Germany to redesign Adidas soccer jersey numbering amid Nazi symbol controversy

German soccer authorities will redesign the number “4” on the country’s national jerseys amid claims it resembles a logo used by Nazi paramilitary units.

The German Football Association (DFB) made the announcement Monday after social media users began using an online customization service to create shirts bearing the number “44” — and pointing out the similarity to the Schutzstaffel, or SS, logo.

In a statement posted to X, the DFB said it had earlier submitted numbers 1 to 26 to European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, for review, and that “none of the parties involved saw any proximity to Nazi symbolism in the creation process of the jersey design.” The association said it was taking the matter “very seriously” and was developing “an alternative design” for the digit.

While 44 is not currently used by the German men’s or women’s teams, official uniform supplier Adidas allowed customers to personalize the jerseys with a number, from 00 to 99, and a name up to 10 letters long. The resulting images generated by Adidas’ online shop were then widely shared online.

White House to host scaled-back iftar dinner amid tensions with Arab and Muslim Americans

President Joe Biden is expected to host a significantly scaled-down iftar dinner at the White House on Tuesday to commemorate Ramadan, three sources familiar with the plans told CNN, a reflection of the tension between the administration and Arab and Muslim American communities over the Israel-Hamas war.

Several people who were invited to the dinner have declined, sources said, citing frustration with the administration’s support of Israel amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Vice President Kamala Harris, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, senior White House aides and fewer than a dozen invited guests are expected to attend the small gathering, a senior administration official said.

Last year, the White House did not hold an iftar dinner – the breaking of the daily fast after sundown – but hosted nearly 350 people for a reception celebrating Eid al-Fitr, a festival marking the end of Ramadan.

Charges: St. Paul man left kids alone, guns accessible before boy was shot in face

A man is now facing criminal charges in connection to a shooting at a St. Paul apartment on Friday night that left an 11-year-old critically hurt.

Martinez Castillo Lloyd, 34, is charged with illegal gun possession and negligent storage of a gun following the incident.

Prosecutors say that Lloyd’s children and several of their friends — ranging in age from 10 to 13 — were at his apartment in the 800 block of Pierce Butler Road starting at around 8:20 p.m. After about 30 minutes, Lloyd left and went to a store, leaving the kids by themselves.

Charging documents state that, after Lloyd left, his son and niece went into his room and grabbed two guns that he kept in an unlocked drawer in his room. The documents note that the kids said they’ve played with the guns a dozen times in the past year, including the weekend prior.

Lloyd later told police that he’d seen his kids play with his guns before and told them to put them back.

Biden administration set to greenlight $18 billion sale of F-15 fighter jets to Israel

The Biden administration is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The transaction, which would amount to the largest US foreign military sale to Israel since the country went to war with Hamas on October 7, comes as the administration is also expected to notify Congress soon of a large new sale of precision-guided munitions kits to Israel, the people said.

The new sales of some of the US’ most sophisticated weaponry underscore the extent to which the US continues to support Israel militarily, even as Biden administration officials criticize Israel’s operations in Gaza, which have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians since October, according to the Gaza ministry of health.

The sale is likely to be hotly debated in Congress, particularly by members of the president’s own party. US weapons sales to Israel have come under intense scrutiny in recent months and Democratic lawmakers have called for restricting military aid to Israeli until it allows more humanitarian aid into Gaza and does more to protect civilians there.

Burnings and beheadings: Myanmar junta escalates terror tactics against its people

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence.

CNN
—
The two young men are bloodied, their feet clamped in wooden stocks.

“What is the PDF (People’s Defence Force)?” their tormentors yell. “Dogs,” they reply.

Humiliated and dehumanized, the men are hogtied and dragged across the rough ground by their thick chains.

In front of dozens of onlookers, they are strung up to a tree and a fire stoked beneath them.

As smoke rises and the flames consume them, the two men writhe and scream in agony – their final moments of unimaginable pain and horror captured on video.

Phoe Tay was 21-years-old, Thar Htaung just 20.

The two young men had left their family farms in northwest Myanmar to join a local armed resistance group following the 2021 military coup, hoping to bring peace and democracy to the Southeast Asian country, their fathers told CNN.

But they were captured during a battle against the military on November 7 last year, and taken to a nearby village, where they were tortured and killed by a pro-junta militia under the watch of Myanmar army soldiers, according to witnesses.

CNN has built a timeline of events, using accounts from more than a dozen witnesses, villagers, resistance fighters, family members and analysts, with analysis of the video and pictures from the day using open source techniques. Those accounts and analysis point to the ruling military as being responsible for the killings, in contradiction of their public denials.

