France mounts huge security operation as protesters prepare to march

By Crispian Balmer and Elizabeth Pineau

PARIS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - French security forces fanned out across Paris on Saturday ahead of protests that authorities fear could turn violent, with Interior Minister Laurent Nunez urging police to be "hyper-reactive" against troublemakers and looters.

Soldiers from ‌an anti-terrorism military unit patrolled the Champs-Elysees avenue while police vans circled the Arc de Triomphe, looking to protect some of ‌the capital's most famous sites from any repeat of the unrest that shook France last week.

Nunez has mobilised 70,000 police nationwide for Saturday's demonstrations, 10,000 more than on October 17, when ​a wave of vandalism and looting raised questions about the government's ability to maintain order.

Anger over living costs and strained public services has drawn students, workers and unions onto the streets in recent weeks, but authorities say radical militants and bands of young looters have exploited the protests to sow chaos.

Speaking to police in Paris, Nunez warned officers that they would face attempts to target shops, public institutions and security forces.

"We have to be ultra, ultra responsive. ‌We have significant calls for disruption from political groups ⁠and quite simply from criminals," he said. "It is going to be a long day."

SHOPS, MUSEUMS, OPERA SHUT

Many shopkeepers in Paris boarded up storefronts, while luxury retailers beefed up security.

Business groups have urged stores to remain closed after thousands ⁠of shops and businesses were damaged or looted across France last weekend.

Lidiya Shevchenko, a sales assistant at a Graziella Braccialini store in Paris, said she doubted many customers would venture out to browse luxury boutiques during the day.

"I suppose the mood is just as important when it comes to shopping," she said.

Several of Paris' ​best-known ​cultural institutions, including the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Opera House, will close ​for the day to avoid being caught up in ‌any turmoil. More than 20 metro stations were also shut.

The location of Saturday's main Paris demonstration remained unclear after police sought to move organisers away from the city centre towards the southeastern fringes of the capital.

"The declared route poses serious risks of disturbances to public order, notably because of the high concentration of businesses similar to those targeted during the weekend of October 17-18," the Paris police prefecture said.

The last-minute decision angered some on the left.

"Once again, those in power are creating disruption for the marches and impossible deadlines for organisations to reorganise themselves. These methods are multiplying across ‌the entire country," hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon wrote on X.

DEMONSTRATION IN ORLEANS AGAINST FAR ​RIGHT

Authorities have sharply restricted demonstrations across much of France. Marseille reversed an earlier ban and ​authorised a union march, while protests remain restricted in central ​Lyon. Union rallies will also go ahead in Strasbourg, but bans remain in force in several other cities including Nancy, ‌Metz, Besancon, Belfort, Rouen, Le Havre, Toulon and Limoges.

The first ​authorised march began mid-morning in Orleans, ​about 120 km (75 miles) south of Paris, to protest against Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally, which is holding a congress in the city this weekend.

"We have come to tell the far right, face to face, that we are not afraid," said Bally Bagayoko, the ​mayor of Saint-Denis and a member of the ‌hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

Tensions were heightened by a shooting west of Paris on Friday in which a gunman suspected of acting ​out of Islamophobic hatred killed one person and wounded four others, including a 12-year-old girl.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, Bertrand Boucey, Alessandro ​Parodi in Paris and Elizabeth Pineau in Orleans. Editing by Mark Potter)

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Student loan crackdown could put paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security at risk

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rumblings from Washington, D.C., suggest the Trump administration, through the U.S. Department of the Treasury, could start cracking down on defaulted federal student loan borrowers.

The USDT is mulling several enforcement options, including hiring more professional debt collectors, garnishing paychecks and withholding some federal benefits, The Washington Sun reported this week.

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The Federal Student Aid estimates nearly $9.3 million student loan borrowers are in default, with 400,000 more added to the default rolls in the quarter ending June 30.

“Their outstanding federal student loans total $234 billion, or approximately 14% of the total $1.64 trillion federally managed portfolio as of June 2026,” the FSA wrote in a statement.

While considering their pivot, The Sun reported that the Trump Administration’s priority is to steer borrowers behind on their loan payments to installment plans and leverage the U.S. Treasury’s new Defaulted Loans Support Center to “understand the consequences of default and apply online to either rehabilitate or consolidate their loans.” The site launched in September.

