Data canary shows economy already suffering from Middle East war

Pakistan's prime minister said he had a "detailed" call with Iran's president on Saturday, as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey gathered in Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East.

The diplomats were due to attend talks Sunday and Monday "on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

Shehbaz Sharif's government has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their war drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.

Sharif said he had a "detailed telephone conversation with my brother President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran earlier today, lasting over one hour", as part of preparation for the talks Sunday and Monday.

The talks will be led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who announced late Saturday that Iran had allowed "20 more ships" under the Pakistani flag -- or two ships daily -- to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward," Dar said on X, tagging US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Sharif said he had apprised Iran's president "of Pakistan's ongoing diplomatic outreach -- engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries -- to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation."

Pezeshkian hailed Islamabad's efforts and "thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression against the Islamic republic," according to his office.

The pair have spoken previously in recent weeks about the conflict and Pakistan's commitment to bringing it to an end.

Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump. 

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon", without revealing his source. 

While Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump's 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

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World number two Jannik Sinner is in formidable form heading into Sunday's Miami Open ATP final against Jiri Lehecka, where the Italian will try to add the title to his Indian Wells triumph this month.

Sinner is vying to become just the eighth man, and the first since Roger Federer in 2017, to complete the so-called "Sunshine Double" of Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has reached the title match without dropping a set and is, in fact, on a record streak of 32 consecutive sets won at the Masters 1000 level.

That run includes titles in Paris and Indian Wells, and he could join Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only men to win three consecutive Masters titles.

"It's good to put myself in this position," Sinner said after dispatching fourth-ranked German Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in Friday's semi-finals.

"Obviously, I try to perform in the best possible way in every event (but) in bigger events I like to play more. So, I'm very happy that I can play one more final here in Miami."

Sinner is in the Miami final for a fourth time. He lifted the trophy in 2024, but he missed last year's edition as he served a three-month doping ban.

"Standing here again, in the final, means very, very much to me," he said.

With his performances in the elite March hardcourt tournaments, Sinner has stepped up the pressure on Carlos Alcaraz in the battle for world number one.

But he expects a stiff challenge from Lehecka despite leading their head-to-head 3-0.

"He played incredible tennis throughout the whole week here," Sinner said. "So, he doesn't have anything to lose.

"It's definitely a court that suits him very well. And then how he plays tennis is a very flat-hitting forehand and backhand, serving very well.

"He is a very, very aggressive player. And this is perfect for this kind of conditions here."

Lehecka is chasing a third ATP title, but is in his first final at the Masters 1000 level.

Like Sinner, he hasn't dropped a set en route to the final.

“It feels great," Lehecka said after overpowering rising French talent Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals.

"It's definitely something I've been working towards the whole year and the whole pre-season."

Lehecka, ranked 22nd in the world, said he and his team had made consistency a focus as they prepared for the season, and that consistency -- in training as well as in matches -- is yielding dividends now.

"We put big amounts of time, big amount of hours that we spend on the court and also in the gym," he said. "We were not doing anything specific towards this week, but I think it's the work that we did in the last two, three months that's just paying off right now."

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that his country had "undoubtedly changed the geopolitical situation" in the Middle East with a series of decade-long defence agreements with Gulf states being hit with Iranian drones and missiles.

Has he? And how important are the agreements for Ukraine, more than four years into the Russian invasion and facing its own maelstrom of military, economic and diplomatic challenges?

The Ukrainian leader has been on a whirlwind tour of the Gulf in recent days -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar -- touting what he calls Kyiv's world-leading air defences.

Ukraine has developed a suit of tools to fend off nightly Russian drone attacks, chief among then cheap and highly effective drone-on-drone interceptors.

Moscow's attack drones are based on the Iranian Shaheds now being fired by Tehran across the region -- strikes it says are retaliation for US-Israeli air attacks on Iran.

Zelensky has sought to craft an opportunity from the war, which otherwise benefits Russia through higher oil prices and possible slowdowns in Western arms supplies to Kyiv.

Almost immediately, he started offering US allies in the region deals to get their hands on Ukrainian drone interceptors and has dispatched over 200 military experts.

"Surely no one else can help in this way today, with expertise," he told reporters, including AFP, on Saturday.

"No one else possesses such experience."

Ukraine has for months been downing more than 80 percent of all incoming Russian missiles and drones -- typically fired in their hundreds every night -- according to AFP analysis of Kyiv's air force data.

- 'Risky moment' -

Details of what exactly Ukraine has agreed in the Gulf are slim.

