Private was sentenced to 12 months of confinement and dishonourably discharged from army but has been released because of time already served
A US soldier who fled into North Korea last year has been sentenced to 12 months of confinement after pleading guilty to desertion as part of a plea agreement, his lawyer has said.
Because of good behaviour and time served, the soldier was released, the lawyer, Franklin Rosenblatt, said on Friday.
Continue reading...Report details litany of missed opportunities; House votes to investigate second apparent Trump assassination attempt
Kamala Harris will be in Georgia today and is expected to speak about Donald Trump’s role in the abortion bans that now blanket much of the United States, days after news broke that two Georgia mothers died after being unable to access legal abortions and adequate medical care.
The deaths of the Georgia mothers, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, were first reported earlier this week by ProPublica and occurred as a result of Georgia enacting a six-week abortion ban. Georgia’s maternal mortality review committee looked at both women’s cases and deemed their deaths “preventable”, according to ProPublica.
You’re looking at a mother that is broken, the worst pain ever that a mother, that a parent can ever feel.
Continue reading...Ronald Rowe says ‘lack of diligence’ contributed to shooting at ex-president’s rally and vows to not repeat mistakes
The US Secret Service had a “complacency” problem and was responsible for multiple security failures that preceded Donald Trump being shot by an attempted assassin during an election rally in Pennsylvania, the acting director of the agency said on Friday.
Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement and a “lack of diligence” hampered the Secret Service’s performance ahead of the July assassination attempt on the former US president, according to a new report that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof.
Continue reading...Pennsylvania plant was site of most serious nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in US history in 1979
A nuclear reactor at the notorious Three Mile Island site in Pennsylvania is to be activated for the first time in five years after its owners, Constellation Energy, struck a deal to provide power to Microsoft’s proliferating artificial intelligence operations.
The plant was the location of the most serious nuclear meltdown and radiation leak in US history, in March 1979 when the loss of water coolant through a faulty valve caused the Unit 2 reactor to overheat. More than four decades later, the reactor is still in a decommissioning phase.
Continue reading...Belize’s House opposition leader Moses Barrow ‘takes no joy in anyone’s challenges’ after recent charges
The rapper and former Sean “Diddy” Combs protege Shyne has said his ex-mentor “destroyed” his life in the wake of a 1999 New York City nightclub shooting in which they were both implicated – yet he denied gaining any sense of schadenfreude from the Bad Boy Records founder’s recent arrest on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and other related crimes.
“One of the things that I would never wish on my worst enemy is to be incarcerated,” said the artist born Moses Barrow, a native of Belize who spent about eight years in prison while Combs was acquitted of charges in connection with the same shooting. “So I take no joy in anyone’s challenges whether with the criminal justice system or otherwise.
Continue reading...Republican majority approves requirement for poll managers to hand-count ballots before tabulating votes
Forty-six days before the election, Georgia’s state election board approved a new rule requiring a hand count of paper ballots cast on election day before tabulating votes.
The three Trump-aligned members that make up the majority on the board approved the rule that would require three people in every precinct to check machine-vote tallies by hand-counting the election results, despite a warning from the state attorney general that this rule and others in consideration “very likely exceed the board’s statutory authority”.
Continue reading...Man was arrested during protest in front of Orthodox synagogue near borough of Queens
A pro-Palestinian protester wearing a keffiyeh scarf has been charged with violating a suburban New York City county’s new law banning face masks in public, reviving fears from opponents that the statute is being used to diminish free speech rights.
Police said the 26-year-old North Bellmore resident was arrested on Sunday afternoon during a protest in front of Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst, an Orthodox synagogue near the New York City borough of Queens.
Continue reading...Julia Roberts and Chris Rock tune in as vice-president attacks Trump on abortion and pledges to sign border bill
Kamala Harris sat down with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday for a “virtual rally” that included a wide ranging sit-down interview, during which Harris attacked her opponent’s stance on reproductive rights and pledged to sign a border security bill thwarted by Senate Republicans, but largely kept her guard up with the legendary television interviewer.
The event, helmed by one of the all-time masters of the television talkshow, was filled with celebrity cameos and heart-wrenching personal stories. It was live-streamed from Michigan, a key battleground state.
Continue reading...In disjointed Washington speech, nominee tells audience low numbers are because of ‘the Democrat curse on you’
Donald Trump has complained bitterly to Jewish donors that a majority of Jews vote against him in US presidential elections, suggesting that the Democratic party has a “curse on you”.
The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks during a speech on Thursday at the Israeli-American Council national summit in Washington, where he used hyperbolic language to warn that victory for his opponent Kamala Harris would result in Israel being wiped off the map.
Continue reading...Springfield mayor Rob Rue says the order will allow city officials to ‘acquire resources to address potential threats’
The mayor of Springfield, Ohio, has issued an emergency proclamation following the continued rise in public safety threats over false rightwing rumors about the city’s migrant communities.
