Latest ‘Tiger King’ twist finds ‘Doc’ Antle sentenced to 1 year in prison for animal trafficking

Latest ‘Tiger King’ twist finds ‘Doc’ Antle sentenced to 1 year in prison for animal trafficking

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — “Tiger King” star Bhagavan “Doc” Antle is going to prison — but not for as long as prosecutors wanted — after admitting he broke federal law buying endangered animals to keep at his zoo in South Carolina.

Antle, 65, was sentenced to one year and one day behind bars and fined $55,000 on Tuesday, nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to trafficking in exotic animals and money laundering. He entered his plea in November 2023.

It was likely the end to the legal dramas that surrounded “Tiger King,” the Netflix true crime documentary that captivated a country shut down by COVID-19.

The star, Joe Exotic, is serving a 21-year federal prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill the other star, Carole Baskin. Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was a collector and private zookeeper from Oklahoma and Baskin, runs Big Cat Rescue in Florida.

Antle appeared in the first season with Exotic and Baskin and was the star of the show’s third season.

Prosecutors say Antle bought animals on the black market

Antle’s crimes were unrelated. He laundered money used in a human smuggling scheme because he needed large amounts of cash quickly to buy animals like chimpanzees, lions, tigers, cheetahs and other creatures, Prosecutor Patrick Duggan said. These animals are illegal to sell because they are endangered, and their high prices could encourage poachers to steal them from the wild, Duggan explained.

“He was knowingly and illegally trading them as part of a black market that drives another black market of poaching and smuggling,” Duggan said in court Tuesday.

Antle’s lawyers requested a sentence of just probation or home confinement, saying their client needed to care for the 150 exotic animals that consume 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of meat a day at his Myrtle Beach Safari. They said many of the animals only respond to Antle.

Friends and family ask for mercy for Antle

About 25 friends and family packed a federal courtroom in Charleston. Several told Judge Joseph Dawson III that Antle was generous and caring. They said he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poaching and preserve wild habitats for tigers, lions and chimpanzees.

The judge was swayed. Federal guidelines called for about two years in prison, to which prosecutors agreed. But Dawson said, although Antle broke federal law, all the evidence pointed to him caring for animals.

Antle apologized at the end of his sentencing hearing for causing problems for his life’s work.

“I made a mistake, I did stupid things,” Antle said, adding, “I hope I’ll be able to pull it back together for everybody.”

Antle needed animals so Myrtle Beach Safari could offer experiences

Antle’s Myrtle Beach Safari was known for charging hundreds or thousands of dollars to let people pet and hold baby animals like lions, tigers and monkeys that were so young they were still being bottle-fed. Customers would pay $200 for five minutes and photos with a baby chimp or $7,000 for a sleepover. Antle would sometimes ride into tours on an elephant.

The zoo remains open by reservation only.

Prosecutors said Antle sold or bought cheetahs, lions, tigers and a chimpanzee without the proper paperwork for a decade. They said he also laundered more than $500,000 so he could quickly get cash to buy more animals.

Antle knows federal law well and was able to avoid prosecution for years, prosecutors said. He would accept a large “donation” for an animal to his conservation foundation. He would claim to keep the animal in the same state he bought it, but then move it to his Myrtle Beach zoo, prosecutors said.

FBI tapped phone calls led to several prosecutions

The FBI was listening to Antle’s phone calls with an informant as he explained a baby chimpanzee could easily cost $200,000. Private zookeepers can charge hundreds of dollars for photos with docile young primates or other animals, but the profit window is only open for a few years before the growing animals can no longer be safely handled.

“I had to get a monkey, but the people won’t take a check. They only take cash. So what do you do?” Antle said according to a transcript of the phone call in court papers.

Antle will have to give up three chimpanzees he bought as part of his plea deal.

Two of Antle’s employees have already been sentenced for their roles in his schemes.

Meredith Bybee was given a year of probation for selling a chimpanzee while Andrew “Omar” Sawyer, who prosecutors said helped Antle launder money, was given two years of probation.

Jason Clay, a Texas private zoo owner, pleaded guilty to illegally selling a primate and was sentenced to four months in prison, while charges were dropped against California ranch owner Charles Sammut.

Wall Street is mixed amid Trump’s new tariff deadlines

Wall Street is mixed amid Trump’s new tariff deadlines

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

A choppy day in the markets left major U.S. stock indexes little changed Tuesday as the Trump administration pressed its campaign to win more favorable trade deals with nations around the globe by leaning into tariffs on goods coming into the U.S.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% a day after posting its biggest loss since mid-June. The benchmark index remains near its all-time high set last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.4%. The Nasdaq composite eked out a gain of less than 0.1%, staying near its own record high.

