On Monday, the United Kingdom attributed a series of antisemitic arson incidents targeting Jewish sites to a proxy group linked to Iran, leading the government to outlaw the influential Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Tehran and implement extensive measures aimed at curbing foreign-backed acts of sabotage.

According to British authorities, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (IMCR) officially took responsibility for seven attacks this year on locations connected to Jewish and Israeli interests, as well as on a Persian-language media platform that criticizes Iran’s government. The U.K. government reported that the elite Qods Force of the IRGC was “almost certainly” orchestrating the group’s activities throughout Europe.

The spate of attacks included arson at synagogues, vehicles of Jewish charity organizations, and other Jewish community facilities in London. Fortunately, these incidents did not result in any injuries.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that these newly adopted measures deliver a firm warning to foreign entities intent on inciting violence.

“We will never let Britain be a playground for states who want to spread fear, division and violence on our streets,” Starmer said. “Anyone acting on behalf of those who threaten our national security should be in no doubt that there is no place for you in Britain.”

If Parliament approves the designations later this week, anyone carrying out acts of sabotage — including arson — on behalf of the IRGC, IMCR or Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps could face life imprisonment. Supporting or assisting the groups could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years.

The British government said the new authorities, created under the National Security (State Threats) Act 2026, will make it easier for prosecutors to secure convictions because they will no longer have to prove a direct foreign government connection in every case.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused both Tehran and Moscow of relying on criminal proxies to conduct hostile operations inside the United Kingdom.

“Iran and Russia are using proxies and thugs to do their dirty work on our shores,” Mahmood said. “I have rapidly designated three groups so those working for them will be tracked down and put behind bars.”

The government said IMCR emerged online earlier this year and has also claimed responsibility for attacks on synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. British intelligence officials say Iran-backed proxy groups have increasingly recruited members of criminal organizations to carry out sabotage, intimidation and physical attacks across Europe, often targeting Jewish communities and Iranian dissidents.

According to the U.K., MI5 identified at least 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots against individuals in Britain over the past year. The government has already sanctioned more than 550 Iranian-linked individuals and entities and has pledged £250 million ($334,662,500) over three years to strengthen security for Jewish communities, including increased protection for synagogues, schools and community centers.

Britain also designated Russia’s GRU Volunteer Corps, saying the group acts as a proxy for Russian military intelligence by recruiting individuals online to conduct sabotage, arson and other hostile operations.

The crackdown comes just weeks after two Romanian men were sentenced to prison for stabbing a journalist working for a Persian-language television station in London, an attack a British judge said was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state.

Iran did not immediately comment on Monday’s announcement, according to The Associated Press.

Jordan Walker’s season of establishing himself as a powerhouse seemed to reach an exhilarating peak during Monday’s Home Run Derby.

Despite starting the event with the third-longest odds to claim victory, Walker triumphed in a thrilling showdown, edging out Kyle Schwarber 12-11 in the finals held at Citizens Bank Ballpark.

With this impressive feat, Walker became the first Cardinal to ever win the Derby, much to the chagrin of Phillies fans who had anticipated a clear win by Schwarber. Their hopes were dashed with each Walker ball that failed to make it out of the park, only to be reignited when he managed to turn the tide.

In a nail-biting conclusion, Walker needed a streak of six consecutive home runs with only one more swing left to take the title—and he delivered. His three home runs during the bonus round sealed his unforgettable victory.

The Cardinals star needed to hit six home runs in a row, with just one swing left, and did just that. He hit three home runs in the bonus round to clinch the victory.

Hitters can keep swinging until the make an out on their final attempt.

Walker tied Willson Contreras for the lead with 13 home runs in the first round before hitting six home runs on eight swings in the semifinals, advancing while still leaving seven swings on the board.

Sunny Hostin, a familiar face on The View, reportedly invoked her high-profile position during a police encounter involving her son. The incident emerged after her 24-year-old son, Gabriel Hostin, received a trespassing citation in New York last month.

According to The New York Post, Gabriel was spotted jogging along Metro-North tracks, flagrantly disregarding visible ‘no trespassing’ signs. This violation caught the attention of security personnel.

When officers sought to address the situation with Gabriel, Hostin engaged with them via phone. It’s alleged she brought up her association with the renowned talk show, The View, during this conversation.

