Two Western *********** sausage connoisseurs have taken top honours at an international competition in Germany
Two Western *********** sausage connoisseurs have taken top honours at an international competition in Germany
Two Western *********** sausage connoisseurs have snagged top honours at an international competition in Germany for their European-inspired speciality meats.
Mondo Doro in O’Connor and P Princi Butchers in Bicton were among 15 *********** smallgoods producers to receive a platinum award at the DFV Quality International Competition for Sausages and Ham 2025 for the first time.
Mondo Doro’s Wagyu Bresaola and P Princi Butchers’ smoked cheese kransky received the accolades, demonstrating the producers’ exemplifying excellence in craftsmanship.
The competition was hosted as part of IFFA — the world’s leading and biggest trade fair for the meat industry – in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 6.
It was organised by the ******* Butchers’ Association with close co-operation from the *********** Meat Industry Council.
In total, 19 platinum awards were issued to *********** producers, an honour reserved for products that achieved an outstanding evaluation from the international judging panel.
AMIC general manager for smallgoods Oliver Stankovski said the outstanding results speak volumes about the quality, innovation and pride of Australia’s independent butchers and smallgoods makers.
“These awards not only reflect the exceptional standards of our local industry but also demonstrate the global competitiveness of ***********-made meat products,” he said.
“We’re incredibly proud to support and promote these businesses and have them recognised for their hard work on the world stage.”
Grading of the 331 *********** entrants — who first had to prove their eligibility by securing a gold award from the *********** Charcuterie Excellence Awards — was done based on appearance, consistency, smell and taste.
Western *********** smallgoods producers Barbaro Smallgoods, Crafty Meats, McLoughlin Butchers, Perry’s Quality Meats, Pink Lake Butchers, Re and Sons and That Butcher Shop also received accolades from bronze to gold for their various meat entries.
“This year marked the first time Australia entered our award-winning smallgoods products into this prestigious international competition and it demonstrates our winners can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world,” Mr Stankovski said.
“It’s a powerful endorsement of *********** excellence, innovation and craftsmanship.”
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Amy Coney Barrett Tears Into Trump Official to Defend Liberal Justice at Supreme Court
Amy Coney Barrett Tears Into Trump Official to Defend Liberal Justice at Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett ripped into President Donald Trump’s solicitor general on Thursday for disrespecting one of the high court’s liberal justices.
Barrett, who was appointed by Trump in 2020 but has recently drawn the ire of MAGA, slammed Solicitor General Dean John Sauer for giving what she felt was an insufficient response to Justice Elena Kagan, an appointee of Barack Obama.
Barrett stepped in after Sauer’s answer and asked, “Sir, are you really going to answer Justice Kagan by saying there’s no way to do this expeditiously?”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett at the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January. She was appointed by Trump in 2020, in the final months of his presidency. / Evelyn Hockstein / REUTERS
She added, “You resisted Justice Kagan when she said, ‘Could the individual plaintiffs form a class…’ Were a class appropriate for class certification, you can see that it could resolve the question quickly?”
Sauer, who represented Trump in his federal obstruction case, responded: “Yes, absolutely it could do so. I mean, we obviously dispute that…”
John Sauer testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in February. He argued in front of the Supreme Court on Thursday that district judges should not be able to put nationwide injunctions in place. / Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag
The tense interaction occurred during oral arguments regarding the legality of nationwide injunctions by federal judges. The Supreme Court is weighing this issue because the Trump administration has contested that a district judge should not be able to single-handedly stop Trump from enacting an executive order that ends birthright citizenship in America.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that a judge should not wield more power than the president.
The high court has not been asked to weigh birthright citizenship’s constitutionality yet, but its decision on injunctions will determine whether Trump’s executive order will go into effect in the interim.
If the Trump administration gets nationwide injunctions overturned, it would mean that the parents of babies born without citizenship would each have to go to court individually to challenge the decision.
Despite Thursday’s arguments centering around injunctions, Trump’s executive order came up repeatedly.
“I got to tell you that does not fill me with great confidence,” Kagan told Sauer at one point, referring to the order. “How else are we going to get to the right result here, which is on my assumption that the EO is ********?”
Sauer responded, “That would be a profoundly wrong result.”
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, 65, was appointed by Barack Obama in 2010. / OLIVIER DOULIERY / Oliver Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
The solicitor general, among other things, said that the Supreme Court needed to balance “the equitable factors as to the scope of remedial relief, not as to underlying merits.”
Kagan responded bluntly, “Yes, I mean, that’s a lot of words.” She then conceded that district judges occasionally abuse nationwide injunctions, but said that they should not be eliminated because of an “********” executive order by Trump.
Barrett, 53, has gotten under the skin of MAGA this year. Unlike the conservative stalwarts Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, she has sided with her liberal counterparts in some high-profile cases.
That included Barrett’s vote in March to uphold a lower court’s decision and reject the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid. Her siding with the court’s liberal justices led some in Trumpland to refer to her as a “DEI pick,” adding that Trump should have picked someone further to the right after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.
“She is evil, chosen solely because she checked identity politics boxes,” wrote the MAGA influencer Mike Cernovich, who met with Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year, in a March post. “Another DEI hire. It always ends badly.”