On Thursday, Rob Rue released a statement, saying: “Ensuring the safety of Springfield’s residents is our top priority.” He added: “We are addressing these threats with the seriousness they warrant and are taking immediate steps to ensure the security of both our community and our employees. Our commitment to preventing harm is unwavering.”
Continue reading...Six Rankin county officers known as ‘Goon Squad’ were convicted for hours-long attack involving racial slurs
The US Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into a Mississippi sheriff’s department whose officers tortured two Black men in a racist attack that included beatings, repeated use of stun guns and assaults with a sex toy before one of the victims was shot in the mouth, officials said Thursday.
The justice department will investigate whether the Rankin county sheriff’s department has engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive force and unlawful stops, searches and arrests, and whether it has used racially discriminatory policing practices, according to assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke.
Continue reading...Fred and Sheila McCoy to receive $25,000 reward for locating remains near highway where gunman opened fire
A retired couple who decided to become bounty hunters for the week found the body that authorities believe to be the shooter who attacked people on an interstate highway and then disappeared, it emerged on Thursday.
After the shooter fled, leaving a Kentucky community scared and on guard, Fred and Sheila McCoy decided to plunge into rugged terrain in search of what was widely anticipated to be the gunman’s remains, as law enforcement were also searching.
Continue reading...The show, which will tour for three years across North America beginning in 2025, will feature the gallery’s ‘absolute masterpieces’ – including works by Emily Kam Kngwarray and Albert Namatjira
The largest international exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art will open in 2025 at Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art and tour for three years across North America.
Titled The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art, the show will feature more than 200 works from the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) collection from the 19th century to the present day – including masterpieces by the late Emily Kam Kngwarray, Rover Thomas, Sally Gabori and Albert Namatjira.
Continue reading...Brian Jeffrey Raymond of California was found guilty of drugging and raping women in his government apartments
A former CIA officer who drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced.
Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 48, of La Mesa, California, drugged more than two dozen women and performed nonconsensual sexual acts or made sexual contact with at least 10 women, the justice department said in a press release.
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Joe Biden will address the Economic Club of Washington DC today, one day after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years, marking a significant turning point for the economy.
While the president is expected to hail a “new milestone” in America’s post-pandemic economic recovery, his top officials said he would acknowledge there remains more work to do.
Continue reading...George Papadopoulos and others involved in Intelligencer, increasingly popular source of news in rightwing circles
Amid the recent crackdown on Russian influence in American media, a group of former Trump advisers and operatives have quietly helped build a pro-Russian website that frequently spreads debunked conspiracy theories about the war in Ukraine, election fraud and vaccines.
Working alongside contributors for Kremlin state media, the former Donald Trump policy aide George Papadopoulos, his wife, Simona Mangiante, and others have become editorial board members of the website Intelligencer, which is increasingly becoming a source of news for those in the rightwing ecosystem.
Continue reading...Shift supervisors unable to unionize are left in limbo, despite workers claiming low pay and lack of authority
The largest cannabis delivery service in the US faces a growing backlash in southern California from shift supervisors who said they are paid less than the workers they supervise, struggle to make ends meet on low and stagnant wages, and are at odds with the company over their right to form a union.
Nearly 600 delivery drivers at Eaze in California voted to unionize in 2023 with the United Food and Commercial Workers, and secured a first contract earlier this year after threatening to strike in April.
Continue reading...Union members ‘frustrated’ that company was allegedly unwilling to discuss wages and pensions in negotiations
Union officials have accused Boeing of being “unprepared” after talks resumed to end the US’s largest strike.
Boeing workers will be joined on picket lines by the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Brian Bryant on Thursday a day after the company announced plans to furlough “large numbers” of employees.
Continue reading...Presidential nominee claims God saved him and apparent attempts on his life have made him tougher. Plus, how to win at canapes
Good morning.
Donald Trump staged his first rally on Wednesday night since the second apparent attempt on his life, telling his supporters in New York that “these encounters with death” had made him stronger and attributing his survival to divine intervention.
Why did he pick New York? While Kamala Harris has a double-digit lead in the state overall, Long Island itself has moved to the right in recent years.
Why would Iran do this? Intelligence officials say the state opposes Trump’s re-election, thinking he will worsen relations between Washington and Tehran.
Continue reading...Amazon has told staff they must return five days a week – but experts don’t all agree that flexible working cuts output
Four years ago when the world of work was upended by the Covid pandemic, confident predictions were made that a permanent shift in remote working would follow the removal of lockdown restrictions.
Much has clearly changed since. Some of the earliest preachers of the brave new teleworking world – including the US tech companies Google and Microsoft – are among the most vocal to repent.
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