By almost any measure, President Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has endured a deeply turbulent beginning.

The missteps surrounding her debut are already being compared, unflatteringly, with Anthony Scaramucci’s brief 11-day tenure as Trump’s communications director and Geraldo Rivera’s famously fruitless search for Al Capone’s vault.

However, senior Trump administration figures tell me they do not believe Zacharia’s future depends solely on her first performance at the podium or the uproar over what critics describe as misleading claims about her legal background.

Their greater concern, they say, is what remains unclear about her past—a background that apparently was not examined in sufficient detail before she was placed in one of Washington’s most visible jobs.

Zacharia, a 42-year-old mother of four, stepped to the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room podium with the uneasy presence of someone who had been told moments earlier that the speeding traffic ahead posed no danger.

Her apparent lack of preparation—and possibly experience—was immediately visible to reporters in the room. White House staffers watching from behind the scenes, I’m told, were equally alarmed, observing the performance through their fingers.

The briefing lasted roughly 14 minutes. About half the time was spent reading stiffly from prepared remarks, while the remainder involved questions from only three reporters. Yet even before that heavily criticized appearance, Zacharia was entering an already combustible situation.

Trump had introduced her as “an attorney,” and reporters questioned her about the claim as she stood behind the President before they boarded Air Force One. When asked where she had passed the bar exam, Zacharia answered: “When I moved to China.”

Zacharia later told The New York Times that she had misunderstood the question and thought the reporter was asking where she went after completing law school.

She did move to China with her husband after earning a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Zacharia sat for the California bar exam after graduating but did not pass. Reuters found no record showing that she had been admitted to practice law in California, another state or Washington, DC. That has drawn further scrutiny because she has described herself on LinkedIn as the “general counsel” of a US company and referred to herself as a lawyer in several television interviews.

There may be important context behind those claims, and that context warrants examination. But it does not resolve the central question now facing the administration: Why was no one in the White House apparently able to verify her credentials, professional history and the details of her extended time in China?

Zacharia also appears to have been given only a remarkably brief introduction to the demands of the job.

Trump announced her appointment on a Friday, and she faced the press by Tuesday. A single long weekend was never likely to transform a cable-news commentator into a polished White House press secretary. Still, her debut raised doubts about whether those 72 hours had been used effectively.

The administration also had little apparent reason to hurry. It could presumably have gone several more days without a formal briefing. An additional week to learn the White House operation, meet reporters and build relationships might have strengthened Zacharia’s footing, eased internal concern and helped create more favorable coverage before her first appearance.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Constance Marten Moved to Soft Prison With Acupuncture, Therapy

The Daily Mail reported that Trump chose Zacharia without consulting White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. If accurate, that could explain why some members of Wiles’s team have shown little enthusiasm about welcoming the new press secretary.

The speed and intensity with which Zacharia’s colleagues began criticizing her anonymously to reporters were striking—even by the standards of a Trump White House.

Trump described her performance as “very good.” But those observing the briefing without a personal stake in the decision to hire her reached a far less favorable verdict.

Both things can, of course, be true: Hostile colleagues and Zacharia’s apparent inadequacies.

The comparison that comes to mind is former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin taking Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s invitation to join his ticket: an ambitious politico accepting an extraordinary promotion for which she was unready, with practically no runway to get ready.

There are occasions when the smartest answer to a powerful person offering you a dream job is: Thank you, but no. Zacharia’s failure to recognize such a moment tells us something about her judgment.

While she did not need enemies or skeptics to have a bad first day, folks in those two categories could certainly make the second day considerably worse.

My sources tell me that senior members of Trump’s team are now trading tidbits about her background, particularly regarding her time in China. If anything embarrassing were to surface, they don’t seem particularly inclined to tamp it down.

Finally, the timing for this spectacle is horrible for Team Red. Republicans are facing increasingly frightening midterm prospects and they need help and the White House already has enough intrigue and speculation involving Susie Wiles future, the alleged exploits of Kimberly Guilfoyle and allegations facing former Kennedy Center leader Rick Grenell.

