Four men face a life sentence after packaging up to $160m worth of illegal substances to export to Australia and New ZealandFour California men were charged on Thursday after the conclusion of a multi-agency investigation that uncovered how a transnational drug trafficking organization hid up to $160m worth of drugs in everything from car parts to instant noodles for export to Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.Roughly 755kgs (1,664lbs) of methamphetamine and more than 100kgs of cocaine were discovered tucked within emergency kits, instant noodle packets, car parts and subwoofers, according to the US Department of Justice, which released details about the arrests on Friday. Continue reading...
Florence Hackman of Ohio will celebrate her birthday with her beloved Bengals, Fireball whiskey - and men in uniformDrinking whiskey and watching nail-biting games of football aren't necessarily associated with long lives, but a woman celebrating her 105th birthday plans to mark the milestone by engaging in both activities.Florence Hackman, a resident of Deerfield Township in south-west Ohio, will be turning 105 on Saturday, WXIX reported. Continue reading...
The veteran Democratic strategist discusses the hypocrisy' of his fellow Louisianan and the solace found in his own Catholic faithAs hard-right movements rattle or control European governments, the words of George Steiner animate James Carville.Nationalism is the venom of our age," Steiner wrote in his 1965 essay on the Holocaust, A Kind of Survivor. It has brought Europe to the edge of ruin." Continue reading...
From emissions to road deaths, the trend for ever-bigger SUVs is a disaster. We need regulation to turn the car industry back to smaller vehiclesThe United States is in the midst of a full-blown size crisis. No, I'm not talking about the mad rush for Wegovy, which is selling so swiftly that Denmark has to remove data relating to manufacturers Novo Nordisk to measure (the rest of) its economy properly. And no, I'm not talking about ... something else. I'm talking about the enormous monstrosities filling up its roads. (Yeah, I see you on the streets of downtown Cleveland alone in your $85,000, 7,000lb Dodge Ram and I can tell you're not a farmer ... maybe that actually says something about the something else".)There are lots of trends, ideas, music and films that cross the Atlantic. Some of them are good. This is not one of them. Neither are the 500 Krispy Kreme points of access" the American chain is planning to open across France over the next year. (One, OK, fine, for the novelty, but 500 in the next year? In a country that exists in a completely different universe when it comes to pastries?)Alexander Hurst is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...
The Trump ally and former New York mayor has been ordered to pay $148.1m to two election workers he circulated lies aboutA jury has ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay former election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss $148.1m after he spread lies about them following the 2020 election.The verdict, after a four-day trial in Washington, came after Moss and Freeman testified in court that they feared for their lives when Giuliani falsely claimed they had tampered with votes.The $148.1m damages award for to two Atlanta election workers is one of the most significant verdicts to date seeking accountability for those who attempted to overturn the 2020 election.Freeman and Moss testified about the effects of lies spread by Giuliani and others who put them at the center of an election conspiracy theory. They shared examples of the racist, harassing, threatening messages they received after being publicly named by election deniers.Freeman testified about her experiences following Giuliani's defamatory comments, in which he accused her of committing election fraud. Sometimes I don't know who I am," said Freeman.Lawyers for Freeman and Moss played audio and displayed several of the racist messages they received in court. It included one of a person saying a racial slur over and over again. Another was a picture of what Freeman described as a kind of monkey beast" and had writing on it that said Ruby Freeman's father".Freeman said she had to leave her home for safety reasons. She hired a lawyer to help keep her name off any home-related documents for her new place. She said she felt like she has lost who she is, and her good name.Moss detailed how she became anxious to even leave the house, and that the false claims caused her son to be harassed, eventually failing his classes. She said she still does not really go out.Giuliani was initially expected to testify. But after two separate incidents of him doubling down, his team did not put him on the stand. His lawyer said the women had been through enough, but also pointed to Gateway Pundit, the rightwing media outlet, as more culpable for the harassment.Speaking outside court on Friday, Freeman said: Today's a good day. A jury stood witness to what Rudy Giuliani did to me and my daughter and held him accountable, and for that I'm thankful.Today is not the end of the road, we still have work to do. Rudy Giuliani was not the only one who spread lies about us, and others must be held accountable too. But that is tomorrow's work."Her daughter Shaye Moss also gave a statement, saying: The flame that Giuliani lit with those lies and passed to so many others to keep that flame blazing changed every aspect of our lives - our homes, our family, our work, our sense of safety, our mental health. And we're still working to rebuild.Giuliani himself dismissed the verdict and told reporters outside Washington's federal courthouse that he will appeal, saying the absurdity of the number merely underscores the absurdity of the entire proceeding". It will be reversed so quickly it will make your head spin, and the absurd number that just came in will help that actually," he said.Ashlee Humphreys, a professor from Northwestern University and an expert witness of Freeman and Moss, walked through the significant reputational damage done to them, showing how their names are now associated with election fraud.Freeman and Moss's lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, said they hope the case sends a clear message to people launching smear campaigns not to do it.The jury began deliberations on Thursday and returned their verdict on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...
