From the desk of Rich Stephens
News for the week ending 5-2-26
Below find the expanded text from tonight’s broadcast. For corrections or additions, contact Rich directly.
World News
Trump Meets Xi In Beijing, Says China Agreed To Boeing And Soybean Purchases
President Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing from May 13 through May 15, the first U.S. presidential visit to China in nine years.
In a formal meeting Thursday at the Great Hall of the People, China says the two leaders agreed to pursue what it called “a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability,” with cooperation as the main focus, competition kept within limits, and differences managed.
The official Chinese readout says the two sides discussed trade, military communication, agriculture, tourism, law enforcement, Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Korean Peninsula.
Trump gave his version after leaving China. In an Air Force One press gaggle, he said China agreed to buy more than 200 Boeing planes, with a promise of up to 750 if Boeing performs well. Trump said General Electric would also be part of the deal through aircraft engines.
Trump also said China would buy “billions of dollars of soybeans,” but said tariff reductions were not discussed. Asked whether the two sides agreed to extend a tariff truce, Trump said, “We didn’t discuss tariffs.”
On Taiwan, China’s readout says Xi told Trump that Taiwan is the most important issue in U.S.-China relations and warned that mishandling it could lead to “clashes and even conflicts.”
Trump said that warning was not communicated as a threat behind closed doors. In an interview with Bret Baier, Trump said Xi does not want to see Taiwan move toward independence, and said U.S. policy had not changed.
Trump also said he has not approved arms sales to Taiwan. He told Baier he is holding the package “in abeyance,” called it “a very good negotiating chip,” and said, “It depends on China.”
Trump said Xi asked whether the United States would defend Taiwan. Trump said he told Xi, “I don’t talk about those,” and later told reporters, “There’s only one person that knows that. You know who it is? Me.”
The two leaders also discussed Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Xi wants the Strait reopened and agrees that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. But Trump said he is not asking Xi for favors because “when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return.”
On artificial intelligence, Trump said the United States is “leading by a lot,” with China second. He said the two sides discussed possible AI guardrails, including biological, nuclear and cyber risks.
Trump also said he discussed Chinese nuclear expansion, political prisoners, Jimmy Lai, fentanyl, North Korea and Ukraine.
Trump said Xi may come to the White House in late September, and that the two could meet again at the G20 in Miami and in China later this year.
No formal joint statement or written White House summit readout was found.
China Foreign Ministry Readout
White House Air Force One Press Gaggle
Air Force One Gaggle Video
Bret Baier Interview With President Trump
Politics
Arcadia Mayor Charged With Acting As Illegal Agent Of China
The Justice Department announced Monday, May 11, that Eileen Wang, the mayor of Arcadia, California, had been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China.
Wang, 58, of Arcadia, was charged by information with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government. DOJ said that in a related filing, Wang agreed to plead guilty to the felony count, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022. Arcadia’s city website says Wang resigned from the City Council on May 11, vacating her position as mayor.
According to DOJ, from late 2020 through 2022, Wang and Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 65, of Chino Hills, worked at the direction and control of PRC government officials and coordinated with U.S.-based individuals to promote the PRC’s interests.
DOJ said that included promoting pro-PRC propaganda in the United States.
Wang and Sun operated U.S. News Center, a website that purported to be a news source for the local Chinese American community. DOJ said Wang and Sun received and executed directives from PRC government officials to post pro-PRC content on the site.
In June 2021, according to DOJ, a PRC official contacted Wang and others through WeChat with pre-written news articles, including a PRC official-written article stating, “There is no genocide in Xinjiang; there is no such thing as ‘forced labor’ in any production activity, including cotton production.”
Minutes later, DOJ said Wang posted the article on her own website and responded to the PRC official with a link to the article. Others in the group chat did the same. The PRC official responded, “So fast, thank you everyone.”
DOJ said that in August 2021, Wang and three other members of the same group chat shared links to the same article on their respective websites. After the PRC official thanked them for their “reporting,” Wang made edits to the article at the official’s request, sent the official a link to the revised article, then sent a screenshot showing the article had been viewed 15,128 times.
The official responded, “Great!” Wang replied, “Thank you leader.”
DOJ said Wang also communicated in November 2021 with John Chen, described in court documents as a high-level member of the PRC intelligence apparatus who regularly attended elite Chinese Communist Party functions and met personally with PRC President Xi Jinping.
According to DOJ, Wang asked Chen to post a news article from her website and wrote, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”
Chen was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in the Southern District of New York to acting as an illegal agent of the PRC and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
DOJ said Wang admitted in her plea agreement that she did not notify the Attorney General that she was acting in the United States as an agent of the PRC. DOJ also said Wang admitted she did not disclose on her website that some of its content had been posted at the direction of PRC government officials.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said, “Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent.”
Eisenberg said, “It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all, but particularly so because that relationship with that foreign government had never been disclosed.”
Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division said, “By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government.”
Patrick Grandy, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said, “All Americans should be alarmed to learn an elected official was brazenly spreading propaganda on behalf of the Chinese government.”
