Brayan Rayo Garzon was distraught. Detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he was on his fourth day of isolation in a Missouri jail as he battled the fevers and chills of COVID-19.

His request for mental health treatment had been put off, records show, and staff had forbidden Rayo from making his nightly call to his mother as a precaution intended to prevent the spread of illness.

He pleaded with his jailers in handwritten notes to arrange a conversation with her. “I feel in my heart that she’s very worried about me,” he wrote in Spanish.

A guard collected the note and walked away. Within an hour, jail records show, he was found unconscious in his cell. An autopsy determined he killed himself.

Rayo’s April 2025 death was the first suicide in a spike among ICE detainees that has alarmed public health officials and jail experts. They said the unprecedented number of suicide deaths is an indication that authorities are failing to properly oversee the detention of tens of thousands of immigrants swept up in the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation strategy.

An Associated Press investigation found that at least 10 detainees, all men, have died by suicide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, a pace that far exceeds the growth in the detainee population, according to a review of ICE data, autopsy reports, coroner’s rulings, and police records. Since October, seven deaths have been classified as suicides, a number that is already the most for any fiscal year in the agency’s history. ICE has usually recorded one or no such deaths annually.

“Something is going profoundly wrong from any kind of public health or mental health perspective,” said Dr. Sanjay Basu, a University of California-San Francisco epidemiologist who cowrote a study documenting the increase in mortality and suicide rates among ICE detainees. “This is one of those alarming, sudden increases.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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Nine of the deaths were of Hispanic men who had arrived in the U.S. from four countries, the AP found. One man was a Chinese citizen. Their average age was 32. While Trump has characterized those facing deportation as the “worst of the worst,” seven of the 10 had no record of violent crimes in the U.S.

The suicides account for nearly a fifth of the 51 deaths in ICE custody since January 2025. The majority of those deaths were from natural causes and experts say many of them would have been preventable with timely medical care.

Department of Homeland Security acting assistant secretary Lauren Bies said suicide deaths in ICE custody remain “extremely rare.”

Bies said detention staff follow protocols to protect detainees who show signs of self-harming and that ICE requires annual suicide prevention training. She said detainees receive comprehensive healthcare, including mental health services.

Investigation finds violations of ICE detention standards

The reasons behind any suicide are complex, and each death often has multiple contributing factors, according to experts. ICE detainees report intense stress after being detained, fear of being returned to countries where their safety may be jeopardized, and frustration and loneliness over the inability to communicate due to language barriers.

Detainees can also feel helplessness because of the complexity surrounding immigration law. Unlike those in the criminal justice system, most detainees do not have lawyers and their detention on immigration violations is not meant to be punitive.

ICE becomes responsible for their well-being when they enter detention, and experts say well-run lockups should have few, if any, suicides. That’s because staff can take steps to mitigate the chances that detainees harm themselves by identifying those at risk, getting them care and monitoring them closely, the experts said.

AP’s investigation found that ICE detention centers have repeatedly fallen short in ways that violate ICE’s own standards.

An examination of the 10 suicide deaths found the men died across ICE’s detention network, including at centers long run by private contractors and county jails who recently became ICE partners. The AP found that staff in the facilities ignored signs of distress, delayed mental health treatment and failed to monitor detainees who were already deemed at risk. They also permitted detainees to have access to materials that could be used for self-harm, according to AP’s review of ICE inspection reports and death records.

In some cases, they jailed distressed detainees in isolation, which can exacerbate feelings of humiliation and helplessness, according to experts.

ICE has repeatedly asserted that it screens detainees within 12 hours of arrival for medical, dental and mental health conditions.

At least three of the nine facilities where ICE detainees died by suicide have struggled to meet that standard, according to ICE inspection reports and jail records.

Dr. Homer Venters, former chief medical officer of New York City jails who previously consulted with ICE on preventing detainee deaths, called the rise in suicides terrifying.

The increase “reflects failures in how the system’s being operated, and particularly failures in how the first stages of coming into detention are happening so that people aren’t being assessed adequately,” Venters said. “And then if that receiving screening picks up red flags, they’re not acted on in a way that reduces the risk of them having preventable death.”

From border crossing to detention

Among those who took their own lives was a 19-year-old from Mexico who had been detained following a misdemeanor traffic stop while riding his scooter.

Another was a 36-year-old restaurant worker who lost contact with his relatives in Nicaragua after ICE detained him in Minnesota and sent him to a crowded camp in Texas. A third was a 45-year-old who had repeatedly crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and had a long criminal record.

