Beating the heat, one home at a time

Venezuela's Maduro and wife plead not guilty to US torture charges

NEW YORK — Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a new US indictment accusing them of conspiring to torture political opponents. The additional charges, brought last Thursday, significantly expanded the US criminal case against Maduro, 63, and Flores, 70. They previously pleaded not guilty to charges that they abused their power to help drug traffickers ship cocaine. Maduro and Flores, captured by the US military in a January raid ordered by President Donald Trump and flown to New York, entered their pleas at an arraignment before US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney's office say Maduro directed officials to torture opposition politicians and military personnel accused of plotting against him to maintain power in the South American country. In one alleged incident described in the indictment, Maduro in 2014 directed officials to kidnap military personnel to draw information out of them about possible dissidents, and told officials to "squeeze them harde

How Aramco learned to keep pumping oil under fire

LONDON — When attack drones struck Saudi Aramco's biggest oil pipeline last month, satellite images showed one of its pumping stations burnt to ashes. By the next day, scores of bulldozers were already building a new pipeline. Within days pumping resumed. The speed of the recovery illustrates how the world's biggest oil producer has transformed its ability to operate under attack after years of assaults on energy infrastructure across the region. "Today, our teams can handle multiple incidents simultaneously, and we continue to build this capability," Saudi state oil firm Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser told Reuters in an interview last week. Nasser said Aramco has built specialised rapid-response teams, expanded emergency stockpiles for repairs and deployed drones to assess damage even while incidents are still unfolding. Lessons on how to operate under fire came after drones and missiles hit Aramco's major oil processing facility in Abqaiq in 2019, temporarily knocking out half of Aramco's production. "After Abqaiq in 2019, we came up with the idea of rapid response teams, or what

Houthis attack presidential palace complex in Yemen's Aden, PM unharmed, officials say

Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the presidential palace complex in the southern city of Aden on Thursday, killing two security guards, two government officials told Reuters. Yemen's prime minister and cabinet members who were at the Maashiq presidential palace complex were unharmed, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said, adding that the Houthis had fired five missiles at the complex. The Houthi-run Saba news agency, citing a military official, said the group had targeted a military operations headquarters run by Saudi officers at the complex, as well as weapons depots. Reuters could not independently verify the claims. The Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the strike on what he described as a Saudi military operations headquarters in Aden was part of the group's declared policy of "targeting Saudi military build-ups wherever they are." Three witnesses had earlier told Reuters they heard loud booms in the vicinity of the palace.

Trump scraps plan to livestream execution after broad backlash

WASHINGTON — The firing squad execution of a convicted military base shooter will not be livestreamed, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday, canceling a contentious plan by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The move to livestream Nidal Hasan's execution was widely opposed at home and abroad, prompting outrage from both U.S. Democratic and Republican politicians, the Catholic Church and the United Nations. The cancellation is a blow to Hegseth, who is already under fire over the stalemated Iran war and its fallout, which are weighing on Trump's Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections. Hasan "will die, as scheduled, by firing squad, but this event will not be streamed," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. The U.S. president indicated he did not personally oppose the streaming plan, saying it "might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan." But "many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die," Trump said, adding that the execution could still be viewed in person by

Prince Harry and wife Meghan make first joint appearance since UK return

NOTTINGHAM, England — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan appeared together in public on Thursday for the first time since they made a surprise return to Britain, revisiting the city where they made their maiden joint official engagement nine years ago. Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan shocked the monarch and other members of the royal family when they relocated from California to England two months ago with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. In their first joint public outing since then, the couple returned to Nottingham in central England which they visited in 2017, shortly after it was announced they were getting married. "It’s great to be back," Harry said. "Wonderful and great to be back in Nottingham, too." They began by visiting a recording studio run by a youth and community charity which has received support from a £1.1 million ($1.46 million) donation announced by Harry last year. At their next stop at the Himmah charity, which tackles food poverty, Meghan was reunited with four contributors to a charity cookbook released to raise funds

5 people believed dead following shooting at Oregon elementary school, officials say

Authorities believe at least five people are dead following a shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. Both said the death toll was preliminary and could change. The suspected shooter was 15 or 16 years old, one of the sources said. Bend police spokesperson Sheila Miller earlier confirmed the suspect is dead. It wasn’t clear if the suspect was included among the five. Miller also said multiple victims were children. “We don’t have a number at this point. We know children are among the victims,” Miller said during a media briefing. Authorities received a call about a shot fired into a car outside Silver Rail Elementary at 12:59 p.m. and arrived on scene within minutes. Further 911 calls came from inside the school, she said. The attacker was shot and went down inside the school soon after police arrived, Miller said. It was not immediately clear if it was by police, a bystander or

Israeli firm used online ads to run vast spy operation, researchers say

Who was the teen gunman who opened fire at Oregon elementary school leaving four dead?

Three children, ages 5, 8 and 11, and one teacher were killed in the shooting

New Israeli rule bars crew from some nations: Reports

'Not A Good Guy To Deal With': Trump Takes Fresh Dig At Zelensky As US-Ukraine Tensions Deepen

Trump's remarks came in response to a question about whether he had asked Zelenskyy to stop Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Zelenskyy, Trump On Collision Course as Ukraine resumes oil refinery hits in Russia

Ukraine Resumes Oil Refinery Hits In Russia; 'Done With Energy Truce:' Prez