by Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans on (#6SXTD)
Anthony Odiong to appear Monday in court over charges he abused his position to pursue sex with congregantsA Roman Catholic priest who served under the command of church officials in Texas's capital and Louisiana's most famous city is tentatively scheduled to plead guilty Monday in connection to charges that he allegedly abused his position of clerical authority to pursue sex with spiritually vulnerable women whom he encountered during his work, according to criminal court records online.However, attorneys on both sides of the case pending against Anthony Odiong - who was understood to be mulling a plea deal in recent weeks - emphasized the tentative nature of the hearing set for Monday morning. Continue reading...
Lt Col Herman West was charged after sexual harassment was classified as a crime under military justice codeA former US army battalion commander was found guilty on Friday of sexual harassment of a subordinate in what prosecutors hailed as a historic military justice case.Lt Col Herman West, who was previously stationed at Washington state's Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), faced multiple charges over his treatment of a young female officer in his command, KOMO News reported. Continue reading...
Briana Boston had reportedly just had a medical claim denied when she said to the person on the phone: Delay, deny, depose'Sit yourself down and let out a big sigh of relief: thanks to the tireless work of the Florida police force, everyone in the US can now feel a little bit safer. On Tuesday, Florida's Lakeland police department charged Briana Boston, a 42-year-old mother of three, with threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism. Continue reading...
The contenders for the No 1 seed in each conference face off in Detroit. Could a February rematch be on the cards?Buffalo Bills (10-3) v Detroit Lions (12-1) Continue reading...
Trump's pick, who has gained key support, could open investigations unilaterally or influence background checksFormer FBI officials have warned that Donald Trump's nominee to be the next FBI director, Kash Patel, could have limitless power at the bureau as they confront the likelihood that he will be confirmed next year after locking down support from key Republicans and the current director's intention to resign.The alarm has come as Patel, who has called for shutting down FBI headquarters and drafted a so-called enemies list of people Trump feels wronged by, appears set to have his nomination supported unanimously by Republicans on the Senate judiciary committee. Continue reading...
The fall of Assad in Syria, protests in Georgia, the Franklin Fire in Malibu and the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris: the past seven days as captured by the world's leading photojournalists Continue reading...
The president-elect's victory was straight out of the pro wrestling playbook. Voters knew it was fake, but they loved itDo you remember World Wrestling Entertainment? For many people, the show, in which muscle-bound wrestlers in tight tights throw one another around in staged fights, is a nostalgic throwback to the early 2000s, when it played briefly on Channel 4. Today, its mix of soap opera, theatre and athletic spectacle still draws millions of viewers each week. To some, it's a guilty pleasure; to others, timeless entertainment. Still, few would associate it with the serious world of politics.For Donald Trump, though, professional wrestling is a lifelong passion. His announcement in November that the former CEO of WWE, Linda McMahon, would take up the role of education secretary in his cabinet of curiosities elicited shock and disbelief. It is impossible to fully understand US politics today without understanding the significance of pro wrestling. Continue reading...
Red One is the latest Hollywood attempt at a spectacular festive action film. It is on course to lose $100m. Why don't they realise we want slippers, jim-jams and Lindsay Lohan?It's the most wonderful time of the year - a time for carolling and concerts, trees and tinsel, mulled wine, open fires and, of course, The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson). Or at least, that is, according to Hollywood. The action star's latest film, Red One, has been playing in cinemas across the world since mid-November. But critically, it's been regarded as a bit of a stinker.For those who missed it, the film was conceived as the first instalment of a Christmas-themed action franchise. It casts Dwayne Johnson as Callum Drift, commander of the North Pole's Enforcement Logistics and Fortification (ELF) division - Santa's security team. Continue reading...
It wasn't always clear why our buzz-cut parents felt so threatened by our cascading locks - but guys like me needed to express ourselvesThroughout the mid-to-late 60s, I had to fight every literal inch of the way over the matter of long hair. As I practised being Mick Jagger before the bedroom mirror, it was always on the understanding that, within hours, I might be in front of that same mirror after a parentally-dictated trip to the barber.No amount of backcombing, pulling or applications of a thickening gel called Dippety-Do could disguise the brutal shearing. I'd be left making the best of a bad job, sprucing up for a Saturday night of raging pubescent hormones and perspiration. Continue reading...
