Israel and Iran trade strikes for a third day as hundreds reported dead
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel unleashed airstrikes across Iran for a third day Sunday and threatened even greater force as some Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses to strike buildings in the heart of the country. Planned talks on Iran's nuclear program, which could provide an off-ramp, were canceled.
Israel's strikes have killed at least 406 people in Iran and wounded another 654, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists. Iran's government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Friends say Minnesota shooting suspect was deeply religious and conservative
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a 'bad place' where most churches didn't oppose abortion. Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was at the center of a massive multistate manhunt on Sunday, a day after authorities say he impersonated a police officer and gunned down former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home outside Minneapolis. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz described the shooting as 'a politically motivated assassination.'
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Friends say Minnesota shooting suspect was deeply religious and conservative
NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a 'bad place' where most churches didn't oppose abortion. Vance Luther Boelter, 57, was at the center of a massive multistate manhunt on Sunday, a day after authorities say he impersonated a police officer and gunned down former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home outside Minneapolis. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz described the shooting as 'a politically motivated assassination.' Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were shot earlier by the same gunman at their home nearby but survived. Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don't list party affiliation. Near the scene at Hortman's home, authorities say they found an SUV made to look like those used by law enforcement. Inside they found fliers for a local anti-Trump 'No Kings' rally scheduled for Saturday and a notebook with names of other lawmakers. The list also included the names of abortion rights advocates and health care officials, according to two law enforcement officials who could not discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Both Hortman and Hoffman were defenders of abortion rights at the state legislature. Suspect not believed to have made any public threats before attacks, official says Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said at a briefing on Sunday that Boelter is not believed to have made any public threats before the attacks. Evans asked the public not to speculate on a motivation for the attacks. 'We often want easy answers for complex problems,' he told reporters. 'Those answers will come as we complete the full picture of our investigation.' Friends told the AP that they knew Boelter was religious and conservative, but that he didn't talk about politics often and didn't seem extreme. 'He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,' said Paul Schroeder, who has known Boelter for years. A glimpse of suspect's beliefs on abortion during a trip to Africa Boelter, who worked as a security contractor, gave a glimpse of his beliefs on abortion during a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. While there, Boelter served as an evangelical pastor, telling people he had first found Jesus as a teenager. 'The churches are so messed up, they don't know abortion is wrong in many churches,' he said, according to an online recording of one sermon from February 2023. Still, in three lengthy sermons reviewed by the AP, he only mentioned abortion once, focusing more on his love of God and what he saw as the moral decay in his native country. He appears to have hidden his more strident beliefs from his friends back home. 'He never talked to me about abortion,' Schroeder said. 'It seemed to be just that he was a conservative Republican who naturally followed Trump.' A married father with five children, Boelter and his wife own a sprawling 3,800-square-foot house on a large rural lot about an hour from downtown Minneapolis that the couple bought in 2023 for more than a half-million dollars. Seeking to reinvent himself He worked for decades in managerial roles for food and beverage manufacturers before seeking to reinvent himself in middle age, according to resumes and a video he posted online. After getting an undergraduate degree in international relations in his 20s, Boelter went back to school and earned a master's degree and then a doctorate in leadership studies in 2016 from Cardinal Stritch University, a private Catholic college in Wisconsin that has since shut down. While living in Wisconsin, records show Boelter and his wife Jenny founded a nonprofit corporation called Revoformation Ministries, listing themselves as the president and secretary. After moving to Minnesota about a decade ago, Boelter volunteered for a position on a state workforce development board, first appointed by then-Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, in 2016, and later by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. He served through 2023. In that position, he may have crossed paths with one of his alleged victims. Hoffman served on the same board, though authorities said it was not immediately clear how much the two men may have interacted. Launching a security firm Records show Boelter and