Catholic priest accused of sexual assault fathered children of victims, court hears

Revelation emerges at hearing for Anthony Odiong, 55, charged with several counts and held in Texas on $5.5m bail

A Roman Catholic priest with links to Texas and Louisiana who is facing criminal charges for allegedly abusing his position of authority within the church to pursue sex with vulnerable women fathered at least two children with victims of his behavior, authorities have alleged.

The stunning information about Anthony Odiong surfaced at a bail hearing on Tuesday in Waco, Texas, where prosecutors have charged him with several counts of sexually assaulting women to whom he ministered.

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Trump announces more picks including US trade chief and health deputy

Attorney Jamieson Greer to play key role in trade team and investor Jim O’Neill picked to be RFK Jr’s health deputy

Donald Trump announced his selections for a series of positions in his administration Tuesday evening. The posts include the president-elect’s picks for deputy secretary of health and human services, US trade representative and head of the national economic council, among others.

Jamieson Greer, an attorney who served under Trump’s previous trade representative Robert Lighthizer, will serve as US trade representative. In his announcement, Trump said: “Jamieson played a key role during my First Term in imposing Tariffs on China and others to combat unfair Trade practices, and replacing the failed NAFTA deal with USMCA, therefore making it much better for American Workers.”

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Man charged after allegedly trying to smuggle meth-soaked cow onesie on flight to Australia

US authorities allege Californian man Raj Matharu tried to conceal more than 1kg of drugs soaked into items of clothing

An alleged would-be drug smuggler soaked a cow onesie in methamphetamine, part of a whole suitcase full of clothes he tried to sneak aboard a plane, US justice officials have said.

Raj Matharu allegedly checked in two bags at Los Angeles international airport on a flight to Sydney, Australia, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

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Dog who fell 50ft down abandoned mine shaft rescued by California firefighters

Firefighter was lowered into shaft and dog, who was ‘a good sport’, was ‘secured and raised out’, authorities said

Firefighters fetched a dog from an abandoned mine shaft in northern California after it fell 50ft.

Firefighters were called around 3.40am last Thursday to a mine located in El Dorado county, roughly 68 miles east of Sacramento.

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Mexico president vows to retaliate with own tariffs against Trump’s tax threat

Claudia Sheinbaum rebukes Trump and says his plan would do nothing to stem flow of migrants or drugs bound for US

Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has rebuked Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on Mexico, arguing the plan would do nothing to halt the flow of migrants or drugs bound for the US border, and vowing that Mexico would hit back with tariffs of its own.

“One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses,” Sheinbaum said, warning that tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries. “What sense is there?”

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Trump’s incoming ‘border czar’ promises secure southern US border – as it happened

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Donald Trump has used the fentanyl crisis gripping the US to support his ambition to impose trade tariffs on China. It gives the incoming US president an opportunity to both appear to be addressing the narcotics emergency, while also reinforcing one of his key aims in terms of US trade.

China is the dominant source of chemical precursors used by Mexican cartels to produce fentanyl, while Chinese money launderers have also become key players in the international drug trade, US authorities say.

Trump has said that, as soon as he gets into office, he will impose a 25% tariff on “ALL products coming into the United States” from Mexico and Canada.

He says the tariffs will remain in place until both countries clamp down on migrants and drugs crossing the border into the US.

Trump also says he will impose a further 10% tariff “above any additional tariffs” on all products coming into the US from China.

It was not entirely clear what this would mean for China as Trump has previously pledged to end China’s most-favoured-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% - much higher than those imposed during his first term.

The reasons for the China tariff, Trump said, was their failure to curb the supply of drugs into the US. China is a major producer of the chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.

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Car found in Georgia pond may contain couple missing since 1980

Lincoln Continental with one human bone inside could belong to New York couple who disappeared on drive home from Florida

A Georgia police department says it has found a car that could contain the remains of a New York couple who have been missing since 1980.

The car, a Lincoln Continental with one human bone inside, was found in a pond between the Royal Inn Hotel and Interstate 95 on New Jesup Highway, by a nonprofit investigative group from Florida called the Sunshine State Sonar Team, police said.

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Trudeau calls emergency meeting over Trump’s Canada tariff threat

US president-elect posted on social media about plan to impose 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada over immigration

Justin Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with provincial premiers across Canada after the US president-elect, Donald Trump, threatened a 25% tariff on the United States’ northern neighbour.

Trump posted on social media that he would “sign all necessary documents” to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all goods products coming into the United States, adding the levy would remain in place until “such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”

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Arctic blast to hit US as millions set to travel for Thanksgiving holiday

Extreme weather expected to bring ‘dangerous wind chills, lake effect snow, and severe thunderstorms’

Millions of Americans will face severe weather – and low temperatures – as they travel for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued an announcement on Monday that an arctic blast is expected to bring “dangerous wind chills, lake effect snow, and severe thunderstorms”.

