以色列和黎巴嫩同意将停火协议延长45天

2026年5月16日 07:26 / 联合早报

以色列和黎巴嫩同意将停火协议延长45天

以色列星期五（5月15日）在宣布同意延长停火协议同一天，持续对黎巴嫩展开空袭。图为黎巴嫩南部遭到袭击，现场窜出滚滚浓烟。 （路透社）

美国宣布，以色列和黎巴嫩同意将停火协议延长45天，并就政治解决方案举行扩大谈判。

法新社报道，以色列和黎巴嫩在华盛顿举行两天会晤后，双方星期五（5月15日）同意延长原定于星期天（17日）到期的停火协议。

美国国务院发言人皮戈特说，停火协议“将延长45天，以便取得进一步进展”。

他说，五角大楼将于5月29日召集两国军队代表团举行会晤，而美国国务院将于6月2日和3日举行旨在达成永久政治协议的谈判。

率领以色列代表团的以色列驻华盛顿大使莱特在会谈后说，首要任务是确保以色列的安全。他在社媒X发文说：“谈判过程中会有起伏，但成功的可能性很大。”

黎巴嫩代表团发声明说，延长停火期限和启动军事会谈将为“我们的公民提供至关重要的喘息之机”，目标是实现“持久稳定”。

黎巴嫩总理萨拉姆在贝鲁特的一次非政府组织晚宴上发表讲话说，黎巴嫩已经“受够这些为外国项目或利益服务的鲁莽冒险”，显然在暗讽真主党。

他说，最近一次的行动带来“一场我们并非自愿却被迫卷入的战争，导致以色列占领了68个城镇和村庄”。

以色列一直在猛烈轰炸黎巴嫩，并入侵黎巴嫩南部，以回应真主党的炮火。真主党是一个受伊朗支持的组织，并未参与停火谈判。

黎巴嫩指出，在星期五停火协议续签后不久，以军便对黎南部奈拜提耶地区发动多轮空袭，造成至少12人死亡，包括三名医护人员。以军也对提尔地区多个城镇发动空袭，造成至少37人受伤，包括医护人员、妇女和儿童。

真主党则称，他们使用无人机袭击北部城市基里亚特什莫纳的以色列军营。

以色列军方承认，有一名以色列士兵在黎巴嫩南部的冲突中丧生。自3月初以来，在与真主党的冲突中丧生的以色列士兵人数已达19人。一名平民承包商也在冲突中丧生。

黎卫生部星期五公布的数据显示，自3月2日黎以战火重燃以来，袭击已造成2951人死亡，以及8988人受伤。

Trump talks up trade deals with China, but experts see no big wins for U.S.

May 15, 2026 / 6:32 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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This week’s summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could ease economic tensions between the countries in the short term, but failed to deliver any breakthrough trade deals, according to some experts.

“I was expecting that China would announce mega purchases of U.S. agriculture, energy and airplanes,” Wendy Cutler, a former negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, told CBS News. “So far, it doesn’t seem like Trump and his team have a lot to show for the visit.”

President Trump on Friday said the meeting in Beijing had produced “fantastic trade deals” and characterized the trip as an “incredible visit,” while Chinese officials opened the door to new areas of cooperation with the U.S.

“It looks like both sides are saying they got somewhere, but we are not there yet — we are still waiting,” said David Meale, head of the China practice at Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm. “Neither side has come out with a clear statement of details. I don’t think that means it’s a failure or that those deals don’t exist. They just need to cross the Ts and dot the Is on a few things.

One winner likely to emerge from the talks is Boeing. Trump said on Friday that China had agreed to purchase at least 200 aircraft from the U.S. aviation giant and that the number could eventually grow to 750 planes.

Yet the initial aircraft order is smaller than some analysts expected before the summit, according to investment advisory firm Capital Economics. Boeing shares fell 3.8% on Friday, a sign that investors were underwhelmed by the deal news.

Boeing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Trump also said that China agreed to buy more U.S. oil and agricultural products, including “billions of dollars of soybeans” from American farmers.

A White House official told CBS News that Mr. Trump’s trip had delivered important agricultural agreements that expand U.S. farmers’ exports to China and an aircraft purchase agreement that will boost U.S. manufacturing jobs. More details on the agreements are forthcoming, the official added.