Bob Fernandez was a 17-year-old sailor during 17 December 1941 attack that propelled US into second world warBob Fernandez, a 100-year-old survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, died shortly after deteriorating health prompted him to skip a trip to Hawaii to attend last week's remembrance ceremony marking the 83rd anniversary of the attack.Fernandez died peacefully at the Lodi, California, home of his nephew, Joe Guthrie, on Wednesday. Guthrie's daughter, Halie Torrrell, was holding his hand when he took his last breath. Fernandez had suffered a stroke about a month ago that caused him to slow down, but Guthrie said doctors attributed his condition to age. Continue reading...
In Bend, residents have been getting a chuckle out of seeing the decoration stuck on installations in roundaboutsGoogly eyes have been appearing on sculptures around the central Oregon city of Bend, delighting many residents and sparking a viral sensation covered widely by news outlets and featured on a popular late-night talk show.On social media, the city shared photos of googly eyes on installations in the middle of roundabouts that make up its so-called Roundabout Art Route." One photo shows googly eyes placed on a sculpture of two deer, while another shows them attached to a sphere. It's not yet known who has been putting them on the sculptures. Continue reading...
As part of plea deal, Alexander Smirnov will admit he made up story at center of Republican impeachment inquiryA former FBI informant accused of falsely claiming that Joe Biden and the president's son Hunter had accepted bribes has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court papers.As part of the plea deal with the justice department special counsel, David Weiss, Alexander Smirnov will admit he fabricated the story that became central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Continue reading...
Residents in several counties of the state have reported sighting drones, sometimes over military facilitiesSince about mid-November, hundreds of New Jersey residents have been calling law enforcement and state officials after spotting what appeared to be drones in the skies over about a dozen counties. The reports have become more frequent in recent days. In some sightings, mysterious car-sized flying objects, sometimes in groups, were seen above military installations and critical infrastructure such as energy facilities, railway stations and reservoirs. Republican state senator Jon Bramnick said it amounted to a limited state of emergency". Continue reading...
From Ballet Shoes to Wicked, stories of female empowerment and friendship are triumphing on stage and screenI'd start with Ballet Shoes first. It's my favourite," Meg Ryan's character urges a mother in a bookstore in Nora Ephron's 1998 romantic comedy You've Got Mail. Never out of print since it was first published in 1936, Noel Streatfield's Story of Three Children on the Stage" has been a favourite with generations of readers, including former Children's Laureate Jacqueline Wilson. Although adapted twice for television, Ballet Shoes has never been made into a play before. This Christmas, the National Theatre in London is staging it for the first time.Three foundling girls - Pauline, Petrova and Posy - fetch up at a dilapidated house on the Cromwell Road some time in the 1920s, having been rescued by roving palaeontologist Great Uncle Matthew - Gum". Left in the care of his adult niece Sylvia (another orphan) and her old nanny, the girls become the Fossil sisters. They grow up in a spirited matriarchy of genteel poverty and plucky determination to follow their passions - acting, engineering and ballet. Described by Streatfield as a fairy story with its feet halfway on the ground", Ballet Shoes is the perfect tale for our own age of austerity. Continue reading...
American Airlines flight with 196 people took off from LaGuardia airport before a bird strike forced it to land at JFKA bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the plane's two engines shortly after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia airport, forcing the flight to turn around and land at John F Kennedy international airport, authorities said on Friday.No one was injured in the incident on Thursday involving flight 1722, which took off from LaGuardia at 7.43pm with a destination of Charlotte, North Carolina, airline officials said. Continue reading...
Nearly 90 million Americans didn't vote - which is more than the number of people who voted for Trump or HarrisThe 2024 US presidential election had been widely characterized as one of the most consequential political contests in recent US history. Although turnout was high for a presidential election - almost matching the levels of 2020 - it is estimated that close to 90 million Americans, roughly 36% of the eligible voting age population, did not vote. This number is greater than the number of people who voted for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.More than a month on from polling day, eligible US voters from across the country as well as other parts of the world got in touch with the Guardian to share why they did not vote. Continue reading...
Aaron Siri is helping Trump's health secretary pick to select top jobs despite long history of attacking vaccinesA key legal adviser to Robert Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump's pick for health secretary, is at the center of efforts to push federal drug regulators to revoke approval for the polio and hepatitis B vaccines and block distribution of 13 other critical vaccines.Aaron Siri, a lawyer who has been helping Kennedy select top health administrators as part of the Trump transition process, is deeply embedded in longstanding efforts to force the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withdraw a raft of vaccines that have saved the lives and health of millions of Americans. Continue reading...
