Category: News

The suspect, from the western state of Washington, allegedly gave money and advice to the attacker over the internet.

Law enforcement in the northwestern United States have charged a suspect in connection with a deadly shooting at a Canadian school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.

On Tuesday, prosecutors charged 30-year-old James Cody Bryant, a resident of Washington state, with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

Bryant allegedly provided money and technical advice to the attacker in conversations over the internet, starting six months before the February 10 attack.

The shooting was “a horrific tragedy for that small community and for all of Canada”, acting US Attorney Neil Floyd said at a news conference in Seattle. “Indeed, here in the Pacific Northwest, we felt the pain of those families devastated by this violence.”

Canadian officials have described the attack as one of the country’s worst mass shootings.

The suspect, 18-year-old transgender woman Jesse Van Rootselaar, shot and killed her mother and half-brother at their home before travelling to the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and opening fire.

Six people were killed, including five students, and 27 other victims were injured. Van Rootselaar, a former student at the school, died by suicide at the end of the attack.

Police in Canada said at the time that Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health issues.

Alleged online advice and financial support

US prosecutors allege Bryant and Van Rootselaar had been in touch through the social media service Discord and had discussed how to carry out the mass shooting.

The pair discussed how to maximise notoriety after the attack, with Bryant allegedly agreeing to livestream it through Twitch, Floyd said on Tuesday.

Bryant also allegedly provided money for items like a pair of shoes for the attack and instructed Van Rootselaar on how to start and then drive a car to reach the school.

Prosecutors alleged Bryant, whom officials cited by The Associated Press and Reuters say identifies as female, had admitted to investigators that she was “maybe the only one who could have stopped the shooter”.

Warning signs ignored

In September, the British Columbia government sued the technology company OpenAI in a California court, saying its ChatGPT platform played a role in the shooting.

Van Rootselaar, the Canadian officials alleged, had been flagged by OpenAI’s safety team for her statements about gun violence, and her account had been suspended. But law enforcement authorities were not alerted to the problem.

In its lawsuit, British Columbia sought financial compensation from the company to cover its emergency response to the shooting and community recovery efforts.

It also asked the court to force OpenAI to reform how it identifies and handles users who threaten violence.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he was “deeply sorry” his company had not contacted law enforcement in a public letter two months after the shooting.

“While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible loss your community has suffered,” he wrote, adding that OpenAI would take steps to prevent such “tragedies” in the future.

The lawsuit filed in California alleges Altman’s company never undertook the promised policy changes.

By the time of the filing, OpenAI was facing more than 30 other lawsuits in California, where it is based, from victims’ families, survivors and others affected by the Tumbler Ridge attack over alleged negligence.

Paramount Skydance has completed its $110bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery to form Skydance.

The deal, which closed on Tuesday, brings together two entertainment giants that own movie studios and theme parks, but also brings two of the United States’ most influential news brands under one roof — CNN and CBS News.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

Skydance CEO David Ellison, son of tech tycoon Larry Ellison, who is also a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has appointed Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. Kreiz previously led Mattel.

The road to the merger has included lawsuits from unions and 12 different state attorneys general. But the deal was ultimately settled after the company agreed to appoint an independent editorial board to oversee both news networks amid concerns that the merger would lead to skewed coverage at the two networks.

On Monday, the company announced that Mark Thompson will stay on as CNN’s editor-in-chief, while Bari Weiss, editor-in-chief at CBS News, who was appointed to the role a year ago on Monday, will stay in her position.

Thompson’s continuation brought “a sigh of relief” among journalists at CNN, its media industry newsletter, Reliable Sources, reported.

Ever since the merger had been announced, there had been a wave of concerns at the network that major changes would be made to CNN if the Ellisons took over.

A looming future

There are still a lot of unknowns about what news will look like under Skydance. In a memo to staffers on Monday, Thompson said that “the specifics of how CNN will plug into and operate in the new company have yet to be finalized.”

