VOUX MAG

Two young children have died in a house fire inWolverhamptonas police launch an investigation into the cause of the deadly blaze.

Emergency servicesarrived in under five minutes after they were called to Mason Street at about 8.30pm on Friday.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the property and rescued two children but they were sadly pronounced dead at the scene,West Midlands Policesaid.

A woman and two other children had already escaped the flames. They were checked over by ambulance staff but did not need hospital treatment.

Police have cordoned off the property, which was extensively damaged, while work is done to establish the cause of the fire.

Investigators wearing protective equipment were seen combing the property on Saturday.

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Crews from Bilston, West Bromwich and Bloxwich Fire Stations attended the scene and six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the property to find the children.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said two ambulances, three paramedic officers, HART paramedics, a MERIT trauma team and a critical care car from Midlands Air Ambulance Charity attended.

Ambulance crews administered advanced life support but tragically they were both confirmed dead a short time later.

In a statement on their website,West Midlands Fire Servicesaid: “Our thoughts are with the children’s loved ones and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.

“Police have cordoned off the scene as we work with other emergency service colleagues to establish the exact circumstances of the fire. We thank the community for their support with the on-going investigation. The cordon is expected to remain in place for some time at the property, which was extensively damaged, as enquiries continue.”

Anyone with information can contact police on 101 or via live chat quoting log 5640 of April 24.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow...

HAVANA (AP) — Eduvirgen Zamora hides her hands out of embarrassment these days.

Cuba Daily Life

Her nails are down to the quick, except for her thumbs, which feature inch-long talons covered in fancy silver swirls.

Unable to afford a new set of nails asCuba’s economic crisesgrind on, the 56-year-old cafeteria worker opted instead to do her lashes, a cheaper alternative she hoped would draw people’s attention upward.

Severe shortages of water, power and money combined with aU.S energy blockadehas deepened poverty and increased hunger across the island as severe blackouts persist. Even those who are more affluent are now eliminating long-established and often beloved routines as they adapt to increasingly dire realities.

“The Cuban woman likes to look beautiful — to do her hair, do her nails, do her feet — and wear perfume,” Zamora said. “I don’t look how I would like to look.”

Changes in beauty routines

Melina Colás knows the feeling.

The young manicurist who works in Havana recently got long braids to celebrate her birthday but quickly realized it’s a difficult style to maintain given chronic water shortages.

She used to wear her hair long and straightened but has decided to cut it and wear it natural, even though she thinks it would not suit what she called her short stature and round face.

“Before, you could do whatever you wanted,” she said of hairstyles when water was readily available. “Not now.”

Colás also has tweaked things at the salon where she works.

She has learned patience, aware clients show up late because public transportation is scarce.

And she now relies on a mix of water and vinegar in a spray bottle to offset water shortages – a concoction she said also helps soften clients’ cuticles and staves off a growing number of fungus cases because time between manicure appointments is growing longer for many.

“Some cases are critical,” Colás said.

She also lamented how the island’s economic crisis and shrinking budgets have led to a drop in customers, a trend that hairstylist Betty Ramírez Aldana, 50, also has noticed.

“It really came as a shock to me, because I’ve lost a lot of clients,” he said on a recent afternoon at a makeshift hair salon with bubblegum pink walls. “Normally by now I’d have five, six, eight clients. Look at the hour. And no one has showed up.”

The hair salon where he works recently spent three weeks without water, since electricity powers many pump stations on the island and severe outages are commonplace. He no longer can provide certain hair straightening treatments, so he offers clients options including flattering cuts.

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“A lot of them have opted to embrace their natural curly hair,” he said.

An increasing number of women also have been forced to grow out their roots given a lack of gasoline and public transportation, coupled with withering budgets, Ramírez said.

Those who can afford it call him for home visits, with the original customer likely joined “by her aunt and the upstairs neighbor. I don’t serve one, I serve two or three,” he said.

A demand to lift the US energy blockade

Beauty aside,Cubansalso are agonizing over being forced to cut corners on basic hygiene: some say they are washing their hair only twice a month, and clothes stay dirtier longer.

