Threats, harassment and online hate driving women out of politics, MPs warn – National
Threats, harassment and online hate driving women out of politics, MPs warn – National
As longtime Liberal MP Pam Damoff prepares to leave politics when the next federal election is called, she is wistful but open about what is driving her to leave a career she has had for more than a decade.
Vocal about the misogyny and threats she faced during her time in government, she wants public safety officials to take these threats more seriously.
“We’ve seen a shift in how people treat politicians, and I really worry that at some point, someone will be injured or killed,” Damoff said in an interview.
Damoff said harassment escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You have to have tough skin to be in politics that’s a given, but really it was after the pandemic and it really started to cross the line to be angry aggression, moving to where people sent me death threats,” she said.
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She adds, “I have no regrets about running for office … the real issue is retention. Whether you’re on a construction site, in journalism, or in politics, we make better decisions when diverse voices are around the table.”
While just over half of the ********* population identifies as female, data from Equal Voice, a registered charity advocating for gender parity in ********* politics, shows that fewer than one in three elected officials at the federal level are female.
A 2023 study by the Federation of ********* Municipalities showed about the same number of municipally elected politicians were women, though women accounted for only one in five mayors.
Equal Voice data shows that at the provincial level, women’s representation averages 38 per cent, varying from above 50 per cent in British Columbia to below 25 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Ontario election: Bonnie Crombie vows to stay on as Ontario Liberal leader despite losing own seat
In last month’s provincial election in Ontario, only 32.2 per cent of the 768 candidates were women. When the results were tallied 43 women were elected, accounting for 34 per cent of the province’s seats.
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Lindsay Brumwell, Interim Executive Director at Equal Voice, said women accounted for between 32 and 39 per cent in the last three provincial elections in Ontario.
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While the province has yet to reach gender parity, she highlighted the importance of surpassing the 30 per cent threshold, referencing corporate data that suggests progress accelerates once that milestone is reached.
“I don’t want to say that things are great, because they’re not,” Brumwell says. “But I also don’t want to diminish the fact that we’re starting to hit important milestones. Now, we hope to move to the next level.”
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Former Liberal environment minister Catherine McKenna made the decision to step away in 2021, echoing sentiments similar to Damoff.
“I was just a normal person, I went into politics, I wasn’t even a climate activist, I had done human rights work and work internationally, and I was a lawyer, but I didn’t expect this,” she says.”
“And suddenly I came in and I was immediately hit with both climate denial and misogyny all in one.”
McKenna was initially targeted mainly online with varying misogynist slurs and threats of assault, but it eventually moved into the real world, with encounters sometimes while she was with her children. The problem got bad enough she was assigned a security detail at times.
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She points to social media as a key driver of online hate and calls for platform accountability.
“For International Women’s Day, great, celebrate women, but actually do more by actually holding social media companies to account because they’re driving hate and they’re driving women out of politics.”
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More women than men elected as Halifax councillors
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The Liberal leadership race vote on March 9 could mark a historic moment: two women are among the four contestants.
If elected, Karina Gould or Chrystia Freeland would become Canada’s second female prime minister, following Kim Campbell.
In an interview, Gould acknowledged that harassment has worsened, particularly on social media and through threats to her constituency office.
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“It takes a big toll on your mental health and sense of security,” she said.
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Like Damoff, she cited the pandemic as an igniting factor, saying it is a “very different environment in ********* politics than it was pre-pandemic.”
“I think we’re all still recovering from the collective trauma that was the pandemic, and some people, deal with that in more constructive ways, and other people, use that anger and frustration, and take it out on other people,” she said.
Following a wave of departures of female politicians in 2022, historian Alexandre Dumas was commissioned to study the trend for the Women’s Committee of the Cercle des ex-parlementaires de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec.
His report, “Why Do Women Leave Politics?” compiled insights from 21 women who had left politics, many of whom felt their skills were underutilized.
“They wanted to be useful,” explains Marie Malavoy, president of the Women’s Committee of the Cercle des ex-parlementaires de l’Assemblée nationale du Québec.
“They wanted to have their skills and competences well utilized, and if you feel that for four years, well, at the end of the time you, you just ask yourself, am I in the right place for me?”
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While there are challenges, McKenna and Gould both said it’s critical to have women’s voices at the table.
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“This isn’t just about women in politics, but the health of our democracy.” McKenna said.
“The key is to recognize that you have something to offer and your voice matters, and it’s important for you to be in those spaces, because half the population are women, and, it’s important for us to take up that space, be in that space, and make sure that our voices are heard” said Gould.
Gould emphasized the importance of mentorship and support.
“My philosophy has always been, you open the door and then you hold it open for the next generation, but then you reach through and pull the next generation forward as well.
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Montreal’s first ever political ****** women’s caucus helps break barriers
This report by The ********* Press was first published March 8, 2025.
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Kevin Nisbet: Could Aberdeen’s revived striker earn Scotland recall?
Kevin Nisbet: Could Aberdeen’s revived striker earn Scotland recall?
When the former Hibs striker arrived on loan at Pittodrie at the start of this season, looking to find the form that tempted Millwall to spend a reported £2m on him, it looked like a solid investment.
Nisbet scored a late winner against Ross County, before netting against Dundee two games later. It seemed the replacement for Bojan Miovski had been found.
However, there were only another five starts before the new year and just a single goal in that time. He might have hit the ground running, but that start soon stalled.
But Nisbet has been at the forefront of Aberdeen turning their fortunes around again, scoring five goals in his last six and looking more dangerous in the box.
His latest goal was one of his best in this hot run, putting Aberdeen ahead with an audacious backheel flick direct from a corner.
“The real Kevin Nisbet has turned up,” said former Pittodrie captain and manager ******* Miller on Sportsound. “That is just magnificent.
“He’s on the run, he’s beyond the near post and guides it into the top corner. That is a wonderful, wonderful goal.”
Fellow BBC pundit Stephen McGinn agreed: “That is Nisbet at his confident best. A natural goalscorer, feeling good about his game, feeling as fit as he ever has done at Aberdeen.”
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Sergio Garcia makes striking move at LIV Golf Hong Kong
Sergio Garcia makes striking move at LIV Golf Hong Kong
Spanish star Sergio Garcia and American Peter Uihlein have both fired six-under par rounds of 64 to move into a three-way tie for first place after the second round at LIV Golf Hong Kong.
Uihlein finished his uneven round with one eagle, eight birdies and four bogeys to join Garcia and first-round leader Paul Casey (66 on Saturday) at 11 under at Hong Kong Golf Club on Saturday.
Garcia had six birdies and Englishman Casey added four during their respective bogey-free rounds.
“I just watched the Peter Uihlein show today,” Casey said.
“It was impressive stuff. I’m very happy that I’m sitting here tied for the lead. If Pete had not made a bogey today, he’d be about five shots ahead because of his firepower.”
“I’ve had four runners-up, so getting that first win would be awesome,” said Uihlein.