Ida Reams served as mayor of Osceola Mills from 2013 to 2021 and was intoxicated when she confronted the two menThe former two-term mayor of a Pennsylvania town has been ordered to serve up to a year in jail for shooting a gun at - and threatening to kill - two players of the popular mobile game Pokemon Go.Ida Reams, who served as mayor of Osceola Mills from 2013 to 2021, was intoxicated when she confronted the two male players of the augmented reality game in the parking lot of a food bank in the town in March last year. Continue reading...
CNN and New York Times report disappearance of 2,700 pages of classified material that caused alarm in US intelligence circlesA 10in-thick binder containing nearly 3,000 pages of highly classified material related to the investigation of Russian election interference as well as links between Moscow and Donald Trump went missing in the final days of his presidency, CNN and the New York Times reported.CNN said the disappearance raised alarms in the American intelligence community because some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed". Continue reading...
The 26-year-old left back is flying the American flag higher than anyone else at Craven Cottage - and possibly higher than anyone else in European soccer tooOthers might appear on the Mount Rushmore of current US men's national team icons before Antonee Robinson. Indeed, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah might all get a mention for their European exploits ahead of Robinson, but the Fulham left back is out-performing them all right now.Mohamed Salah knows how well Robinson is currently playing. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jarrod Bowen too. They have all come up against the American for a resurgent Fulham team recently and struggled to make an impact. Robinson - nicknamed Jedi' from childhood - stopped them. The force is strong with him at this moment in time. Continue reading...
Court expresses doubt ex-White House chief of staff was acting as a federal official in trying to reverse Trump's 2020 defeatA federal appeals court on Friday appeared skeptical of former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' attempt to transfer his 2020 election interference case in Georgia to federal court, expressing doubt that he was acting as a federal official in trying to reverse Donald Trump's defeat.The court also questioned, in a particularly ominous development for Meadows, whether he was even entitled to remove his case from state to federal court given he was no longer a federal official. Continue reading...
West, running for president as an independent, predicts Biden will do as Johnson did in 1968 and decide against White House runJoe Biden will have an LBJ moment" and decide not to run for re-election next year, the leftwing academic and independent presidential candidate Cornel West has predicted.I'm not even sure whether I'll be running against Biden," West told Politico. Biden - I think he's going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back." Continue reading...
National Archives directed to collect reports but measure gives government departments broad authority to keep them secretIf the truth about UFOs is out there, the American government doesn't want you to see it yet.Just months after US space agency Nasa appointed a research director of unidentified anomalous phenomena, and promised more transparency about what it knows, the US Congress has acted to throttle the flow of information that ultimately reaches the public. Continue reading...
The Israeli leader opposes the viable way forward and now acts only for himself. The US president must save Israel from its PMJoe Biden's bond with Israel and the Jewish people runs so deep he is said to feel it in his kishkes (that's guts", for the non-Yiddish speakers among you). Biden demonstrated that early in the current crisis by visiting Israel within days of the 7 October massacre, which saw 1,200 Israelis, most of them civilians, killed, many tortured and mutilated. He demonstrated it again, just as swiftly, with the dispatch of two US aircraft carriers to the region, aimed at deterring Hezbollah and its Iranian backers from attacking Israel from the north - his one-word message: Don't." And he showed it once more just last week, wielding the US veto at the United Nations - making Washington all but a lone voice against the global chorus demanding that Israel end its offensive in Gaza, which has left so many thousands dead.But there is one last act of service Biden needs to perform for the sake of the Israel he has stood with so long, a task he is uniquely able to execute. He must push Benjamin Netanyahu from power - and do all he can to ensure he does not return. Right now, the focus of US-Israeli relations is on the clock, on how long Washington will give its ally -which it arms - to pursue its stated goal of defeating Hamas, even at the cost of terrible death and destruction in Gaza. Hints that Biden's patience is wearing thin are getting louder. This week he warned that Israel is starting to lose [international] support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place". The signals are that Israel has until the middle or end of January to keep up what the White House calls high-intensity military operations". After that, it will have to move to a different phase" - one that consists of focused, targeted raids on Hamas strongholds, with fewer civilian casualties.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington on (#6H5YF)
Senator proposes resolution to investigate humanitarian cataclysm ... being done with American bombs and money'The US's support for Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza is facing new scrutiny in Washington following a proposed resolution by the independent senator Bernie Sanders that could ultimately be used to curtail military assistance.It is far from clear whether Sanders has the support to pass the resolution, but its introduction in the Senate this week - by an important progressive ally of the US president, Joe Biden - highlights mounting human rights and political concerns by Democrats on Capitol Hill. Continue reading...