Sun, who worked with Wang, is serving a four-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in October 2025 to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. DOJ said Sun acted at the direction of PRC officials, promoted pro-PRC propaganda, helped elect a political candidate identified in court documents as “Individual 1,” and closely monitored Taiwan’s then-president during an April 2023 visit to Southern California.
The FBI is investigating Wang’s case. Assistant United States Attorney Amanda B. Elbogen of the National Security Division is prosecuting it, with assistance from Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of DOJ’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
DOJ Press Release
City of Arcadia Mayor Page
DOJ Release on Yaoning “Mike” Sun Sentencing
Supreme Court Says Trucking Brokers Can Face State Negligent-Hiring Claims In Some Crash Cases
On Thursday, May 14, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that federal law does not bar a state-law negligent-hiring claim against a freight broker accused of arranging truck transportation with an unsafe motor carrier.
The case is Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC, No. 24-1238. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the opinion for the Court. Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed a concurring opinion joined by Justice Samuel Alito.
The case turns on the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, or FAAAA. The law generally preempts state laws related to the prices, routes, and services of the trucking industry. But it also contains a safety exception, which says the preemption rule does not restrict a state’s safety regulatory authority “with respect to motor vehicles.”
The Court said the question was whether a claim that one company negligently hired another to transport goods falls within that exception. The Court held that it does.
The case began after Shawn Montgomery was injured in a crash in Illinois. According to the Court, Montgomery was driving a load of plastic pots when Yosniel Varela-Mojena veered off course and struck Montgomery’s tractor-trailer, which was stopped on the side of the road. Montgomery’s leg had to be amputated, and he sustained other severe and permanent injuries.
Varela-Mojena was driving for Caribe Transport II, LLC, a motor carrier. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., a freight broker, had coordinated the shipment.
Montgomery sued Varela-Mojena, Caribe Transport, C.H. Robinson, and related corporate entities. He alleged, among other claims, that C.H. Robinson was liable because it negligently hired Varela-Mojena and Caribe Transport.
Montgomery claimed Caribe Transport had a “conditional” safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration when C.H. Robinson hired it. According to the Court, Montgomery alleged the agency had found Caribe Transport deficient in areas including driver qualification, hours of service, inspection, repair and maintenance, and crash rate.
The District Court held that the FAAAA preempted Montgomery’s negligent-hiring claim against C.H. Robinson and that the claim did not fall within the safety exception. The Seventh Circuit affirmed.
The Supreme Court reversed.
Justice Barrett wrote that all parties agreed that common-law duties and standards of care are part of a state’s authority to regulate safety. The Court then said the question was whether Montgomery’s negligent-hiring claim was “with respect to motor vehicles.”
The Court concluded it was. Barrett wrote that Montgomery alleged C.H. Robinson failed to exercise reasonable care when it hired Caribe Transport, which allegedly had a subpar federal safety rating, to transport goods by truck. The Court said requiring C.H. Robinson to exercise ordinary care in selecting a carrier “concerns” motor vehicles, especially the trucks that would transport the goods.
Because of that, the Court held that Montgomery’s claim falls within the FAAAA’s safety exception and is not preempted.
C.H. Robinson and the United States argued that reading the safety exception that way would swallow the FAAAA’s preemption rule. The Court rejected that argument, saying the safety exception does not save every preempted claim. It saves only claims involving regulations concerning motor vehicle safety.
The Court also rejected C.H. Robinson’s argument that the ruling creates a statutory anomaly involving another section of the law. Barrett wrote that it would be “even odder” to say that an alleged tort involving the negligent hiring of an unsafe motor carrier whose truck caused injury is not an exercise of state safety authority with respect to motor vehicles. The Court said, “Better to live with the mystery than to rewrite the statute.”
Justice Kavanaugh agreed with the ruling but wrote separately to say the case was closer than the Court’s opinion might suggest. He said brokers are intermediaries between shippers and trucking companies: shippers contract with brokers, and brokers select motor carriers to move the goods.
Kavanaugh wrote that brokers do not own or lease the trucks and do not hire the drivers. But he said the FAAAA was aimed at economic deregulation, not safety deregulation, and that it would be hard to read the statute as leaving trucking companies subject to state tort suits while giving brokers categorical immunity from tort liability for negligently selecting an unsafe trucking company.
Kavanaugh also noted that federal law does not require brokers to take substantial steps to ensure they select safe trucking companies. He wrote that brokers may sometimes become aware that a particular carrier operates unsafe trucks or hires unfit drivers.
At the same time, Kavanaugh said the decision should not be read to mean brokers will routinely face state tort liability after truck accidents. He wrote that brokers should be able to defend against state tort suits if they acted reasonably and arranged transportation with reputable trucking companies.
Kavanaugh also acknowledged the brokers’ concerns that litigation and insurance costs could be significant and could affect consumers through higher prices. But he said those concerns did not carry the day under the text of the statute, and that brokers and their supporters may ask Congress and the President to change federal law.
The case now returns for further proceedings. The Supreme Court did not rule that C.H. Robinson is liable. It ruled that Montgomery’s negligent-hiring claim is not barred by federal preemption.