That means looming fears of layoffs and consolidation still weigh on both news divisions as the combined company will carry $80bn in debt, while the entertainment giants look to cut costs, grow their streaming footprint and have pledged to produce 30 movies per year.

Thompson’s stay may be temporary, as The New York Times reported that his contract is up in the spring.

It is also not yet clear whether the networks will stay separate or combine in the long term, amid concerns that CBS News’ Weiss could be handed additional charge of CNN. In the past, the network’s top talent, including journalist Anderson Cooper, has threatened to leave if she came on board.

Weiss took over the network one year ago, and viewership has slumped across the board. Most recently, the news magazine programme 60 Minutes saw viewership slump during its season premiere last month, dropping 21 percent from the prior year and marking its worst viewership for a season premiere in 25 years, according to Nielsen ratings.

Editorial questions

The terms of the attorneys general’s lawsuit settlement require an independent editorial oversight board for both the networks. Skydance has 180 days to put it together. Press freedom experts do not believe that will help maintain editorial independence.

“It doesn’t take effect for 180 days. The newsroom can be totally overhauled in 180 days,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Al Jazeera.

It is not the first time a publication has appointed an editorial board to weigh in on concerns about editorial influence. In 2007, when News Corp acquired Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, the Bancroft family, which owned the publisher at the time, was concerned that new owner and media mogul Rupert Murdoch would impact the paper’s editorial independence with his conservative tilt.

The paper appointed a five-person independent committee to preserve editorial integrity. But it was later revealed, including by former members of the board during a roundtable discussion hosted by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, that it did not deliver the oversight that it was originally intended to provide.

In Skydance’s case, the board is to be made up of five journalists appointed by Ellison, and there is no requirement for the company to disclose its findings to the public. The terms say that no more than two people on the board can be affiliated with the same political party.

“The truth isn’t dictated by the fifty-yard line between political parties. Sometimes neither political party is even close to the truth. So having a commitment to bipartisan representation, as opposed to a commitment to truth-telling, totally misunderstands what news is,” Stern said.

On Wall Street, the new company began trading under the ticker symbol SKYD. Since opening on Tuesday, the stock has dropped 2.5 percent.

The 50-year-old has regained consciousness and is receiving care nearly one week after being sent to the hospital following a botched lethal injection.

Lawyers for Christa Pike say she is awake and able to speak after her botched execution attempt by the state of Tennessee on September 30.

Tuesday’s statement marks the first public indication that Pike’s condition has improved after she was transported to a Nashville hospital after receiving two doses of pentobarbitol, lethal injections intended to end her life.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

Her failed execution has sparked debate about the use of the death penalty in the United States. Pike is thought to be the first person to have survived such an injection in the country.

“Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care,” Pike’s lawyers said in a statement.

“Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery.”

The statement also expresses gratitude to medical workers who the lawyers say have “treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her”.

Pike’s lawyers had previously stated that she was unconscious and on a ventilator. They described her arms as “swollen, burned and blistered” by the failed execution.

 

Pike was convicted and sentenced to die in 1996 for her participation in the murder of a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, when she was 18 years old. Two co-defendants received lesser sentences.

Pike’s defence lawyers had pointed to her mental health struggles in their attempts to commute her sentence. But the Slemmer family had advocated for the death penalty, pointing to the violent nature of the 19-year-old’s murder.

Accounts of Pike’s failed execution describe her kicking off the sheet covering her body and, at one point, appearing to snore. She reportedly expressed feeling pain as the lethal injections were administered.

The incident has brought attention to the prevalence of botched executions in the US criminal justice system.

Critics have argued that botched executions — defined as those that deviate from established procedures through unforeseen issues, delays or administrative incompetence — can cause unnecessary pain and suffering for those being put to death.

Citing the researcher Austin Sarat, the Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit, estimates that 3 percent of executions in the US from 1890 to 2010 were botched.