Well, throw another log onto the fire and grab the Jiffy Pop.

This has the feel of the first Trump term, of Peak Scaramucci, days, of Trump against the world, making rash decisions and navigating the fallout.

After all, Trump often prospers amid the chaos. It’s his superpower. The people he hires should be more careful since they surely lack his death-defying capacities.

One longtime and close observer of Trump offers this explanation for Zacharia’s appointment: Trump’s goal is to ‘make the DC establishment howl in hypocritical self-righteous indignation.’

The problem is now this is Trump’s DC. It’s hard to see the upside.

There is, however, one substantial reason Zacharia might survive: Trump hates being told that someone he likes must go.

A fugitive accused of stealing more than $600,000 in federal food stamp benefits has been brought back to the United States after his arrest in India last month, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Manjit Singh Bedi, listed among the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters, faces federal charges tied to an alleged Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud operation at a grocery store in Tacoma, Washington.

“BACK IN THE US – Manjit Singh Bedi, one of the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters, arrested in September in India,” Patel wrote on X.

Patel pointed to Bedi’s return as the latest example of the FBI’s efforts to bring wanted fugitives back to the country.

“This is the latest in an unprecedented stretch of success in bringing high-value targets back to the United States through strong partnerships with our foreign law enforcement counterparts,” Patel said.

“Over the past 20 months, we’ve secured 260 extraditions and removals — an increase of more than 70% compared to the previous 20-month period,” he added.

Federal officials allege that Bedi defrauded the U.S. government of at least $600,000 through a SNAP scheme carried out between March 2024 and June 2025, while he operated an Asian grocery store in Tacoma.

According to the FBI, Bedi allegedly took SNAP recipients’ Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, exchanged their benefits for cash instead of eligible food items and retained about half of the funds.

After his indictment in the case, Bedi allegedly drove to Canada and then fled to India.

A federal arrest warrant accusing him of violating the terms of his release was issued on May 21, 2026.

Patel said Bedi is the sixth fugitive captured through the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters program since the list was launched three months ago.

“This marks yet another significant moment for the historic FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters program,” he said.

Bedi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had been the subject of an FBI reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Patel said Bedi will now face justice in the United States over the alleged offenses.

“Thank you to our outstanding partners for their assistance in this case,” Patel wrote.

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Rocky, a colossal pumpkin from Minnesota, captured the top prize at Northern California’s annual giant pumpkin weigh-off after reaching 2,389 pounds (1,083 kilograms). The winning weight, however, was well below a potential world record set only days earlier in Rhode Island.

Travis Gienger, a horticulture teacher, transported the enormous gourd across the country and claimed the Half Moon Bay title for the fifth time. His victory over dozens of competitors earned him $21,501 in prize money.

Gienger was forced to sit out last year after his pumpkin split while it was still growing. Determined to return with a champion, he named this season’s entry Rocky, a nod to the fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone.

“Five-time champion, that’s what we came here to do,” Gienger said after securing the win.

[h2]A fierce season for giant-pumpkin records[/h2]The competition for the world’s heaviest pumpkin has intensified this year. On Saturday, Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, appeared to establish a new record at a New England contest with a 3,156-pound (1,431.5-kilogram) squash—roughly the weight of three concert grand pianos. Guinness World Records has not yet certified the result and currently lists a 2,857-pound (1,296-kilogram) pumpkin grown by Ian Paton of Lymington, England. Paton’s mark had been set just a few days earlier.

“My hat’s off to him, that’s a big pumpkin,” Gienger said of Wallace’s massive entry.

According to competition organizer Ronan Fowler, Gienger raises his pumpkins in a backyard patch in Anoka, Minnesota, a city along the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis. This year, freezing temperatures posed an added challenge. Gienger said that if he wants to compete at an even higher level, he may eventually need to grow his pumpkins in a climate-controlled setting.