“I think that’s kind of the goal at the start of every year is to get a win. To get a team win would be nice as well, but an individual win would be fantastic.”
Mito Pereira highlighted his own stellar 64 on Saturday with the 10th hole-in-one in LIV Golf history.
The Chilean aced the 149-yard second hole as part of his round and joined Torque GC teammate Sebastian Munoz (67) of Colombia and Phil Mickelson (65) in a tie for fourth place at eight-under.
Mickelson, who’s yet to win a LIV event, kept in the hunt after carding seven birdies and two bogeys.
*********** Lucas Herbert is in an eight-way tie for seventh place after his four-under round of 66.
Herbert’s all-*********** Ripper GC team were eighth out of the 13 outfits in the team competition at 16 under, while Pereira and Munoz inspired Torque GC to go top at 25 under.
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After Battlefield 6 Footage Leak, Hardcore Fans Remind Players to Not Repeat the Battlefield V Mistake That Cost Us All Dearly
After Battlefield 6 Footage Leak, Hardcore Fans Remind Players to Not Repeat the Battlefield V Mistake That Cost Us All Dearly
Here we go again. The first Battlefield Labs playtest for the next entry in EA’s shooter franchise kicked off on March 7th, and surprise, surprise—footage leaked faster than you can say “tactical sprint.” Within minutes, gameplay videos from the modern-day setting were spreading across Reddit, Twitter, and every gaming forum in between.
Battlefield Labs: Where hype goes to get weaponized. | Image Credit: EA
And just like clockwork, the hype train left the station. Players are already praising the return to a Battlefield 3/4-style setting, the enhanced destruction, and the clean UI. The comments sections are filling with excitement about the Abbasid map and the return to class-based gameplay.
But amid this frenzy, a vocal group of veteran Battlefield players is waving red flags so big they could cover the entire map. They’ve seen this movie before, and they know exactly how it ends—with disappointment, patches, and promises of “we’ll do better next time.”
Why Battlefield veterans are pumping the brakes on the hype
Let’s be honest—the leaked footage looks promising. The modern setting, the destruction physics, and the return to class-based gameplay all tick the right boxes for longtime fans who felt burned by Battlefield 2042′s specialist system. But beneath all the excitement, there’s a growing chorus of “I’ve seen this trick before”:
Comment byu/mnkymnk from discussion inBattlefield
This comment hits the nail on the head. We’re looking at extremely early development footage—the gaming equivalent of judging a five-star meal by watching the chef wash vegetables. Remember when Battlefield V’s alpha showed off incredible snowstorms and dynamic weather effects that barely made it into the final game?
Those weather effects weren’t just toned down—they were practically erased. The same happened with promised features like dragging wounded comrades, shooting from ladders, and emergency plane landings, to name a few. All shown in early footage, all cut from the final release.
The frustrating part is how predictable this cycle has become. EA shows off a shiny new Battlefield, players get excited, pre-orders flood in, and then the final product arrives with half the promised features.
Comment byu/mnkymnk from discussion inBattlefield
The harsh language here comes from a place of genuine frustration. Battlefield V‘s pre-alpha and final release were worlds apart—not just in features, but in fundamental gameplay mechanics. The TTK (Time-to-Kill) was completely reworked multiple times after launch, forcing players to relearn the entire game they thought they were buying.
When a company has repeatedly shown they’re willing to drastically change core gameplay elements between early footage and release, getting hyped about leaked playtest footage is like betting your life savings on a weather forecast from last month.
The broader problem with pre-ordering big-budget shooters
Battlefield fanboy trying to revive your wallet after another pre-order. | Image Credit: EA
Pre-ordering isn’t inherently evil—it’s just a question of where and why. There’s a world of difference between supporting an indie studio like Hazelight (makers of A Way Out, It Takes Two, and now our latest GOTY contender, Split Fiction) and throwing money at a multi-billion dollar corporation like EA or Activision.
Comment byu/mnkymnk from discussion inBattlefield
This comment nails the fundamental issue. When EA secures millions in pre-orders, the financial incentive to deliver a polished product diminishes. They’ve already got your money—why spend extra time and resources polishing the game?
Compare this to studios like FromSoftware, whose upcoming Elden Ring spinoff, Elden Ring Nightreign has fans ready to pre-order without hesitation. The difference? A track record of delivering complete, polished games at launch. They’ve earned that trust through consistent quality, not flashy marketing.
Comment byu/mnkymnk from discussion inBattlefield
This is perhaps the most rational take of all. Digital games don’t sell out. There’s literally no benefit to pre-ordering beyond some “bonus” premium currency and cosmetic trinkets designed specifically to make you feel like you’re missing out if you don’t buy early.
The leaked Battlefield footage looks promising, but so did every Battlefield leak and reveal before it. The real test will come when the game launches—whenever that may be between April 2025 and March 2026. Until then, maybe keep your wallet closed and your expectations in check.
What do you think about the leaked Battlefield footage? Are you excited about the return to a modern setting, or are you waiting to see the final product before getting hyped? Let us know in the comments!
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What US, Russia and Europe are thinking ahead of fresh Ukraine talks
What US, Russia and Europe are thinking ahead of fresh Ukraine talks
Reuters
It’s been another turbulent week in global politics.
The world digested the extraordinary exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader visited European allies, who have sprung into action to beef up their defences. Russian bombs hit Ukraine.
But what are these major players thinking ahead of fresh US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia next week?
Five BBC correspondents have analysed the week’s events.
US: Rare criticism of Moscow, as Trump opponents insist he is aligned with Russia
Tom Bateman, State Department correspondent, Washington DC
After Donald Trump and JD Vance’s humiliating attack on Zelensky, the US president on Monday suspended military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine.
Over time, this will have a fundamental impact on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself – and Trump’s Democratic opponents say it’s now beyond question that he is aligned with Russia.
The administration has been plain that it sees the move as pressure on Zelensky to sign the president’s minerals deal and cede to a quick ceasefire.
Trump’s envoy Gen Keith Kellogg characterised the withdrawal of US military support as “like hitting a mule in the face with a [plank of wood]… You got their attention and it’s very significant… and it’s then up to them to do [what the president wants].”
After all the arm-twisting, the week ends with a more conciliatory tone from some of Trump’s top foreign policy team who will meet with the Ukrainians next week in Saudi Arabia.
There was a rare moment of criticism for Moscow by Trump on Friday as he threatened sanctions, even though it is already heavily sanctioned, to try to deter its intensifying bombardment of Ukraine.
But other than that this is an administration that has repeatedly reprimanded its supposed ally but refrained from any such criticism of its adversary.
On Thursday I asked the US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce for her reaction to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ruling out the presence of European peacekeepers in Ukraine. He had called it a “hostile aim” by the West over which there was “no room for compromise”.
Ms Bruce declined to respond, saying it wasn’t for her to comment on the remarks of foreign leaders or ministers, even though she had just repeated Trump’s label of Zelensky as “not ready for peace”.
