NEW YORK — The allegation sounded like the stuff of spy movies: A Pakistani businessman trying to hire hit men, even handing them $5,000 in cash, to kill a U.S. politician on behalf of Iran ‘s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
It was true, and potential targets of the 2024 scheme included now-President Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the man told jurors at his attempted terrorism trial in New York on Wednesday. But he insisted his actions were driven by fear for loved ones in Iran, and he figured he’d be apprehended before anything came of the scheme.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” the defendant, Asif Merchant, testified through an Urdu interpreter. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”
Merchant said he had anticipated getting arrested before anyone was killed, intended to cooperate with the U.S. government and had hoped that would help him get a green card.
This image provided by the Justice Department, contained in the complaint supporting the arrest warrant, shows Asif Merchant. (Justice Department via AP, File)
U.S. authorities were, indeed, on to him – the supposed hit men he paid were actually undercover FBI agents – and he was arrested on July 12, 2024, a day before an unrelated attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Merchant did sit for voluntary FBI interviews, but he ultimately ended up with a trial, not a cooperation deal.
“You traveled to the United States for the purpose of hiring Mafia members to kill a politician, correct?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta asked during her turn questioning Merchant Wednesday in a Brooklyn federal court.
“That’s right,” Merchant replied, his demeanor as matter-of-fact as his testimony was unusual.
The trial is unfolding amid the less than week-old Iran war, which killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a strike that Trump summed up as “I got him before he got me.” Jurors are instructed to ignore news pertaining to the case.
The Iranian government has denied plotting to kill Trump or other U.S. officials.
Merchant, 47, had a roughly 20-year banking career in Pakistan before getting involved in an array of businesses: clothing, car sales, banana exports, insulation imports. He openly has two families, one in Pakistan and the other in Iran – where, he said, he was introduced around the end of 2022 to a Revolutionary Guard intelligence operative. They initially spoke about getting involved in a hawala, an informal money transfer system, Merchant said.
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Merchant testified that his periodic visits to the U.S. for his garment business piqued the interest of his Revolutionary Guard contact, who trained him on countersurveillance techniques.
The U.S. deems the Revolutionary Guard a “foreign terrorist organization.” Formally called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the force has been prominent in Iran under Khamenei.
Merchant said the handler told him to seek U.S. residents interested in working for Iran. Then came another assignment: Look for a criminal to arrange protests, steal things, do some money laundering, “and maybe have somebody murdered,” Merchant recalled.
“He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me – he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley,” he added.
After U.S. immigration agents pulled Merchant aside at the Houston airport in April 2024, searched his possessions and asked about his travels to Iran, he concluded that he was under surveillance. But still he researched Trump rally locations, sketched out a plot for a shooting at a political rally, lined up the supposed hit men and scrambled together $5,000 from a cousin to pay them a “token of appreciation.”
He even reported back to his Revolutionary Guard contact, sending observations – fake, Merchant said – tucked into a book that he shipped to Iran through a series of intermediaries.
Merchant said he “had no other option” than to play along because the handler had indicated that he knew who Merchant’s Iranian relatives were and where they lived.
In a court filing this week, prosecutors noted that Merchant didn’t seek out law enforcement to help with his purported predicament before he was arrested. He testified that he couldn’t turn to authorities because his handler had people watching him.
Prosecutors also said that in his FBI interviews, Merchant “neglected to mention any facts that could have supported” an argument that he acted under duress.
Merchant told jurors Wednesday that he didn’t think agents would believe his story, because their questions suggested “they think that I’m some type of super-spy.”
“And are you a super-spy?” defense lawyer Avraham Moskowitz asked.
Billionaire hotel magnate Thomas J. Pritzker announced his immediate retirement as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation on Monday, citing his “terrible judgment” in maintaining ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The 75-year-old heir to the Pritzker family fortune, long a fixture in elite circles and Democratic fundraising, expressed “deep regret” over communications that persisted well after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Pritzker’s exit, effective immediately, underscores the growing reckoning for powerful figures entangled in Epstein’s web of perversion, a network that preyed on vulnerable young women while shielding predators behind wealth and influence.
The revelations stem from millions of pages of U.S. Justice Department documents unsealed last month, exposing Epstein’s insidious reach into business, politics, and high society. Emails and records show Pritzker exchanging “friendly” messages with Epstein years after the financier’s Florida conviction, including attempts to broker investments in Dubai involving DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
Pritzker, who will not seek reelection to Hyatt’s board at the 2026 stockholder meeting, lamented in a statement: “I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner. I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”
This isn’t mere oversight; it’s a damning indictment of the elite’s complicity in enabling perverts like Epstein, whose operations often intersected with political lobbying and philanthropy—networks that Pritzker, even a prominent supporter of Jewish causes, navigated effortlessly.
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Pritzker’s fall is part of a cascade of resignations rippling through Epstein’s tainted orbit. Goldman Sachs chief legal counsel Kathryn Ruemmler stepped down last week, citing distractions from her Epstein links. Norwegian police raided properties of former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland amid a corruption probe tied to the sex offender. DP World’s bin Sulayem was ousted over his decade-long friendship with Epstein, including emails linking him to Jes Staley, then at JPMorgan Chase.
Economist Larry Summers resigned from OpenAI’s board in late 2025, while former UK ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson faces a U.S. congressional grilling from Representatives Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyam over his “extensive social and business ties” to Epstein.
Mandelson’s scandal has ignited a firestorm in Britain, toppling UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and cabinet secretary, and prompting calls for Starmer’s own resignation. Appointed ambassador in February 2025 despite red flags, Mandelson was sacked in September after deeper Epstein connections surfaced. Opposition leaders decry Starmer’s “appalling judgment,” amplifying anti-establishment fury against elites who hobnobbed with perverts while preaching moral superiority.
