Gunshots heard in Philippine Senate, where senator wanted by ICC is resisting arrest
(CNN) — Gunshots have been heard in the Philippine Senate building, Senate authorities said on Wednesday, as a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court is holed up in the building to resist arrest. It is unclear who fired the shots in the incident, and no casualties have been reported, multiple senators told reporters on Wednesday night. “I don’t know what is happening. I do not know if I can keep my people safe here,” recently installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream from inside the Senate complex in the immediate aftermath of the gunshots. “I’m willing to face anyone who is going to serve the warrant … but do not do this.” It comes after Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a longtime ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was captured on CCTV running from local agents through the halls of the Senate earlier on Monday. When local investigative unit officers failed to arrest the 64-year-old, having pursued him through the bowels of parliament, riot police surrounded the Senate compound. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accuse Dela Rosa of conspiring with Duterte in alleged crimes against humanity, during a brutal anti-drug campaign that killed thousands. On Monday, the ICC confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant for him, citing incidents in which 32 people were killed between 2016 to 2018. Dela Rosa has not left the Senate compound since Monday.
Pomp and pageantry: Chinese officials prepare for Trump visit
Hong Kong (CNN) — With brisk strides, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will descend 39 red-carpeted steps outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a political landmark at the very heart of the Chinese capital. Each step is timed so that he walks past top officials from the Chinese and US delegations, reaching a discreet point on the red carpet within seconds of the arrival of his guest, US President Donald Trump. On cue, ceremonial music begins. This level of precise, by-the-second planning, demonstrated during Trump’s first visit to Beijing in 2017, will be on show again from Thursday, with the US president expected to visit to the Temple of Heaven, an ancient place of worship where emperors once prayed for good harvests, and Zhongnanhai, the secretive headquarters of the ruling Communist Party – about which little is publicly revealed. Talks with a president as unpredictable as Trump present a huge logistical challenge for people obsessed with precision; diplomats need only to look at the US leader’s recent meeting with his Japanese counterpart where he joked about Japan’s WWII attack on Pearl Harbor. “I think the spontaneity will be what the president says during the meetings and there is no way to control that,” said Sarah Beran, a former senior US diplomat who helped arrange Trump’s previous visit to China in 2017 and Xi’s meeting with Biden in 2023. Beran predicted Beijing would limit media access to avoid any off-script remarks being widely reported.
Court overturns Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and orders new trial
(CNN) — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial in the killing of his wife and son in June 2021, saying the trial was marred by the “improper” influence of the county clerk Becky Hill. “Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial,” the justices wrote in a 5-0 vote. The ruling is the latest twist in the sprawling Murdaugh saga that has riveted the public and spawned true crime documentaries, podcasts and books. Murdaugh, a prominent attorney from a South Carolina Lowcountry legal dynasty, was convicted by a jury of the murders of his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, in March 2023. The six-week trial featured extensive testimony about Murdaugh stealing millions of dollars from vulnerable clients and his own law firm. He took the stand in his own defense and denied he killed his wife and son – a position he still maintains – even as he admitted to massive financial theft and admitted he had lied to investigators about his whereabouts just prior to the killings. Murdaugh, 57, received two life sentences for the murder charges. He separately pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes and is serving concurrent state and federal sentences of 27 and 40 years. Murdaugh’s attorneys appealed the murder convictions, saying the trial was tainted by a county clerk’s improper comments to jurors, prejudicial evidence and failures at trial.
America is in for yet another long spell of price pain
(CNN) — President Donald Trump’s latest Iran war pitch to American consumers: Short-term pain will bring long-term gain. But Tuesday’s ugly consumer inflation report, Wednesday’s uglier wholesale inflation report and some worrying bond market signals all point to one thing. The pain will not be short-lived. Wednesday’s Producer Price Index report showed the war with Iran is raising costs for US businesses at a rate not seen in nearly four years, increasing the likelihood that companies will pass on those higher costs to consumers. PPI, a measure of wholesale inflation, increased in April to 6% on an annual basis from 4% in March, well exceeding economists’ expectations. On a monthly basis, the index increased 1.4%, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s twice the pace that economists expected. It’s also the second-largest monthly gain dating back to the index’s inception in 2010. A 15.6% increase in gas prices accounted for 40% of the increase in prices businesses paid last month. That only looks to be getting worse with oil prices yet to reach their peak levels and global inventories falling at a record pace, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Energy Agency. But the picture is still ugly for businesses even when excluding the volatile categories of food and energy. That measure, known as core PPI, rose 1% for the month, pushing the annual rate to 5.2%. Trump has repeatedly downplayed inflation risks for Americans and the toll that higher gas prices have had on their finances. “Our inflation is just short-term,” he told reporters Tuesday before departing Washington for his two-day trip to meet President Xi Jinping in China. “As soon as this war is over, you’re going to see inflation go down probably to one and a half percent,” he said, referring to consumer price hikes.
Sequins, ruffles and 3D polka dots: The best looks from the Cannes Film Festival so far
(CNN) — Questions around what to expect at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival have so far largely focused on two things: The Hollywood-shaped hole in the official selection and “The White Lotus.” This year, the storied celebration of film held on the French Riviera will look a little less “Mission: Impossible,” which premiered on the Croisette in 2025, and a little more international as European and Asian directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Nicholas Winding Refn and Ryusuke Hamaguchi take center stage. Out of 22 films in competition to win the Palme d’Or, just two are from US auteurs — Ira Sach’s “The Man I Love,” starring Remi Malek, and James Gray’s “Paper Tiger” with Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver and Miles Teller. But the opening night of the festival proved that the red carpet will not have that same Hollywood-shaped hole. The fashion is already as glittering as ever, with jury member Demi Moore, along with fellow actors Jane Fonda and Maika Monroe all arriving for opening night dripping in sequins. Running parallel to the festival’s activities is the filming of season four of “The White Lotus,” TV writer and actor Mike White’s HBO show satirizing the lives of the uber rich — which this time is set at Cannes Film Festival. Though how close the cast will get to the historic red carpet, remains to be seen. Below are the most distinct looks, as they happen, across the 12-day event.
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