President Trump declared on Wednesday that he considers his agreement with Iran null and void, following his command for overnight airstrikes on 80 sites in retaliation for Iranian attacks on three civilian ships.

“I have no fondness for them whatsoever. Honestly, I feel like a lot of time has been squandered on them, and we should just focus on our tasks,” Trump remarked during his initial comments post-airstrikes.

In response to a journalist’s inquiry about the status of the preliminary peace agreement, which Trump endorsed on June 17, he stated, “In my opinion, it’s finished. I’m done dealing with them; I consider them despicable.”

“They’re aggressive and hostile individuals… as far as I’m concerned, it’s concluded,” Trump expressed. “Engaging with them is just a misuse of time in my view. They’re deceitful.”

He further criticized, “They are deceitful, dishonest, and malevolent people,” he said. “Frankly, I have no desire to spend any more of my time on them. Our excellent negotiators can continue discussions if they choose, but I don’t see the point.”

This story is developing.

In the high-profile murder trial of Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, prosecutors have pointed to the distinctive history of his defense attorney, Kathy Nester. This legal showdown centers on whether crucial evidence will be permitted in court.

Robinson, aged 23, could face capital punishment if found guilty. Nester, aged 59, is actively working to exclude key evidence during the pre-trial hearings scheduled for this week.

Nester is an experienced trial lawyer renowned for representing notorious cases. Her client list boasts individuals like Lyle Jeffs, a former polygamist religious leader, John Earnest, who opened fire in a synagogue, and Michael Kirk Moore, implicated in producing false COVID-19 vaccine certificates and destroying vaccines valued at $28,000.

Most recently, Nester’s legal expertise was on display as she defended Kouri Richins, convicted of murdering her husband.

Earlier this year, Richins received a life sentence in May after a jury found her guilty of fatally poisoning her husband Eric with a tainted Moscow Mule cocktail in March 2022.

During Richins’ trial, Nester gave several media interviews to correct perceived ‘misinformation’ surrounding her high-profile suspect, saying at the time she had to do so because she believed prosecutors had failed to correct the public inaccuracies. 

But Nester’s words may have come back to bite her in her case with Robinson, as Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray alleged this week that she displayed a double-standard in her handling of Robinson’s trial.

Nester attempted to hold Deputy Utah County Attorney Chris Ballard in contempt of court for interviews he gave to TMZ, where he tried to correct false reports that the bullet that killed Kirk did not match the murder weapon. 

But prosecutors argued that Nester had recently argued the opposite stance when she spoke out about Richins’ case to the media. 

The trial attorney is a renowned Utah litigator with over three decades’ experience, and she landed two of the highest profile cases in the state’s recent history largely through default. 

Nester was assigned Richins’ case in 2023 because she was the Summit County public defender at the time, while she received Robinson’s case because prosecutors pushed for the death penalty. 

Most attorneys qualified to take on a death penalty case in Utah were already assigned, leaving Nester as a remaining option among the state’s experienced defense attorneys. 

Greg Skordas, who helped Utah County select Robinson’s counsel, told NewsNation: ‘I know she was up to her ears with Kouri Richins, but she was one of only two or three lawyers that wasn’t currently doing a death penalty case and that was still willing to take Tyler Robinson.

‘I know that those are probably two of the biggest cases in Utah right now, but it’s almost by default that she got them.’

As Nester now handles Robinson’s high-profile trial, she was criticized by the judge in the case for issuing too many objections to the myriad pieces of evidence they were presenting to the court. 

On Tuesday, Utah State Bureau of Investigation agent David Hull testified that hours before Kirk was killed, Robinson visited the amphitheater where the influencer was preparing to speak. 

Hull claimed that Robinson made contact with several members of the conservative activist’s organization Turning Point USA.   

Hull said that Robinson interacted with several members of Turning Point USA at the scene, before leaving. 

The agent did not testify as to what Robinson said to the organization’s members, but Hull added that Robinson also bought food from Chick-fil-A roughly two hours before Kirk was killed. 