Supreme Court Opinion
Supreme Court Docket
Supreme Court Oral Argument Audio and Transcript
Current Events
Oneida Police Say Four Adults Arrested After 14-Year-Old Girl Was Found Weighing 35 Pounds
The Oneida Police Department says four adults were arrested after an extensive child neglect investigation in the Town of Oneida, Wisconsin.
In a November 12 press release, Oneida Police Chief Eric H. Boulanger said the department concluded the investigation on November 10 and executed a search warrant at a residence in the Green Earth Trailer Court with assistance from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office.
Police said Walter S. Goodman III, Melissa S. Goodman, Savanna L. Lefever, and Kayla R. Stemler were taken into custody without incident.
According to the police release, Walter Goodman, Savannah Lefever, and Kayla Stemler were charged through the Outagamie County District Attorney’s Office with three counts of chronic neglect of a child where the consequence is great bodily harm and two counts of chronic neglect of a child where the consequence is emotional damage.
The police release said Melissa Goodman was in custody and expected to be charged later that week. No official charging document for Melissa Goodman was located in the primary-source material reviewed.
A Wisconsin criminal complaint dated November 11 charges Walter S. Goodman III with five counts of chronic neglect of a child, as party to a crime. The complaint says law enforcement began investigating after learning that on August 21, 2025, a 14-year-old girl identified as MJG was gravely ill and weighed only 35 pounds.
The complaint says MJG lived with her father Walter Goodman, her stepmother Melissa Goodman, her adult stepsister Savanna Lefever, Savanna’s partner Kayla Stemler, and a stepbrother in a trailer in the Town of Oneida.
The complaint says MJG began living with Walter, Melissa, Savanna, and her stepbrother in spring 2020. Kayla Stemler moved into the residence in August 2021.
According to the complaint, as of August 2025, Walter had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and was on the transplant list. The complaint says Melissa and Savanna were “extremely obese, to the point of being nearly bed-bound,” and rarely left the residence. Kayla was the only one who worked outside the home.
The complaint says that when Walter and Melissa both left the house, including when the stepbrother was receiving treatment at Children’s Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Savanna and Kayla were left responsible for MJG’s care.
The complaint also says neither MJG nor her stepbrother had attended in-person school since school went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. MJG had previously attended school in person in Oneida and then virtually for the 2020–2021 school year. The complaint says she was reportedly homeschooled from the 2021–2022 school year through the 2024–2025 school year.
On August 21, Walter Goodman called 911 and said his 14-year-old daughter barely ate, looked “really skinny,” had been sick and vomiting for several days, was lethargic, appeared almost comatose, and was moaning.
The first responding officer saw Walter carrying MJG down the driveway. According to the complaint, the officer observed that MJG appeared severely underweight and malnourished, with her collar bone, rib cage, hip, and cheek bones very prominent. The officer said she looked to be the size of a 6- to 8-year-old child.
MJG was taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay. The complaint says a nurse reported that MJG weighed 35 pounds, had a large bruise on her forehead, had a blood sugar level of 24, was intubated, and was being transported by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee.
Medical records from Children’s Wisconsin cited in the complaint say MJG was diagnosed with severe malnutrition and signs of multiorgan dysfunction, including acute respiratory failure, cardiac dysfunction, severe acute hepatitis, pancreatitis, coagulopathy, hypothermia, hypoglycemia, and electrolyte derangements.
The complaint says MJG had little to no fat stores, visible ribs and spine, protruding hip bones, sparse and patchy hair, pallor, dry flaky skin, and multiple sores on bony prominences.
Medical records cited in the complaint say MJG later tolerated an age-appropriate diet and fluid intake, and that her improvement with nutrition was consistent with severe malnutrition rather than an organic medical cause. The complaint also says the lack of height gain since her last known data point indicated significant malnutrition over an extended period, likely years.
The complaint cites a witness who said Walter told him, “If she misbehaves, I’m not going to feed her today.” The same witness said Walter told him, “Well I keep her locked up in her bedroom with a camera on her, and that’s where she stays.” The witness also said Walter told MJG, “I wish I could kill you.”
The complaint also cites messages that appeared to discuss MJG being accompanied to the bathroom and then locked in her room afterward. Other messages cited in the complaint refer to MJG as “dummy” and “stupid,” and one message from Melissa says, “Go slap her ass again.”
The complaint says messages from August 20 and August 21 show Melissa and Savanna discussing MJG being sick, throwing up, acting “weird,” possibly having seizures, and not getting up before Walter called 911.
The primary-source record reviewed supports that four adults were arrested, that three were charged as of the Oneida Police release, and that Walter Goodman’s criminal complaint alleges years of chronic neglect, confinement, lack of medical care, and severe malnutrition involving a 14-year-old girl found weighing 35 pounds.
Oneida Police Department Press Release
State of Wisconsin Criminal Complaint
Mother Charged After Erie Apartment Fire Killed Three Children
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office says Danozjna Shalita Marjie Williams was arrested after a March 29 apartment fire killed three of her children in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Williams is charged with third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, and recklessly endangering another person.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, search warrants revealed evidence that Williams left the children home unsupervised when the fire broke out.
