Pelican Press

Billie Eilish Dominates American Music Awards With Success In All Nominated Categories – See The Full Winners List – Deadline Billie Eilish Dominates American Music Awards With Success In All Nominated Categories – See The Full Winners List – Deadline Billie Eilish Dominates American Music Awards With Success In All Nominated Categories – See The Full Winners List DeadlineAmerican Music Awards winners list: Billie Eilish sweeps with song, album of the year YahooWatch Now: 2025 American Music Awards DeadlineSee the Best Dressed Stars on the 2025 AMAs Red Carpet! People.com2025 American Music Awards Performers Announced American Music Awards Source link #Billie #Eilish #Dominates #American #Music #Awards #Success #Nominated #Categories #Full #Winners #List #Deadline Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

David Martindale revolutionises Livingston to Premiership return David Martindale revolutionises Livingston to Premiership return Martindale’s teams in the Premiership were renowned for being awful to play against. Physical. Aggressive. In your face. Coupled with an ageing plastic pitch, watching silky soccer wasn’t a Saturday staple for the Livi support. However, since dropping down to the Championship, he has taken the opportunity to rebuild and rethink. Quality players like Lewis Smith, who scored his side’s fine first in Dingwall, Robbie Muirhead and Stevie May were recruited. Combined with a solid core in defence, Livingston finished the Championship with the second best goal difference of 28. “They’ve reinvented themselves, this is what one year in the Championship has allowed them to do,” said former Livingston boss John Robertson on Sportsound. “Martindale’s recruited really good football players. They play good football which is not something you associate with a Livingston team who’ve had to find a way to stay in the league for six years.” BBC Scotland pundit Michael Stewart added: “He drives a lot of it, he’s recruited really well, they play good football, they’ve got new investment and you heard it from the man himself the club are in a really good position.” Source link #David #Martindale #revolutionises #Livingston #Premiership #return Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

West *********** great Derek Kickett joins push for AFL draft age to be lifted West *********** great Derek Kickett joins push for AFL draft age to be lifted West *********** great Derek Kickett has backed a push by the State’s peak football body to lift the minimum AFL draft age. Kickett, who made his WAFL debut for West Perth at 21 and played his first VFL game for North Melbourne at 26, advocates lifting the current age to “20” or even “22-23”. As revealed by The West *********** last week, WA Football has contacted the league to lift the draft age by 12 months to provide prospects with a clean run at their last year at school, get a head start on alternative career pathways and develop their life and football skills before joining an elite program. “WA Football is not a recreation sport like when I played. Now football is a business, so if you muck up in your workplace you get the sack,” Kickett told Emma Garlett on The West ***********’s YouTube channel, Paint it Blak. “In my day it was hard, but getting into the AFL now, it’s even harder and it’s a challenge because you have got social media everywhere. “Football players can’t hide. Everyone has got a camera. They have to be on their best behaviour. “It’s challenging. The kids get drafted now, and I say kids because they are 18 years of age. “If it was my child, I’d say don’t draft the kids until they are about 20, 22,23. “But they draft them at 18 … and they are on big bucks and they are under a lot of pressure to perform and stay in the good books.” Kickett went on to play 259 games and kick 419 goals in a career that spanned 14 seasons across seven WAFL, SANFL and VFL-AFL clubs. Camera IconClaremont players Derek Kickett, Warren Ralph and John Scott celebrate a win. Credit: Don Palmer/The West *********** The West revealed WA Football’s repeated approaches to the AFL had been met with resistance over fears they would lose the skilled athletes to other sports. West Coast legend Glen Jakovich, who played his first AFL game with the Eagles at 18 and was 17 when he made his State of Origin debut, told The West *********** social media pressures and expectations meant the environment was different to when he was breaking into the elite competition. “The young players coming through now you can see they need more personal development not only in their football but their life,” Jakovich told The West ***********. “They’re going straight into a high-octane, highly stressful environment playing professional football and the reality is most of these guys have got minimal life skills. “I don’t think they’re mentally attuned to the community expectations. “They haven’t got a job yet, they haven’t lived a life and I’ve always been an advocate that these guys need to get some life skills.” Camera IconWest *********** great Derek Kickett has backed a push by the State’s peak football body to lift the minimum AFL draft age. Credit: Daniel Pockett/(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images via AFL Photos) Jakovich has worked as a development coach in the AFL’s elite academy program and said looking back the “kids were in no way ready mentally for what they were about to get into”. Jakovich was a WAFL regular at age 16, had played his 50th game by 18 and at 19 had won two premierships with the West Coast Eagles. He retired mid-season in 2004 as the then Eagles games record holder with 276, won four John Worsfold medals and is an AFL Hall of Fame member. WA Football would not provide an official comment, but is believed to also be concerned over the disruption to schooling, the impact of shifting young men and women across the country and the growing risk of mental health challenges, particularly for youth. It is also understood WA Football believes pushing the draft year back by 12 months would decrease the selection risks of recruiting players who never play an AFL game. Players are eligible to be drafted if they turn 18 by December 31 in the same year. Fremantle legend David Mundy said last year the draft age should be lifted from 18 to 21 to help players with their life after football. “I’m firm in the belief that the draft age should be raised – and raised as significantly as to 21 through a staged process over multiple years,” Mundy told 6PR. “I feel like if you raise the draft age by that much, that’s significantly, then young men leaving high school at 17 or 18 years of age can go in and find a trade, do their trade apprenticeship over the three years, enter university, get TAFE degrees – continue their education. “If you get work experience, it can almost set their life direction outside of sport, whilst still developing and playing football they want to play, wherever they want to play it. “But they get that three years of physical development, of career development and then they enter into the AFL system.” Source link #West #*********** #great #Derek #Kickett #joins #push #AFL #draft #age #lifted Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Samsung’s One UI 8 Update Tipped to Get Revamped Reminder App With New UI Elements Samsung’s One UI 8 Update Tipped to Get Revamped Reminder App With New UI Elements Samsung is said to be working on One UI 8, its next iteration of the Android operating system based on Android 16. While the rumour mill has provided some information about the Android skin so far, a tipster suggests that the South Korean technology conglomerate could revamp the built-in Reminder app with the One UI 8 update. The Reminder app is said to come with a new user interface (UI) featuring a changed home screen and a comprehensive view of everything you need to remember. Reminder App Changes in One UI 8 Tipster @theordysm shared details about the changes coming to Samsung’s Reminder app in One UI 8. It is said to have an entirely new home screen with users seeing options like Today, Scheduled, Important, Place, No Alert, and Completed on the home screen. In the current One UI 7 version of the app, these are hidden behind the hamburger menu at the top-right corner of the screen. The new update is speculated to eliminate an extra step, removing the need to open the three-dot menu to access these options in One UI 8. Subtle tweaks made to other UI elements are also noticeable in the Reminder app, as per the tipster. For example, the + button is now placed to the left of the Add Reminder text within the text field. Further, there’s a microphone button located on the right side within the text field. These elements were previously outside the text field. However, it is to be noted that the new elements were discovered in an early build of One UI 8 and thus, may still be subject to changes. There aren’t any other details available apart from the shared visuals. As per previous reports, One UI 8 may expand upon the feature-set of Now Brief powered by Galaxy AI. Users may be able to check in on active phone calls via the pill-shaped button, along with other information such as the call time and recipient details. Further, it may also reportedly benefit from a ‘Listen’ functionality, enabling them to get an audio version of their daily brief, eliminating the need to glance at the phone’s screen for updates. Source link #Samsungs #Update #Tipped #Revamped #Reminder #App #Elements Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

