad. It was a great sadness for her family and the people of Iran. But I think the killing of this young girl was a turning point for Iran. Mehsa Amini's death was the beginning of the end of this regime. We know that during these years, many people have been killed and imprisoned by this regime, but this was a turning point for Iran. How do you see the return of Irshad Patrol (morality police) to the streets? I have no doubt that this regime does not hesitate to take any measures to suppress people and prevent people from moving. But at the same time, I believe that the change that occurred. When the women of Iran tasted the sense of freedom from the Islamic Republic - this is irreversible. And once you have tasted the feeling of freedom, you will never go back. The regime can no longer stop this movement. If you could say something to Vida Mowahed, what would it be? I am very grateful to her. I appreciate her courage. Her action created a spark in the minds of people like me. For many years, we were used to wearing the compulsory hijab. It was not a question for us why we should wear it when we don't believe in it. Vida Mowahed made me understand that we should not lower our heads in front of forceful words. She made us understand that we can protest. Her work was very valuable to me and I will never forget it.This article originally appeared on Euronews at https://www.euronews.com/2023/08/17/iranian-chess-grandmaster-mitra-hejazipour-the-regime-can-no-longer-stop-this-movement