Police allege Williams was gone for approximately 50 minutes to facilitate a drug transaction.
Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz said, “This is a heartbreaking, but completely preventable tragedy.”
Hirz also said, “The evidence shows these young children were left without supervision in a situation where they needed their mother to protect them and keep them safe. That duty was abandoned, with devastating consequences.”
The District Attorney’s Office says Williams had a preliminary arraignment on May 8, and bail was denied.
No official criminal complaint, search warrant affidavit, fire marshal report, or official cause-of-fire report was located in the primary-source material reviewed. The publicly available primary-source statement does not confirm claims that the children were barricaded in a room, that a landlord called Williams during the fire, or that Williams hung up on anyone during the incident.
Erie County District Attorney Statement
Santa Clara County Sues Meta Over Scam Advertisements
On May 11, Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti filed a civil prosecution against Meta Platforms, Inc. and Instagram, LLC, alleging the companies knowingly facilitated and profited from scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.
The case was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court by the People of the State of California, acting by and through Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. The complaint alleges violations of California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law.
Santa Clara County says the case is the first of its kind brought in California and the first brought by a local civil prosecutor in the nation.
The County says the lawsuit alleges Meta knowingly facilitates and profits from billions of scam advertisements that defraud seniors and families and squeeze legitimate small businesses out of fair access to consumers.
The complaint alleges Meta platforms are involved in one third of Internet scams in the United States and that consumers around the world are exposed to 15 billion scam ads on Meta platforms each day.
The complaint also alleges scam ads bring Meta about $7 billion in revenue each year.
According to the complaint, since 2024, Meta has charged advertisers it identifies as likely engaged in fraud at higher rates than other advertisers. The complaint calls this a “penalty bid” for those advertisers to participate in the ad-placement process.
The complaint alleges Meta’s own systems flag ads that are likely scams, but instead of stopping them, Meta charges scam advertisers a premium price to run them. Santa Clara County says that practice both facilitates and monetizes deception.
The complaint also alleges Meta has set “revenue guardrails” on scam-prevention efforts. According to the complaint, in the first half of 2025, the team responsible for vetting questionable advertisers was not allowed to take actions that could cost Meta more than 0.15% of the company’s total revenue.
The County alleges Meta’s tools help scammers create and refine ads. The complaint points to Advantage+ creative, a suite of Meta-designed tools that uses artificial intelligence to generate alternate text and images for ads.
The complaint also alleges Meta promotes supposedly vetted “Business Partners” that help advertisers place ads. According to the complaint, some of those partners advertised services including “black hat” services, ad account rentals, high-limit pre-approved accounts, and whitelisted ad accounts.
The County says the scams include fraudulent financial products, cryptocurrency schemes, purported cures for incurable diseases, ineffective nutritional supplements, and impersonations of celebrities asking for monetary contributions.
LoPresti said, “Meta’s platforms have become a preferred hunting ground for scammers, and our lawsuit alleges that Meta not only knows it but has put in place systems and tools to ensure it profits from it.”
He continued, “No corporation is above the law. As civil prosecutors in Silicon Valley, we cannot allow a tech company as powerful as Meta to continue perpetrating a worldwide scheme to deceive consumers.”
The complaint also alleges Meta publicly claims it is fighting scams while internally prioritizing revenue. The complaint cites Meta’s public statements that it “aggressively” fights fraud and scams, that scam prevention is a “top priority,” and that it is constantly working to detect and block accounts that deceive, misrepresent, defraud, and exploit people for money or property.
Meta’s own Transparency Center says that in 2025, Meta removed more than 159 million scam ads, with 92% removed before anyone reported them. Meta also says it took down 10.9 million accounts associated with scam centers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Santa Clara County is asking the court to declare Meta’s alleged conduct unlawful, issue an injunction, require restitution, impose civil penalties, impose enhanced penalties for conduct affecting senior citizens or disabled persons, award treble relief, and award attorneys’ fees and costs.
The complaint has not been proven in court. No final ruling has been issued.
Santa Clara County Press Release
Santa Clara County Complaint
Santa Clara County Counsel Case Page
Santa Clara County Press Conference
Meta Transparency Center Integrity Report
Officials Say Cambridge Gunman Fired More Than 60 Rounds At Traffic Before Trooper And Armed Civilian Shot Him
On Monday, May 11, officials in Massachusetts said a man opened fire on vehicles along Memorial Drive in Cambridge during the early afternoon.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble, and Cambridge Acting Police Commissioner Pauline Wells said the shooting happened on Memorial Drive between River Street and Pleasant Street Extension.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m., Cambridge Police received a call from Boston Police reporting that a person later connected to the shooting might be in Cambridge, had been acting erratically, and was believed to be in possession of a rifle.
Cambridge Police and Massachusetts State Police responded to the area. Officials said Massachusetts State Police arrived and saw an active shooter situation.
