Geoff Bennett:
The Romanian case against the Tates remains open and they still must appear before the court when summoned.
And in the U.K., Andrew Tate faces a separate lawsuit from four women who accuse him of sexual violence. Today, their spokesperson said a court lifted the seizure of some of their assets and that their bank accounts have been unfrozen.
Mexico is sending an infamous drug lord to the U.S., along with more than two dozen other prisoners requested by the U.S. government. Caro Quintero was convicted of murdering a U.S. anti-narcotics agent in 1985. It was considered one of the most notorious killings from Mexico’s bloody narco wars.
The extradition comes as top Mexican officials are in Washington in a bid to ward off the Trump administration’s planned 25 percent tariffs on Mexican imports. In a social media post this morning, President Trump confirmed those tariffs will take effect next week, as planned.
The Pentagon is ordering transgender troops to be removed from the military within 60 days. The new policy was announced late yesterday in a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It comes after President Trump signed an executive order last month calling on transgender troops to be prevented from serving openly.
It’s a dramatic shift from prior policy, which had prohibited discrimination based on gender identity, though the memo calls for exceptions for those supporting war fighting capabilities.
There’s more on transgender rights, this time in Iowa. Protesters crowded Iowa’s state capitol today as lawmakers passed a bill that would strip protections based on gender identity from that state’s civil rights code. If approved by the governor, Iowa would be the first state to remove such protections. Opponents say it will expose transgender people to numerous forms of discrimination.
Today’s vote in Iowa comes on the same day that Georgia’s House backed off a plan to remove gender protections from that state’s hate crimes law.
Turning now overseas, Israel’s military released its first internal findings on the October 7 Hamas attacks today. The highly anticipated report found that senior officials vastly underestimated Hamas and then missed early warning signs.
Meantime, an Israeli official says the military will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which is required by the fragile cease-fire agreement with Hamas. The first phase of the deal is set to expire this weekend. U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected in the region in the coming days, and Hamas has said it’s ready to negotiate.
Israel’s foreign minister said today they will still participate in the talks for now.