India and Pakistan’s drone battles mark new arms race in Asia India and Pakistan’s drone battles mark new arms race in Asia By Devjyot Ghoshal, Ariba Shahid, Shivam Patel NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -A little after 8:00 pm on May 8, red flares streaked through the night sky over the northern Indian city of Jammu as its air-defence systems opened fire on drones from neighbouring Pakistan. The Indian and Pakistani militaries have deployed high-end fighter jets, conventional missiles and artillery during decades of clashes, but the four days of fighting in May marked the first time New Delhi and Islamabad utilized unmanned aerial vehicles at scale against each other. The fighting halted after the U.S. announced it brokered a ceasefire but the South Asian powers, which spent more than $96 billion on defence last year, are now locked in a drones arms race, according to Reuters’ interviews with 15 people, including security officials, industry executives and analysts in the two countries. Two of them said they expect increased use of UAVs by the nuclear-armed neighbours because small-scale drone attacks can strike targets without risking personnel or provoking uncontrollable escalation. India plans to invest heavily in local industry and could spend as much as $470 million on UAVs over the next 12 to 24 months, roughly three times pre-conflict levels, said Smit Shah of Drone Federation India, which represents over 550 companies and regularly interacts with the government. The previously unreported forecast, which came as India this month approved roughly $4.6 billion in emergency military procurement funds, was corroborated by two other industry executives. The Indian military plans to use some of that additional funding on combat and surveillance drones, according to two Indian officials familiar with the matter. Defence procurement in India tends to involve years of bureaucratic processes but officials are now calling drone makers in for trials and demonstrations at an unprecedented pace, said Vishal Saxena, a vice president at Indian UAV firm ideaForge Technology. The Pakistan Air Force, meanwhile, is pushing to acquire more UAVs as it seeks to avoid risking its high-end aircraft, said a Pakistani source familiar with the matter. Pakistan and India both deployed cutting-edge generation 4.5 fighter jets during the latest clashes but cash-strapped Islamabad only has about 20 high-end ********-made J-10 fighters compared to the three dozen Rafales that Delhi can muster. Pakistan is likely to build on existing relationships to intensify collaboration with China and Turkey to advance domestic drone research and production capabilities, said Oishee Majumdar of defence intelligence firm Janes. Islamabad is relying on a collaboration between Pakistan’s National Aerospace Science and Technology Park and Turkish defence contractor Baykar that locally assembles the YIHA-III drone, the Pakistani source said, adding a unit could be produced domestically in between two to three days. Pakistan’s military declined to respond to Reuters’ questions. The Indian defence ministry and Baykar did not return requests for comment. India and Pakistan “appear to view drone strikes as a way to apply military pressure without immediately provoking large-scale escalation,” said King’s College London political scientist Walter Ladwig III. “UAVs allow leaders to demonstrate resolve, achieve visible effects, and manage domestic expectations — all without exposing expensive aircraft or pilots to danger,” he added. But such skirmishes are not entirely risk-free, and Ladwig noted that countries could also send UAVs to attack contested or densely populated areas where they might not previously have used manned platforms. DRONE SWARMS AND VINTAGE GUNS The fighting in May, which was the fiercest in this century between the neighbours, came after an April 22 militant attack in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Indian tourists. Delhi blamed the killings on “terrorists” backed by Islamabad, which denied the charge. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed revenge and Delhi on May 7 launched air strikes on what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan. The next night, Pakistan sent hordes of drones along a 1,700-kilometer (772-mile) front with India, with between 300 and 400 of them pushing in along 36 locations to probe Indian air defences, Indian officials have said. Pakistan depended on Turkish-origin YIHA-III and Asisguard Songar drones, as well as the Shahpar-II UAV produced domestically by the state-owned Global Industrial & Defence Solutions conglomerate, according to two Pakistani sources. But much of this drone deployment was cut down by Cold War-era Indian anti-aircraft guns that were rigged to modern military radar and communication networks developed by state-run Bharat Electronics, according to two Indian officials. A Pakistan source denied that large numbers of its drones were shot down on May 8, but India did not appear to sustain significant damage from that drone raid. India’s use of the anti-aircraft guns, which had not been designed for anti-drone-warfare, turned out to be surprisingly effective, said retired Indian Brig. Anshuman Narang, now an UAV expert at Delhi’s Centre for Joint Warfare Studies. “Ten times better than what I’d expected,” he said. India also sent Israeli HAROP, Polish WARMATE and domestically-produced UAVs into Pakistani airspace, according to one Indian and two Pakistan sources. Some of them were also used for precision attacks on what two Indian officials described as military and militant infrastructure. The two Pakistani security sources confirmed that India deployed a large number of the HAROPs – a long-range loitering munition drone manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. Such UAVs, also known as suicide drones, stay over a target before crashing down and detonating on impact. Pakistan set up decoy radars in some areas to draw in the HAROPs, or waited for their flight time to come towards its end, so that they fell below 3,000 feet and could be shot down, a third Pakistani source said. Both sides claim to have notched victories in their use of UAVs. India successfully targeted infrastructure within Pakistan with minimal risk to personnel or major platforms, said KCL’s Ladwig. For Pakistan’s military, which claimed to have struck Indian defence facilities with UAVs, drone attacks allow it to signal action while drawing less international scrutiny than conventional methods, he noted. CHEAP BUT WITH AN ACHILLES HEEL Despite the loss of many drones, both sides are doubling down. “We’re talking about relatively cheap technology,” said Washington-based South Asia expert Michael Kugelman. “And while UAVs don’t have the shock and awe effect of missiles and fighter jets, they can still convey a sense of power and purpose for those that launch them.” Indian defence planners are likely to expand domestic development of loitering munitions UAVs, according to an Indian security source and Sameer Joshi of Indian UAV maker NewSpace, which is deepening its research and development on such drones. “Their ability to loiter, evade detection, and strike with precision marked a shift toward high-value, low-cost warfare with mass produced drones,” said Joshi, whose firm supplies the Indian military. And firms like ideaForge, which has supplied over 2,000 UAVs to the Indian security forces, are also investing on enhancing the ability of its drones to be less vulnerable to electronic warfare, said Saxena. Another vulnerability that is harder to address is the Indian drone program’s reliance on hard-to-replace components from China, an established military partner of Pakistan, four Indian dronemakers and officials said. India continues to depend on China-made magnets and lithium for UAV batteries, said Drone Federation India’s Shah. “Weaponization of the supply chain is also an issue,” said ideaForge’s Saxena on the possibility of Beijing shutting the tap on components in certain situations. For instance, ******** restrictions on the ***** of drones and components to Ukraine have weakened Kyiv’s ability to produce critical combat drones, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said in response to Reuters’ questions that Beijing has always implemented export controls on dual-use items in accordance with domestic laws and regulations as well as its international obligations. “Diversification of supply chain is a medium to long term problem,” said Shah. “You can’t solve it in short term.” ($1 = 85.0470 Indian rupees) (Additional reporting by Saeed Shah in Islamabad, Adnan Abidi in New Delhi, Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru and Liz Lee in Beijing; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Katerina Ang) Source link #India #Pakistans #drone #battles #mark #arms #race #Asia Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nightly Pulse: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, Game 4 – NBA Nightly Pulse: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, Game 4 – NBA Nightly Pulse: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, Game 4 NBAOklahoma City Thunder vs Minnesota Timberwolves May 26, 2025 Box Scores NBANBA playoffs takeaways: Thunder take Game 4; SGA, Jalen Williams impress vs. Wolves The New York TimesTimberwolves vs. Thunder highlights: OKC one win from NBA Finals with 128-126 victory USA TodayFive things to watch for if the Wolves are to even up the series against Thunder in Game 4 Monday night Star Tribune Source link #Nightly #Pulse #Thunder #Timberwolves #Game #NBA Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nepali sherpa breaks own record with 31st summit Nepali sherpa breaks own record with 31st summit Nepali sherpa Kami Rita, also known as “Everest Man”, has scaled Mount Everest for the 31st time, breaking his own record for the most climbs up the world’s tallest peak. The 55-year-old, who was guiding a group of Indian army officials up the mountain, reached its 8,894m summit at 04:00 local time on Tuesday (23:15 GMT Monday). “Kami Rita Sherpa needs no introduction. He is not just a national climbing hero, but a global symbol of Everest itself,” expedition organiser Seven Summit Treks said in a statement. Kami Rita first summited Everest in 1994 guiding a commercial expedition and has made the peak almost ever year since. He scaled it twice some years, like in 2023 and 2024. His closest competitor for the Everest record is fellow Nepali sherpa Pasang Dawa, who scaled the peak 29 times – the latest attempt made last week. Kami Rita has previously told media how his climbs are just work. “I am glad for the record, but records are eventually broken,” he told AFP in May last year. “I am more happy that my climbs help Nepal be recognised in the world.” Earlier this month, Kami Rita posted snippets of life on Everest, including one of the Puja ceremony, a Tibetan Buddhist ritual done before Everest expeditions to pray for a safe and successful climb. Kami Rita’s feat comes one week after British mountaineer Kenton Cool summited Everest for the 19th time, also breaking his own record for the most climbs for a non-sherpa. More than 500 people and their guides have climbed Everest successfully this climbing season, which is coming to an end. Nepal issued more than 1,000 climbing permits this season – including for Everest and other peaks – according to its tourism department. The number of Everest summit attempts has soared in recent years. However this has led to concerns around overcrowding and environmental impact. Last year, authorities introduced a rule requiring climbers to clear up their own **** and bring it back to base camp to be disposed of. Source link #Nepali #sherpa #breaks #record #31st #summit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Battle begins over new homes approved in historic village without sewage capacity Battle begins over new homes approved in historic village without sewage capacity Joe Crowley / BBC Kate Pryke is campaigning to prevent new housing being built in a village where sewage facilities are over capacity On the edge of Buckingham in southern England, the quiet and leafy village of Maids Moreton, dotted with thatched cottages, is at the heart of a dilemma. There is a plan – already granted permission – to add 153 new homes to the existing community of 350 houses, a medieval church and a pub. But the local sewage works has been over capacity for years, and there is no sign of it being upgraded soon. A choice is looming over what to do if the planned new homes are built. Leave them standing empty, waiting for upgrades to the wastewater treatment system before they are connected? Or connect them anyway and let people move in – contributing towards Buckinghamshire Council’s target for new homes, but increasing the sewage pollution of the nearby river, the Great Ouse? “You wouldn’t dream of building a house that you couldn’t connect to electricity, or that was never going to connect to a road. But for some reason we’re building houses that have nowhere to treat the sewage,” says Kate Pryke, one of the local residents campaigning to prevent the development being built. Maids Moreton’s dilemma is an increasingly common one across England – as ageing sewage works, water industry under-investment and chronic pollution in many areas appear to threaten the government’s ambitious plans to build 1.5 million homes this parliament. About 30 miles away in Oxford, concerns over sewage capacity led to the Environment Agency objecting to all new development, placing up to 18,000 new homes in limbo. It led a group of developers, including some of Oxford University’s colleges, to describe the city as “uninvestable”. Overdue upgrades to Oxford Sewage Treatment Works have now been agreed allowing new homes to be built and occupied from 2027. “We think the problem is rife across England and Wales,” says Justin Neal, solicitor at Wildfish, an environmental charity that campaigns against river pollution. The charity has been granted permission for a judicial review at the High Court, challenging Buckinghamshire Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the Maids Moreton development. It says the case goes to the heart of the gap between plans for new housing and the capacity of the existing sewage infrastructure. Getty Images Sewage works in many parts of the country are over capacity – a potential obstacle to building new homes The area is “a good example of where too many houses have been put in”, and as a result the local sewage works – Buckingham Water Recycling Centre – “won’t be able to deal with all the sewage that’s going to it,” says Mr Neal. He says sewage from the Maids Moreton development would likely end up being discharged into the Great Ouse as a result, “a river which is already suffering from pollution”. “We hope that people start listening, particularly in government, and the ministers start thinking, ‘Well, maybe there is a way around this.’ And it’s to put more pressure on water companies to make sure that they have capacity.” The water companies – along with the regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency – decide when and where sewerage investment will be made. While this should take account of future housing need, there is no way for a local council or developer to influence investment decisions directly – or even pay for the extra capacity. In Maids Moreton, Anglian Water stated in planning documents 10 years ago that Buckingham Water Recycling Centre did not have any capacity for new development. Since the site was flagged as being at capacity in 2015, planning permission has been granted for about 1,500 homes in and around Buckingham, hundreds of which have already been built and connected to the over-capacity treatment works. Joe Crowley / BBC Maids Moreton is a village of thatched cottages and mid-20th Century homes Sewage pollution is listed by the Environment Agency as one of the reasons the Great Ouse is failing to achieve “good ecological status”. Last year the treatment works released sewage into the river for a total of 2,001 hours – the equivalent of more than two-and-a-half months non-stop – although Anglian Water claims this is not related to site capacity. “They don’t even have the money to upgrade it for the housing that’s here. The idea that one day it will be upgraded to cope with all the growth is just a pipe dream,” says Mrs Pryke. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Environmental policies in the area’s local plan to protect rivers led to a planning condition that developers have to prove that “adequate capacity is available or can be provided” at wastewater treatment works. But in the Maids Moreton case, no capacity upgrades have been carried out and there are none currently planned. There was provisional funding to upgrade the capacity of the works between 2020-25 but it was reallocated to priority schemes elsewhere in the region. “We are currently reviewing and prioritising our growth portfolio for delivery over the next five years,” Anglian Water said, but the company did not respond to questions about whether the upgrades to Buckingham sewage works would take place before 2030. Unable to meet the planning condition about sewage capacity, the developer – David Wilson Homes South Midlands, part of the ***’s largest housebuilder Barratt Redrow – applied to amend it so construction could start and the council agreed. “Under pressure from the developer, they’ve watered this down, and it means that these houses can now be built without paying attention to whether or not the sewage works has capacity,” says Mr Neal from Wildfish. “What we need is proper joined-up thinking where there should be no development unless there is capacity.” Joe Crowley / BBC Justin Neal from environmental charity Wildfish says he wants ministers to pressure water companies to add capacity Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for planning Peter Strachan said the local authority “follows the planning process rigorously” and it has made the new homes subject to “a condition preventing any part of the development from being occupied unless and until confirmation has been provided to the council that wastewater upgrades have been completed”. He added “it is not appropriate for the council to comment further” because of the legal challenge. Occupation clauses like the one imposed by the council are known as “Grampian conditions”, after a 1984 court case, and are often used when work is required that is beyond the developer’s control. They are increasingly common as local authorities grapple with the challenge of building