"We are talking about a 10-year cooperation. We have already signed a relevant agreement with Saudi Arabia, we have just signed a similar agreement with Qatar, also for 10 years, we will sign one with the Emirates," Zelensky said.

On the table are co-production of drones -- with factories both in Ukraine and in the Gulf -- and expertise sharing, he said, without providing specific information.

It is unclear what Kyiv gets in return, or whether the deals are anything more than simple arms-for-cash.

Zelensky -- who had originally been pushing for expensive air defence missiles in return --  said the agreements were worth "billions, not millions" to Ukraine.

"Specifically billions for our exporters -- everyone will earn, Ukraine will earn, we won't lose out."

Ukrainian drone manufacturers told AFP they had been inundated with requests from the Middle East since the outbreak of war in the region.

"Neither the US, nor Europe, nor the Middle East are prepared for drone warfare," the Ukrainian drone unit commander told AFP.

Zelensky is also keen on the region's energy resources, he said Saturday.

Four years of Russian attacks have decimated Ukraine's energy network, leaving the country critically vulnerable when it comes to electricity, gas and fuel.

"We need long-term agreements with energy-producing countries ... this is precisely what we are negotiating," the Ukrainian leader said.

However, Ukrainian support to the Gulf is not straightforward.

Inside the army, commercial exports of weapons at a time of war present an ethical dilemma.

"Somebody becomes a millionaire, another ends up dead or amputated. Yet they seem to be serving the same cause," the commander of one drone unit told AFP recently.

Producers told AFP export deals would bring them cash to ramp up production, not take away from what they supply to the Ukrainian army.

"This is quite a risky moment for Ukrainian diplomacy," Yevgen Magda, a political analyst and director of the Kyiv-based Institute of World Policy think-tank, told AFP.

Especially since Kyiv is an absolute newcomer to the world of international weapons sales.

"The arms market is quite a delicate thing and succeeding there with one swift move or a single tour ... is very difficult," Magda said.

"Let's hope it will be implemented in the way that is best for Ukraine, but it's very difficult to guarantee anything now," he added.

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Legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will become the first Indian international to ply his trade in Major League Cricket after signing a deal with the San Francisco Unicorns, the club said Saturday.

The 39-year-old right arm off-spinner, who retired from international cricket in 2024, will head to the United States after an agreement to join Australia's Big Bash League fell through due to a knee injury.

"(Major League Cricket) has proven over recent seasons that it can put on a show, bringing in world-class players and offering significant exposure to US domestic cricket talent, and the opportunity to be a part of it with the San Francisco Unicorns was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Ashwin said in a statement released by the club.

"Taking on the mantle as the first Indian-capped player to compete in Major League Cricket is a major responsibility that I fully embrace," he added. "My absolute focus is to help this franchise win games and push for its first Championship."

Major League Cricket is a T20-format featuring six teams who play in a condensed month-long tournament. San Francisco's season gets under way on June 19 with a clash against the LA Knight Riders at Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium near Dallas, Texas.

Ashwin amassed some 765 wickets across 287 appearances for India in Test, one-day, and T20 cricket during his career, and was a member of the squad that won the 2011 World Cup.

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The exiled son of Iran's last shah, Reza Pahlavi, earned thunderous applause from a packed conference hall of US conservatives on Saturday as he urged Washington to press its military campaign against Tehran.

Speaking to a raucous audience in Texas, Pahlavi cast the war as a historic opportunity to topple Iran's clerical leadership, drawing cheers with a vision of his country transformed from an adversary of the United States into an ally.

"Can you imagine Iran going from 'death to America' to 'God Bless America?'" he asked the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Dallas suburbs, prompting one of several standing ovations.

The 65-year-old son of Iran's last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has lived in exile since the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed monarchy and ushered in the current system of clerical rule.

He has long positioned himself as a unifying figure for Iran's fragmented opposition, and on Saturday told supporters he was ready to lead a democratic transition.

"President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again," he said, drawing prolonged applause.

The warm reception for Pahlavi underscored the extent to which parts of the conservative movement have rallied behind President Donald Trump's military campaign against Iran -- a shift that sits uneasily with the "America First" instinct to avoid foreign entanglements.

The United States and Israel launched a sweeping air campaign against Iran on February 28, killing supreme leader Ali Khamenei and many senior officials, and targeting the country's military infrastructure.

Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region, while the conflict has disrupted global energy markets and raised fears of a wider war.

Pahlavi urged the United States to "stay the course" and "pave the way for the Iranian people to finish the job," arguing that only the complete collapse of the Islamic republic could bring lasting stability.