Russia: Leaders enjoy spectacle of Western rift as deadly attacks on Ukraine continue
Vitaliy Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring Russia editor
Reuters
Until Trump’s sanctions threat, this was another week when all the pressure seemed to be on Kyiv, giving Russia little reason to tame its appetite.
The suspension of American military aid and intelligence is one of the worst setbacks for Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, and a huge boost to Russia’s chances.
The deadly attacks across Ukraine which have followed suggest that Moscow is happy to continue with business as usual in the war.
It still insists that the original objectives of the “special military operation” must be achieved and more Ukrainian land captured.
It has also rejected efforts by Ukraine supporters to relieve this pressure on Kyiv, through a truce or a peacekeeping force.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks this week that Trump’s America may no longer be “on our side” are music to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ears, too.
It’s a situation in which Putin can sit back and enjoy the spectacle of cracks appearing in the Western alliance. It’s a situation that he’s been working to achieve for years, if not decades.
And he has achieved it not because of shots fired on the battlefield, but because of a breathtaking U-turn by Ukraine’s biggest ally.
Next Tuesday, Ukrainian and US representatives are sitting down for talks in Saudi Arabia. Russia will be watching closely, but feeling confident.
Ukraine: After bruising week, Zelensky gears up for fresh US talks
Myroslava Petsa, BBC Ukraine and Daniel Wittenberg, BBC World Service
Reuters
It’s been a bruising, emotional, and relentless week for the embattled Ukrainian president, as he fought to keep Western military support intact while reiterating his commitment to peace.
The fallout from his spectacular Oval Office clash with Trump was compounded in Kyiv after the US suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.
“There’s a scent of betrayal in the air,” one source close to the Ukrainian government said. “The whole country feels it – including the president and his team.”
Zelensky refused Trump’s demand for an “explicit public apology”, instead penning a letter to the US president and calling their White House showdown “regrettable”.
To counter the damage, Zelensky was on the road again, seeking to shore up European support in Brussels. But while he secured public displays of solidarity, he didn’t get the firm military commitments he was hoping for.
Meanwhile, Zelensky urged EU leaders to support a limited truce at sea and in the air – an idea backed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Ukrainian and US delegations will hold talks in Saudi Arabia next week, but the path to peace remains uncertain.
Despite the setbacks, a source close to the president’s team insisted he remains defiant: “Three years ago, he could have been killed, but he decided to stay in Kyiv. The more pressure he’s under, the tougher he gets.”
Europe: Could France extend nuclear umbrella as US support falls away?
Paul Kirby, Europe digital editor
Reuters
There have been so many European summits it has been hard to keep up. And more are to come.
Europe’s leaders have suddenly realised the security umbrella they have relied on since World War Two may no longer be there, and proposals are flashing by at warp speed in European terms.
There is a broad consensus Europe needs to help Ukraine. France and the *** are offering “a coalition of the willing” on the ground if a peace deal can be found.
Russia hates the idea but Macron will bring together army chiefs on Tuesday to work on a plan.
But far ******* questions are now being asked about how Europe protects itself from what EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen calls a “clear and present danger”.
“We have to be ready” if the US is not there to help, says Macron. The EU is now talking about a multi-billion euro plan for beefing up defences.
And Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, Friedrich Merz, has raised the possibility of France and the *** extending their nuclear deterrent across Europe.
Macron has been receptive to that, although France’s nuclear umbrella would stretch only so far and final decisions would be made in Paris.
That goes to the heart of Europe’s defence problem.
Without the US, can individual European countries pool their resources and rely on each other?
For smaller states such as Lithuania there is no choice.
But the debate has begun, and Poland’s Donald Tusk says clearly it would be safer “if we have our own nuclear arsenal”.
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NZ fret over Henry fitness ahead of Champs Trophy final
NZ fret over Henry fitness ahead of Champs Trophy final
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner could not confirm pace spearhead Matt Henry will be available for the Champions Trophy final but he’s confident they can tame India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
The tournament’s leading wicket-taker Henry suffered a shoulder injury while taking an excellent catch in the deep in the semi-final against South Africa.
“Matt’s going to have a bowl just to see how he is,” Santner told reporters on the eve of Sunday’s final. “I guess we’ll make a call after that.”
India beat New Zealand in a group match in Dubai last weekend when Chakravarthy claimed 5-42 with his bag of tricks that includes off-breaks, leg-breaks, googlies, not to mention the ‘carrom ball’ that he pushes with his knuckle.
Santner expected India to field a four-pronged spin attack again, retaining Chakravarthy, who burst into prominence after impressing in the Indian Premier League.
“He’s obviously a world-class bowler; we’ve seen it here and obviously in the IPL and that little bit of mystery,” Santner, in his first global tournament as New Zealand captain, said.
“But it was the first time some of the guys have been facing him. I think they’ll learn from the other day.”
New Zealand batters had seen more footage of Chakravarthy but Santner felt India’s three other spinners could also prove a handful.
“If the pitch plays a similar way it’s going to be a challenge along with all three of their other spinners.
“I think we obviously know what his (Chakravarthy) threats are now. That 115 kilometres per hour arm-ball that got me – that was a bit of a threat.”
India ended an 11-year global title drought when they won the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies last year under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, and stopping that barren run has allowed them to play the big matches without getting overwhelmed by the occasion, said opener Shubman Gill.
“Sometimes once you get one title, I think that kind of breaks the jinx,” he told reporters at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
“It gives you the momentum, also you are not very desperate about getting the title. It’s not good when desperation kicks in. Then it becomes hard to put the occasion out of the equation.
“I think winning the title in 2024 doesn’t mean that we are less hungry but I think it makes us more balanced that, yes, we’ve won an ICC title and we’ll try to do our best to win this one.”
India remain the tournament’s only unbeaten team, having comfortably won their group clash with the ****** Caps.
They have been boosted by stalwart Virat Kohli’s return to form and the firepower in their middle order.
“I think this is the best batting line-up that I have been part of,” Gill said.
“Rohit and Virat are all-time one-day greats. Rohit is one of the best openers in white ball and Virat is one of the best ODI batsmen ever.
“The batting depth that we have has made life easier for the top order batsmen.”
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Cyclone downgraded but dangerous weather threat looms
Cyclone downgraded but dangerous weather threat looms
A tropical cyclone may have been downgraded but it is still packing destructive winds and heavy rainfall.
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‘Why not?’: Victory coach backs young duo for Socceroos
‘Why not?’: Victory coach backs young duo for Socceroos
If either Ryan Teague or Jordi Valadon’s impressive form delivers a maiden Socceroos call-up, Melbourne Victory coach Arthur Diles will feel they deserve it.
The Socceroos return to action with World Cup qualifiers against Indonesia in Sydney on March 20 and China away five days later.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic was on hand at AAMI Park on Saturday night as Teague and Valadon controlled the midfield in a 3-0 A-League Men win over Central Coast, which featured goals from Nishan Velupillay, Bruno Fornaroli and Zinedine Machach.