Here’s what the government can legally go after

Debt experts say the federal government has multiple options when looking to collect on defaulted student loan debt.

“A defaulted federal student loan is the one debt that can be collected without a lawsuit,” Nick Avila, founder of San Diego-based United Debt Relief, told Moneywise.

For instance, the government can order an employer to withhold up to 15% of disposable pay without going to court, take a federal tax refund through the Treasury Offset Program, and offset Social Security benefits, Avila said.

It’s a little more nuanced when it comes to collecting from Social Security. Hans Goldstein, founder of the Southern California-based Retirement Literacy Foundation, highlighted the challenges the government faces when taking from retirees.

If a retired American gets $1,400 a month, 15% is $210, which leaves retirees with $1,190. Meanwhile, another person may get $800 a month, and 15% leaves them with much less, so the government can only skim $50.

Taxes, on top of that, are another pain point for collectors.

“In a given tax year, a borrower may not owe any federal income tax,” Dr. Ethan White, co-founder of Los Angeles-based White Sands Tax Services, a family-owned tax preparation company, told Moneywise. “However, a portion or all of the borrower’s federal tax refund may still be taken to satisfy a defaulted federal loan, up to the amount owed.”

Some defaulted borrowers may also rely on a tax refund to pay basic living expenses.

“Like a paycheck, a tax refund may be taken through an offset,” White said, adding that wage garnishment may take up to 15% of their disposable pay for the week. “However, garnishment must also preserve the equivalent of 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage for the week.”

That 15% limit could also protect retirees who still work part-time. Marriages may be impacted, too. If defaulted loans are in one spouse’s name, a joint refund may still be taken.

“However, the spouse who doesn’t owe the debt may be able to protect their allocated portion of the refund using Form 8379,” White said.

Form 8379 may be submitted along with the tax return or may also be submitted after the refund has been taken.

“Review this option prior to switching to separate tax filings, which may also incur additional costs,” White said.

Read More: Vanguard reveals what's coming for U.S. stocks — and it's raising alarm bells for older investors

Take these steps to protect your financial assets

To keep the government’s hands out of your pockets, be disciplined and think creatively. Make these strategies a priority when dealing with the federal government.

Safeguard your paycheck and benefits

Open every notice, because each one has a deadline to request a hearing or review, including for financial hardship, and missing that window is how people lose their options.

“Then contact the loan holder before collections start, not after,” Avila said.

Reprioritize your bills

A defaulted student loan also changes how you prioritize your bills.

“Most people pay the credit card that calls the most and let the student loan sit,” Avila said. “But a credit card company has to sue you before it can touch your wages. A defaulted federal loan doesn’t. That moves it up the list.”

Aim to get out of default

Rehabilitation requires nine voluntary, on-time payments within ten months, based on your income.

Once it’s complete, the default comes off your credit history and the garnishment and offsets stop.

“Consolidation is usually faster, but the record of the default stays,” Avila said. “For most people who can manage nine payments, rehabilitation is the better long-term path.

For retirees and vulnerable households

For someone living on Social Security, a 15% offset can be the difference between making rent and not.

“That’s why getting out of default before collections begin matters so much for older borrowers,” Avila said, adding that borrowers with a total and permanent disability should check Studentaid.gov, because they may qualify for a discharge instead of collections.

Have a plan for 2027

Federal student loan borrowers who are behind on their student loans, or have fallen behind, should log in at Studentaid.gov and confirm the status of every federal loan.

“Don’t build next year’s budget around a tax refund if you’re in default,” Avila said. “Start rehabilitation now if you can, and keep housing, utilities, and insurance current first. Every path has tradeoffs and results vary, so no one should promise a specific outcome, but the earlier you act, the more choices you keep.”

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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Trump officials reportedly coming for paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security if you’ve defaulted on student loans

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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Philippines investigating abuse allegations against Meghan Markle's father

FILE PHOTO - Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, meets volunteer first responders from the Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club during a visit to Sydney's Bondi Beach. (is associated with: «Philippines investigating allegations against Meghan's father») Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa

Authorities in the Philippines said they are investigating allegations that Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan Markle, wife of Britain's Prince Harry, had a hoard of child sex abuse images.