his wife started a security firm in 2018. A website for Praetorian Guard Security Services lists Boelter's wife as the president and CEO while he is listed as the director of security patrols. The company's homepage says it provides armed security for property and events and features a photo of an SUV painted in a two-tone black and silver pattern similar to a police vehicle, with a light bar across the roof and 'Praetorian' painted across the doors. Another photo shows a man in black tactical gear with a military-style helmet and a ballistic vest with the company's name across the front. In an online resume, Boelter also billed himself as a security contractor who worked oversees in the Middle East and Africa. On his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, he told Chris Fuller, a friend, that he had founded several companies focused on farming and fishing on the Congo River, as well as in transportation and tractor sales. 'It has been a very fun and rewarding experience and I only wished I had done something like this 10 years ago,' he wrote in a message shared with the AP. But once he returned home in 2023, there were signs that Boelter was struggling financially. That August, he began working for a transport service for a funeral home, mostly picking up bodies of those who had died in assisted living facilities — a job he described as he needed to do to pay bills. Tim Koch, the owner of Metro First Call, said Boelter 'voluntarily left' that position about four months ago. 'This is devastating news for all involved,' Koch said, declining to elaborate on the reasons for Boelter's departure, citing the ongoing law enforcement investigation. Boelter had also started spending some nights away from his family, renting a room in a modest house in northern Minneapolis shared by friends. Heavily armed police executed a search warrant on the home Saturday. 'I'm going to be gone for awhile' In the hours before Saturday's shootings, Boelter texted two roommates to tell them he loved them and that 'I'm going to be gone for a while,' according to Schroeder, who was forwarded the text and read it to the AP. 'May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn't gone this way,' Boelter wrote. 'I don't want to say anything more and implicate you in any way because you guys don't know anything about this. But I love you guys and I'm sorry for the trouble this has caused.' ___ Associated Press writer Mike Balsamo contributed to this report from Washington. Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
Varcoe: Oil prices 'to spike higher' as conflict in Middle East casts shadow over G7 energy security talks
Article content Energy markets will also be closely watching to see any signs of potential disruption to Iranian oil supplies, as the country exports about 1.5 million barrels per day. Article content 'Until you really get time to look at the end game here, prices are likely to rise. I don't see it going above $100, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely,' Robert Johnston, senior director of research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said Sunday. Article content 'The G7 was going to be more focused on Russia, and the U.S. trade agenda and other priorities. They will have to deal with the oil side now.' Article content Analysts say events will make the G7 countries look more intently at how to ensure there's ample access to energy if something disrupts the flow of oil or LNG exports from the countries in the Middle East. Article content Article content 'Even after the Russian invasion, we have not taken energy security seriously — as seriously as we need to,' said Richard Masson, an executive fellow with the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. Article content 'It's just one more indication that the world is a dangerous place and energy security matters.' Article content Article content Even if Israel and Iran end hostilities within a few weeks, Tehran is unlikely to be a 'reliable supplier of oil to the world for a long time' and it may be difficult for oil shipping firms to obtain insurance to move oil through the Strait of Hormuz, said Masson, a former vice-president of risk management for Nexen Energy. Article content Heading into the summit, U.S. President Donald Trump frequently called on his domestic oil and gas industry to 'drill, baby, drill' and promoted the idea of energy dominance. Article content However, a U.S. EIA report last week — issued before the latest conflict — projected American oil production will dip slightly next year from record levels of 13.5 million bpd, due to expectations of excess supply and weakening prices. Article content Article content The tricky part for the G7 will be to find common ground between the group on what energy security is and how to best reach it, because the idea 'means different things to different people,' said Robert Johnston, incoming director of energy and natural resources at the U of C's School of Public Policy. Article content 'Can Carney put together a common view between the U.S., which sort of sees more supply growth as the answer to the energy security question, versus the Europeans, and to some extent, Canada and Japan, that want supply growth, but also more decarbonization?' he said. Article content And the biggest potential risk the markets will look for in the coming days is a possible attack on tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, damage to Iranian oil-exporting infrastructure, or an attack of onshore oil facilities, such as refining and petrochemical infrastructure in the region, Johnston added.