“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable,” Fowler said.

[h2]Half Moon Bay’s pumpkin tradition reaches 53 years[/h2]Gienger and his family spent 35 hours driving to California, carefully hauling the small-car-sized pumpkin to the contest.

Hundreds of spectators attended the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, which featured food trucks, live music and plenty of pumpkin-themed humor. Earlier, the audience cheered when Tinkerbell, an exceptionally symmetrical pumpkin, won the award for the festival’s prettiest entry.

The contest pays $9 for every pound, putting Gienger’s winnings at $21,501. Rocky will also appear in a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend. Gienger narrowly missed a separate $30,000 bonus reserved for a new world-record pumpkin.

Despite their spectacular size, these pumpkins are cultivated for weight rather than taste—which means the festival ended without any giant pumpkin pies.

A few minutes behind schedule, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in a Range Rover at the first stop of their quasi-official Nottingham visit—a royal-adjacent “we’re here” tour focused on legacy rather than privacy, and one that has placed unusual attention on a city seemingly unprepared for the fuss.

Their destination was the Community Recording Studio, a youth charity Harry has supported since 2013. The organisation helps disadvantaged young people from the area build confidence, practical skills and a stronger sense of direction.

There is little conventional glamour in this part of St Ann’s. The centre sits on a street alongside a Dulux decorating centre, a Kick Fit gym and a garage workshop.

Even so, Harry and Meghan stepped out and waved with the enthusiasm of celebrities greeting a packed Hollywood Bowl, rather than a modest crowd gathered on an industrial estate on an overcast Thursday morning in the East Midlands.

So what, exactly, is happening here? And who is this performance really for?

Around 200 people had gathered outside the centre. Unfortunately for Harry and Meghan, roughly 70 per cent appeared to be members of the media—and, more unfortunately still, I was among them.

“You are that witch from the Daily Mail,” an angry woman shouted, waving the supermarket flowers she had brought for Meghan.

I paused. Which witch, exactly? Competition for that particular distinction in my office is fierce.

Another woman, carrying a unicorn balloon and a large bouquet of lilies wrapped in tissue paper, declined to speak. “I’m just here to support the charity and give these flowers to Meghan. I don’t want any publicity,” she said.

That is fair enough. Still, I wondered whether these were the official flowers—and whether buying an expensive bouquet for a multimillionaire wearing Jennifer Chamandi shoes, a pencil skirt from The Fold, a jumper and coat from Joseph, and a diamond-encrusted Oura fitness tracker ring was really the best use of anyone’s money.

I did not even laugh when a gust of wind blew the legs off the unicorn balloon. I was not in Nottingham to quarrel with the local Sussex Squad. I had come to remember, compare and consider how a story that once seemed so promising had taken such a difficult turn.

Nearly nine years earlier, on a cold December day, I had stood on the High Pavement in Nottingham’s historic Lace Market to watch Prince Harry and his newly engaged fiancée, Meghan Markle, make their first official public appearance together. It was, genuinely, a magical occasion.

Thousands of people filled the streets as Nottingham effectively came to a standstill. There was cheering, bunting and an unmistakable sense of excitement. During the couple’s 25-minute walkabout, I even shook Harry’s hand as laughter and warm wishes echoed around us.

Meghan appeared completely at ease. Displaying her engagement ring, she looked poised, confident and radiant—like a bride-to-be who had finally found her Prince Charming.

This is what I wrote about her at the time: “The newest member of the Royal Family took everything in her stride.”

“Charming everyone who had queued in the cold to meet her and wish her well, she could chat about the weather, admire babies and even smile when people repeatedly told her that ‘Diana would have loved you’.”

I described it as a “dazzling and confident debut” by “a remarkable young woman… who was not born to be a princess but moves with ease in her brave new world”.