Few people would have better awareness of Valadon and Teague’s potential than Popovic, who was head coach when both players joined Victory.
Teague, 23, was a regular last season but hard-running Valadon, 21, has gone from a bench option to a consistent starter under Patrick Kisnorbo, then Diles.
When asked if Popovic should be consider selecting them, Diles said: “Yeah, why not?
“I think they’re an outstanding midfield partnership, and probably one of the youngest midfield combinations in the league, and they’re consistently doing really well, and they’re pushing for recognition.
“And again, when they’re strong and they have good games, this team’s a lot better as well.
“You saw tonight, they really controlled the middle of the park there, which set the platform for us and gave us that go forward and gave us momentum.
“They were excellent tonight.”
One player who won’t be in the mix is Daniel Arzani, who has battled for form all season, with Popovic in January saying the winger “needs to raise his level.”
Diles described Arzani, 26, as a “work in progress”.
“Like every player we have, we want to see them all at their best, Daniel included,” Diles said.
“And it maybe hasn’t been the most fluent season for him.
“He’s had some really good moments during the year, and he’s had some that he’d probably want to forget.
“And it’s one of those years for him at the moment, and it’s important that he finishes the season really strongly, because if he’s firing and doing well, the team’s doing well as well.”
Diles was also pleased with how Alex Badolato, the tournament MVP in the Young Socceroos’ U20 Asian Cup triumph, settled into his debut.
Skipper Roderick Miranda will have scans after he had his foot trodden on and had to be substituted, while Diles praised Kasey Bos for playing through a first-half knock.
Fourth-placed Victory will hope Miranda is fit for next Saturday’s clash with fellow finals contender Western Sydney.
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Taumalolo return looms for badly beaten Cowboys
Taumalolo return looms for badly beaten Cowboys
North Queensland are expected to get Jason Taumalolo back for their clash with Cronulla, as coach Todd Payten urges players to stick together following a round-one flogging.
Requiring off-season foot surgery after he was injured in Tongan camp at the end of last year, Taumalolo missed the Cowboys’ horror 42-12 season-opening loss to Manly on Saturday.
The Cowboys forward has returned to training, and is likely to be crucial for North Queensland in next Saturday’s home match against the Sharks.
BRAIDON TURNING ON THE BURNERS #NRLManlyCowboys pic.twitter.com/oU4yQlqSd5— NRL (@NRL) March 8, 2025
There was the odd moment of success for the Cowboys in their big loss.
The 31-year-old’s return will come as a significant boost for the Cowboys, after their defence was torn apart early in Saturday night’s loss.
The Cowboys were never in the contest, down 16-0 after 11 minutes with Daly Cherry-Evans, Tom Trbojevic and Haumole Olakau’atu targeting their edges.
North Queensland’s back five and halves missed 20 tackles between them, while their pack was steamrolled with no forward running 100 metres.
“I spoke to them afterwards about some of our individuals being off the mark, asked them to think about their prep both physically and mentally,” coach Todd Payten said.
“I asked a question which I didn’t need an answer for straight away, that we will come back to tomorrow.
“And then I told them to be ready for work when we come back to work through the week. It is round one, we have to put our heads down and stay together.”
Saturday’s loss also marked a tough debut for 21-year-old halfback Thomas Duffy, who had a travelling pack of close to 25 fans for his maiden NRL match.
The rookie has won the No.7 jersey from Jake Clifford after dominating in Queensland Cup last year, but had little good ball to work with in his NRL debut.
Duffy put a pass into touch and also gave away a seven-tackle set, but realistically the Cowboys’ attack struggled on the lack of limited ball and attempts to play catch-up football.
“Tough one for him and the club really,” Payten said.
“I thought he was solid. Played behind a beaten forward pack. Kicked okay, tackled okay. It’s a big step up and he will be better for it.”
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Labor secures third runaway victory in state poll
Labor secures third runaway victory in state poll
Premier Roger Cook has led WA Labor to a third term in office after the party secured its second largest victory in history and his first as leader.
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North Korea unveils nuclear-powered submarine for the first time
North Korea unveils nuclear-powered submarine for the first time
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea unveiled for the first time a nuclear-powered submarine under construction, a weapons system that can pose a major security threat to South Korea and the U.S.
State media on Saturday released photos showing what it called “a nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine,” as it reported leader Kim Jong Un’s visits to major shipyards where warships are built.
The Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, didn’t provide details on the submarine, but said Kim was briefed on its construction.
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The naval vessel appears to be a 6,000-ton-class or 7,000-ton-class one which can carry about 10 missiles, said Moon Keun-sik, a South Korean submarine expert who teaches at Seoul’s Hanyang University. He said the use of the term “the strategic guided missiles” meant it would carry nuclear-capable weapons.
“It would be absolutely threatening to us and the U.S.,” Moon said.
A nuclear-powered submarine was among a long wishlist of sophisticated weaponry that Kim vowed to introduce during a major political conference in 2021 to cope with what he called escalating U.S.-led military threats. Other weapons were solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, spy satellites and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since performed a run of testing activities to acquire them.
North Korea obtaining a greater ability to fire missiles from underwater is a worrying development because it’s difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance.
Questions about how North Korea, a heavily sanctioned and impoverished country, could get resources and technology to build nuclear-powered submarines have surfaced.
Moon, the submarine expert, said North Korea may have received Russian technological assistance to build a nuclear reactor to be used in the submarine in return for supplying conventional weapons and troops to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.
He also said North Korea could launch the submarine in one or two years to test its capability before its actual deployment.
North Korea has an estimated 70-90 diesel-powered submarines in one of the world’s largest fleets. However, they are mostly aging ones capable of launching only torpedoes and mines, not missiles.
In 2023, North Korea said it had launched what it called its first “tactical nuclear attack submarine,” but foreign experts doubted the North’s announcement and speculated it was likely a diesel-powered submarine disclosed in 2019. Moon said there has been no confirmation that it has been deployed.
North Korea has conducted a slew of underwater-launched ballistic missile tests since 2016, but all launches were made from the same 2,000-ton-class submarine which has a single launch tube. Many experts call it a test platform, rather than an operational submarine in active service.
In recent days, North Korea has been dialing up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. and South Korea ahead of their upcoming annual military drills set to start Monday.
During his visits to the shipyards, Kim said North Korea aims to modernize water-surface and underwater warships simultaneously. He stressed the need to make “the incomparably overwhelming warships fulfill their mission” to contain “the inveterate gunboat diplomacy of the hostile forces,” KCNA reported Saturday.
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Trump’s Affinity for Putin Grows More Consequential Than Ever
Trump’s Affinity for Putin Grows More Consequential Than Ever
In early 2017, American intelligence agencies delivered an unequivocal judgment about why President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had ordered a sprawling effort to sabotage the recent American presidential election.