new homes in areas where the sewage works are at capacity. However, once homes with planning permission are built, water companies are obliged to connect them to the sewage network, regardless of its capacity. “The very idea that they are going to sit empty for months, possibly years without being occupied because there’s a condition that hasn’t been met is an utter nonsense,” says Kate Pryke. “And in any event the council will have no interest in enforcing that condition.” Neither the council nor the developer answered the BBC’s questions about when they expect Buckingham sewage works to be upgraded and how long they would be prepared for the newly built houses to remain unoccupied. But the developer said it would “ensure a programme of any wastewater upgrades required to support the development has been agreed with Anglian Water”. On the development site itself, the company said there will be “at least a 10% uplift in biodiversity” with the installation of “bat and bird boxes and hedgehog highways”. Joe Crowley / BBC Campaigners fear sewage from the new development will be discharged into the Great Ouse The BBC also asked the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government what should happen in areas where new homes are needed but where there is no available sewage capacity in the foreseeable future – and also whether Buckinghamshire Council had been right to grant planning permission in Maids Moreton. A government spokesperson said: “Councils must consider sewerage capacity as part of their housebuilding plans and, through our Independent Water Commission, we will clean up our waterways by making sure planning for development and water infrastructure works more efficiently.” The judicial review could take place later this year. If the charity is successful it could stop the Maids Moreton development going ahead and place future housebuilding in the area in doubt. It comes at a time when the government says it is “turbocharging growth” and overhauling the planning system – with Chancellor Rachel Reeves promising to reduce “environmental requirements placed on developers when they pay into the nature restoration fund… so they can focus on getting things built, and stop worrying about bats and newts”. Mr Neal says the charity’s legal case, however, is not about “newt-hugging” or “people caring for fish more than they do for people who are homeless” – but about development being held back by the lack of capacity in sewage works. “The solution is not to take away the laws that give the environment protection, but to build better sewage works that actually do their job properly.” Source link #Battle #begins #homes #approved #historic #village #sewage #capacity Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Love triangle stabbing caused by ‘feelings of betrayal’ Love triangle stabbing caused by ‘feelings of betrayal’ Having stabbed her ex-boyfriend and his new partner, a woman remembered feelings of betrayal and anger but nothing about the attack, a judge has been told. Rebecca Mossman Riley, facing a judge-alone trial on NSW’s Central Coast, claims she was suffering dissociative amnesia during the attack and did not know what she was doing was wrong. Mossman Riley has pleaded not guilty in Gosford District Court to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and one of common assault, denying she intended to hurt the couple. Psychiatrist Olav Nielssen told the court Mossman Riley had been in a short relationship with her ex-boyfriend before he stopped returning calls. Dr Nielssen said it appeared Mossman Riley, a binge drinker from an early age, had been drinking heavily when she confronted the man at Wyong Leagues Club, assaulted him and then claimed to have had no memory of the stabbing. He said Mossman Riley told him: “Yes, I lost my temper. I went in and grabbed the back of his head and said he was messing with three different chicks and clipped him over the back of the head with my hand and I regret that and I know it is not OK.” Mossman Riley claimed the next thing she remembered was heading to the bus stop and “I started feeling waves of emotion, feeling sad, betrayal, anger, and then nothing”. Questioned by prosecutor Liam Shaw on Tuesday, Dr Nielssen said despite Mossman Riley amnesia claims, she appeared to have been aware of what she was doing because “she picked the right bloke”. “She didn’t stab a complete stranger and she stabbed his new companion,” the psychiatrist said. “She was aware of who it was she was stabbing. She didn’t use a fork.” Police claimed Mossman Riley bumped into her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend at the club on January 7, 2023, and began arguing before being asked to leave about 9.30pm.The fight escalated in the car park before Mossman Riley stabbed her 29-year-old former boyfriend three times in the back and his new girlfriend, 31, once in the arm. Mossman Riley then left the scene as shocked onlookers helped the two victims until paramedics arrived and took them to hospital in Newcastle. When asked by Mr Shaw if the fact Mossman Riley was able to talk to the couple before the stabbing showed she was capable of purposeful behaviour and interaction, Dr Nielssen replied: “Well, she wasn’t completely confused or intoxicated it seems, not falling over.” He said Mossman Riley, previously diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder, was able to make some phone calls after the attack and go to another venue. “There was a degree of awareness there.” In his report, Dr Nielssen said: “Moreover, she did not have a condition that would typically deprive her of the awareness that stabbing another person was wrong. For example, a delusional belief.” Mr Shaw told judge David Wilson the Crown accepted Mossman Riley was mentally impaired on the night she attacked the couple but the issue was to what extent. Defence barrister Alissa Moen said the judge would have to decide if Mossman Riley had specifically intended to stab the victims. Symptoms of dissociative amnesia may include an individual experiencing significant memory loss related to a traumatic or stressful event. The trial continues. Source link #Love #triangle #stabbing #caused #feelings #betrayal Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Man dies after shooting in far East El Paso Man dies after shooting in far East El Paso EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A 19-year-old man has died after he met with a person inside a vehicle on Friday night, May 23, which escalated to a shooting in far East El Paso, according to El Paso Police. Police say just after 11 p.m. that Friday, they responded to the 1700 block of Dana Michelle on a reported shooting. When police arrived, they found Angel Salazar, 19, with an apparent gunshot wound at the 12400 block of Flora Alba. Salazar was transported to a local hospital, where he later died as a result of his injuries, police said. Preliminary information revealed that Salazar met with an unidentified person in a vehicle for unknown reasons. A short time later, gunfire was reported in the area, police said. The Crimes Against Persons Unit was called in to take over the investigation. Anyone who has information is asked to call the police non-emergency number at (915) 832-4400, or to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at (915) 566-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Source link #Man #dies #shooting #East #Paso Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Asia stocks muted amid trade caution; Japan dips on BOJ rate hike comments – Investing.com Asia stocks muted amid trade caution; Japan dips on BOJ rate hike comments – Investing.com Asia stocks muted amid trade caution; Japan dips on BOJ rate hike comments Investing.comView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Asia #stocks #muted #trade #caution #Japan #dips #BOJ #rate #hike #comments #Investing.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Leaked recording reveals police had serious concerns Leaked recording reveals police had serious concerns Anna Meisel BBC File on 4 Investigates BBC Nicola Packer was recently found not guilty of illegally taking a substance with the intent to miscarry A secret recording, leaked to the BBC, reveals a senior police officer had serious concerns over the controversial arrest of a woman who took abortion pills when about 26 weeks pregnant – when she believed the pregnancy was only about six weeks along. Nicola Packer was arrested in hospital at the height of the Covid pandemic, a day after delivering a stillborn baby at home. The day after her arrest she was taken into custody in the back of a police van, still bleeding, having had major surgery. In April this year she went to court accused of having an ******** abortion. She was acquitted earlier this month. In the audio – from a 2020 meeting between Metropolitan Police officers and healthcare professionals – the Met’s child abuse investigation lead at the time can be heard saying: “It’s not a comfortable area for police to be operating in… any criminalisation around abortions.” He also questions whether the arrest was “the best for Nicola” under the circumstances. Leaked audio: “It’s an uncomfortable area for police to be operating in,” says the senior officer Despite the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) deciding not to prosecute initially, Ms Packer was charged in 2023 after