Michael Cassidy arrested over tearing down of satanic altar - symbol of humanism and anti-authoritarianism - at Iowa capitolThe leader of an organization whose satanic altar at Iowa's state capitol was torn down by a Christian military veteran on Thursday has dismissed the vandalism as a real act of cowardice".There's a certain point at which we need some adults in the room to tell people what ... liberal, democratic values are; what their value is; why we uphold them; what they're good for; and they need to stand up for these values or we are going to further degenerate in our polarism towards autocracy," the co-founder of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, told CNN's NewsNight on Thursday. Continue reading...
We in Ukraine always knew this would be a long war. To sustain the fight, Zelenskiy must find a way to give those on the frontline a breakIvan has been give the name Decent Man by his fellow soldiers, for being a decent man. As a 40-year-old teacher from central Ukraine and the father of three children, he would have been exempt from fighting at the beginning of the war. But he wanted to fight for his country. He has now spent 18 months on the battlefield and desperately misses his family. He might dream of returning home, but so far doesn't consider being discharged an option. The country has already spent money and resources on me. How can I leave?" he asks. Another soldier, who used to be a construction worker in a village in eastern Ukraine, speaks about his motivation to continue serving: I've learned how to become a better and more helpful soldier for my colleagues."I spoke to troops from this squadron, which belongs to one of the most famous Ukrainian combat brigades, earlier this month. I wanted to understand the mood among soldiers on the eastern front, to find out what the troops care most about and also to discover whether political disputes reach the frontline.Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist, and co-founder of the Reckoning Project
January's Globes ceremony menu goes big on sushi, which is neither in the shape of the awards, nor likely to soak up the booze. It's going to be carnageAlthough at this point in December next year still feels a million miles away, it is time to start paying attention to 2024. For example, the Golden Globes are on 7 January and an army of people are beavering away to make the event happen.This week, an announcement was made detailing what the Golden Globes guests would be eating. This one-of-a-kind culinary experience that redefines the traditional award show menu" turns out to be sushi. Nice sushi, admittedly, since the ceremony has roped in Nobu to make dishes such as sashimi salad and assorted nigiri. But, barring plates of black cod miso, it's still just sushi. Continue reading...
Charles McGonigal, one of the highest-ranking FBI officials to ever be convicted of a crime, was sentenced to 50 months in prisonA former FBI special agent who led a counterintelligence division was sentenced to more than four years in prison on Thursday for providing information to a Russian oligarch, in violation of US sanctions.Charles McGonigal, 55, is one of the highest-ranking FBI officials to ever be convicted of a crime. He spent 22 years at the FBI before retiring in September 2018, leading investigations into the 2010 release of state department classified cables by WikiLeaks, and a hunt for a suspected Chinese spy working as a mole in the CIA. Continue reading...
Aderrien Murry, who is Black, was wounded by police after calling 911, and authorities declined to charge the officer involvedThe family of an 11-year-old boy who was shot by police after he called 911 and asked for their help have vowed to continue to fight for justice after authorities declined to charge the officer involved.Aderrien Murry, who is Black, was seriously wounded by police after his mother asked him to call the police when the father of one of his half-siblings became angry. They were at their home in Indianola, Mississippi. Continue reading...
More than 150,000 Republicans among 1.3m signatures collected for plan to put constitutional amendment to voters next yearPro-choice activists in Florida, where nearly all abortions are banned after the 15th week of pregnancy, want voters to enshrine the right to a termination in the state constitution via a referendum on next year's election ballot.More than 150,000 registered Republican voters in Florida have now signed a petition calling for a constitutional amendment that would guarantee a woman's right to an abortion up to the point of a fetus's viability, which is generally considered to be around the 24th week of pregnancy. Continue reading...