Mr. Putin wanted to cripple the faith Americans have in their own elections, they found, and to undermine a United States-led “liberal world order” that the Russians see as a threat to their security. As a way to achieve this goal, the assessment found, Russia worked to help Donald J. Trump win the election.
Eight years later, Mr. Trump sat in the Oval Office for a blustery meeting with President Voldymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and rendered, once again, his own judgment on that *******. There was no Russian sabotage, just a “phony witch hunt” of which both he and Mr. Putin were victims.
“Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” he said.
The statement was a tell. The president sees common cause with Mr. Putin, a merging of interests forged through battles against those he believes are his and Mr. Putin’s mutual adversaries — including Democratic lawmakers, European leaders and a spectral “deep state” inside the U.S. government.
The relationship between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin has for years been scrutinized by American government inquiries, assessments by foreign intelligence services and news media investigations. Taken together, they have unearthed evidence to support an array of theories addressing Mr. Trump’s affinity for a Russian strongman who has spent a career trying to undermine American interests.
As yet, there is no single, tidy explanation. But based solely on Mr. Trump’s public actions during his first six weeks back in office, the simple fact is that he has made few decisions on national security or foreign policy that have not been cheered by the Kremlin, making his stance toward Mr. Putin more consequential than ever.
This is a world turned upside down for Susan Miller, the former head of counterintelligence at the C.I.A., who led the agency’s 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian election interference.
Ms. Miller said in an interview that she thinks Mr. Trump’s affinity for the Russian president boils down to “autocrat envy”— that he covets the power Mr. Putin has to make decisions in Russia without any constraints.
“Trump likes Putin because Putin has control over his country,” she said. “And Trump wants control over his country.”
Mr. Trump has accused Mr. Zelensky of beginning the war that started with a Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a war that has seen the mass slaughter of Ukrainian civilians. He has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine that the country desperately needs to battle Russian forces.
He has gutted American foreign aid programs that Mr. Putin has long detested, including pro-democracy programs in countries like Hungary that Russia is bringing closer into its sphere of influence. He has sidelined European allies, saying they are untrustworthy and suggesting they might have to fend for themselves in the future.
Mr. Trump has defended his actions in part by saying they are necessary steps to getting Russia to the negotiating table, casting himself as a peace broker to end the war in Ukraine. Thus far, however, he has pushed far harder on Mr. Zelensky to make concessions than he has on Mr. Putin.
On Friday, he began the day with a social media post threatening economic sanctions against Russia for what he said was the “pounding” the Russian military was delivering in Ukraine. In the Oval Office hours later, however, he seemed to defend Mr. Putin, saying that Russia “bombing the hell out of Ukraine” was actually a sign that Russia wanted an end to the war. He criticized Ukraine for not, in his view, being as motivated to end the conflict.
“What is Putin getting? He is getting more than he and other former K.G.B. officers ever dreamed of,” said Calder Walton of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, who wrote a book on the history of espionage between Russia and the United States.
“This is the dismantling before our eyes of the U.S.-led international order, something that Putin has worked toward his entire career,” he said.
How much does all this please Russian officials? Just ask them.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s longtime spokesman, went on state television two days after the Oval Office blowup with Mr. Zelensky and praised the Trump administration’s decisions since coming to power. The new White House agenda, he said, “largely aligns with our vision.”
That same day, Sergey V. Lavrov, Mr. Putin’s foreign minister, presented Russians with a wholly different take on world history than the one that Kremlin officials have taught for decades. Mr. Lavrov said it was European nations, not the United States, that were responsible for so many of history’s great tragedies — citing the Crusades, the Napoleonic wars, World War I and the rise of Hitler.
“If we look at history in retrospect,” he said, “the Americans did not play any instigating, let alone incendiary, role.”
Ms. Miller said there was no doubt among members of her counterintelligence team about Russia’s intentions in disrupting the 2016 election: to spread disinformation and sow chaos with the aim of undermining confidence in the democratic process.
At the same time, she said, her agency team — which was joined by officials from the National Security Agency and the F.B.I. — was extremely careful and fiercely nonpartisan in assessing what impact the Russian interference had on Mr. Trump’s election victory.
Nevertheless, during the first Trump administration she found herself in the cross hairs of the team of prosecutors led by John Durham, whom Attorney General William P. Barr had appointed to investigate the origins of the F.B.I.’s Russia investigation. She said that Mr. Durham and other prosecutors grilled her for more than eight hours about the intelligence assessment.
“They were looking for bias in our work,” Ms. Miller said. “They didn’t find any.” Mr. Durham’s final report found no fault with the 2017 intelligence assessment.
Still, Mr. Trump’s anger about what he calls the “Russia hoax” has festered for years, a grievance so deep he now sees Mr. Putin as his ally in victimhood.
Mr. Putin has spent years trying to shape Mr. Trump’s thinking on Ukraine, and there is now little daylight between both men’s public statements about the war.
The first time that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin met in person, during a July 2017 summit in Hamburg, Germany, the Russian president used much of the time disparaging Ukraine as a corrupt, fabricated country.
He said that Russia had every right to exert influence over Ukraine. He even justified Russian military operations in the country by raising the historical example of President Theodore Roosevelt’s belief that the United States had the right to intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries.
Mr. Trump is a longtime admirer of Roosevelt.
Leaving the meeting, Rex Tillerson, then the secretary of state, told anxious White House aides that Mr. Putin had done his “K.G.B. shtick,” and that Mr. Trump had not pushed back on any of the Russian president’s assertions about Ukraine.
More than two years later, the House impeached Mr. Trump because of a July 2019 phone call he had with Mr. Zelensky, during which he made continued American military support to Ukraine contingent on Mr. Zelensky helping dig up dirt on his political opponents.
The episode further radicalized Mr. Trump’s views not only toward Ukraine but also to his perceived “deep state” enemies who testified during the impeachment proceedings.
It also began to radicalize other Republicans against Ukraine, who began to echo some of the language that Mr. Putin has long used about the country.
This convergence of views has become even more pronounced in the weeks since Mr. Trump came back to power, as his administration presses Ukraine to negotiate a peace deal with Russia.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized the conflict in Ukraine on Fox News not as a clear case of Russian aggression, but as a dangerous “proxy war” between the United States and Russia.
Mr. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said in a statement afterward that he agreed entirely. It was, he said, another example of the positions of the White House and the Kremlin aligning “perfectly.”
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Jackson demands Mariners keep up fight in title defence
Jackson demands Mariners keep up fight in title defence
With Central Coast desperate to keep their title defence alive and their players fighting for their futures, coach Mark Jackson says it’s time for the reigning champions to stand up.
That starts with facing A-League Men leaders Auckland FC in New Zealand.
Jackson’s Mariners (21 points, goal difference of minus-16) sit 10 points behind sixth-placed Western Sydney with six games to go, after their 3-0 loss to Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.
It’s a far cry from last season, when they won the championship-premiership double along with the AFC Cup.
