Mandela Barnes, a former Wisconsin lieutenant governor and candidate for governor, has sued one of the state’s largest newspapers, alleging that a reporter who previously had a sexual relationship with him later provided colleagues with information used in a defamatory story about his sex life.

Barnes filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Milwaukee Circuit Court against the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel over a July 30 article titled “Sources detail concerns about Mandela Barnes’ behavior toward women.”

According to the lawsuit, a female political reporter at the newspaper had previously been involved in a sexual relationship with Barnes and later played a role in the reporting process behind what he describes as a misleading account of his consensual sex life, Urban Milwaukee reports.

Barnes also alleges that his gubernatorial campaign alerted newspaper executives to the potential conflict of interest. Despite that disclosure, he claims, the Journal Sentinel did not inform readers about the relationship and moved ahead with publication that same day.

The complaint does not identify the reporter by name. It does state, however, that she was not among the two women named in the published article.

“The Conflicted Reporter had previously maintained an intermittent sexual relationship with Barnes beginning in approximately 2018 and lasting several years,” the complaint says, according to Urban Milwaukee.

The filing further alleges that Barnes’ gubernatorial campaign “promptly disclosed” the relationship to newspaper executives on July 30.

Barnes claims the executives then “acknowledged that the relationship presented a conflict, removed the Conflicted Reporter from the matter and represented that other reporters would re-report portions of the story.”

However, the lawsuit says, “The Journal Sentinel published the challenged allegations later that same day.”

Mandela Barnes, a former Wisconsin lieutenant governor and gubernatorial candidate, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Barnes says the July 30 article (pictured) contained false and defamatory claims and that a reporter with whom he previously had a relationship was involved in the reporting

“The compressed interval between acknowledgment of the conflict and publication left little to no realistic time to conduct a genuinely independent reconstruction of the Conflicted Reporter’s work, including the origin and development of leads, source selection, interview history, framing and omitted contrary information,” the lawsuit states.

It also alleges that the published article “did not disclose the conflict, the Conflicted Reporter’s participation, her removal or the last-minute reporting process.”

The allegations emerged roughly two weeks after Barnes and his attorney, Michael J. Cerjak, formally demanded that the newspaper retract portions of the article. The story alleged that Barnes used his position within the state Democratic Party to pursue sexual relationships with multiple women.

The article quoted three anonymous sources who alleged that Barnes “has repeatedly taken advantage of his status within the party to seek sexual encounters with young adult women.”

It also reported that the Democratic Party of Wisconsin hired an outside law firm in 2025 to examine similar allegations and that the review “found nothing actionable.”

In a 10-page letter sent to the newspaper on October 28, Barnes’ attorneys argued that the story lacked sufficient evidence and demanded several retractions.

Barnes repeated those arguments in his lawsuit, asserting that the claims published by the newspaper were false. He also contends that a subsequent article about his decision to leave the governor’s race created the misleading impression that the allegations prompted his withdrawal.

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Executive editor Greg Borowski defended the newspaper’s reporting in a statement. Picture source; X/@GregJBorowski

The lawsuit says Barnes told Journal Sentinel executives before publication that he was ending his campaign for what his October 28 letter described as “independent political and financial reasons.”

“Mr Barnes did not withdraw because a party investigation had uncovered misconduct. No such investigation or finding existed,” the letter stated, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

“He did not withdraw because he had committed or been credibly accused of wrongdoing,” the letter continued.

Regarding the initial article, which appeared the day Barnes announced he was suspending his candidacy, his attorneys wrote: “The Journal Sentinel knew before publication that the withdrawal decision had been made and communicated independently of its subsequent decision to publish the allegations article.”

Attorneys for the newspaper reportedly informed Barnes on November 4 that no revisions or retractions would be made, WTMJ reports.

Barnes acknowledged that he is a “public figure” under the law and must prove that the newspaper and its employees acted with “actual malice” toward him

Barnes is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, with the case set to be decided by a jury.

“I understand that seeking public office brings scrutiny and I respect the essential role of a free press,” Barnes said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

“But accuracy and fairness matter deeply when reporting affects a person’s reputation, family and future.