Hull also noted that a police officer interacted with the suspect on campus the day after the shooting, amid an intense manhunt for Kirk’s killer. 

He said Robinson returned to the UVU campus during the manhunt, but during his conversation with the police officer he set off alarm bells. 

Hull said the officer had ‘cop intuition’ about Robinson and wrote down his license plate, which later helped investigators prove that the 23-year-old was on campus that day, he testified. 

The bombshell testimony came after prosecutors shared never-before-seen footage allegedly showing Robinson prowling the UVU campus on the day of the shooting. 

Robinson was seen walking with a limp in the security footage, and also visiting the campus at least four times in his Dodge Challenger car in the day before the shooting. 

Earlier Tuesday, the defense was dealt a massive blow after the judge ruled prosecutors could play the never-before-seen footage of his movements on the day Kirk was killed.

After months of back-and-forth over the footage, Judge Tony Graf allowed video of Robinson driving into a parking garage, walking away, returning, and leaving to be played in court.

Hull testified as they played the footage, which is when he said Robinson spoke with members of Kirk’s group before the shooting. 

The surveillance is expected to be central to the prosecution’s case at Robinson’s pre-trial hearings this week, after which Graf will decide if the case will head to trial. 

The 23-year-old student has remained in custody in Utah ever since his arrest 33-hours after Kirk was killed. 

Prosecutors say they have compiled a slew of evidence in that time, including alleged DNA linking Robinson to the murder weapon, witness statements, and further surveillance tying him to the scene. 

They are also expected to cite messages Robinson allegedly sent his transgender boyfriend on the day of the shooting, which said he ‘had enough of (Kirk’s) hatred’ and that ‘some hatred can’t be negotiated out.’ 

Robinson has not yet pleaded in the case.

During a captivating Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, the true stars of the evening surprisingly didn’t sport traditional baseball attire.

Instead, they were a pair of charmingly fluffy baby raccoons.

Television cameras quickly captured these unexpected guests as they lurked along the outfield wall, snug on the warning track. In an instant, the footage captured hearts worldwide, becoming a viral sensation as fans eagerly shared the delightful scene on social media.

Videos of these cute intruders took over platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X with lightning speed, rivaling a Shohei Ohtani home run in their rapid spread.

One amused fan quipped on X, “Sorry guys, we just wanted to see Ohtani.”

“Is that Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy?” wrote another user. 

“They’re so cute. I hope their mom comes back for them,” wrote another. 

But perhaps the sweetest comment was when one fan wrote: “Someone send them to me. I’ll adopt them.”

As for the game itself, the Colorado Rockies erased a 3-1 deficit in the top of the eighth inning with a three-run rally off a couple of Dodgers errors.

The Rockies went on to win the game 4-3. 

Lost in the defeat was another historic night for Ohtani, who hit his 300th home run in the first-inning. Despite the loss, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 60-33 and a 14-game lead in the NL West division. 

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Authorities in New York City have expressed ‘confidence’ that the Midtown Manhattan skyscraper, once feared to collapse like a ‘pancake’, has been adequately stabilized. Despite this, they caution that some movement is still a possibility.

Ahmed Tigani, the commissioner from the NYC Department of Buildings, explained on Tuesday evening that emergency reinforcements at the old Pfizer headquarters on East 42nd Street are effectively doing their job.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye on the building for multiple hours,” Tigani stated, confirming no movement had been detected.

Nevertheless, Tigani noted that officials remain vigilant, continuously monitoring both the interior and exterior of the 37-story structure.

“Should there be any detectable movement, or if we suspect movement, protocols are in place to swiftly evacuate people from the vicinity for thorough evaluation and assessment,” he emphasized.

A ‘frozen zone’ was enacted around the building, originally extending from 40th Street to 45th Street and from First Avenue to Third Avenue.

That displaced hundreds of locals, tourists and workers, with NYC authorities unable to explain for hours when they could return to Midtown. 

‘I haven’t taken out the trash, I left all my medicine in there,’ Mercy Muriungi, 52, told the New York Post. ‘I had to walk over to the pharmacy to see if they would give me some medicine for a day or two.’ 