"This regime in its entirety must go," he said.

His message aligned closely with the most hawkish voices in Trump's coalition, who argue that sustained pressure could trigger an uprising inside Iran.

"Iran's story is not yet finished," he said. "Great civilizations outlast even the most vicious occupiers."

Trump himself skipped CPAC -- an annual conference that typically takes place in Washington -- for the first time in a decade, with officials citing his busy schedule amid the Iran war.

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French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case told AFP.

The incident occurred around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the chic 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets from the Champs-Elysees.

Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device, made of five litres of liquid (1.3 gallons), believed to be fuel, and an ignition system, one of the sources said.

The suspect, who allegedly said he was recruited for the operation on social media, was accompanied by a second man, who took flight as officers came to arrest them. 

The ignition component had 650 grams (23 ounces) of explosive powder in it, according to an initial assessment. The whole device was taken to the Paris police's forensics lab for full analysis. 

France's counter-terrorism prosecutor's office told AFP it had immediately taken over the investigation, and confirmed the suspect caught was in police custody.

It said the probe it has launched was into "attempted damage by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a terrorist undertaking" and a "terrorist criminal conspiracy".

Both the Paris judicial police and France's domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), were involved in the probe, the office told AFP.

- Allegedly recruited for 600 euros -

According to a police source, the suspect said he had been recruited via the Snapchat app to carry out the bombing in exchange for the sum of 600 euros ($692).

A man had dropped him off at the scene in a car, the same source said. 

When the patrolling officers arrested him, he was about to ignite the device with a lighter, the source said.

A spokesperson for Bank of America, whose US headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina, told AFP that they were aware of the situation and were in communication with the French authorities. 

France's interior minister, Laurent Nunez, on X hailed the speedy action by the police officers, given "the current international situation".

Since the outbreak of the war of the Middle East, European countries have been on high alert for potential attacks on Iranian dissidents, Jewish places of worship and US-Israeli interests. 

Nunez said that, in France, "vigilance remains more than ever at a high level".

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Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Lebanon says 51 rescuers, medics killed -

Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said that 46 rescuers and five medical staff had been killed by Israel since the start of the war with Hezbollah on March 2.

Nassereddine said in a press conference that "the number of martyrs in the health sector... is 51 martyrs... including 46 paramedics and 5 health workers, including nine new paramedic martyrs today".

- 10-year Gulf deals: Zelensky -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said deals he signed with Gulf nations during a tour in the region envisaged a decade-long cooperation on defence, including on establishing joint production lines.

"We are talking about a 10-year cooperation. We have already signed a relevant agreement with Saudi Arabia, we have just signed a similar agreement with Qatar, also for 10 years, we will sign one with the Emirates," Zelensky told reporters, including from AFP, at a briefing.

- Syria says drone attack launched from Iraq -

The Syrian army said that it had repelled a drone attack from neighbouring Iraq that targeted a southern Syrian base which previously housed US forces, state media reported.

Syria's official SANA news agency quoted the army as saying that its units were able to "repel a drone attack on the al-Tanf military base in the south of the country".

- Iran claims bombs dismantling -

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on they had found and dismantled more than 120 unexploded cluster bombs, alleging they were dropped during US and Israeli attacks on a southern province. 

"So far, 122 cluster bombs have been discovered and destroyed around Shiraz and in several towns," the ISNA news agency quoted Jalal Yarmohammadi, deputy head of public relations for the Guards in Fars province, as saying. 

- Ukraine-Qatar deal -

Qatar and Ukraine signed a defence agreement which included cooperation on countering threats from missiles and drones, the Gulf state's defence ministry said, as Iran pressed an aerial campaign against its neighbours.

"The agreement includes collaboration in technological fields, development of joint investments and the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial systems," the ministry said in a statement during a visit to Qatar by Zelensky.

- Israel kills journalists -

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned an Israeli strike that killed three journalists, including one for Hezbollah's Al Manar TV and another for the pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen channel, in southern Lebanon as "a blatant crime".

The Israeli military said it believed the Al Manar journalist was a "terrorist in the intelligence unit of Hezbollah's Radwan Force".

A military source told AFP that the three were killed in an Israeli strike in Jezzine.

- Iran hails Pakistan mediation -

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian hailed mediation efforts by Pakistan, which is preparing to host foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey for talks on the Middle East war. 

- Kyiv denies UAE drone depot hit -

Kyiv denied Iran's claim that Tehran had targeted and destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in the United Arab Emirates, calling it a "lie" and a "disinformation".

