At least one dead after explosion at Palm Springs fertility clinic

Firefighters in Palm Springs have responded to an explosion that took place outside of the American Reproductive Center in the city.

Speaking to the Palm Springs Post, Lt. William Hutchinson with the Palm Springs Police Department confirmed that a car was responsible for the explosion. The department confirmed that one person has been killed.

A witness told the Post that he saw human remains in the street.

“In front of the building [the car] was blown clear across four lanes into the parking lot of [Desert Regional Medical Center]. I could see the back of the car still on fire and the rims, that was the only thing that distinguishes it as a car.”

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has confirmed that the FBI is investigating the incident to determine whether it was intentional. According to spokesperson Nicole Lozano, investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are on their way to the scene to help assess what happened.

American Reproductive Centers, a fertility clinic and IVF lab, is located at 1199 N Indian Canyon Drive, across the street from the Desert Regional Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson has confirmed that the explosion did not take place in the medical center.

It is the only clinic of its kind in the Coachella Valley.

Authorities have warned the public to avoid the area.

Palm Springs resident Tamara Cash told The Desert Sun the explosion “was so loud it shook me. All I could hear was alarms going off in different buildings.”

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic where the explosion occurred, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that all of his staff were safe and accounted for.

The explosion damaged the practice’s office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but left the IVF lab and all of the stored embryos there unharmed.

“I really have no clue what happened,” Abdallah said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

“The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke,” Tabrizi said. “Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off. … We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hundreds of MPs and peers call for Starmer to ban Iranian army

Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls from hundreds of MPs and peers to ban Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid a deteriorating human rights picture in the UK and after three Iranian men were charged with spying in London.

Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock is among those urging the prime minister to outlaw the IRGC, warning “the human rights crisis in Iran continues to worsen”.

It came as three Iranian men living in London were charged under the National Security Act, accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.

More than 550 MPs and peers, also including former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and ex-home secretary Suella Braverman, signed a letter criticising Iran’s “hijab and chastity law”.

They said it “mandatory hijab, suppressing women who lead the protest and resistance movement to prevent future uprisings”.

“Appeasing this faltering regime betrays democratic values, emboldens its repressive policies, and undermines global security as Tehran continues its nuclear ambitions and terrorism,” the letter said.

It added: “Given the regime’s complete blockade of all avenues for political activity, the international community must recognise the Iranian people’s right to regime change.

“The IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organisation,” the letter said.

The UK has previously resisted calls to ban the IRGC over fears it could sever the country’s diplomatic link with Tehran.

But Tory MP Bob Blackman, chairman of the influential backbench 1922 Committee, said “it’s time to change course on our Iran policy”.

Mr Blackman, who coordinated the letter, said: “Our ally, the US, rightly designated the IRGC as a terrorist entity several years ago. While the regime has never been weaker, we must set aside all wrong-headed political and diplomatic calculations and proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist entity — an action long overdue.”

Following the recent arrests and charging of the Iranian men, Mr Blackman said: ““Iranian terrorism has reached our soil. A serious terror plot, involving several Iranians, was recently thwarted in the UK.”

The letter came as Mostafa Sepahvand, Farhad Javadi Manesh and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori were charged with engaging in conduct likely to assist the Iranian foreign intelligence service between last August and February.

Sepahvand was also charged with engaging in surveillance, reconnaissance and open-source research, intending to commit serious violence against a person in the UK.

Manesh and Noori have also been charged with engaging in surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention that serious violence against a person in the UK would be committed by others.

Former Tory MP and minister David Jones said there is a “growing consensus among UK politicians that the time for a new policy on Iran has arrived”.

The MPs backed Iranian opposition group the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s 10-point plan to “end the religious dictatorship and transfer sovereignty to the people’s representatives”.

The group calls for an end to compulsory hijab and religion, an end to dictatorship and executions and a democratic Iranian state. The Foreign Office was asked to comment.

Following the charges brought against the three Iranian men, Yvette Cooper promised to strengthen national security powers.