Stefan Mitra, a doctor who lives at East 41st Street and First Avenue, said he would likely have to ‘find a hotel somewhere.’ 

‘I slept an hour or two after my shift to be safe to drive, and then I came home thinking I’d be able to go home and get to sleep some more, but now I’m stuck,’ Mitra told the outlet.

Though some feared that the area could be ‘frozen’ for weeks, authorities announced Tuesday night that ‘all traffic and pedestrian restrictions’ had been lifted as of shortly before 11pm.

The only exception were areas on 42nd and 43rd Streets between 2nd and 3rd avenues, according to NYC emergency authorities on X. 

People living and working there can access that stretch, but cars cannot.

Officials had said earlier that two structural columns on the high-rise building’s 21st floor had buckled, while another column was also showing movement. 

Tigani explained that authorities visited the 21st floor themselves to inspect the work, leading to their assessment.

He added that crews were installing ‘new steel’ as ‘another emergency intervention’ to help keep the skyscraper stable.

The building, at 235 East 42nd Street near Second Avenue, was evacuated during the morning rush after construction workers discovered structural columns buckling inside the high-rise. 

A complaint was filed on Tuesday as investigators began scrutinizing what went wrong inside one of the nation’s largest office-to-residential conversion projects.

Four nearby buildings – 815 2nd Avenue, 235 East 43rd Street, 231 East 43rd Street and 225 East 43rd Street – remained under an evacuation order as of Tuesday night. 

Meanwhile, 217 East 43rd Street was under a partial evacuation, with just the restaurant on the ground floor required to stay away from the area. However, residents on higher floors were allowed to return.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani had said emergency officials had been monitoring the building continuously since the first signs of structural failure emerged Tuesday morning – and the movement had not stopped.

‘The concern is that since we have been on site in the early morning, we have seen continued shifting of the structure,’ Mamdani said during an earlier afternoon briefing.

Authorities quickly cleared eight neighboring buildings and established a large exclusion zone spanning East 40th to East 45th Streets between First and Third avenues, shutting the busy Midtown corridor to both pedestrians and traffic.

Officials previouslysaid highly sensitive monitoring equipment detected continued movement within the structure as crews watched the building from outside.

FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito had said the building’s steel-frame design meant authorities were not expecting a total collapse, but warned that a localized structural failure remained a very real possibility.

‘The way this building is constructed, it’s a steel-frame building, so it would not be a total collapse, it would be more of a localized collapse,’ Esposito said.

‘That remains our concern – that it’s moving. We have seen continual movement. It does mean it is not stable.’

When asked whether such a failure could resemble the floors collapsing into one another like a pancake, Esposito replied: ‘Possibly.’

Officials had said two structural columns on the building’s 21st floor had buckled, while another column was also showing movement.

Mamdani described the response earlier on Tuesday as a ‘minute-by-minute assessment,’ urging locals to stay away from the area as engineers determined the safest course of action.

Authorities said six specialists representing the FDNY, the Department of Buildings and the project’s construction management team, entered the building on Tuesday afternoon to conduct a closer inspection after monitoring suggested the structure had not shifted for about two hours.

Drones were also deployed around the building as engineers examined the damaged areas from above.

Esposito said firefighters have been using specialized monitoring equipment capable of detecting movement measuring only fractions of an inch.

‘It’s a very serious situation because the box beams, the steel beams, have started to bend and deflect from the weight,’ Esposito said.

‘We evacuated the building and started evacuations of surrounding buildings. The building has continued to move since we have been on the scene.’

Behind the emergency response, investigators were also examining whether problems during the renovation project contributed to the dangerous conditions now gripping the building.

The Department of Buildings filed a complaint Tuesday against the property’s owner, 235 Fee Owner LLC, alleging construction had exceeded previously approved plans.

Although the full details of the complaint have not yet been made public, the agency’s online records state that ‘no support of excavation has been approved.’

The former Pfizer office tower has been undergoing an ambitious transformation since 2024 into a residential development expected to contain roughly 1,500 to 1,600 apartments by 2027.