Iran's military said it had hit and destroyed the depot, which it said was used to assist US forces. 

- Jerusalem blasts -

AFP journalists reported two blasts heard over Jerusalem, after the Israeli military said it had detected incoming missiles launched from Iran.

The apparent attack came shortly after the Israeli military said it had completed a wave of strikes across the Iranian capital Tehran.

- Indonesia says tankers to pass Hormuz -

Indonesia is in talks with Iran to secure safe passage for its tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran responding favourably to Jakarta's diplomatic efforts, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

- Maersk halts Oman port ops -

Danish shipping giant Maersk said operations had been temporarily halted at Oman's port of Salalah after a drone attack injured a foreign worker and damaged a crane.

Maersk, whose subsidiary APM Terminals runs the port, said "it was immediately evacuated and operations across the facility were temporarily suspended", predicting it would remain closed for 48 hours.

Iran said it had targeted a US logistics vessel "at a considerable distance from the port".

- Iran says dozens killed -

Iranian media said US-Israeli strikes hit multiple residential areas, killing more than a dozen people overnight, though AFP was not able to independently verify any of these tolls.

Israel's military earlier said it launched strikes on Iranian "regime targets", as an AFP journalist in the capital Tehran reported hearing around 10 intense blasts and seeing a plume of black smoke.

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Tens of thousands of people marched through central London Saturday to protest the far-right, six months after Britain saw one of its largest-ever far-right demonstrations and weeks ahead of key local elections.

Organised by hundreds of groups, including trade unions, anti-racism campaigners and Muslim representative bodies, the Together Alliance event was billed as the biggest march in UK history to counter the far right. 

London's Metropolitan Police said it was "hard to have an accurate estimate due to how far spread the crowds are" but provided a "rough estimate of around 50,000 people" in attendance.

Protesters carrying placards with slogans like "no to racism" and "you cannot divide us" marched from near Marble Arch to Whitehall near the UK parliament for a planned rally.

A separate pro-Palestinian march was set to converge with the main demonstration, which appeared to have attracted people of all ages from across Britain.

"There's a global toxic climate and the UK is not fighting it," student Emily Roth, 23, told AFP as she walked the route. 

"We're seeing racist incidents everyday and it's not being dealt with. The government is obsessed with immigration but that's not our biggest problem."

The police said it was deploying a "significant" presence to ensure the protests passed off safely, though no far-right counter-demonstration was advertised.

The Together Alliance march followed a rally organised last September by far-right activist Tommy Robinson that drew up to 150,000 people, many of whom draped themselves in English and British flags. 

That rally was marred on its fringes by what police called "unacceptable violence" which saw clashes with officers that left several of them seriously injured.

- 'Worried' -

Robinson is planning a follow-up rally in mid-May.

Saturday's event also came less than six weeks before voters head to the polls for elections to Scotland's parliament, the devolved assembly in Wales and local councils in London as well as some other parts of England.

Anti-immigration figurehead Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK party, which has been leading in national polls for over a year, is predicted to perform well across the contests.

Robert Gadwick, 48, who had travelled from Bath in western England for Saturday's march, said he was "worried" about Reform's rise. 

"We've been there with Brexit -- it's all the same lies and yet some people decide to believe it," he told AFP. 

"We need to speak the truth... voting for Reform is a vote for more chaos and more uncertainty and we certainly don't need more chaos."

Retiree Rose Batterfield, of Stratford-upon-Avon in central England, echoed the sentiment, saying the "current political climate" concerned her.

"I don't really recognise Labour anymore," she said of the country's centre-left ruling party. 

"I'm quite stunned really by their immigration proposals," Batterfield added of Labour's increasingly hardening stance towards asylum-seekers and other immigrants as it tries counter Reform's appeal among its own traditional working class base. 

"The idea that you can implement far-right ideas in order to stop the far right is nonsense."

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French police stopped an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris early Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case told AFP.

The incident occurred around 3:30 am (0130 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the chic 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets from the Champs-Elysees.

Police grabbed the man just after he placed a device, made of five litres of liquid (1.3 gallons), believed to be fuel, and an ignition system, one of the sources said.

The ignition component had 650 grams (23 ounces) of explosive powder in it, according to an initial assessment. The whole device was taken to the Paris police's forensics lab for full analysis. 

France's counter-terrorism prosecutor's office told AFP it had immediately taken over the investigation, and confirmed the suspect caught was in police custody.