According to The Sun, Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, alleged that he found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.

He reportedly told police in the country that he discovered the child abuse pictures and videos mixed up with innocent family mementos.

The newspaper said he also contacted FBI investigators in the US in July.

Nicholas Ty, undersecretary for the Philippines Department of Justice, told ITV News: “Our Anti-Trafficking and Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children taskforce in Cebu is currently investigating the matter.”

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Sr denied possessing child sex images, calling the accusations “sick lies.”

On Friday, Meghan said she was made aware of “disturbing allegations” about her father in 2018.

She said she was shown a letter sent to Scotland Yard eight years ago making “troubling” allegations against Thomas Markle Sr and she was assured that these were being investigated.

It is understood the Metropolitan Police has not previously, nor is the force currently, investigating Mr Markle.

The force said it is making internal inquiries regarding officers from the Met’s Royalty and Specialist Protection Command being involved in the passing on of a letter.

The FBI said in a statement: "The FBI is aware of the allegations and will provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities.

"We will also investigate any related allegations of federal violations of US law."

It is unclear what the nature of the allegations in 2018 were and whether they are linked to the accusations raised by his son now in 2026.

It is understood the letter sent to the Metropolitan Police was shared with Meghan in the summer of 2018, after her wedding to Harry.

Meghan became estranged from her former TV lighting director father in the run-up to her 2018 royal wedding after he was caught staging paparazzi photographs.

Mr Markle did not attend the wedding, leaving the King to accompany Meghan down the aisle and meaning the only member of her family present was her mother, Doria Ragland.

Meghan was the only child of Mr Markle’s marriage to Ms Ragland, though he has two children – Samantha and Thomas Jr – from an earlier marriage.

In 2021, Meghan won a High Court privacy and copyright claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over articles that reproduced parts of a “personal and private” handwritten letter she wrote to Mr Markle in a bid to get him to stop talking to the press.

She penned the emotional five-page letter to him in August 2018 after taking advice from two unnamed senior royals.

In 2025, Mr Markle moved to the Philippines for a new life after suffering a series of strokes.

Then, in December of that year, he had his leg amputated during life-saving surgery.

Meghan “reached out” to him in the aftermath of the operation, a spokesperson for the duchess revealed, and Meghan was also said to have tried to do so previously.

He is reportedly now living in a rehab centre in Florida, where he is learning to walk again.

Buckingham Palace and the Philippine Department of Justice have been contacted for comment.

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Meghan Markle says she was 'deeply distressed' by allegations against her father

[Getty Images]

The Duchess of Sussex has said she was informed about "disturbing allegations" about her estranged father in 2018.

In a statement, Meghan said a letter containing allegations against Thomas Markle was sent to the Metropolitan Police that year and subsequently shared with her.

Her comments come after reports that images of child sexual abuse allegedly belonging to her father had been found at his former home in the Philippines, which she said were "deeply" distressing.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Thomas Markle denied possessing child sex images, calling the accusations "sick lies".

The duchess said: "I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed."

She said that when she received the letter outlining allegations against her father, she was "given assurance that these were being investigated".

She added she hoped it could be understood why she had kept her distance from her father and did "not allow him to have contact with our children".

This was "to protect them", she said, adding that she had "trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families".

Meghan described the allegations as "more sickening than one could ever imagine" and said her "sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children".

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Scientists may have solved a 137-year-old mystery hidden in Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists doubling as art detectives have traced Vincent van Gogh’s “ The Starry Night ” to a celestial scene that suggests a new date for one of the world’s most famous paintings.

Their findings indicate that rather than being a product of van Gogh’s imagination, “The Starry Night” may have been inspired by what he saw as he gazed heavenward from his French asylum 137 years ago.

A South Korean team reported Thursday that after years of forensic astronomy and research into the Dutch artist, they have matched his masterpiece to a predawn sky over France’s Saint-Remy de Provence right around July 22, 1889.

That’s a month later than the long-accepted time frame for the postimpressionist painting depicting a crescent moon and Venus surrounded by a sky of swirling stars with a village nestled below and cypress trees looming on one side.

