Details emerge of secret diplomatic efforts to restart Iran talks
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Live updates: Pentagon reveals news details on US strikes against Iran; Senate receives classified briefing
Sen. Tom Cotton: “We have effectively destroyed Iran’s nuclear program,” adding it is going to make the US safer. Sen. John Kennedy: If Tehran tried to rebuild, “Israel would know.” Sen. Lindsey Graham: � “Isn’t the real question, ‘Have we obliterated their desire to have a nuclear weapon?’” He added that Iran could “reconstitute” its nuclear program “at some time”
Republican senators, after receiving a classified briefing today, expressed confidence in the US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend amid conflicting reports about the ultimate extent of damage done to Tehran’s nuclear program.
Earlier today, the Pentagon released some new details about how the US prepared for its strikes on Iranian nuclear targets but offered no new evidence of their effectiveness against Iran’s nuclear program.
Here’s what some GOP lawmakers said after the all-Senate briefing:
• Sen. Tom Cotton: “We have effectively destroyed Iran’s nuclear program,” he said, adding it is going to make the US safer. Cotton condemned what he called the “selective and unlawful leaking of a report” that showed an early US intelligence assessment found the strikes did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months. Cotton insisted that, while Iran could “reconstitute” its nuclear program “at some time,” the US strikes had “caused catastrophic damage.”
• Sen. Lindsey Graham: He echoed Cotton’s bullish assessment of the strikes, though Graham cautioned: “Isn’t the real question, ‘Have we obliterated their desire to have a nuclear weapon?’” He added, “Here’s where we’re at: the program was obliterated at those three sites. But they still have ambitions. I don’t know where the 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium exists. But it wasn’t part of the targets there.” Graham said he’s “looking to change (Iran’s) behavior.”
• Sen. John Kennedy: He echoed a similar assessment of the US strikes on Iranian targets, and said that if Tehran tried to rebuild, “Israel would know.” The senator also praised the briefing as “one of the best I’ve ever attended.”
Singles turning to professional photographers to ramp up dating profiles
More singles are turning to professionals to take their pictures for online dating apps. Shannon O’Malley has been a professional photographer for over 15 years. O’Malley admits there is a stigma around hiring a professional to shoot dating profile photos. The pictures have definitely worked for me but also, I feel so good about myself, said Alecia Anderson of Champlin, Minnesota. It led her to her husband of four years — and it helped her see her true self again, turning the camera on herself. The online dating photograph packages start at $749. It’s a great way to find love, says Shannon Kathleen Photography’s owner, Shannon Kathleen.
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Minnesota (WCCO) — More singles are turning to professionals to take their pictures for online dating apps in an effort to attract better matches.
“Who doesn’t love a good picture of themselves,” laughed Alecia Anderson of Champlin.
Anderson is taking a shot at love.
“I’ve had quite a few friends find success in dating online, so I decided to recently make that switch,” said Anderson.
At 36 years old, she is seeking genuine connection.
“When I was initially making my profile, I was struggling to find pictures of myself. I felt like I had to crop all my friends out and nothing truly captured myself, my personality,” explained Anderson.
Not long after, she noticed Shannon O’Malley’s online dating photography on Instagram.
“As you get older, you take it more serious and so I thought I’d give it a try,” said Anderson.
“It has become the biggest bulk of my business,” said Shannon O’Malley, owner of Shannon Kathleen Photography.
A professional photographer for over 15 years, O’Malley’s focus for the last two-and-a half-years has been helping singles — ranging in age from 25 to 70 — create standout images for their dating profiles.
“These are people who are serious about getting out there and wanting to find love,” said O’Malley.
O’Malley admits there is a stigma around hiring a professional to shoot dating profile photos.
“Yeah. Some people may not tell their friends or family that they’re doing this, but then a lot of what I hear back is that once they get their photos back, they’re proud to show them because they feel good,” said O’Malley.
It’s a feeling O’Malley says she needed when she stepped into the world of online dating in her 40s.
