WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida committed numerous violations of House rules and ethics standards, the House Ethics Committee found Friday in a ruling that could add weight to Republicans’ push to expel her from Congress.

After meeting into early Friday morning following a seven-hour hearing, the ethics panel of four Democrats and four Republicans found that Cherfilus-McCormick had committed 25 ethics violations. The panel said it would recommend a punishment in the coming weeks.

The allegations center around Cherfilus-McCormick’s receipt of millions of dollars from her family’s health care business after Florida made an overpayment of roughly $5 million in disaster relief funds. Cherfilus-McCormick is accused of using that money to fund her 2022 congressional campaign through a network of businesses and family members.

The congresswoman, who is running for a fourth term representing a southeastern Florida district, has denied wrongdoing, and her attorney stridently criticized Thursday’s public hearing — the first open proceeding in nearly 15 years. But the ruling from the Ethics Committee could fuel a potential vote on her expulsion and divide a Democratic caucus that is trying to make a comeback to power in the November midterm elections.

Cherfilus-McCormick also faces federal charges for allegedly stealing the $5 million in COVID-19 disaster relief funds and using it for purchases like a 3-carat yellow diamond ring. Her brother, former chief of staff and accountant were also charged. She has pleaded not guilty to those charges, and her attorney indicated Thursday that the trial is expected to start in the coming months.

The congresswoman declined to testify during Thursday’s ethics hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Her attorney, William Barzee, sparred with some of the lawmakers on the ethics panel and argued that they should have allowed a thorough ethics trial, where he could present witnesses and evidence to counter the conclusions of House investigators.

Barzee accused the panel of giving further momentum to the effort to “throw a woman out of Congress who was duly elected by her constituents” based primarily on bank records.

Committee investigators laid out 27 violations of House ethics standards and rules in a 242-page report. The report accused Cherfilus-McCormick of winning a 2022 special election by portraying her campaign as self-financed when it was actually funded through the $5 million overpayment her family’s company received from Florida for coronavirus vaccination services.

Barzee had argued that “she was entitled to that money,” pointing to a document that broke down how her family would share the proceeds from the health care business. But lawmakers on the ethics panel were skeptical of that argument.

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Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C.

Marie Keane, the mother of Manchester United and Republic of Ireland legend Roy Keane, has died.

The Keane family has confirmed Marie died peacefully ‘surrounded by loving family at Marymount University Hospital and Hospice in Cork.

A death notice on RIP.ie reads: “The death has occurred of Marie Keane (néeLynch) on March 27th 2026, peacefully, surrounded by her loving family and in the tender loving care of the doctors, nurses and staff of St. Anne’s Ward at Marymount University Hospital and Hospice.

‘Marie (née Lynch); dearly loved wife of the late Maurice (Mossie) and beloved mother of Denis, Johnson, Hilary, Roy and Pat. Predeceased by her brother Pat, her niece Estella and her nephew Thomas.’

In 2022, Keane shared a photograph of himself and his mother, captioning it: “The only boss I listen to”.

More to follow

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For a start, this RSC production is spectacular to look at. The bright colours simply pop from the stage. Rob Howell’s set design is innovative, imaginative and enthralling – rather like the production itself.

Based on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book, it’s the story of a very special little girl with a deep love of books who stands up for what is right, aided by a few magical powers.

Matilda the Musical

There’s something subversive about Matilda which is particularly compelling. For a start, the bulk of the cast are children. They are so well drilled, so confident and so talented that you forget their age and diminutive stature.

Then there are the storylines. This is no gentle fairytale. In typical Roald Dahl fashion it’s dark, very dark in places. It’s cheeky, boisterous and then heartbreakingly sad, often within the same scene.

At its heart are the songs by Tim Minchin who brings a level of wordplay not often experienced in musical theatre. He often turns the concept of the musical on itself, that undercurrent of gentle anarchy helps power the whole piece.

Mollie Hutton as Matilda

Our heroine is Matilda, on press night played by the delightful Mollie Hutton, one of four young actresses tasked with this massive role. She turns to the world of literature to escape her parents who are almost cartoon-like in their awfulness.

Adam Stafford is a flash talking, wide-boy car salesman in an outlandish check suit. He wanted a boy so has not time for the little gem in the family.

Rebecca Thornhill as Mrs Wormold is a truly dreadful creature, obsessed with her looks and winning Latin American dancing competitions with her snake-hipped partner Rudolpho, she can’t see the point of reading and along with hubby believes that TV is the answer to everything. It’s a beautifully observed cameo role.

If Matilda is the heroine of the piece, her arch nemesis is Miss Trunchbull the headmistress of a school which has clearly never been visited by Ofsted.

Richard Hurst as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical

Richard Hurst as the former hammer throwing champion is one the highlights of the show. His Trunchbull is menacing and genuinely terrifying at time. He towers over the young charges in his care. It would be easy to turn Trunchbull into a panto dame-like figure but he resists that temptation. Instead Trunchbull is obsessed, violent and clearly unhinged. He thinks nothing of picking a pupil up by the pigtails and throwing her out of the window or force feeding chocolate cake to one boy – with disastrous consequences.