A source relayed to the outlet that the officers intended only to discuss the trespassing issue with Gabriel. However, the situation reportedly escalated when Hostin intervened, questioning their reasons for stopping her son and speaking with him.

In an effort to assert her influence, Hostin is said to have asked the police if they recognized her, preceding her declaration, “I am Sunny Hostin, I am on The View,” as per the source quoted.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Hostin’s representatives for comment.

Gabriel was reportedly stopped on June 16 near 24 Station Plaza in New Rochelle, New York, after he was seen ‘on the right-of-way of the active railroad tracks, in violation of the posted no trespassing signs.’

The Harvard University graduate is set to appear in New Rochelle court on July 31.

Hostin, a former federal prosecutor and lawyer, is listed as her son’s attorney.

Ahead of his court date, Hostin wrote a letter to Westchester Assistant District Attorney Amanda Greene, the prosecutor on her son’s case, asking the case to be dismissed. 

‘My client is a 2025 Harvard University graduate with no criminal history or prior contact with the criminal justice system,’ she wrote in the letter, obtained by TMZ.

‘He is an avid runner and former Junior Olympian track athlete who was in the area training. When jogging, he observed what appeared to be a gravel incline that could be used for hill training,’ she went on.

‘Although there was a gate at the entrance of the gravel incline, the gates were standing open. The only “No Trespassing” sign was affixed to the left gate and, because the gates were open, it was not visible to my client as he entered the property,’ she claimed. 

‘He reasonably believed the area was accessible and had no intention of entering private property unlawfully.’

Hostin – who has been a co-host on The View since 2016 – added that her son was facing ‘unnecessary consequences’ for an ‘honest mistake.’ 

‘Dismissal would avoid imposing unnecessary consequences on a young man who has demonstrated exceptional character and achievement and who poses no risk to the community,’ she added.

Hostin shares son Gabriel and daughter, Paloma, 20, with orthopedic surgeon Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Hostin, 54.

They’ve been married since August 1998. 

U.S. officials are currently investigating a United Nations agency facing accusations of terrorist connections. The investigation targets over 1,500 employees of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which is designated for Palestinian refugees, probing into their alleged ties with terrorist activities.

Calls for defunding UNRWA have risen among U.S. officials, with longstanding concerns about the agency’s educational content, alleged Hamas tunnels under its schools, and accusations of staff involvement in the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel.

The United Nations conducted an internal investigation in 2024 through its Office of Internal Oversight Services regarding claims involving 19 UNRWA staff in the October 7 incidents. The investigation found no sufficient evidence against 10 employees, but ended in the termination of contracts for the remaining nine employees.

Amidst ongoing scrutiny, the USAID Office of the Inspector General, independent from USAID’s main operations, is continuing its investigation into UNRWA personnel. Recently, it recommended to the State Department that 108 current or former employees should be barred from engaging with U.S.-funded organizations, as they were connected to the Hamas attack or associated with terrorist factions.

A U.S. diplomatic official briefed by USAID OIG investigators confirmed to News Media that at least 1,500 current or former UNRWA employees are under investigation for ties to foreign terrorist organizations in Gaza.

A senior U.S. official who spoke with News Media said that the USAID OIG investigation “smartly picked up where the U.N. failed” by looking beyond Oct. 7 participation. The official said the USAID OIG investigation is “critical, as U.S. taxpayers should never fund the salaries of aid workers that are members of a foreign terrorist organization.” 

The senior official told News Media, “USAID OIG’s investigation is helping prevent terrorists from criss-crossing across aid organizations that have received or are seeking U.S. or Board of Peace funding.”

Hamas was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1997 by the State Department, and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group (SDGT) in 2001.

In the press release describing its effort, the USAID OIG said that individuals referred for debarment included “UNRWA school principals, teachers, security personnel, attendants, psychosocial counselors and medical professionals.”

They included two deputy school principals, one of whom served as a Hamas deputy company commander and another of whom was a squad leader. USAID OIG additionally referred a teacher with “expertise as a sniper for Hamas,” and one who tracked explosive device assignments. Another referred individual was a school principal assigned to a Hamas military manufacturing unit. Under his school, there were “three anti-tank positions and a tunnel shaft.”

