Deep In California Forests, An Illicit Business Thrives

Israeli tanks reached Rafah’s city center on Tuesday, Reuters reported, three weeks after the Israeli military began its ground invasion into the city. Witnesses reported that the army has taken control of Al-Awda roundabout, a well known landmark in the city’s central area. At least 16 Palestinians were killed by air strikes in Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in northwest Rafah on Tuesday as the Israeli offensive escalates. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Israel has faced international criticism for the large number of civilian casualties after nearly eight months of war in Gaza.

ExxonMobil’s multi-front tussle with investors over the company’s positioning on climate change escalated last week when CalPERS, the largest U. S. pension fund, announced it would vote against every member of the company’s board of directors at its annual meeting on May 29. The divergence between how Exxon and some of its investors view their financial interests demonstrates a new dynamic bound to grow as climate change becomes a more urgent societal challenge. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The fight between Exxon and its investors dates back to 2021, when a majority of investors rejected several of management’s board nominees in favor of candidates who promised to push the company to take a more proactive approach to the energy transition—an historic repudiation of the company’s leadership.

It was easy to get distracted by the colorful cast of characters that paraded through the witness stand during 16 days of testimony in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial. There was the former porn star, the tabloid publisher, his disgraced former fixer, the former press aide who broke down in tears on the stand. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] They all spent much of their testimony rehashing a story that’s been public for years.

Pope Francis apologized on Tuesday after he reportedly used a homophobic slur while reiterating his opposition to gay people becoming priests during a private discussion on the matter with bishops last week. “There is already too much frociaggine” in seminaries, Francis has been quoted as saying, using an Italian word that roughly translates to “faggotry.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The remark, said to have been made during a closed-door meeting last Monday, was first reported by Italian news and gossip site Dagospia and then affirmed by Italian newspapers la Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, which each cited unnamed firsthand sources. “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologizes to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others,” said Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, in a statement on Tuesday. Read More: Pope Francis Calls Surrogate Motherhood ‘Deplorable,’ Calls for Global Ban Corriere reported that the remark was received with incredulous laughter by the bishops in attendance and that, given the 87-year-old Argentinian pontiff’s native language is Spanish, “it was evident that the Pope was not aware of how offensive the word is in Italian.” Catholic magazine America similarly reported that Francis’ use of “frociaggine” was a “gaffe” rather than an intentional slur, “given the pope’s ‘Who am I to judge?’ attitude toward gay priests.” Francis was named TIME’s 2013 Person of the Year after uttering those landmark five words 11 years ago that seemed at the time to herald a new era of acceptance and inclusion of LGBTQ people by the Catholic Church.

BRUSSELS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday picked up a second $1 billion promise of military aid in as many days for his war with Russia during a whirlwind tour through the European Union. The pledge came from Belgium, which topped up the money with a commitment to give 30 F-16 fighter jets over the next four years.

Hong Kong’s national security police arrested six people using a new security law for the first time, days ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Police said a woman currently under detention made social media posts with seditious intent with the help of five others, according to a government statement on Tuesday.