It was indeed a new dawn –newspapers were calling her appearance on the scene ‘the Markle Sparkle’, unaware that the bubble would burst sooner rather than later. Little did anyone know on that hopeful morning that we were witnessing not just history in the making but the beginning of a royal fairytale that was to curdle quicker than a £5 As Ever chocolate left to rot in the Californian sun.

Not only that, but it was also the start of a calamitous period that would rock the monarchy, tarnish an entire country and cast a shadow over the last years of those doughty royal stalwarts, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. And that was a fate they did not deserve.

With their public accusations of racism, bullying, lack of support, general peeve and never being asked if they were OK, Harry and Meghan changed everything – but ultimately what they changed most of all was the way the British public felt about them.

SEE ALSO: Southwest Flight Attendant Jenny Lupton’s Hawaii Death Cause Revealed

In 2017, the people of Nottingham came out to see them in their thousands. Today, that number is barely in the dozens.

The Sussexes couldn’t have cleared the streets here more efficiently if they had turned a water cannon on the crowds – and perhaps, in a way, that is exactly what they did. However, there is still excitement in some quarters at their royal presence. Not everyone is disgruntled.

At first sight of the royal couple, a few women in the throng at the Community Recording Studio start ululating. Then one lone voice shrieks: ‘We love you Meghan!’ What can I say? It wasn’t me.

Some curious onlookers in trackies shuffle forward like extras in a zombie movie. A group of schoolchildren in red fleeces are corralled in front to greet the royal visitors. ‘Are you Californian?’ one of them asks Meghan. ‘Yes, I am. Have you ever been to California?’ she replies.

The Duchess means well, of course, but what kind of question is that to ask a little girl in scuffed trainers in a low-income area of one of the most deprived cities in the UK?

Meghan gives her a big duchessy smile and moves on down the line, chic in her luxe plum separates. Harry is in front of her, his waxen head bent low to talk to the children. ‘What class are you missing? Where are your teachers? Gimme some,’ he says, holding up his palm for a little boy to slap.

When the children tell him they will be off on half term soon, he delivers a lecture. ‘No photos, get off social media, get outside,’ he says, waggling a finger.

They both pass by me within inches, keeping their attention focused on the children.

Harry is all furze and stubble, like a clumsily clipped red squirrel, but do you know what Meghan looks like up close and personal? Rich.

She’s got the unmistakable sheen of one of those wealthy, five-ply, ‘600 thread count’, glossy-posse women who marinate in serums and luxury and never have to wonder where their next £2,000 is coming from so that they can buy a pair of oversized Ralph Lauren clown trousers.

For this trip, their first quasi-official outing since returning to the UK, the duke and duchess have put together a little schedule of do-good works and ‘spread the charity bread’ appointments, mostly visiting the kind of grassroots organisations they have been involved with for years.

If this was a first step in resurrecting their public life in the UK, it was a very small one – perhaps even timid. After the Community Recording Studio, the couple visited the Himmah Hub, a Nottingham charity tackling poverty, food insecurity, racism and social exclusion – quite the full menu there.

Afterwards they left via a rear entrance, annoying the small crowd who had waited for 90 minutes to catch a glimpse of them. Apparently, there had been cooking demos and a bracelet-making class.

Did Meghan enjoy her time there? ‘Yah, it was really meaningful, thank you for asking,’ she told ITV, before slipping back inside her car.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were ferried around the city in a convoy of two Range Rovers, with beefy bodyguards stacked in both.

There was also backup from Nottingham Police, with at least one unmarked police car and one traffic police car in attendance. Three community policemen were also on hand to help with crowd control, but their services were not required.

As the couple pitched up at the last stop of the day, a television reporter shouted: ‘Do you feel safe today, Harry?’ – a query that was icily ignored.

We were at Epic Partners in Edale Road, an acronym which is Empowering Positive and Inspirational Change.