Hyatt’s board swiftly named CEO Mark Hoplamazian as Pritzker’s successor, praising the outgoing chairman’s “instrumental” role in strategy. Yet, the market reacted coolly: Hyatt shares (H) dipped 1.8% to $142.50 in after-hours trading Monday, erasing $1.2 billion in market cap amid investor unease over reputational fallout.
Analysts at Barclays downgraded the stock to Neutral, citing “elevated risks from ongoing Epstein scrutiny,” while the broader hospitality sector—Marriott (MAR) and Hilton (HLT)—slid 0.9% in sympathy. Pritzker, pivoting to his science foundation, leaves a $50 billion family empire shadowed by questions of ethical blindness.
This wave of accountability exposes the rot at the heart of Epstein’s client list—predominantly wealthy, often Jewish elites. As more documents drop, the purge of these perverts and their enablers can’t come soon enough—justice demands no less for the exploited girls whose lives were shattered.
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Three people, including the suspect, were fatally shot during a Rhode Island youth hockey game Monday, authorities said.
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves told reporters that three other victims were hospitalized in critical condition. The shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gun wound, she said.
While police were not involved in the shooter’s death, authorities were still investigating, she said.
“It appears that this was a targeted event, that it may be a family dispute,” she said.
Goncalves did not provide details about the suspect or the ages of those who were killed, though she said it appeared that both victims were adults.
She said investigators were trying to piece together what happened and speak with witnesses of the shooting inside Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, a few miles outside Providence. They also were reviewing video taken from the hockey game. Unverified footage circulating on social media shows players diving for cover and fans fleeing their seats after popping sounds are heard.
Outside the arena, tearful families and high school hockey players still in uniform could be seen hugging before they boarded a bus to leave the area. Roads surrounding the arena were shut down as a heavy police presence remained and helicopters flew overhead.
Monday’s shooting comes nearly two months after Rhode Island was rocked by a separate gun violence tragedy at Brown University , where a gunman killed two students and wounded nine others. That shooter went on to also fatally shoot a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor. Authorities later found Claudio Neves Valente, 48, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility.
“The fortunate thing is that the two incidents are not related, but it is very tragic,” said Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien. “These are high school kids. They were doing an event, they were playing with their families watching, a fun time, and it turned into this.”
Pawtucket is nestled just north of Providence and right under the Massachusetts state border. A city of just under 80,000, Pawtucket had up until recently been known as the home to Hasbro’s headquarters.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted enabler in Jeffrey Epstein’s web of exploitation, stonewalled the House Oversight Committee on Monday, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights and refusing to utter a word beyond prepared deflections. Appearing via videoconference from her Texas prison camp in a khaki jumpsuit, Maxwell’s deposition lasted under an hour, leaving lawmakers fuming and the public no closer to unraveling the full scope of Epstein’s elite circle—a network heavy with rich-rooted influencers whose shadows still loom over American power structures.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) called it “very disappointing,” lamenting missed chances to probe Epstein’s crimes and “potential co-conspirators.” Democrats like Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) accused her of “protecting” unnamed figures, but their outrage rings hollow amid their party’s own ties to the scandal-plagued Clintons.
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Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, teased a bombshell: full testimony if President Donald Trump grants clemency. “Only she can provide the complete account,” Markus said, hinting it could clear Trump and Bill Clinton—both denying involvement—while noting “some may not like what they hear.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R, Ariz.) and House Oversight Committee chair Rep. James Comer (R, Ky.) speak to members of the media after a closed-door virtual deposition with Ghislaine Maxwell on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9, 2026. (Nathan Howard—Bloomberg/Getty Images)
This dangle feeds into the “nation under blackmail” theory: Epstein’s operation, with its high-society lures, may have ensnared leaders in compromising positions, holding America hostage to hidden leverage. Trump, who once wished Maxwell “well” and hasn’t ruled out a pardon, draws mixed views—pro for pushing file releases, anti for flirting with leniency that could whitewash the mess.
Republicans like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) blasted the idea: “No clemency and no mercy for child predators.” Democrats, meanwhile, cry foul over Maxwell’s prison transfer after a DOJ interview clearing Trump, ignoring Clinton’s deeper Epstein links.
The session followed the Justice Department’s unredacted file release to lawmakers, mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) accused a “cover-up,” but heavy redactions persist, fueling suspicions of elite protection. Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 amid sex trafficking charges, pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor. Maxwell, convicted in 2021, appeals her 20-year sentence.
Upcoming Clintons’ testimonies on Feb. 26-27 could expose more, but expect partisan theater—Republicans dodging internal rifts, Democrats shielding their icons. In a nation possibly blackmailed by such scandals, Maxwell’s silence speaks volumes.
When the Trump administration targeted billions of dollars in federal welfare funds recently over fraud concerns, it singled out five Democratic-run states.
An examination by The Wall Street Journal found that the main federal aid program the administration is seeking to block, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, has long been plagued by poor financial oversight and questionable spending in states led by both Republicans and Democrats.
Auditors in numerous states, including Connecticut, Louisiana and Florida, have uncovered problems with TANF—once America’s primary welfare program for low-income families. Created three decades ago, it comprises more than $30 billion.
TANF funds flow annually through block grants to states, which have wide latitude to spend them and minimal reporting requirements—a structure critics say hampers oversight. Meant to allow states to be creative in serving needy families, it has resulted in a shift: States now award most of the money to nonprofits, companies and their own state agencies. An average of about 849,000 families got direct cash aid each month in fiscal 2025, federal data shows, down from about 1.9 million in fiscal 2010.