Jackson conceded both an impotent attack and a defence conceding “sloppy” goals had been costly.
“We’ve got to start performing better than we performed today collectively,” Jackson said.
Looking forward to embracing the Auckland test, he added: “It’s the only way you can do it. You want to play against the best teams, of course you do, you’ve got to have no fear-factor going into games.
“When you’re in a run of form we’re in, it’s not ideal, and you’ve got to try and pick the players up, particularly the younger players.
“But they’ve got to show that level of motivation as well to go out and compete, which is really, really important.
“That has to be our motivation going into the final games where we have to try and win football matches, it’s the pride of the players that they should want to do that.”
The Mariners have lost many stars, including Josh Nisbet, Max Balard, Jacob Farrell, Jason Cummings and Nectar Triantis to transfers over the past two years.
“It takes time for the younger players to step up and get to that level,” Jackson said.
“And even the players who come in, it takes them time to get to that level as well, particularly when you can’t replace like-for-like players.”
Central Coast are working to set themselves up for next season.
“People are vying for their futures at the club, and they’ve got to show levels of performance to want to stay here and want to be part of it next year, of course,” Jackson said.
“There’s no doubt we need to make the squad stronger. We need to raise the bottom bar in my opinion. That’s clear. Raise that competitiveness of the squad.
“We want a little bit more experience in there as well to get the blend in there.
“But we’ve got games to come up, and we’ve got to try and finish on a positive note.”
Jackson indicated some players hadn’t reached the level required.
“When you’re in a position we’re in, there’s obviously levels of performance have not been there,” he said.
“The table doesn’t lie. We deserve to be where we are, and there’s clear areas of the team where we need to improve.”
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Preview: Atomfall Proves a Must-Play Mystery on PS5, PS4 – Push Square
Preview: Atomfall Proves a Must-Play Mystery on PS5, PS4 – Push Square
Push Square: “We’ll need to play Atomfall natively on PS5 before we can critique its other potential qualities, but what seems to be set in stone is the gripping mystery at its core. In the 90 minutes we got to play, uncovering new leads to chase was the clear highlight as we found fresh characters to pick the brains of and locations our map was missing. It was a thoroughly enjoyable process, which when drawn out over the course of a full game full of dead ends and story reveals, appears primed to result in one of 2025’s narrative highlights.”
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Unions ask court to stop DOGE from access of Social Security data
Unions ask court to stop DOGE from access of Social Security data
“Close up photograph of Social Security cards against currency background, selective focus.Similar Images:”
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A group of labor unions are asking a federal court for an emergency order to stop Elon Musk ‘s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the sensitive Social Security data of millions of Americans.
The motion for emergency relief was filed late Friday in federal court in Maryland by the legal services group Democracy Forward against the Social Security Administration and its acting commissioner, Leland Dudek. The unions want the court to block DOGE’s access to the vast troves of personal data held by the agency.
Included in the filing is an affidavit from Tiffany Flick, a former senior official at the agency who says career civil servants are trying to protect the data from DOGE. “A disregard for our careful privacy systems and processes now threatens the security the data SSA houses about millions of Americans,” Flick wrote in court documents.
Karianne Jones, a lawyer for the unions and a retiree group behind the lawsuit, said it is not fully clear what kind of access that DOGE might have to personal data about taxpayers. But she said the apparent scope and the lack of information about what DOGE is looking for mean the potential impact is “huge.”
“Essentially what you have is DOGE just swooping in and bullying their way into access to millions of Americans private data. They cannot explain why they want this data. They can’t really tell you what data they want. They just want everything. They want the source code, and they want to do it without any restrictions,” she said.
The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request Saturday for comment on the lawsuit, which was originally filed last month.
DOGE’s work during the early stages of the Trump administration has drawn nearly two dozen lawsuits. Judges have raised questions in several cases about DOGE’s sweeping cost-cutting efforts, conducted with little public information about its staffing and operations. But judges have not always agreed that the risks are imminent enough to block DOGE from government systems.
Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about the possible effects on benefits for tens of millions of recipients.
Among the potential changes at the agency are layoffs for more than 10% of the workforce and the closure of dozens of offices throughout the country. It’s all part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.
DOGE has accessed other government databases, including at the Treasury and IRS. The Trump administration has said generally that the efforts are aimed at eliminating what it claims is waste and fraud in government.
On Friday, a federal judge in Washington refused to block DOGE employees from accessing Treasury systems containing sensitive personal data for millions of people. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly did acknowledge privacy concerns about that work. DOGE is still limited by a different court order in New York.
In addition, a February agreement between the Office of Personnel Management and the IRS states that a DOGE employee, Gavin Kliger, would be allowed to have access to IRS systems, but not the personal information of taxpayers.
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Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy is arrested in Texas on a family violence assault charge
Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy is arrested in Texas on a family violence assault charge
GEORGETOWN, Texas (AP) — Kansas City chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge in Texas.
Williamson County online jail records on Saturday showed that Worthy was arrested Friday by deputies and held in the county jail on a charge of assault on a family or household member in which their breath was impeded, or choking in common terms.
Williamson County includes parts of Austin, where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.
The charge is a third-degree felony in Texas, with a possible punishment of two to 10 years in prison. Jail records showed Worthy had not yet posted bond by Saturday morning.
The records did not have any details of the arrest or list an attorney for Worthy.
Under Texas law, impeding breathing includes “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the person’s throat or neck or by blocking the person’s nose or mouth.”
Worthy was drafted by the Chiefs 28th overall in 2024 and finished his rookie season with 59 catches for 638 yards and six touchdowns, and 20 rushes for 104 yards and three more scores.
He scored two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia.
___
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Split Fiction Director Responds To "Feminism Propaganda" Accusations: "What The F**k Is This?"
Split Fiction Director Responds To "Feminism Propaganda" Accusations: "What The F**k Is This?"
The director of EA and Hazelight Studios’ action-adventure game, Split Fiction has responded to accusations regarding “feminism propaganda”.
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Skype got shouted down by Teams and Zoom. But it revolutionised human connection | John Naughton
Skype got shouted down by Teams and Zoom. But it revolutionised human connection | John Naughton
So Microsoft has decided to terminate Skype, the internet telephony company it bought in 2011 for $8.5bn (£6.6bn). Its millions of hapless users are to be herded into Microsoft Teams, a virtual encampment with a brain-dead aesthetic that makes even Zoom look cool. This eventuality had been telegraphed for quite a while but, even so, it comes as a jolt because Skype was a remarkable venture, and its demise closes a chapter of an interesting strand of technological history.
The internet has been around for much longer than most people realise. It goes back to the 1960s and the creation of Arpanet, a military computer network that emerged after the US had its “Sputnik moment” – the awful realisation that the Soviet Union seemed to be racing ahead in the technology stakes. The design of Arpanet’s successor, the internet we use today, started in the early 1970s and it was first switched on in January 1983.
