WorldReutersBelarus foreign minister Makei dies suddenly - Belta
"Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei has passed away suddenly," Belta reported without giving further detail. Makei had held his post since 2012. Makei, 64, attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - a military alliance of several post soviet states - in Yerevan earlier this week and was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday.
U.S.Fox NewsColombian judge suspended after appearing on Zoom call half-naked, smoking in bed
A Colombian judge known for sharing racy photos on her Instagram page has been suspended for three months after appearing on a virtual Zoom meeting while half-naked and smoking a cigarette in bed. In a 33-second clip circulating on social media, the 34-year-old judge, Vivian Polanía, can be seen lounging in bed, appearing half-awake while taking a drag from a cigarette. At one point in the hearing, a prosecutor tells Polanía that her camera is on, and she immediately turns it off as the hearing continues, local media reported.
HealthThe TelegraphDrinking two litres of water a day to stay healthy and hydrated is a myth - here's what you really need
In recent decades, the need to drink eight glasses of water a day has become standard advice, yet there is little evidence to back it up. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US studied thousands of people from 26 countries to find out how much water they needed, and discovered it varied widely. “The science has never supported the old eight glasses thing as an appropriate guideline, if only because it confused total water turnover with water from beverages and a lot of your water comes from the food you eat,” said Prof Dale Schoeller, emeritus professor of nutritional sciences.
WorldReutersTaiwan president quits as party head after China threat bet fails to win votes
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday after her strategy to frame local elections as showing defiance to China's rising bellicosity failed to pay off and win public support. The elections for mayors, county chiefs and local councillors are ostensibly about domestic issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and crime, and those elected will not have a direct say on China policy. But Tsai had recast the election as being more than a local vote, saying the world is watching how Taiwan defends its democracy amid military tensions with China, which claims the island as its territory.
U.S.INSIDERRep. Lauren Boebert says 'blame game' needs to end after critics point to her anti-LGBTQ comments following Club Q shooting
Rep. Lauren Boebert says that she is being blamed by the left for the recent wave of mass shootings. "It has to come to an end, this blame game," Boebert told OAN. GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert says she's been blamed for the recent tragedy in Colorado Springs — and other mass shootings — after her anti-LGBTQ comments resurfaced and her pro-gun stance.
U.S.The New York TimesIt's Public Land. But the Public Can't Reach It.
It is also at the root of a potentially far-reaching case in federal court in which a Wyoming landowner accuses four hunters of trespassing — and causing millions of dollars in damage — even though they never stepped foot on his land. OnX was born when Eric Siegfried, a mechanical engineer and part-time hunting guide in Montana, decided to make a Google Maps for the wilderness. He had solid navigation skills, he said, but was sick of getting lost.
WorldAssociated PressChina sentences Chinese-Canadian star Kris Wu to 13 years
A Chinese court on Friday sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years in prison on charges including rape. Beijing's Chaoyang District Court said Wu was given 11 years and 6 months for a 2020 rape, and 1 year and 10 months for the “crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity” in a 2018 event in which he and others allegedly assaulted two women they had gotten drunk. The court said the three victims in the rape case had also been drunk and were unable to consent.
PoliticsHuffPostEx-Prosecutor Says 7 Words Should Disqualify Mike Pence From Holding Office Again
Seven words that Mike Pence said about declining to appear before the House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riot should prohibit the former vice president from ever holding public office again, a former federal prosecutor has argued. In a YouTube video released Thursday, Glenn Kirschner issued a damning critique of Pence's recent claim that “Congress has no right to my testimony” about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Kirschner, who was a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office in Washington for more than two decades, said Congress has a legitimate purpose in investigating Donald Trump's attempted overthrow of the 2020 election result, which indicated that rival Joe Biden would be taking his place in the White House.
BusinessMotley FoolSome Social Security Beneficiaries Will Enjoy an Unusual Raise in 2023 -- and It Has Nothing to Do With COLA
Whether you're already retired or just entering the labor force, there's a high likelihood that Social Security will play an important role in helping you pay the bills during your golden years. When national pollster Gallup surveyed retirees and nonretirees earlier this year, 89% of current retirees said they lean on Social Security as a needed source of income (to some varied degree), while 84% of nonretirees expect to rely on Social Security in some capacity during retirement. Given these figures, it's no shock that Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is a much-awaited announcement.
WorldReutersChina sentences Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years for rape
BEIJING (Reuters) -A Beijing court sentenced Canadian singer Kris Wu on Friday to 13 years in jail after finding him guilty of crimes including rape, just over a year after his arrest in China, where he was born and built a lucrative career. The court in the district of Chaoyang said investigation showed that from November to December 2020, the 32-year-old, who is also known as Wu Yifan, had raped three women. "Wu Yifan took advantage of three drunken women ... at his home," the court said on its official WeChat account.
U.S.Fox NewsFlorida police prevent 'mass casualty' event after stopping woman from driving car through 5K route
Police in Florida stopped a woman who was allegedly about to drive her car through the route of a 5K run on Thanksgiving morning. The St. Petersburg Police Department said 38-year-old Ashlee Lauren Morgan was driving her 2019 Range Rover Velar while going 60 miles per hour on Thursday as she was approaching 21st Avenue NE, near the route for the Coffee Pot Turkey Trot, according to FOX 13. According to an arrest report, Morgan was allegedly driving in a "reckless manner" as she approached the route where around 3,000 people were participating in the 5K.
BusinessBusiness InsiderA man won the legal right to not be 'fun' at work after refusing to embrace 'excessive alcoholism' and 'promiscuity'
The man was fired from a consultancy firm in 2015 for not adhering to the company's "fun" values. The court ruled the employee was exercising his "freedom of expression" by refusing to participate. This comes after a man, referred to as Mr T, was fired from the Paris consultancy firm Cubik Partners in 2015 for refusing to participate in after-work drinks and team-building activities.