The sluggish trading came as the market was coming off a broad sell-off following the Trump administration’s decision to impose new import tariffs set to go into effect next month on more than a dozen nations.

Still, the modest pullback in the markets is a sign that Wall Street may be betting that the U.S. and its trading partners may eventually negotiate deals that will reduce or eliminate the need for punishing tariffs, said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird.

“I think today you’re basically seeing a market that doesn’t quite believe the worst of this is going to come to bear and is just kind of waiting for any sort of clarity because we seem back in that in that kind of phase where things change every couple of hours,” Mayfield said.

On Monday, President Donald Trump set a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea and new tariff rates on a dozen other nations scheduled to go into effect on Aug. 1.

Trump provided notice by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs.

Just before hefty U.S. tariffs on goods imported from nearly every country around the globe were to take effect in April, Trump postponed the levies for 90 days in hopes that foreign governments would be more willing to strike new trade deals. That 90-day negotiating period was set to expire before Wednesday.

With the tariffs set to kick in now on Aug. 1, the latest move by the White House amounts to essentially a four-week extension of its previous 90-day pause, wrote Tobin Marcus, an analyst at Wolfe Research.

“At a very basic level, nothing actually happened based on Trump sending these letters, so there’s no reason to panic over headlines,” he wrote. “But we think these moves do contain some signal about where the trade war is heading, and that signal is mostly hawkish.”

During a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump said he would be announcing tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs at a “very, very high rate, like 200%.” He also said he would sign an executive order placing a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum.

Shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan rose 2.5% following Trump’s remarks. The price of copper for September delivery jumped 13.1% to $5.69 per pound.

This latest phase in the trade war heightens the threat of potentially more severe tariffs that’s been hanging over the global economy. Higher taxes on imported goods could hinder economic growth, if not increase recession risks.

Gains in technology, energy and health care stocks helped outweigh a pullback in banks and other sectors.

Intel jumped 7.2%, Exxon Mobil rose 2.8% and AbbVie rose 1.1%. JPMorgan and Bank of America each fell 3.1%.

Amazon shares fell 1.8% as the online retail giant kicked off Prime Day, which, beginning this year, lasts four days. Amazon launched the membership sales event in 2015 and expanded it to two days in 2019.

Elsewhere in the market, First Solar slid 6.5% after Trump issued an executive order ending subsidies for foreign-controlled energy companies.

Hershey Co. lost 3.2% after the chocolate maker announced that Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner will succeed current CEO Michele Buck, who is retiring.

Shares in WeightWatchers parent WW International gave up an early gain and dropped 1.1% after the company announced that it has completed its reorganization and relisting on Nasdaq. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May to eliminate $1.15 billion in debt and focus on its transition into a telehealth services provider.

Bond yields mostly rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.40% from 4.39% late Monday.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 4.46 points to 6,225.52. The Dow lost 165.60 points to 44,240.76, and the Nasdaq added 5.95 points to 20,418.46.

The market’s downbeat start to the week follows a strong run for stocks, which pushed further into record heights last week after a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report.

In stock markets overseas, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. In two of the bigger moves, South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.8%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.1%.

The National Federation of Independent Business reported Tuesday that its small business optimism index fell slightly last month, in line with analysts’ expectations. The index tracks how small firms view the U.S. economy and their business prospects.

On Wednesday the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its policymaking committee’s meeting last month. The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, has said the central bank wants to wait and see how Trump’s tariffs affect the economy and inflation before making its next move on interest rates.

3 potential storm deaths in North Carolina after Chantal, officials say

3 potential storm deaths in North Carolina after Chantal, officials say

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — There were three potential storm-related deaths in North Carolina amid flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal, a state official said Tuesday.

The state’s Department of Health and Human Services was working on confirmation of the deaths in Chatham, Orange and Alamance counties, North Carolina Emergency Management spokesperson Justin Graney said in an email.

In Chatham County, an 83-year-old Pittsboro woman was killed when her car was swept off a rural road by floodwaters Sunday night, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. On Monday, crews found the body of a Person County woman who went missing while on her way to work in Orange County on Sunday night, according to a social media post by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. In Alamance County, a missing man was found dead Sunday night inside a submerged vehicle found off a road in Mebane, sheriff’s office spokesperson Byron Tucker told WTVD-TV.

The storm destroyed homes and impaired businesses and lives were lost, Gov. Josh Stein said during a visit to Mebane in Alamance County on Tuesday. Officials were still assessing the scale of the damage and working on a final number of deaths, he said.