Shooter, who mentioned company in note found during arrest, may have targeted it because of its size and influenceThere is no indication the man charged with killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, was ever a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said on Thursday.Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York police department, told NBC New York in an interview on Thursday that investigators had uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City. Continue reading...
German security authorities reportedly flag numerous sightings over Ramstein and sensitive industry locationsUnidentified drones have been sighted over sensitive industry locations and the US air base at Ramstein in Germany in recent weeks, the Spiegel news magazine reported on Friday, citing a confidential report by German security authorities.The report flagged numerous drone sightings made in the evening hours of 3 and 4 December over the air base, according to Spiegel. Continue reading...
Second person injured as plane crash shuts down traffic on Interstate 684 in Westchester countyA small plane crashed on to a New York highway in Westchester county on Thursday night, killing one of two people on board and injuring the other, authorities said.The crash shut down traffic on Interstate 684 in Harrison, about 25 miles (40km) north-east of Manhattan, at about 7pm. Continue reading...
As co-chair of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency', the world's richest man is likely to get richerThe Federal Advisory Committee Act says in plain language that an advisory committee - as Elon Musk proposes the Department of Government Efficiency" to be - must ensure that its recommendations are not biased by any special interest.Yet, Musk, the richest man on Earth, has a wider and deeper range of potential conflicts of interest with the federal government than perhaps any person has ever had. Continue reading...
The president-elect is expected to announce a flurry of executive orders on immigration in his first days in officeWith Donald Trump ready to unleash his mass deportation policy in January, many local and national immigrant rights, legal aid and civil rights organizations are preparing for the unexpected.During his campaign, Trump often spoke of launching - on day one - the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America". Now that he has been elected, various rights groups are preparing for the uncertainty of how quickly and to what extent Trump will be able to execute his plans. Continue reading...
The controversial figure is picking up committee support for his confirmation. Plus, Nato chief urges Europe to adopt a wartime mindset'Good morning.Donald Trump's controversial pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has broadly secured support from Republicans on the Senate judiciary committee, laying the foundation for his confirmation after its current director said he would quit once the president-elect takes office.How has Patel dealt with scrutiny? He has kept a lower profile and often ignored the media, with aides acknowledging that other nominees have provided useful cover.Where is Mangione now? He remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania. Continue reading...
Jay-Z's condescending response to the accusation that he and Diddy raped a 13-year-old girl is troubling and tellingIt's been a rough year for prominent men in hip-hop. As a tidal wave of accountability continues to sweep the industry, the fallout from Sean Diddy" Combs's arrest continues to dredge up even more alleged horror stories. This time, it's Jay-Z who is in the hot seat after an amended lawsuit filed in federal court this week alleged that he and Diddy took turns raping an unnamed 13-year-old girl during a VMAs afterparty that Diddy hosted in 2000. Diddy and Jay-Z deny the accusations.As unsurprising as some have found the accusations - given the pair's decades-long friendship and Jay-Z's own eyebrow-raising alleged history with much younger women - Jay-Z's response to this lawsuit and the blowback from his supporters is a stunning display of the culture of silence and complicity in hip-hop which continues to harm women and girls.Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
My mother's love and resilience helped my sister through a rare condition. But every step in her 17-year life was a fight with health insurersMy sister had a condition called aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency".Mouthful, right? It's also exceedingly rare: something like seven other children had been diagnosed with it back when she finally got the diagnosis at age 12. The condition is so unusual that no pharmaceutical company would ever invest in studying it. Continue reading...
The famed consulting firm is expected to pay a $600m settlement over its role in the US opioid crisis. But the company's problems don't start thereIn late 2005, I was in a Tokyo meeting room with some top GE executives. As the company's corporate director of public relations at the time, I was helping sort through a corporate initiative we were planning to announce with some important Japanese customers. A few minutes later, a handful of people I'd never met came into the room. Most were not from Japan; all of them, I was told, were from McKinsey, perhaps the world's most famous management consulting firm. Following the 15-minute meeting they had probably flown in from all over the world to attend, they left.The firm McKinsey, of course, remains, dispensing advice to thousands of companies like GE and to governments and institutions in more than 65 countries. But as the company approaches a $600m settlement with the US government over its role helping opioid makers boost sales and drag out the painkiller epidemic, you might ask: why does McKinsey still get hired?Peter O'Toole is principal of Objective Lab and on the adjunct faculty at Georgetown University. He was a speechwriter in the Clinton administration and a senior executive at GE and Pfizer Continue reading...