Antonia Isalgués Barrién, 60, who works for a state-run company running boats from eastern Havana to the heart of the capital, said she hangs her clothes outside every day after working on a boat because she doesn’t have water to wash them.

“It’s very hot here in Cuba; you sweat a lot,” she said, recalling how she used to wash clothes nearly daily. “I’ve never been forced to hang clothes in the fresh air… and then put them on again.”

Isalgués said she has noticed a surge in the number of passengers as a growing number of gas stations close and only a handful of public buses remain in circulation.

Cuba had spent three months without fuel shipments until a Russian tankerarrived in late Marchwith 730,000 barrels of oil. It is expected to last only nine or 10 days.

Iván de los Ángeles Arias, a 44-year-old boat pilot, often boards the boat for a five-minute ride across the Bay of Havana, keeping his car at home for emergency use only.

“That’s the reality we’re forced to live,” he said. “You deal with it as best you can.”

U.S. diplomats flew to Cubaearlier this month to meet with top government officials for the first time since 2016 as tensions remain high between the two countries.

Cuba’s government has said that the elimination of the U.S. energy embargo was a top priority for its delegation, calling it an “act of economic coercion” and “unjustified punishment.”

In late January, just weeks after theU.S. invaded Venezuelain a move that halted critical oil shipments to Cuba, President Donald Trumpthreatened tariffson any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, which produces only 40% to meet its needs.

The U.S. has called for an end to political repression, the release of political prisoners and liberalization of the island’s imploding economy as part of several conditions to lift its sanctions on Cuba.

Arias, the boat pilot, said he didn’t think the talks will change anything for him.

“I have no hope,” he said. “That means nothing if living conditions remain the same.”

Twowildfiresin southeasternGeorgiacontinue tothreatenhomes andlives, with officials warning Saturday that strong winds could rapidly spread the flames.

Brantley County Manager Joey Cason called it a "dynamic situation" in a social media video, urging residents to "please evacuate" if ordered.

"This fire is going to move rapidly, once these winds get here later today," he stated.

The Highway 82 Fire, burning since Monday, has already destroyed at least 87 homes. Georgia Gov.Brian Kempsaid Friday this marks the most for a singlewildfirein the state's history.

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The fire was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground. An infrared flight that detects heat was conducted overnight Friday, helping officials to better map the fire. A Saturday news release said the fire's perimeter is more than 14.8 square miles, and it is only about 10% contained.

Meanwhile, a second fire about 70 miles (113 kilometers) to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near theFloridastate line, has burned more than 46.9 square miles and destroyed at least 35 homes. Started by sparks from a welding operation, that wildfire was also about 10% contained as of midday Saturday.

Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.

An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast. Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme drought, gusty winds, climate change, and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

In northern Florida, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died on Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Britain's government remains in close cooperation with U.S. security services ‌ahead of King Charles' visit to the ‌United States this week, a senior minister said on Sunday, ​after a shooting at the White House correspondents' dinner.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner in Washington ‌by Secret Service ⁠agents on Saturday night after a man opened fire on security personnel ⁠nearby.

Asked about the incident on Sky News, Darren Jones, chief secretary to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, ​said the ​British government and ​Buckingham Palace took the ‌security of King Charles "very seriously", with extensive discussions already underway that would continue over the coming days.

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"In respect of His Majesty's visit to the United States next week ... our security services ‌obviously remain in close cooperation ​in advance of that," Jones ​added.

King Charles and ​his wife, Camilla, are due ‌to arrive in the United ​States on ​Monday for a four-day trip that includes a private meeting with Trump and an address ​to Congress, ‌marking 250 years since the U.S. declaration ​of independence from British rule.

(Reporting by Sam ​Tabahriti;Editing by Helen Popper)

A woman was shot in the leg on the campus of Arkansas State University early on Sunday morning, the campus said.

Law enforcement responded just after midnight to a 911 call reporting shots fired at a gathering at Unity Park, the campus said, adding that investigators from Jonesboro Police Department and ASU Police Department were on the scene.