Average number of families receiving direct TANF aid
Average number of families receiving direct TANF aid
Note: Monthly averages for fiscal years ending in September
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Audits have shown a range of problems, including states inaccurately reporting large expenditures and disbursing millions of dollars to contractors without tracking how the cash was spent. State and federal records show red and blue states alike have directed hundreds of millions of dollars to programs with tenuous—or no—connections to TANF’s goals.
Questionable expenditures have included college scholarships that benefited middle- or upper-income families, antiabortion centers, a volleyball stadium in Mississippi, and an Ohio job-training nonprofit where leaders and employees were later sentenced to prison after prosecutors said they used TANF money for vacations, real estate and salaries for people who didn’t work there.
Both conservative and liberal groups—and repeated reports from the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s nonpartisan watchdog—say the federal government for years hasn’t paid enough attention to how states use the money.
Last year, the GAO identified 37 states where recent audits found 162 deficiencies in financial oversight, “56 of which were severe.” It criticized “opaque accounting practices” by many groups receiving TANF funds.
States often use TANF money as a “slush fund” to plug budget shortfalls and finance initiatives that don’t help poor people get jobs or strengthen families, said Hayden Dublois of the conservative Foundation for Government Accountability. He describes TANF’s lack of oversight as “fraud by design.”
“There are very little, if any, safeguards,” said Dublois, who estimates one in five TANF dollars, or about $6 billion, is misspent every year.
Ann Flagg, the top TANF official under then-President Joe Biden, said she and other officials tried to rein in questionable state spending through a proposed regulation change that would have limited how TANF dollars can be spent.
“Knowing that there were so many layers between the activity on the ground and the federal perch, there were many, many instances, I am sure, that funds were used in crazy ways,” she said.
Then President Bill Clinton prepares to sign legislation in the Rose Garden of the White House overhauling America’s welfare system on Aug. 22, 1996. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Trump has focused on fraud after a safety-net scandal in Minnesota, but those cases don’t involve TANF. The most prominent scandal involving TANF funds, at least $77 million, took place several years ago in Mississippi. The Trump administration in January signaled plans to extract a potentially hefty penalty from the state after earlier pausing a Biden administration effort to do so.
Reinventing welfare
Today’s TANF program was created during a fleeting moment of bipartisan cooperation 30 years ago. The GOP, led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, pushed for the welfare overhaul as part of the Republican “Contract with America.” Leaders of both parties hailed the program as giving more freedom to states, which knew their own needs better than anyone in Washington.
President Bill Clinton praised it for “ending welfare as we know it.”
States which receive TANF funds were given broad flexibility to disburse the money as they saw fit. Some observers point to successes, primarily a dramatic drop in welfare rolls, though critics say that was driven partly by onerous work requirements and not declining poverty rates.
TANF, overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supplies $16.5 billion a year from the federal government, matched by about $15 billion in state funds. Nationwide, around 20% of impoverished families receive cash assistance, according to recent analyses. Time-limited maximum monthly payments for a family of three ranged from $204 in Arkansas to $1,370 in Minnesota in 2024.
“The program has drifted away from the core purpose of supporting families with very little income,” said Nick Gwyn, who studies TANF for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank.
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Audits and reports on the use of TANF funds have been have been limited in scope. But those conducted show state officials have often failed to track where the money goes or whether it is spent properly.
A Louisiana audit in 2024 found that state employees didn’t verify or document the hours worked by some TANF enrollees, a federal requirement. It was the 13th consecutive year that auditors had reported the same problem. The audit also said the state hadn’t accurately documented TANF distributions to contractors.
Louisiana said it concurred with the findings and would step up compliance.
In Connecticut, auditors said the state in 2024 didn’t sufficiently review the financial reports of 131 subcontractors who received $53.6 million in TANF funds, making it difficult to assess whether the money was being spent on “allowable activities.”
Connecticut promised to verify that contractors met their obligations.
Oklahoma Republican state auditor Cindy Byrd said her agency’s audits have found weak or nonexistent documentation showing how TANF funds have been spent.
The GAO recommended at least as early as 2012 that Congress tighten reporting requirements for TANF spending by states, and called on HHS to increase program auditing. No legislation was passed.
Oklahoma state auditor Cindy Byrd pointed to instances of weak or nonexistent TANF documentation.
In 2016, an HHS official testified before a House committee that limitations in federal law prevented the agency from estimating improper payments in TANF. “That doesn’t make any sense to me,” Republican Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama said at the time.
In a recent interview, Palmer said he supports mandating such reporting through legislation. “Just from fiscal responsibility, we have an obligation to do this,” he said. Several Democrats have pushed for legislation to monitor third-party TANF contractors.
Unlike with some other welfare programs, states don’t have to spend all their TANF money in a single year, and many have built up large surpluses. In times of fiscal pressure, such as the 2007-09 recession, many states used TANF funds for purposes that had little to do with the program’s original goals, said Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who helped draft the 1996 legislation that created the program.
He said as the number of welfare recipients dropped, states were supposed to direct funds to help poor parents get jobs and to strengthen families. Instead, states spent the money on unrelated programs, and the federal government didn’t intervene.
“Today all states are in de facto violation of the law” because they aren’t spending all TANF funds on the 1996 law’s goals, Rector said in an interview.
Rector said Democrats and Republicans are both to blame after the law was passed. Many Democrats didn’t want the reforms, and Republicans, after 1996, “told their base that they had ended welfare and just closed the book. I was flabbergasted,” he said.
Scholarships for rich kids
Missouri set aside several million dollars in TANF funds annually in recent years for its Alternatives to Abortion program, state records show. For this fiscal year, the state says it allocated about $12 million in TANF funds to 10 providers, including eight antiabortion pregnancy resource centers.