“Storms like this show us what is best about North Carolina,” Stein said. He praised emergency workers for their efforts knocking on doors to get people out of their homes or diverting traffic to keep people out of harm’s way.

Before his visit to Mebane, Stein told reporters in Raleigh on Tuesday morning that there will be enough money to address damage from both and Chantal and Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina last year, killing more than 100 people.

Crews were working Tuesday to restore power, utilities and road access, officials said. The state’s Department of Transportation reopened several major roads, including Interstate 40/85 in Alamance County on Monday, but 65 roads remained closed because of the storm, officials said.

“This historic weather event caused flooding like we haven’t seen in several decades in the central part of the state,” Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a statement, noting that crews were working to assess and reopen roads as soon as floodwaters recede and it is safe to do so.

Tropical Storm Chantal was downgraded to a tropical depression Sunday after making landfall in South Carolina. While the winds dropped, a 15- to 30-mile-wide swath of heavy rain followed the storm’s core across North Carolina and areas within that swath saw impressive rain amounts, the weather service’s Eastern Region headquarters said in a social media post.

Rainfall totals exceeded 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) in some spots in central North Carolina and some isolated areas saw totals of nearly 1 foot (30.48 centimeters), such as in Moncure and Pittsboro in Chatham County, where 11.92 inches (30.28 centimeters) and 11.53 inches (29.29 centimeters) of rain fell respectively.

Intense rainstorms are becoming more frequent in most of the U.S. — though experts say where they occur and whether they cause catastrophic flooding is largely a matter of chance.

The National Weather Service’s office in Raleigh confirmed that four tornadoes, all EF-1s with peak winds ranging from 95 to 105 mph (153 to 169 km/h), touched down Sunday in Orange, Alamance, Chatham and Lee counties. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Family of 4, including 2 children, killed in North Carolina plane crash

Family of 4, including 2 children, killed in North Carolina plane crash

SANFORD, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina family of four, including two school-age children, died when their small plane crashed as they flew back from Florida.

The National Transportation Safety Board said an agency investigator was expected Tuesday at the site of the wreckage of Monday’s crash, located in a field near some trees northeast of Sanford, North Carolina.

The state Highway Patrol identified those killed as Travis and Candace Buchanan, who were both 35; Aubrey Buchanan, 10; and Walker Buchanan, 9. Three of the four died at the scene, while the fourth was pronounced dead at a hospital, the patrol said in a news release.

There were no survivors in the crash involving the Cirrus SR22T airplane, which an NTSB official said happened shortly after 1:30 p.m. under currently unknown circumstances. The aircraft ultimately will be recovered and taken to a facility for further evaluation, the agency said.

The Raleigh Executive Jetport, located a few miles north of the crash site, said in a social media post that the aircraft was based at the small airport.

Federal Aviation Administration records list Travis Buchanan of Sanford as the plane’s owner. The plane departed Merritt Island, Florida, about 11 a.m. Monday and was last seen about 1:30 p.m. near Sanford, according to according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Sanford is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Raleigh.

WRAL-TV reported that the family owned Buchanan Farms in Sanford. Abraham Garcia said he had worked for Travis Buchanan at the farms for more than eight years and “he helped me all the time.” The Buchanan family was heading back from the beach, he said.

Grace Christian School in Sanford said on its Facebook page that Travis and Candace Buchanan were the parents of Aubrey, a fifth-grader this fall at the school, and Walker, an upcoming fourth-grader.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of one of our Crusader Families,” the post said, referencing the school’s nickname. “During this incredibly difficult time, we stand together in support of their family and one another.”

Swain County sheriff steps down after sexual misconduct charges

Swain County sheriff steps down after sexual misconduct charges

BRYSON CITY, N.C. (AP) — The longtime sheriff of a western North Carolina county whom some women accused of sexual misconduct has quit before he could be permanently removed.

Curtis Cochran, who was first elected Swain County sheriff in 2006, retired from the post effective July 1, according to a statement from the county Board of Commissioners. The chief deputy is performing the sheriff’s duties while the commissioners decide who will serve out the remainder of Cochran’s four-year term through late 2026, the statement said.

Cochran, 72, was charged in state courts with felonious restraint and misdemeanor sexual battery, soliciting prostitution and assault on a female, according to June 27 arrest warrants. The same day, Ashley Hornsby Welch, the district attorney for Swain and six other far western counties, filed a petition seeking to remove Cochran from office for “willful misconduct and maladministration in office.”