In the case of Oct. 7 involvement, the USAID OIG specifically mentioned a teacher ordered “to bring two anti-tank missiles to a prescribed location during the Oct. 7 terror attacks,” and a deputy school principal charged with communications.

The USAID OIG stated that it expects to make further referrals to the State Department in addition to “potential criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.”

As a result of its investigations, the State Department has banned Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa from any future work with U.S. government entities. An UNRWA school principal, Mousa was working with the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion and “coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the Oct. 7 attacks,” the USAID OIG report explains.

In response to News Media’s questions about whether it will blacklist other identified UNRWA employees, a State Department spokesperson said that “it is no surprise that another 100 UNWRA employees were determined to be involved in the barbaric Oct. 7 attack. President Trump and Secretary Rubio have affirmed time and time again that no State Department funding will be provided to UNWRA, which has been totally infiltrated by Hamas and terrorist sympathizers.”

On July 1, the Board of Peace posted on X that UNRWA “has no place in the new Gaza.”

An official briefed on developments with the Board of Peace told News Media that the USAID OIG’s investigations are “quite concerning to us.”

The official explained that “we can’t really have an institution operating inside of Gaza where they’re purportedly delivering aid and services to two million people but also allegedly participating in and supporting terrorism. That is anathema to creating a safe and prosperous Gaza for Gazans.” Moving forward without UNRWA will require being “responsible and deliberate in terms of how we transition those services over to ensure there are no gaps in critical aid delivery, whether it’s health services, vaccinations, food, or other goods.”

Last month, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) posted about the infiltration of UNRWA on X, saying, “It is time for the United States to take action to address this growing problem and the systemic radicalization in UNRWA facilities.” Risch said he would work with the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. “to root out the terrorist links at the U.N.”

The U.S. Representative for United Nations Management and Reform, Ambassador Jeff Bartos, told a U.N. meeting in June on UNRWA funding, that it was time “to break this cycle.”

“This year, you have the choice to stop underwriting an organization that has become a subsidiary of Hamas, whose employees took part in one of the most barbaric terrorist attacks in human history on Oct. 7, 2023,” Bartos said. “This year, you have the choice to give the Palestinian people living in Gaza the opportunity to find durable solutions and prosper, instead of subjecting them to endless cycles of dependency and forever refugeehood.”

Hamas’ theft of aid is continuing to cause harm in Gaza. While not calling out Hamas by name, on Sunday, the U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov released a statement strongly condemning the “obstruction of humanitarian operations in Gaza by the de facto authorities.” He noted that the previous day, “armed personnel affiliated with the de facto authorities forcibly entered the Abu Rashid food distribution point in Jabalia,” and additionally “entered a [World Food Programme] warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies.”

Alakbarov said the incidents “are not isolated” and “reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations.”

News Media reached out to UNRWA for comment.

Nature lovers eager to explore the United States’ expansive national parks might find themselves surprised to learn that one particular location necessitates a passport for entry.

Situated approximately 2,600 miles southwest of Hawaii, the National Park of American Samoa stands as one of the most isolated parks in the U.S. network.

Visitors can reach this remote destination by flying into Pago Pago International Airport on the island of Tutuila. From there, connecting flights can take travelers to the islands of Ta’ū and Ofu, as the park extends over these three islands.

The U.S. Department of the Interior advises that visitors must present a valid U.S. passport or a certified birth certificate to prove American nationality, aligning with the limited travel options available.

Preparation is key when embarking on this adventure, as the park is known for its tropical, humid climate year-round, with downpours common during the wet season from October to May.

Islands to explore

National Park Service officials share details on opportunities to explore each island in the park.

• Tutuila: Discover scenic trails like the Mount ‘Alava Trail, coastal beauty along the Le’ala Shoreline, and opportunities to experience Samoan culture in the villages.

The park offers incredible hikes through lush rainforests and to stunning viewpoints, though some trails can be steep and muddy, according to the National Park Service.

Along with this comes over 4,000 acres of underwater landscape, offering various wildlife and environments to explore, including diving and snorkeling. 

Thankfully, the park is open year-round and there are no entrance fees to visit.

It is important to come prepared for the park’s varied weather and terrain, as park officials encourage visitors to plan their travel.