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A San Francisco-based coffee chain that sparked backlash with a policy to remove Pride flags from their stores has reversed its decision over a week later.

“I made a mistake and I am sincerely sorry,” said Mahesh Sadarangani, the chief executive of Philz Coffee, in a statement on Friday. “The Pride flag is a symbol of safety and belonging for people who don’t always find that in the world, and that is not something I want to take away from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/17/philz-coffee-pride-flags-californiaanyone who walks into a Philz."

Last week, in a statement to the Guardian, Sadarangani framed the move as a step toward inclusivity. He said other flags would also come down for consistency.

Backlash from Philz Coffee’s workers and customers was swift. An online petition expressing opposition to the policy, which appeared to be started by company baristas, racked up more than 7,300 signatures. The company has built a reputation on being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community.

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The University of Michigan regent Jordan Acker, who helped lead the university’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian students, appears to have made obscene sexual comments about a Democratic party strategist in a group chat, messages provided to the Guardian reveal. The Slack messages, attributed to Acker, also include lewd comments about a female U-M student and a picture of her with her friends.

The messages were shared with the Guardian just days before a heated primary convention election for two open U-M board of regents seats. The board is the university’s governing body, and the usually low-profile race is especially tense this year as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian candidates compete for seats. The race has become a local flashpoint in the broader battle over criticism of Israel on campuses.

Acker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring highly unusual prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students. The prosecutions and surveillance operations were dAcker is known to be a confrontational, pro-Israel leader at the large public university. He is an attorney who helped recruit the Michigan attorney general to bring highly unusual prosecutions against students, and, while he was on the board, it led a sprawling undercover surveillance operation against the students. The prosecutions and surveillance operations were dropped after Guardian stories on each. Acker has also drawn criticism for leading the university as it dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative amid pressure from Donald Trump.ropped after Guardian stories on each. Acker has also drawn criticism for leading the university as it dismantled its diversity, equity and inclusion initiative amid pressure from Donald Trump.

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State and local prosecutors in Minnesota charged an ICE officer Thursday with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

The criminal charges appear to be the first against a federal immigration officer for actions allegedly taken while on duty during the immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year.

"Today's charges reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a press conference on Thursday announcing the charges.

The officer is identified in the complaint as 35-year-old Gregory Donnell Morgan, Jr., a Maryland resident who was part of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division at the time of the incident and had been detailed to the Minneapolis area.

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A US blockade of Iran’s ports is in place with President Donald Trump warning that any vessels approaching the blockade of Iranian shipping would be “immediately eliminated.”

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED… It is quick and brutal,” Trump wrote on social media, referring to Iranian naval vessels.

The US military on Monday began enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports, targeting maritime traffic linked to Tehran after weeks of war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Since the conflict in the Middle East began on Feb. 28, Iran has effectively restricted access to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing passage only under its control and subject to fees. The narrow corridor previously carried nearly 20% of global oil and gas flows.

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Two former student leaders at the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) in London have reached a settlement with the university’s students’ union after taking the union to court over wrongful dismissal for their anti-Zionist beliefs and pro-Palestine activism.

Alexander Cachinero-Gorman and Abel Harvie-Clark brought claims against the Soas Students’ Union and Soas after they were sacked from their elected sabbatical roles in 2024, before they had a chance to assume them.

Both student activists were dismissed from their positions despite being freely elected by the student body.

The pair said their dismissal was due to their anti-Zionist philosophical beliefs and student activism in support of Palestine.

In March 2024 the student body elected Gorman to serve as vice president of welfare and campaigns, and Clark as vice president of democracy and education.

But the students’ union trustee board dismissed the pair in June 2024 over concerns about their conduct and public criticism of the union’s leadership.

However, after the tribunal proceedings began, both parties reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount, bringing the case to a close without a full hearing.

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US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth read a fake Bible verse from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 cult classic film Pulp Fiction on Wednesday, during a Christian prayer and worship service at the Pentagon. 

Addressing a large Christian congregation at the Pentagon's headquarters, Hegseth, who is facing multiple impeachment charges tabled by House Democrats, claimed the prayer was passed to him by a lead mission planner involved in the rescue operation for two US Air Force crew members who were recently shot down in Iran.

Before reciting the prayer, Hegseth said it was titled "CSAR 2517", alluding to the Biblical verse Ezekiel 25:17.

"The path of the downed aviator is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men," Hegseth said.

"Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, shepherd the lost through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children.

"And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother. And you will know my call sign is Sandy 1 when I lay my vengeance upon thee, and amen," he added.

The first few lines of the prayer were written by Tarantino and Roger Avary for the hit film Pulp Fiction. The second part of the verse is taken from the Bible, where the speaker condemns the Philistines and the Cherethims, who were alleged to be enemies of the Israelites.

In Pulp Fiction, the character played by Samuel L Jackson falsely claimed the entirety of the verse was Ezekiel 25:17. He utters the verse before executing a terrified young criminal.

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Todd Lyons, the acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is stepping down after a turbulent year carrying out Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

Lyons, who has been leading the agency since March 2025, will resign at the end of May and move to the private sector, Markwayne ​Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, said in a statement on Thursday.

Mullin’s statement did not include details about who will succeed Lyons, and DHS and the White House did not immediately respond to inquiries.

Lyons’ departure comes as ICE faces escalating backlash over its violent and aggressive tactics across the country, including the recent shooting of a California man during a traffic stop, which Lyons defended.

Lyons, who started with ICE as an agent in Texas in 2007, has been under growing pressure since immigration agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January. When Lyons was testifying before Congress after the shootings, he declined to apologize to Good’s and Pretti’s families or say whether he agreed with the Trump administration’s widely criticized claims that the US citizens shot by officers were “domestic terrorists”.

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Donald Trump has selected Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bringing to an end a months-long search for a permanent head of the troubled public health agency.

Trump revealed his choice on Truth Social, saying: “I am pleased to announce the new leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is my Honor to nominate the incredibly talented Dr Erica Schwartz, MD, JD, MPH, as my Director of the CDC,” he wrote. “She is a STAR!”

Schwartz must receive confirmation from the Senate before taking the role.

A rear admiral in the US Coast Guard, Schwartz previously served as deputy surgeon general during Trump’s first administration. Over more than two decades, she has held positions in the US navy, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the US Coast Guard. Her tenure as deputy surgeon general lasted from 2019 to 2021.

Schwartz is a physician with a background that includes a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a medical degree from Brown University. She also has a master’s degree in public health from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, as well as a law degree from the University of Maryland.

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