The home secretary said: “I want to thank the police and security services for their continuing work on this very serious investigation, and for their immense dedication to protecting our national security and the safety of our communities.

“The charges that have been laid against these three individuals must now take their course through the criminal justice system and nothing must be done to prejudice the outcome of those proceedings.

“But we will also take separate action to address the very serious wider issues raised by this case.

“The police have confirmed that the foreign state to which these charges relate is Iran, and Iran must be held to account for its actions.

“We must also strengthen our powers to protect our national security as we will not tolerate growing state threats on our soil.”

Calls for wealth tax as Rich List shows just 350 families have £772bn

Millionaires have called on the government to properly tax the richest people in Britain, after it was revealed that just 350 families hold over £772bn of the nation’s wealth.

Members of the Patriotic Millionaires have urged for a “long overdue” wealth tax to invest in “our much-loved country”, adding that the wealth of the top 350 people could cover the total cost of the UK’s annual healthcare spend three times over.

The call comes after the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List revealed the annual catalogue of Britain’s wealthiest people, with famous figures including Sir Elton John, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and the King all making the list.

Responding to the publication, Julia Davies, an angel investor who sold her stake in backpack and travel bag company Osprey Europe, said: “Once again this year’s rich list shows the phenomenal wealth that is stuck at the top with a whopping £772bn in the hands of a mere 350 people.

“Those wringing their hands about fewer billionaires and the threat of multi-millionaires leaving would be better off focusing on real British problems, like our crumbling NHS, than nursing the niche concerns of the super-rich.

“£772bn, held by just 350 families, would cover the total cost of the UK’s annual healthcare spend three times over. Properly taxing this wealth, to invest in our much-loved country, is long overdue.”

The 37th annual list reveals who are the 350 richest individuals and families in the UK, based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.

At the top was the Hinduja family, who sat in first place for the fourth consecutive year despite a decline in their fortune.

Gopi Hinduja and his family, who are behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, were recorded as having £35.3bn.

The Hindujas were followed in the list by real estate moguls David and Simon Reuben, who moved up to second after increasing their wealth to £26.9bn.

They were followed by investor Sir Leonard Blavatnik, entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and shipping tycoon Idan Ofer.

Ms Davies, a member of Patriotic Millionaires, added: “Our media and political leaders need to stop focusing on the interests and habits of a small number of people who are hoarding extreme wealth at the expense of us all and instead prioritise the interests of Britain’s true wealth creators, our ordinary hardworking families, small businesses, entrepreneurs, teachers, health and other public-sector workers.

“These people are the backbone of the British economy, many of whom haven’t seen a pay rise in 15 years. Our government should treat the Rich List as the smelling salt it needs, wake up, and tax the super-rich.”

Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe came seventh in the list with a £17bn fortune.

However, the Ineos founder was the biggest faller on the list as he saw his wealth decline by around £6bn for the second consecutive year.

Other notable figures on the list included the King, who saw his personal wealth jump by £30m to £640m in the last year, making him as rich as former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty.

Charles, who acceded to the throne in 2022, ranks joint 238th in the list, up 20 places from 258th in 2024.

The monarch is £140m richer than David and Victoria Beckham, who are said to be worth £500m, with the former England captain being Britain’s richest sports star.

Meanwhile, the personal wealth of Mr Sunak and Ms Murty dropped £11m from £651m to £640m.

Since leaving Downing Street, the former prime minister has taken a part-time role at Stanford University and signed up to the Washington Speakers Bureau, while Ms Murty has a stake in Infosys, the Indian IT giant co-founded by her billionaire father.

The latest publication revealed a third consecutive slump in the number of billionaires residing in the UK, down to 156 this year from 165 in 2024.

“Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling,” said Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List.

“We are also finding fewer of the world’s super-rich are coming to live in the UK.”

He said he was also “struck by the strength of criticism for Rachel Reeves’s Treasury” when speaking to wealthy individuals for the publication.

Mr Watts said: “We expected the abolition of non-dom status would anger affluent people from overseas.

“But homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October’s Budget.”