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Jim Abrahams, co-creator of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, dies aged 80

Famed comedy writer and director, who was also involved in Ruthless People and Hot Shots!, died of natural causes

Jim Abrahams, the writer-director involved with hit comedies Airplane! and The Naked Gun, has died at the age of 80.

According to his son Joseph, who confirmed the news to the Hollywood Reporter, he died of natural causes at his home in Santa Monica.

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Trump’s tariff threat sets stage for bitter global trade war

Trade experts hail ‘new era of protectionism’ with targeted countries retaliating with their own tariffs

Donald Trump’s threat to impose steep tariffs on goods imported into the US has set the stage for a bitter global trade war, according to trade experts and economists, with consumers and companies warned to brace for steep costs.

The president-elect announced on Monday night that he intends to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs on all their exports to the US – until they reduce migration and the flow of drugs into the country.

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Biden proposes Medicare and Medicaid cover weight-loss drugs for 7.4m people

Move aims to tackle US’s chronic obesity problem, but poses a challenge to Trump’s incoming administration

The Biden administration is proposing to make “miracle” weight loss drugs free for low-income people and retirees, in a move aimed at tackling America’s chronic obesity problem but which throws down a gauntlet to the incoming president, Donald Trump.

The proposal, unveiled on Tuesday, would see expensive drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound covered by Medicaid and Medicare, the federal government programs for the poor and the elderly.

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Trump vows 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada and deeper tariffs on China

President-elect attacks neighbors over immigration and accuses China over fentanyl entering US

Donald Trump has said that he will sign an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on all products coming in to the United States from Mexico and Canada, and additional tariffs on China, once he becomes US president again.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

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China and Canada respond to Trump’s tariff threats and border comments – as it happened

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Corey Lewandowski, an adviser to Donald Trump, has said that he and the president-elect have “no concerns at all” regarding Pete Hegseth’s confirmation by the Senate as the next US secretary of defense.

During an appearance on NewsMax, Lewandowski was asked if Trump had any concerns about Hegseth and his nomination, to which Lewandowski responded: “We have no concerns at all.”

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Drake claims UMG and Spotify ‘artificially inflated’ Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us

Feud escalates as rapper’s lawyers file two petitions alleging Universal Music Group and streaming giant conspired while also accusing them of defamation

Drake has launched two legal actions against Universal Music Group and Spotify, alleging they conspired to artificially inflate interest in Kendrick Lamar’s diss track about him, Not Like Us, while suppressing his own music, as well as accusing them of defamation.

In a petition filed to the New York supreme court on Monday, attorneys for Drake’s company Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG and the streaming service of having “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves”, using various tactics to make Lamar’s song more popular.

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Biden will attend Trump’s inauguration in January, says White House

US president and Jill Biden to attend swearing-in of Trump, who did not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, a White House spokesperson said on Monday.

“The president promised that he would attend the inauguration of whomever won the election,” said Andrew Bates, senior deputy press secretary at the White House, Reuters reported.

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Ex-official exits running for Trump team over Sebastian Gorka appointment

Michael Anton, national security official in first Trump term, reportedly removed name from contention over feud

A frontrunner to be deputy national security adviser in Donald Trump’s administration reportedly withdrew from the running after learning that he would have to work with Sebastian Gorka, the president-elect’s choice as counter-terrorism adviser.

Michael Anton, a conservative speech writer and national security official in Trump’s first presidency, removed his name from contention over Gorka’s appointment against a backdrop of acrimonious past relations between the pair, the Washington Post reported.

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Snow and rain forecast to hit US north-east for Thanksgiving

Winds and rain could disrupt Macy’s parade and affect holiday travel – but also provide relief to drought conditions

A Thanksgiving Day storm is forecast to bring rain and potentially snow across the eastern half of the US, including to parts of New York.

The storm, which is predicted to bring snow to California’s Sierra Nevada early this week, is set to make its way to the north-east. As it travels further east, it is likely to strengthen after gathering more moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and eventually the Atlantic, according to AccuWeather.

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Father of missing Hawaii woman found dead in Los Angeles, police say

Body of Ryan Kobayashi, who flew to LA to find daughter, found after police respond to reports of apparent suicide

Ryan Kobayashi, who flew to Los Angeles from Hawaii in search of his missing daughter, has been found dead near the Los Angeles international airport. Ryan Kobayashi had been searching for his 31-year-old daughter, Hannah Kobayashi, who was last seen at the airport on 8 November en route to New York City.

“After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the family wrote in a statement shared by the Rad Movement, a missing persons non-profit. “This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”

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Ireland prices corporation tax loss from Trump policies at €10bn

Figure costed for three multinationals repatriating to US after nomination for commerce secretary hits out at Ireland’s tax regime

Ireland’s prime minister has said the country could lose €10bn (£8.35bn) in corporate tax if just three US multinationals were repatriated to America under a hostile Donald Trump administration.

His remarks come just days after Trump nominated the Wall Street investor Howard Lutnick to lead the Department of Commerce with direct responsibility for trade.

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