Trump DOJ sets up ‘strike force’ to probe unfounded Obama ’16 vote claims

President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has set up a “strike force” to probe unfounded claims that former President Barack Obama illegally pushed allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said she’s eager to “investigate potential next legal steps” following the release of a report on the issue from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that accused Obama of hatching a “treasonous conspiracy.”

“We will investigate these troubling disclosures fully and leave no stone unturned to deliver justice,” Bondi said in a statement. Impartial analysts say there is nothing new in Gabbard’s dossier and no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama. It doesn’t refute the widely accepted fact that Russia sought to influence the 2016 campaign on Trump’s behalf and against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

Critics say administration officials are seeking to gin up new controversies to distract attention from the politically damaging calls for Trump to release more information on the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case.

—New York Daily News

Yale follows Connecticut Children’s in gutting pediatric gender care

HARTFORD, Conn. — Under threat from the Trump administration, Connecticut hospitals are ending gender-affirming care for transgender and gender diverse youth, potentially leaving hundreds of young people without lifesaving care.

Connecticut Children’s began making phone calls to parents of patients Tuesday while Yale New Haven Health followed suit with letters to patients Wednesday. In a statement, Connecticut Children’s said it’s “winding down” its program for patients under 19, the age dictated by an executive order dated Jan. 28 that blocks federal funding for hospitals that provide such care. Court injunctions have temporarily blocked that order.

Yale said its pediatric gender program will continue to see patients under 19 to provide mental health services and “support in a compassionate care environment to all our impacted patients” but will no longer provide medication treatment including puberty blockers and hormones.

Puberty blockers, which cause no permanent changes, are used to pause irreversible physical changes while families consider what care is appropriate for a child with gender incongruence. The drugs, which are routinely prescribed to cisgender children experiencing premature puberty, have been shown to relieve psychological distress, suicidality and depression in children who don’t identify with the gender assigned at birth.

—Hartford Courant

Hulk Hogan, pro wrestler and pop culture icon who excelled at earning fans’ love and hate, dies at 71

LOS ANGELES — Hulk Hogan, the popular 1980s pro wrestler who became a worldwide pop culture icon with “Hulkamania” in the 1980s and his later endeavors in film, TV and politics, has died. He was 71.

“Terry Bollea, a.k.a. Hulk Hogan passed away this morning,” a representative for the wrestler said in confirming his death. “We are heartbroken. He was such a great human being and friend.”

Florida police and WWE told the Associated Press that authorities in Clearwater, Fla., responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan, whose real name was Terry Gene Bollea, was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said in a statement on Facebook.

World Wrestling Entertainment acknowledged the wrestler’s death, saying on X, “WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans.”

—Los Angeles Times

Thailand hits Cambodia with F-16s as deadly border clash erupts

Thai F-16 fighter jets struck military sites in neighboring Cambodia as a border dispute between the Southeast Asian nations, stretching back decades, erupted in fresh violence that killed at least 11 people.

Both nations accused the other of starting the worst border violence in about 14 years, which also left dozens injured amid clashes in six locations along their frontier.

The eruption Thursday, which included reports of artillery and rocket fire, follows a build up of tensions since a Cambodian soldier was killed in an exchange of gunfire in May and a chain of political events in Bangkok that has threatened the ruling coalition.

Thailand said its fighter jets hit at least three Cambodian army bases near the border in separate airstrikes, and reported that rockets fired from Cambodia killed several civilians. An eight-year old boy was among 11 Thai civilian fatalities, while 24 others were injured, the country’s health ministry said. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said one soldier has been killed.

—Bloomberg News