The program aligns with TANF’s aim of supporting needy families so children can be cared for at home, a Missouri state Department of Social Services spokeswoman said. During pregnancy and for a year after a child’s birth, low-income parents can access services such as counseling and parental education and get help with basic needs.
Abortion-rights supporters say using TANF for services limited to poor Missourians who commit to taking a pregnancy to term is a misuse of funds and intended to support a conservative agenda.
Some states spend large amounts of TANF dollars on child-welfare programs such as foster care, despite receiving dedicated funding for them from other sources, Kathy Larin, a GAO director, testified to Congress in April 2025. “States told us they use TANF because it’s more flexible and can cover costs not eligible” for reimbursement, she said.
Texas used about $251 million of its $884 million in TANF expenditures in fiscal year 2023 on child welfare and foster-care services and payments, according to federal data. The state used just 1.9% of its TANF dollars on basic assistance to needy families. Texas officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
States use TANF for so many purposes that it raises the question of who is benefiting, the GAO’s Larin said. For example, she noted, one state has a “marriage promotion program, but they can’t assess whether the program improved marriage quality or duration.”
Several states have also used TANF money for programs available to people well above the poverty threshold.
Between 2011 and 2024, Michigan faced criticism for pumping more than $750 million in TANF funds into two college scholarship programs that aided many students from middle-income and even affluent families, according to the nonprofit Michigan League for Public Policy.
In November 2024, under Biden, the federal Administration for Children and Families, which oversees TANF, picked five states—California, Minnesota, Kentucky, Maine and Ohio—for a pilot program aimed at measuring outcomes of TANF spending to improve effectiveness.
Months later, the Trump administration canceled the pilots except in Ohio, and substituted in Arizona, Virginia, Iowa and Nebraska.
In April 2025, the GAO again called for Congress to require states to provide more data on TANF spending.
So far, Congress hasn’t acted on the proposal, and the Trump administration has taken no position on the issue.
The GOP’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” a tax-and-spending megabill passed in 2025, imposed various requirements on states’ spending of federal social-welfare funds, including stricter verifications for SNAP and Medicaid recipients. States can be penalized if error rates are too high. But the legislation didn’t address TANF.
Last month, the administration said it was freezing about $10.6 billion in child-care and family-assistance grants, much of it under TANF, to the Democratic-led states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York.
The states sued, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s effort. The federal agency that administers TANF declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
In a case that has sparked widespread discussion in Indian diaspora communities and beyond, two Indian doctoral students at the University of Colorado Boulder have received a $200,000 settlement from the university following a federal civil rights lawsuit. The dispute originated from a 2023 complaint about the smell of homemade Indian food—specifically palak paneer—being heated in a departmental microwave, which the students claim spiraled into broader discrimination, retaliation, and the derailment of their academic careers.
Aditya Prakash, then a PhD student in cultural anthropology, was reheating his lunch of palak paneer—a traditional North Indian dish of pureed spinach and paneer (cottage cheese)—in the anthropology department’s shared kitchen on September 5, 2023. According to accounts in the federal lawsuit and interviews with the students, a staff member entered the room, remarked that the food smelled “pungent,” and informed Prakash there was a rule prohibiting the microwaving of foods with strong odors.
Prakash, now 34, described the comment as a racialized microaggression, evoking childhood experiences of exclusion in Europe over the scent of Indian home-cooked meals. “It wasn’t about that one lunch. It was about whether I had to change what I eat and where I eat it,” he told The Independent. He calmly explained to the staff member that it was simply food and returned to his desk to eat, feeling “othered and saddened.”
The incident quickly escalated. Prakash confronted the staff member, who brought in an administrator. The administrator reportedly expressed a desire to keep the office “smelling nice” and disposed of Prakash’s empty container in front of him. When asked about acceptable foods, she cited “sandwiches” as fine but singled out “curry” as problematic. Prakash pointed out inconsistencies, noting that beef chili brought by the same administrator the previous year had not drawn complaints.
Two days later, Prakash and four fellow students—including his partner, Urmi Bhattacheryya, who had recently joined the department as a doctoral student and teaching assistant—heated Indian food together in an act of solidarity. Another staff member allegedly “heckled” them and closed the kitchen door, which the group interpreted as a gesture of disgust.
Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacheryya (Supplied)
The department accused the students of “inciting a riot” and referred the matter to the Office of Student Conduct, though no formal findings resulted. Bhattacheryya invited Prakash to speak in her class on ethnocentrism and cultural relativism about lived experiences of food-based exclusion among South Asians—without naming individuals. Shortly after, she was locked out of her teaching roster without warning or explanation.
A department-wide email soon reinstated restrictions on preparing foods with “strong or lingering smells” in the main office kitchen. Prakash and Bhattacheryya responded by emailing the entire department, calling the policy discriminatory. From there, the couple alleges, the focus shifted to their “behavior and professionalism.” Prakash was told staff felt threatened by him and required chaperoning in certain areas.
By January 2024, their PhD advisory committees resigned en masse, and they were reassigned to advisers outside their research fields—effectively stalling their doctoral progress. They lost eligibility for teaching roles and funding, jeopardizing their immigration status. A university official later acknowledged the couple’s experience of “pain, discrimination and racism” in correspondence.
In May 2025 (some reports cite September 2025 for filing), Prakash and Bhattacheryya filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Colorado, alleging discrimination based on national origin and culture, as well as retaliation under civil rights laws.
The University of Colorado Boulder settled the case in late 2025 (reported as September or four months after filing), agreeing to pay $200,000 while explicitly denying any liability. As part of the agreement, the university conferred Master’s degrees on the couple for work already completed but permanently barred them from future enrollment or employment at the institution. The prolonged stress exacerbated Bhattacheryya’s fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, and left years of PhD work unfinished.