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"One female victim has been confirmed with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the lower leg," the university said in a statement. "Additional reports indicate minor injuries, including scrapes and scratches, as the crowd dispersed."

Police said the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident and there was "no broader threat to the campus community," the university said.

President Donald Trump is set to attendWhite House Correspondents’ Association Dinner forthe first time as commander-in-chief, surrounded by the journalists he routinelyberatesandthreatens.

Until now, Trump had been the only president in the event’s century-long history not to attend at least once while in office. In years past, presidents have typically endured a light roasting from the dinner’s headliner, typically a comedian.

This year, the correspondents’ association opted to book mentalist Oz Pearlman. The association also didn’t have a comedian perform last year, instead focusing on its journalism awards.

The dinner comes amid the backdrop ofwar with Iran,which has led to higher gas prices around the world and volatility in the stock market. It also comes as Trump’s approval rating hit a new low in arecent NBC News poll, with 37% of respondents approving of his job performance and 63% disapproving. Trump was well underwater on his handling of inflation and the cost of living, with 68% saying they disapproved of his policies. The slide also extends to Trump’s handling of the Iran war, with 67% of respondents disapproving.

The gala is meant to celebrate the nation’s most dogged White House reporting, but Trump’s turn as guest of honor will give him another opportunity to air his grievances with the journalists who cover him. He has clashed with reporters during his time in office, though he's takenmore aggressive stepsduring his second term by limiting access for traditional media while boosting conservative and pro-Trump outlets.

Trump feuded with The Associated Press last year over its refusal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America in its stories. The White House then barred the AP from major presidential events, prompting a lawsuit from the news agency. In June 2025,a U.S. appeals court ruledthat Trump could ban the AP from some media events as the case proceeded.

Trump also filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over its coverage of his 2024 campaign;a federal judge tossed the lawsuitin September, but he refiled itweeks later.

Earlier this month, a judgetossed a $10 billion lawsuitTrump filed against The Wall Street Journal over its publication of a bawdy 50thbirthday card he is alleged to have sent to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump has denied writing the letter.

Now, Trump could be present as Journal reportersreceive an awardSaturday night for their reporting on Epstein’s birthday card.

The Trump White House’s adversarial relationship with the press extends down the management chain. Earlier this month,FBI Director Kash Patel filed a lawsuitagainst The Atlantic over a story alleging he drank to excess and had unexplained absences from the bureau's headquarters. In his lawsuit, Patel denied the allegations.

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The FBI in Januarysearched a Washington Post reporter's home andseized her phone and laptopsas part of an investigation into a government contractor accused ofmishandling classified information.A judge in Februaryblocked the DOJfrom using material it found on the reporter's devices as part of its case.

In March, the Defense Departmentremoved media officesfrom the Pentagon after a federal judge sided with The New York Times, which had sued over new rules requiring journalists to sign a pledge restricting their ability to gather reporting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hasdescribed U.S. media as “incredibly unpatriotic.”

A fixture of Washington’s spring social calendar, the dinner raises funds for the correspondents’ association, as well as several journalism scholarships.

Hundreds of journalists and their guests attend each year, but the gala has drawn criticism from others. This year, a coalition of journalism groups, as well as journalists like former CBS News anchor Dan Rather and former CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta,signed a letterto the correspondents' association calling on it to "forcefully demonstrate opposition to President Trump’s efforts to trample freedom of the press.”

"There is a long tradition of presidents attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner," the letter said. "But these are not normal times, and this cannot be business as usual with the press standing up to applaud the man who attacks them on a daily basis."

WhenTrump announcedin March that he would attend the 2026 dinner, the correspondents' association said it was "happy" the president accepted the invitation.

"For more than 100 years, the journalists of the White House Correspondents’ Association have enjoyed an evening with the president, a dinner that celebrates the First Amendment while supporting the work we do including awards honoring excellent journalism and scholarships to help the next generation of reporters who someday will be the ones asking the questions at the White House,” the group's president Weijia Jiang said in astatementat the time.