A Superior Court judge immediately suspended Cochran from office pending a final court ruling. But the removal petition becomes moot with Cochran’s retirement. A petition-related hearing set for Monday in adjoining Graham County was canceled, online court data said.

Welch’s removal petition included signed affidavits by two women who allege Cochran made separate unwanted sexual advances on them while he drove on land held by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The Eastern Band’s reservation, known as Qualla Boundary, is in portions of Swain County.

The county of 14,000 people is about 300 miles (483 kilometers) west of Raleigh and includes much of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that straddles the Tennessee border.

Cochran was released on bond on the state criminal charges and faces an Aug. 5 court hearing. He is also charged under Eastern Band tribal law with two counts of oppression in office and one count of abusive sexual contact, Cherokee Indian Police Department Chief Carla Neadeau said in a news release.

Cochran’s attorney didn’t respond Monday or Tuesday to a phone message and emails seeking comment and additional details.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.

The petition alleges that on June 22 one woman — an Eastern Band member — flagged down what she believed to be a law enforcement vehicle. She was upset and crying because she and her boyfriend had been fighting verbally, and she accepted an invitation into the SUV from the driver — whom authorities identified as Cochran — because she believed it would diffuse the situation, the petition says.

The petition alleges that when Cochran started driving he began touching the woman despite her objections and asked her to perform a sexual act, but she refused. He later pulled the SUV off the road, got out and positioned himself so the woman couldn’t get out of vehicle and asked again, according to the petition. Cochran told the woman if “there was a time that I got in trouble, all I would have to do is say his name and he would help me,” the woman’s affidavit read. She again declined, ultimately was dropped off at her house and contacted tribal police.

The affidavit signed by the other woman said that on June 23 — soon after being released from the tribal jail — she accepted a ride from what looked like a government vehicle that she said turned out to be driven by Cochran. She said Cochran starting touching her — doing so even as she pulled away — and she ultimately got out of the vehicle.

The FBI and State Bureau of Investigation also participated in the criminal investigation, which included video footage, according to the petition.

Cochran, a Republican, had no law enforcement experience before his first sheriff’s election victory, having previously been Swain County’s maintenance director.

Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on

Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on

By JIM VERTUNO, NADIA LATHAN and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in Texas dimmed Tuesday, a day after the death toll surpassed 100, and crews kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath.

The search efforts benefited from improving weather. The storms that battered the Hill Country for the past four days began to lighten up, although isolated pockets of heavy rain were still possible.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned to make another visit Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the flash floods. Officials said Monday that 10 campers and one counselor have still not been found.

A wall of water slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday, pulling people out of their cabins, tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and cars. Some survivors were found clinging to trees.

Questions are mounting about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth holiday weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as “flash flood alley.”

At public briefings, officials in hard-hit Kerr County have deflected questions about what preparations and warnings were made as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions.

“We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Monday. “We’re looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.”

Some camps were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather. At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods. But many were caught by surprise.

Searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, in Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps near the river, officials said.

Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said.

Among those confirmed dead were 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who were at Camp Mystic and a former soccer coach and his wife who were staying at a riverfront home. Their daughters were still missing.

Elizabeth Lester, a mother of children who were at Camp Mystic and nearby Camp La Junta during the flood, said her young son had to swim out a cabin window to escape. Her daughter fled up the hillside as floodwaters whipped against her legs. Both survived.

Search-and-rescue teams used heavy equipment to untangle trees and move large rocks as part of the massive search for missing people. Hundreds of volunteers have shown up to help with one of the largest rescue operations in Texas history.

Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators and coolers littered the riverbanks.

___

Vertuno reported from Austin, and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Sophia Tareen in Chicago.

Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane

Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports.

The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media reports.

If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.

The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming. ABC News reported on an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy lets travelers keep their shoes on during screenings at many U.S. airports beginning this Sunday.

The plan is for the change to occur at all U.S. airports soon, the memo said.

Travelers were able to skirt extra security requirement if they were part of the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets.

The TSA has not officially confirmed the reported security screening change yet.

“TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance passenger experience and our strong security posture,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. “Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.”

The TSA began in 2001 when President George W. Bush signed legislation for its creation two months after the 9/11 attacks. The agency included federal airport screeners that replaced the private companies airlines had used to handle security.

Over the years the TSA has continued to look for ways to enhance its security measures, including testing facial recognition technology and implementing Real ID requirements.

Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane

Travelers may no longer be required to remove shoes before boarding a plane

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers may no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain U.S. airports.

The Transportation Security Administration is looking to abandon the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through U.S airports, according to media reports.

