Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old singer D4vd is charged with killing, died from penetrating wounds to her upper body, according to an autopsy report. Singer D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, pleaded not guilty to murder charges, including the mutilation of a dead body. Prosecutors allege Burke killed Rivas Hernandez to prevent her from reporting a sexual relationship that began when she was 13. The autopsy was hampered by the dismembered and decomposed state of her body when it was discovered in Burke’s Tesla.
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During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended President Trump’s claims of prescription drug price reductions by stating the president uses a unique calculation method. When pressed by Senator Elizabeth Warren on the mathematically impossible claims of 600% price cuts, Kennedy asserted that a reduction from $600 to $10 represents a 600% decrease. This statement drew criticism from mathematicians and highlighted how the TrumpRx website misleadingly promotes brand-name drugs at inflated prices, often with cheaper generic alternatives available, while pharmaceutical companies receive tariff exemptions. Further scrutiny revealed that most drugs on TrumpRx do not offer lower prices, and reports indicate upcoming price hikes on numerous medications.
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A recent poll indicates that a majority of American adults, including 20 percent of those who voted for President Trump in 2024, support the US House impeaching him. This finding aligns with Trump’s declining approval ratings, which have dropped significantly since the beginning of his term. Despite widespread public sentiment and calls for impeachment or invocation of the 25th Amendment, political realities, such as Republican majorities in Congress and cabinet support, make such actions unlikely to succeed. However, if the upcoming midterms are perceived as a judgment on the administration’s performance, this could potentially influence election outcomes.
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Mexican officials have expressed strong concerns regarding the unauthorized presence of CIA agents during a raid on a drug lab in Chihuahua. President Claudia Sheinbaum stated her government was not informed of the CIA’s participation, an event that involved four agents and resulted in the deaths of two of them in a subsequent vehicle crash. This incident, where agents were disguised in state uniforms, highlights a growing tension over U.S. intervention and the violation of Mexican sovereignty, as foreign law enforcement participation is prohibited by the nation’s constitution.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz as the new commissioner of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS). Smith-Cruz, a Black lesbian archivist and librarian with extensive experience in advocating for information access, will oversee the preservation of the city’s historical materials and its response to public records requests. Her selection highlights Mayor Mamdani’s commitment to appointing leaders from community-based work and advocacy networks, and it aligns with a broader pattern of elevating LGBTQ+ leadership within his administration. Smith-Cruz’s vision for DORIS emphasizes ensuring that the city’s historical record inclusively represents all communities, particularly in an era of heightened national debate around historical preservation and access to public information.
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The difficulty in weaponizing legal processes stems from a perceived lack of qualified individuals aligned with specific political agendas. Many career prosecutors are reportedly uninterested in pursuing cases deemed important by certain political factions, leading to a small pool of willing participants. This situation suggests that the execution of certain legal strategies is hindered by the limited availability of personnel who are both politically aligned and possess the necessary expertise.
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President Trump has announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire in the Iran war, a move that follows threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure if a peace deal is not reached. Despite claims from the White House that the US blockade of Iranian ports is successfully crippling the economy, a stalemate persists. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and Iran’s refusal to reopen it signifies a lack of a clear path forward for the administration, with rising oil prices directly impacting UK inflation.
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EU ambassadors approved a vital €90 billion loan for Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia, following Hungary’s withdrawal of its veto. This decision comes after Hungary’s oil company, MOL, confirmed Ukraine’s readiness to resume crude oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline, which had been a point of contention. The loan, crucial for Ukraine’s liquidity through 2026 and 2027, was previously held up by Hungary’s objections regarding the pipeline’s transit, exacerbated by recent Russian attacks. The agreement is expected to be formally signed by EU member states by Thursday afternoon, paving the way for the financial assistance and renewed sanctions.
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As part of an ambitious effort to advance its generative AI capabilities and compete with industry leaders, Meta is implementing an internal tool called the Model Capability Initiative (MCI). This tool is designed to capture employee keystrokes and mouse clicks across various websites and applications, including Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, and internal Meta properties. The collected data will be used to train AI models, with Meta asserting that safeguards are in place to protect sensitive information and that the data will not be used for other purposes. Despite assurances, some employees have expressed concerns about privacy and potential data exposure.
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US intelligence sharing with South Korea has been partly restricted following the South Korean unification minister’s public identification of a suspected North Korean uranium enrichment site in Kusong. The US reportedly views this as an unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, although the minister maintains his remarks were based on publicly available research. These restrictions underscore existing tensions within the alliance, with some South Korean opposition politicians calling for the minister’s dismissal. Despite the intelligence sharing limitations, surveillance of missile activity continues, and military readiness remains unaffected, with both the unification ministry and defense ministry asserting ongoing cooperation with the US.
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John Q. Hosedrinker