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Family First CEO departs after posting ‘Lake America’ sweatshirt photo

Family First CEO Jane Smith has left the credit union after posting a photo of her family in “Lake America” sweatshirts, prompting an apology and an interim CEO appointment. The departure follows a controversial post that mocked a recent U.S. proposal to rename Lake Ontario.

The chief executive of the Michigan‑based credit union Family First has left the organization, just days after she shared a photo that appeared to show her family wearing “Lake America” sweatshirts. A statement posted on the credit union’s website on Wednesday announced that Jane Smith was no longer employed by Family First “effective immediately,” with Chief Operations Officer Jason Acosta stepping in as interim CEO. The announcement was signed by Maurice Patterson, chairman of the Family First Credit Union board, and by Acosta.

Family First did not explicitly say that the public reaction to the post was the reason for Smith’s departure, though the credit union issued a Thursday apology, stating, “We sincerely apologize for the concern, disappointment and pain this situation has caused our members and community.” The credit union is headquartered in Michigan, a state that shares a border with Canada.

On September 11, Smith posted the picture on Facebook with the caption: “Like our sweatshirts? Not sure Canada will. Lol lol.” The post has since been removed from Facebook, according to CBC News.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared last month that Lake Ontario, which lies on the U.S.–Canadian border, would be renamed “Lake America.” The decision sparked widespread criticism from Canadians, Prime Minister Mark Carney and even the animated series “South Park,” which temporarily changed its name to “South America” as a satirical response to the president’s order.

In a September 17 interview with ABC12 News in Michigan, Smith said the image originally contained an artificial‑intelligence marker but was later reposted by her sister without that marker. “We weren’t trying to make a political statement,” Smith reportedly explained, “but we were kind of poking fun at the fact that one of the Great Lakes’ names was being changed.”

Family First had earlier released a statement to ABC12 News saying it “unequivocally disapproves and rejects the content of the social media post involving our CEO, Jane Smith.” Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Timothy Kennedy of New York has introduced legislation aimed at blocking Trump’s effort to rename Lake Ontario and preventing any future renaming of the five Great Lakes.

Technologies

Chinese authorities reportedly in possession of F-35 components in Hong Kong

Shipping giant UPS was sending a cockpit canopy and weapons bay door to the U.S. from Australia in late May when it was diverted to Hong Kong.

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Technologies

Oil prices fall after Iran asks U.S. to return to failed memorandum of understanding from June

Iran has asked the U.S. to meet the same conditions laid out in the June 17 memorandum of understanding, Iran’s foreign minister said.

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Technologies

Iran offers to reopen Strait of Hormuz within 7 days and restart nuclear talks

The remarks came as the Houthis launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks at Saudi targets Friday morning.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has proposed reopening the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks with the U.S. within seven days if the Trump administration accepts its conditions.

The latest offer comes shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant response to President Donald Trump’s “annihilation” threat at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week, and nearly seven months after the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Tehran.

“If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted,” Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the UNGA, according to state media.

“The conditions we have asked the U.S. to meet are nothing new, nothing more than what was already in the Islamabad MOU, which was signed by the U.S. President,” he added.

The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding refers to a June ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran that ultimately collapsed in early July. The Trump administration has previously said it will not return to the terms of the June agreement.

Oil prices were slightly lower on Friday. International benchmark Brent crude futures with November expiry traded 1% lower at $105.56 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with November expiry were last seen down 1.8% at $92.94.

The subject of the war has been a feature of this week’s U.S.-China summit in Washington. Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a three-day state visit to the U.S., meeting with Trump on issues spanning trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and Iran.

Trump has sought Beijing’s help pressuring Tehran toward a settlement, after indirect U.S.-Iran talks resumed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week.

David Perdue, U.S. Ambassador to China, said on Friday that Trump has made U.S. interests regarding Iran “very clear” to China in recent weeks, including during his latest meeting with Xi.

“Believe me, believe me, much of my personal time and much of President Trump’s time over the last month has been that very topic,” Perdue told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” when asked about China’s relationship with Iran.

“We made it very clear to them weeks ago that, you know, any help that they would give Iran, whether it would be direct or indirect, whether it would be intelligence or parts or military equipment, was totally unacceptable,” he continued.

“Trump made that very clear again yesterday. This is an ongoing drumbeat that we have made very clear to them,” Perdue said.

Emergency alerts in Saudi Arabia

Iran’s Pezeshkian said Thursday that it is up to the U.S. to decide whether to end their seven-month war, amid continued missile strikes in the Middle East and a fresh push by China to help broker a peace resolution.

“It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not,” Pezeshkian said, responding to a question about whether the war could end by year-end, in an interview aired on Fox News.

The remarks came as the Houthis fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Friday morning, according to Saudi authorities, who said they intercepted six ballistic missiles.

Emergency alerts were issued in Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan planned an urgent meeting of their chiefs of staff to discuss ways to support the kingdom under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.

Pezeshkian has sought to distance Tehran from the escalation, telling Fox News “the Houthis are responsible for their own actions” and that Iran is “not at war with Saudi Arabia.” The Houthis, he said, “have their own issues.”

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti struck a starkly different tone, telling troops to be ready “to lay down their lives” to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power.

Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz, normally the route for about a fifth of global oil supply, fell to 9, far below peacetime levels, according to Reuters, citing preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Friday.

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