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US court blocks Pentagon from removing transgender troops, for now

2026-06-01T19:04:42.91Z / reuters.com

The Pentagon logo is seen behind the podium in the briefing room at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., January 8, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago/File Photo

• Summary

• Transgender military ban is discriminatory, appeals court says
• But block on enlisting can remain pending outcome of lawsuit
• Part of broader Trump effort to eradicate transgender rights

June 1 (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Monday said President Donald Trump’s administration could for ​now bar transgender people from enlisting in the military, but blocked the expulsion of current service members while ‌a lawsuit plays out.

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in

a 2-1 ruling

said the 2025 policy was unlawfully motivated “by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”

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But the Pentagon has broad powers to set enlistment standards, the court ​said, and can continue to ban transgender people from newly entering the military pending the outcome of a lawsuit ​by transgender current and would-be service members.

“It appears to us to be a much greater hardship ⁠to end a military career than to delay the start of one,” wrote Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, an appointee of ​Democratic President Barack Obama.

Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, in a dissenting opinion said courts “have neither the expertise nor the ​authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks.”

Jennifer Levi of LGBTQ rights group GLAD Law, who represents the plaintiffs, applauded the decision.

“This decisive ruling confirms that the Trump Administration has no legitimate basis to discharge transgender service members who have met every demanding ​standard and proven, time and again, their fitness and dedication to serve,” Levi said in a statement.

The Pentagon did not ​immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ruling partially upholds a 2025 decision by a Washington, D.C.-based federal judge who had blocked the entire ‌policy ⁠from being implemented pending further litigation. The judge said the policy amounted to sex discrimination and likely violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Trump in a January 2025 executive order said that adopting a transgender identity “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth implemented Trump’s order soon after, prompting legal challenges.

The ban ​on military service is part ​of a broader effort by ⁠the Trump administration to eradicate the recognition and accommodation of transgender people throughout American life.

Federal agencies have dropped lawsuits filed on behalf of transgender workers, ended settlements that benefited transgender students and ​launched investigations into hospitals and doctors for providing gender-affirming treatment to minors.

The military has about 1.3 ​million active-duty personnel, ⁠according to Department of Defense data. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.

The U.S. Supreme Court in May 2025 allowed the policy to be implemented, lifting a judge’s ruling ⁠in a ​separate case out of the state of Washington that had temporarily blocked ​the ban.

But the Supreme Court did not explain its reasoning and may have been ruling on a technicality rather than the merits of the case, Wilkins ​wrote for the D.C. Circuit on Monday.

Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot

Lawyers, others plead not guilty to massive US insider trading scheme

2026-06-01T17:50:05.592Z / Reuters

BOSTON, June 1 (Reuters) – Fifteen people, including a lawyer who worked at several major law firms, pleaded not guilty on Monday to U.S. charges that they participated in a decade-long scheme in which attorneys fed an insider trading ring tips about nearly 30 underway mergers.

Nicolo Nourafchan, who had worked at the law firms Sidley Austin, Latham & Watkins and Goodwin Procter, was among the defendants who appeared in federal court in Boston to enter pleas to securities fraud and other charges.

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Thirty people in total have been charged with participating in the decade-long scheme, which prosecutors say netted tens of millions of dollars and was orchestrated by Nourafchan and personal injury attorney Robert Yadgarov.

Yadgarov also entered a not guilty plea, along with Nourafchan’s brother, Lorenzo, the founder of a fractional CFO and accounting firm. He is paying Nicolo Nourafchan’s attorney fees under an arrangement a judge warned risked creating a potential conflict of interest.

“You may have different interests as this goes on,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein said.

Martin Weinberg, a lawyer for Nicolo Nourafchan, in a statement said his client “asserted his innocence to each allegation at his arraignment today and we intend a vigorous and compelling defense.”

According to authorities, the scheme began in 2014 not long after Nicolo Nourafchan graduated from Yale Law School and landed a job at Sidley Austin.

Prosecutors said Nourafchan, while working at Sidley and other law firms, tipped Yadgarov and others off to impending corporate transactions in exchange for kickbacks generated from any trading profits.

Nourafchan and Yadgarov also recruited other attorneys into the scheme to feed tips to them, including one who worked at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and another who was employed by Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

The latter, Gabriel Gershowitz, secretly pleaded guilty last year and is now a cooperating witness in the case. Guilty pleas for eight other people dating back to 2024 were unsealed the day prosecutors announced the case on May 6.

Many of the defendants are Jewish, and an indictment alleged that they spoke in coded messages related to their backgrounds while discussing merger tips, referring to one deal as a “flight to Israel” and another as a “rabbi.”