He's a highly educated, heterodox, politically homeless moderate - and that fact should terrify us allThe vast majority of the US population rarely - if ever - lapses into murderous fantasias wherein they gun down an unsuspecting father of two. One need not possess the telepathic powers of Professor Charles Xavier to consider this a fact. That said, the heterodox, ostensibly incoherent potpourri of political views expressed by the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin, Luigi Mangione, is more representative of the average American than many elites would care to admit.Mangione's Twitter/X account is a kaleidoscopic fever dream with no clear ideological rudder. It seems he has a genuine interest in health and wellness. Wokeness" and masculinity are occasionally discussed; so too are climate change, psychedelics and the potential risks and rewards of artificial intelligence. Pornography, in Mangione's mind, should be regulated no less than alcohol, cigarettes, and travel" - and certain sex toys should be banned. He likes Joe Rogan but disdains Jordan Peterson. He also appears to be particularly fond of Pokemon, baby elephants, gorillas and Japan's Indigenous religion, Shintoism. Continue reading...
It was a mixed round for Europe's biggest clubs. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of actionReal Madrid: Are the serial champions finally stirring? The holders have been sleepy and tetchy amid the new format as the problems of assimilating Kylian Mbappe play out in public. But in a vital 3-2 away win over Atalanta, Mbappe played his part, scoring a fine goal before leaving with an injury. That left the stage open for Real's other modern Galacticos, with Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham scoring the goals that took the game away from last season's Europa League winners. Mateo Retegui's late effort had Madrid's hearts thumping but it flew wide, and was probably offside anyway. To automatically qualify in a top-eight place Madrid need to rediscover the belief that winning games at this level is their right. Their final two assignments, against Salzburg and Brest, look very winnable, although Real sit 20th, four points off the automatic qualifying spots. If they qualify, the knockouts are where the Madrid machine can kick into action. Continue reading...
Dietmar Busse's first major US exhibition showcases the German artist's time in New York City throughout the 1990s, traveling mostly on bike from Harlem to Brighton Beach. He captured names such as Steve McQueen and Gary Indiana on Polaroid, now on display at Amant in Brooklyn until 16 February 2025 Continue reading...
The new gatekeepers use trust' to discredit the press and talk about removing bias with AI - distracting us from their own shift to the rightIf we want to know what news organisations will look like under the second Trump administration in America, well, we are beginning to get an idea. At the Dealbook conference in New York last week, Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post and multi-billionaire founder of Amazon, gave a very favourable assessment of Donald Trump's upcoming second term. I am very hopeful ... he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation," beamed Bezos. It was surprising, then, that the Washington Post did not endorse Trump in its pre-election editorial. Instead the writers crafted an endorsement of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris which Bezos killed, in his first act of blatant editorial interference since he bought the title in 2013. In a Post article Bezos rationalised his decision as being an attempt to restore trust in the press with what he called independence" - a type of independence which clearly does not extend to damping down public flattery. The headline, run with Bezos's approval, was The Hard Truth: Why Americans Don't Trust the News Media'. Bezos invoked the past of the American press, its historic non-endorsement of candidates and a return to some past notion of objectivity" as being a fix for his news organisation's woes.Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, had already emulated Bezos by stopping the LA Times editorial board from running a presidential endorsement. Soon-Shiong, appearing on the Republican commentator Scott Jennings' radio show, said that he had been working on an AI-powered bias meter" which will appear on LA Times articles from January. The motivation was that the medical tech billionaire said he had begun to see his own news title as an echo chamber and not a trusted source". Continue reading...
Another 1,600 people still under evacuation orders with 20,000 residents affected by warnings due to Franklin fireMore than 3,700 residents were allowed to return to their Malibu homes on Thursday after calmer winds and rising humidity in southern California helped firefighters battle a blaze that had forced thousands, including celebrities, to evacuate earlier this week.But another 1,600 people with homes in Malibu - a city typically known for its rugged canyons, stunning bluffs and celebrities' seaside mansions - remained under evacuation orders. All told, about 20,000 residents in the city and neighboring areas had been affected by mandatory evacuation orders and warnings since the fire broke out late Monday.