Joe Biden left in a bind as Israel tells US it needs months' to defeat Hamas. Plus, Ukraine stung after Hungary's Viktor Orban blocks EU war fundingGood morning.Israeli tanks and planes on Friday intensified their bombardment of northern Gaza as well as Khan Younis and Rafah in the territory's south - with four people including two children killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Khan Younis early on Friday, Palestinian health officials said.What is the humanitarian death toll of Israel's offensive so far? At least 18,787 Palestinians have been killed and 50,897 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Thursday. The strikes followed Hamas's attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, with more than 200 others taken hostage.What do Israelis think of Netanyahu's actions? A poll of Israelis revealed widespread dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's handling of US-Israel relations during the war. About 43% disapproved of Netanyahu's treatment of Biden with 36% supporting, according to a Maariv/Jerusalem Post poll conducted this week.How are diplomatic efforts playing out? France's foreign minister will travel to Lebanon on Saturday as part of diplomatic efforts by Emmanuel Macron's government to help contain the Middle East conflict. Fears of a widening war have been growing, with Iran-backed groups targeting US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, and daily exchanges of fire along Israel's border with Lebanon.What is Adnoc is planning to invest? $150bn over seven years in oil and gas, which Al Jaber said would maintain current production levels rather than increase output. He said Adnoc was forgoing much of its potential extraction.What was the significance of the Cop deal? It marked the first time in 30 years of climate talks that a global resolution had been made addressing the future of all fossil fuels.What have critics of the Cop deal said? Indigenous people, frontline communities and climate justice groups rebuked the deal as unfair, inequitable and business as usual. Continue reading...
So much of the festive season is built around children. Amid the celebrations, it's OK to give yourself space to grieveHave you seen those baubles - Baby's First Christmas? If my first pregnancy hadn't ended in miscarriage, last year would have seen our tree adorned with those, but instead it marked yet another year filled with loss." Sophie Flynn is telling me about navigating the festive season when you desperately want to be a parent. So much of Christmas is framed around children that it can feel like an emotional obstacle course for those who have experienced baby loss, miscarriage, or biological or social infertility. Everywhere you turn, there are reminders of what others have.Christmas becomes something you count as another year that didn't turn out as you hoped," she says. Add into it the messaging that it's all for the kids, as if your celebrations are frivolous without them, and the season can become something to endure." It's all very well having a happily childfree, adult Christmas of oysters and champagne and movie marathons and naps, but when your childless status is a source of pain, it's a different matter altogether.Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
As a teen, I dreaded the annual update on my gawky progress. But the letters have become a glorious archive of the mundaneThe round robin is very, very dead. Even Debrett's thinks they're tedious and unnecessary, and keeping tedious and unnecessary stuff going is Debrett's whole thing. The idea of an end-of-year roundup shoved into a Christmas card has been dead for so long that even the whole tranche of comedy built on mimicking the smuggest, most thunderingly boring retellings of the year's exploits - incredible trips abroad, professional triumphs, angelic and gifted children - is gone too.The reasons are fairly obvious. If I want to know what your kids are up to and where you went on holiday, Instagram will tell me. If I want your take on the state of the nation, I'll check which James O'Brien clips you've retweeted. If I ever want to know how your career's going, I'll snoop on your LinkedIn. And generally, I don't want any of these things anyway.Tom Nicholson is a freelance writer Continue reading...
After surviving a battle with the Super Bowl champions to keep their season alive, the Bills need to keep stacking wins starting with Sunday's showdown with the surging CowboysAs the regular season draws to a close, we'll take a look each Friday at a game likely to affect the playoff race, along with the teams whose fortunes are rising and falling. And, so we don't neglect the also-rans, we'll see which teams are in the hunt for next year's No 1 pick. Continue reading...
This latest horrific crime shatters any illusions we may still have about when, where and how such things can happenIt was broad daylight, and there were other people in the tube carriage. She should have been safe.She'd fallen asleep, missed her stop, and ended up at the end of the Piccadilly line. But still, on a weekend morning in a bustling city, she should have been safe. And yet, hauntingly, she wasn't.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnistInformation and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.htmlDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes sweeping legislation covering a wide range of military priorities including Aukus passed the US House of Representatives, a day after it cleared the Senate. The acquisition of at least three such submarines from the US is an interim step before Australian-built nuclear-powered submarines start to enter into service in the 2040s
Sydney Moore says her son was in a bassinet that flew skyward after the twister ripped the roof off their homeA 4-month-old boy has survived after a tornado in Tennessee sucked him up from his family's mobile home, which was demolished in the storm.Sydney Moore told WSMV-TV that when the tornado hit their home in Clarksville on Saturday, it ripped off the roof and lifted the bassinet with her son inside. Her boyfriend, the child's father, tried to grab the bassinet but was spun up into the twister as well, Moore said. Continue reading...