police asked the CPS to review the case. A Met Police spokesperson said it was “not unusual and is standard practice” for detectives to request that the CPS reviews its decisions. The force does not comment on the content of internal meetings, it added, which are designed to allow for full and frank discussions so that issues can be explored thoroughly and decisions made in a considered manner. The Met Police acknowledged how “incredibly difficult” the case had been for Ms Packer, but said its officers had conducted an evidence-led investigation “impartially and without favour”. “The public rightly expects us to pursue the truth – even in sad and complex circumstances”, the spokesperson said. Ms Packer has told the BBC she is also angry at midwives “for calling the police when they really didn’t have to”. The online meeting took place for three hours, nearly a week after Nicola Packer’s arrest, and was attended by 20 professionals. The Met’s child abuse lead at the time was joined by the officer who made the arrest, child death and neonatal specialists, and a senior midwife at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital – who first called the police. Such meetings are routine after the death of a child – aiming to establish what happened, learn lessons, and make sure mothers are provided with support. Ms Packer had taken abortion medication she had received through a pills-by-post system available during the pandemic. Based on her last *******, it was estimated that she was about six weeks pregnant. When the pills took effect, she ended up delivering a stillborn baby at home – and then sought medical help in hospital. “I did say that I’d had a late miscarriage – because I was really scared to tell them I had taken abortion pills,” she tells File on 4 Investigates, in her first broadcast interview since her arrest. “I didn’t know if they were going to help me get the medical support I needed.” Nicola eventually told a senior midwife at the hospital that she had taken the abortion medication. The midwife then called the police. Getty Images Unsure what to do, Ms Packer took the baby with her to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital “I went in in a very supportive manner,” the midwife can be heard saying in the leaked recording of the 2020 meeting. “I essentially said to her, ‘We’re here to care for you, and we need to know all the information… to support you in the right way.'” She goes on to explain to the group that Nicola had told her she was shocked when she had given birth to a stillborn baby. By then, the midwife says in the recording, Nicola was “looking like she wanted the conversation to end, and I didn’t want to interrogate her as such”. “I then advised her, because of the gestation assessment of the baby, that we would need to refer to the coroner for an investigation and also to inform the police.” The legal limit for abortion in the *** is 24 weeks of pregnancy. The stillborn baby was assessed to be about 26 weeks. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line Nicola had to have surgery after giving birth. Shortly after the operation, she was arrested and then taken into custody the next day. She was held for about 24 hours in a police cell. Ms Packer says the midwife should be investigated. “To me, she just went in there to try and gain my confidence, just so she could then use it against me.” There is no legal duty for medics to report suspected crimes and the midwife was in breach of patient confidentiality for reporting to the police, says Prof Emma Cave, an expert in healthcare regulation who has read a transcript of the recording. She says the midwife’s initial assurance to Ms Packer that her care was going to be the “first concern” seems “at odds” with then being told that police will be informed. “If people think that by attending hospital they’ll be reported to the police, they might avoid treatment and suffer serious health consequences,” says Prof Cave. In response to what happened to Ms Packer and other women, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists released guidance to remind healthcare professionals that it is never in the public interest to report women to the police who might have terminated pregnancies illegally. It is and always has been doctors’ legal duty to respect patients’ confidentiality, said the college. Nicola Packer plans to file a complaint with the Met Police, the CPS and the NHS over her treatment Staff at the Chelsea and Westminster “acted in line with the processes and guidance available to them”, said a hospital spokesperson. “Their first priority, as in all cases, was to support and provide care to the patient.” Nicola’s case came to court last month – four and a half years after her arrest. She says she was “terrified” of going on trial, but also felt the process had gone on so long, that she just wanted it “over and done with”. “They [prosecutors] were trying to say that I knew how far along I was when I took the first abortion pill. I did not,” Nicola says. When the jury foreman said “not guilty”, Ms Packer says she “just burst into tears”. “But then you do sort of start to feel anger, the fact that it even got that far in the first place.” Prosecutors exercise “the greatest care when considering these complex and traumatic cases”, a CPS spokesperson said. “Our role was not to decide whether Nicola Packer’s actions were right or wrong; but to make a factual judgement about whether she knew she was beyond the legal limit when she accessed abortion medication.” Ms Packer believes those who were involved in her case now “need to be held accountable”. She plans to file a complaint with the Metropolitan Police, the CPS and the NHS over her treatment. “It’s really making me feel sick – the way everything was handled. I did not need to go straight from the hospital to the police station. I could have gone home and recuperated for a couple of days.” “It just could have been handled much more compassionately,” says Ms Packer, “causing less trauma than they did.” Source link #Leaked #recording #reveals #police #concerns Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A-League Men: Perth Glory sign former Wellington Phoenix, Leeds and Manchester United defender Scott Wootton A-League Men: Perth Glory sign former Wellington Phoenix, Leeds and Manchester United defender Scott Wootton Perth Glory have taken steps to improve their sieve-like defence with the signing of experienced centre-back Scott Wootton on a two year-deal. Source link #ALeague #Men #Perth #Glory #sign #Wellington #Phoenix #Leeds #Manchester #United #defender #Scott #Wootton Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Four crashes within an hour on Interstate 17 southbound Four crashes within an hour on Interstate 17 southbound The Brief Four crashes all happened within an hour of each other on Sunday night on Interstate 17. Two of the crashes were near Bethany Home Road and the other two were near Northern Avenue. PHOENIX – Four crashes within an hour on Interstate 17 jammed up the southbound traffic on Sunday night. What we know Two of the crashes happened near Northern Avenue and two others happened two miles south near Bethany Home Road. One of the crashes near Bethany Home was a rollover ****** with minor injuries and blocked traffic on the right lanes as the cleanup and investigation. Shortly after, another crashed happened a few hundred feet north at the Bethany Home Road underpass. One of the crashes on Northern Avenue involved a motorcycle that was sprawled in the middle of the road, also on southbound I-17. There was minimal information on the fourth ****** but it was believed to be near the Northern Avenue underpass. Map of the area of the four crashes: Source link #crashes #hour #Interstate #southbound Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Spotting fake reviews on travel sites: what to look out for Spotting fake reviews on travel sites: what to look out for How to catch fake travel reviews Source link #Spotting #fake #reviews #travel #sites Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Donald Trump grows angrier as Vladimir Putin exposes his impotence – The Independent Donald Trump grows angrier as Vladimir Putin exposes his impotence – The Independent Donald Trump grows angrier as Vladimir Putin exposes his impotence The IndependentTrump Says Putin Has ‘Gone Crazy’ After New Russian Attacks on Ukraine The New York Times‘I’ve had enough! President Trump take action’ over Putin, demands GOP Senator Grassley The IndependentRussia responds to Trump’s criticism of Putin: There is ’emotional overload’ right now YahooKremlin muses about ’emotional overload’ after Trump asks if Putin is ‘crazy’ NBC News Source link #Donald #Trump #grows #angrier #Vladimir #Putin #exposes #impotence #Independent Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Bryce Cotton says Perth Wildcats made the decision to part ways with him at the start of NBL free agency Bryce Cotton says Perth Wildcats made the decision to part ways with him at the start of NBL free agency Five-time NBL MVP Bryce Cotton has revealed the Perth Wildcats made the decision to part ways with him in a bombshell revelation. Here’s why. Source link #Bryce #Cotton #Perth #Wildcats #decision #part #ways #start #NBL #free #agency Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Acer Super ZX Now Available for Purchase in India: Super ZX Pro Still