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A circuit court judge ruled Thursday to uphold the Missouri GOP’s gerrymandered congressional map in a case* challenging its legality — but it remains unclear whether the map will actually be used in the 2026 midterm elections.

In the case, a group of Missouri voters claimed the new map violated the state constitution’s prohibition on mid-decade redistricting and created “non-compact” districts to dilute the voting power of Black communities.

Florida officials hastily built the detention center last year, prompting a string of lawsuits

Guards inside Florida’s notorious “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention facility are reportedly wearing patches featuring the Grim Reaper and the words “You can’t hide.”

A former guard at the facility, which sits on an old airstrip in a remote patch of the Everglades, reportedly made the patches and distributed them to other staff members.

“What I saw was ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ a skeleton dressed in black holding a hatchet and a crocodile underneath,” former detainee Lewis Ortigoza told the Miami Herald of the patch. “It looked like something demonic.”

“I always felt haunted by it, but I never said anything because I was so afraid,” he added.

World shares retreated on Friday while oil prices again popped above $100 per barrel as anxiety remained over the Iran war and its impact on supplies of crude oil and gas.

UAE cybercrime law means sharing images or footage of war can bring jail, prison time and deportation

A British man is among 20 people who have been charged in the United Arab Emirates under cybercrime laws in connection with filming and posting material related to Iranian attacks on the country.

The 60-year-old man, understood to be a tourist who was visiting Dubai, was charged under a law that prohibits sharing material that could disturb public security.

The case was highlighted by Detained in Dubai, an organisation that provides legal assistance to individuals in the UAE.

Robert Habeck says world has moved on from weaponising energy to using tariffs, technology and more to inflict harm

The weaponisation of energy when Russia invaded Ukraine has given way to “weaponising everything” since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Germany’s former economy minister has said.

Robert Habeck, the Green politician responsible for keeping the lights on during the last energy crisis, said the belief gas “would never be a political weapon” led successive German governments blindly into Putin’s trap by building the Nord Stream pipelines and selling strategic reserves to Gazprom, which Russia emptied before the invasion.

But the re-election of Donald Trump led to a second security shock with “dramatic, drastic … and far-reaching” consequences which include using tariffs and technology as weapons, he told the Guardian.

Rescue efforts continue for remaining two crew members from refuelling plane that crashed in western desert

Four of the six crew members onboard a US military aircraft that crashed in western Iraq were killed, the US military has said as rescue efforts continued for the remaining two.

The KC-135 military refuelling plane crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, in an incident the military said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

Iraq’s western desert is a vast expanse of largely empty rocky plains but is also where many Iran-aligned Shia militia have bases and has been the site of repeated Israeli and US airstrikes.

The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Donald Trump’s national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration, the sources said.

While key officials from the Departments of Energy and Treasury were present for some of the official planning meetings about the operation before it started, sources said, the agency analysis and forecasts that would be integral elements of the decision-making process in past administrations were secondary considerations.

China has approved a sweeping new law which claims to help promote "ethnic unity" - but critics say it will further erode the rights of minority groups.

On paper, it aims to promote integration among the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, dominated by the Han Chinese, through education and housing. But critics say it cuts people off from their language and culture.

It mandates that all children should be taught Mandarin before kindergarten and up until the end of high school. Previously students could study most of the curriculum in their native language such as Tibetan, Uyghur or Mongolian.

Trump is now caught in the oldest trap of modern warfare – believing a swift, surgical military operation will yield quick, enduring political results. The Soviets did it in Afghanistan; the US in Iraq in 2003; Putin did it in Ukraine, and is still fighting. Whatever force a military fails or succeeds in applying at the start, the people it is attacking have greater commitment to defending their lands and homes.

The White House may have rushed into this, seizing the opportunity for a decapitation strike, provided by Israeli intelligence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has very different objectives regionally, and a long US involvement against Tehran suits his desire for an Iran in rolling collapse that is no longer a threat. But the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on February 28 has caused as many problems as it has solved.

Suspect who was convicted in 2016 for supporting Islamic State is dead after attack kills one and leaves two injured

The suspect who killed one person and injured two others at Old Dominion University on Thursday was identified by authorities as Mohamed Jalloh, a former member of the army national guard who pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.

Dominique Evans, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Norfolk field office, told reporters the suspect had attempted to commit an “act of terrorism” and shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire. He was subdued and killed by members of the university’s ROTC program in a university classroom, she said, praising them for demonstrating “extreme bravery and courage” and preventing further loss of life. (ROTC is a college-based program that allows students to train to become a US military officer while also earning a college degree.)

Trump has promised to endorse Jake Paul if the controversial YouTuber-turned-boxer ever runs for office.

Trump made the remarks yesterday during a speech at a packaging facility in Kentucky, after being joined on stage by the influencer.

The president’s declaration of support followed a brief speech by Paul, who later posted a video of the pair hitting Trump’s now infamous YMCA dance.

Anthropic on Wednesday sought a stay from a U.S. appeals court after the Pentagon said the company was a supply-chain risk, pending a judicial review of the case, adding that the designation could cost it billions of dollars in lost revenue.

Anthropic’s latest request comes after a weeks-long dispute over technology guardrails on the use of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence tools by the U.S. military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labelled the firm a supply-chain risk and barred the Pentagon and its contractors from using its AI products.

The AI firm separately filed a lawsuit earlier this week in a California federal court to challenge its Pentagon blacklisting.

In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, Anthropic said the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation would cause the company “irreparable harm.”