By Camila DeChalus, Aileen Graef, Morgan Rimmer, CNN

(CNN) — New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler told reporters Wednesday that a Senate colleague’s son verbally accosted him the night before, making antisemitic and homophobic remarks.

Lawler gave his account to reporters of how events unfolded, saying that William Paul, the son of Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, approached him at a Capitol Hill bar and restaurant, introduced himself and told the congressman that if GOP Rep. Thomas Massie loses his upcoming primary race, it’s going to be because “of my people.”

Lawler said he responded by asking if Paul thought he was Jewish, to which Paul, who is 33, said “yes.” Lawler corrected him and said he is Irish-Italian Catholic.

“He goes, ‘Oh, oh, I’m sorry to accuse you of that,’ which is just a remarkable statement in and of itself,” Lawler recounted to reporters.

NOTUS first reported the exchange between William Paul and Lawler.

Lawler said William Paul then launched into a 10-minute diatribe in which he talked about Israel and Jews, which he said featured comments that played into antisemitic tropes.

“And at one point, you know, said that he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn’t care if they die. And I think that’s f**king disgusting,” the congressman said.

Lawler told reporters that he believes William Paul was intoxicated but said it’s no excuse for his behavior.

“That’s not an excuse for that type of hatred and vitriol. It’s my fourth year in Washington, that was arguably the most shocking thing I’ve witnessed,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Since the incident, an X account with the name William H. Paul posted, “Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem.”

CNN has attempted to reach out to William Paul for further comment.

Lawler said he has not spoken to Rand Paul or Massie since the incident. He also stated that they have not reached out to him.

“I’ll leave it to Senator Paul, how he wants to respond to it. I just think it’s extremely unfortunate,” Lawler said.

Rand Paul refused to answer reporters’ questions about the incident Wednesday, saying “I don’t have anything for you” when asked for his reaction.

Lawler has previously introduced measures to combat antisemitism on college campuses.

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CNN’s Trinity Kinslow contributed to this report.

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By Lauren Fox, CNN

(CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appointed a bipartisan task force that will work to reform the way sexual harassment claims are handled in Congress.

The effort will be lead by Republican Rep. Kat Cammack and Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez. Each of the women is their party’s respective women’s caucus chair.

The announcement comes amid increased scrutiny over how Congress handles allegations of sexual misconduct and growing frustration even among the institution’s own members about the arduous and complicated reporting process for victims. It also comes after two House members — Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Republican — resigned after both men faced threats of expulsion from Congress.

Congress has long struggled to police itself even after there was a major overhaul to the way it dealt with sexual harassment and other workplace issues in the wake of the #MeToo movement in 2018.

Since that time, the House Ethics Committee, the only entity with the power to make recommendations to punish members of the House, has also come under the microscope as members have criticized the panel for taking sometimes years to offer recommendations.

“Together, we will push for bipartisan changes to make the reporting process faster and more accessible and increase education and training resources, prioritizing staff and survivors at every step. This effort builds on the work of members of the DWC, who have pushed for better support and protections for survivors for years. We bring that expertise and dedication to this partnership,” Leger Fernández said in a statement.

“This effort has the support of Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries because this issue transcends politics. It’s about dignity, accountability, and ensuring that every person who comes to work in the People’s House is treated with respect and protected from abuse,” Cammack said in a statement. “The reality is that coming forward is extraordinarily difficult. Fear of retaliation, damage to careers, public scrutiny, and institutional pressure often silence victims long before justice has a chance to speak. We cannot claim to support women while ignoring the very real barriers that prevent them from reporting misconduct in the first place.”

The effort comes as both Johnson and Jeffries have had to navigate the political implications of losing members of their caucuses to resignations following allegations of sexual misconduct.

“To state the obvious, all women should feel comfortable and safe working in the halls of Congress. As a father who has two daughters working on Capitol Hill — this is as personal to me as it is to anyone,” Johnson said in a statement. “I am happy that Reps. Cammack and Leger Fernández, the respective chairs of the Republican and Democratic Women’s Caucuses, will lead this bipartisan partnership to find ways we can continue to make Capitol Hill safer for women and all staff.”

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By Annie Grayer, CNN

(CNN) — Taxpayers paid over half a million dollars in confidential congressional sexual harassment settlements dating back decades – a total higher than previously made public, newly released documents reviewed by CNN show.

Documents initially shared with Congress revealed that taxpayers had paid more than $300,000 on behalf of six former members of the US House of Representatives or their offices.

But the total amount was far higher.

In its initial production to Congress, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights had missed a $220,0000 payment on behalf of former Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in 2021. The payment marks the single biggest congressional sexual harassment settlement known to date and nearly doubles the tax-payer funded total for such cases disclosed last week. Hastings previously called the allegations “ludicrous.”

The office explained in a letter to House Oversight Chair James Comer that the payment did not meet the office’s initial search criteria, which was just targeting settlements made on behalf of the office of a lawmaker, according to the letter reviewed by CNN. In Hastings’ case, the settlement involved the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which Hastings chaired at the time.

An employee who had worked for the commission, whose name is redacted in the files reviewed by CNN, initially filed a complaint in 2010, but did not receive the payment until 2014.

Throughout the case, the employee alleged multiple instances of sexual harassment by Hastings and claimed that she was faced retaliation for bringing her claims forward.