Among the defendants is Joseph Suskind, a Florida resident in the insurance adjusting business charged with trading in 2022 on tips about SailPoint’s agreement to be bought by Thoma Bravo and iRobot’s later-abandoned deal to be acquired by Amazon.com Inc. Defense lawyer Michael Kendall called him innocent.

“Evidence is more important than press releases,” Kendall told reporters after Suskind’s arraignment. “We look forward to the trial.”

Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Alistair Bell

Trump plans to drop ‘weaponization’ fund, says Axios

June 1, 2026 7:12 PM UTC Updated 12 mins ago / Reuters

[1/2]A mob of supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. Picture taken January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump plans to drop ​his $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that would have ‌benefited political allies, Axios reported on Monday, after a firestorm of criticism including from ​some of his fellow Republicans.

“It’s dead for ​now,” said one of two senior ⁠administration officials cited by Axios.

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The ​fund, which would compensate victims of political “weaponization” ​with taxpayer money, emerged from a legal settlement between Trump’s Justice Department and the Internal ​Revenue Service to resolve an ​unprecedented lawsuit in which the president had sought $10 ‌billion ⁠over the alleged mishandling of his tax records.

The announcement set off criticism, with lawmakers raising concerns about potential ​self-dealing by ​Trump, ⁠and the prospect of payouts to violent Trump supporters who ​stormed the U.S. Capitol and ​assaulted ⁠police on January 6, 2021.

On Friday, a federal judge temporarily blocked ⁠the ​administration from moving forward ​with the fund.

Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Doina ​Chiacu; Editing by David Ljunggren and Daphne Psaledakis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Florida becomes first state to sue OpenAI over child safety risks

2026-06-01 5:21 PM UTC / Reuters

By Diana Novak Jones

June 1, 2026 5:21 PM UTC Updated 12 mins ago

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attends an event in Tokyo, Japan February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

June 1 (Reuters) – Florida sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Monday, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its ChatGPT platform, which the lawsuit said has harmed children by ​providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and addicting young ‌users.

Marking the first state to take legal action against the company, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, filed the lawsuit in Florida state court. It cited a shooting at a Tallahassee university last year ​and a number of events in other states where ChatGPT allegedly provided information ​to people who went on to commit violence.

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At a press conference, Uthmeier ⁠said the state named Altman personally because he had been “very central” to pushing some of ​the features on ChatGPT that Uthmeier said had been the most harmful.

“People are getting hurt, ​parents are getting deceived, and they need to pay for it,” Uthmeier told reporters.

The lawsuit seeks damages up to billions of dollars, Uthmeier said, plus a court order directing the company to change how ​it interacts with young users.

A spokesperson for OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request ​for comment.

OpenAI has said it trains its models to refuse requests that could “meaningfully enable violence,” and notifies ‌law ⁠enforcement when conversations suggest “an imminent and credible risk of harm to others,” with mental health experts helping assess borderline cases.

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Uthmeier announced in April that he was launching a criminal investigation into ChatGPT’s role in a 2025 mass shooting at Florida State University after prosecutors reviewed ​the chat logs between ​the alleged shooter and ⁠the program.

AI companies are facing a growing wave of lawsuits accusing them of failing to prevent chatbot interactions that plaintiffs say contribute ​to self-harm, mental illness and violence.

OpenAI is also facing a lawsuit ​filed by ⁠the family of a man killed in the shooting at Florida State University, claiming the shooter was aided by ChatGPT in planning the attack.

In April, family members of victims of one ⁠of Canada’s deadliest ​mass shootings filed a group of lawsuits against OpenAI ​and Altman, alleging the company knew eight months before the attack that the shooter was planning it on ChatGPT but ​did not warn police.

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Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Nia Williams

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Multiple people killed, officer wounded in Oregon shooting

2026-06-01 12:04 PM EDT / CBS News

By Emily Mae Czachor News Editor
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and climate. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

Read Full Bio

Multiple people are dead and one officer is wounded after a shooting outside of Portland, Oregon, on Sunday, police said. One suspect has been arrested, and police don’t believe any ongoing threat exists for the surrounding community.

The incident happened in the city of Sandy at around 4 p.m. PT, said Sandy Police Chief Patrick Huskey in a statement. Huskey said officers were called to the scene of “a domestic disturbance and shooting,” in which they “came under gunfire and returned fire.” Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputies were also part of the response.

One officer was struck during the exchange of fire and suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Huskey said. That officer was evacuated from the scene by a Life Flight helicopter. The police chief said the officer’s condition was considered stable and “they are expected to survive.”