According to the official statement, the suspect was on foot, walking east in the roadway, allegedly armed with an assault-style rifle, and was “actively firing in an erratic fashion at vehicles in the roadway.”
Officials said the suspect allegedly shot two male victims who were inside separate cars. Both victims were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Officials said the victims were not known to the suspect.
The suspect was confronted by a Massachusetts State Police trooper and a civilian who was legally in possession of a firearm. Officials said that after being confronted, the suspect continued firing and struck a State Police cruiser.
Both the trooper and the civilian fired their weapons. The suspect was struck multiple times in the extremities, treated at the scene by police officers, and transported to a Boston hospital.
Officials identified the suspect as Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston. The official statement said Brown was in custody at the hospital and was expected to be charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and firearms offenses.
The preliminary investigation found that upwards of 60 rounds were fired within a very short period of time. Officials said the suspect created “a extraordinarily dangerous situation” during a busy part of the afternoon, while people were driving, walking, biking, and rowing on the river.
The investigation remains active and is being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts State Police, and Cambridge Police.
Cambridge Police Statement
Official Press Conference Replay
DOJ Announces Criminal Charges Against Dali Operators In Key Bridge Collapse
The Justice Department announced Tuesday, May 12, that a federal court unsealed an indictment against two corporate entities and a company official tied to the March 26, 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The indictment charges Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, based in Singapore; Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, based in Chennai, India; and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who worked for both companies as the Technical Superintendent for the M/V Dali.
The Dali was a 900-foot foreign-flag container vessel registered in Singapore. On March 26, 2024, the ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge as it was leaving the Port of Baltimore. DOJ says the indictment alleges economic loss of at least $5 billion.
The defendants are charged with conspiracy, willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and false statements. The two Synergy corporations are also charged with misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Refuse Act for the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including shipping containers and their contents, oil, and the bridge itself.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said, “The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence. This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster. Six construction workers lost their lives, critical infrastructure was destroyed, pollutants were released into the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay, and the economic damage now exceeds five billion dollars.”
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland said, “This indictment is the first step in our efforts to hold those accountable who caused the tragic deaths of six people and catastrophic damage to our region.”
According to DOJ, the indictment alleges that the Dali lost power twice in a four-minute span as it navigated out to sea from the Port of Baltimore. DOJ says a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard likely caused the first power loss.
The ship was originally designed with redundancies and automatic restart capabilities so it could quickly regain power after a blackout. DOJ says the Dali regained power after the first blackout, but then lost power again.
According to DOJ, the indictment alleges the defendants altered the ship and relied on a flushing pump to supply fuel to two of the Dali’s four generators. The flushing pump was not designed to automatically restart after a blackout. Because the generators could not operate without fuel, the Dali experienced a second blackout.
DOJ says the indictment alleges that if the Dali had used the proper fuel supply pumps, the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the Key Bridge.
Synergy and Nair are also charged with obstruction of an agency proceeding and providing false statements and documents to the National Transportation Safety Board. DOJ says the obstruction charges relate in part to Nair’s statements to the NTSB that he did not know the Dali was using the flushing pump to provide fuel to two of the generators.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson said in prepared remarks that the indictment alleges criminal conduct that led to six deaths, the destruction of the Key Bridge, the discharge of pollution into the Patapsco River, and the closure of the Port of Baltimore. He also said prosecutors allege the Dali experienced two blackouts at port the day before the allision, and that Synergy employees did not investigate or report those blackouts as required.
The NTSB said in November 2025 that a single loose wire on the 984-foot-long Dali caused an electrical blackout that led the vessel to contact the Francis Scott Key Bridge. NTSB investigators said the sequence led to two vessel blackouts and the loss of both propulsion and steering near the bridge. Six highway workers died.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office also announced Tuesday that Maryland reached a final $2.25 billion settlement with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, the owner and operator of the Dali, resolving the state’s claims against those parties. The settlement does not resolve Maryland’s claims against Hyundai Heavy Industries, the shipbuilder. Maryland says it intends to pursue those claims.
DOJ says the FBI, Coast Guard Investigative Service, and EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
DOJ Press Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release
DOJ Press Conference Video Page
DOJ Press Conference Replay
DOJ Prepared Remarks
NTSB Release
NTSB Final Report PDF
Maryland Attorney General Settlement Release
Coast Guard And Air Force Rescue 11 After Plane Goes Down Off Florida Coast
The U.S. Coast Guard says 11 Bahamian adults were rescued Tuesday, May 12, after a civilian aircraft went down approximately 80 miles off Melbourne, Florida.
According to the Coast Guard, an emergency locator transmitter from a twin-engine turboprop airplane alerted Southeast District watchstanders to a potential distress situation at approximately 11:00 a.m.
The Coast Guard says a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater C-27 aircrew was launched to search. A Patrick Space Force Base HC-130J Combat King II aircrew was already airborne on a training mission and also assisted in locating the downed aircraft and nearby life raft.
The Air Force Reserve Command says a 920th Rescue Wing HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter crew was also already airborne on a routine training mission when the alert came in. The crew was redirected to assist in the search and rescue effort.
