Prosecutors are seeking more than seven years in prison for disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York argued in a court filing Friday that a significant sentence was warranted because the New York Republican’s “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the country’s election system. “From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” the office wrote.

John Gutierrez had been thinking about buying a new laptop for the past year. The Austin, Texas, resident needed a computer with faster processing and increased storage for his photography work and had his sights set on a product from a Taiwanese brand. Then President Donald Trump announced expansive new import tariffs Wednesday, including a 32% tax on imports from Taiwan. That same day, Gutierrez ordered the laptop, with a base price of $2,400, from a retailer in New York specializing in photo and video gear. “I thought I’d bite the bullet, buy it now, and then that way I’ll have the latest technology on my laptop and don’t have to worry about the tariffs,” he said. Gutierrez was among the U.S. consumers rushing to buy big-ticket items before the tariffs take effect.

Iran’s rial currency traded Saturday at a record low against the U.S. dollar as the country returned to work after a long holiday, costing over 1 million rials for a single greenback as tensions between Tehran and Washington likely will push it even lower. The exchange rate had plunged to over 1 million rials during the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as currency shops closed and only informal trading took place on the streets, creating additional pressure on the market. But as traders resumed work Saturday, the rate fell even further to 1,043,000 to the dollar, signaling the new low appeared here to stay.

Another round of torrential rain and flash flooding came Saturday for parts of the South and Midwest already heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that also spawned deadly tornadoes. Forecasters warned that rivers in some places would continue to rise for days. Day after day of heavy rains have pounded the central U.S., rapidly swelling waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies in from Texas to Ohio. The National Weather Service said dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach what the agency calls “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible. At least 16 weather-related deaths have been reported since the start of the storms, including 10 in Tennessee.

New York state officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in public schools, despite the administration’s threats to terminate federal education funding. Daniel Morton-Bentley, counsel and deputy commissioner of the state Department of Education, said in a letter dated Friday to the federal Education Department that state officials do not believe the federal agency has the authority to make such demands. “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion,’” he wrote.

Senate Republicans plugged away overnight and into early Saturday morning to approve their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework, hurtling past Democratic opposition toward what President Donald Trump calls the “big, beautiful bill” that’s central to his agenda. The vote, 51-48, fell along mostly party lines, but with sharp dissent from two prominent Republicans. It could not have come at a more difficult political moment, with the economy churning after Trump’s new tariffs sent stocks plummeting and experts warning of soaring costs for consumers and threats of a potential recession. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky both voted against the measure. But with a nod from Trump, GOP leaders held on.

A senior Israeli official told reporters that Israel is in active talks with multiple countries about accepting Palestinians from Gaza as part of a long-term strategic shift in the region’s post-war future. The disclosure came during a press briefing with reporters covering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s diplomatic visit to Hungary, making it likely that the “senior official” is Netanyahu himself. According to the official, while the United States is not currently pushing President Donald Trump’s Gaza relocation proposal, Israel is “very serious” about advancing it. “There are countries interested,” the senior official said.

Newly released NYPD data reveals that antisemitic hate crimes once again topped the list of bias-motivated attacks in the city, with Jewish New Yorkers targeted in 39 separate incidents last month — more than all other hate crimes combined. The total number of reported hate crimes in March was 67. Antisemitic acts alone made up 58% of that figure, continuing a disturbing trend that has played out month after month across the five boroughs. The data underscores what Jewish leaders and security officials have long warned: New York City’s Jewish community is facing an unprecedented wave of hatred and harassment. In the first three months of 2025, there have been 85 reported antisemitic crimes — nearly one incident every 26 hours.

A furor arose in Israel after Kan News revealed a recording of a Shin Bet senior official saying that Jewish residents of Yehudah and Shomron are arrested “even without evidence” for several days. In a recording, the Shin Bet officer, the head of the Jewish Department, is heard speaking with Cdr. Avishai Mualem, the Yamam commander, about several Jews who were arrested in Yehudah and Shomron. “Put them in cells, with the mice,” says the officer, who is identified only as A. A. adds: “We always want to detain them for interrogation as much as possible. You’ll see how they deal with Shin Bet investigations.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is making a flash visit to the US on Sunday to meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., following Trump’s invitation. Netanyahu, who was in Budapest over Shabbos, will depart Hungary on Sunday afternoon and fly straight to Washington. According to reports, Netanyahu discussed Trump’s decision to impose a 17% tariff on Israeli goods with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Trump during a phone call in Hungary, and Trump invited him to Washington to discuss the issue in person. “This is an unprecedented moment economically and geopolitically,” an Israeli official said, as quoted by Ynet. “The world’s leading power is imposing tariffs on almost every country, including Israel. We tried to preempt this by lowering tariffs on U.S.