Art historians have long dated the painting to June 1889, soon after Van Gogh checked into the asylum. He’d cut off his left ear several months earlier during an argument with painter Paul Gauguin.

A team led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim, the CEO of a Seoul telescope maker, is now disputing that date in a study appearing in the journal Scientific Reports.

The sky that is most similar to the painting occurred around July 22, 1889, said Kim, who is also a doctoral candidate at Kyung Hee University. He noted that the few days before and after could have inspired van Gogh as well.

“No two skies are the same. Something always changes. I believe Vincent noticed those changes and put them into the painting,” Kim said in an email.

He added: “I am confident that July 22 is the better date. I will bet on this date.”

The latest study addresses “a real puzzle” that in mid-June 1889, the moon was not the thin crescent painted by van Gogh, said Jose Luis Aragon at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He has studied “The Starry Night” as a physicist, but did not take part in the new research.

“Still, I would see the July date as an intriguing hypothesis rather than a settled answer,” Aragon said in an email.

Long fascinated by van Gogh’s art, Kim traveled to France in 2019, the first time in mid-June and the second around July 22. He found brilliant stars rising in July’s predawn sky, unlike June.

Kim and his team discovered through further celestial sleuthing that around July 22, 1889, the shape of the moon before dawn appeared like the one in the painting, with the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus rising in the east alongside Venus. The sky should have been clear enough for van Gogh to see all this, based on their weather analyses.

Van Gogh is thought to have suffered a seizure around that time in July. But Kim and his team contend that the seizure occurred later in July, based on their analyses of letters between the painter and one of his brothers. Some of those letters refer to cicadas, another clue that points toward the hotter July, according to Kim.

The researchers tested and verified their methods on night skies in other paintings, making for what Aragon considers “a careful and genuinely interdisciplinary study.”

Since van Gogh painted in a studio at the asylum from sketches and memory, “the sky is likely a composite of many nights as the authors themselves acknowledge," Aragon said.

“What I find most convincing is the broader message: The painting is not pure fantasy. Van Gogh watched the real sky very closely," Aragon said.

Despite all his research, Kim has never seen “The Starry Night” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“Now that the paper is out, I really have to go and see ‘The Starry Night’ in person, don’t I?” he said.

___

The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org

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In face of GOP backlash, Trump praises Ramaswamy ad featuring Amy Acton's mother

Washington — President Trump on Thursday praised the "very powerful ad" Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is running featuring the estranged mother of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, after the ad drew pushback from some Republicans like Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that he suggested Ramaswamy keep the ad up, saying the press is "trying to convince everyone that this Ad is bad, because it's so good!" 

The ad, which first circulated on social media on Monday and is now television, features Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, who called Acton a "liar" and sought to undermine her credibility. Acton's campaign condemned the ad, and her brother, Philip Stearns, called it a "despicable low." 

According to court documents provided by the campaign, Arthur's now-deceased husband was charged with raping Acton, which she said occurred when she was between 10 and 12 years old. He entered a not guilty plea and left the area while out on bond; the case never went to trial.

DeWine on Thursday said he thought the Ramaswamy campaign should take the ad down. "It's wrong to run this ad," the Ohio Republican told reporters. "I would urge Ramaswamy's campaign to take this down." DeWine did not rescind his endorsement. 

But Vice President JD Vance and now Mr. Trump are defending the ad and using it to criticize Acton. 

"Vivek Ramaswamy put up a very powerful Ad about a mother saying that her daughter, Amy Acton, who is running for Governor of Ohio, is a liar, and much worse," Mr. Trump wrote in his social media post. "The Press, in a concerted and well coordinated attack, is trying to get Vivek Ramaswamy to 'take down the Ad.' Frankly, anybody whose mother spoke about a daughter in that way would normally lead to the daughter being precluded from serving in Office, let alone the Office of Governor."

In his post, Mr. Trump did not mention why Acton and her birth mother are estranged, or any of the family's backstory. 

Shortly after his post, on the White House South Lawn, reporters told Mr. Trump the backstory — that Acton's mother stayed married to the man charged with raping her. CBS News senior White House reporter Weijia Jiang asked the president why anyone should listen to what the estranged mother has to say. 