The designers of the network were, from the outset, determined to avoid the limitations of earlier communication systems, particularly the analogue telephone network, which was optimised for voice, hopeless for digital signals and owned by corporations which resisted innovations that they themselves had not originated. So the new network would not have an owner or be optimised for any particular medium, and would therefore be more permissive than any earlier network. Anyone could access it, and create services that ran upon it, so long as their computers conformed to the protocols of the network.
The result was the explosion of creativity – good and bad – that we are still living with today. What the internet’s designers had built was what a scholar later called “an architecture for permissionless innovation”; or, put another way, a global platform for springing surprises.
The world wide web, created by Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980s, was one of those surprises. But so too was something called VoIP (voice over internet protocol). Speech could be digitised (converted into ones and zeroes) and put into data packets which could be sent over the internet; and then, having reached their destination, converted back into audio. The result: free telephony to anywhere in the world!
Skype was the first company to bring this magic to ordinary consumers. It was founded in 2003 by Janus Friis (a Dane) and Niklas Zennström (a Swede) and headquartered in Luxembourg; but the software that powered it was written by three Estonians who also wrote software for peer-to-peer file sharing. In 2005, eBay bought it for $2.6bn (£2bn). By 2006 it had 100m registered users and by 2009 was adding about 380,000 new users each day and generating around $740m (£575m) in annual revenue. So you could say that Skype was the first European company to reach US-level scale.
I grew up in a time when a phone call from the US meant only one thing: a death in the family. If emigrants kept in touch with the folks back home, it was only by letter
At which point the inevitable happened: in 2011 Skype was bought by Microsoft and absorbed into the maw of the tech colossus. Many observers, including this columnist, wondered what Microsoft thought it was doing with its new toy. Last week’s news suggests that the company never quite figured it out. And in any event, once the pandemic arrived in 2020 and people started working from home, it was clear that Microsoft would need to have something to ward off the threat posed by Zoom. Skype conceivably could have been at the core of its response, but instead the decision was made to put all the energy into making Teams the behemoth’s answer to remote working. From then on, Skype was surplus to requirements and the die was cast.
Before it disappears, though, it’s worth remembering what an energising newcomer it was on the scene two decades ago. Most people nowadays have no idea how closed and depressing telephony was in the analogue era. It was an industry run either by complacent, unresponsive and domineering monopolies (AT&T in the US) or government agencies (the GPO in the ***). It could take months to get a telephone installed in your home. Phone calls were expensive and international calls positively prohibitive.
I grew up in a country (Ireland) with a huge diaspora in a time when a phone call from the US meant only one thing: a death in the family. If emigrants kept in touch with the folks back home, it was only by letter and perhaps the odd parcel; never by phone. In rural Ireland, on the night before a son or a daughter departed for America or Australia, their family would sometimes hold a wake, because they assumed they would never hear their voices again.
And now? The VoIP technology that Skype brought into people’s lives has been commoditised. Social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal offer unlimited – and free – audio (and video) connections with friends, families and colleagues all over the world. Phone calls that would once have bankrupted a family are made every day. Microsoft may not have found Skype useful in the end. But the rest of us certainly did.
What I’ve been reading
Three-market economy Dave Karpf’s sharp essay identifies the three types of money behind Silicon Valley’s power.
Bringing back sovereignty An insightful editorial in Noema by Nathan Gardels on why the current and 47th US president is behaving like the 25th.
Fighting talk A seismic regulatory clash is in the offing, says David Allen Green’s prescient analysis in the Financial Times.
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Ukraine says Russian strikes kill at least 25
Ukraine says Russian strikes kill at least 25
Reuters
Russian missiles destroyed residential buildings in Dobropillya in Donetsk region
At least 25 people have died in Ukraine in the latest wave of Russian strikes, Ukrainian officials say, as the conflict shows no sign of easing.
One attack on Donetsk Region killed least 11 people and wounded 40, including six children, local officials said on Saturday. Homes and infrastructure were hit in other regions, including Kharkiv and Odesa.
Russian attacks have intensified in recent days, as the US paused military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. It followed last week’s Oval Office clash between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
After the latest Russian strikes, Polish PM Donald Tusk said: “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians.”
“More bombs, more aggression, more victims,” he added in a social media post.
The deadliest strikes occurred late on Friday in the Donetsk Region town of Dobropillya. At least 11 people were killed when two ballistic missiles hit eight residential buildings and a shopping centre, officials said.
After emergency services arrived, Russia launched another strike “deliberately targeting the rescuers”, Zelensky said in a Telegram post. “Such strikes show that Russia’s goals are unchanged,” he added.
Other attacks in the region killed nine people and wounded 13 on Friday and Saturday, local officials said.
Drones struck a company in Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Region, killing three people and injuring seven early on Saturday, regional head Oleh Synyehubov reported.
Another drone attack on Friday hit civilian and energy infrastructure in Odesa, the regional head said. “This is the seventh attack on the region’s energy system in three weeks,” the DTEK energy company said.
Ros Atkins on… a week of war and words after Oval Office row
Meanwhile Ukraine has continued to target Russia, whose defence ministry said its forces had intercepted 31 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Late on Friday, Trump has said he was finding it “more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine” than Russia in attempts to broker peace between the two nations.
The US is “doing very well with Russia”, and “it may be easier dealing with” Moscow than Kyiv, he told reporters.
Hours earlier, Trump had said he was “strongly considering” large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire with Ukraine was reached.
In addition to halting military and intelligence help, the US suspended Ukraine’s access to some satellite imagery, space technology company Maxar said on Friday.
The move came exactly a week after the extraordinary exchange at the White House, in which Trump berated Zelensky for being “disrespectful” to the US.
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RoboCop: Rogue City is getting a standalone expansion and you can play as Alex Murphy
RoboCop: Rogue City is getting a standalone expansion and you can play as Alex Murphy
RoboCop: Rogue City, developer Teyon’s warmly received take on the iconic action movie series, is back with a standalone sequel – titled Unfinished Business – that’s launching this summer on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
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Bear hit by car lying in parking lot with cub stirs emotions
Bear hit by car lying in parking lot with cub stirs emotions
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to a report that a momma bear had apparently been hit by a car and was found with its cub lying in an apartment parking lot in Truckee.
An online video shows the sow lying in the parking lot of the Sawmill Heights Apartments near Northstar Ski Resort. It is a heart-breaking scene as the cub grabs momma’s face and nips at her ears to get her to stir.
The incident occurred Monday around 6:30 a.m., which is when The Bear League of Tahoe was called, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
The area of the parking lot was coned off to give the bears space as officials assessed the situation.
A snowboarding TikTok user recorded footage of the heart-wrenching scene, saying “someone ran over a bear in our parking lot” and “this is the saddest thing I’ve seen in my life.”
The video stirred plenty of emotions. A sample of the comments on the post:
“This actually made me tear up.”
“This broke my heart.”
“This is so horrible and sad.”
“It’s like that part in Lion King.”
“Most heart-wrenching thing I’ve ever seen. Shame to who ever did this.”