As part of the project, contractors had been adding 11 new stories above an existing 22-story section of the structure, according to Tigani.

Sources familiar with the response said the compromised areas appear to include the 17th and 21st floors, both located beneath the newly added construction.

Officials later said the 21st through 26th floors had caved under stress, with multiple cracks and sagging floors reported throughout sections of the building.

Despite the alarming damage, city officials have repeatedly emphasized that any structural failure would likely remain confined to part of the building because of its steel-frame construction rather than bringing down the entire tower.

The underlying cause of the structural failure remains unknown.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner’s office for further comment.

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (WLS) — A woman from the southern suburbs faced significant challenges when her veteran benefits were inexplicably halted for 18 months. Despite her family’s efforts to provide the necessary documentation to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it was only after they reached out to the I-Team that her benefits were reinstated, and she received back pay.

Mary Lou Heinberg, residing in Homewood at the age of 92, relies heavily on the veteran benefits to manage medical costs and living expenses at her assisted living home in Olympia Fields. Her eligibility for such support stems from her late husband’s honorable eight-year service in the U.S. Army.

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Reflecting on the ordeal, Heinberg expressed her frustration by saying, “Very upset, truthfully. I mean, my nerves. Sometimes I think they’re waiting for me to die. Really? I’m 92!”

She elaborated on the financial pressures that her situation has increased.

“It’s very depressing, to be perfectly truthful. Especially with groceries and medicine prices climbing, I really have to limit myself to what I do,” Heinberg shared.

According to the family, Heinberg had received VA benefits for years and continued receiving them after moving to a new facility in 2022. However, the payments stopped in January 2025. The family said the VA told them it had not been informed of the move.

Mary Woods disputed that explanation.

“That they’re stopping the benefit because she did not notify them that she moved into a new facility,” Woods said. “But she did. She did. She faxed them. And I have a copy of fax before she moved in in February of 2022.”

The family also said the VA claimed it did not have a medical expense report needed to count the facility as a medical expense, despite reports being completed after the agency requested them.

“They’re not telling us that no one, no one will tell us anything. All they will do is send another letter,” Woods said.

Despite documentation the family said it had provided, benefits remained suspended. Heinberg said she had gone about 18 months without receiving the roughly $1,500 per month she believed she was owed.

As a result, Woods said she had been helping cover her mother’s expenses.

“I’m giving her like $2,000 a month to help her because she’s not bringing in enough money to be living there,” Woods said.

The family said matters worsened when the VA sent a letter seeking repayment of $50,000 for benefits Heinberg had received while living in the new facility. The VA maintained she should not have been receiving those payments, but the family disagreed.

When asked about the repayment demand, Heinberg said, “Oh, I almost passed out.”

Woods added, “I told them they can keep sending letters because she doesn’t have the money.”

Heinberg said, “I said I don’t have any money. How I would pay them $50,000?”

The I-Team contacted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. The department did not provide a statement, but the family said a liaison contacted them within days to investigate the matter.

The family later received documentation showing a new decision and an email stating, “We were able to restart your mother’s award…”

The email continued, “She should start receiving her monthly award on or around August 1, 2026.”

According to the family, the email also addressed the $50,000 debt, stating, “A chunk of the retroactive payment will wipe out the existing debt.”

Consumer Investigator Jason Knowles said, “It looks like we are on the road to a resolution.”

Heinberg praised the outcome.

“You’re a miracle worker,” she said. “Yeah, it’s amazing.”

She added, “For the length of time you’ve been involved. It’s unbelievable.”

Reflecting on the turnaround, Heinberg said, “So, less than 12 hours, and it took me more than 18 months, and still got nowhere.”

Knowles replied, “And in 12 hours, we got the job done.”

“Right? Hallelujah,” Heinberg responded.

The family said they have also received about $28,000 in back pay for benefits that were not provided during the year and a half payments were stopped.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin have also been assisting with the case and both say they are available to help other people who are experiencing problems obtaining VA benefits.