If implemented, it would put an end to a security screening mandate put in place almost 20 years ago, several years after “shoe bomber” Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down a flight from Paris to Miami in late 2001.

The travel newsletter Gate Access was first to report that the security screening change is coming. ABC News reported on an internal memo sent to TSA officers last week that states the new policy lets travelers keep their shoes on during screenings at many U.S. airports beginning this Sunday.

The plan is for the change to occur at all U.S. airports soon, the memo said.

Travelers were able to skirt extra security requirement if they were part of the TSA PreCheck program, which costs around $80 for five years. The program allows airline passengers to get through the screening process without removing shoes, belts or light jackets.

The TSA has not officially confirmed the reported security screening change yet.

“TSA and DHS are always exploring new and innovative ways to enhance passenger experience and our strong security posture,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. “Any potential updates to our security process will be issued through official channels.”

The TSA began in 2001 when President George W. Bush signed legislation for its creation two months after the 9/11 attacks. The agency included federal airport screeners that replaced the private companies airlines had used to handle security.

Over the years the TSA has continued to look for ways to enhance its security measures, including testing facial recognition technology and implementing Real ID requirements.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack a ship in the Red Sea, killing 3, after claiming they sank another

Yemen’s Houthi rebels attack a ship in the Red Sea, killing 3, after claiming they sank another

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Red Sea killed three mariners and wounded two others, a European Union naval force said Tuesday.

The attack on the Greek-owned Eternity C follows the Houthis claiming they attacked another vessel on Sunday in the Red Sea, a vital maritime trade route. The twin assaults are the first Houthi attacks on shipping since November 2024 and potentially signal the start of a new campaign threatening the waterway, which had begun to see more ships pass through it in recent weeks.

The bulk carrier had been heading north toward the Suez Canal when it came under fire by men in small boats and by bomb-carrying drones Monday night. The security guards on board also fired their weapons. The European Union Operation Aspides and the private security firm Ambrey both reported those details.

While the Houthis haven’t claimed the attack, Yemen’s exiled government and the EU force blamed the rebels for the attack, as did the U.S. Embassy in Yemen.

“The Houthis are once again showing blatant disregard for human life, undermining freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” said the embassy, which has operated out of Saudi Arabia for nearly a decade due to Yemen’s wider war.

“The intentional murder of innocent mariners shows us all the Houthis’ true colors and will only further the Houthis’ isolation.”

The EU force offered the casualty information, saying one of the wounded crew lost his leg in the attack. The crew remains stuck on board the vessel, which is now drifting in the Red Sea.

The Houthis separately attacked the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas on Sunday with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel. The rebels later said it sank in the Red Sea with its cargo of fertilizer and steel billets for Turkey.

“It is the first such attack against a commercial vessel in 2025, a serious escalation endangering maritime security in a vital waterway for the region and the world,” the EU warned. “These attacks directly threaten regional peace and stability, global commerce and freedom of navigation as a global public good. They can negatively impact the already dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. These attacks must stop.”

The two attacks and a round of Israeli airstrikes early Monday targeting the rebels raised fears of a renewed Houthi campaign against shipping that could again draw in U.S. and Western forces, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign.

The attacks come at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance, and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most sensitive atomic sites during the Israel-Iran war in June.

The Houthis have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group’s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks.

The Houthis paused attacks until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis hadn’t attacked a vessel until this past weekend, though they did continue occasional missile attacks targeting Israel.

Homestyle New England Fish Pie

Homestyle New England Fish Pie

This pie brings together tender fish, leeks, parsnips, peas, and creamy sauce underneath a cheddar-horseradish mashed potato topping. It’s cozy comfort food with New England roots, perfect for chilly evenings or Sunday supper.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb white fish like cod, halibut, or salmon, cut into chunks
  • 2 leeks, sliced (white and light green parts)
  • 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
  • 2/3 cup frozen peas
  • 3 large russet potatoes
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 tsp prepared horseradish
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook root vegetables
In a pot of salted boiling water, cook chopped potatoes and parsnips until tender. Drain and mash them with butter, buttermilk, cheddar, horseradish, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

2. Make creamy fish filling
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt remaining butter. Whisk in flour and slowly add milk. Cook until slightly thickened. Add bay leaf, leeks, and parsnips; simmer until soft. Stir in peas and fish chunks, season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Assemble the pie
Spoon fish mixture into a baking dish. Top with mashed potato mixture, spreading evenly or piping for a decorative top.

4. Bake and serve
Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) until the topping is golden and filling is bubbling, about 25–30 minutes. Remove and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

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