Multiple people were dead at the scene of the shooting, according to Huskey.

“I understand everyone wants answers and information right now, but this remains a very dynamic and active investigation,” he said. “I can tell you that investigators from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office and the Clackamas County Major Crimes Team are working to process the scene, conduct interviews, and to get the answers our community deserves.”

Officers took the suspect into custody several hours after the shooting took place, at around 8 p.m. Huskey said the suspect surrendered to law enforcement and was unharmed.

Huskey called the shooting “a traumatic event for our community, and the Sandy Police Department.”

“I know many people are grieving,” Huskey said. “I ask everyone in our community to keep the victims, our injured officer, their families, friends and all of the first responders in their thoughts tonight.”

Police located and surrounded the suspect at a residential property prior to the arrest, CBS affiliate KOIN reported. A shelter-in-place order had been issued for a southeastern section of the city earlier in the day Sunday, but it was lifted after a few hours, according to the news station.

Huskey said an investigation into the shooting was still active, “and there is much we cannot share at this time.”

Trump’s ‘weaponization’ fund is on hold, sources say

June 1, 2026 7:38 PM UTC / Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Memorial Amphitheater during a Memorial Day event at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, U.S., May 25, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard Purchase Licensing Rights

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” ​fund that would ‌have benefited political allies is ​on hold, two ​sources familiar with ⁠the plan said ​on Monday.

The fund, ​which would compensate such allies with taxpayer ​money, emerged ​from a legal settlement between ‌Trump’s ⁠Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service to ​resolve ​an ⁠unprecedented lawsuit in which ​the president ​had ⁠sought $10 billion over the alleged mishandling ⁠of ​his ​tax records.

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Thomas unloads on Court for helping convicted murderer but ignoring ‘law-abiding citizens’

2026-06-01 12:17:44 EDT / Fox News

Thomas pointed to cases involving race, free speech and military families the Court declined to hear

By Elaine Mallon, Fox News

Published June 1, 2026 12:17pm EDT

Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares discusses Virginia Democrats looking to remove Supreme Court justices on ‘Hannity.’

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Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, accused the Supreme Court of focusing on the wrong cases after the justices vacated a lower-court ruling in a Florida murder case over what he described as an “inconsequential foot fault” that would have had “no effect on the outcome of the case.”

Thomas argued that Gary Whitton’s bid for a new trial based on false testimony from a prosecution witness would not have changed the outcome because the evidence against the Florida death row inmate was overwhelming. But the overarching point of his dissent was a rebuke of the Court’s priorities. He pointed to cases involving race, free speech and military families that the justices declined to hear as examples of disputes he believed were more deserving of the Court’s attention.

“It is unfortunate that the Court chose to intervene at the request of a convicted murderer to correct the Eleventh Circuit’s inconsequential foot fault,” Thomas wrote in his dissent. “What makes it even worse is that the Court does so even while it refuses to correct far more consequential errors for law-abiding citizens.”

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas spoke at the University of Texas at Austin on April 15, 2026, in Austin, Texas.(Eric Gay/AP Photo)

In a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court determined that the Eleventh Circuit must reconsider whether to grant Whitton a new trial without considering DNA evidence discovered after the original trial. The evidence showed that blood stains found inside Whitton’s boots belonged to James Maulden, who was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a motel room on Oct. 10, 1990. The night before, Whitton was seen with Maulden at a bank, where the victim withdrew the entire balance of his account.

SUPREME COURT TOSSES CONVICTION AND DEATH SENTENCE OF OKLAHOMA INMATE, ORDERS NEW TRIAL

The justices determined that the DNA evidence discovered through improved testing in 2002 was inconsequential because the original jury was unaware of it during the 1991 trial.

But Thomas deemed the Eleventh Circuit’s reliance on the DNA testing results in its denial a “technicality” error.

“If the Eleventh Circuit erred at all in mentioning the DNA test results, it was harmless for at least two reasons. First, the court thoroughly examined the overwhelming evidence against Whitton, which was more than sufficient to justify its decision,” Thomas wrote. “Second, Whitton had not even exhausted his claim in state court, so the Eleventh Circuit could not have ruled for him anyway.”

Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito is pictured in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2022.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

JUSTICE THOMAS REBUKES SCOTUS FOR DENYING WIDOW’S CASE, SAYS IT LETS GOVERNMENT DODGE BLAME

Whitton’s bid for a new trial is based on the discovery that Jake Ozio, a prosecution witness, lied during the trial when he testified that he did not have a criminal record prior to his arrest. Ozio shared a jail cell with Whitton and testified that he overheard Whitton confess to “‘stabb[ing] the bastard.’”