As with all the causes espoused by these various companies over the course of today – coaching and unemployment, bringing communities together, coping with the prospect of financial hardship, building family skills, creating opportunities – it crossed my mind that the people most in need of these skills are the Sussexes themselves.

Again, a small crowd had gathered outside the community centre, which had a tattered strip of bunting wrapped around the barbed wire on the roof. If one were looking for a metaphor, there it was in all its ragged glory. The leader of the centre embraced Meghan as she approached the entrance. ‘So pleased you are here,’ he enthused.

‘Yeeees,’ was all she could muster by way of reply. Well. It had been a long day in Nottingham.

It had also been a revealing day, a very cringe day, a day in which two people couldn’t seem to decide if they were public figures or not, if they were privates on parade, ghosts in the machine, or royal contenders once more. And, to be honest, neither could I.

READ MORE: 

An Oregon teenager who allegedly stormed into an elementary school and killed three students and a teacher first used his mother’s shotgun to fire at a pickup truck, according to a report.

The unidentified 16-year-old Bend resident was walking toward Silver Rail Elementary School shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday when a man driving a red Toyota Tacoma spotted him in the school parking lot, the Bend Source reported.

The teenager was carrying a long gun. A law enforcement source who spoke anonymously to the Associated Press later identified it as a pump-action shotgun purchased by the boy’s mother.

After the pickup driver confronted him, the teen allegedly opened fire, shattering the truck’s rear window and leaving at least six large bullet holes in the vehicle.

He then reportedly tossed the weapon over a fence and climbed onto school property. The driver called emergency dispatchers, saying he had been “shot at multiple times by a person with a long gun.”

The shooter allegedly retrieved the gun and fired several rounds at the school’s locks, forcing his way inside the building, which serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Police arrived within three minutes of the first 911 call. By then, three children—ages 5, 8 and 11—and a teacher had been fatally shot. Another 7-year-old child and a 54-year-old teacher were hospitalized in critical condition.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said at a Thursday news conference that the teenager was “shot by a community member who had seen [him] enter the school, pursued him into the school, and engaged him.”

Investigators have not said whether the teenager previously attended Silver Rail Elementary, knew any of the victims or whether the armed bystander who stopped him had a concealed-weapons permit.

A law enforcement source briefed on the investigation said the shotgun had been purchased by the teenager’s mother.

Oregon law requires people to be at least 18 to purchase rifles and shotguns and 21 to buy handguns. Individuals under 18 may possess non-handgun firearms with parental consent, although it remains unclear whether the teenager had permission to use his mother’s weapon.

CONTINUE READING: Trump Calls Ukraine’s Latest Attacks on Russian Refineries “A Disgrace”

The Bend-La Pine school district had previously prohibited everyone, including people with concealed-handgun licenses, from carrying firearms on district property, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported in 2022.

A separate provision of Oregon law permits lawfully owned firearms on school grounds when they are unloaded and secured in a locked vehicle, according to the outlet.

Chief Krantz cautioned that the investigation would be “long,” as officials and residents grappled with the devastating shooting.

Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat from Oregon, expressed her anguish, saying, “our kids are getting shredded.”

“The most heartbreaking thing, as the details have surfaced, is that we have a child involved in the killing of other children,” Bynum told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday.

“Multiple families are being impacted. This continues to happen,” she added.

Former Bend Mayor Jeff Eager said the violence was difficult for the community to comprehend.

“You can’t imagine that it happens here,” Eager told CNN.

“Bend is a place that people move to from bigger cities,” he said. “They move here because it’s relatively safe here, they move here because we have schools you can walk your kids to.”

Tina Kotek, the Oregon governor, thanked the community member who “”heroically intervened to ⁠stop further loss of life” but said no one “should have to live through this kind of day.”

“And as we learn more about the children and the adults who have been killed or injured, and their families and their ​loved ones, we are going to do a lot of crying, and we are going to cry together, and we’re probably going to cry privately,” she said.

With Post wires