“I dispute the reporting identified in this complaint and believe it created a materially false picture of me and my conduct. I asked the Journal Sentinel to correct it and the newspaper declined.”

“I am bringing this case so the disputed facts can be examined through the legal process,” he added.

Barnes acknowledged that he is considered a “public figure” under the law. As a result, he must prove that the newspaper and its employees acted with “actual malice.”

In defamation cases involving public figures, actual malice means that a damaging statement was published either with knowledge that it was false or with “reckless disregard” for whether it was true.

That legal standard has historically made it difficult for public figures to prevail in defamation or slander lawsuits.

Greg Borowski, the newspaper’s executive editor, said the Journal Sentinel stood behind its reporting.

“The story went through our standard editing and legal review, and Mr Barnes was given the opportunity to respond before publication,” he was quoted as saying in a Journal Sentinel report about the lawsuit.

The newspaper also said that the reporter who had previously been in a relationship with Barnes “was not involved in reporting or writing the published story.”

California’s study of a mileage-based road tax is nearing completion, prompting a warning from a prominent Republican lawmaker that Democrats may be preparing to take more money from drivers.

Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego) told the California Post that Governor-elect Xavier Becerra and Democratic lawmakers are “champing at the bit” to impose a per-mile charge on motorists. DeMaio said annual odometer checks could be used to calculate the fees, which he warned might be added to existing gas and vehicle taxes.

“They’re proposing everyone does a mileage tax — and they’re not suggesting that we’re going to get rid of any of the gas taxes or car taxes,” DeMaio told the California Post.

Becerra reignited the debate during an October interview with KCRA, saying “everything should be on the table” when asked whether he would support a mileage-based tax to fund California’s roads.

He said electric vehicle owners, who generally do not pay gasoline taxes, should contribute to the infrastructure they use. Becerra’s campaign later rejected claims that he had endorsed a mileage tax.

“Secretary Becerra has not proposed a mileage tax,” campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland previously told The Post. 

Officials for Becerra did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

DeMaio said Becerra’s openness to charging motorists by the mile should concern Californians already struggling with the cost of commuting. He pointed in particular to workers who live far from their jobs because housing near employment centers is unaffordable.

The San Diego Republican said Becerra’s earlier comments went beyond simply keeping the idea under consideration.

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“He said, ‘everything’s on the table,’ and then he started arguing in favor of it,” DeMaio said. “He literally was making the argument for the mileage tax.” 

“They just want more money,” DeMaio said. “This has all been plotted and planned.”

“Democrats know that there are all these old cars on the road, and they cannot track mileage for old cars,” he said. “So, what is the backup? The backup is you’re going to have to pull your car in annually for a smog check or a mileage odometer reading, and that will be the basis of your charge.”

At a rate of 6 cents per mile, someone driving 15,000 miles a year would owe at least $900 before any credits or offsets, DeMaio said.

DeMaio cited a contentious transportation fight in San Diego County, where the San Diego Association of Governments approved a regional transportation plan in December 2021 that included the possibility of charging motorists for every mile they drove.

After facing public backlash, the agency’s board directed staff in September 2022 to draft an amendment removing the proposed charge. The board formally approved the revised plan in fall 2023.

The California Legislature is now awaiting recommendations from a road-charge pilot program conducted from August 2024 through January 2025.

The pilot examined several methods for tracking miles, including odometer photographs, connected-vehicle technology and plug-in devices operating with or without GPS. Caltrans said participants’ personal information would be protected and destroyed after the study. A final report is due by the end of the year. 

Officials for the Department of Transportation did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

The FBI on Tuesday added a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its Most Wanted Terrorists list, accusing him of seeking the murders of two former U.S. government officials.

Shahram Poursafi allegedly recruited people to kill the officials between October 2021 and April 2022, according to the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Court records describe an alleged assassination plot aimed at former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Investigators believe the plot was retaliation for the January 2020 U.S. strike that killed IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani led the Qods Force, one of the IRGC’s five divisions and the unit responsible for developing and carrying out lethal operations abroad.

Poursafi allegedly acted on behalf of the Qods Force and offered people in the United States $300,000 to carry out the killing.