Tessa Kadler as Miss Honey, the teacher who realises that Matilda is extraordinary, brings just the right amount of sweetness to the role without threatening anyone with diabetes. Her song My House is a bit of a showstopper.

Mollie Hutton as Matilda was a delight. At the centre of everything it’s a big ask for anyone but she was feisty and forlorn in equal measure. At time it was a little difficult to hear everything she sang but that was a minor point.

Matilda the Musical

This is a big musical. The set pieces are spectacular such as the scene on some swings which sees pupils fly over the orchestra; or a climbing frame being built out of letter blocks with such precise timing it’s like watching a computer game unfold in front of you.

It is quite a long show which is worth noting.

But Matilda is a musical with real heart and a strong message. Does it work? Put it this way, there were hundreds of young theatregoers in on press night and at times you could hear a pin drop and at others the cheers were deafening; they bought into the show from the outset and loved every minute of it. Must say I have to agree.

Matilda the Musical is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, until Saturday, April 25. Details from www.atgtickets.com

Tracy Carragher is an SNP candidate in May 7 despite defending a disgraced ex-council leader in court.

A senior SNP figure has urged one of his party’s Holyrood election candidates to “reflect” on their position after they gave evidence for the defence in the trial against Jordan Linden.

Stephen Flynn, Nationalist leader at Westminster, spoke out today following the conviction of ex-council leader Linden yesterday of five sexual assaults against young men.

Two sitting SNP councillors gave evidence for the defence during the seven-day trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court. One of the duo, Tracy Carragher, is a list candidate for the Central region at the election on May 7.

Linden, 30, was previously viewed as a high-flyer in the party and served as leader of North Lanarkshire Council from 2022-2024.

Speaking at a campaign event in Glasgow today, Flynn was asked if it was appropriate for Carragher to remain an SNP candidate.

“I think it’s important for that individual to reflect on the choice they have made,” he told reporters.

READ MORE: Reform UK’s Holyrood campaign in meltdown as fifth candidate quitsREAD MORE: John Swinney urged to ‘come clean’ on SNP role in Jordan Linden sex assault ‘cover up’

It comes as the SNP leadership is under increasing pressure today to “come clean” over its handling of repeated complaints made about Linden’s behaviour.

The former council leader was convicted on Thursday of 10 separate offences after a trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court, including five sexual assaults.

His victims were five young men and boys aged 15 to 22.

During the trial, a councillor who made complaints about Linden said: “Everywhere I went for help in the SNP I was ignored or it was downplayed.”

The man said he contacted the police in 2023 because he “did not feel confident” the reports he had made to the SNP would be dealt with appropriately.

Flynn told reporters today: “I’ve seen the comments of one of the victims in particular in relation to their experience and I’m understandably worried by that.

“I think everyone would be – because that should not be their experience.

“There’s going to be some significant learning for the SNP.”

Flynn added the party would not make a full response to the matter until after Linden’s sentencing heading on May 5.

He continued: “We’ve previously said that we were going to be reviewing things. I hope that that’s happened.

“I would like to think these things were under constant review because we need to make sure that people are safeguarded and that people have the support that they need.”

The Record has asked Carragher for comment.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Iran appears to be setting itself up as the gatekeeper for the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important artery for oil shipments. The move could cement Tehran’s de facto chokehold over the crucial waterway and formalize its ability to keep its own oil flowing to China.

Iranian communications to the United Nations maritime authority and the experience of ships transiting the strait suggest the creation of something akin to a “toll booth.” Ships must enter Iranian waters and be vetted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. At least two vessels have paid for passage.

Traffic through the strait has fallen by 90% since the start of the Iran war, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and inflicting alarming shortages on the Asian nations that get their oil from Persian Gulf countries via the strait.

Only about 150 vessels, including tankers and container ships, have transited since March 1, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence shipping information firm. That’s a little more than one day’s normal traffic before the war. Iran’s Kharg Island terminal loaded 1.6 million barrels in March — largely unchanged from prewar monthly loading totals, according to data and analytic firm Kpler. Most of the customers are small, private refineries in China that don’t care about U.S. sanctions.

A majority of the ships that have made it through in recent weeks headed east, out of the Gulf; Iran-affiliated ships accounted for 24% of transits, Greece 18%, and China 10% counted by ownership or flag registration. Yet on closer examination, vessels connected to Iran accounted for 60% of transits during the first part of the war and in the last few days, some 90%.

About half of the vessels turn off radio identification systems that show their location before going through, and reappear on the other side in the Gulf of Oman. There’s a reason for their reluctance and caution. At least 18 ships have been hit and at least seven crew members have been killed, according to the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization, which tracks maritime security. It did not specify which nation attacked the vessels.

Lloyd’s List says tolls are paid in yuan, China’s currency

“Iran’s IRGC has imposed a de facto ‘toll booth’ regime in the Strait of Hormuz,” says shipping information firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Normally ships use a two-lane shipping channel in the middle of the strait. But increasingly, vessels are taking a different route, to the north around Larak Island, placing them in Iran’s territorial waters and closer to the Iranian coastline.