Whitton filed a Giglio claim alleging that Ozio lied about hearing his confession, which the Florida Supreme Court rejected. Years later, Whitton argued in his federal habeas proceedings that Ozio lied about not having a criminal record, but Thomas contended that claim should have first been exhausted in state court. This means Whitton may be procedurally barred from obtaining relief regardless of whether the Eleventh Circuit improperly relied on post-trial DNA evidence.

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2022.(Olivier Douliery/AFP)

“Whitton does not deny that state-court remedies were available,” Thomas wrote. “Yet, he never sought state remedies for his claim based on Ozio’s characterization of his criminal record.”

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Thomas rounded out his dissent by criticizing the Court for declining to hear cases involving “law-abiding citizens,” including parents of Boston University students challenging an affirmative-action policy they argue constitutes unconstitutional race discrimination, objections to university policies alleged to chill “free speech,” and a lawsuit filed by the widow of an Air Force service member killed on the job.

“This Court routinely declines to provide relief to law-abiding Americans when it would actually matter, even after lower courts conspicuously flout this Court’s precedents in ruling against them,” Thomas wrote.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Lab worker who vanished last year found dead in New Mexico national forest

June 1, 2026 / 3:13 PM EDT / CBS News

Remains found in a New Mexico national forest have been identified as those of Melissa Casias, a worker at the Los Alamos National Laboratory who disappeared last year, authorities announced over the weekend.

New Mexico State Police said the remains were discovered by a hiker last week in the McGaffey Ridge area of the Carson National Forest, a massive expanse of wilderness that is within driving distance of Taos, the city where she was from. A handgun was found near the remains, state police said. Casias would have been 53.

The medical examiner’s office will continue to conduct tests to determine the cause and manner of her death, according to police. When they shared her identity Saturday, neither of those rulings had been made yet.

Casias was employed as an administrative assistant at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, her niece, Jazmin McMillen, previously told CBS News. She was the second person employed at the laboratory to go missing last year, following the disappearance of Anthony Chavez, 78, in May.

Both are among a group of at least 10 missing or deceased scientists and laboratory staff who worked at sensitive nuclear or space technology labs, law enforcement officials have told CBS News. The FBI is leading an investigation into possible connections between the cases.

Melissa Casias Find Melissa Mondragon Casias/Facebook

Casias was reported missing on June 26, 2025, after failing to show up to work or return home that evening after visiting her daughter, state police said. Family members later found her personal belongings, including her ID, purse and cell phones, which raised concerns about Casias’ whereabouts and wellbeing.

Casias was last seen walking alone on a highway, wearing a backpack, McMillen told CBS News, after she said she reviewed the surveillance footage that captured her aunt herself.

An investigation into Casias’ disappearance has been ongoing since she was reported missing and will continue, according to state police. They said that they “extend their deepest condolences” to Casias’ relatives “during this difficult time.”

The family released a statement of their own through a social media page called Find Melissa Mondragon Casias, which is dedicated to her case. The statement, also released Saturday, was additionally obtained and published by CBS affiliate KRQE.

“We confirm that the remains found in Rio Chiquito are Melissa,” they said in the statement. “There will be more information to come but what we can tell you now is she was located in an area previously searched. This is a lot to process, our hearts are heavy and we fully intend to continue to pursue answers for justice.”

Callie Teitelbaum, Pat Milton, Daniel Klaidman and Anna Schecter contributed to this report.

Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda stalled on Capitol Hill with Republicans furious over ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

2026-06-01T17:08:15.467Z / CNN

• The GOP’s $70 billion immigration enforcement funding agenda is stalled over concerns about President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
• Senate Republicans’ anger over the fund has eroded their bond with the White House.
• Democrats plan to force vulnerable Republicans on the record over the fund ahead of November elections.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

Many Senate Republican remain furious at the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and are refusing to advance a separate bill to fund immigration enforcement until they are satisfied that payouts won’t go to people who assaulted police during the January attack on the US Capitol and other guardrails are put in place.

Yet despite vocal public complaints from those GOP senators over the last two weeks, the White House has yet to offer a serious solution to their concerns, according to two Republican aides who say the immigration funding will remain stalled until it does.

The lack of what senators see as credible movement by the White House is further eroding the bond between the administration and Senate Republicans. Many are already angry that President Donald Trump targeted two popular GOP senators who recently lost their primaries for reelection. And many also want to kill money Trump has demanded for security of his desired White House ballroom as they believe it is out of touch with the economic trials of their voters.