Unavailable Acer Super ZX Now Available for Purchase in India: Super ZX Pro Still Unavailable Acer Super ZX ***** In India commenced on Monday, but the Super ZX Pro availability is still unknown. The phones made their debut in April and at the time, the company promised their availability approximately 10 days later, however, that did not come to fruition. More than a month after its debut, the base Acer Super ZX is now available for purchase in the country. It sports an LCD screen and is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC. The phone features a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 64-megapixel main shooter with image enhancement features backed by artificial intelligence (AI). Acer Super ZX Price in India Acer Super ZX price in India starts at Rs. 9,999 for the base variant with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. It is also offered in 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB configurations, priced at Rs. 10,999 and Rs. 11,999, respectively. The handset is available via Amazon in three colourways — ******, blue, and green. Buyers can avail of a Rs. 1,000 instant discount coupon at the time of purchase. Meanwhile, the Super ZX Pro variant is still listed as ‘Coming soon’ on the official Acer Mobiles India website. Acer Super ZX Specifications The Acer Super ZX sports a 6.78-inch full-HD+ LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, and 800 nits brightness. It is powered by a 6nm octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor clocked at 2.4GHz. It is complemented by up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage. The RAM can be virtually expanded by another 4GB. As per the company, the phone ships with stock Android 15. For optics, the Acer Super ZX is equipped with a triple rear camera unit, comprising a 64-megapixel Sony IMX682 primary camera alongside a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. The phone also gets a 13-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls. The camera system comes with AI Image Enhancement. Acer Super ZX packs a 5,000mAh battery with 33W wired fast charging support. It has an IP55-rated build against dust and water ingress, comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor for security, and measures 8.6mm in thickness. The phone is said to have a six-axis hypersensitive gyroscope, antenna array matrix, gravity sensor, and a range sensor. Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details. Source link #Acer #Super #Purchase #India #Super #Pro #Unavailable Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Driver who killed Las Vegas police officer was nearly 3 times legal limit in wrong-way ****** Driver who killed Las Vegas police officer was nearly 3 times legal limit in wrong-way ****** LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A driver in the country illegally was nearly three times the legal limit when he killed a Las Vegas police officer in a wrong-way ******, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. On Dec. 12, 2024, Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, 31, collided with LVMPD Officer Colton Pulsipher, 29, killing both. Jimenez-Jimenez was driving a truck southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 near the Valley of Fire. A third driver was also injured in the ****** when she collided with Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck in the aftermath, documents said. Jimenez-Jimenez had a blood-alcohol level of 0.205, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Monday. The threshold for Nevada police and prosecutors to establish fault in drunk-driving arrests is 0.08. Jimenez also had THC, the active psychoactive compound in ********** products, in his system. The truck Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez was driving when he collided with LVMPD Officer Colton Pulsipher. (Nevada State Police/KLAS) Blood test results can take months, particularly when looking for advanced compounds, including THC. Jimenez-Jimenez, an undocumented immigrant, had applied for citizenship in 2020, but in 2021, an immigration judge in Texas ordered him removed from the country, an ICE spokesperson said in December. Jimenez-Jimenez entered the country illegally twice in 2019. Both times, ICE returned him to Mexico. Pulsipher, a husband and father of three, was off-duty and headed home at the time, police said. Investigators suspect Jimenez-Jimenez was traveling between 91 and 99 mph at impact, documents said. Police identified him through a passport and fingerprints. On Dec. 12, 2024, Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, 31, collided with LVMPD Officer Colton Pulsipher, 29, killing both. (Credit: Behind the Blue) A passenger in Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck survived and walked off into a desert area before troopers arrived, documents said. Troopers later located the passenger more than nine hours after the ******, asleep in the desert. During an interview, the man said he and Jimenez-Jimenez worked for a landscaping company and drove to the desert to drink. In Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck, troopers located several empty alcoholic beverage containers, as well as receipts and packages, from a ********** dispensary. In Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck, troopers located several empty alcoholic beverage containers, as well as receipts and packages, from a ********** dispensary. (Nevada State Police/KLAS) Detectives located a video showing Jimenez-Jimenez and his passenger purchasing ********** products from a drive-thru dispensary two days earlier, documents said. Video from the ***** also showed Jimenez-Jimenez smoking ********** while in the driver’s seat. Jimenez-Jimenez’s truck was not registered in his name, and its owner never contacted police, documents said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Source link #Driver #killed #Las #Vegas #police #officer #times #legal #limit #wrongway #****** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Thunder vs. Timberwolves: OKC limits Anthony Edwards, gets 40 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to secure Game 4 thriller – Yahoo Sports Thunder vs. Timberwolves: OKC limits Anthony Edwards, gets 40 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to secure Game 4 thriller – Yahoo Sports Thunder vs. Timberwolves: OKC limits Anthony Edwards, gets 40 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to secure Game 4 thriller Yahoo SportsView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Thunder #Timberwolves #OKC #limits #Anthony #Edwards #Shai #GilgeousAlexander #secure #Game #thriller #Yahoo #Sports Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Cody Weightman has been placed on the Western Bulldogs inactive list as he battles a knee injury Cody Weightman has been placed on the Western Bulldogs inactive list as he battles a knee injury Western Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman won’t play a game in 2025 after the club opted to place him on the inactive list for the remainder of the season due to a lingering knee injury. The Bulldogs made the move ahead of Wednesday’s mid-season draft, freeing up a spot on the list. “Western Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman has been placed on the club’s inactive list for the remainder of the 2025 season due to a knee injury,” the club said in a brief statement. “The vacancy will now open a second spot on the Bulldogs’ list ahead of the mid-season draft on Wednesday night.” Weightman, 24, hasn’t played a game in 2025 after undergoing surgery in February to address a rare congenital condition called bipartite patella, which involves a false joint that sits within his kneecap bone. He’s had several setbacks and underwent more surgery early in May. The club had been hopeful of a 2025 return, but that hope has now been dashed. The Gold Coast Suns have allayed any fears of a serious ankle injury to Mac Andrew and he could yet line up against Fremantle this week. Andrew arrived home on Monday on crutches and in a moon boot after leaving the field late in his team’s win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Sunday. Andrew was diagnosed with ankle sprain only and he’ll be assessed later in the week before his availability is confirmed. “Mac has an ankle sprain and has shown improvement in the days since the match,” Suns physio Lindsay Bull said. “We will continue to monitor how his ankle responds in the coming days before determining his availability for Saturday’s match against Fremantle.” Hawthorn veteran Luke Breust could return from a back issue to boost the Hawks for Friday’s huge clash with Collingwood. “He’s got moving and it’s started to improve quite quickly now, the back issue from the knock he received two weeks ago,” Hawthorn high performance manager Peter Burge said. “We’ve got one session to come this week with the short week, so it will be line ball how much he gets out on Wednesday. We’ll make more of a decision around his availability closer to the weekend. If not this week, it will be next week.” Source link #Cody #Weightman #Western #Bulldogs #inactive #list #battles #knee #injury Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump’s campaign has received scores of donations from problematic donors Trump’s campaign has received scores of donations from problematic donors WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump directed his attorney general last month to investigate online fundraising, he cited concerns that foreigners and fraudsters were using elaborate “schemes” and “****** accounts” to funnel ******** contributions to politicians and causes. Instead of calling for an expansive probe, however, the president identified just one potential target: ActBlue, the Democrats’ online fundraising juggernaut, which has acknowledged receiving over 200 potentially illicit contributions last year from foreign internet addresses. Trump’s announcement also contained a glaring omission — his own political committees have received scores of contributions from potentially problematic donors. The White House did not respond to questions about Trump’s fundraising. Instead, a senior administration official pointed to a recent House Republican investigation of ActBlue, which the White House alleges “uncovered specific evidence of potentially unlawful conduct.” The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. Here are some takeaways from the AP’s review of Trump’s political committees: Trump’s committees received questionable donations from overseas It’s against the law for U.S. candidates and political committees to accept contributions from foreign nationals. Laws also place strict limits on donation amounts and prohibit the laundering of contributions to get around legal caps. For the most part, such donations have been policed by campaigns and the Federal Election Commission, with only the most egregious examples being targeted by federal law enforcement. The AP identified only two Trump donors out of more than 200 living abroad whose U.S. citizenship was listed as “verified” in the president’s campaign finance reports. He received over 1,000 contributions from 150 donors who omitted key identifying details such as their city, state, address or country. Trump also received at least 90 contributions from people who omitted their full name, are listed as “anonymous” or whose donations include the notation “name not provided.” Many of them were made through WinRed, the Republicans’ online fundraising platform that is the GOP’s answer to ActBlue. Campaign finance disclosures indicate that only a few dozen of these contributions were later refunded. WinRed officials did not respond to a requests for comment. Some of the donations would typically raise red flags U.S. citizens living abroad are free to donate to politicians back home. But it can be difficult even for campaigns to discern who is allowed to give and whether a person may be serving as a “straw” donor for someone else. Jiajun “Jack” Zhang, for example, is a jet-setting ******** businessman whose Qingdao Scaffolding Co. boasts of being one of the “biggest manufacturers and suppliers in China” of scaffolding. In October, he used WinRed to donate $5,000 to Trump, campaign finance disclosures show. Zhang lives in China’s Shandong province, according to his LinkedIn account, and is described in French business filings as a ******** national. But his contribution to Trump lists a La Quinta Inn in Hawaiian Gardens, California, as his address, records show. The donation was made around the time that Zhang posted a photo on social media of his family visiting Disneyland, which is near the hotel. Zhang did not respond to an email seeking comment. Other potentially troublesome donations identified by the AP include four from unnamed donors that listed an address of “999 Anonymous Dr.” And a series of contributions made through WinRed that listed the donor’s address as a vacant building in Washington that was formerly a ******** home. The donor, identified only as “Alex, A” on Trump’s campaign finance report, gave nearly $5,000 spread across more than 40 separate transactions last year. Trump has never cared much about campaign finance violations The donations fit a pattern for Trump, who has in the past exhibited indifference toward campaign finance rules and used his presidential powers to assist those facing legal trouble in such matters. In January, Trump’s Justice Department dropped its case against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican accused of accepting a $30,000 contribution from a ********* billionaire. During his first term, Trump pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza and Republican donor Michael Liberty, who were both convicted of using straw donors to evade contribution limits. He also pardoned former California Rep. Duncan Hunter, who was convicted in 2020 of stealing $250,000 from his campaign fund. Trump’s political efforts have also drawn contributions from straw donors and foreigners who have subjected to legal scrutiny. Among them is Barry Zekelman, a ********* steel industry billionaire, who was fined $975,000 in 2022 by the Federal Election Commission for funneling $1.75 million to America First Action, Trump’s official super PAC, in 2018. The contribution helped Zekelman secure a dinner with Trump at which steel tariffs were discussed. Democrats are nervous about the investigation Democrats are outraged by the call for an investigation. They say it smacks of political retribution, considering WinRed has also accepted potentially problematic donations. “This is him taking direct aim at the center of Democratic and progressive fundraising to hamstring his political opponents,” said Ezra Reese, an attorney who leads the political law division at the Elias Law Group, a leading Democratic firm that does not represent ActBlue. “I don’t think there’s any question that they picked their target first. He’s not even pretending.” But Democrats are also worried. Some predict a hit worth as much as a $10 million in the short term if ActBlue is forced to shut down. That has led some Democrats to begin thinking about alternatives, though they acknowledged it might be too late to create something as successful as ActBlue with the midterms around the corner. “There is a pervasive fear that ActBlue could cease to exist,” said Matt Hodges, a veteran Democratic operative who served as the director of engineering for Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. “That’s the worst fear people have — that this will escalate or drain legal resources that hinder their ability to operate.” —- Peoples reported from New York. __ Contact AP’s global investigative team at *****@*****.tld or Source link #Trumps #campaign #received #scores #donations #problematic #donors Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

On Memorial Day, Trump honors fallen soldiers and celebrates political wins – The Washington Post On Memorial Day, Trump honors fallen soldiers and celebrates political wins – The Washington Post On Memorial Day, Trump honors fallen soldiers and celebrates political wins The Washington PostTrump Praises Military Service and Personal Achievements in Arlington Memorial Day Speech The New York TimesTrump slams Biden, praises ‘tough cookie’ Hegseth and talks upcoming army parade in Memorial Day address PoliticoTrump tells families of war dead: Look at me, I have everything YahooPresident Trump Honors America’s Heroes on Memorial Day The White House (.gov) Source link #Memorial #Day #Trump #honors #fallen #soldiers #celebrates #political #wins #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Carlton's new AFLW captain follows famous father Carlton's new AFLW captain follows famous father Carlton have chosen a favourite daughter to captain them this upcoming AFLW season, replacing pregnant defender Kerryn Peterson. Source link #Carlton039s #AFLW #captain #famous #father Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons. This is one soldier’s story More than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian prisons. This is one soldier’s story KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — “Everything will be all right.” Ukrainian soldier Serhii Hryhoriev said this so often during brief phone calls from the front that his wife and two daughters took it to heart. His younger daughter, Oksana, tattooed the phrase on her wrist as a talisman. Even after Hryhoriev was captured by the Russian army in 2022, his anxious family clung to the belief that he would ultimately be OK. After all, Russia is bound by international law to protect prisoners of war. When Hryhoriev finally came home, though, it was in a body bag. A Russian death certificate said the 59-year-old died of a stroke. But a Ukrainian autopsy and a former POW who was detained with him tell a different story about how he died – one of violence and medical neglect at the hands of his captors. Hryhoriev is one of more than 200 Ukrainian POWs who have died while imprisoned since Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago. Abuse inside Russian prisons was likely a contributing factor in many of these deaths, according to officials from human rights groups, the U.N., the Ukrainian government and a Ukrainian medical examiner who has performed dozens of POW autopsies. The officials say the prison death toll adds to evidence that Russia is systematically brutalizing captured soldiers. They say forensic discrepancies like Hryhoriev’s, and the repatriation of bodies that are mutilated and decomposed, point to an effort to cover up alleged torture, starvation and poor health care at dozens of prisons and detention centers across Russia and occupied Ukraine. Russian authorities did not