A university spokesperson, Deborah Méndez-Wilson, stated: “The university is committed to an inclusive environment for all students, faculty and staff regardless of national origin, religion, culture. When these allegations arose in 2023, we took them seriously and adhered to established, robust processes to address them, as we do with all claims of discrimination and harassment. We reached an agreement with the students in September and deny any liability in this case.”
Prakash and Bhattacheryya, now engaged, left the United States this month (January 2026) and have returned to India. Their story has gained traction online, particularly in Indian communities, where many view it as emblematic of subtle biases faced by South Asian immigrants in Western academic and professional spaces—often framed around hygiene, comfort, or “shared norms” that disproportionately target non-Western cuisines.
Prakash framed the ordeal in broader terms: “This is something that we as a people have been bearing for a long time. If this is the path we have to walk, then so it be. Our people should see a better day.”
The case highlights ongoing debates about cultural sensitivity in shared academic environments, the line between personal preferences and discrimination, and the challenges international students face when asserting rights in U.S. institutions.
Ten years ago U.S. officials stationed in Cuba started reporting a strange collection of symptoms, from ringing ears and dizziness to crushing headaches and memory loss. The symptoms, collectively dubbed “Havana syndrome” and more formally known as anomalous health incidents (AHIs), suggested a neurological issue. But what, exactly, the root cause was has remained a matter of intense debate among both medical and military experts.
Now, according to CNN, the U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly been testing a machine that is believed to produce pulsed radio waves and may be linked to Havana syndrome. The DOD and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A device that could produce powerful pulsed radio waves is among the many speculated but unproven causes of Havana syndrome, which also include possible exposure to neurotoxins and mass psychogenic illness (collective anxiety).
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Medical experts continue to debate even the specific neurological consequences of Havana syndrome: researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on 81 federal workers and their family members who said that they had heard a noise and felt pressure in their head and then developed headaches and other cognitive symptoms. The results, published in 2024 in JAMA, showed no differences between the brains of these individuals and those of a control group. Other studies have also found inconclusive results.
“It is possible that individuals with an [anomalous health incident] may be experiencing the results of an event that led to their symptoms, but the injury did not produce the long-term neuroimaging changes that are typically observed after severe trauma or stroke. We hope these results will alleviate concerns about AHI being associated with severe neurodegenerative changes in the brain,” said Carlo Pierpaoli, lead author of the NIH study, in a statement at the time.
Provo, Utah – In a stark affirmation of justice for one of America’s brightest conservative voices, Utah prosecutors laid out a damning case against Tyler James Robinson on Tuesday, charging the 22-year-old radical leftist with aggravated murder in the cold-blooded assassination of Charlie Kirk. With seven felony counts on the table—including obstruction of justice and witness tampering—authorities announced their intent to pursue the death penalty, a fitting end for the monster whose hatred-fueled plot ended the life of the 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder. This isn’t just a prosecution; it’s a declaration of war against the violent extremism festering in leftist online cesspools that radicalized Robinson into a killer.
Kirk, a devoted husband, father of two, and unyielding champion of American values, was gunned down last Wednesday afternoon at a packed Turning Point USA event on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem. Speaking to over 3,000 supporters about mass shootings—ironically, including those tied to trans ideology—Kirk was struck in the neck by a single sniper shot from a rooftop perch about 150 yards away. The graphic footage that went viral captured the horror as pandemonium erupted, but Kirk’s final words, defending freedom and truth, echoed as a testament to his unbreakable spirit.
President Trump, who called Kirk “like a son” and credited him with mobilizing young voters, hailed the charges as a step toward “real justice,” vowing that such attacks on conservatives won’t go unpunished in his America First era.
Robinson, a third-year electrical apprentice from St. George, Utah, faces the full weight of the law after a 33-hour manhunt ended when his own father recognized him from surveillance photos and convinced the coward to turn himself in. Held without bail in Utah County Jail since Friday, the suspect’s digital trail paints a picture of obsession and ideological poison. Court documents reveal a chilling handwritten note found under a keyboard at his apartment: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.” Text messages to his live-in boyfriend—a biological male in the process of transitioning—show Robinson confessing in real time after the shooting: “I’ve had enough of his hatred.
Some hate can’t be negotiated out.” He admitted planning the hit for over a week, even engraving unspent shell casings with pro-trans and anti-fascist slogans, like a twisted manifesto of woke rage.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray, in a riveting press conference, detailed the evidence tying Robinson to the crime: DNA on the trigger of the bolt-action Mauser .30-06 rifle recovered in nearby woods; palm and shoe prints at the scene; and messages on Discord where Robinson allegedly admitted, “Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.” Gray didn’t mince words, calling the killing “an American tragedy” and Kirk “first and foremost a husband and father.” He emphasized aggravating factors: the political targeting of Kirk and the presence of children among the witnesses, including Kirk’s own kids in the crowd. “I do not take this decision lightly,” Gray said of seeking death, “but it’s based solely on the evidence and the nature of this heinous crime.” Under Utah law, aggravated murder qualifies for execution—by lethal injection or, if drugs are unavailable, firing squad—a poetic justice for a sniper who ambushed a patriot.
Robinson’s radicalization, authorities say, was a rapid descent into leftist lunacy. Once a straight-A Mormon kid from a seemingly normal family, he veered hard left in the past year, influenced heavily by his trans boyfriend and online echo chambers. His mother warned family of his shift toward pro-gay, pro-trans views, sparking tensions in their MAGA-leaning household—his dad a die-hard Trump supporter. Family gatherings revealed Robinson’s growing disdain for Kirk, with one relative recounting a dinner chat where he ranted about the activist’s “hate.” FBI Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino, on Fox News, described “multiple warning signs,” including coworkers noting Robinson’s detachment on politics and his “obsession” with Kirk via digital footprints. Bongino hinted at family and friends who might have seen the storm brewing but stayed silent.