Judge had dismissed original indictment, ruling that Clark county was wrong venue for filing chargesSix Republicans in Nevada have again been charged with submitting a bogus certificate to Congress that falsely declared Donald Trump the winner of the presidential battleground's 2020 election.Aaron Ford, the state's attorney general, announced on Thursday that the fake electors case had been revived in Carson City, the capital, where he filed a new complaint this week charging the defendants with uttering a forged instrument", a felony. Continue reading...
The public profile of Massad Boulos, whose son married Tiffany Trump, doesn't match his documented backgroundPresident-elect Donald Trump's appointee to advise him on Middle East affairs, Massad Boulos, is reported to have significant discrepancies between his public profile and documented business background, casting doubt on the thoroughness of the former president's vetting process.Corporate records reviewed by the New York Times reveal that Boulos, father-in-law to Tiffany Trump, is frequently described as a billionaire mogul, but actually manages a truck dealership in Nigeria that generated less than $66,000 in profit last year. The company, SCOA Nigeria PLC, is valued at approximately $865,000, with Boulos's personal stake worth just $1.53, according to the securities filings in the Times report. Continue reading...
Consent decree, which needs a judge's approval, follows investigation that found police violate rightsThe US justice department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city's police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor and police treatment of protesters, officials said on Thursday.The consent decree, which must be approved by a judge, follows a federal investigation that found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discrimination against the Black community. Continue reading...
National security spokesperson says there's no evidence that reported drone sightings pose a public safety threat'A review of the large mysterious drones reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks has shown many are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully, a White House official said on Thursday.John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He added that the US Coast Guard had not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels.
File says marriage irretrievably broken' as Emily Borgwardt, whose husband had fled to Europe, seeks custody of kidsThe wife of the Wisconsin man who allegedly faked his own death and fled to eastern Europe has filed for divorce, according to online court records.Reviewed by the Associated Press, online court records revealed that Emily Borgwardt has filed a divorce petition against Ryan Borgwardt, her husband and father of three kids in Wisconsin's Dodge county circuit court. Continue reading...
Trump's embattled secretary of defence nominee expresses contentious views on gay service members in latest bookPolicies allowing out gay people to serve in the US military have been denounced as part of a Marxist" agenda aimed at prioritising social justice above combat-readiness by Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's embattled defence secretary pick.The assertion was among many contentious anti-woke" views expressed in Hegseth's latest book, The War on Warriors, published this year, in which he lambasted a previous policy - known as don't ask, don't tell (DADT) - that tolerated gay service members as long as they did not disclose their sexual orientation, while also excoriating its repeal. Continue reading...
Premier of Canada's largest province says we need to be ready to fight' back against possible 25% tariffs on goodsThe leader of Canada's largest province says he's prepared to halt energy exports to the United States, warning that other premiers need to be ready to fight" as threats escalate ahead of possible American tariffs.The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, says he's weighing options to fight back against a 25% levy on all Canadian goods that the US president-elect Donald Trump has pledged to implement when he assumes office. Continue reading...
Events in a US court reveal a story that rivals HBO's Succession with a patriarch's waning control, sibling rivalries and a media empire at stakeAll happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," begins Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina. This is an appropriate lens to view Rupert Murdoch's semi-public family feud. This week, it emerged that the media mogul had lost the first round in his legal bid to secure his empire for Lachlan, his eldest son and anointed heir, over his other children - James, Elisabeth and Prudence. More than a power play, it was Murdoch's final push to secure his rightwing media vision, even at the expense of family unity.The familial strife - driven by blurred lines between business and family, ideological clashes and a patriarch's weakening grip - exemplifies Tolstoy's unique unhappiness". The Murdochs' conflicts are shaped by their extraordinary wealth, influence and public scrutiny. The divisions could paralyse corporate decision making, destabilising a media empire with significant repercussions for the culture and politics of the Anglosphere. Continue reading...
The Guardian's ranking of the world's best female footballers overflowed with Americans. But their fellow players largely shunned themWomen's soccer has grown exponentially in the 22 years since Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra marveled at the very existence of a professional game in the USA in Bend It Like Beckham.In the film, the main characters went off to the USA to play collegiate soccer, while the UK had only the faintest whispers that local clubs might soon field professional teams. Today, the protagonists would have several professional options without ever straying from the reach of Greater London. Continue reading...
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