Trump is meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the White House on Monday to discuss roadblocks to the bill to fund immigration enforcement — specifically, according to a person familiar with the meeting, the administration’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund.

“The two are meeting to discuss a number of issues, but the fund is certainly a key one,” the source told CNN.

A spokesman for Johnson said the speaker was meeting with the president but declined to specify the topic of the conversation.

Amid the backlash, some Trump advisers have privately advocated adding guardrails to the fund to appease Republican lawmakers and to quell the public criticism, people familiar with the discussions said.

One common suggestion has been to restrict those convicted of assaulting police from accessing the fund, in an effort to prevent the most violent rioters from the Capitol attack from collecting taxpayer-funded payouts.

Some allies are even urging the White House to scrap the fund altogether.

But Trump has publicly defended the fund, and the administration has yet to land on a clear path forward — leaving GOP senators bracing for a week of Democratic efforts to exploit their divisions.

At stake is the fate of $70 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, which Senate leaders are attempting to pass in a budget process called reconciliation that allows them to adopt it on a party-line vote. Democrats are angry over tactics by those agencies they believe are too aggressive.

Trump had pressed for a June 1 deadline to pass the money that will fund those agencies through the end of his term. But the deadline was missed after GOP senators were enraged by the Department of Justice announcement about the “anti-weaponization” fund, which the agency said was aimed at paying restitution to people targeted by the Biden administration. Critics have said it amounts to a slush fund to pay out Trump’s allies.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former long-serving GOP leader, said at the time it was “utterly stupid, morally wrong.”

Democrats have pledged to fight the fund on several fronts, including as part of the budget bill where they would be able to offer an unlimited number of amendments. They have said they will put Republicans — especially those up for reelection in November — on the record on the controversial policy.

“This week, Senate Democrats will launch a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door. And no matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a Monday letter to his colleagues.

He added: “There will be no escape hatch. No fake guardrails or backroom promises to hide behind. No Justice Department announcement that makes this corruption acceptable.”

With the immigration agenda in limbo, the Senate is expected to take up nominations this week. Senators also hope to pass a three-year extension of a key national security program, known as FISA Section 702, that expires in less than two weeks. It has bipartisan support and is expected to pass.

CNN’s Alayna Treene, Sarah Ferris and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.

We are in a war,’ alleged Iran-backed militant exclaims in US court

2026-06-01T19:53:25.866Z / Reuters

Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi man accused of helping Iran-backed militia’s plans for attacks in the United States and Europe, attends his arraignment in Manhattan federal court in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2026 in a courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi pleads not guilty to charges of supporting Kata’ib Hezbollah
• Al-Saadi claims innocence, denounces US actions in court outburst, judge orders him seated
• Prosecutors allege Al-Saadi plotted ​attacks in Europe and US, including a New York synagogue

NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) – An alleged member of an Iran-backed militia pleaded not guilty on Monday to U.S. criminal charges he was involved in multiple attacks against American interests in Europe, proclaiming in a courtroom outburst, “I am not ​a criminal.”

Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi spoke in Manhattan federal court after ​his lawyer, Andrew Dalack, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to ⁠eight counts including conspiracy to provide material support to Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia ​the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

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“I am not guilty and we are in a war situation,” ​Al-Saadi said through an Arabic interpreter.

“Children are being killed by your rockets,” Al-Saadi added, gesturing in front of him toward where U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon and prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office were ​seated.

Al-Saadi did not say if he was referring to a specific incident.

A February 28 strike ​at a girls’ school in Iran killed more than 175 children and teachers, Iranian officials say.

Reuters has reported ‌that an ⁠initial, internal U.S. military investigation showed U.S. forces were likely responsible, citing two U.S. officials.

The Pentagon has not acknowledged any preliminary findings. A Pentagon spokesperson said on Monday the investigation was still ongoing.

Al-Saadi wore a beige prison outfit and was shackled at his feet at Monday’s hearing.

As he ​spoke, McMahon raised her ​voice and ordered ⁠he be seated. Two U.S. marshals who had been sitting behind Al-Saadi approached the defense table, and he sat down as they arrived.

Al-Saadi ​was taken into U.S. custody in Turkey last month, amid heightened ​U.S. scrutiny ⁠of Iran-backed militias accused of targeting American personnel and allies across multiple regions since the U.S. and Israel went to war against Iran.

U.S. prosecutors say Kata’ib Hezbollah is directed by Iran’s Islamic ⁠Revolutionary Guard Corps.

They ​said Al-Saadi helped plan approximately 18 attacks in Europe ​in recent months, not all of which occurred, and in March and April plotted attacks in the United States, ​including against a New York synagogue.

Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell

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Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina.