Category: Middle East

President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted of defrauding thousands of investors in a $1.6 billion scheme.
The former CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital Holdings served less than two weeks of his seven-year sentence when he was released from prison Wednesday, according to The New York Times.
Gentile, 59, and a co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted of securities and wire fraud charges in August 2024 and sentenced in May. Schneider, who was sentenced to six years, does not appear to have received clemency from Trump.
In a social media post on Thanksgiving, Trump’s “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson said she was “deeply grateful” to see Gentile going home to his young children.
In court filings, prosecutors said that Gentile and Schneider used investor funds to take stakes in companies in the automotive and retail industries. It paid out regular annual distributions to investors from returns on these hold..

President Donald Trump has insulted another female reporter after he was asked about releasing the results of an MRI test that he announced he had taken earlier this month.
The president took questions from reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday night, as he returned to Washington D.C. from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida where he had celebrated Thanksgiving.
Trump was asked about recent calls by Minnesota Governor and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz to release his MRI results after the president used a mental health slur in a long, rambling Truth Social post on Thanksgiving Day, calling the lawmaker “seriously r******.”
The president claimed, as he has done multiple times, that he had “aced” a cognitive test but told the reporter that she would be “incapable” of doing the same.
It came after a male reporter put to Trump that “Governor Walz called for the release of your MRI results.”
open image in galleryDonald Trump insulted another female reporter after he was asked ab..

Right-wing media outlets are set to be welcomed to the Pentagon next week, following the mass exodus of mainstream news organizations earlier this year in protest of government-imposed restrictions on their reporting.
The outlets, which include the pro-Trump cable channel, One America News; right-wing website The Federalist; ultra-conservative newspaper The Epoch Times; and others, will be shown around, pick up credentials and meet senior officials,The Washington Post reported.
Events will run Monday through Wednesday, and include a meet-and-greet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the outlet, along with a briefing from department press secretary Kingsley Wilson.
Six weeks ago, dozens of journalists packed up their desks and handed in their press badges, rather than comply with new reporting restrictions imposed by Hegseth.
Among the new rules is a ban on reporters soliciting any information – classified or otherwise – from government employees without prior authorizati..

A Thanksgiving Day home invasion left a 76-year-old widow grieving her dog and struggling financially after intruders ransacked her house, stole her wedding ring, and made off with thousands of dollars she had set aside for her mortgage.
Monica Lopez returned to her home in Covina, California, late Thursday, after spending the holiday with family, and found her gate ajar.
Inside the property, she found evidence of a burglary. Clothes were strewn across the floor, drawers yanked open and emptied, and a shattered window marked a potential point of entry.
Even more devastating, her dog Rocky, her companion since her husband’s death, was missing.
A police officer later notified the family that Rocky had been found nearby with severe head trauma, Lopez’s daughter-in-law told KTLA. The dog did not survive his injuries.
open image in galleryMonica Lopez’s dog Rocky, her companion since her husband’s death, was found dead after a Thanksgiving Day burglary (GoFundMe)“We don’t know if it’s t..

The Trump administration has halted all decisions regarding migrants seeking asylum in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard members. The suspected shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who was granted asylum earlier this year.
Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph B. Edlow wrote on X Friday evening, “USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. The safety of the American people always comes first.”
A notice sent to asylum officers explicitly tells them not to enter “any decision information for affirmative cases.”
Applications in “defensive” cases are filed by immigrants facing deportation and are decided by immigration judges under the direction of the Department of Justice.
The man suspected of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members —one fatally — near the White House Wednesday, likely underwent extensive vetting as a CIA asset and again as he sought..

American Airlines is expecting delays over the holidays as a major software issue grounds hundreds of planes.
The carrier said Friday that a software change on a significant number of Airbus A320 jets is expected to impact about 340 planes.
American Airlines said in a statement shared by multiple outlets that the vast majority of affected planes should have their software updated by “today or tomorrow.”
The software issue comes at a chaotic time for airlines as 6 million U.S. travelers fly domestically over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to estimates from the American Automobile Association.
open image in galleryAmerican Airlines is expecting delays over the holidays after a major software issue grounds hundreds of planes (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)It’s currently unclear when the issue will be fully resolved, but American Airlines said it is “intently focused on limiting flight cancellations – especially with customers returning home from holiday travel.”
“Still, our over..

CloseNational Guard shooter 'drove across the country to ambush troops in DC'National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom sustained a “mortal wound” when she was shot in what authorities are calling a targeted attack in D.C., her father told the New York Times Thursday.
Beckstrom’s father, Gary Beckstrom, told NYT over the phone, “[Sarah] has a mortal wound. It’s not going to be a recovery.”
Beckstrom, 20, was shot alongside National Guard member Andrew Wolfe, 24, Wednesday afternoon. Both had come out of surgery by Thursday morning but were in “critical condition.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department was looking at pursuing the harshest charges against the suspected shooter, which could include the death penalty if one of the Guard members dies.
The suspected shooter was identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the country in September 2021. He was living in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and five children, according t..

Donald Trump has hit out at the suspect arrested after two National Guard soldiers were shot in Washington, D.C., in what the president described as a “monstrous, ambush-style attack.”
The guardsmen from West Virginia were shot by a lone gunman just north of the White House shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
But the motive of the suspect, identified in reports as 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, remains unclear. More than 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to D.C. in Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital.
Trump, who has been in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said in an address Wednesday night: “I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”
open image in galleryA member of the U.S. Secret Service stands guard in a cordoned-off area after two National Guard members were shot near the White House (Reuters)Here is everything we know about the shooting so far:
Who is the suspected sh..

A man is in custody after two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot and critically wounded in Washington, D.C., near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
There were initially reports that the two had died, though it was later confirmed that they were wounded and are being treated in local hospitals.
The shooting occurred near 17th and I Street Northwest. Police described the individual as a “lone gunman” who rounded a corner and opened fire on the Guardsmen.
Nearby members of the Guard heard gunshots and were able to “subdue the individual” after a “back and forth” in which the suspect was also shot, Executive Assistant Washington Police Chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser described the attack as a “targeted shooting.”
open image in galleryTwo National Guard members were shot Wednesday near the White House, prompting a mass law enforcement response including Secret Service agents and National Guard troops (..

Hundreds of teenagers showed up at an Arizona school board member’s house party after his address was leaked on social media.
“There were girls twerking and not a lot of clothes on. We saw cans, beer cans on the road, police cars,” one neighbor said of the scene to AZFamily.
Dr. Matthew Pittinsky of the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board was hosting a small gathering for his son’s birthday a couple of weeks ago when things got out of hand.
Authorities responded to Pittinsky’s Paradise Valley home at around 9 p.m. local time that night following reports of underage drinking and a large gathering.
About 500 teens were found on Pittinsky’s property, one of whom was sent to the hospital for suspected alcohol poisoning, according to police documents obtained by AZFamily.
Hundreds of teenagers showed up at Arizona school board member Dr. Matthew Pittinsky’s house party after his address was leaked on social media (Scottsdale Unified School District)When the teens were questi..