The artist Finneas and three other supporting acts quit Ed Sheeran's tour on Tuesday, after the US rapper Macklemore was removed for his pro-Palestine comments on stage.
Finneas, Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, and Lukas Graham of Denmark all posted statements announcing they were quitting Sheeran's "Loop Tour" in solidarity with the rapper and Palestinian people.
"Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas said in a statement on social media.
His statement came after Irish singer Aaron Rowe published a statement, announcing that he had decided to withdraw as a support act for the British singer.
"Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life," he said. "But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children."
All supporting acts quit Ed Sheeran tour in protest of Macklemore’s removal
Pro-Israel billionaire Robert Kraft led campaign to drop Macklemore from Ed Sheeran tour
In a statement shared on Instagram, US rapper Macklemore confirmed that “Ed Sheeran and his team” had dropped him from the tour after he said “Free Palestine”.
The campaign to remove Macklemore from the tour was driven by billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, who threatened to block Sheeran and his team from using his stadium.
Kraft also rallied other stadium owners across the country to stop the tour from proceeding.
“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore wrote.
“Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: 'If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.'”
Russia plotting to kill Ukraine allies in US and Europe, FBI says
Russia’s intelligence services are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said Tuesday as they announced charges against five people who remain at large.
An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said a network of the intelligence services had paid and attempted to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries to surveil targets to be killed with plans to then kill them.
The associates recruited in the network also had been solicited to carry out acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that were perceived to be aligned with Ukraine, the indictment said.
James Barnacle Jr, head of New York’s FBI office, said the FBI disrupted the plans “through relentless work” as members of the Russian intelligence services and their affiliates “conspired to intimidate, threaten, or murder people on US soil and around the world”.
Darren Cox, head of the Washington DC office of the FBI, cited “extraordinary work by multiple FBI field offices, components, and partner agencies that collectively disrupted Russia’s attempts to conduct violent acts in our nation’s capital and throughout the United States”.
US set to deliver 2,000lb bombs to Israel as part of vast arms deal
The Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000lb bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.
The $2.8bn package includes 40,000 bombs, made up of 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two US officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final.
Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal, most of which is to be paid for with foreign military financing – in which US taxpayer dollars are given to Israel to turn around and buy the weapons from the United States.
The proposed sale is just the latest in a series of Trump administration steps to improve Israeli’s military capacity. The war on Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and has decimated the territory. The US had brokered a fragile ceasefire, but it has been violated several times.
For thousands of Haitians in the U.S., end of protected status brings fear, grief and defiance
Herlain, a registered nurse who was born in Haiti, barely leaves her house these days.
The few times she has, she was terrified. She instructed her family members about how to record on their phones in case she gets detained by federal immigration authorities.
"You would think I was on the run," she told NPR. "Who am I on the run from? This is crazy!"
Even at home she fears strangers and refused to open the door to a salesman who requested water on a humid Florida day during a recent heatwave.
"That's not me. I'm a nurse, I help people," she recounted through tears.
Herlain, along with nearly 350,000 other Haitian migrants, lost her temporary protected status, or TPS, in July. She asked NPR to only use her first name because of her immigration status.
Brooklyn firm to add over 600 EV charging points to NYC curbside spots
New York City officials have selected Brooklyn-based company it’s electric to expand the city's curbside electric vehicle charging network to 700 charging points from the current 88, the company announced Tuesday.
The transportation department’s buildout will target more than 10 neighborhoods with high concentrations of taxi and rideshare drivers and limited off-street parking, including Washington Heights, Forest Hills and the Upper West Side.
According to the DOT, the deal comprises two contracts: one for installation at $55.3 million, and one for operating at $4.9 million. Each station will feature at least two charger posts with two charging points each, the DOT said.
The city gave New Yorkers until Sept. 30 to share their thoughts on the proposed locations and suggest others through an online portal.
Republican launches impeachment effort against Pete Hegseth over Iran war
An anti-war Republican congressman introduced articles of impeachment on Sept. 15 against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth over the Iran war, potentially causing a political headache for GOP leaders in Congress two months before the midterms.
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a noted political foe of President Donald Trump, launched the longshot effort to remove Hegseth with a speech on the House floor. He accused Hegseth, a former Fox News host, of betraying his oath of office and abusing his powers as a military leader.
Primarily, he accused Hegseth of violating the Constitution by continuing to oversee military operations in the Iran war without congressional approval.
"This abuse of office frustrated Congress' ability to exercise its most solemn constitutional responsibility," Massie said.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/15/thomas-massie-impeachment-articles-pete-hegseth-iran-war/91776260007/
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Massie argued that the 60- to 90-day legal deadline for the U.S. military to withdraw forces from Iran would've been May 1 – or June 1 at the latest. The Trump administration's rationale for not getting legislative approval for the war has fluctuated as, officials have argued, the waxing and waning of hostilities has altered the timeline of their legal obligations.
Air Force Secretary confirms US deployed weapons in space
Meink did not provide many details about the weapon or when it was launched, but he stated that it will “make sure that when we’re threatened, we can take care of that.”
“We are increasing readiness against existing threats and the United States has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the Joint Force against hostile adversary action,” Meink said at the annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md.
Meink’s acknowledgement prompted a stern reaction from China.
“China stands for peaceful use of the outer space and keeping it safe, and opposes any arms race in outer space or any attempt to weaponize it and turn it into a warzone,” China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday. “We urge the U.S. to stop its military build-up in the outer space, and uphold global strategic stability with concrete actions.”
Russia weighed in as well, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Moscow believes “space must be free of any weapon,” according to state media.
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French TV censors actress Adele Haenel after she condemns Israel’s genocide in Palestine
French activist and actress Adele Haenel faced censorship on French television after condemning the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
During an appearance on the French channel France 5, Haenel also accused France of being “complicit” in the genocide and called for sanctions against Israel.
Following her comments, the channel's parent company, France Televisions, removed the programme from its replay service.
On Wednesday, 9 September, Haenel appeared on the programme to discuss her first book, which addresses violence against children and the sexual abuse she suffered as a minor at the hands of director Christophe Ruggia.
A court convicted Ruggia in April of sexually assaulting her, in a case that drew national attention in the country.
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