“My heart is just breaking.”
“I’m crying.”
A cub attempts to stir its mother, who apparently was hit by a car in a parking lot.
The Bear League told the Tribune that in the seven hours of observing the momma bear, it showed signs consistent with a concussion or other head trauma.
A wildlife veterinarian and wildlife biologist experts advised the CDFW to tag the bears and release them back into the wilderness.
So the agency darted the bears and proceeded to relocate them.
The TikTok user wrote that the CDFW placed a camera where the bears were relocated and monitored the sow overnight. Officials returned the next morning and discovered that the sow was ambulatory and mobile, this according to the Supervisor of Wildlife Management Units.
The CDFW told the Tribune it would continue to monitor the bears to determine if further intervention is necessary.
Photos courtesy of TikTok user Snowboard Jesus.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bear hit by car lying with cub stirs emotion
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Republicans try to go it alone on government funding as shutdown deadline nears
Republicans try to go it alone on government funding as shutdown deadline nears
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are looking to do what, for them, is almost unheard of —- approving government funding on their terms with little help from Democrats.
Speaker Mike Johnson is teeing up a bill that would generally fund federal agencies at current levels for the remainder of the budget year ending Sept. 30. That would mean defense and non-defense programs would be funded at 2024 levels. Congress must act by midnight March 14.
It’s a risky approach. Normally, when it comes to keeping the government fully open for business, Republicans have had to work with Democrats to craft a bipartisan measure that both sides can support. That’s because Republicans almost always lack the votes to pass spending bills on their own.
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This time, Republicans have hopes of going it alone. They plan to muscle the funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, though the House, and then dare Senate Democrats to oppose it and risk being blamed for a government shutdown.
Crucially, the strategy has the backing of President Donald Trump, who has shown an ability so far in his term to hold Republicans in line.
“Let’s get this Bill done!” Trump said on social media.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., says he has never voted for a continuing resolution, what lawmakers often call a CR, but he is on board with Johnson’s effort. He says he has confidence in Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, to make a difference on the nation’s debt.
“I don’t like CRs,” Norman said. “But what’s the alternative? Negotiate with Democrats? No.”
“I freeze spending for six month to go identify more cuts? Somebody tell me how that’s not a win in Washington,” added Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, another lawmaker who has often frequently voted against spending bills but supports the six-month continuing resolution.
Republicans are also hoping that resolving this year’s spending will allow them to devote their full attention to extending the individual tax cuts passed during Trump’s first term and raising the nation’s debt ceiling to avoid a catastrophic federal default.
But Democratic leaders are warning that the decision to move ahead without consulting them increases the prospects for a shutdown. One of their biggest concerns is the flexibility the legislation would give the Trump administration on spending.
“We cannot stand by and accept a yearlong power grab CR that would help Elon take a chainsaw to programs that families rely on and agencies that keep our communities safe,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Democratic leadership in both chambers has stressed that Republicans have the majority and are responsible for funding the government. But they also have been wary of saying how Democrats would vote on a continuing resolution.
“We have to wait to see what their plan is,” Schumer said. “We’ve always believed the only solution is a bipartisan solution, no matter what.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier this week that the Democratic caucus would meet and discuss the legislation at the “appropriate moment.” But he struck a more forceful tone Friday.
Jeffries said Democrats are ready to negotiate a “meaningful, bipartisan spending agreement that puts working people first.” But he said the “partisan continuing resolution” threatens to cut funding for key programs, such as veterans benefits and nutritional assistance for low-income families.
“That is not acceptable,” Jeffries said.
While continuing resolutions generally keep spending flat, many lawmakers say that failing to keep pace with inflation actually leads to a cut in services.
Trump has been meeting with House Republicans in an effort to win their votes on the legislation. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, along with more than a dozen other lawmakers, met with Trump on Wednesday.
“I’m open to it,” Burchett said. “But I want to see what’s in it.”
Republicans have a 218-214 majority in the House, so if all lawmakers vote, they can afford only one defection if Democrats unite in opposition. The math gets even harder in the Senate, where at least seven Democrats would have to vote for the legislation to overcome a filibuster — and that’s assuming all 53 Republicans vote for it.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., has said that passage of the measure covering the remainder of the fiscal year doesn’t preclude further negotiations to pass the regular appropriations bills for the budget year.
A Democratic aide speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed that such talks have reopened as the two sides try to reach agreement on topline spending levels. The talks could amount to a Plan B should the continuing resolution falter.
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Disney Ride Passengers ‘Dumbfounded’ After Man Jumps from Log to Wander with His Son, Causing ‘40 Minute’ Delay
Disney Ride Passengers ‘Dumbfounded’ After Man Jumps from Log to Wander with His Son, Causing ‘40 Minute’ Delay
A Disney World guest left fellow passengers on a ride frustrated after ignoring instructions to remain seated during its brief pause.
On Thursday, March 6, the unidentified man was on the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure water ride in Magic Kingdom, when he decided to “jump out of his log with his kid.” The ride had been paused for around 10 minutes before his antics caused it to be delayed further, according to an anonymous member of the Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks Public Facebook Group.
“Shout out to this guy, who held up everyone on Tiana’s for 30-40 minutes because he and his son jumped out of their log,” the Facebook user wrote in a now-deleted post, per Disney news outlet Wow News Today.
According to the post, the guest exited the carriage despite “very clear announcements to remain seated.”
Sean Teegarden/Disneyland Resort via Getty
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California
Related: We Tried It: Riding Disneyland’s New Princess Tiana Ride, and Spending a Day On Her Bayou (Exclusive)
“The cast members came over the speaker three times — yes, three times — asking him to get back into the log, and he refused,” the post continued.
The Facebook member said the man “began shining his phone flashlight around, looking for an exit” and “waving the bright light in [the] faces” of the seated guests, leaving them “dumbfounded” at the situation.
According to the post, the man was told to wait at the ride and he and his child were eventually escorted out by employees, per Wow News Today.
“We went from a 10-minute ride pause to a 30-40 minute ride pause because of this guy,” they wrote. “…There was absolutely no need for this to happen. This guy is teaching his son that the rules don’t matter and you can do whatever you want, even if it inconveniences everyone else.”
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Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Walt Disney World
Related: Anika Noni Rose Gets Emotional About Disneyland’s New Tiana Ride 15 Years After Film: ‘The People’s Princess’ (Exclusive)
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure officially opened at Disney World Resort in Florida on June 28, 2024, and Disneyland in California on Nov. 15, 2024.
The ride, which replaced Splash Mountain, was created in homage of Princess Tiana from the groundbreaking 2009 Disney animated film Princess and the Frog and it is set in New Orleans Square like the picture.
This latest incident at Disneyland comes after several recent incidents at the resort where the guests have refused to follow the rules. In January, a guest was caught stealing an out-of-order sign and putting it on her scooter. A woman was also tasered at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort for her drunken behavior, per Wow News Today.
Disney didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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