The White House also said the U.S. has established what it called a “Board of Trade” and “Board of Investment” to manage the U.S.’s economic relationship with China.

Non-binding commitments

For now, specifics on the deals remain scant, energy and trade experts noted.

“As far as I can tell, this isn’t confirmed, and we haven’t seen a statement saying that China wants to buy X barrels of oil per day from the U.S.,” said China energy policy expert Erica Downs, a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA. “Saying that China wants to buy more energy from the U.S. will please Trump, but it doesn’t bind China to anything.”

Cutler, now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a think tank focused on trade and investment, said she was expecting more details on renewed Chinese commitments to buy other U.S. farm products, including corn and beef.

Economists also noted that the deals with China Mr. Trump touted remain only verbal commitments, with no guarantee they will materialize.

For example, Mr. Trump’s 2017 trip to China led to an agreement for the state-owned China Energy Investment Corporation to invest nearly $84 billion in shale gas and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia. But the plans dissolved as U.S.-China tensions grew.

Trade experts emphasized that U.S. and Chinese officials could iron out such deals in the coming weeks and months.

“This is not their one and only meeting, which could lead to both sides deciding to take their time before they announce anything, rather than rushing,” Cutler noted.

Framework for stability?

Cutler also underlined the potential value of the world’s two largest economies holding constructive talks. Chinese and U.S. officials described the meeting as a way to stabilize the relationship, which deteriorated last year after Mr. Trump imposed tariffs of up to 125% on Chinese imports, prompting countermeasures from China on U.S. products.

“They get to relabel the relationship as stable, and it feels like there is a new framework for how we’re going to engage on the economic front,” Cutler said.

That framework includes the new Board of Trade, which would mediate trade disputes between the countries. As part of that mechanism, the sides would consider lifting tariffs on roughly $30 billion in goods, Reuters reported.

Still, that number is less than 10% of the value of trade between the U.S. and China in 2025, according to Capital Economics.

As of February, China faced a U.S. tariff rate of roughly 32%, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a University of Pennsylvania research group that analyzes the fiscal impact of public policies. Chinese tariffs on U.S. experts average around 10%.

Edited by Alain Sherter

Federal civil rights watchdog wants to stop tracking data on race and sex

2026-05-15T21:28:09.409Z / The Washington Post

Federal civil rights watchdog wants to stop tracking data on race and sex

The EEOC has proposed ending a civil-rights-era program collecting demographic information from private companies.

May 15, 2026 at 5:28 p.m. EDT Yesterday at 5:28 p.m. EDT

(David Zalubowski/AP)

By Meryl Kornfield

The top federal agency for promoting diversity across society is proposing pulling back on its primary initiative to collect demographic data, one that it has conducted for decades.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is considering no longer collecting demographic information including race, sex and national origin from major American companies, departing from a practice that began during the civil rights era of the 1960s and was critical to the agency’s efforts to root out workplace discrimination. The EEOC also wants to ax data reporting rules for apprenticeship programs, unions, state and local governments, and schools, as well as reporting requirements in other civil rights laws that protect workers, including those who are pregnant or have disabilities.

The EEOC notified the White House on Thursday of its proposal, which will be published publicly after a review. It’s not clear what impact the proposal could have on this year’s data collection. The move would align with the administration’s efforts to end diversity programs and deprioritize a key subset of discrimination cases.

The data collection has taken place for 60 years under a plank of the Civil Rights Act called Title VII. The federal EEO-1 report provides demographic and job category data collected from companies with 100 or more employees, and certain federal contractors. The collection typically begins in May. Under the administration of President Joe Biden, the EEOC sued employers that had allegedly not complied with the federal reporting requirements.

The move to reconsider the data collection was not a surprise to those who follow the EEOC’s work. A five-year contract for the collection expired last year and was not renewed, according to federal contracting data. Some attorneys representing employers have advised their clients that they should collect the data as they usually do to comply with the law.

“Employers should continue to collect the information as a best practice, because Title VII obligations are not going away and disparate impact is not going away,” said Christy Kiely, a partner at the Seyfarth Shaw law firm. “It’s been deprioritized, but it’s still in the statute.”

