News briefs
CBP arrests 27 cruise line workers in San Diego as part of child sexual exploitation investigation
SAN DIEGO - An ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation material led to the arrests of 27 crew members aboard eight cruise ships in San Diego, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said.
News of the incidents emerged on Tuesday when a video taken on April 23 appeared to show federal agents placing crew members in a van in the B Street Pier parking lot. Some of the workers were from a Disney cruise that had just docked, according to an eyewitness who had just disembarked from the ship.
The operations took place from April 23 to April 27. The CBP spokesperson said that, after boarding eight vessels, agents interviewed 28 individuals and determined that all but one were allegedly involved in "either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of (child sexual exploitation material) or child pornography."
Officials said that 26 of the crew members interviewed were from the Philippines, while one was from Portugal and another from Indonesia.
CBP canceled the visas of those allegedly involved and deported the suspects to their countries of citizenship, the spokesperson said. No further details about the federal investigation were provided.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement," a Disney spokesperson said Thursday in a statement. "While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company."
CBP did not identify the cruise ships. Other arrested crew members were reportedly from a Holland America Line ship. On Tuesday, the company referred questions to CBP.
-The San Diego Union-Tribune
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani released from Florida ICU
Rudy Giuliani was released from the ICU at a Florida hospital where he is continuing to recuperate from a severe case of pneumonia, a spokesman for the former New York City mayor said Wednesday.
"Mayor Rudy Giuliani is out of the ICU and will spend some time recovering before leaving the hospital," said Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman. "The mayor and his family appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers sent his way."
Late Sunday, Goodman announced that Giuliani had been hospitalized in critical condition, though it remains unclear how long he had been hospitalized before the announcement.
On Monday, it was revealed that he had received his last rites.
The former mayor's condition was complicated by a restrictive airway disease, which he contracted while working at ground zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, Goodman said.
"This condition adds complications to any respiratory illness, and the virus quickly overwhelmed his body, requiring mechanical ventilation to maintain adequate oxygen and stabilize his condition," Goodman said in a statement Monday.
The 81-year-old Giuliani has reported experiencing lung-related health issues in various legal cases. In September, he suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra and other significant injuries when a driver rear-ended his vehicle on a New Hampshire highway.
In a statement, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wished a speedy recovery to his Republican predecessor, who has denigrated the new mayor as a "communist and Islamic extremist" on social media and on his nightly webcast, "America's Mayor Live."
-New York Daily News
Kodak Black arrested on suspicion of trafficking MDMA in Florida
Rapper Kodak Black, whose prison term on a firearms charge was commuted by President Donald Trump in early 2021, has been arrested again in Florida, this time on suspicion of drug trafficking.
The "Wake Up in the Sky" performer, who currently has no tour dates scheduled, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of trafficking more than 10 grams but less than 200 grams of MDMA, aka ecstasy, according to online jail records for Orange County, Florida.
Bradford M. Cohen, attorney for the rapper born Bill Kapri, did not respond immediately Thursday to The Times' request for comment. However, he told TMZ the arrest was a coordinated surrender stemming from a November 2025 search of another person's vehicle where police found what Cohen said was prescription cough syrup with Kapri's fingerprint on it.
"We look forward to yet another fruitful resolution to another case that should have never been filed," the attorney told the outlet.
Online records indicated Kapri was being held without bond.
The 28-year-old rapper has run into issues with the law multiple times.
-Los Angeles Times
Rubio discusses the Middle East with pope after Trump dispute
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican to discuss the conflict in the Middle East, following a public clash between the pontiff and President Donald Trump in recent weeks.
Rubio and the pope spoke about "topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere," the State Department said in a statement Thursday. "The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity."
The pontiff, Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were embroiled in a disagreement last month over the pope's condemnation of the war in Iran. Trump said Meloni lacked courage and that he was "shocked" by her after she called his tirades against the pope "unacceptable."
Rubio, who was at the Vatican for about two hours on Thursday, has insisted the trip isn't meant to ease tensions and had long been planned. He's also scheduled to meet with Meloni and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Friday.
Rubio is Catholic and a potential Republican candidate for the 2028 presidential election, and Trump's public fight with the pope could alienate a key demographic.
-Bloomberg News
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