In a 2013 letter, the employee described feeling the system was designed to benefit the employer throughout the process.

“The mediator’s attempt to define for me ‘what is in my best interest’ before I have had the opportunity to meet with the court-appointed attorney completely oversteps the boundaries of her responsibilities and demonstrates a clear disregard of my rights to counsel,” the employee wrote. “Her conduct further underlines my belief throughout this case that the Office of Compliance is primarily designed to serve as a tool for members of congress who violate the Congressional Accountability Act and undermine the rights of the victims.”

The confidential settlement reviewed by CNN imposed restrictions and penalties, barring the employee from ever speaking out about the case, but did not put those same limitations on the employer.

Roll Call reported on the existence of the $220,000 settlement in 2017. The report stated that Hastings said that he never sexually harassed the employee and called the allegations “ludicrous.” In a statement at the time, Hastings said that he did not know until after the fact that a settlement had been made.

At the time, Roll Call named the accuser as Winsome Packer. CNN spoke with Packer, who confirmed that she is the employee whose name is redacted in the documents. Packer told CNN that her life has been severely impacted since coming forward and that she has not been able to find work or career opportunities since. She also said that after taxes, her settlement was much lower than $220,000.

“People don’t talk about what happens after you file a claim. I ha

Por Federico Leiva, CNN en Español

Brasil está hambriento de Mundial. La selección más ganadora de la historia del certamen no levanta el trofeo de oro desde hace 24 años, desde que la legendaria generación de Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho y Roberto Carlos, entre tantos otros, lo hiciera en Corea y Japón 2002. Son 24 años llenos de frustraciones, donde la Canarinha incluso solo pudo llegar a una semifinal, en la edición que ella misma organizó en 2014 (y que terminó en humillación).

Por eso, los aficionados de la verdeamarela sueñan con que en Norteamérica se termine la sequía de un país que en la década de 1990 se acostumbró a ser protagonista. Y puede que el proceso de clasificación a la Copa del Mundo de 2026 haya sido tortuoso (y hasta cierto punto casi lamentable, teniendo en cuenta que terminó en el quinto puesto), pero la llegada de un entrenador ganador como Carlo Ancelotti y el brillo que le pueden aportar jugadores como Vinícius Júnior y Raphinha, levantan la ilusión.

Entre tantos nombres, hay uno que parece no terminar de encajar: Neymar Jr. El talentoso delantero, que supo brillar en uno de los FC Barcelona más demoledores de la historia junto a Lionel Messi y Luis Suárez, y que se convirtió en la bandera de la selección brasileña desde la salida de la generación dorada antes mencionada, apenas logró meterse en la lista de 55 futbolistas convocados que presentó Ancelotti esta semana.

Eso de ninguna manera asegura su presencia en el torneo que comenzará el 11 de junio en el Estadio Azteca. Solo 26 nombres de esa prelista se subirán al avión, y el delantero, que hoy juega en el Santos de Brasil, hasta ahora nunca fue convocado por el entrenador italiano.

“Debo considerar muchas cosas”, respondió Ancelotti en una entrevista con la agencia Reuters. “Neymar es un jugador importante para este país, por el talento que demostró siempre, y que tuvo un problema del que se está recuperando. Está trabajando fuerte para recuperarse, está jugando y en el último tiempo mejoró mucho, tiene continuidad”, valoró el italiano, reconocido por su capacidad para manejar grandes egos en los vestuarios. “Obviamente, para mí no es una decisión tan simple. Tengo que evaluar muy bien los pros y los contras”.

Hablando de eso… las razones por las que Ancelotti no ha llamado a Neymar en el año que lleva al frente de la selección pentacampeona del mundo son evidentes. El delantero está lejos del altísimo nivel que supo mostrar, no solo en el Barcelona, sino también en su primera etapa en Santos y también en el PSG. A sus 34 años, transita probablemente la etapa final de su carrera, pero la realidad es que ya lleva varias temporadas dando pasos atrás.

Quizás pueda ponerse como punto de inflexión su salida del campeón francés para irse a jugar al Al-Hilal de Arabia Saudita. Bueno, jugar es un decir, porque apenas pudo hacerlo: solo disputó 428 minutos repartidos en siete encuentros. La mayor culpa la tuvo una rotura de ligamento cruzado en su rodilla que lo mantuvo alejado de las canchas durante 340 días, muchos más de lo que habitualmente suele pasar un futbolista que sufre ese tipo de lesión (suelen ser entre siete y ocho meses).

Desgraciadamente para él (y para todos los que disfrutamos verlo regatear jugadores como si fueran conos), ese fue el comienzo de las visitas frecuentes a la enfermería. Del Al-Hilal armó las valijas y se volvió a su querido Santos, donde no pudo jugar de inmediato por la larga inactividad que acarreaba. Las lesiones lo persiguieron: cinco en dos temporadas. La más reciente, una operación en la rodilla, lo dejó dos meses afuera, pero “Ney” asumió el desafío de volver en plenitud para ir al Mundial.

Sin embargo, las estadísticas dicen que no ha podido jugar cinco partidos seguidos en lo que va de 2026. Es cierto que su Santos está teniendo mucha actividad en estos meses, disputando el Brasileirao, la Copa de Brasil y la Copa Sudamericana,

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