Working with the Coast Guard and other Air Force rescue assets, the 920th Rescue Wing helped locate and recover 11 Bahamian adults from a life raft near the downed aircraft.
The Air Force says the HH-60W crew hoisted all 11 survivors and transported them to awaiting emergency medical services at Melbourne Orlando International Airport. All survivors were reported in stable condition.
The Coast Guard says the airplane reportedly left Marsh Harbor, Bahamas, and was headed for Freeport. The Air Force says the aircraft reportedly experienced engine failure and that Bahamian authorities will investigate the cause of the incident.
Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer Omar Colon, a command duty officer for the Southeast Coast Guard District, said the support from Patrick Space Force Base and coordination among responding agencies “directly contributed to the successful rescue of 11 survivors from the downed aircraft.”
Colon said the agencies’ rapid response, professionalism, and commitment to saving lives were instrumental in bringing everyone home safely.
Col. Chadd Bloomstine, commander of the 920th Operations Group, said the rescue showed the readiness and interoperability the Airmen train for every day.
“Our crews were already airborne conducting training when the call came in, and they immediately transitioned from training to real-world rescue operations alongside our Coast Guard and interagency partners,” Bloomstine said. “We are proud to have played a role in bringing 11 people home safely.”
No official final cause has been released. The Air Force says Bahamian authorities will investigate the incident.
U.S. Coast Guard Statement
Air Force Reserve Command Statement
Air Force Article With Rescue Video
South Carolina Supreme Court Overturns Alex Murdaugh Murder Convictions And Orders New Trial
On Wednesday, May 13, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial.
Murdaugh was convicted on March 2, 2023, of murdering his wife, Margaret Murdaugh, and his son, Paul Murdaugh. He was also convicted of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The trial court sentenced him to life in prison.
The Supreme Court reversed the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial because of former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill’s improper contact with jurors.
The court wrote that Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice,” denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. The court said every person is entitled to a fair trial before an impartial jury, untainted by outside forces pushing the jury toward a biased verdict.
Murdaugh moved for a new trial on October 27, 2023. He argued that Hill tampered with the jury by advising jurors not to believe his testimony and defense evidence, pressuring the jury to reach a quick guilty verdict, and misrepresenting information to the trial court in an attempt to remove a juror she believed favored the defense.
According to the opinion, one juror testified that before Murdaugh testified, Hill said to “watch his actions” and “watch him closely.” The juror said Hill’s comments made it feel like Murdaugh was already guilty.
The opinion also quotes the juror’s affidavit saying Hill told the jury “not to be fooled” by the evidence presented by Murdaugh’s attorneys, which the juror understood to mean that Murdaugh would lie when he testified. The affidavit also said Hill instructed jurors to “watch him closely,” including to “look at his actions” and “look at his movements,” which the juror understood to mean he was guilty.
The juror also testified that when deliberations began, Hill told the jury, “This shouldn’t take us long.”
The Supreme Court held that Hill’s comments triggered the presumption of prejudice and that the state failed to rebut it. The court said Hill’s position as clerk of court and primary caretaker of the jury amplified the effect of her comments.
The court rejected the idea that the comments were harmless because only a limited number of jurors heard them or because the state’s evidence was strong. The opinion says a defendant is entitled to be tried by twelve impartial jurors, not nine or ten.
The court wrote that the state’s case rested largely on circumstantial evidence and that Murdaugh’s credibility was a key part of his defense. The court said Hill’s repeated comments challenging Murdaugh’s credibility directly undermined that defense.
The court said Hill’s “egregious, improper jury interference went to the heart of the case and unquestionably was intended to push the jury to a guilty verdict.”
The Supreme Court also gave guidance for the retrial on the use of Murdaugh’s financial-crimes evidence. At the time of the murder trial, Murdaugh had been accused of and indicted for numerous financial crimes. During his testimony, he admitted committing financial crimes, though he had not yet been convicted. After trial, he pleaded guilty in state and federal court and was sentenced to concurrent terms of 27 years in state prison and 40 years in federal prison.
The court said the prosecution may again seek to use financial-crimes evidence to argue motive, but warned that if the trial court admits that evidence on retrial, the state must present it efficiently and avoid lengthy inflammatory details with little or no probative value.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office disagrees with the decision and will retry the case.
Wilson said, “While we respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision, my Office will aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible. Let me be clear—this decision does not mean Murdaugh will be released. He will remain in prison for his financial crimes. No one is above the law and, as always, we will continue to fight for justice.”
The case now returns for a new trial. The Supreme Court’s ruling does not acquit Murdaugh. It overturns the murder convictions because the court found he was denied his right to a fair trial before an impartial jury.
South Carolina Supreme Court Opinion
South Carolina Attorney General Statement
Grenade-Type IED Found Underwater At Alabama Reservoir Dam
The Mobile Area Water and Sewer System says divers found a grenade-type improvised explosive device underwater at the Converse Reservoir dam in Mobile, Alabama.
