South Korea court gives Yoon 7 years in prison

April 29, 2026

Summary

An appeals court added a seven-year sentence to Yoon Suk Yeol’s life term over charges tied to martial law and his arrest resistance.

Why this matters

The case is part of South Korea’s most serious political crisis in decades and tests how the country’s courts handle alleged abuses of presidential power. The outcome could shape public trust in democratic institutions and the rule of law.

A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison for obstruction of justice and related charges tied to his resisting arrest and the Cabinet process before his brief martial law declaration in December 2024.

Judge Yoon Sung-sik of the Seoul High Court said Yoon bypassed a legally required full Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law, falsified documents to conceal that lapse, and used security officials “like a private army” to resist law enforcement efforts to arrest him after his impeachment. Yoon stood quietly as the verdict was delivered and made no comment.

Yoo Jeong-hwa, one of Yoon’s lawyers, called the ruling “very disappointing” and said the legal team would appeal to the Supreme Court.

A lower court in January sentenced Yoon to five years in prison, but partly acquitted him of abuse-of-power charges tied to the Cabinet meeting, ruling he was not responsible for the absence of two invited members.

The Seoul High Court reversed that acquittal, finding him guilty on all counts. It ruled that he violated the rights of those two members and seven others who were not notified by convening only a limited group to resemble a formal meeting.

Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024, martial law decree triggered a political crisis that disrupted domestic politics, senior-level diplomacy, and financial markets. He was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after the liberal-led legislature impeached him, and the Constitutional Court removed him from office in April 2025. The political turmoil eased after liberal rival Lee Jae Myung won an early presidential election in June.

After his suspension, Yoon refused to comply with a Seoul court warrant for questioning. In early January 2025, dozens of investigators who went to the presidential residence were blocked by presidential security forces and vehicle barricades. He was detained later that month, released by another court in March, and re-arrested in July.

He remained in custody as multiple criminal trials continued.

The ruling came a day after the same court increased to four years the sentence for Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, on charges including accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church, which sought political favors from Yoon’s government, and involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme.

In a separate trial last week, prosecutors requested a 30-year prison term for Yoon over allegations that he tried to escalate tensions with North Korea in 2024 by ordering drone flights over Pyongyang to create conditions for martial law at home.

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Italy suspends Israel defense pact amid tensions

Israeli officials said the immediate operational impact would likely be limited.

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Italy moved to suspend renewal of a long-standing defense cooperation agreement with Israel as tensions rose over Israel’s military actions in the Middle East.

The agreement, signed in 2003 and ratified in 2005, set a framework for military training, procurement, and defense technology exchanges between the two governments.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the decision was driven by the “current situation” in the region.

The move followed criticism from Italian officials over Israeli military operations, especially in Lebanon, where strikes raised concerns among European governments about civilian casualties and regional stability.

Tensions increased after reports that Israeli forces fired on United Nations peacekeepers, including Italian personnel in southern Lebanon, prompting a formal diplomatic protest from Rome.

Italian officials publicly condemned attacks affecting civilians and said military cooperation must reflect humanitarian and legal concerns, contributing to the decision to halt the agreement.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said, “We have no security agreement with Italy. We have a memorandum of understanding from many years ago that has never contained any substantive content. This will not affect Israel’s security.”

The decision also reflected domestic pressure in Italy, where opposition groups and advocacy organizations called for tighter limits on military cooperation and arms exports tied to the conflict.

Italy’s more cautious approach was also evident in late March, when it refused to allow U.S. military aircraft to use Sigonella Air Base in Sicily for operations related to the Middle East conflict. The government cited requirements for prior authorization under Italian law and existing agreements.

Critics have also challenged arms exports to Israel, arguing that continued transfers could conflict with Italian law regulating weapons sales and international humanitarian obligations.

Italy and Israel have maintained close defense and technological ties for decades, including joint training, industrial partnerships, and research cooperation. The suspension did not end those ties, but it marked a clear sign of strain in the relationship.
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GAO finds flaws in military cost-of-living pay

The GAO said the department used unsound sampling practices and inconsistent processes, raising questions about whether payments matched local expenses.

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Service members stationed in high-cost areas may not always receive cost-of-living allowances that reflect local prices, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

The Department of Defense uses location-specific surveys, price data, and military spending data to set cost-of-living allowances, known as COLAs.