Oil exports from the Gulf have resumed significantly in recent days, despite a surge in attacks on ships around the Strait of Hormuz, maritime experts and trackers say.

Gulf oil flows, excluding Iran, recovered to more than 81 percent of pre-war levels in September, while crude exports from the wider Middle East exceeded pre-war levels on 14 days during the month, maritime intelligence firm Kpler reported.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

However, the recovery has come as attacks on tankers increase and shipping companies face higher freight, insurance and security costs.

On Tuesday, 12 crew members on a Panama-flagged tanker were injured in an attack by an unknown projectile while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Before the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz typically handled about 125 large commercial vessels a day and shipments through it accounted for about 20 percent of global crude and liquefied natural gas supplies.

In retaliation for US-Israeli attacks, Iran effectively closed the strait, while Washington has maintained a blockade on Iranian ports.

So, how are ships getting through the strait, and how long can producers maintain the increased flow through one of the world’s most important energy corridors while attacks and harassment of ships continue?

What do we know about the recent attacks on ships?

The security situation in the Strait of Hormuz has continued to deteriorate even as more oil moves out of the region.

At least seven incidents involving tankers have been reported in the past week, according to shipping intelligence service Marisks.

The Kuwaiti-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) MT Kazimah III caught fire after being struck on October 1 while travelling through the strait, causing a fire on board. Five staff were safely rescued following the incident.

On October 4, the Liberian-flagged Aframax tanker Lipsi was struck northeast of Oman’s Jazirat Umm al-Fayarin, damaging its engine room, with no casualties reported.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has reported at least one attack a day in the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf of Aden, where Iran-backed Houthis are targeting Saudi-linked shipping, since October 2.

Threats continued on Monday, when a tanker entering the Hormuz strait near Oman was hailed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and ordered to turn around or risk attack, according to UKMTO.

How much oil is getting through the Hormuz Strait?

Despite those attacks, oil exports from the region have risen dramatically.

According to provisional data from Kpler, the seven-day moving average for Middle East crude exports reached 18.3 million barrels per day (bpd) on September 30, compared with an average of about 18 million bpd during the 12 months before the war.

Vortexa separately estimated that the 14-day moving average for Middle East crude and condensate exports had reached 18.6 million bpd.

However, not all of that oil is actually being shipped through Hormuz.

Kpler estimates that about 40 percent of oil exports now bypass the strait, while much of the crude that does cross is transferred between tankers offshore.

Partly as a result of the increased oil exports, oil prices continue to fall, with Brent crude – the global benchmark – dropping 0.75 percent to $99.57 a barrel on Tuesday. US West Texas Intermediate crude also fell 1.2 percent to $88.37 a barrel, according to data from Oilprice.com.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the apparent increase in oil flows, boasting that Washington controls the strait and that US forces were succeeding in protecting vessels passing through Hormuz.

Iran has disputed claims that oil flow through the key waterway has increased, saying the amount passing was “negligible” and that it still has effective control of the strait.

How are oil exports bypassing Hormuz?

The recovery of oil exports has been made possible largely by Saudi Arabia’s use of alternative export infrastructure and an increasingly complex system for moving crude around Hormuz.

“The increasing availability of crude oil from the Middle East is due to two factors: the effective use of the East-West pipeline by Saudi Arabia and ship-to-ship transfer around the Strait of Hormuz,” Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, told Al Jazeera.

Saudi’s East-West pipeline carries oil from fields in the east of the country to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea in the West.

Ship-to-ship transfers happen when smaller shuttle boats, which often turn off their transponders to make them hard to detect, physically transport oil through the Strait of Hormuz, before offloading their cargoes onto larger tankers waiting just beyond it.

Is this sustainable?

Varga said current flows could be maintained as long as those methods and routes remain secure.

Saudi’s East-West pipeline has already suffered temporary closures as a result of drone strikes, such as those launched by Iran-backed groups in Iraq in September.