Rayo, who took his own life after pleading to talk to his mother, was a veteran of the Colombian military who had worked as a street vendor in his home country. A week after he turned 26 in 2023, his family crossed the U.S. border in California. He was detained for three months before being permitted to settle with family in St. Louis, records and interviews show.

His mother, Adriana Garzon, said Rayo caught on quickly to life in the U.S., making friends easily and working as a housepainter and food delivery driver. He wanted to save money to hire a lawyer to help him stay in the country after a judge in 2024 ordered that he be sent back to Colombia, she said.

He was arrested in March 2025 by St. Louis police after being caught using a stolen credit card, which he had obtained from a friend, at a Vape shop, court records show. ICE then took him into custody. An ICE record obtained by AP classified Rayo as a laborer who was a low risk to public safety.

ICE placed Rayo in the Phelps County jail in Rolla, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from St. Louis.

Suicides reveal shortcomings across ICE’s detention network

The deaths have revealed holes in treatment and oversight across ICE’s system, where the detained population has spiked by 50% to 60,000 during Trump’s second term.

Five died in centers run by longtime ICE detention partners, CoreCivic and the GEO Group. A sixth died at a camp operated by an inexperienced contractor that ICE has since replaced. Three died in jails run by sheriffs, and one at a federal prison.

“We are deeply saddened by and take very seriously the passing of any individual in our care,” CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd said.

GEO Group spokesperson Christopher Ferreira said the company trains staff on suicide prevention and seeks “to maintain a safe and secure environment in compliance with the standards and requirements set by the federal government.” Officials at the three jails either declined comment or didn’t return messages.

Leo Cruz Silva, a 34-year-old who had repeatedly illegally entered the country from Mexico, suffered an acute mental health crisis following his detention after an arrest for public intoxication last fall in a St. Louis suburb, records show.

For two nights in Missouri’s Ste. Genevieve County Jail, Cruz screamed, hid under his bed and reported hallucinations, according to an ICE report on his death. Yet he did not get help quickly.

A nurse ordered antipsychotic medications and planned to get him treatment the next week, the ICE report said.

On the third day, he was found dead in his cell.

Chaofeng Ge arrived in ICE custody last summer at a Pennsylvania facility run by the GEO Group in mental distress, having pleaded guilty to a minor gift card fraud and attempted suicide in state custody, said David Rankin, an attorney representing Ge’s family.

In five days at the facility, he did not get mental health treatment and was unable to communicate because no one spoke Mandarin, Rankin said. Ultimately, Ge went unmonitored before he was found hanged in a shower stall.

“It’s clear that ICE has taken very few steps to ensure the safety of these people,” Rankin said. “They appear to want to make this process as cruel and inhuman as possible. It’s completely unacceptable.”

Days earlier at the same facility, Geraldo Lunas Campos died of asphyxia after ICE said guards restrained him following a suicide attempt. His death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner, and Trump administration officials said the FBI was investigating its circumstances.

ICE inspectors visited the facility in February, documenting 49 violations of detention standards at what was then ICE’s largest detention facility, according to their report.

The report found that staff did not record “required checks to prevent significant self-harm and suicide” while inspectors found tools and equipment unsecured and unaccounted for throughout the facility that could be used for harm. Calls to 911 show several other detainees had attempted suicide there.

At the time of the deaths and inspections, Acquisition Logistics was the contractor running the facility. ICE has since replaced Acquisition Logistics with another contractor. Acquisition Logistics did not return messages seeking comment.

Detainee spent final days sick and isolated

PLANO, Texas (AP) — As it turned out, it would never be enough.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn tried for more than a year to show Donald Trump and Texas Republicans that he and the president were on the same team.

Cornyn posted a photo of himself reading Trump’s “The Art of the Deal.” He proposed legislation to rename a stretch of interstate in Trump’s honor. Perhaps most glaringly, the Senate institutionalist who long supported the filibuster reversed his position in a failed effort to advance voting restrictions that are a priority for the president.

None of it worked. On Tuesday, Cornyn became the latest in a line of Republicans who lost their primaries after falling out of favor with a president with little tolerance for dissent and a seemingly insatiable appetite for retribution. The four-term senator lost by double digits to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Trump endorsed last week as “a true MAGA Warrior.”

Cornyn, on the other hand, “was VERY disloyal to me,” Trump wrote on social media.

Trump’s intervention in the Texas runoff came after weeks of successfully backing primary challengers in Indiana, Louisiana and Kentucky as revenge against incumbents who broke with his agenda.

Cornyn’s attempt to avoid the same fate made even some of his supporters wince.

“You look at the positions he took to please the president and the groveling and whatever,” said former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a Republican and Trump critic who didn’t seek reelection during the president’s first midterm in 2018. “It was rather painful to watch.”

Cornyn started early with ad touting pro-Trump voting record

Cornyn’s loss wasn’t for a lack of political gymnastics and astronomical campaign spending.

His campaign began running an advertisement last summer — part of an astounding nearly-$100-million air war by the senator and allied groups — with Cornyn looking into the camera and saying, “I voted with President Trump 99% of the time.”

On Cornyn’s campaign homepage, Trump and Cornyn stand side-by-side with thumbs pointed upward in an image aimed at projecting solidarity. Deeper in the website, the category titled “The Trump-Cornyn Record” notes the senator’s role securing votes for Trump’s signature 2017 tax cut bill.

Cornyn has also been championing provisions in Trump’s signature tax-and-spending legislation to finance work on the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The senator had dismissed the project as “naive” during Trump’s 2016 campaign. But in January, he stood along a section of completed wall in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley touting the measure’s $11 billion for Texas contractors’ work at “the direction of the president of the United States, to whom I am very grateful.”

Cornyn’s 2023 dismissal of Trump’s return glares in background

Cornyn’s praise for his party’s leader and president were not unusual, but they clash with a statement Cornyn made in May 2023, when Trump was mounting his presidential comeback campaign.

“Trump’s time has passed him by,” he told reporters. “I don’t think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base.”

Trump would go on to easily win the nomination and carry every battleground state in the general election.

Cornyn would hew closely to the president for the first 16 months of his second administration, hoping at the outside chance of his endorsement or to keeping him from weighing in at all.

But Trump did not forget the past slights.

“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough,” he wrote on social media while endorsing Paxton.

Smaller gestures, and one big one

Cornyn has playfully worked to promote Trump fandom, last year posting a picture on social media of himself thoughtfully peering into the pages of Trump’s 1987 memoir and business advice book, “The Art of the Deal.”

In a more obvious gesture, he proposed designating a section of a U.S. highway from the Texas Gulf Coast to Montana as “Interstate 47,” to honor a 47th president with a well-documented love of naming things after himself. In a news release about the proposal, filed just over two weeks before Tuesday’s runoff, Cornyn said it would be known as the “Trump Interstate.”

The more tectonic shift occurred in March, after Trump had teased a possible endorsement of either Cornyn or Paxton in the runoff.

Paxton swiftly said he would consider dropping his candidacy if the Republican-controlled Senate lifted the filibuster and passed the SAVE America Act, a series of voting restrictions that Trump has described as an essential part of his agenda.

The following week, Cornyn wrote an op-ed in the New York Post — Trump’s favorite hometown newspaper — backing away from his previous support of the filibuster. He vowed to “support whatever changes to Senate rules that may prove necessary” to get the bill “through the Senate and on the president’s desk for his signature.”

Flake watched with unease.

“I know John and his long-held positions on the filibuster and the Senate’s institutions,” he said. “No office is worth that.”

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Bedayn reported from San Antonio. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

A lorry fire has closed the A9 south of Dunkeld ahead of the morning rush hour.

One of Scotland’s busiest roads has been closed this morning after a vehicle burst into flames. The lorry fire is expected to cause huge delays on the A9 in Perthshire.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 6.20am on Wednesday, May 27, after the fire broke out south of Dunkeld.

The road, which links Central Scotland with the Highlands, has been locked down in both directions.

Images taken from the scene show the vehicle engulfed in flames with a plume of black smoke rising into the sky.

The fire is completely blocking the road, with flames licking the grass verge as drivers, with nowhere to go, stand by and watch.

It is not known if anyone was injured as a result of the fire.

Smoke from the fire can be seen from a huge distance as images taken from further along the A9 shows.

The intensity of the fire can be seen in videos posted from the scene as the flames rip through the vehicle while other road users keep their distance.

Posting on social media, Traffic Scotland said: “A9 South Of Dunkeld closed in both directions due to a vehicle fire.

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“Emergency services are at the scene.

“Please use an alternative route at this time. Traffic is slowing on approach this morning.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “The A9 north and southbound carriageways south of Dunkeld are closed due to a lorry fire. Diversions are in place.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were alerted at 6.21am on Wednesday, May 27, to reports of a lorry fire on the A9 near Dunkeld.

“Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and crews are still in attendance.”

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Delays around certain weeks of the year could prove to be an annoyance due to the high volume of people also travelling, as well as the potential costs.

If you want the greatest chance of avoiding those sorts of issues, there are more effective weeks to fly out.

Research from the travel search engine KAYAK has looked into this to find the best way to avoid high costs and delays.

KAYAK’s Summer Check-in Report has shared a number of destinations that will be cheap to travel to this summer.

Recommended reading:

Discussing the best time to fly out for this period, Mumford explained: “International return tickets are around one-third of peak summer prices, averaging just £209 in the week commencing September 7 and £238 the week prior, compared with £690 in the week commencing July 13 and £694 in the week commencing July 20.

“This makes late August and early September the clear sweet spot for value-conscious travellers this summer.

“Those who can dodge peak weeks stand to save significantly, with more left to spend on the ground.”

When are you planning to fly out from the UK this year, and has this advice been brought into your travel plans? Let us know in the comments.

Holidaymakers face major disruption as Portuguese transport workers plan industrial action in June

Brits travelling at the start of the summer holidays are being warned to expect severe disruption as a major transport strike threatens to bring one of Europe’s most popular destinations to a standstill.

Airline cabin crew, rail staff and public transport workers across Portugal are preparing to walk out on Wednesday, June 3, in protest at proposed government reforms, prompting officials to urge holidaymakers to make contingency plans well in advance.

Up to 500 flights may be cancelled, while trains, ferries, metro services and buses are all likely to be affected, raising the prospect of widespread travel chaos at the height of the getaway period, reports the Mirror.

TAP Air Portugal is expected to be among the hardest hit, with its mainline and regional operations, Portugália and SATA, facing staff absences of up to 79 per cent, according to industry reports. Other airlines are also bracing for shortages that could disrupt services for thousands of passengers.

The personnel shortfall could prove problematic at the height of summer for Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, Ryanair, as well as rival easyJet. Both airlines operate services from Portuguese airports.

Airlines are generally obliged to assist or compensate passengers when flights are delayed or cancelled due to strike action and its circumstances.

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However, this depends on individual airline terms and conditions, with some not providing cover for strikes outside their control. This would include walkouts by airport or baggage handling staff.

Compensation also depends on the extent of a passenger’s travel insurance coverage. Such details should be easily accessible on the airline or insurer’s website. Those who book a flight during a period when industrial action has already been announced are unlikely to have any grounds for compensation.

Travellers are strongly advised to check whether any strikes are affecting their chosen airline, as well as both their departure and arrival airports.

Industrial action is primarily deployed as a bargaining tool in negotiations between trade unions and employers. There remains every chance that both parties will come to an agreement before any strike actually goes ahead.

The supermarket chain has recalled the Morrisons Savers Cashews as a result of the possible presence of glass.

The affected items come in packs of 125g and have best before dates of August 9, September 6, September 26, September 28 and October 9.

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said: “Morrisons is recalling the above product.

Tuesday 26 May 2026. Morrisons recalls Morrisons Savers Cashews because of the possible presence of glass #FoodAlert https://t.co/i4jvyQBfRw pic.twitter.com/wGZYTG5x2J

— Food Standards Agency (@foodgov) May 26, 2026

“Point of sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling it. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought it.

“If you have bought the above product do not consume it. Instead, return it to the nearest store for a full refund.”

A Morrisons spokesman added: “No other products are affected by this issue.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and assure customers of our continuing commitment to the highest standard of product quality and safety.”

What is a product recall?

If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be ‘withdrawn’ (taken off the shelves) or ‘recalled’ (when customers are asked to return the product).

The FSA issues Product Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food.

In some cases, a ‘Food Alert for Action’ is issued.

This provides local authorities with details of specific actions to be taken on behalf of consumers.

Morrisons introducing new ‘£13 rule’

Morrisons will increase staff pay above the national living wage as part of a three-stage rise agreed with union Usdaw.

The supermarket chain secured a 91.87 per cent vote in favour of the increase, which will lift shop assistant pay from the current £12.71 an hour to £13 in July and £13.11 by October.

The rises follow talks with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw), and come after the introduction of the new National Living Wage in April.

Jodie Keating, group people director at Morrisons, said: “We’re pleased that we can now implement the pay proposal and increase pay for our colleagues to reward them for the contribution they make to our business.

“I would like to thank all our colleagues for everything they continue to do for Morrisons.”