The move follows the administration’s deprioritization of cases under a legal concept called “disparate impact,” which is based on the assumption that racial imbalances in the workplace are a result of discrimination.

The elimination of data collection would fulfill one of the goals listed in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, the blueprint of the second Trump administration, which outlined how the data could be used to support discrimination allegations.

“Crudely categorizing employees by race or ethnicity fails to recognize the diversity of the American workforce and forces individuals into categories that do not fully reflect their racial and ethnic heritage,” wrote Project 2025 author Jonathan Berry, who is now solicitor for the Department of Labor.

Berry appeared alongside Trump-appointed EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas in a webinar in early April where the two laid out the administration’s priorities in employment law cases. Lucas — who issued a viral public appeal in December for White men who think they have experienced discrimination to contact her agency — told an audience of employment lawyers that disparate-impact cases made up a minority of the agency’s workload and the EEOC would continue to focus on intentional discrimination.

The president“wants his enforcement agencies to be focused on I think the most morally offensive type of discrimination, which is intentional discrimination, not inadvertent discrimination, at least as defined by disparate impact in Title VII,” Lucas said.

Lucas highlighted a case her EEOC has brought against a company’s women’s retreat that excluded a man from participating.

Jenny Yang, a former EEOC chair, said the data has previously helped show the enforcement agency where patterns of discrimination might exist, such as instances where qualified individuals in the labor pool are not fully represented in companies’ workforces.

Yang and other previous EEOC leaders issued a statement Friday opposing the proposed change and arguing that it would weaken the federal government’s ability to enforce antidiscrimination laws.

“The EEO-1 data was incredibly valuable, particularly in hiring and promotion investigations,” Yang said. “It’s eliminating important evidence and facts to understand where problems exist.”

Christine Webber, a civil rights and employment lawyer, said a decision to rescind reporting requirements for companies would run counter to the EEOC’s other efforts to collect data from law firms that the administration has targeted. The EEOC also recently won a court battle over requesting information about Jewish people at the University of Pennsylvania as part of an investigation into antisemitism.

“They know perfectly well that the EEOC needs data like that to do its job of enforcing the antidiscrimination laws,” Webber said. “Because if you want to show a pattern of conduct, a pattern of decision-making, data is an essential ingredient.”

Julian Mark contributed to this report.

Supreme Court rejects Virginia Democrats’ bid to revive new congressional map

May 15, 2026 / 6:38 PM EDT / CBS News

By Melissa Quinn

Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Virginia Democrats to revive its new voter-approved congressional map that was drawn to advantage the party for the upcoming midterm elections.

In an unsigned one-sentence order, the Supreme Court left intact a ruling from Virginia’s highest court that invalidated an amendment to the state constitution authorizing adoption of the new House district lines.

Virginia Democrats had mounted a last-ditch effort to restore the new voting boundaries earlier this week, but it was considered a longshot, since the Supreme Court typically does not review interpretations of state law by a state’s highest court.

Democrats have been working to counter Republican-led redistricting efforts in several states to bolster the GOP’s chances of holding onto the House majority in November.

The mid-decade redistricting push began last year after Texas, at President Trump’s urging, adopted a congressional map that could give Republicans five additional House seats. In response, California officials drew — and voters approved — new House boundaries that aimed to net Democrats five new seats, offsetting Republicans’ potential gains in Texas. The Supreme Court has allowed both of those maps to be used in the midterm elections.

State lawmakers in North Carolina, Missouri and Florida have also reconfigured their House voting lines to give Republicans more of an advantage.

In Virginia, Democratic legislative leaders began their effort to redraw the state’s congressional map in October, when the General Assembly first passed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing it to change Virginia’s House districts in the middle of the decade. The measure was approved by state lawmakers a second time in January.

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The issue went before Virginia voters in April, who approved the proposal and cleared the way for the new map.

But days later, the Supreme Court of Virginia blocked the redistricting plan. In a 4-3 decision, the court found that state lawmakers failed to follow the proper process for putting the proposal before voters, in violation of the Virginia Constitution.