"Well I know nothing about it," the president responded. "All I know is the mother said very bad things about Acton, who I guess is running for governor against Vivek. And all I can say is Vivek is great. And I know one thing, if my mother said bad about me, it would be a major news story, that's for sure. So I don't know what it is, but I guess the mother said very bad things about the one who's running for governor. And I think you have to say that seriously." 

"I'm defending it because I know that if that ad were about my mother, you would love it, you would love every inch of it," Mr. Trump added. 

In his Truth Social post, the president specifically went after DeWine.

"Our RINO Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, who I unfortunately helped get elected years ago, when he was losing by 16 points prior to my doing a Rally for him was, as usual, disloyal to the Republican Party," Mr. Trump wrote. "He strongly suggested that Vivek should, 'take down the Ad.' He probably wants a Dumocrat to win, and certainly doesn't want someone who will do a much better job than he is capable of doing. I suggested, on the other hand, that Vivek should keep it up..."

Mr. Trump added he only wishes the "mothers of my opponents would be so brave as to come forward and explain that their son or daughter is a liar, and much worse." 

"Who wouldn't use such an Ad?" Mr. Trump wrote. "I would, it's called, 'hitting pay dirt.'"

Mr. Trump continued to defend the ad during a rally in Iowa late Thursday. He said he advised Ramaswamy that "you gotta ride with it," later adding: "Leave it up, and look upstairs and say, 'Thank you God, very much.'"

Vance, too, defended the ad, saying Republicans who have criticized it should "stop whining." 

Ohio Republican Sen. John Husted, who is running for reelection, said he "would not have run that ad." 

Outgoing Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina called the ad the "most shameful, disgusting, offensive ad this election season."

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, told a local ABC station he "probably wouldn't run an ad like that, but every candidate gets to make their own decision."

Acton's brother said earlier this week it's "not surprising that Vivek Ramaswamy has stooped to such a despicable low as to attempt to turn the sexual abuse Amy endured at twelve years old from our birth mother's husband into a political talking point." 

"Our birth mother stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died," Stearns said. "This desperate, disgusting attack reveals exactly who Vivek Ramaswamy is at his core – a pathetic excuse for a man who is willing to hurt anyone as long as it gets him what he wants."

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Meta strikes deal to keep Zuckerberg in California after wealth tax concerns

By Carlos Méndez

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has struck a deal with Mark Zuckerberg to keep him living in California after the CEO warned he was ‌considering leaving the state that houses the company's headquarters if voters pass a ‌wealth tax proposal next month.

Under the deal, Zuckerberg will get non-voting shares he can sell to potentially foot ​a multi-billion-dollar tax bill in the event the proposal is approved, in exchange for a commitment to remain a resident of California, or wherever Meta maintains its headquarters, for eight years, Meta said on Wednesday.

Zuckerberg, the world's sixth richest person according to Forbes, told Meta he was ‌considering moving his primary residence ⁠outside California because Proposition 40, a ballot measure dubbed the "California wealth tax", could expose him to a massive tax liability, potentially forcing him to ⁠sell voting shares to pay it.

Proposition 40, which asks Californians whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on the state's billionaires, is far from certain to pass, political analysts say. The state ​is ​home to as many as 250 billionaires collectively ​worth upwards of $2 trillion.

Zuckerberg, who has ‌a net worth of about $240 billion, can immediately sell 20% of the Class C shares he receives, representing 10% of his overall economic stake in the company, allowing him to pay a potential tax bill without losing voting control.

The company said on Wednesday it will issue a new class of non-voting Class C common stock in January 2027, effectively resulting ‌in a two-for-one split, to fund acquisitions and ​retain top talent while maintaining Zuckerberg's control.

Meta's long-term forecasts, ​as described in the filing, showed ​it would need to raise "hundreds of billions of dollars" over several ‌years, beginning as early as fall 2026, ​as it expects to ​need capital to finance its AI-related growth plan.

The parent of Facebook and Instagram said a special committee of its board concluded it was "critically important" that Zuckerberg remain in ​a leadership role and continue ‌to manage the company from its California headquarters, particularly during what it described ​as "unprecedented challenge and competition in our industry" driven by AI.

(Reporting by Carlos ​Méndez in Mexico City; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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