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🎬 Red Sea film festival opens fifth edition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Organizers plan more than 100 films from 70-plus countries over 10 days. The Red Sea competition slate fields 16 features from the Arab world, Asia, and Africa. Jury president Sean Baker, Oscar-winning director of “Anora”, praised the festival’s explosive growth. Opening film “Giant” follows British Yemeni boxing champion Prince Naseem Hamed, led by actor Amir El Masry. Saudi officials frame the event as part of Vision 2030 cultural diversification. Rights groups argue the spectacle risks whitewashing persistent executions and curbs on dissent.

🩺 Kenya and the United States signed a $2.5B health deal. Kenyan President William Ruto and Secretary of State Marco Rubio call it the first America First agreement with an African partner. American funding will cover $1.7B, with Kenya contributing $850M. The pact replaces programs once managed by the United States Agency for International Development. Money will focus on HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, often through faith-based clinics. Critics say aid cuts shut projects and weaken health systems in Africa. Experts at the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) warn funding gaps could still cost up to 4M lives worldwide.

🏛️ Agents arrested Brian J. Cole Jr. of Virginia on explosives charges. Prosecutors say he planted two pipe bombs in Washington the night before the January 2021 Capitol attack. The devices were found outside Republican and Democratic national committee buildings and disabled. Investigators cite years of work reviewing surveillance video, license plate scans, and cellphone records. Court papers track purchases of pipes and kitchen timers to Cole’s accounts. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says the bombs were viable and could have killed bystanders. Cole remains charged as agents continue examining links between the explosives and riot.

🚨 Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz blasts Trump’s comments on Minnesota Somalis. Walz called the remarks, that Somalis are “garbage” and Minnesota is a “hellhole”, made by President Donald Trump, as hateful, and urged residents to stand with their Somali neighbors. Advocates said the insult fuels threats against a community of tens of thousands. Trump has cited isolated fraud cases while claiming, without evidence, that Somali residents exploit public benefits. Walz countered that Somali workers staff hospitals, factories, and small businesses across the state. Rights groups argued the episode reflects a pattern of dehumanizing talk about immigrants. Local officials face pressure to show how they will protect targeted communities.

⚓ Navy outlines four mishaps involving Houthi campaign. The ship was supporting operations against Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. One report says cruiser Gettysburg mistakenly fired on two F/A 18F jets, destroying one. Another describes a collision with a merchant ship near the Suez Canal. A third recounts an April incident where a jet rolled off the deck during a missile evasion turn. The fourth covers a broken arresting cable that sent a jet into the sea. Investigators highlight crew fatigue, training gaps and maintenance shortfalls, warning schedules are undermining safety.

📱 Venmo says service is back after a widespread outage. Parent company PayPal Holdings ($PYPL) reported the disruption began Thursday afternoon and mainly affected peer-to-peer transfers and debit card withdrawals. Outage tracker Downdetector logged tens of thousands of problem reports at the peak. Venmo said customers’ balances and transaction histories remained intact. The company apologized and said it was working with partners to prevent repeat issues. It has not publicly detailed the technical cause. The episode underscored how bills and small businesses now depend on digital payments, and the fragile nature of the cloud.

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