Teacher arrested after allegedly saying he would cut' student's head off' after she told him she was offended by his Israeli flagA school teacher in the US state of Georgia was arrested after allegedly threatening to behead a student who expressed taking offense over his Israeli flag, according to authorities.Benjamin Reese's arrest at the middle school named after the town of Warner Robins occurred on after a student approached and told him she was offended by the Israeli flag hanging in his classroom, the local news station WMAZ reported, citing a police account of the case. Continue reading...
Mississippi judge also orders child to write a book report on Kobe Bryant after officers arrested him for urinating in a parking lotA 10-year-old Black child who urinated in a parking lot must serve three months' probation and write a two-page book report on the late NBA star Kobe Bryant, a Mississippi judge has ordered.Tate county youth court judge Rusty Harlow handed down the sentence Tuesday after the child's lawyer reached an agreement with a special prosecutor. The prosecution threatened to upgrade the charge of child in need of supervision" to a more serious charge of disorderly conduct if the boy's family took the case to trial, said Carlos Moore, the child's attorney. Continue reading...
Satanic clubs, whose members do not worship the devil, usually formed in response to presence of religious groups in schoolsCommunity members in a Tennessee school district want to banish Satan from their children's halls after the formation of a new club was announced.The After School Satan Club (ASSC) wants to establish a branch in Chimneyrock elementary school in the Memphis-Shelby county schools (MSCS) district. Continue reading...
Federal Reserve indicated borrowing costs would be lower next year as inflation falls faster than expectedWall Street scaled a fresh all-time high on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signaled that it would cut borrowing costs next year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record level for the second consecutive session as investors looked to the end of the Fed's aggressive campaign against inflation. Continue reading...
Order prohibits agencies and public colleges and universities from using state funds, property or resources towards DEI initiativesOn Wednesday Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma's governor, signed an executive order in effect banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at agencies and public colleges and universities across the state.The order prohibits them from using state funds, property or resources towards DEI initiatives and orders them to dismiss non-critical personnel". It is effective immediately, but institutions are expected to comply no later than 31 May 2024. Continue reading...
Giovanni Hernandez and Miguel Solorio had their convictions vacated this year and now a judge found them factually innocentTwo men who spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit have been exonerated and freed, the Los Angeles county district attorney announced on Wednesday.Giovanni Hernandez and Miguel Solorio had their convictions vacated earlier this year and on Wednesday a judge found them factually innocent, the district attorney's office said. Continue reading...
Autonomous vehicle unit cuts about a quarter of its workforce as it moves to reduce costs and remake itself after accidentGeneral Motors' troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit is cutting over 900 jobs, about a quarter of its workforce, as it moves to reduce costs and remake itself after a grisly accident in San Francisco and subsequent regulatory scrutiny. Early last month, the company recalled all its robotaxis, which it had been testing on roads in California, and regulators accused Cruise of hiding the severity of the incident.The subsidiary announced the cuts on Thursday in a letter to Cruise's 3,800 workers from its president and chief technical officer, Mo ElShenawy, who wrote that the layoffs were not the fault of the workers. The job cuts come a day after Cruise confirmed that nine key leaders are no longer with the company amid an ongoing investigation into an October crash involving one of its driverless robotaxis that forced it to suspend operations. Continue reading...
Those who follow the royals were unsurprised, and those who don't were entertained. But I'm not sure it moved the dialAfter seven years, six seasons, 60 episodes and enough airtime to last you continuously from now to next Sunday, Netflix's mammoth, popular and sort-of acclaimed series The Crown ends with the release of the last four episodes today.That takes the saga up to 2005, so the reign of Queen Elizabeth II still had another 17 years to run, but writer Peter Morgan and the series' makers have decided enough is enough. Discretion has shrouded the final years, though they do give Her 80-year-old Maj, played by Imelda Staunton, intimations of mortality, and even visitations by her younger self in the shape of Claire Foy, the young queen in seasons one and two, and Olivia Colman's mother of the nation from seasons three and four. Continue reading...
Bull was first spotted on train tracks and eventually corralled inside a fenced lot near Newark Liberty international airportLate morning rail commuters going from New Jersey to New York City experienced a wild transit delay on Thursday: a bull was loose on the train tracks.First reports of the bull came around 10.30am local time at Newark Penn Station, when the bull was seen walking on the tracks through the station. Continue reading...
For three years central banks in the US and Europe have been struggling to rein in price growth unseen in a generationFor the last three years, the US and Europe have struggled with a specter unseen for a generation - inflation. Now it looks like the phantom may finally be fading.This week the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of England all held interest rates steady and cautiously signaled that the fight to tamp down soaring prices may be coming to an end. Continue reading...
US news | The Guardian