respond to requests for comment. They have previously accused Ukraine of mistreating Russian POWs — allegations the U.N. has partially backed up, though it says Ukraine’s violations are far less common and severe than what Russia is accused of. ‘Alive and well’ Hryhoriev joined the Ukrainian army in 2019 after he lost his job as an office worker at a high school. When the war began three years later, he was stationed with other soldiers in Mariupol, an industrial port city that was the site of a fierce battle — and far from his home in the central Poltava region. On April 10, 2022, Hryhoriev called his family to reassure them that “everything will be all right.” That was the last time they ever spoke to him. Two days later, a relative of a soldier in Hryhoriev’s unit called to say the men had been captured. After Mariupol fell to Russia, more than 2,000 soldiers defending the city became Russian prisoners. Soon his family got a call from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which confirmed he was alive and officially registered as a POW, guaranteeing his protection under the Geneva Conventions. “We were told: ‘that means everything is fine … Russia has to return him,’” Hryhoriev’s wife, Halyna, recalled. In August 2022, she received a letter from him, that addressed her by a nickname. “My dear Halochka,” he wrote. “I am alive and well. Everything will be all right.” Desperate for more information, his daughter Oksana, 31, scoured Russian social media accounts, where videos of Ukrainian POWs regularly appeared. Eventually, she saw him in one — looking gaunt and missing teeth. His gray hair was cropped very short, framing gentle features now partially covered by a beard. In the video, likely shot under duress, Hryhoriev said to the camera: “I’m alive and well.” “But if you looked at him, you could see that wasn’t true,” Oksana said. The truth was dismal, said Oleksii Honcharov, a 48-year-old Ukrainian POW who was detained with him. Honcharov lived in the same prison barracks as Hryhoriev starting in the fall of 2022. Over a ******* of months, he witnessed Hryhoriev absorb the same severe punishment as every other POW at the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky Correctional Colony in southwest Russia. “Everyone got hit — no exceptions,” said Honcharov, who was repatriated to Ukraine in February as part of a prisoner swap. “Some more, some less, but we all took it.” Honcharov endured months of chest pain while in captivity. Even then, the beatings never stopped, he said, and sometimes they began after his pleas for medical care, which were ignored. “Toward the end, I could barely walk,” said Honcharov, who was diagnosed with tuberculosis once back in Ukraine – an increasingly common ailment among returning POWs. A 2024 U.N. report found that 95% of released Ukrainian POWs had endured “systematic” torture. Prisoners described beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, ******* violence, prolonged stress positions, mock executions, and sleep deprivation. “This conduct could not be more unlawful,” said Danielle Bell, the U.N.’s top human rights monitor in Ukraine. The report also said some Russian POWs were mistreated by Ukrainian forces during their initial capture — including beatings, threats and electric shocks. But the abuse stopped once Russian POWs were moved to official Ukrainian detention centers, the report said. Hryhoriev was physically strong and often outlasted younger prisoners during forced exercises, Honcharov recalled. But over time, he began showing signs of physical decline: dizziness, fatigue and, eventually, an inability to walk without help. Yet despite his worsening condition, prison officials provided only minimal health care, Honcharov said. Piecing together how POWs died In a bright, sterile room with the sour-sweet smell of human decomposition, Inna Padei performs autopsies on Ukrainian soldiers repatriated by Russia, as well as civilians exhumed from mass graves. Hundreds of bodies zipped up in ****** plastic bags have been delivered in refrigerated trucks to the morgue where she works in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Those who died in battle are still wearing military fatigues and often have obvious external wounds. The bodies of former POWs are dressed in prison uniforms and are often mutilated and decomposed. It is the job of Padei and other forensic experts to piece together how soldiers like Hryhoriev died. These reports are often the only reliable information the soldiers’ families get — and they will be used by Ukraine, along with testimony from former POWs, to bring war crimes charges against Russia at the International Criminal Court. The body of a former POW recently examined by Padei had an almond-sized fracture on the right side of its skull. That suggested the soldier was struck by a blunt object – a blow potentially strong enough to have killed him instantly, or shortly after, she said. “These injuries may not always be the direct cause of death,” Padei said, “but they clearly indicate the use of force and torture against the servicemen.” Earlier this year, Amnesty International documented widespread torture of Ukrainian POWs in Russia. Its report was especially critical of Russia’s secrecy regarding the whereabouts and condition of POWs, saying it refused to grant rights groups or health workers access to its prisons, leaving families in the dark for months or years about their loved ones. Of the more than 5,000 POWs Russia has repatriated to Ukraine, at least 206 died in captivity, including more than 50 when an explosion ripped through a Russian-controlled prison barracks, according to the Ukrainian government. An additional 245 Ukrainian POWs were killed by Russian soldiers on the battlefield, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. The toll of dead POWs is expected to rise as more bodies are returned and identified, but forensic experts face significant challenges in determining causes of death. In some cases, internal organs are missing. Other times, it appears as if bruises or injuries have been hidden or removed. Ukrainian officials believe the mutilation of bodies is an effort by Russia to conceal the true causes of death. Extreme decomposition is another obstacle, officials say. “They hold the bodies until they reach a state where nothing can be determined,” said Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian government agency in charge of POW affairs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the prompt exchange of POWs must be part of any ceasefire agreement, along with the return of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including children forcibly deported to Russia. A major prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine took place over the weekend. The Associated Press interviewed relatives of 21 Ukrainian POWs who died in captivity. Autopsies performed in Ukraine found that five of these POWs died of heart failure, including soldiers who were 22, 39 and 43. Four others died from tuberculosis or pneumonia, and three others perished, respectively, from an infection, asphyxia and a blunt force head wound. Padei said cases like these — and others she has seen — are red flags, suggesting that physical abuse and untreated injuries and illness likely contributed to many soldiers’ deaths. “Under normal or humane conditions, these would not have been fatal,” Padei said. In one autopsy report, coroners said an individual had been electrocuted and beaten just days before dying of heart failure and extreme emaciation. Other autopsies noted that bodies showed signs of gangrene or untreated infections. “Everything the returned prisoners describe … we see the same on the bodies,” Padei said. ‘Angel in the sky’ Months into Hryhoriev’s detention at the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky prison – and after his daughter saw him in the Russian army’s social media video — his health deteriorated significantly, according to Honcharov. But instead of being sent to a hospital, Hryhoriev was moved to a tiny cell that was isolated from other prisoners. Another Ukrainian captive, a paramedic, was assigned to stay with him. “It was damp, cold, with no lighting at all,” recalled Honcharov. He died in that cell about a month later, Honcharov said. It was May 20, 2023, according to his Russian death certificate. The Hryhoriev family didn’t learn he had died until more than six months later, when a former POW reached out. Then, in March 2024, police in central Ukraine called: A body had arrived with a Russian death certificate bearing Hryhoriev’s name. A DNA test confirmed it was him. An autopsy performed in Ukraine disputed Russia’s claim that Hryhoriev died of a stroke. It said he bled to death after blunt trauma to his abdomen that also damaged his spleen. Hryhoriev’s body was handed over to the family last June, and soon after he was buried in his hometown of Pyriatyn. To honor him, Hryhoriev’s wife and older daughter, Yana, followed Oksana’s lead and tattooed their wrists with the optimistic expression he had drilled into them. “Now we have an angel in the sky watching over us,” Halyna said. “We believe everything will be all right.” ___ Associated Press reporters Yehor Konovalov, Alex Babenko and Anton Shtuka in Kyiv, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report. 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