It led her to her husband of four years — and it helped her see her true self again, turning the camera on herself.
“It just gave me this profound empowerment of like oh, there I am. You kind of forget who you are sometimes in life after a bad relationship, or just playing the role of a mom or a sister or a caretaker. We can lose sight of ourselves easily,” said O’Malley.
It’s an important lesson O’Malley passes on to clients like Anderson in each one her shoots.
“It goes past the pictures, right? She makes you feel good and then you bring that into your every day and people can feel that good energy. The pictures have definitely worked for me but also, I feel so good about myself,” said Anderson.
Shannon Kathleen Photography’s online dating photograph packages start at $749.
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Super Bowl halftime performer arrested after police say he held flag stating ‘Sudan and Free Gaza.’
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, of New Orleans, surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was obtained. He was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly. State police say troopers began investigating shortly after the Feb. 9 game at the Caesars Superdome. The NFL on Thursday said it commends the Louisiana State Police for “its diligence and professionalism.’ “We take any attempt to disrupt any part of an NFL game, including the halftime show, very seriously and are pleased this individual will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” the NFL said.
A performer at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance in February has been arrested after holding up a Sudanese flag with the message “Sudan and Free Gaza,” Louisiana State Police announced Thursday.
The performer, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, of New Orleans, surrendered to authorities after an arrest warrant was obtained, state police said. He was booked into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly.
State police say troopers began investigating shortly after the Feb. 9 game at the Caesars Superdome and found that Nantambu “deviated from his assigned role” and disrupted the halftime show by running across the field with the flag. Security and law enforcement personnel ran after him, and he refused to comply with their commands to stop, state police said in a statement Thursday.
Video Ad Feedback Hear why this background performer decided to protest during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show 01:26 – Source: CNN Hear why this background performer decided to protest during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show 01:26
“In coordination with the National Football League, troopers learned that Nantambu had permission to be on the field during the performance, but did not have permission to demonstrate as he did,” state police said.
Neither jail records nor online court records list a lawyer for Nantambu who could be reached for comment.
The arrest comes after New Orleans police said shortly after the football game at Caesars Superdome that the cast member would not face charges. But it was Louisiana State Police who announced the charges Thursday.
New Orleans police initially responded to the disturbance, but Louisiana State Police then took over the investigation, partly due to the performer’s access to a highly secured area, Louisiana State Police Sgt.
Katharine Stegall said in an email to The Associated Press.
The NFL on Thursday said it commends the Louisiana State Police for “its diligence and professionalism.”
“We take any attempt to disrupt any part of an NFL game, including the halftime show, very seriously and are pleased this individual will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” the NFL said. “In addition to the ongoing criminal case, the NFL banned the individual from attending any NFL games or events.”
The cast member was among dozens of dancers wearing black outfits. He held the flag in the air while standing on the roof of a car that was a main feature of the hip-hop artist’s performance. He then jumped off stage and ran across the field before being tackled by several men in suits.
President Donald Trump was in the stadium for the game, but it wasn’t clear if he saw the protest.
In a separate case, Nantambu is listed as the victim of a May 17 shooting outside a celebrity boxing event in Miami.
Former NFL player Antonio Brown is facing an attempted murder charge after authorities say he grabbed a handgun from a security worker at the boxing event and fired two shots at Nantambu. Nantambu told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.
Fireball spotted over Southeast US may have been caused by meteor, American Meteor Society says
The American Meteor Society has received numerous reports of a fireball over the US Southeast. Dashcam video taken at approximately 12:30 p.m. in Forsyth, Georgia, shows a fireball descending to the ground. South Carolina’s emergency management division told CNN it is monitoring the situation. Fireballs are easier to view at night, but have to be much brighter to be visible during the day, meteorologists say.
The American Meteor Society has received numerous reports of a fireball over the US Southeast on Thursday afternoon – reports that are logged on its website.
