The FBI on Sunday arrested a 34-year-old California woman who has been charged with acting as an unregistered agent for China and allegedly surveilled the Taiwanese president’s son and his family, federal officials said.

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, of Irvine, allegedly surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official after traveling to Seattle in 2025, according to a federal complaint.

The complaint signed on Saturday alleged Zhang was directed by Chinese officials to gather information about and take photos of the relative, who was not named in the complaint. The FBI said in a social media post that Zhang had been surveilling the son of Taiwan president Lai Ching-te and his family.

China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it and has long vowed to “unify” the island with the Chinese mainland, by force if necessary.

Lai has long faced Beijing’s wrath for championing the sovereignty of Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy of around 24 million people. China’s government and state media regularly rebuke him, calling him a dangerous separatist, “troublemaker” and “war maker,” while rejecting his repeated offers for talks.

Zhang and a person referred to as “Individual 1” flew from Las Vegas to Seattle on September 1, 2025, and went to the relative’s home, FBI Special Agent Kevin Holt said in the complaint.

Security camera footage from a neighbor showed Zhang and Individual 1 waited outside the unnamed relative’s home in a rented black SUV, the complaint says.

When the relative and their family arrived home, Zhang and Individual 1 “quickly sat up within a black SUV, took out what appears to be their phones, and held their phones out in a manner indicating that they were taking pictures and/or videos of the family.”

“…the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful to the PRC” if the Chinese government “wished to obtain leverage over the President of Taiwan during any potential conflict,” the complaint says, referring to the People’s Republic of China, the country’s official name.

It’s unclear whether Zhang has an attorney. CNN has reached out to the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Chinese embassy for more details. China is currently observing a weeklong National Day holiday, during which government offices are closed.

Zhang “coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense,” First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said in a social media post.

She will appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday for her initial appearance, Essayli said.

Karen Kuo, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s Presidential Office, condemned the alleged actions of Zhang, calling it case of “classic transnational repression.”

Under the longstanding “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China but has never officially recognized the Communist Party’s claim to the self-governing island. (CNN)

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Governor of California Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday setting 18 as California’s minimum age for marriage and domestic partnerships.

Assembly Bill 1267, authored by Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, repeals provisions allowing minors to marry or enter domestic partnerships with parental consent.

“This is a long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors. Today, California kids are safer than ever before,” Newsom said.

The bill was sponsored by Unchained at Last and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls. Seventeen states have completely banned child marriage without exception, according to the governor’s office.

California was one of three states without a statutory minimum marriage age, according to Tustin-based nonprofit Global Hope 365. Under the previous law, minors could marry with parental consent and court approval.

The organization said about 35,000 marriages involving minors occurred in California between 2000 and 2021, with most involving an underage girl marrying an adult man.

Newsom signed the bill alongside media personality and advocate Courtney Stodden, who said her parents allowed her to marry actor Doug Hutchison when she was 16 and he was 51.

“Governor Newsom’s action today made clear to me and to survivors of child marriage everywhere that we should never have been expected to carry this burden,” Stodden said. “I’m deeply grateful to Unchained At Last and every survivor who fought to make this possible. California is a victory, but I’m not stopping here. I will keep fighting until children are protected from marriage in all 50 states.”

In an interview with NBC Los Angeles on Wednesday, Stodden said she was “over the moon” and felt like she was “walking through a bit of a dream,” while opening up about what she’s most grateful for.

“Even to this day, I do struggle with a feeling of guilt,” Stodden said. “I think a lot of survivors who have suffered through victimization, sexual assault, you know, there’s this kind of like, that push and pull thing, where it’s like the child and then the adult, the woman.

“And it’s like, for some reason, we blame ourselves. And today really taught me something. It taught me that what happened to me and to these other girls was wrong. And I was never the problem.”

While Mississippi and New Mexico don’t have a statutory minimum age, some other states have set their minimum ages below 18 under certain conditions.

“I am really wanting to focus on Nevada because that is where I was allowed to get married,” Stodden said. “After I got married in Nevada, they upped it to 17, but that’s not good enough for me.”

Global Hope 365 led a campaign to end child marriage through its California Coalition to End Child Marriage.

“It is an honor for Global Hope 365 to be a key part of the leadership team in this fight,” Rima Nashashibi, founder and president of Global Hope 365 and founder of the California Coalition to End Child Marriage, said. “We thank you all, the allies in this fight to end child marriage under 18, no exceptions, in California over the years.”

The organization said resolutions supporting a statewide minimum marriage age of 18 were approved by 18 California cities, including 16 in Orange County, along with Culver City and Maywood in Los Angeles County.

“The heart of this effort has always been the survivors,” Pellerin said. “They told us what it means to be a child in a marriage you did not freely choose. They told us about coercion and abuse hidden behind the appearance of consent. They told us how difficult it can be for a minor to ask for help, find an attorney, leave home, or escape the very adults who are supposed to protect them. Because of them, California children are safer.” (NBC News)

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US President Donald Trump has told petrol retailers to bring their prices down immediately and warned of “big problems” ahead if they do not.

“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday.

“There will be no gauging [sic], which is totally illegal,” Trump posted.

“If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead! Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number,” he wrote.

“The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!”

Trump took particular aim at California, urging the state to also lower its taxes on petrol.

“Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous Taxes, and by their own Government,” Trump wrote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has been one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the president’s second term, including of his push to promote fossil fuels.

California is also doubling down on renewable energy and is hoping to have a carbon-neutral electrical grid within 20 years.

But with petrol prices surging since the US-Israel war on Iran, the Trump administration is pushing for more domestic fuel production and has invoked emergency powers to restart an oil pipeline in California that had been shut down because of a massive spill in 2015.

Separately, Trump said last week that he had ordered an investigation into major oil companies over high petrol prices.

“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on June 24. 

“Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged’. I have instructed the DOJ [Department of Justice] to immediately start looking into this,” he posted.

Trump’s demand for lower petrol prices in the US comes as he faces criticism for launching the war on Iran and for its impact on costs for millions of Americans, and as November’s mid-term elections draw closer.

The president has repeatedly said that fuel prices would “come down like a rock” after the conflict with Iran ends, but economists have disputed Trump’s assertions and predict longer-term economic repercussions due to the conflict. (Al Jazeera)

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