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Former FBI Director James Comey takes down Instagram post after conservative uproar – CNN
Former FBI Director James Comey takes down Instagram post after conservative uproar – CNN
Former FBI Director James Comey takes down Instagram post after conservative uproar CNNEX-FBI chief Comey’s ‘86 47’ social media post condemned by White House as attempt to put ‘hit’ on president Fox NewsJames Comey under investigation for post seen as potential threat to Trump’s life NBC NewsNoem says DHS, Secret Service investigating Comey after he ‘called for the assassination’ of Trump The HillEx-FBI chief James Comey accused of threatening Trump in since-deleted ‘8647’ Instagram post: ‘Deeply concerning’ New York Post
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MPs in England and Wales to debate bill after major changes
MPs in England and Wales to debate bill after major changes
Sam Francis
Political reporter
Harry Farley
Political correspondent
Getty Images
MPs will debate a bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales for the first time since significant changes were made to it.
The bill passed the first stage of the Commons last November – but since then the details have been pored over and dozens of amendments added by both sides.
A vote to pass or reject the bill is not likely to take place on Friday, but rather in June.
Friday’s debate comes as the government quietly made changes to its impact assessment on assisted dying, admitting errors in calculating how many people could take up the service if it becomes law.
It reduced its upper estimate for the number of assisted deaths in the first year from 787 to 647.
Several MPs opposed to the bill have described the process as “chaotic”.
But Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the bill, said it was coming back to the Commons “even stronger”.
She urged MPs to “grasp this opportunity with both hands”.
“The law as it stands is not working for dying people or their loved ones; that much is clear,” she said.
“A majority of MPs recognised this when they backed my bill in November. When they come to debate it once again today, they can be confident that it returns even stronger.”
Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – which would allow some terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their own lives – cleared its first parliamentary hurdle by 330 to 275 votes back in November.
Since then, the bill has gone through six months of intense scrutiny by a parliamentary committee and several changes, including removing the need for a High Court judge to sign off each request for an assisted death. Instead, a panel of experts – including a legal professional, psychiatrist and social worker – would oversee the process.
Another amendment would prevent doctors from discussing the option of an assisted death with under 18s, unless the patient has raised it first.
MPs have been given a free vote, meaning they can decide based on their conscience rather than having to follow a party line.
The issue has split Parliament, with strong opinions on both sides.
Those opposed to assisted dying say the mood has altered among MPs, but so far only a handful have said they’ve changed their minds since November and it would take dozens to block the bill.
The Commons is unlikely to vote to give the bill final approval until 13 June at the earliest.
On 2 May, the government published its long-awaited impact report on the bill – projecting NHS savings ranging from £919,000 to £10.3 million.
But on Wednesday, officials published a “correction notice” at the bottom of the 150-page document.
The change revises the upper estimate for the number of assisted deaths in the first year after the bill is published from up to 787 to 647.
Labour MP Melanie Ward, who previously voted against the bill, told the BBC: “This shows just how chaotic this whole process has been.
“With the bill being amended by supporters just days before it is debated and the impact assessment being quietly corrected, MPs on either side of the debate can’t really know what they are being asked to vote on.
“It calls into question again whether this bill is fit for purpose and whether this private member’s bill process is suited to deal with such significant and profound issues of life and death.”
Independent peer Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who has campaigned against the bill and will get a vote if the bill goes to the Lords, said it had been “very disappointing to see this process”.
The amended impact assessment “has come out the night before very important debates,” she said.
“It might make the numbers look marginally better but it’s a significant error – what else have they got wrong?”
Meanwhile, Sarah Pochin, Reform’s newest MP after winning the Runcorn by-election earlier this month, confirmed she would support the bill, telling ITV she was “confident” there were enough checks and balances to ensure terminally ill people were protected.
Broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who has been campaigning for assisted dying after revealing her terminal lung ******* diagnosis last year, accused opponents of having “undeclared personal religious beliefs which mean no precautions would satisfy” their concerns.
Labour MP Jess Asato, who voted against the bill, described Dame Esther’s comments as “particularly distasteful” and “disrespectful to those with faith and without”.
The new bill in England and Wales would allow any doctor to be involved in assisted dying. GPs are often a large part of the practice in countries where it is legal.
A BBC investigation found family doctors in England are deeply divided on the issue.
Of the 1,000 GPs who responded to a survey conducted by the BBC, 500 said they were against an assisted dying law, with 400 saying they were in favour.
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said it believed there were “concerning deficiencies” with the bill that would need addressing, including tougher safeguards such as using doctors known to the patient for prognosis, face-to-face checks to prevent coercion and no cuts to other care.
Earlier this week, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said it had “serious concerns” and could not support the bill in its current form.
Both colleges said they remained neutral on the principle of assisted dying.
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Date locked in for drug kingpin's appeal hearing
Date locked in for drug kingpin's appeal hearing
Underworld figure Tony Mokbel will have to wait another four months to have an appeal against his drug trafficking and importation convictions heard.