MAWSS said the device was discovered while divers were performing routine repair and maintenance work on the dam. After the device was found, MAWSS alerted the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
According to MAWSS, the Sheriff’s Office coordinated a multi-agency response that included the Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Response and Render-Safe Team, FBI Bomb Squad, Mobile Police Department Explosive Ordinance Detail, ALEA Bomb Squad, Daphne Search and Rescue Team, and other local, state, and federal partners.
MAWSS said the device was retrieved and safely detonated by the Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Response and Render-Safe Team.
MAWSS said the Converse Reservoir and dam are federally designated critical infrastructure, and the Department of Homeland Security was made aware of the incident.
MAWSS Director Bud McCrory said, “Our top priority is keeping your drinking water safe. This unprecedented threat was met with a coordinated and professional response, and we’re fortunate it was discovered before it could damage our water supply or harm anyone.”
McCrory said MAWSS is continuously reviewing and updating its security protocols to protect essential infrastructure.
No suspect, arrest, motive, or timeline for when the device was placed has been announced in the primary-source material reviewed.
Mobile Area Water and Sewer System Statement
Harvey Weinstein Case Ends In Mistrial After Third Trial On Jessica Mann Charge
On Friday, May 15, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Harvey Weinstein’s latest New York trial ended in a mistrial.
The trial centered on the unresolved third-degree rape charge involving Jessica Mann. Bragg said Mann has now testified “during three separate trials,” and said his office will consider its next steps after consulting with Mann and weighing Weinstein’s pending sentencing from last year’s New York conviction involving Miriam Haley.
Weinstein’s original New York conviction came in 2020, when a jury convicted him of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. The New York Court of Appeals later overturned that conviction in 2024, ruling that the trial court improperly allowed testimony about uncharged alleged prior sexual acts and other alleged misconduct. The court said the combined effect of those rulings was not harmless and ordered a new trial.
That retrial produced a split result in June 2025. Bragg said a New York jury convicted Weinstein of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree for sexually assaulting Miriam Haley. The jury could not reach a verdict on the third-degree rape charge involving Mann, and Weinstein was acquitted of Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree on the charge involving Kaja Sokola.
This week’s mistrial means the Mann count remains unresolved. Bragg said, “While we are disappointed that the proceedings ended with a mistrial, we deeply respect the jury system and sincerely thank all of the jurors for their time and dedication.”
Bragg also said, “For nearly a decade, Jessica Mann has fought for justice. Over the course of many weeks during three separate trials, she relived unthinkably painful experiences in front of complete strangers.”
Weinstein has still been convicted in other proceedings. In New York, he is awaiting sentencing on the 2025 conviction involving Miriam Haley. In California, Los Angeles County said a jury convicted Weinstein in 2022 of one count of forcible rape, one count of forced oral copulation, and one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, all tied to an assault of a woman in February 2013.
No primary-source defense statement from this week’s mistrial was found.
Manhattan DA Statement On Mistrial
Manhattan DA Statement After 2025 Conviction
New York Court of Appeals Decision
Los Angeles County Conviction Statement
Chinese-American SMU Professor Sues University, Alleging Discrimination Favoring Indian-Origin Faculty
A Chinese-American accounting professor at Southern Methodist University is suing the school in federal court, alleging SMU’s Cox School of Business discriminated against non-Indian faculty in tenure decisions.
The case is Sean Wang v. Southern Methodist University, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The docket lists the case as a civil rights employment case under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the federal law covering race discrimination in contracts and employment.
Wang is listed by SMU as an assistant professor of accounting at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business. SMU’s own faculty page says his research has been published in top academic journals including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, and Management Science.
In his original complaint, Wang says he is Chinese-American and alleges SMU discriminated against him based on race, ethnicity, ancestry, and national origin. He also alleges SMU retaliated against him after he opposed the alleged discrimination.
The central allegation is that SMU’s Accounting Department favored Indian-origin candidates for tenure while rejecting non-Indian candidates who met the same publication standard.
Wang’s complaint says the Cox School Promotion and Tenure Manual used a productivity standard of “at least four (4) top-tier publications within the six (6) year probationary period.” The current Cox tenure policy posted by SMU says a “reasonable productivity range” is four to six top-tier publications, while also saying tenure review is based on the overall significance of the candidate’s research portfolio and that no single criterion is enough by itself.
Wang alleges that since Hemang Desai, an Indian-origin faculty member, became a full professor at SMU in 2006, the Accounting Department granted tenure to “100 percent of Indian-origin candidates” who met the four-publication standard, while denying tenure to “100 percent of non-Indian candidates” who met the same standard. The complaint identifies the Indian-origin candidates as Neil Bhattacharya and Gauri Bhat, and the non-Indian candidates as Mina Pizzini, Chris Hogan, Jing Pan, Jeff Yu, and Wang.
Wang says his own record exceeded the school’s stated benchmark. The complaint alleges he had ten articles in top-tier journals, “more than double any other Cox School faculty member in the department’s history at the time of their tenure application.”
The complaint says Wang was still told he needed “more citations” and “more visibility,” and later was described as a “bad fit” for the department. Wang alleges that “bad fit” was a pretext for discrimination.