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Shahram Poursafi (right) allegedly offered $300,000 to have former National Security Advisor John Bolton killed. (Alex Kent/Getty Images/File; FBI)

The FBI also issued wanted posters seeking information about three alleged IRGC officials from the same Qods Force unit: Mohammad Reza Ansari, Abolfazl Alizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Shamoradizadeh.

Ansari is allegedly a deputy who supported IRGC operations in Syria. He is also accused of planning and attempting to assassinate two former U.S. government officials with Poursafi’s assistance.

Alizadeh and Shamoradizadeh are each alleged to have served as battalion commanders involved in lethal plotting operations.

Shahram Poursafi is accused of recruiting people to kill U.S. officials between October 2021 and April 2022. (FBI )

A 2022 Justice Department complaint outlining the charges against Poursafi says he first approached a U.S. resident he had met online and asked that person to photograph Bolton. Poursafi allegedly claimed the pictures were needed for a book he was writing.

He later offered another U.S. contact as much as $300,000 to “eliminate” the former national security advisor. Poursafi allegedly said he had an additional “job” available for $1 million.

According to the FBI, Ansari is a Qods Force deputy who has supported operations in Syria.  (FBI)

The alleged plot failed because the contact was a confidential human source working with the FBI, a term commonly used for civilian informants.

Prosecutors charged Poursafi with using interstate communications or travel to arrange a paid assassination. A Justice Department complaint also accused him of providing resources or support for an international murder plot.

The FBI alleges that IRGC battalion commanders Alizadeh and Shamoradizadeh took part in lethal plotting operations.  (FBI)

The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office said the agency would continue working to disrupt lethal plots and hold IRGC members accountable for threats against people in the United States.

“The FBI will not stand for the IRGC’s brazen attempts to silence, harm or murder activists, dissidents, journalists, public officials or anyone else it deems a threat,” Gregory Heeb of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Division said.

A missing 11-month-old boy was found alive beneath the ground inside a dog crate in South Carolina, bringing an agonizing search to an end and leading to the arrest of his father.

Koah Sharp was discovered crying inside the buried wire crate near Batesburg-Leesville on Tuesday, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.

“Certainly, God is good. Just a few moments ago, we found little Koah Sharp, 11 months old, buried alive and clinging to life,” Koon said during a news conference.

“He was crying—the most joyful sound you could ever hear from a crying baby.”

About 100 emergency responders took part in the search. Investigators believe the child had been buried for roughly 24 hours before rescuers located him.

Search crews spotted “freshly disturbed” soil and pine straw Tuesday afternoon. As officers began digging, they heard the infant crying beneath the ground.

“As they probed it, laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” Koon said. “So, as you can imagine, the race was on. Everybody was getting down there and trying to get him out.”

Rescuers pulled the boy from a crate covered with a towel. Koon said the covering may have helped create an air pocket that allowed Koah to survive.

Koah Sharp, pictured with his father Michael Comer, was found crying inside a buried wire crate near Batesburg-Leesville on Tuesday, Sheriff Jay Koon said

Roughly 100 emergency responders joined the search for the 11-month-old, who investigators believe spent about 24 hours buried beneath the dirt

Search teams found “freshly disturbed” dirt and pine straw Tuesday afternoon before hearing the infant, pictured with his mother Dezarae Sharp, crying beneath the ground

“By the grace of God, it probably provided enough air for him to survive. Our estimation is that he was under that dirt for about 24 hours, or slightly less,” Koon said.

The boy was found roughly 50 yards from his paternal grandfather’s home. He was last seen at about 11 a.m. Monday.

Koah had been staying with his grandmother, Trish Comer, the mother of his 25-year-old father, Michael Comer. Koon said that arrangement “happens quite often.”

When Trish left to run an errand, Koah remained with his father while another caregiver was on the way.

“By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone, and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said.

The sheriff said police were called around noon Monday and went to the home of Comer’s father, located “up the street.”

Officers found both doors open and baby supplies inside, but there was “no sign of Michael or the baby.”

Comer was not known to have a vehicle, and investigators believed he had been hitchhiking from “place to place.”

Koah had been in the care of his grandmother, Trish Comer, the mother of his 25-year-old father, Michael Comer. Sheriff Koon said the arrangement “happens quite often”

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When Trish left to run an errand, Koah was left with his father while another caregiver was expected to arrive. “By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone, and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said

Comer was not known to have a car, and investigators believed he had been hitchhiking from “place to place”

Investigators later obtained video showing Comer in the Batesburg-Leesville area without the baby.