State Democratic leaders sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court soon after and argued that the state court’s decision was “deeply mistaken” on issues of federal law.

“By forcing the Commonwealth to conduct its congressional elections using districts different from those adopted by the General Assembly pursuant to a constitutional amendment the people just ratified, the Supreme Court of Virginia has deprived voters, candidates, and the Commonwealth of their right to the lawfully enacted congressional districts,” they wrote in their request.

Virginia Republicans urged the high court not to grant Democrats’ request, arguing that they “have no case on the merits” and that the Supreme Court of Virginia’s decision hinged on state law, not federal law.

The request from Virginia Democrats was just the latest attempt to get the Supreme Court to intervene in state redistricting fights. While states had sought to change their maps for partisan gain, Republicans in some Southern states are also scrambling to redraw their House district boundaries after the Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a landmark decision last month.

Since then, officials in Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee have said they’ll pursue new maps ahead of their primary elections.

美联储发表声明称，在原主席鲍威尔四年任期于星期五（5月15日）届满后，已任命他为临时主席。 （路透社档案照片）

美联储发声明称，已任命鲍威尔为临时主席，直至继任者沃什正式宣誓就职。

彭博社报道，美联储星期五（5月15日）发声明说：“在类似新老主席交接期间，这类做法符合以往惯例。”

鲍威尔的四年主席任期于星期五届满。

不过，美联储负责监管事务的副主席鲍曼和理事米兰说，他们不支持任命鲍威尔为临时主席的决定，因为这种临时代理没有明确期限。

鲍曼和米兰说：“鉴于获参议院确认的提名人即将宣誓就职，我们认为临时主席的任命应限定在一个明确期限内，至少为一周，但考虑到可能出现延迟，我们也支持最长一个月的期限。”

Becerra’s debate-stage beating: Rivals confront Dem California candidate over campaign scandal

May 15, 2026 2:23pm EDT / Fox News

Two former aides’ guilty pleas complicate Becerra’s bid in a tight primary race ahead of California’s June 2 election

By Leo Briceno, Fox News

California rivals pummel Becerra over aide’s campaign theft scandal

Steve Hilton and Katie Porter hammered Xavier Becerra in California’s final gubernatorial debate, citing former aide Dana Williamson’s guilty plea for stealing $225K from his campaign and asking if Becerra was involved. (Credit: KPIX)

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Xavier Becerra was forced to fend off a barrage of attacks from rivals in the race for California governor after a pair of his former employees pleaded guilty in a campaign finance scandal the same day as the debate.

After two of Becerra’s staffers pleaded guilty on Thursday to siphoning money from an inactive campaign account to supplement their salaries, questions emerged over whether the former Health and Human Services secretary knew about, or assisted in, the act — a clear breach of federal restrictions on using campaign funds for personal ends.

The guilty pleas complicate a tense political picture for Becerra, a Democratic frontrunner to replace outgoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Steve Hilton, a Republican frontrunner in the crowded field, said at Thursday’s debate that knowledge of the scheme should disqualify Becerra from pursuing the office any further.

FORMER TOP BIDEN OFFICIAL RIPPED OVER SCANDAL-PLAGUED PAST DURING FIERY DEBATE: ‘MORE FRAUD’

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks during a roundtable discussion with representatives from Child Guidance Center in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.(Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

“Today we learned that he knew about illegal and improper payments from his campaign account to his former chief of staff,” Hilton said.

“Honestly, it pains me to say because I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn’t be on this stage. You shouldn’t be in this race. You should be preparing your criminal defense,” Hilton added.

Becerra has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement ahead of Thursday night’s debate: “I did nothing wrong. Case closed.”

The candidate’s former chief of staff, Sean McCluskie, and California political strategist Dana Williamson pleaded guilty to stealing $225,000 from an out-of-use campaign account that Becerra used to previously pursue a state-level office.

According to prosecutors, McCluskie and Williamson withdrew payments in increments of $7,500 to $10,000 from Becerra’s war chest between 2022 and 2024.