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Walmart price hike signals Trump's trade war is filtering through U.S. economy
Walmart price hike signals Trump's trade war is filtering through U.S. economy
Walmart price hike signals Trump’s trade war is filtering through U.S. economy
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Sean “Diddy” Combs Overdosed on Night of Playboy Mansion Party in 2012, His Ex-Partner Reveals at Trial – The Hollywood Reporter
Sean “Diddy” Combs Overdosed on Night of Playboy Mansion Party in 2012, His Ex-Partner Reveals at Trial – The Hollywood Reporter
Sean “Diddy” Combs Overdosed on Night of Playboy Mansion Party in 2012, His Ex-Partner Reveals at Trial The Hollywood ReporterMay 15, 2025 – Day 4 of testimony in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial CNNHow Cassie Ventura’s Testimony Could Help Prosecution Prove Claims that Diddy’s a Sex Trafficker People.comCassie to Continue Testimony at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s Trial: Live Updates The New York TimesSean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Cassie Ventura pressed on drug use, Kid Cudi relationship, ‘freak-off’ videos NBC News
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Molly Ticehurst’s accused ********* told to face court
Molly Ticehurst’s accused ********* told to face court
The man accused of the domestic violence ******* of Molly Ticehurst has been ordered to face court, with a magistrate noting the case has been outstanding for a year.
Ms Ticehurst, a 28-year-old childcare educator, was found dead in her home at Forbes, in central western NSW, in the early hours of April 22, 2024.
Her former boyfriend, Daniel Billings, is charged with her domestic violence *******, along with 16 other offences.
Billings had been freed on bail a fortnight before the alleged ******* on charges related to Ms Ticehurst, including three counts of ******* intercourse without consent and four counts of stalking and intimidating her.
He was also charged with destroying property at her house and aggravated animal cruelty against her 12-week-old dachshund puppy in 2023.
Four more serious charges, including one count of aggravated ******* assault, were laid in December 2024.
Legal documents before the court accused Billings of threatening to cause Ms Ticehurst further physical harm during the alleged ******* assault.
The 30-year-old has not entered pleas.
Billings’ case was briefly mentioned in Forbes Local Court on Friday morning, though he was not required to attend.
Crown prosecutor Shaun Croner told the court the legal parties needed a four-week adjournment.
“The parties are in negotiation and we just need to finalise negotiations,” Mr Croner said.
Magistrate Michael Maher said it was the third case conference mention and the next court date had to be a committal.
“This matter has been outstanding since last April,” Mr Maher said.
He ordered the legal representatives to appear in person at Parkes Local Court on June 20, while Billings can appear via audio-visual link from custody for the committal.
A committal is generally the first step in moving a case to a higher court.
Ms Ticehurst’s death intensified a national movement against gendered violence and sparked changes to NSW bail laws, including “show cause” thresholds for bail applications and electronic monitoring of accused offenders.
Several members of Ms Ticehurst’s family, including her parents, were in court to watch the brief proceedings.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National ******* Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
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Mom Was Overjoyed After Welcoming Son. 9 Days Later, Doctors Found a Tumor in Her Placenta
Mom Was Overjoyed After Welcoming Son. 9 Days Later, Doctors Found a Tumor in Her Placenta
A young mom was diagnosed with a rare form of ******* shortly after giving birth to her son in 2024
Now more than a year later, Lydia Dutcher is *******-free — and grateful that the choriocarcinoma didn’t spread to her son Theo
“I honestly thought I was going to die,” she says of learning she had multiple tumors in her lungs
Lydia Dutcher, a new mom with a nine-day-old newborn, was making a cheesecake with her husband Matthew in their home in Sun Prairie, Wisc., to celebrate Valentine’s Day when a call from her doctor shocked her to her core.
“I thought that my doctor was just calling me to tell me that something was wrong with Theo,” Lydia, 29, tells PEOPLE. But the news wasn’t about her baby. Instead, Dr. Danielle Hartwig called to inform the new mom that her care team had found a tumor in her placenta.
“I don’t want to scare you, but there’s not much literature. I’ve been researching it. I don’t know really what the next steps are going to be,” Lydia remembers Hartwig saying during the call, which was on speaker so Matthew could also hear.
The couple sat in shocked silence – and Googled the finding, despite the doctor’s warning – until Theo woke up. Lydia says the shock took a long time to wear off.
Lydia later learned that she had choriocarcinoma, a tumor that can develop from the same cells that ensure embryos connect to the uterus, allowing the placenta to form, according to UW Health Carbone ******* Center where Lydia received her treatment and works as a nurse.
The ******* spreads quickly and is rare, only affecting about one in 100,000 pregnancies in the United States, according to Dr. Lisa Barroilhet, a gynecologic oncologist who oversaw Lydia’s treatment.
Courtesy of Lydia Dutcher
Lydia in the hospital with her newborn son
Just three weeks after Lydia gave birth to Theo on Feb. 5, 2024, she began 10 weeks of chemotherapy to treat the multiple tumors that were discovered in her lungs.
Lydia, who has been *******-free for more than a year now, says she’s grateful her son Theo wasn’t affected by her ******* diagnosis and was born perfectly healthy. (There was a small chance that the ******* had spread to Theo while he was in the womb, but his tests came back negative.)
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Lydia had a normal pregnancy, but when she went into labor, it lasted for almost three days, resulting in an infection: chorioamnionitis. Her doctor was able to treat the infection with antibiotics, but sent the placenta for testing, which is when the tumor was found.