The complaint also cites internal and outside faculty assessments supporting Wang. It says SMU professor Robin Pinkley wrote that reliance on “fit” was “self-serving” and that Wang’s case “was not treated in an unbiased manner consistent with the P&T document and our commitment to equity.” It says SMU finance professor Pab Jotikashtira found Wang “very significantly more productive than Gauri Bhat” and said “any reasonable person would deem Sean’s citation count as more than sufficient for tenure.” It says University of Texas professor Jeff Hales described Wang as “an outstanding researcher with few comparable peers.”
Wang also alleges discriminatory office assignments. The complaint says that when offices were reassigned in spring 2024, SMU assigned Indian male faculty to prime offices overlooking Bishop Boulevard and the quad, while East Asian faculty were assigned offices on the opposite end of the hallway.
The complaint further alleges SMU recorded Wang as “White” in HR and EEO records despite his self-identification as Chinese/East Asian. Wang says the entry was not a simple mistaken checkbox because “white” was typed into the form. He alleges the classification created false records that removed recognition of his minority status.
According to the complaint, the tenure vote at the department level came on November 19, 2024. Wang says Desai informed him of a negative vote of 3-1, with all three Indian faculty voting against tenure and one non-Indian faculty member voting in favor.
Wang says he appealed internally, filed grievances, and filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He alleges SMU then retaliated against him by maintaining the tenure denial, issuing a terminal-year notice, conducting sham investigations and appeals, and ending his employment.
Wang is asking the court to require SMU to grant him tenure and promotion to associate professor, give him an expedited conflict-free review for promotion to full professor, stop discriminatory practices in tenure and promotion decisions, and implement written policies prohibiting subjective “fit” criteria in tenure decisions. He also seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, back pay, front pay, benefits, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
SMU filed an answer to Wang’s amended complaint on January 16, 2026. The docket and filing snippets show SMU denies the allegations and denies that Wang is entitled to relief.
The case remains pending. The docket lists trial for the one-week docket beginning February 1, 2027, before Senior Judge David C. Godbey.
Federal Court Docket
Original Complaint
SMU Faculty Page For Sean Wang
Finance
Foreclosures Jumped in Q1, But Delinquencies Are the Bigger Warning Sign
Foreclosures rose sharply in the first quarter of 2026, but the financial pressure underneath the housing market may be the bigger story.
Property-data firm ATTOM reported 118,727 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in Q1. That was up 6% from the previous quarter and up 26% from the first quarter of 2025. Foreclosure filings include default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions.
The national foreclosure rate was one filing for every 1,211 housing units. The worst state rates were in Indiana, South Carolina, Florida, Delaware, and Illinois.
Foreclosure starts also rose sharply. ATTOM says 82,631 properties started the foreclosure process in Q1, up 20% from last year. Completed foreclosures rose even faster, with lenders repossessing 14,020 properties, up 45% from one year earlier.
For context, this is still nowhere near 2007 foreclosure levels. RealtyTrac reported more than 2.2 million foreclosure filings on nearly 1.3 million properties in 2007, with more than 1% of U.S. households entering some stage of foreclosure that year. ATTOM’s Q1 2026 rate of one filing for every 1,211 housing units is less than one-tenth of that annual 2007 household foreclosure rate.
But the delinquency numbers are much closer. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the mortgage delinquency rate was 4.44% in Q1 2026. In Q4 2007, MBA reported a delinquency rate of 5.82%. That means the current delinquency rate is more than 75% of the 2007 rate, even though foreclosure activity itself remains far lower.
MBA also says 0.64% of mortgage loans were in the foreclosure process at the end of Q1 2026, up 11 basis points from the previous quarter and up 15 basis points from one year earlier. In Q4 2007, MBA reported foreclosure inventory at 2.04%.
The New York Fed’s Q1 household debt report also showed mortgage stress moving higher. Mortgage balances reached $13.19 trillion at the end of March. Mortgage transitions into early delinquency ticked down from 3.9% to 3.8%, but transitions into serious delinquency increased from 1.4% to 1.5%.
The story is not that the country is suddenly back in 2007. The foreclosure rate is still much lower. But delinquencies are already more than three-quarters of the 2007 level, and foreclosures, foreclosure starts, and completed repossessions are all rising fast from last year.
ATTOM Q1 2026 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report
MBA Q1 2026 Mortgage Delinquency Survey Release
MBA Q4 2007 National Delinquency Survey
RealtyTrac 2007 Foreclosure Market Report Summary
New York Fed Q1 2026 Household Debt and Credit Report
New York Fed Q1 2026 Household Debt and Credit PDF
Markets
Markets were flat this week. Gold was the biggest loser, dropping 3.4% and closing trading at $4561 / ounce.
The Dow Jones lost 83 points, a .17% drop, closing at 49,526.
The NASDAQ fell 22 points, a .08% move with a close of 26,225.
The S&P 500 picked up a whopping 10 points, gaining .14% and closing at 7408.
Rich Stephens
The Cold Take