“It looks to be a ‘daytime fireball’ that caused a sonic boom. This is usually indicative of a (meteor) dropping a fireball, but not always,” Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, told CNN.
The Federal Aviation Administration told CNN that there was no unusual aircraft activity in the area.
“Satellite-based lighting detection show a streak within cloud free sky over the NC/VA border,” the National Weather Service in Charleston said on X.
“This streak was detected between 12:51 to 12:56 p.m.,” NWS added.
Analysis of satellite-based lightning detection by CNN show additional signatures over the Atlanta area.
Dashcam video taken at approximately 12:30 p.m. in Forsyth, Georgia, shows a fireball descending to the ground.
In Lexington County, South Carolina, dashcam video shows a big flash of light falling through the sky Thursday. South Carolina’s emergency management division told CNN it is monitoring the situation.
Brenda Eckard, 64, from Gilbert, South Carolina, said she was driving home when she saw a “big flash in the sky come down and disappear.”
She first thought it was a meteor which “almost looked like a firework,” Eckard told CNN Thursday. Eckard then called her husband to check if their house was still standing.
The Bootids meteor shower, a lower-level meteor shower, is ongoing this week, according to an American Meteor Society list.
Fireballs are easier to view at night, but have to be much brighter to be visible during the day, meteorologists say.
CNN has reached out to emergency management officials in North Carolina and Tennessee.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command directed questions to NASA. CNN has reached out to NASA.
‘Survival chain’ key in boy’s survival in near drowning in Kansas City, Kansas
A 4-year-old boy fell into a Kansas City, Kansas, pool earlier this year and remained underwater for almost nine minutes. First responders from 911 dispatchers, police officers, firefighter/paramedics and EMS crews all worked seamlessly to bring the boy back to life. Bystander CPR does not require mouth-to-mouth breath help. It’s just chest compressions. Medical professionals say it should be started as soon as you realize someone is not breaking. The boy’s amazing story highlights the work of several people on the “survival chain.“We try to encourage everyone we run into to just that basic first-aid can really make a difference,” Capt. Jeffrey Veilhauer, KCKFD paramedic said.
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KANSAS CITY, Kansas (KSHB) — Despite falling into a Kansas City, Kansas, pool earlier this year and remaining underwater for almost nine minutes, a 4-year-old boy survived.
The boy’s amazing story highlights the work of several people on the “survival chain.”
“That’s the best feeling ever,” Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department Communications Manager Maria Myers said of the successful outcome. “Let me tell you, when you answer that phone and you hear the screaming ‘There’s a child that’s not breathing,’ or a drowning, yeah, you keep your calm, but inside, you are like ‘Oh, what am I going to do?’”
In Part 1 of this series, we detailed how first responders from 911 dispatchers, police officers, firefighter/paramedics and EMS crews all worked seamlessly to bring the boy back to life.
Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin: Truly very, very proud of this team of folks who worked so hard to save a 4-year-old’s life.
First responders know and train for their role in the Survival Chain, but bystanders can also play an important part just be knowing how to perform CPR.
“The family showed up,” Kansas City, Kansas, police Ofc. JiRee Police, who was among the first responders who arrived at the pool. “The family was already performing CPR. As long as you get blood circulating, we can take over from there and save a life.”
Bystander CPR does not require mouth-to-mouth breath help. It’s just chest compressions. Medical professionals say it should be started as soon as you realize someone is not breaking.
“You can tap and shout, ‘Are you OK?’ And if they don’t respond and you do not see normal breathing or even grasping, then we know it’s time to start CPR,” said Christine Fenwick, a nurse educator at University Health.
You can see a demonstration of bystander CPR in the video player below.
“We try to encourage everyone we run into to just that basic first-aid can really make a difference in someone’s life,” Capt. Jeffrey Veilhauer, KCKFD paramedic said.
It’s possible to break ribs while performing CPR, but officials say you shouldn’t stop.
If you are interested in in-person or online CPR training, just do an online search “CPR classes near me.”
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