“I was just so excited and hopeful and ready to be a new mom and enjoy my maternity leave,” says Lydia of the initial diagnosis. “I just was not expecting that.”
When she learned that there were multiple, small tumors in her lungs, the reality sunk in. “I just remember my heart dropping,” she says. “I honestly thought I was going to die.”
Still, in a way, the infection was fortuitous because Lydia says the ******* may not have been discovered until it went to her brain otherwise.
While the treatment was grueling, Lydia’s human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels began dropping pretty quickly — and it wasn’t before long that she felt reassured that she was going to be okay.
Still, Lydia had PICC lines in both arms, which made it painful to hold her son and the treatment left her feeling drained. Fortunately, her husband was there to take care of their newborn and their parents also stepped in to help — and after sharing her story on social media, more than 60 mothers donated breast milk so she could continue to feed Theo breast milk.
“I felt really supported and looked out for during the whole time,” Lydia remembers.
Courtesy of Lydia Dutcher
Matthew and Lydia Dutcher with their son Theo
Although the mom still has to get her hCG levels checked every month, her doctors don’t expect a recurrence and say she should be able to carry another child in the future, though the pregnancy would have to be monitored.
For now, her focus is on her healthy 15-month-old son, who loves to play outside. “He’s perfect,” says his mom. When he gets older, Lydia and Matthew will plan how they’ll tell Theo about her ******* diagnosis.
Says Lydia, “I’ll have to figure out a way to make him know how special he is and how lucky I am to be his mom.”
Read the original article on People
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Cowboys play six games in a row against teams that won at least 11 games last season – NBC Sports
Cowboys play six games in a row against teams that won at least 11 games last season – NBC Sports
Cowboys play six games in a row against teams that won at least 11 games last season NBC Sports2025 NFL schedule release: Predictions, takeaways and key stretch for all 32 teams ESPNCowboys schedule: For first time since 2005, both games against the Giants are in the early window Yahoo SportsMailbag: Which game are you looking forward to? Dallas CowboysThe inside story of TV networks’ 2025 NFL season scheduling: Flexing star QBs and huge ratings – The Athletic The New York Times
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Firefighters go dark as contentious tax hike ticked off
Firefighters go dark as contentious tax hike ticked off
Regional communities were left without local fire brigades as volunteers downed tools in an apparent protest to an incoming levy.
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FEMA “not ready” for hurricane season, internal review says
FEMA “not ready” for hurricane season, internal review says
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is “not ready” for hurricane season in June, according to an internal review obtained by CBS News— as FEMA contends with staff cuts and a push by President Trump to eliminate the nation’s disaster relief agency.
The powerpoint presentation was created after FEMA’s new acting leader, David Richardson, ordered the agency to review hurricane preparedness, with storm season roughly two weeks away. In a series of slides, dated May 12, FEMA identified apparent problems at the disaster relief agency, including a need to “refocus on its core mission while preparing for the 2025 Hurricane Season.”
“As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready,” said one of the slides.
Elsewhere in the presentation, it says most of FEMA’s readiness process for hurricane season “has been derailed this year due to other activities like staffing and contracts” — an apparent reference to layoffs of probationary workers and sweeping changes to FEMA’s contract workforce.
“It has not been normal hurricane season preparedness yet,” the slides read.
CNN was first to report on the internal document.
CBS News has reached out to DHS, which oversees FEMA, for comment. In a statement to CNN, the agency called the story “grossly out of context” and said it is “fully activated in preparation for Hurricane Season.”
“The slide was used during a daily meeting Acting Administrator David Richardson has held every day titled Hurricane Readiness Complex Problem Solving. In other words, exactly what the head of an emergency management agency should be doing before Hurricane Season,” a DHS spokesperson’s statement to CNN read.
In a 30-minute town hall meeting with staff Thursday, Richardson would not say whether the agency is ready for hurricane season when asked, according to multiple FEMA employees. Richardson, who has been on the job for less than a week, responded that he’s still working on it and should have a better idea within a couple of weeks.
The official start of Atlantic hurricane season is June 1.
The internal presentation also cites “culture issues,” staffing shortages and challenges coordinating with other federal agencies.
Parts of the document seem to reference Mr. Trump’s plan to shift more emergency response duties to the states. The slides say there’s a perception that state officials are “passing [the] buck” to FEMA, and cite the need for “managing expectations and understanding what FEMA’s role is” — suggesting the federal agency should offer “supplemental assistance” in some cases.
During Thursday’s town hall, Richardson cited California and Texas as examples of states that are capable of responding to their own natural disasters, multiple FEMA employees said. The comment raised eyebrows among several FEMA staff members who deployed to Texas’ deadly winter cold snap in February 2021, causing hundreds of thousands to lose power.
FEMA has faced a turbulent few months as it prepares for the Atlantic hurricane season. Mr. Trump has criticized the agency’s handling of prior natural disasters, and has floated either scrapping FEMA or transforming it into a “support agency” that largely defers to the states.
The agency laid off hundreds of probationary employees earlier this year. And in March, the agency indicated a large share of its workforce would be required to apply for contract extensions through the Department of Homeland Security. The move could impact more than half of FEMA’s workers, CBS News has previously reported.