Machete-wielding militias battle gangs in Port-au-Prince as Haiti’s elites vie for power

The wide road that passes in front of Haiti’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport has a post-apocalyptic stillness these days. Where cars and crowds of people once massed, only tendrils of smoke rise from smoldering piles of trash, sending a bitter taste into the air.

An armored police vehicle hulks nearby; the few police officers on watch cover their faces with balaclavas. This street looks nearly abandoned, as if in the wake of a disaster – an experience that people in Port-au-Prince know better than most. But leaving the city isn’t an option this time; the airport, under siege by gangs, has been forced to close.

Since the start of the month, criminal groups have been attacking with unprecedented coordination the last remnants of the Haitian state – the airport, police stations, government buildings, the National Penitentiary. The culmination of years of growing gang control and popular unrest, their joint assault forced Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign last week, a stunning capitulation that has nevertheless proven futile in restoring calm.

Port-au-Prince’s gangs are still choking off the supply of food, fuel and water across the city. Perhaps the last functional part of the state, Haiti’s National Police, continue to fight, battling to reclaim ground block by block across the city. But the very life of the city they are fighting for seems to be waning, as intensive urban warfare grinds down on basic human ties.

Inside Haiti: A lucky few escape, while millions face gang rule, hunger and chaos

In a city silenced by gangs, everyone notices the thrum of a helicopter beating overhead in the night – a brief sign that someone very lucky has been able to leave Port-au-Prince.

CNN was able to land in the Haitian capital by helicopter on Friday after days of on-again, off-again plans that required detailed security arrangements and multiple layers of diplomatic approval. Since our previous visit to Haiti last month, the situation has deteriorated sharply. Beleaguered Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his decision to step aside, but it is not clear who will fill the void or when. A promised transitional government has yet to materialize, and plans for a Kenyan-led stabilisation force are in limbo.

Ordinary people leave their homes only rarely in Port-au-Prince these days, where daily battles between police and gangs send plumes of smoke into the air, gunshots echoing through quiet streets. Boulevards that would ordinarily be packed with cars and vendors are empty, the city’s painted “tap tap” taxis rarely full.

There are few places left to go. All roads leading out of the city are blocked by gangs, as is access to the port, and the city’s international airport has been shuttered, its walls pocked with bullet holes. Nothing is coming in either; the city’s grocery stores are running out of food. Gas stations are out of fuel. Hospitals are short on blood.

Senior Hamas official says he ‘cannot reassure anyone’ that hostages in Gaza are safe


A senior Hamas official told CNN that he cannot provide any assurances about the wellbeing of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, but rejected a United Nations special representative’s finding that there is “clear and convincing information” that some of them have been sexually abused.

“I cannot now reassure you, anyone, because all these war prisoners are facing the same bombardment and starvation our people (are) facing on the ground,” said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, even as he “absolutely” denied the allegations of sexual abuse.

In a wide-ranging and sometimes contentious Zoom interview from his office in Istanbul, Turkey, Naim spoke to CNN on Wednesday about the state of ceasefire negotiations with Israel, the fate of 130 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, and Hamas’ share of responsibility for the widespread devastation unleashed by the Israeli military in Gaza in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,200 people.

During the interview, Naim rejected defining Hamas’ attacks as terrorism, falsely claiming that his organization does not target civilians. Instead, he blamed Israel for carrying out what he claimed is “state terrorism” in Gaza and reiterated Hamas’ calls for Palestinians to join in “armed resistance” against Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Sunday night.

Woman federally indicted for buying guns used in Burnsville shooting of first responders

A Burnsville woman is facing criminal charges for providing guns to the man who police say gunned down three first responders last month in Burnsville.

Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, 35, is federally indicted on five charges of straw purchasing, five counts of making false statements during a gun purchase and one count of conspiracy.

Local, state and federal authorities announced the development Thursday.

It comes two days after 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reported that the mother of three of the children who were inside the home at the time of the shooting says she was subpoenaed and testified in front of a federal grand jury.

68 percent of college students say free speech protections should extend to threats, inciting violence: Poll

More than two-thirds of college students say free speech protections on campuses should extend even to individuals who are inciting violence or threatening others, according to an Axios Vibes survey conducted by The Harris Poll and released Thursday.

The poll found 68 percent of students agreed with free speech protection extending to inciting violence. Free speech was a top-three concern for students, behind only tuition and safety.

While the support for even potentially inciting free speech protections appears bipartisan, the survey found it is somewhat split among gender lines, backed by 74 percent of men and only 61 percent of women.

The survey comes at a tumultuous time for universities as they have navigated how to handle the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Around 86 percent of college students say schools should make them feel safe when sharing opinions on tense political issues, and 77 percent argue free speech is needed even when it upsets others.