Appeals court lets Trump keep control of Guard troops

An appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids.

The decision halts a ruling from a lower-court judge who found Trump acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard without the governor’s permission since 1965.

In its decision, a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously concluded it was likely Trump lawfully exercised his authority in federalizing control of the guard.

It said that although presidents don’t have unfettered power to seize control of a state’s Guard, the Trump administration had presented enough evidence to show it had a defensible rationale for doing so, citing violent acts by protesters.

Congo, Rwanda plan to sign peace deal next Friday

Congo and Rwanda will sign a peace agreement next Friday in Washington that aims to ending fighting in eastern Congo, the two countries and the U.S. State Department said.

Congo has accused Rwanda of backing M23 rebels in its mineral-rich eastern region across the border with Rwanda. U.N. experts say the rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from Rwanda, which has denied backing M23.

The decades-long conflict escalated in January, when the M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic Congolese city of Goma, followed by the town of Bukavu in February.

The draft agreement includes “provisions on respect for territorial integrity and a prohibition of hostilities; disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration of non-state armed groups,” the joint statement said Wednesday. The agreement also includes a commitment to respecting territorial integrity and the conditional integration of non-state armed groups.

SpaceX rocket explodes during test; no injuries reported

A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky.

The company said the Starship “experienced a major anomaly” about 11 p.m. while on the test stand preparing for the 10th flight test at Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas.

“A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation, and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX said in a statement.

SpaceX said Wednesday night’s explosion posed no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site.

Hackers say they wiped out $90 million from Iran

Hackers with possible links to Israel have drained more than $90 million from Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to blockchain analytics firms.

The group that claimed responsibility for the hack leaked on Thursday what it said was the company’s full source code. “ASSETS LEFT IN NOBITEX ARE NOW ENTIRELY OUT IN THE OPEN,” the group wrote on its Telegram account.

The stolen funds were transferred to addresses bearing messages that criticized Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic wrote in a blog post. It said the attack likely was not financially motivated as the wallets the hackers had poured the money into “effectively burned the funds in order to send Nobitex a political message.”

Nicaraguan opposition figure shot to death

A retired Nicaraguan military officer who became an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega was shot to death Thursday at his home in Costa Rica, authorities said.

Roberto Samcam, 67, had been living in exile since July 2018, when paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua.

Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and went directly to the retired major’s home about 7:30 a.m.

Without saying a word, the man shot Samcam multiple times with a 9mm pistol, according to Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Organization. The gunman escaped.

Greenpeace warns of potential disaster after incident

A collision between two oil tankers just east of the world’s most critical oil choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, could bring about a potential environmental disaster, Greenpeace said Thursday.

The two giant tankers, Adalynn and Front Eagle, crashed Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and caught fire before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. No injuries were reported, according to Emirati authorities.

Satellite data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System showed heat signatures in the area early Tuesday.

Greenpeace said it had reviewed satellite imagery that showed a plume of oil stretching up to about 3,700 acres from the crash site.

The 23-year-old tanker Adalynn belonged to a so-called Russian “shadow fleet” — known to operate older ships below basic security standards — and may have been carrying about 70,000 tons of crude oil, the group said.

Finland’s lawmakers vote to leave treaty about land mines

Finland’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to pull out of a major international treaty on antipersonnel land mines Thursday as the Nordic country seeks to boost its defenses against an increasingly assertive Russia next door.

Finland shares an 830-mile land border with Russia and joined NATO in 2023. Finland says land mines could be used to defend its vast and rugged terrain in the event of an attack. Finnish lawmakers voted 157-18 to move forward on a proposal to leave the Ottawa Convention.

The Nordics and Baltics have been sounding the alarm on a potential Russian incursion since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

— Denver Post wire services