Koon said authorities had been “hoping and praying” that Comer had left Koah with another caregiver. But “as the day went on and nobody came forward, it was certainly more and more concerning.”

Comer was found late Monday evening in an outbuilding at a Batesburg home. He was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest.

“He didn’t have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time,” Koon said.

Koah’s mother, Dezarae Sharp, said Comer had been permitted to visit his son on weekends because he had “been going to therapy and stopped drinking.”

“His dad decided, though, that it was time to get jealous over other guys, so he pulled this on this weekend’s trip,” she said. She added that Comer “is a harm to himself, as far as I’ve heard, so possibly to others.”

Trish wrote on Facebook that she left work early after feeling that something was wrong. She said she contacted police after realizing her son had taken Koah.

“I called [the police] as soon as I realized he took the baby,” she wrote. “He had his dad pick him up, and then he took off on foot with Koah from his dad’s house.”

Comer was found Monday evening in an outbuilding in Batesburg and arrested on burglary and resisting-arrest charges. Koon said he had “not much to say about the whereabouts of the baby”

Koah’s mother, Dezarae Sharp, said Comer had been allowed to visit their son on weekends because he had “been going to therapy and stopped drinking”

Trish Comer said she knew her “son’s a problem,” but “did not know that he was this bad.” She said, “He loved that baby; he’d do anything for that baby”

Trish made several desperate posts seeking help to locate Koah, describing the situation as “such a horrific time.”

“I love that grandbaby with all my heart… I have not slept in over 24 hours,” she wrote. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose a grandchild like that and have your son do something like this. I’m not trying to play the woe-is-me card, but this whole situation has been heartbreaking.”

She said she knew her “son’s a problem,” but never realized “that he was this bad.”

“He loved that baby; he’d do anything for that baby. He took good care of that baby. If you could see him with that baby, he was wonderful,” she wrote.

“I did not know that he would do something like this, and I’m sorry that I did not see this beforehand.”

The Daily Mail contacted the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

A centuries-old Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust, painstaking restoration and a renewed wave of antisemitism has found a permanent home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Hundreds of people gathered Monday at B’nai Jeshurun synagogue on West 88th Street to welcome the more than 300-year-old scroll. The ceremony coincided with the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi pogrom widely regarded as the beginning of the Holocaust.

The scroll was formally consecrated at its new home, where it will stand as a living reminder of the past as Jewish New Yorkers continue confronting hate crimes.

“These scrolls continue their life. They’re not monuments to death. They’re living, breathing symbols of life,” Jefferey Ohrenstein, chairman of the Memorial Scrolls Trust, which oversaw the Torah’s restoration, told The Post.

The rededication featured a Siyum, a ceremony marking the completion of the Torah’s extraordinary journey and restoration.

Experts estimate that the scroll dates to around 1700 and was crafted with the same traditional ink and parchment materials used in the U.S. Constitution.

It was in Europe when the Nazis rose to power, surviving the destruction of Jewish communities before later being recovered from communist Czechoslovakia, according to the Memorial Scrolls Trust.

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During World War II, approximately 1,800 Torah scrolls from Jewish communities destroyed across German- and Czech-speaking regions were gathered in Prague.

For nearly three decades, the scrolls deteriorated inside a damp, abandoned synagogue. In 1964, philanthropist Ralph Yablon purchased 1,564 of them from the Czech-Slovakian government and transported them to London.

As Jewish New Yorkers navigate the present day, cantor Ari Priven said many remain uncertain about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s efforts to address the community’s concerns.

Even so, members of the congregation told The Post that the anniversary of Kristallnacht serves as a warning that the horrors witnessed in Europe can happen again, regardless of who is in power.

“Do I think that what happened in Germany or in Poland could happen here? Yes,” said congregant Myriam, who joined the synagogue in 1988.

“The hatred of the Jew is so deep and so profound that I ask the question, what is it about us that bothers everybody?”