The plot thickens with the FBI’s probe into an “extended network” that may have aided and abetted this monster. Bongino told Fox’s “America’s Newsroom” that agents are issuing subpoenas to uncover if anyone—from pro-trans Steam gaming groups to the now-deleted Armed Queers SLC Instagram page—had foreknowledge or provided support, even financial. They’re scrutinizing the TikTokker who questioned Kirk on trans mass shooters right before the shot, wondering if it was a diversion. At a Senate Judiciary hearing Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel revealed Robinson’s Discord chat had far more than 20 participants: “We’re running them all down,” he said, investigating “anyone and everyone” for complicity. Patel cited a text where Robinson boasted of his “opportunity” to kill Kirk over “hatred for what Charlie stood for,” and a destroyed note with similar threats—though the bureau has forensic evidence of its contents. President Trump, in an Oval Office briefing, nailed it: Robinson was “radicalized over the internet… on the left,” a product of the toxic sludge from Biden-era tolerance of extremism.
This assassination isn’t isolated—it’s the latest in a surge of left-wing violence, from Trump’s near-misses to the Minnesota lawmaker slaying. Vice President JD Vance blamed “left-wing extremism,” while Gov. Spencer Cox called Robinson “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” despite no party registration. The roommate, cooperating fully, handed over the incriminating texts and note, stunned by the confession: “You were the one who did it, right?” Robinson’s reply: “I am. I’m sorry.” He even fretted about retrieving his grandpa’s rifle—left in a towel in the bushes—and explaining its loss to his dad.
Robinson’s virtual arraignment is set for 5 p.m. ET Tuesday in Utah County Justice Court. Federal charges could follow, but state prosecutors are leading the charge for swift, severe justice. Kirk’s widow, Erika, vows to carry on his legacy, saying the “cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.” Turning Point USA plans a massive memorial at a 60,000-seat Arizona stadium. As Trump put it, “Charlie was brilliant… He didn’t deserve this.” In an America reclaiming its strength, Robinson’s date with destiny will send a message: Attack our heroes, and you’ll face the full fury of the law. No mercy for those who sow hate and reap death.
Speaking from the Oval Office Wednesday night, President Donald Trump vowed that his administration will “catch each and every one of those who contributed” to the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, as well as any left-wing organizations that have funded and supported political violence.
“This is a dark moment for America,” the president said. “Charlie Kirk traveled the nation joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever, to share his love of country and to spread the simple words of common sense. On campuses nationwide, he championed his ideas with courage, logic, humor and grace.”
It’s long past time for all Americans in the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree. Day after day, year after year in the most hateful and despicable way possible. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.
And it must stop right now.
My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.
From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year—which killed a husband and father—to the attacks on ICE agents, to the vicious murder of a healthcare executive in the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others, radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.
The president beckoned all Americans to “commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie lived and died: the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.”
“Charlie was the best of America and the monster who attacked him was attacking out whole country,” Trump added.
Earlier Wednesday, Trump ordered flags on public buildings to be flown at half staff Sunday evening, in honor of Kirk.
As a mark of respect for the memory of Charlie Kirk, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, September 14, 2025.
I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.
MINNEAPOLIS — In a chilling act of violence that shattered the sanctity of a place of worship and learning, two young children were killed and 17 others injured when a shooter opened fire during a morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday, August 27, 2025. The attack, described by authorities as a “deliberate act of cruelty beyond comprehension,” unfolded just days into the new school year, leaving families, the community, and the nation grappling with profound grief and outrage.
The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman—a former student at the school—fired dozens of rounds through the stained-glass windows of the church sanctuary before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an inquiry into the incident as both an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, with early evidence pointing to a manifesto posted online that revealed deep-seated grievances.
The shooting began shortly before 8:30 a.m. local time at Annunciation Church, an integral part of the Catholic school serving students from preschool through eighth grade in south Minneapolis. Children and parishioners had gathered for a special Mass to celebrate the start of the school year, themed “A Future Filled with Hope,” drawing from a biblical verse emphasizing welfare and optimism.
Witnesses described a scene of sudden chaos. Ten-year-old Weston Halsne, a fifth-grader seated near the windows, recounted hearing the first shots and mistaking them for something innocuous. “It was like right beside me … I think I got gunpowder on my neck,” he told reporters. “The first one, I was like, ‘What is that?’ and then I heard it again and I just ran under the pew.” His friend, Victor, heroically shielded him but was struck in the back. “He’s really brave, and I hope he’s good in the hospital,” Weston added.
The shooter, dressed in all black, approached from the side of the building and unleashed a barrage using three legally purchased firearms: a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. Authorities believe most shots were fired from outside, with doors barricaded using two-by-fours to trap those inside. A smoke bomb was also found at the scene, though it’s unclear if it was deployed.
Patrick Scallen, a lifelong resident living a block away, heard the gunfire and rushed to the church. He encountered injured children emerging from the building, including a girl grazed on the forehead and another shot in the neck. “Can you just please hold my hand?” one asked him amid the eerie silence that followed the shots. Scallen comforted them until emergency responders arrived, later reflecting on their innocent questions: “Why did this happen? How could this happen?”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that the attack targeted the children in the pews, with bullets shattering the symbolic stained-glass windows depicting biblical scenes, including the Annunciation—the church’s namesake, representing divine presence and hope. “The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,” O’Hara said at a news conference, his voice heavy with emotion. Church bells tolled mournfully in the background as he spoke.