The agency’s former acting head, Cameron Hamilton, was fired by the Trump administration last week and replaced by Richardson after Hamilton told lawmakers he doesn’t believe eliminating FEMA is in the country’s “best interests” — clashing with Mr. Trump’s views.
In his first all-hands meeting last week, Richardson told staff, “Don’t get in my way… I will run right over you,” according to a recording obtained by CBS News.
Richardson, a former Marine who attained the rank of lieutenant colonel, backed Mr. Trump’s plan to shrink FEMA, and said he plans on looking for ways to “push things down to the states” and “do more cost sharing with the states.”
“I am as bent on achieving the President’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty, where I took my Marines to Iraq, eleven of them,” he said at last week’s meeting.
Michael Kaplan
Michael Kaplan is an award-winning reporter and producer for the CBS News investigative unit. He specializes in securing scoops and crafting long-form television investigations. His work has appeared on “60 Minutes,” CNN and in The New York Times.
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Furious Former Twitter Advertisers Tell Elon Musk They’ve Had Enough of His Tantrums
Furious Former Twitter Advertisers Tell Elon Musk They’ve Had Enough of His Tantrums
Elon Musk’s social media company X-formerly-Twitter sued several major advertising brands last year, accusing them of conspiring to “collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising.”
It’s an easily debunked claim that flatly ignores the extremely hostile environment the mercurial CEO has created on the platform, with hate speech and disinformation running rampant.
Now, advertisers singled out by Musk are ready to hit back and are asking a judge to dismiss Musk’s lawsuit. As Business Insider reports, the companies accused the richest man in the world in a joint motion of trying to “win back the business X lost in the free market when it disrupted its own business and alienated many of its customers.”
Advertisers started running for the hills after Musk took over the platform in late 2022, bringing with him a groundswell of hate speech, misinformation, and racist rhetoric. The exodus, which has continued for years, left a major hole in the company’s financials that were already in freefall following Musk’s acquisition.
Instead of acknowledging the sheer amount of damage he has done, Musk is accusing advertisers of colluding against him in the lawsuit, which he filed in August of last year.
The prolonged legal fight turned ugly when the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM), a World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) initiative, dissolved after Musk filed the complaint.
The initiative was set up in 2019 to protect advertisers from exactly the kind of hurtful content that has flourished on X-formerly-Twitter, including child sex-abuse material, and displays of violence.
But now, GARM members and non-GARM members alike have joined forces to reject Musk’s accusations of a conspiracy, pointing out that they each had individually determined X was far too toxic to advertise on.
The group also refuted the findings of a Republican-led investigation by the House Judiciary Committee that claimed its members colluded against the conservative-leaning media.
In their latest finding, the WFA pointed out that advertisers’ decision to stay clear of Musk’s toxic platform fell under their First Amendment rights.
“Antitrust law protects competition,” the filing reads. “It does not protect X from competition.”
More on Twitter: Grok AI Claims Elon Musk Told It to Go on Lunatic Rants About “White Genocide”
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Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment – The New York Times
Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment – The New York Times
Baby Is Healed With World’s First Personalized Gene-Editing Treatment The New York TimesInfant becomes world’s first patient to undergo personalized gene-editing treatment CBS NewsCRISPR is used in landmark treatment to correct genetic misspelling of a single patient statnews.comUS doctors rewrite DNA of infant with severe genetic disorder in medical first The GuardianA promising genetic treatment tailor-made for a baby born with a rare disorder NPR
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Magpie-turned-Mariner Rowe to swoop on ALW decider
Magpie-turned-Mariner Rowe to swoop on ALW decider
When Sarah Rowe’s Collingwood teammates finished a rough AFLW season and turned their attention to holidays, the Irishwoman had other ideas for her six months off.
But even she didn’t think playing in an A-League Women grand final would be part of the picture.
On Sunday, Central Coast defender Rowe will do just that, facing former club Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park – right next door to Collingwood HQ.
“When you look at the whole story, you just think to yourself: it couldn’t have worked out any better,” Rowe told AAP.
“As an athlete, I love being in competition and no matter what, you can’t beat competition, whether it’s in another sport or not.
“So I was like, how do I best improve and learn a lot and take a lot from this off-season?
“So I just said ‘I’d love to go back and play soccer’.”
A former Ireland youth international before turning her focus to Gaelic, then AFLW, Rowe previously had a short stint at Victory in 2023.
But keen on trying life outside Melbourne, Rowe was put in touch with Central Coast coach Emily Husband.
“As soon as I talked to her, it just felt right,” Rowe said.
“Then it was like a matter of speaking to Collingwood and seeing how we could help the worlds collide.”
The Mariners share reports on Rowe’s fitness so she can be ready for AFLW pre-season when she returns, while Collingwood give her space to focus on soccer.
That’s included transforming from a quick, athletic winger to an aggressive full-back.
It’s paid off.
“It couldn’t have worked out any better and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to make the move to Sydney and to go for this,” Rowe said.
That the grand final comes against Victory, and coach Jeff Hopkins, is even more precious.