The first rise will see pay move to £12.81, followed by a rise to £13 on July 20.

A final increase to £13.11 will be implemented from October 26.

Other staff covered by the agreement will also see pay rises, with a 19p increase in July and a further 11p in October.

Morrisons has confirmed that all eligible hourly paid employees will also receive a one-off payment of between £25 and £175, depending on contracted hours.

The National Living Wage, which increased to £12.71 per hour for workers aged 21 and over on April 1, represented a 50p (4.1 per cent) rise from the previous rate.

This move aligns Morrisons with other major retailers including Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, and Primark, who have all raised their hourly rates in what has become known as the “£13 rule”.

Network Rail is carrying out a major upgrade, which will undoubtedly cause headaches for passengers who live between two key UK cities

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Significant works on a four-mile tunnel will temporarily shut down a stretch of railway line between two cities. Rail passengers are being advised to plan their journeys in advance as Network Rail undertakes a major upgrade at the Severn Tunnel from 23 May until 9 June.

The rail network operator confirmed that its work alongside contractor ARQ would overhaul the tunnel’s overhead power system to better withstand the tunnel’s “harsh, corrosive” environment. Nia Watkins, Regional Asset Manager at Network Rail Wales and Borders route, said: “Running beneath the Severn Estuary, the 4.35-mile Severn Tunnel is one of the most challenging environments on the UK rail network.”

She stressed that carrying out the works was vital to sustaining safe, dependable services and securing the tunnel’s long-term future.

Ms Watkins added: “This complex and highly coordinated upgrade is being delivered at a world-first scale across the tunnel’s full length – making the railway more resilient and reducing the risk of future disruption for passengers and freight.”

Network Rail describes the tunnel as one of the most demanding environments on Britain’s railways, with moisture and saltwater accelerating the deterioration of equipment, reports the Express.

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Network Rail noted that since electrification, the overhead power system has been susceptible to electrical wear and corrosion.

Its Wales and Borders team is deploying a single 7km copper contact wire supported by modified bridge arms to “eliminate” corrosion. According to Network Rail, the new system will run the entire length of the tunnel in a “world-first” at this scale.

This encompasses 838 bridge arms to support the electrical cables, a total of 9,000 metres of replaced wiring and additional infrastructure improvements.

Alongside the tunnel works, Network Rail confirmed it is also replacing track serving the new Bristol Brabazon station.

Network Rail stated the station will mark the return of passenger services on the Henbury and Portishead lines for the first time since 1964.

The works mean the railway between Newport and Bristol Parkway will temporarily close.

Services will not operate between Newport and Bristol Parkway from Saturday, May 23 until the end of Monday, June 8. The line is expected to reopen on the morning of Tuesday, June 9.

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Replacement bus services will run between Newport and Bristol Parkway while some trains will travel between London and South Wales via Gloucester, except on Sunday, May 24. There will be a reduced service between London Paddington and Bristol Parkway.

Trains will not be diverted via Gloucester on May 24, with services running solely between Paddington and Bristol Parkway as well as Newport and Swansea.

Marcus Deegan, GWR’s Station Manager at Bristol Parkway, said: “We know bus replacement services are a significant ask of passengers and we’re genuinely grateful for their patience while this vital work is completed.

“This investment to improve and maintain the Severn Tunnel will make a real difference to the reliability and resilience of the route for many years ahead.

“The wider work taking place will also allow us to introduce train services to Bristol Brabazon later this year, and in time to Portishead and Pill – reconnecting people to rail and providing a vital economic catalyst across the area.”

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet said: “As part of the joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet to eliminate the terrorist Muhammad Odeh, several buildings in the heart of Gaza City that served as a hideout for him were attacked, after months of intelligence surveillance in order to track his movements and the movements of his assistants in the organisation.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a slow start to score 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 to move within one win of a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.

Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first four shots of game five of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City, but recovered with five consecutive points to help the Thunder overturn an early eight-point deficit.

The hosts took an 11-point lead into half-time before scoring the first nine points of the third quarter to pull away and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Two-time MVP Gilgeous-Alexander made only seven of his 19 shots from the field but succeeded with 16 out of 17 from the free-throw line.

“If it was four or five of me out there, we would’ve been down 20 after the first quarter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “[I] probably should never start like that again.”

Jared McCain came into the team for Cason Wallace, and after a tricky start scored 18 points after the break to finish with 20.

Alex Caruso bounced back from a scoreless night in game four with 22 points.