It said the probe it has launched was into "attempted damage by fire or other dangerous means in connection with a terrorist undertaking" and a "terrorist criminal conspiracy".

Both the Paris judicial police and France's domestic intelligence service, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), were involved in the probe, the office told AFP.

France's interior minister, Laurent Nunez, on X hailed the speedy action by the police officers, given "the current international situation", in which European countries have increased domestic vigilance because of the war in the Middle East.

Nunez said that, in France, "vigilance remains more than ever at a high level".

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(The Center Square) – Spending in U.S. senators office accounts spiked by 43% since 2020, with big jumps in 2022 and the last fiscal year for senators to pay their staff, travel and other expenses, an investigation by The Center Square found.

In 2020, the U.S. Senate office account was spending less than half a billion dollars, but that has since increased by nearly $200 million, an analysis of data provided by the American Governance Institute and other online data shows.

Overall Senate spending that includes the office accounts but also expenses for leadership, committees, security and operations was about $1.5 billion, increasing as much as 50% since 2020.

Included in the office account spending was at least $1 million a year for private jet flights and reimbursements for individual senators. The $1.5 billion overall spending included a litany of staff positions that government watchdogs questioned, such as a chaplain who has his own chief of staff and public relations person, dozens of door keepers, picture framers, telephone operators, barbers, wellness resources staff and furniture artisans.

David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, said senators spending on themselves is out of control after The Center Square detailed the expenses in the Senate office accounts and the history of spending.

"In a time where we have a debt of $39 trillion, a deficit approaching $2 trillion, belt tightening needs to begin somewhere and that somewhere is in Congress, in the Senate, in the House of Representatives," Williams said. "And the Senate has to lead by example.

"We're not talking about small numbers or small increments," he added. "That is a significant jump, significant increase in expenditures, and it seemingly goes unchecked."

Inflation over those years was about 24%, but Williams discounted that as a justification for the Senate spending.

"This has nothing to do with inflation," he said, adding that this is just lawmakers wanting taxpayers to pay for perks to make their lives more comfortable.

"There were some big jumps to make up for huge cuts and operational needs," he wrote in an email exchange with The Center Square. "The number for personal offices ... is driven in part by formulas to deal with growth in the states."

Last year, The Center Square analyzed spending in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2019, finding an increase of 21 percent in just one year, perks like daycare and an on-call doctor, more than $130,000 in private jet travel, big bucks for mileage and luxury car leases and $50 million for mostly partisan caucus and committees.

The Center Square's House analysis was considerably easier because the staff provides sortable electronic data of their spending. The Senate, however, only posts PDFs every six months of spending, requiring The Center Square to spend months converting the data into a trackable format. 

Williams said that was intentional to make it difficult to understand what taxpayers are funding. 

"Taxpayers are paying their expenses," Williams said. "Taxpayers should know where their money is going and it should be an easy process."

Senate spends big

Each of the 100 U.S. Senators receives between $3.5 million and $5 million a year to run their Washington, D.C. and state offices. The amount depends on the cost of living in their states and how far they are from Washington, D.C.

Senators have wide discretion on how to spend the money and there is very little transparency except the PDF files the Senate posts twice a year. 

Digging into the U.S. Senate data once it was converted, The Center Square found millions of dollars going for private jet travel when there were commercial routes readily available. Nearly all of the senators who had taxpayers pay for private flights refused to explain the reasons to The Center Square or provide documentation – which they don't have to do because Congress has exempted itself from the Freedom of Information Act.

Some lawmakers also reimbursed themselves instead of using Senate credit cards, which Williams says could result in fraudulent reimbursements for expenses that never happened. It also allows lawmakers to keep points or miles for personal use instead of keeping them on their Senate credit cards to offset official spending. 

Williams also questioned some of the staff expenditures The Center Square found.

The Senate chaplain makes $223,800, which is $30,000 more than the majority leader, and he has a public relations person and chief of staff, who also make six figure salaries. Two wellness specialists and a wellness manager each make more than $100,000 a year, The Center Square found. 

No one in the Senate wanted to explain the large increases or why some of the spending was necessary.

Emails and calls to the staff and offices of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, who are the ranking members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration that oversees the office account spending, were not returned. McConnell was also majority or minority leader during most of the legislation to set the recent increases, but he is retiring in 2027 when his current term expires.

Williams lamented that few media organizations regularly write about the spending, adding it will take pressure from taxpayers to force senators to change their ways.

"I think if people found out about these expenses, they would be appalled to find out that Congress is spending so much money on themselves," he said.