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Plane with 2 People on Board Crashes in Upstate New York

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
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Plane with 2 People on Board Crashes in Upstate New York

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)

A twin-engine plane with two people on board crashed Saturday in a muddy field in upstate New York, authorities said.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 report around noon, according to Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore, who said the crash was fatal but declined to reveal how many people died.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Mitsubishi MU-2B was headed to Columbia County Airport near Hudson, but crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away near Copake.
“It's in the middle of a field and it's pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” Salvatore said during a news conference near the scene about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Albany.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it had deployed an investigation team, which was expected to arrive Saturday night.

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World

Obama on Iran Deal: We’re Maybe a Little Bit Worse Off

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that has roiled the Middle East since late February (AFP)
US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that has roiled the Middle East since late February (AFP)
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Obama on Iran Deal: We’re Maybe a Little Bit Worse Off

US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that has roiled the Middle East since late February (AFP)
US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict that has roiled the Middle East since late February (AFP)

Former US President Barack Obama said while he is happy to see a ceasefire, it seems like the United States is “worse off” now than before President Donald Trump launched the war on Iran in February.

The former president noted that under the Iran nuclear deal negotiated during his administration, “Iran had agreed not to develop nuclear weapons.”

“This administration, or a prior version of this administration, pulled out of it, which caused then Iran to develop more nuclear capacity,” Obama said in an interview with “TODAY” co-host Craig Melvin that aired Friday.

“We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off,” Obama said.

Trump signed a memorandum of understanding during a dinner at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night. It sets a 60-day deadline for negotiators to reach a more permanent deal to end the conflict.

Switzerland announced on Friday that planned talks following up on the deal to end the Middle East war had been postponed, hours after US Vice President JD Vance’s departure for the Alpine country was cancelled.

“The planned talks between the US, Iran, Qatar and Pakistan have been postponed,” the Swiss foreign ministry said in a message to AFP.

“Switzerland remains ready to facilitate these talks. The relevant preparatory work at Burgenstock is continuing,” it added, without providing a new date for the talks.

Nothing on Missiles

Trump and his administration sought to defend the memorandum.

On Thursday, Vance defended the “win-win” US-Iran agreement as critics slammed its vague provisions.

Trump said on social media that those who see problems with the memorandum are “fools” and either “jealous, bad people, or stupid.”

But AFP quoted experts as saying that although Iran suffered billions in damages and heavy blows from US and Israeli airstrikes, Tehran emerged from the conflict in a stronger geopolitical position.

They said Iran was already engaged in indirect talks before the war, and has now greater influence over the Strait of Hormuz.

Also, the memorandum mentioned nothing about Iranian conventional military forces (including missiles and drones) or support for proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

Experts expect Iran to make no concessions on these two files in future talks.

Richard Haass, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on Thursday: “Nothing in the MOU prejudices, one way or the other, the future status of the stock of enriched uranium in Iran, new enrichment-related activities, or inspections.”

“It's a much worse situation strategically for the US now than it was back in the 2010 to 2015 time period,” said Alan Eyre, distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute.

“The Iranian nuclear program is a lot more advanced now” -- though its nuclear facilities and enrichment ability were set back by US strikes last year -- and “there's a lot less bilateral trust,” said Eyre, one of the negotiators of the 2015 deal.

By attacking Iran, Washington has already played what would have been a major card: the threat of military force.

“We used it, and they're still standing. So what are we going to threaten them with?” Eyre said. “We have failed strategically, despite our military preeminence. Iran succeeded in that Iran's goal in this war was to survive.”

The memorandum of understanding -- signed by Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday -- says Iran “reaffirms that it shall not procure or develop nuclear weapons,” but provides no mechanism for that to be verified or enforced.

World

UK Tests New Long-Range Weapons with Hopes to Send to Ukraine

A member of the military walks past an MBDA Storm Shadow/Scalp missile at the Farnborough Airshow, southwest of London, on July 17, 2018. (Ben STANSALL / AFP)
A member of the military walks past an MBDA Storm Shadow/Scalp missile at the Farnborough Airshow, southwest of London, on July 17, 2018. (Ben STANSALL / AFP)
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UK Tests New Long-Range Weapons with Hopes to Send to Ukraine

A member of the military walks past an MBDA Storm Shadow/Scalp missile at the Farnborough Airshow, southwest of London, on July 17, 2018. (Ben STANSALL / AFP)
A member of the military walks past an MBDA Storm Shadow/Scalp missile at the Farnborough Airshow, southwest of London, on July 17, 2018. (Ben STANSALL / AFP)

Britain has tested new long-range strike weapons that the Government hopes can be delivered to Ukraine within months as part of efforts to produce munitions quicker and cheaper than others like Storm Shadow missiles.

New systems capable of hitting targets at least 500 kilometers away, carrying at least a 225-kilogram warhead, have been fired at a range in the Hebrides, with further trials taking place in the UK over the coming months.

The Ministry of Defense challenged UK firms to develop long-range strike weapons with a speed of more than 600 kilometers per hour, a cost per unit of around £400,000 ($529,360) and the ability to produce at least 20 weapons a month within months of production order.

Some 27 bids from industry were made with “Dragon's Den” style pitches held last February before six companies were awarded contracts worth around £5 million each to design the weapons for testing in just seven months, according to dpa.

By last December, only three suppliers remained – MBDA UK, which makes Storm Shadow; MGI Engineering, a UK SME with a background in Formula 1 technology; and Rotron Aerospace, another UK SME with a history of working with the Ministry of Defense.

World

Massive Fire Destroys Resort in Dominican Republic and Forces Evacuation of Almost 1,700 Tourists

A drone view shows a fire at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahibe, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic, June 19, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Gojko Culibrk/via REUTERS
A drone view shows a fire at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahibe, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic, June 19, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Gojko Culibrk/via REUTERS
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Massive Fire Destroys Resort in Dominican Republic and Forces Evacuation of Almost 1,700 Tourists

A drone view shows a fire at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahibe, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic, June 19, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Gojko Culibrk/via REUTERS
A drone view shows a fire at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahibe, La Altagracia, Dominican Republic, June 19, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from social media video. Gojko Culibrk/via REUTERS

A large fire almost completely destroyed a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic on Friday, forcing the evacuation of almost 1,700 tourists, authorities said.

Local media reported an Italian tourist died in the fire and several other tourists required medical assistance.

The Viva Dominicus Beach by Wyndham resort is located in Bayahibe, a popular destination for US and international tourists on the Dominican Republic's southeastern coast.

Authorities reported about 1,690 tourists had to be evacuated from the resort to other hotels and nearby housing facilities because of the massive blaze.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation and the country’s Emergency Operations Center said it appeared the “fire spread rapidly” due to wind and because part of the resort’s roof was made of thatch, The Associated Press reported.

Viva Wyndham’s other nearby resort, the Dominicus Palace, was not damaged by the fire and was operating as normal, the center said.