“When I went back last time, I hadn’t played soccer in eight years and Jeff took the chance on me and backed me in and did so much work alongside (former assistant) Caitlin Friend to get me up to scratch,” Rowe said.
“Massive respect for Victory and what they’ve done. Massive respect for Jeff and what he’s done.
“But it will be all’s fair in love and war on Sunday. There’s no friends on Sunday.”
Rowe will have her Collingwood teammates, Irish friends and even her dad there on Sunday.
“He’s been there the last two weekends,” she said.
“He was meant to go home after the Canberra game, and he’s like, ‘you’re ruining my life. You keep winning. You weren’t supposed to win.’
“Every week, he’s been like, ‘I’m staying another week’ – so he couldn’t miss it.
“I was trying to figure out if I could squeeze in a trip home to Ireland just before the AFLW season. My life has been turned upside down, in the most positive way.
“I’ve thought I’ve been moving back to Melbourne about five times over the last couple of weeks – and I’m still in Sydney. So it’s been amazing, a rollercoaster of a journey.”
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Trump administration officials say Secret Service is investigating Comey’s ’86 47′ social media post
Trump administration officials say Secret Service is investigating Comey’s ’86 47′ social media post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday that federal law enforcement is investigating a social media post made by former FBI Director James Comey that she and other Republicans claim is a call for violence against President Donald Trump.
In an Instagram post earlier in the day, Comey wrote “cool shell formation on my beach walk” under a picture of seashells that appeared to form the shapes for “86 47.”
Numerous Trump administration officials, including Noem, claimed that Comey was advocating for the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. “DHS and Secret Service is investigating this threat and will respond appropriately,” Noem wrote.
The post has since been deleted. Comey subsequently wrote, “I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.
“It never occurred to me,” Comey added, “but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”
Comey’s original post sparked outrage among conservatives on social media, with Donald Trump Jr. accusing Comey of calling for his father’s killing.
Current FBI Director Kash Patel said he was aware of the post and was conferring with the Secret Service and its director.
James Blair, White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs, noted that the post came at a delicate time given that Trump is traveling in the Middle East.
“This is a Clarion Call from Jim Comey to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East,” Blair wrote on X.
Comey, who was FBI director from 2013 to 2017, was fired by Trump during the president’s first term amid the bureau’s probe into allegations of ties between Russian officials and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Comey wrote about his career in the best-selling memoir “A Higher Loyalty.”
He is now a crime fiction writer and is promoting his latest book, “FDR Drive,” which is being released on Tuesday.
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Pregnant US woman declared brain dead is being kept alive under state abortion law – The Guardian
Pregnant US woman declared brain dead is being kept alive under state abortion law – The Guardian
Pregnant US woman declared brain dead is being kept alive under state abortion law The GuardianGeorgia mother says she is being forced to keep brain-dead pregnant daughter alive under abortion ban law NBC NewsHospital tells family brain-dead Georgia woman must carry fetus to birth because of abortion ban AP NewsFamily says woman declared brain dead but her pregnancy continues under state law 11Alive.comBrain-dead woman must carry fetus to birth because of Georgia’s abortion ban, hospital tells family PBS
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Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation after ******* assault claims
Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation after ******* assault claims
Motown legend Smokey Robinson is under criminal investigation in Los Angeles over accusations of ******* assault.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed it had launched a formal inquiry into the allegations, saying the probe was in the “early stages”.
The investigation comes after a lawsuit was filed last week by four anonymous housekeepers against the 85-year-old singer-songwriter, accusing him ******* battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence.
Mr Robinson has denied the allegations. His lawyer has said those behind the accusations are after the musician’s money, and he welcomed the police investigation “because exposure to the truth is a powerful thing”.
“We feel confident that a determination will be made that Mr Robinson did nothing wrong, and that this is a desperate attempt to prejudice public opinion and make even more of a media circus than the Plaintiffs were previously able to create,” the attorney, Christopher Frost, said in a statement to the BBC.
He argued the police investigation was only opened because the plaintiffs filed a formal report with their allegations and said the claims were “manufactured” and designed to “tarnish the good names” of the musician and his wife, who is also named in the lawsuit and accused of contributing to a hostile work environment.
The sheriff’s department told the BBC in a statement that its Special Victims Bureau was “actively investigating criminal allegations involving William Robinson AKA ‘Smokey Robinson.’ The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment.”
The women filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on 6 May under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In the 27-page legal action, they allege several incidents that they say dated back to 2006, and accuse Mr Robinson of pressuring them into sex.
All four women, who are of Hispanic descent, said they had not come forward until now because they feared losing their livelihoods, familial reprisal or embarrassment. Some were concerned the allegations could affect their immigration status.
They are seeking at least $50m (£38m) in damages and a jury trial.
Mr Robinson was Motown’s first hitmaker, writing number one records like Mary Wells’ My Guy and The Temptations’ My Girl.
He was both a talent scout for the record label and one of its most prominent recording artists in his own right, known for songs like Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around and Tears of a Clown.
He has spots in both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and claims to have credits on more than 4,000 songs.
The women’s lawyers held a press conference last week after filing the lawsuit, accusing Mr Robinson of being a “serial and sick *******” who “must be stopped”.
Mr Robinson’s legal team called the event a “bizarre” attempt “to enlist the public as an unwitting participant in the media circus they are trying to create”.