Service members stationed in Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, Germany, and Virginia receive COLA to help offset higher living costs. Payments also vary based on the number of dependents in a household.

The GAO said most COLA payments go to service members stationed outside the continental United States, known as OCONUS, rather than those stationed within the continental United States, or CONUS. Auditors cited inconsistencies in how the department calculated payments for OCONUS and CONUS duty locations.

The report also found differences in the amount and type of information local commands gave service members in areas that receive COLA. In some cases, service members reported confusion about what they were entitled to receive or why payments changed.

Investigators said some Defense Department personnel told them changes in COLA made household budgeting difficult.

“In nine of the 17 discussion group summaries we held in locations that receive a COLA, participants mentioned that COLA fluctuates so much that they cannot rely on it as part of their budgets,” the report said.

The report cited one example in Japan, where a senior officer linked COLA issues to readiness.

“Eating a beans and rice diet has a direct impact on our ability to fight,” he told auditors.

The GAO recommended that the Defense Department align CONUS and OCONUS payments for dependents, apply its location-cost processes more consistently, use random sampling for service members’ shopping patterns, and require local commands to provide COLA information to service members.

The department agreed with the first two recommendations, but did not agree with using random sampling. It partially agreed with requiring local commands to provide information, saying the Defense Travel Management Office already maintains public information and that the department does not have a central point of contact for COLA inquiries.
Military & National Security

Woman files $7 million claim against Navy, Pentagon

A woman accused Navy sailors of assaulting her in San Diego and sharing videos of the attack, filing a $7 million claim.

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A woman filed a $7 million administrative claim against the U.S. Navy and Defense Department, alleging Navy sailors assaulted her outside a San Diego nightclub in June 2024 and that videos of her assault were later shared online and within the Navy community.

The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the Federal Tort Claims Act complaint filed Wednesday, said she was a civilian married to a sailor assigned at the time to the USS Carl Vinson. According to the complaint, 10 to 15 people assaulted her after she left a birthday celebration at a Navy nightclub, and at least seven were active-duty sailors assigned to the carrier.

Doe said the attackers removed her clothing, beat her, and left her unconscious. She was hospitalized for six days. Her attorney, Jillian Seymour of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, said Doe’s husband was also injured while trying to help her.

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According to the complaint, San Diego police initially treated the case as a sex crime. Doe said police later told her the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) had jurisdiction. NCIS began investigating in October 2024, four months after the assault, according to the complaint.

Doe’s attorneys said NCIS later told her the case had been closed after interviewing her, but they said no interview had occurred. NCIS reopened the matter and investigated for about 11 months, interviewing witnesses and suspects, before declining to bring charges related to the assault or the videos.

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The Navy has six months to respond to the claim. After that, Doe may file a lawsuit.
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Pope names West Virginia bishop from El Salvador

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Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala of Washington as the new bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, after accepting the resignation of Bishop Mark E. Brennan, OSV News reported.

Menjivar-Ayala, 55, was born Aug. 14, 1970, in Chalatenango, El Salvador. He moved to the United States in 1990 after multiple attempts to reach the country, including one in which he entered hidden in the trunk of a car. He previously told the Catholic Standard that he and his family narrowly survived being fired upon by soldiers while fleeing their home during El Salvador’s civil war.

After two failed attempts to reach the United States, including deportation and a trip in which a guide abandoned the migrant group, he succeeded on his third try after a brief imprisonment in Mexico and a desert crossing.

Recalling the journey, he said he carried “a backpack with only one change of clothes, but it was full of dreams, of illusions that sometimes we do not understand. That dream is a light that guides you and, although you don’t understand the plan, you launch yourself with confidence in God.”

Once in the United States, Menjivar-Ayala learned English, earned a General Educational Development credential, and worked janitorial and construction jobs before beginning priesthood studies at a parish in Silver Spring, Maryland.

In 2023, he became the first Salvadoran bishop in the United States, serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Washington.
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Trump says Navy seized ship amid Iran blockade

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President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. Navy had seized a ship and its cargo during the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz, describing the operation at a Florida rally as “a very profitable business.”

“We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump said. “We’re like pirates,” he added.

After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran retaliated with strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. Iran also blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route through which 20% of global oil and gas passes.

A ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran took effect April 8. Days later, Trump imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz on April 13 as Pakistan-mediated negotiations continued.

Trump said Friday he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest peace proposal and was uncertain whether a deal would be reached. He warned that he would “blast them away” if talks failed.