FORMER GAVIN NEWSOM CHIEF OF STAFF CHARGED IN $225K FRAUD AND CORRUPTION SCHEME, DOJ SAYS

Democratic candidates Antonio Villaraigosa, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra and Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco participate in a California gubernatorial debate at East Los Angeles College Auditorium in Monterey Park, Calif., on May 5, 2026, ahead of the June 2 primary elections.(Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

Under Federal Election Commission regulations, government employees are prohibited from using campaign funds for expenses unrelated to the election or official duties.

Becerra countered the attacks at Thursday’s debate by pointing out he hadn’t been named in the case.

Fellow Democratic candidate Katie Porter, a former congresswoman, said that his defense isn’t proof of innocence.

“What the quote was, was that you had not been mentioned in the charging documents,” Porter remarked.

“But as you know, that does not preclude, because you are also a trained attorney, you know that does not preclude an indictment from being issued against you,” she went on. “We do not know what Dana Williamson said about your involvement, and the government will have the ability to reveal that later.”

EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL’S CAMPAIGN FACES HEAT AS MISSING CHILDREN SCANDAL RESURFACES: ‘VOTERS DESERVE BETTER’

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on reproductive rights as Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra listen during an event at the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 8, 2022. Biden signed an executive order on access to reproductive health care services.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In his role as HHS secretary, Becerra advised President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2021 to 2025.

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He began his political career as deputy attorney general of California and served in the California State Assembly from 1990 to 1992. Becerra then held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017 before becaming California attorney general from 2017 to 2021 before being tapped to lead HHS.

The California primary will be held on June 2. The top two candidates will advance to a general election on Nov. 3.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

US government planning dramatic Colorado River water cuts due to drought, overuse

May 15, 2026 4:35 PM UTC / Reuters

By Andrew Hay

May 15, 2026 4:35 PM UTC Updated 1 min ago

[1/2]Tourists look at the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam near Page, Arizona, U.S., May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

• Summary

• Federal plan could cut Arizona, California, Nevada water use by up to 40%
• Proposed cuts nearly double previous state offer, aim to stabilize depleted reservoirs

May 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. government has proposed a new water-sharing ​plan for the drought-stricken Colorado River that could cut up to 40% of current ‌supplies to Arizona, California and Nevada, according to a senior Arizona official.

With a 20-year-old plan expiring this year, and talks between seven states that share the river at an impasse, the federal government late last week intervened with a strategy to ​deal with severe water shortages, according to Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water ​Resources.

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The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation proposed a 10-year plan in which Arizona, California and ⁠Nevada would potentially cut water use by up to 3 million acre-feet per year to maintain water ​levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the river’s severely depleted reservoirs, Buschatzke told a meeting of Arizona ​water stakeholders on Wednesday. Three million acre-feet of water is enough to supply 6 million to 9 million households for one year, more than the number of homes in Arizona and Nevada.

NEARLY TWICE THE CUTS AS BEFORE

The maximum possible federal cuts, ​which would be reviewed every two years based on water levels, are nearly twice as large as ​a May 1 offer by those three lower-basin states to reduce their water use by 1.6 million acre-feet per year.

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“Given the ‌risk ⁠and uncertainty facing the Basin, these elements are designed to provide stability while allowing flexibility to incorporate consensus-based recommendations as they develop,” the Bureau of Reclamation said in a statement on its proposal, without providing further details.

Buschatzke said the federal plan would be either implemented under existing Colorado River law or through agreements ​among the states. He said ​federal officials had indicated ⁠that water cuts across the three lower-basin states would be based on the “priority of the law of the river.” That law, the 1922 Colorado River Compact, ​gives California the highest priority for water use.

Buschatzke described the proposed federal cuts ​as “sobering.”

“That’s us, that’s ⁠Arizona, and potentially CAP going to zero,” said Buschatzke, referring to water flows on the Central Arizona Project, a canal that transports Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona.

Water releases from Powell and Mead, which serve ⁠seven ​states, would range from 5 million to 12 million acre-feet per ​year under the federal plan.

“I think we all know that unless Mother Nature starts doing her job, it’s going to be closer ​to the bottom end of this range,” said Buschatzke.

Reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico Editing by Rod Nickel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy on his reelection campaign and the way he ‘differs’ from RFK Jr. on vaccine policy

2026-05-15 1:37 PM EDT / CNN

By Pamela Brown, CNN

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy on his reelection campaign and the way he “differs” from RFK Jr. on vaccine policy

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is also a physician, joins CNN’s Pamela Brown to discuss his reelection campaign and his complex relationship with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

9:37 • Source: CNN

WATCH: Soros prosecutor’s hearing devolves into angry chaos over illegal immigrant rape case: ‘Be quiet!’

May 15, 2026 1:20pm EDT / Fox News

Rep Brad Knott recounted how Stephen Descano’s office reduced burglary and abduction charges to lesser offenses

By Charles Creitz Fox News

‘Be Quiet’: Lawmaker’s questioning of Soros-backed prosecutor erupts in heated exchange

Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., got into a shouting match with Fairfax County prosecutor Stephen Descano on Thursday.

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A House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing devolved into chaos Thursday as a North Carolina lawmaker demanded Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano “be quiet” while the prosecutor was reamed out over cases including the alleged rape of a 4-year-old girl by an illegal Guatemalan national.

Descano and Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid, a fellow Democrat accused of lax enforcement involving illegal immigrant suspects, sparred with lawmakers during the hearing as many invoked the prosecutor’s written policy and campaign pledge to account for immigration-related “consequences” in prosecutorial discretion decisions.

Descano, however, objected to characterizations of the policy from Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and later Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who both lit into the Soros-backed attorney in charge of prosecuting crimes in Virginia’s largest municipality.

Knott asked Descano if he believes he prosecutes cases in a way that defends the people of Fairfax and erupted at the attorney when he answered in the affirmative.

HOUSE PANEL SUMMONS SOROS-BACKED FAIRFAX PROSECUTOR OVER RELEASES TIED TO VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CASES

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano, left; Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., right.(Tom Williams/Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/Sipa via Reuters)

“When we prosecute… we are constrained by the evidence. We’re constrained by the law. And I will tell you, Congressman, you know, I think what is happening here with the number of cases that we’re talking about –,” Descano began before Knott became angry.

Knott recounted the case of Honduran national Hyrum Baquedano-Rodriguez – who was caught-and-released by an immigration judge in Eloy, Arizona, during the Biden administration – and who was later accused in a graphic case involving the 4-year-old Annandale girl.

Knott noted how the girl’s mother woke up to the child screaming and appearing bruised on her buttocks and torso as the suspect “dropped” the girl and fled in what the lawmaker characterized as a potential attempted abduction.

FAMILY DEMANDS FAR-LEFT PROSECUTOR BE OUSTED FROM OFFICE AFTER SISTER KILLED BY REPEAT OFFENDER

Knott said Fairfax County Police obtained a warrant based on evidence of attempted murder, rape, robbery or arson, which he said carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, while intent to defile a youth carried a maximum life sentence.

Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano is facing heavy criticism following a string of violent crime by illegal immigrants, including the killing of Stephanie Minter (left).(Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images; Fairfax County Police Department)

“Once it was handed over to your office, inexplicably so, you immediately reduced the burglary offense to a misdemeanor, which capped the sentence at 12 months. You then reduced the abduction charge to an offense that was a lower degree and capped the sentence at 10 years.”

“A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children that you dismissed the case — As the father of two young girls. One of them’s five. That is as shameful as anything I have seen,” Knott said as Descano became angry as well:

“Please don’t talk to me like I don’t care about people in my community,” he said, before Knott responded, calling him a “coward.”

Knott, himself a former Raleigh-area prosecutor, lit into Descano over the added fact that a “liberal” judge appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner — now a top Democratic senator — rejected Descano’s plea deal.

“This was not a right-wing judge,” Knott fumed as Descano attempted multiple times to interject while tensions rose.

“Overwhelming evidence,” Knott said — “Can we talk about the evidence — I know it and you don’t,” Descano cut in.

“Quit talking!” Knott hollered. “He yanked a four-year-old girl out of her bed with the intent to harm her. And you wanted to give her a cap of two years?”

“Sir,” Descano attempted.

GUATEMALAN MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORN POSSESSION RELEASED BY FAIRFAX COUNTY DESPITE ICE DETAINER, DHS SAYS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395613125112

“[Let] me ask Mr. Miyares about this,” Knott said as he turned to the former Virginia Republican attorney general seated to Descano’s right, while Descano continued trying to plead his case to the Carolinian.