“We will have more to say in the coming days as we make our legal response, and in time Mr Robinson will respond in his own words,” Mr Frost said, noting that the musician’s legal team plans to ask for the case to be dismissed.
“We ask anyone following this case to reserve judgment as the evidence comes to light and all the actual facts of the case unfold.”
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MPs call for year-long delay to proposals
MPs call for year-long delay to proposals
Malcolm Prior/BBC
The policy to tax inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m from April 2026 saw farmers hold tractor protests across the ***
Farm inheritance tax changes should be delayed by a year and alternative schemes that will not harm small family businesses need to be properly considered, a committee of MPs has warned.
Government plans to tax inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m at a rate of 20% – half the usual rate – saw protests across the *** after they were announced in the Autumn Budget.
In a report released on Friday, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee said the changes were made without “adequate consultation, impact assessment or affordability assessment”.
The government said its inheritance tax reforms were “vital” and its commitment to farmers was “steadfast”.
Efra’s report said the tax reforms “threaten to affect the most vulnerable” but delaying the implementation of the policy until April 2027 would give those farmers more time to seek “appropriate professional advice”.
National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Tom Bradshaw said a delay “doesn’t take the terrible pressure off older farmers”.
He said the policy remained “fundamentally unfit, destructive, badly constructed and must be changed”.
The government says the changes will only affect the wealthiest 500 farms each year, but the NFU and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) estimate that up to 70,000 farms could be affected overall.
The committee also warned that the government’s sudden closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) environmental payments scheme “affected trust in the government” and left many farmers “at risk of becoming unviable”.
When the SFI scheme, which more than 50,000 farm businesses are signed up to, was closed in March, the NFU described it as another “shattering blow” to farmers.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has since announced it will allow SFI applications that were in progress within two months of its closure.
But the committee said that lessons should be learned and that “a restoration of trust is urgently required”.
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The closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive was said to be a “shattering blow” to farmers
Efra committee chairman Alistair Carmichael said the confidence and wellbeing of farmers had been affected negatively.
“The government, however, seems to be dismissing farmers’ concerns and ignoring the strength of feeling evidenced in the months of protests that saw tractors converge on Westminster and up and down the country,” he added.
The CLA, which represents 28,000 farmers and rural businesses, urged the government to rethink its “current disastrous policy” on inheritance tax.
It said the government should consider an alternative “clawback” scheme, under which 100% agricultural and business property reliefs would remain but inheritance tax would be applied to assets if sold within a certain ******* of time post-death, payable out of the proceeds of the *****.
CLA president Victoria Vyvyan said the “clawback” proposal would limit the damage to family businesses while targeting “those who have bought land to shelter wealth for short-term gain”.
“The government has dug itself into a deep hole by targeting family farms and businesses, and must now pause, listen and consult,” she said.
But a government spokesman said that under its changes three quarters of estates would continue to pay no inheritance tax at all, while the remaining quarter would “pay half the inheritance tax that most people pay”.
He added that payments could be spread over 10 years, interest-free.
Details of a new SFI scheme will be announced after the upcoming spending review.
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Green in prime position to break Champions Tour hoodoo
Green in prime position to break Champions Tour hoodoo
*********** Richard Green made a long eagle putt and finished his round with a birdie to fire a nine-under-par 63 for a two-shot lead after one round at the Regions Tradition.
Green, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour Champions, gave himself a nice head start on Thursday toward winning his first senior major championship.
He sits two strokes ahead of a quartet tied at seven-under 65 – Jerry Kelly, Stewart Cink, New Zealand’s Steven Alker and South Korea’s Charlie Wi – at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Everything was going well,” Green said. “I started really nicely, hit it really close a lot during the round. Just been a bit of a result of a lot of work.”
Green had drained six birdies through 11 holes before his eagle at the par-5 13th hole. The lefty reached the green in two and rolled in a fast-moving putt for eagle to jump to eight under and sole possession of the lead.
He birdied his very next hole, a par-3, before bogeying No.16 and birdieing No.18.
“Look, it’s a marathon,” Green said. “It’s hard to play awesome golf every day, but certainly try.
“It’s just give yourself a chance, get through every day giving yourself a chance into the next day, giving yourself a chance into Sunday and then hopefully you’re there with a chance on Sunday, that’s all you can really do.”
Cink, who won the PGA Tour Champions’ Insperity Invitational earlier this month, could be in the running for his first senior major title after a big day.
He went six under par in a seven-hole stretch from Nos.7-13, with five birdies, one bogey and an eagle putt at No.13.
“It feels great and there’s some memories fresh from getting a win there, but it’s not like you can go out there and just sleepwalk your way to winning,” Cink said.
“You’ve still got to do the right things. There’s a reason we got a win (at the Insperity) and the reasons are what we have to keep doing here and forward and we’ll hopefully pick up some more wins. But there’s no guarantee.”
Alker has nine wins on the 50-and-older circuit to his name, but just one major, the 2022 Senior PGA Championship. He got off to a smooth start to the week with seven birdies and no bogeys on his card.