Iran’s top security official, who reportedly received a letter from Vice President JD Vance proposing a return to peace talks, once warned that negotiations with Tehran during wartime could continue for decades. He said both countries would need to remain ready for further conflict.

Mohsen Rezaei, the former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is now secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a senior aide to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. He played a central role in shaping Iran’s military strategy during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.

The eight-year war ended after Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, agreed to a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that he famously compared to drinking from a “poisoned chalice.”

Iranian Gen. Mohsen Rezaei has issued a direct warning to President Donald Trump as the United States repositions an aircraft carrier amid escalating tensions with Tehran, according to reports. (Ayoub Ghaderi/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)

“A cease-fire means an unfinished war,” Rezaei said in a 2006 interview with the Iranian publication Baztab. An English translation is archived by George Washington University’s National Security Archive.

When asked whether the two sides would hold their positions and enter negotiations, Rezaei answered: “Yes. Negotiations can take 30 to 40 years, and during that time Iran and Iraq should be prepared to fight.”

Nearly 20 years after suggesting that diplomacy could stretch across decades, Rezaei is reportedly the target of a renewed U.S. effort to open talks with one of Iran’s most influential military figures.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance sent Rezaei a letter in October proposing that the United States and Iran resume peace negotiations.

Iranian state media said the country had received Vance’s letter but had not replied. The semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that Tehran was waiting for Washington to accept its demands, declaring that “any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable.”

In June, President Donald Trump warned on Truth Social that Iran had taken too long to reach an understanding and would “pay the price.” On Monday, he said Tehran wanted an agreement but cautioned that any future U.S. strike could be roughly five times larger than the previous operation.

“We could knock it out fast, or we could knock it out over a short, not a long period of time,” Trump said in a C-SPAN interview on “Washington Journal Primetime.”

Trump said Iran appeared interested in reaching a deal, adding that it remained to be seen whether an agreement could be achieved within the current timeframe.

Rezaei, however, has continued to challenge Washington. In a Nov. 9 post on X, he wrote that “the war on Iran has already wrecked the US government” and said Washington was “flailing like a desperate gambler.”

“FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks,” he wrote.

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“Stop denying the West Asian NEW ORDER. Time to SURRENDER to the seven conditions Iran has repeatedly set out,” he added.

After the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, Rezaei claimed that Iran had defeated the United States both militarily and politically.

He also threatened a “devastating response” to any further attack and said Washington’s time had come to “SURRENDER.”

IRGC commanders Mohsen Rezaei, Ali Fadavi, Ahmad Vahidi and Hassan Hassanzadeh attend a memorial service in Tehran on July 2, 2025, for commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians killed during the Iran-Israel war. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Rezaei has also dismissed reports of active U.S.-Iran negotiations or a planned meeting in Qatar. He accused Washington of promoting false claims to reduce economic pressure and push oil prices lower, while repeating that Tehran would keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until its seven conditions were accepted.

He has spent more than 40 years in Iran’s defense establishment, including a tenure as IRGC commander from 1981 to 1997, when he directed Iranian operations during the Iran-Iraq War.

During the 2006 Baztab interview, Rezaei explained how Iran’s leaders separated public slogans from the country’s operational military strategy.

While Ayatollah Khomeini and other officials publicly called for “fighting till Saddam is toppled” and continuing “until the nuisance is eradicated,” Rezaei said Iran’s real objective was to keep fighting “up to a victory.”

He suggested that Iran’s gains on the battlefield were intended to improve its leverage at the negotiating table, rather than lead to the complete conquest of Iraq.

Members and commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps meet with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Aug. 17, 2023. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Reuters)

“The world did not pay attention to the slogans,” Rezaei said, explaining that foreign governments and intelligence services instead studied Iran’s actions and diplomatic positions.

He also acknowledged that Iran had difficulty converting military gains into diplomatic achievements because it lacked strong international partnerships and influence at the United Nations.

Rezaei has faced U.S. sanctions and extensive international scrutiny. The Trump administration sanctioned him on Jan. 10, 2020, under an executive order aimed at senior Iranian officials appointed by the supreme leader.

He has also been accused of involvement in the July 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, an attack that killed 85 people.

Interpol approved Argentina’s request for a Red Notice against Rezaei in 2007 in connection with the bombing.