The two children killed were an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, both struck while seated in the pews. Of the 17 injured, 14 were children aged 6 to 15, and three were elderly parishioners in their 80s. Hospitals reported treating victims in critical condition, with several undergoing surgery. Hennepin Healthcare received seven children in critical condition, while Children’s Minnesota cared for six. All injured are expected to survive, but the psychological scars may endure far longer.
Police arrived swiftly, confirming no ongoing threat and declaring the shooter “contained.” The scene was secured, with four search warrants executed—one at the church and three at residences in the metro area—yielding additional firearms.
Who Was Robin Westman?
Robin Westman, born Robert Paul Westman, legally changed their name in 2019 or 2020, with court documents citing identification as female. Westman, 23, from suburban Minneapolis, had no extensive criminal history and had recently purchased the weapons legally. A 2017 yearbook confirms Westman graduated from Annunciation’s grade school, adding a layer of personal connection to the tragedy.
An undated driver’s license photo shows Robin M. Westman, 23, identified by police as the gunman who opened fire during a Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. Westman’s identity in the photo was confirmed.
Westman’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, served as the parish secretary from 2016 until her retirement in 2021, as noted in church newsletters and social media posts. Efforts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.
Authorities are scrutinizing a “manifesto” timed for release on YouTube during the attack, which included disturbing writings, handwritten notebook pages, weapons with inscribed messages, and videos filmed at the scene. The content was quickly removed with FBI assistance. While a motive remains under investigation, the writings suggest grievances, including deliberations on targeting large groups of children while avoiding armed parents.
Screenshots from a YouTube video posted by Robin M. Westman, 23, show the suspect police identified as the gunman in the Aug. 27, 2025, Minneapolis church school shooting.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the probe into anti-Catholic bias: “The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem referred to Westman as a “man claiming to be transgender,” while Patel described the suspect as male. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, urged against fueling hatred toward the transgender community.
The attack has elicited widespread condemnation and calls for action. President Donald Trump, briefed on the incident, ordered U.S. flags flown at half-mast at the White House and public buildings until sunset as a mark of respect. “The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!” he posted on Truth Social.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who spoke with Trump, echoed the sentiment: “It’s Minnesota’s day today. I ask the rest of folks around the country who are watching, keep us in your thoughts and prayers, but also keep us in the thoughts for action.” Walz highlighted the broader gun violence crisis, noting this was the fourth deadly shooting in Minneapolis within 24 hours, though unrelated.
Mayor Frey, visibly emotional, decried empty platitudes: “Don’t just say this is about ‘thoughts and prayers’ right now. These kids were literally praying.” School Principal Matthew DeBoer, fighting back tears, invoked an African proverb: “When you pray, move your feet.” He praised staff for their heroic actions in shielding children and called for tangible change: “We as a community have a responsibility to make sure that no child, no parent, no teacher ever has to experience what we’ve experienced today—ever again.”
Pope Leo XIV expressed “heartfelt condolences,” praying for the wounded and commending their souls to God. Local leaders, including Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, ordered flags lowered and offered prayers.
The shooting aligns with a grim trend: 2025 has seen 44 school shootings so far, per analyses from the Gun Violence Archive and others, surpassing last year’s pace. It follows a wave of active shooter hoaxes nationwide, heightening fears as schools reopen.
Beyond the immediate human tragedy, school shootings like this one carry significant economic repercussions, amplifying the societal costs of gun violence in America. Research indicates that exposure to such events can lead to long-term declines in educational attainment and earnings for survivors. In Texas, for instance, students exposed to school shootings are 3.4% less likely to graduate high school and 14.6% less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree, translating to reduced lifetime earnings and productivity.
Mass shootings, including those at schools, have been linked to a 2.4% drop in per capita earnings in affected counties, driven by employment losses from deteriorating mental health and negative business perceptions. Locally, Minneapolis could face similar challenges: disrupted education, increased healthcare costs, and potential business exodus amid heightened safety concerns. The city, already reeling from recent violence, may see tourism and real estate values dip, compounding recovery efforts.
Nationally, gun violence costs the U.S. economy billions annually in medical expenses, lost wages, and preventive measures. States and districts spend billions on school safety enhancements—funds that could otherwise support academic programs. Firearm stocks often fluctuate post-incident; historically, companies like Smith & Wesson see temporary surges amid gun control debates, though broader market sentiment sours due to uncertainty.
While it’s too early to gauge precise market reactions to the Annunciation shooting—occurring just yesterday—analysts predict short-term volatility in sectors tied to security and education. The Dow and S&P 500 showed minor dips in afternoon trading on August 27, reflecting investor unease over escalating violence. Long-term, experts urge a public health approach: safe storage laws, mental health resources, and community interventions to mitigate these cascading economic harms.
As investigations continue and the community mourns, the attack at Annunciation underscores an urgent need for action. “These are sacred places,” Frey said. “But they are not the only sacred places. Schools are sacred. Classrooms are sacred.” The hope now is that this tragedy spurs meaningful change, honoring the young lives lost and protecting those that remain.
A shooting at a crowded New York City club early on Aug. 17 left three people dead and nine wounded, authorities said.
Investigators have said they believe that up to four shooters opened fire at Taste of the City Lounge in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, following a dispute just before 3:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 17, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.
“It’s a terrible shooting that occurred in the city of New York,” Tisch said at a press conference.
“Currently, we have identified 12 victims—ranging in age from 19 to 61—nine males and three females.”
Three men died in relation to the shooting—one aged 19 who was pronounced dead at the scene and two—aged 27 and 35—who succumbed to their injuries at the hospital, Tisch said.
Officers are investigating at least 42 shell casings found at the lounge, from multiple guns, and a firearm discovered on a nearby street, she said.