“Everything’s pretty solid,” he said. “You’ve just got to try to get it in the fairway here because you never know, you could get a mud ball in that rough and anything can happen. So I did pretty well keeping it in the fairway and gave myself some chances.”
Germany’s Alex Cejka, who won this event in 2021, is alone in sixth after a six-under 66. Tied at five-under 67 are Y.E. Yang of South Korea, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and *********** Greg Chalmers.
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National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say
National Guard helicopter crew landed on Montana ranch and trespassed to take antlers, citations say
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Three Montana Army National Guard members face trespassing charges after authorities said they landed a ****** Hawk helicopter in a mountain pasture on a private ranch to take several elk antlers before flying away.
A witness saw the May 4 landing and the person who owns the property reported it to officials, who tracked down the three guard members, Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg said Thursday.
The guardsmen had been on a training flight from the city of Billings to Helena, the state capital, said Major Ryan Finnegan with the Montana National Guard. The helicopter landed briefly in the pasture located in the foothills of the Crazy Mountains, where the crew members picked up two individual antlers and an old elk skull with antlers still attached, the sheriff said.
Elk antlers — which grow and drop off male animals annually — are highly prized and can be sold by the pound. They also are collected from the wild as keepsakes.
The antlers and skull taken by the guardsmen were worth a combined $300 to $400, according to Ronneberg. They were later turned over to a state game warden.
Trespassers taking antlers from private land is not uncommon in Montana and other western states.
“This an odd one,” Ronneberg said. “Usually somebody parks on the side of the road and crosses into private ground and picks up a shed,” he said, referring to an antler that’s been shed by an elk.
Citations issued to two of the guardsmen said they “entered posted private property that was posted as trespassing for the purpose of elk antler removal.” The citation for the third again mentioned trespassing and also that “subject landed military helicopter on private property.”
The Sweet Grass County Attorney and Sheriff’s Office are considering additional charges related to the taking of the antlers themselves but no decision has been made, Ronneberg said. He said those discussions center on whether the antlers were the property of the landowners.
Reached on Thursday by telephone, one of the three guardsmen, Michael Vincent Bray of East Helena, Montana, referred questions to his attorney, who did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The other two guardsmen — Perry Wray Woodland of Great Falls and Deni Lynn Draper of Clancy — could not be reached.
They face charges of criminal misdemeanor trespass, which comes with a $185 fine, and do not have to appear in court, said Greg Lemon with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Taking antlers from state-owned land is legal in Montana for people with an $8 state conservation license, Lemon said.
Montana National Guard Adjutant General J. Peter Hronek said in a statement he was aware of the case and it was being investigated.
“Appropriate adverse and/or administrative action will take place if the allegations are determined to be true,” Hronek said. “Misuse of military equipment erodes the trust we strive to uphold with the people of Montana.”
Finnegan said a Montana National Guard representative reached out to the owner of the ranch “to provide an update and coordinate for an in person return of the items.”
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What to know about the birthright citizenship Supreme Court case
What to know about the birthright citizenship Supreme Court case
What to know about the birthright citizenship Supreme Court case – CBS News
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The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving two major issues: birthright citizenship and the scope of national injunctions. Jan Crawford has the latest.
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Japan’s economy contracts by a more than expected 0.2% from prior three months
Japan’s economy contracts by a more than expected 0.2% from prior three months
Commercial and residential buildings at dusk in the Minato district of Tokyo, Japan.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japan’s economy contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the quarter ended March, a sharper fall than expected, preliminary government data showed Friday.
The GDP figure was a larger drop than the 0.1% contraction expected by economists polled by Reuters.
On an annualized basis, Japan’s GDP contracted 0.7% in the first quarter, also more than the 0.2% fall expected by the Reuters poll.
Japan’s GDP data comes at a time when the country is locked in trade negotiations with the U.S., with initial talks between both sides so far not yielding a conclusive deal.
The Bank of Japan had recently warned on May 13 that the country’s economy is likely to moderate going forward, saying that this would be due to the effects of trade policies worldwide.
“Negative demand shocks are expected, including the impact of increased uncertainties on business fixed investment and household consumption, a decrease in the volume of exports to the United States and a deterioration in Japan’s export profitability,” the BOJ wrote.
U.S. tariff policy will exert downward pressure on both economic activity and prices in Japan, the central bank noted.
Despite these growth concerns, the central bank seems set to continue raising its policy rate, with some BOJ board members saying the bank’s inflation target of 2% is likely to be realized, and it would continue to raise the policy rate if its outlook for economic activity and prices are achieved.
Inflation in Japan had surpassed the BOJ’s 2% target for three straight years, coming in most recently at 3.6% in April.
Other board members, however, also warned that the outlook is uncertain, and that the bank should “examine the possibility of both upward and downward deviations from its outlook and conduct monetary policy as appropriate.”
The Bank of Japan held rates at 0.5% on May 1 for a second straight meeting.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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Breaking down what the birthright citizenship case is really about
Breaking down what the birthright citizenship case is really about
Breaking down what the birthright citizenship case is really about – CBS News
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Supreme Court justices heard arguments in a case that could allow President Trump to move forward with his executive order ending birthright citizenship. But the case doesn’t question whether or not the order is constitutional, it challenges the judicial power that’s blocking it. Jessica Levinson explains.
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