Trump's attendance appears to give the green light for others in his orbit to go to the dinner as well. Taylor Budowich, a longtime Trump adviser and former deputy chief of staff at the White House, is set to attend with The Associated Press, despite the AP's ongoing legal battles with the administration.

"As a fan or irony, I'll be with The Associated Press," Budowichsaid Friday at an eventhosted by Axios.

Trump may be attending the dinner for the first time as president, but he's been in the audience before.

In 2011, then-President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyersfamously ribbeda stone-faced Trump over his fixation on Obama’s long-form birth certificate. Less than a month later, Trump announced that he wouldn’t run in the 2012 presidential election, but the incident isseen as a markerin the political transformation that culminated in his 2016 electoral victory.

A U.S. special forces soldier involved in the military operation thatcaptured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Madurowas arrested on Thursday after allegedly betting on Maduro's removal from office before news of the raid was made public, a law enforcement source and a senior military official told CBS News.

Federal investigators believe U.S. Army Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke made bets of more than $33,000 on the prediction market Polymarket within hours of President Trump's announcement in January that Maduro had been captured, the source said. The bets hit and resulted in winnings of more than $409,000.

According to an indictment unsealed Thursday in the Southern District of New York, Van Dyke was charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and engaging in monetary transactions from unlawful activity.

In apress release,the Justice Department said that Van Dyke was involved in the planning and execution of the operation to capture Maduro.

"Prediction markets are not a haven for using misappropriated confidential or classified information for personal gain," U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said.  "The defendant allegedly violated the trust placed in him by the United States Government by using classified information about a sensitive military operation to place bets on the timing and outcome of that very operation, all to turn a profit.  That is clear insider trading and is illegal under federal law."

Van Dyke was a communications specialist supporting Joint Special Operations Command, the unit that oversees Tier 1 special mission units such as the Army's Delta Force and the Navy's SEAL Team Six, multiple officials told CBS News.

The indictment said he has been on active duty since 2008 and has been a master sergeant since 2023, and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina at the time of the alleged crime. Fort Bragg houses the headquarters of the Joint Special Operations Command.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, Mr. Trump announcedin a Truth Social postthat the Venezuelan president and his wife had been "captured and flown out of the Country."

Shortly before Mr. Trump's post, aPolymarket account holder placed a $32,537 beton the likelihood that Maduro would be "out by January 31, 2026."

Three additional bets were made via the same Polymarket account: a $1,000 wager on the U.S. invading Venezuela by Jan. 31; a $250 wager that Mr. Trump would invoke the War Powers Act against Venezuela by Jan. 31; and a $146 wager that U.S. forces would land in Venezuela by the end of the month.

Polymarket said in astatement on X: "When we identified a user trading on classified government information, we referred the matter to the DOJ & cooperated with their investigation."

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"Insider trading has no place on Polymarket. Today's arrest is proof the system works," the company said.

During an unrelated Oval Office event Thursday, Mr. Trump told reporters he hadn't heard about the alleged betting on Maduro's removal but would look into it.

"That's like Pete Rose betting on his own team," the president said, referring to the MLB legend who was banned from the sport for gambling. Mr. Trump has defended Rose, saying last year he would issue aposthumous pardon.

Asked about concerns that prediction markets could play host to insider trading, Mr. Trump said he's "not happy with any of that stuff."

"The whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino, and you look at what's going on all over the world, in Europe and every place, they're doing these betting things," he said. "I was never much in favor of it. I like it conceptually, but it is what it is."

While the arrest is a first for U.S. authorities, two Israeli soldiers were charged in connection with the suspected use of classified information to place bets on the prediction platform Polymarket back in February.

In a "60 Minutes" interview last year, Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan addressed the issue of users trading on inside information.

"I think that people going and having an edge to the market is a good thing," he said. "Obviously, you need to curate them and you need to be really clear and stringent on where the line is drawn and ... ethics, and we spend a lot of time on that."

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