Tisch said the wounded in the shooting are being treated at hospitals for injuries that are not life-threatening. The victims’ names are being withheld pending family notifications.
She said the police would not speak about motivation for the incident until the investigation is complete, but she said law enforcement has reason to believe some of the victims were involved in the shooting. That information is preliminary and subject to change, she said.
“What we know preliminarily is that there was a dispute inside the crowded club that led to the shooting. We believe that there were up to four shooters involved in this incident,” Tisch said. “At this time, no one is in custody, and the shooting preliminarily appears to be gang-related.”
New York City is having a record low year for gun violence, the police commissioner noted.
“We have the lowest numbers of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year that we’ve seen on record in the city of New York,” Tisch said. “Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly, and it’s a terrible thing that happened this morning, but we’re going to investigate and get to the bottom of what went down.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked anyone with information about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
“We need your help,” Adams said at a press conference, adding that it’s New York City’s second mass shooting in a few weeks.
“If you were inside the club, if you heard individuals talking about this shooting, if you witnessed someone fleeing the location, every piece of information would allow us to put the puzzle together to solve this crime.”
Andre Mitchell-Mann, who serves as Adams’s first New York City gun violence prevention czar and co-chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said the mayor’s team has “been responding ever since the call has been made.”
“Mass shootings require mass resources, and so we look to go into that area of Crown Heights and to be able to pour those resources within that area, and we’re looking forward to everybody else’s collaboration going forward,” he said.
CALIFORNIA — A 29-year-old Google software engineer tragically lost her life earlier this month in a freak accident while hiking along a popular trail in Yosemite National Park, when a massive branch from one of the park’s iconic sequoia trees suddenly broke off and struck her.
Angela Lin, a gifted and respected engineer who previously worked for Salesforce and most recently for Google, had been hiking through the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias on July 19 with her boyfriend, David Hua, and two friends when disaster struck.
According to Hua, the group was walking along the well-trodden trail when they heard a loud crack from above. “One big branch struck Angela, and then there were a bunch of smaller ones directly behind me,” Hua told SFGate.
By the time Hua opened his eyes after instinctively shutting them during the chaos, Lin was lying face-up on the ground, motionless, with blood pooling around her head. He immediately called 911 and performed CPR until a park ranger arrived to take over. Although an ambulance eventually reached the scene, Lin was never transported. Emergency responders said she likely died instantly from the blow.
“It was just unimaginable that something like this could occur,” Hua said in a phone interview, his voice trembling. “On such a popular trail, too.”
Angela Lin’s tragic death stunned both the tech and academic communities. She had earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, where she met Hua, and later completed her master’s in computer science at the University of Texas at Austin. She worked diligently through the ranks at Salesforce before joining Google, where she had been a software engineer for several years.
“We lost a loved and respected member of our team,” a Google spokesperson told The Post. “We’re very saddened by this tragedy, and our hearts are with their family and loved ones.”
Friends and former colleagues recalled Lin as exceptionally intelligent, warm, and humble. “Angela was obviously whip-smart, but she led with a simple and playful attitude,” said Ian Cook, a close friend from her Berkeley days. “That mix of confidence and humility put folks around her at ease.”
Richard Zhang, a research scientist who shared lab time with Lin in undergrad, remembered her kindness during crunch periods. “She’d stay through the late nights before a paper deadline and thoughtfully treat us to chocolate to keep our spirits up,” he said.
A Growing Pattern of Tragedy in Yosemite
Lin’s death adds to a list of recent tragedies in Yosemite. Last summer, Grace Rohloff, a college student, died after slipping and falling 200 feet from the Half Dome cables during a storm. In October 2024, 22-year-old Australian hiker Harry Partington was crushed by a falling tree on the Four Mile Trail. In 2015, two high schoolers were killed by a falling oak branch while sleeping in a tent, and in 2012, a concessions worker died under similar circumstances during a windstorm.
Yet what makes Lin’s case so uniquely unsettling is the complete lack of typical risk factors. Hua emphasized there was no wind, and Lin — known for her caution — had stayed on the trail and taken no dangerous detours.
“The sad thing is that Angela is the most cautious person you can be,” said Hua. “She stays on trails. She never goes off trails. Usually when you hear about these incidents, someone is doing something dangerous — like playing in water or near a cliff. But that wasn’t her.”
Frustration with Park Officials and Demand for Answers
In the wake of the tragedy, the Tuolumne Grove trail was closed for about a week. Park officials say an investigation is ongoing, but according to Hua and Lin’s loved ones, communication from the National Park Service has been minimal.
“We are seeking more information from the park service regarding this incident,” said Hua, “especially around trail safety, maintenance, awareness of problematic trees on popular trails, and future prevention of similar incidents.”
Yosemite public affairs officer Scott Gediman confirmed to SFGate that the investigation remains active. However, the park has not publicly addressed specific safety concerns related to the tree or trail.
The lack of transparency has left not only Lin’s loved ones but also bystanders emotionally shaken. One tourist who witnessed the incident created a Reddit thread titled “Tuolumne Grove Incident 7/19,” writing: “I am a tourist, but was on the scene of an extremely tragic freak accident… and it has been haunting me. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
The user added: “It hits so so hard because they were doing nothing wrong or careless… Life can be so cruel.”
A Devastating Loss for Many
As friends, coworkers, and strangers alike try to come to terms with the sudden loss of a young, vibrant life, Angela Lin is being remembered not only for her technical brilliance but also her kindness, humor, and steady presence.
“She was just the most thoughtful, grounded person,” said Hua. “We’ve been best friends since college. Her death is a devastating loss — to me, to her family, to everyone who knew her.”
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