“The flow will be sustainable unless attacks on ships and shipping lanes or on the pipeline resume, something that does not seem imminent at the moment but could happen at any time if geopolitical tensions flare up,” he said.

But maintaining those flows is also putting pressure on the shipping system.

“The shuttle system in the Gulf is doing wonders in getting oil out, but it requires plenty of ships,” Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group, told Al Jazeera.

That demand has pushed freight costs higher and reduced tanker availability elsewhere, while Asian buyers are increasingly having to source crude from further afield, he added.

“Previously a supply story, this is now one about the underlying mechanics of shipping,” Beauchamp said. “Ships don’t get built overnight.”

Varga said oil prices also remain comparatively high – currently hovering just less than $100 a barrel compared with around $72 before the war broke out – because of increased shipping and insurance costs.

Last week, members of the Group of Seven (G7) announced they would release up to 100 million barrels of strategic oil reserves, including diesel, in a bid to control prices. Further releases of crude and diesel from strategic reserves could also ease prices, but with global inventories already thin, another deterioration in Middle East security could quickly push them higher again.

“Only a sustainable and credible peace deal between the US and Iran and the subsequent permanent and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would re-establish the pre-conflict status quo,” Varga said.

On Monday, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that the effects of the disruption could last well beyond the reopening of Hormuz, even if it does happen.

Speaking at the Energy Intelligence conference in London, Nasser said nearly three billion barrels of oil supply had been lost since the conflict began at the end of February and that rebuilding depleted inventories while meeting demand could take as long as two years.

“The system is already straining,” he added.

Letter from progressive US representatives brings attention to Israeli abuse and detention of Palestinian medical workers.

A group of six progressive Congress members in the United States have released a statement condemning Israel’s abuse of Palestinian healthcare workers, including the Gaza doctor Hussam Abu Safia, who has been held in Israeli detention since 2024.

The Tuesday statement draws attention to Israeli attacks on Palestinian medical workers, who have been targeted and detained during the country’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

It was signed by Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Summer Lee, Pramila Jayapal and Delia Ramirez.

“Over the last three years, the Israeli government has systematically destroyed the health system in Palestine, murdering at least 1,700 Palestinian doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other healthcare workers and destroying dozens of hospitals,” the statement reads.

“It has arrested and arbitrarily detained hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers, including at least 16 physicians who continue to be held in inhumane conditions.”

Among those detained is Abu Safia, who lawyers say was subjected to abuses such as torture, sleep deprivation and beatings during his detention.

Israeli soldiers arrested Abu Safia in December 2024, after he and other medical workers reportedly refused to evacuate from Kamal Adwan Hospital, where they worked.

No charges have been filed against Abu Safia, and he has not had a trial.

Israeli attacks on health infrastructure in Gaza, including the destruction of nearly all of the strip’s hospitals and medical centres, are one component of what rights groups have depicted as an effort to deprive Palestinians of essential services such as food, water and medical treatment.

Tuesday’s statement argues that such efforts are part of an “intentional policy designed to further occupation, apartheid, and genocide against the Palestinian people”.

That assessment is shared by a growing number of rights organisations, scholars and United Nations officials, who have denounced Israeli actions in the Palestinian strip.

Israeli officials have stated that they target hospitals and medical facilities as part of an effort to attack the Palestinian armed groups that allegedly use such facilities to carry out and coordinate operations.

Such claims have often failed to withstand scrutiny. Israel admitted that its soldiers killed a group of 15 emergency workers in southern Gaza in March 2025, after initially stating that the ambulance convoy had approached soldiers “suspiciously” and claiming, without evidence, that several of those killed were linked to Hamas.

A report by the group Forensic Architecture and Earshot found that Israeli soldiers fired more than 900 bullets as they opened fire on a clearly marked ambulance convoy and killed some of the medics “execution-style” before burying their bodies and their vehicles.