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The United States will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, amid widening differences between President Donald Trump and European allies over the war in Iran.

Trump had threatened a drawdown earlier this week after an exchange with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Merz said Monday that Iranians were humiliating the U.S. in talks to end the two-month-old war and that he did not see what exit strategy Washington was pursuing.

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A 76-day Department of Homeland Security funding lapse ended Thursday when President Donald Trump signed a bill restoring funding for the Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FEMA, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.

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The lapse began Feb. 14 amid a dispute over immigration enforcement following the deaths of Renee Good and Matthew Pretti in Minneapolis. It led to national protests and the departure of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was replaced in March by Markwayne Mullin, a former U.S. senator.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he was dissatisfied with negotiations with Iran, but did not threaten to end the ceasefire between the countries or order new airstrikes.

“They want to make a deal but I’m not satisfied with it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We just had a conversation with Iran. Let’s see what happens. But I would say that I am not happy.”

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Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was ready to continue diplomatic efforts if the U.S. changed its approach and avoided “excessive demands, threatening rhetoric, and provocative actions.”

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows, remained central to the impasse. Iran said the U.S. must end a naval blockade on its ports before Tehran’s leaders would reopen the waterway.

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Trump repeated his claim that energy prices would fall quickly once the war ended and said talks were slowing because of divisions among Iranian leaders. Many Middle East analysts disputed that view, saying Iranian officials may differ on tactics but broadly support a hard line toward Washington.
US Politics

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Former Miami Congressman David Rivera was convicted Friday on charges tied to a secret $50 million lobbying effort on behalf of Venezuela during President Donald Trump’s first administration.

A jury found Rivera, a Republican, and associate Esther Nuhfer guilty on all counts, including failing to register with the Justice Department as foreign agents and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors said Rivera was recruited by then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez, now Venezuela’s acting president, to use his Republican contacts to try to persuade the Trump administration to ease sanctions on Venezuela. They said Rivera and Nuhfer concealed the work because disclosure could have damaged Rivera’s standing as an anti-communist politician.

The trial included testimony from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, and lobbyist Brian Ballard, who said they later learned Rivera had a consulting contract with PDV USA, a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

Prosecutors said Rivera used an encrypted chat group and code words to discuss payments and strategy with Venezuelan media executive Raul Gorrin, who has been charged in the United States with bribing Venezuelan officials. “As long as the money kept coming in, they didn’t care from where,” prosecutor Roger Cruz said in closing arguments.

Defense lawyers said Rivera and Nuhfer believed they did not have to register because Rivera’s three-month contract with his consulting firm involved commercial efforts to bring ExxonMobil back to Venezuela, an activity they argued was exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

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Hawaii

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Residents 65 and older will need 44,000 of those units. The shortage is raising housing costs and contributing to out-migration among younger residents.

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Hawaiʻi will need nearly 60,000 additional housing units by 2050 to meet projected demand, driven largely by an aging population, according to a new AARP Hawaiʻi report based on 2024 U.S. Census data.

T“It’s not just about kūpuna needing affordable housing. When a lack of affordable housing forces young working families to leave Hawaiʻi, the impacts are felt across generations,” Keali‘i Lopez, state director of AARP Hawaiʻi, said in a statement. “The question becomes not only where our children and grandchildren will live, but who will care for our aging parents and grandparents if families can no longer afford to stay.”

The share of Hawaiʻi residents 65 and older rose from 16% in 2016 to more than 21% in 2024. A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Economic Research Organization study projected that 25% of the state’s population will be 65 or older by 2035.

An analysis by Econorthwest, a Portland, Oregon, consulting firm, said 29% of new housing statewide by 2035 will be needed for people ages 65 to 84. By 2050, it said, residents 85 and older will need 40% of new housing.

For residents 65 and older, just under one-third of new units will need to be affordable to those earning less than $63,900, or 60% of area median income, the report said. It also said meeting older residents’ needs will require “prioritizing homes that support aging in place and smaller households.”

Between 2014 and 2024, Hawaiʻi added 43,000 housing units, an 8% increase. Over the same period, the number of households grew 9.5%.

About two-thirds of the additional 60,000 units will be needed by 2035, the report said.

The report said Hawaiʻi had the nation’s third-lowest retention rate for residents ages 20 to 30, behind Alaska and Wyoming.