News briefs

Tribune News Service on Apr 1, 2026

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Nevada Rep. Susie Lee drops F-bombs in response to Trump’s appearance at Supreme Court

A profanity-laced tweet from U.S. Rep. Susie Lee’s personal X account about President Donald Trump has raised some eyebrows on social media.

The post from Lee, D-Nev., appeared to criticize the president for his decision to attend a U.S. Supreme Court hearing Wednesday regarding birthright citizenship. “So f——— f—ed up,” the post said. “I’ll pray they f— him to his face. Sorry I say f— a lot these days.”

The post appeared on an X account that Lee spokeswoman Catherine Clancy said is a personal account also used for campaigns. The post did not appear on Lee’s official X account. Clancy, asked for comment, pointed the Review-Journal to a follow-up post from Lee that said:

“Clearly my language touched a nerve — my nerve was touched by the attacks on our Constitution and its separation of powers. I took an oath to protect and defend it.” The Republican National Committee criticized Lee’s tweet, calling it an “unhinged, vulgar attack.”

—Las Vegas Review-Journal

Mayor Zohran Mamdani launches first digital child care map for NYC parents

NEW YORK — New York City parents can more easily find a child care program using a new searchable map unveiled by Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday.

The platform allows parents to filter programs by location, children’s age and cost, and features information on about 10,000 child care providers, including program settings and schedules, walking and transit directions, contact information and inspection records.

The platform also offers a short questionnaire for families to learn more about affordable programs they may qualify for, and directs parents to live support by phone or email.

“Too often, parents in this city have been forced to rely on information they can only find from one set of friends or another, this Facebook group or that,” Mamdani said during a live demonstration at the New York Hall of Science in Corona, Queens. “They have been made to feel as if they have to jump through a certain number of hoops in order to know where their options even are.”

—New York Daily News

California Democrats push stronger ‘guardrails’ for kids using AI chatbots

California lawmakers are again trying to regulate AI chatbots used for socializing by an estimated one-third of teens, amid lawsuits and growing concerns that the technology can push vulnerable kids to self-harm.

Advocates say stiffer regulation will protect youth and curb a rash of suicides tied to the generated chats. Platforms have their own rules for minors seeking out AI companions, which can be personalized to simulate conversations with anyone from Napoleon Bonaparte to a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle or your own father. But lawmakers say those limits fall short of protecting young users.

“Children using AI companion chatbots today have no guarantee that the platform they’re talking to won’t push them toward self-harm, manipulate their emotions or exploit their data,” said California Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan of San Ramon in a statement.

A study released last year by Common Sense Media, a San Francisco-based group advocating for limits on youth use of the bots, estimated one-third of teens used AI chatbots as friends, confidants or romantic interests.

—The Mercury News

Russia and Ukraine set to intensify war as world focuses on Iran

Russian leader Vladimir Putin made a big deal of Russia’s success in seizing control of Kupyansk in eastern Ukraine late last year, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately challenged the claim by making a video address from the town.

Now Russian forces are gradually being pushed out of Kupyansk by Ukrainian troops, according to two people in Moscow with knowledge of the situation.

It’s an embarrassing reversal for Putin as the warring sides prepare to intensify fighting again with winter snows giving way to spring on the battlefield. Russia’s Defense Ministry hasn’t commented on the situation in the town that’s an important rail hub.

While the setback is more tactical than strategic for Russia, it underlines that Putin remains far from achieving his declared objectives in the war that’s now in its fifth year.

—Bloomberg News