Entities that want their vessels to safely pass through must submit their details to what Lloyd’s List Intelligence refers to as “approved intermediaries” of the Revolutionary Guard, including the cargo, owners, destination and a complete crew list. Approved vessels receive a code and are escorted by an IRGC vessel. Oil is prioritized and vessels are subject to “geopolitical vetting,” Lloyd’s said.

“While not all ships are paying a direct toll, at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said, referring to the Chinese currency.

Some ships appear to have been allowed through following diplomatic pressure. Two Indian vessels loaded with liquid petroleum gas have been able to pass, according to Lloyd’s.

Iran appears to be setting up a permanent system

On Tuesday, the IMO received a letter from the Iranian government saying it “had implemented a set of precautionary measures aimed at preserving maritime safety and security.” The letter claimed Iran was acting within the principles of international law.

Iran’s parliament appears to be working on a bill to formalize fees for some ships in the Strait of Hormuz, local media reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi saying “parliament is pursuing a plan to formally codify Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees.”

The IMO has condemned the attacks on vessels and called for an internationally coordinated approach to secure passage through the strait that respects freedom of navigation.

An Emirati oil executive calls Iran’s chokehold ‘economic terrorism’

The comment by Sultan al-Jaber, who leads the massive state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., signaled the hardening rhetoric of the United Arab Emirates as the war nears its one-month mark.

“Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation,” al-Jaber said in a speech for an event hosted by the Middle East Institute in Washington.

“It is economic terrorism against every consumer, every family that depends on affordable energy and food. When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy,” he said. “No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way.”

Iran’s approach may violate international law

Article 19 of the U.N.’s Law of the Sea Treaty states that countries must allow “innocent passage” of peaceful, law-abiding vessels in their territorial waters.

“There’s no provision in international law anywhere to set up a toll booth and shake down shipping. … This is Iran using the element that they have right now, which is control of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University in North Carolina.

The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, said Iran’s collection of fees for passage is “an aggression and a violation of the United Nations agreement on the law of the sea.”

Such payments likely run afoul of American and European sanctions on the Guard, a key power center within Iran that controls its ballistic missile arsenal and was key in suppressing nationwide protests in January.

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Gambrell contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Strictly Come Dancing professional Luba Mushtuk is the latest cast member to confirm they’re leaving the show in an apparent mass exodus ahead of the show’s return later this year.

On Friday morning, the Russian-British performer confirmed to her Instagram followers that she would not be returning to the Strictly ballroom after a decade as a pro.

“With a heart full of gratitude, the time has come for me to step away from Strictly Come Dancing,” she wrote. “I am deeply grateful for the past 10 years on this beautiful show!

“Thank you for the amazing opportunity and the unforgettable memories. It has truly meant the world to me. Now it’s time for me to follow my dreams beyond the show, and I’m excited for what the future holds.”

Despite her exit, Luba has announced she will still be taking part in this tour, telling her fans: “I can’t wait to see you all on the Pro Tour and I’m really looking forward to it for one last time.”

Strictly is currently on the hunt for two new presenters for this year’s run, following the much-publicised departures of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly towards the end of 2025.

Stockton Council has made a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order for Skyttering Beck Bridge on March 19.

The authority decided access to the footpath over the bridge should be prohibited, because works are being, or are proposed to be, carried out on or near the footpath.

The notice states that the order came into effect on March 19 and temporarily closes the full length of Skyttering Beck Bridge, Yarm.

The closure will apply at such times as traffic management signs are erected on site to notify users that the bridge is shut.

According to the notice, work at the site is expected to continue until about May 31.

• For more notices affecting YOUR area, visit our Public Notice Portal – Public Notices from The Northern Echo ( publicnoticeportal.uk ).

However, the order itself can stay in force for a maximum of six months if required, unless extended further with the approval of the Secretary of State for Transport.

Access for pedestrians and emergency services will not be maintained while the closure is in place.

A diversion route will be signposted on site to direct people around the affected section.

It is believed that the child killer’s ashes will be scattered in secret

An inquest is scheduled open in April for Soham killer Ian Huntley, who died days after a prison attack. The 52-year-old died in the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle on March 7 after he was allegedly attacked with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham on February 26.

The County Durham and Darlington Coroner has posted details of an inquest opening hearing, due to be held in Crook, County Durham, on April 14. Listed under the name Ian Kevin Huntley, the inquest opening will be heard by senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield.

It has been reported there will be no funeral service for the child killer. The Sun has said it understood Huntley’s family will scatter his ashes in secret.

Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with murdering Huntley at the maximum security jail. He will attend Newcastle Crown Court on April 24 for a pre-trial preparation hearing.

Huntley was serving a life sentence for the 2002 murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. The ex-school caretaker killed the best friends after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham on August 4, 2002.

He dumped their bodies in a ditch 10 miles away. They were not found for 13 days, despite a search involving hundreds of police.

At the time, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s primary school. He denied murdering the girls but was convicted after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2003. He was jailed for life with a recommended minimum term of 40 years.

Carr gave Huntley a false alibi and was jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice. She is now living under a new identity.