“Be quiet!” Knott said as he asked Miyares what happens to a suspect after a case dismissal. “He walks free,” Miyares said.

Things did not improve for the Fairfax Democrat when Chairman Thomas McClintock, R-Calif., gave Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, the floor next – as Gill lit into Descano over a written policy that “prosecutors shall consider the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crimes the defendant is charged with and the detrimental impact the deportation removal has on the families and communities.”

Originally, Descano defended against critiques by saying an earlier reference to the policy was part of a campaign pledge, while Gill pressed him further on the issue.

Gill asked about the case of Guatemalan national Jose Cortez-Mendez, accused of “carnal knowledge” of a teenager, which Descano said essentially meant sexual contact under Virginia terminology.

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“[A]n illegal alien who raped an underage American: Your office reduced those charges to a misdemeanor charge of consensual sex with a child 15 years and older. You offered him a 90-day suspended jail sentence, is that correct?”

“How did you weigh the defendant’s immigration status,” Gill added, with Descano replying that he was not the lead prosecutor in that case – which the lawmaker noted meant his office still was involved.

In the case of Baquedano-Rodriguez, ICE Washington Field Office Removal Operations Director Russell Hott said his agency was eventually able to arrest the suspect after Descano’s failed case resulted in his release.

“Every one of his convictions represents another one of our neighbors that Baquedano-Rodriguez has victimized. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities,” Hott said in a statement.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Skeletal remains of new dinosaur weighing as much as 9 elephants discovered by scientists: “The last titan”

May 15, 2026 / 12:57 PM EDT / CBS/AFP

Scientists have identified a massive new dinosaur from remains discovered in Thailand, with the creature estimated to have weighed as much as nine adult elephants.

The long-necked herbivore stretched 88 feet and weighed about 27 tons, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

It probably roamed what is now Thailand between 100 million and 120 million years ago and is the largest ever found in Southeast Asia, researchers said.

They estimated the new dinosaur had the same heft as nine adult Asian elephants.

“Our dinosaur is big by most people’s standards — it likely weighed at least 10 tons more than Dippy the Diplodocus,” said lead researcher Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul, referring to the enormous composite cast previously on display at London’s Natural History Museum.

An artist’s reconstruction shows the dinosaur whose fossils were unearthed in Thailand. Patchanop Boonsai/Handout via Reuters

The Thai Ph.D. student called the newly discovered sauropod “the last titan” because it was unearthed in one the youngest rock formations where dinosaurs are found in Thailand, according to University College London.

The region later became a shallow sea, he added, “so this may be the last or most recent large sauropod we will find in Southeast Asia.”

The first remains of the enormous creature were unearthed a decade ago by locals in northeast Thailand, but the excavation was not completed until 2024, according to the study, published Thursday.

The remains partially resembled those of previously discovered sauropods, but had enough unique features to be considered a new species.

It has been dubbed Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis after a “mythological serpent-like creature found in various Asian cultures, especially in northeastern Thailand, often associated with water and Buddhism, and titan, a giant in Greek mythology,” the authors write.

At the time the Nagatitan roamed the region, the ecosystem’s largest predator was a relative of the meat-eating dinosaur Carcharodontosaurus, which measured about 26 feet long and weighed about 3.5 tons.

“At that size, it was dwarfed by Nagatitan. At full size, Nagatitan likely had very little to fear in terms of predation,” Sethapanichsakul told the Reuters news agency.

Researcher Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul poses with a front leg bone of the Nagatitan at the Sirindhorn Museum in Thailand in a photograph released May 14, 2026. Thitiwoot Sethapanichsakul/Handout via Reuters

A life-size reconstruction is on display at Bangkok’s Thainosaur Museum, according to University College London.

In 2023, a dinosaur skeleton uncovered by scientists in northeastern Thailand was also deemed to be a newly discovered species. The skeleton of Minimocursor phunoiensis — which lived 150 million years ago on what is now the Khorat Plateau — represented “one of the best-preserved dinosaurs ever found in Southeast Asia,” scientists said at the time.