BusinessYahoo News CanadaWhat is BQ1.1.? An emerging and worrisome COVID-19 variant to keep an eye on
As Canadians are urged to receive their COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, many wonder when the pandemic will end. As the colder weather sets in, COVID-19 cases are rising in hospitals around the country. Different COVID-19 variants have reigned supreme at various points during the pandemic.
U.S.BBCAustralia: Python bites and drags five-year-old into pool
A five-year-old Australian boy has survived being bitten, constricted and dragged into a swimming pool by a python about three times his size. Beau Blake was enjoying a swim at home when the 3m long (10ft) reptile struck, his father told a local radio station. The pair - still entangled - were pulled from the pool by Beau's grandfather and the boy was prised free from the animal by his dad Ben.
BusinessMoneyWiseThe IRS says its 87,000 new hires could help collect as much as $1 trillion — by forcing tax cheats to pay up. But will more 'fire-breathing dragons' really do the trick?
Get ready, ultra-wealthy Americans: President Joe Biden wants you to start paying your share. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden plans to increase funding for the IRS to help the agency catch sneaky tax evaders — especially those high-earners who love to find loopholes around the law. A Treasury Department report from May 2021 estimates the extra money would allow the agency to hire around 87,000 new employees — which could include revenue agents and customer service and IT staff — by 2031.
WorldReutersVatican court hears cardinal's secretly taped phone call with pope
A court at a Vatican corruption trial on Thursday heard a secretly recorded telephone call between the main defendant, embattled Cardinal Angelo Becciu, and Pope Francis. The recording was made without the pope's knowledge by someone in a room with Becciu in July 2021, shortly before the trial began and while the pope was still recovering from major intestinal surgery, the court was told. Reporters were asked to leave the room while the tape was played but lawyers who heard it said Becciu asked the pope to confirm that the pontiff had authorised a payment to help release a nun who had been kidnapped in Africa.
U.S.WSB Cox articlesFormer volleyball standout home for Thanksgiving dies along with her father in crash, team says
The Creekview High School community is mourning the loss of a former volleyball standout and her father who died in a crash. Alivia Mynes, 18, and Chris Mynes, 52, died Thanksgiving morning in the Cherokee County crash. DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Creekview volleyball team confirmed Alivia was a former standout for the team and just finished her freshman season at Bryan College in Tennessee.
- U.S.The Independent
Judge filmed laying in bed in underwear while smoking during court hearing
A Columbian judge has reportedly been suspended after she was caught on camera smoking in her underwear during a Zoom hearing. This video circulating on social media allegedly shows judge Vivian Polania lying on a bed puffing a cigarette during a virtual debate. Ms Polania has previously been issued warnings about her personal Instagram posts, which also show her in her underwear.
BusinessReutersVietnam's VinFast ships first electric vehicles to U.S. customers
HAI PHONG, Vietnam (Reuters) -Vietnam's electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Friday it had shipped its first batch of 999 cars to the United States, capping a five-year bid to develop an auto production hub in the Southeast Asian country for markets in North America and Europe. VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said some of the VF 8 electric SUVs being shipped on Friday would be sent to U.S. car subscription service Autonomy but the majority would go to retail buyers who have ordered the car. Thuy said VinFast expected to be able to ship a second batch of cars to the United States, its first export market, around January.
U.S.Fox NewsVirginia Walmart gunman's manifesto claims he was 'betrayed' by coworkers he killed, felt 'led by' Satan
Chesapeake city officials identified Bing as the gunman believed to have killed six people before police say he turned his pistol on himself. Bing legally purchased the 9mm handgun from a local store on the morning of the shooting, police revealed Friday. He had no criminal history.
WorldBusiness InsiderInside the life of a deep sea saturation diver, one of the most dangerous and isolated jobs in the world
Chris Lemons was a saturation diver for 10 years working on oil fields on the North Sea floor. Now, Lemons is a supervisor, who gives instructions to divers and is responsible for keeping them alive. In 2012, Lemons almost died on the sea floor in an accident, and was rescued over 30 minutes later.
WorldAssociated PressRussia steps up missile barrage of recaptured Ukrainian city
Natalia Kristenko's dead body lay covered in a blanket in the doorway of her apartment building for hours overnight. City workers were at first too overwhelmed to retrieve her as they responded to a deadly barrage of attacks that shook Ukraine's southern city of Kherson. “Russians took the two most precious people from me,” their bereft daughter, Lilia Kristenko, 38, said, clutching her cat inside her coat as she watched on in horror Friday as responders finally arrived to transport her mother to the morgue.
U.S.Miami HeraldRarely seen snake species shows up in middle of Florida road — eating another animal
The intimidatingly long Florida pine snake is rarely encountered in the wild, but a sighting happened in Ocala National Forest — with a grisly twist. A pine snake was seen Oct. 26 shoving another animal down its throat, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. “An FWC ... biologist was surveying a site in the Ocala National Forest when she came to a road intersection and spotted something in the middle of the road,” the institute wrote in a Nov. 19 Facebook post.
BusinessMotley FoolThis Is How Much Money You're Actually Supposed to Keep in Your Checking Account, and It May Surprise You
Many financial experts recommend keeping enough money in your checking account to cover one to two months of expenses. This way, you have enough money to cover your regular bills, and keeping a bit extra gives you some wiggle room. The rest of your extra money should be put towards other financial goals, like investing and saving.
U.S.Associated PressJudge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity plea
A former college student who randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim's face finally goes on trial Monday, with a judge deciding whether he goes to prison for life or to a mental hospital. Austin Harrouff, 25, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of first-degree murder and other charges for his August 2016 slayings of John Stevens, a 59-year-old landscaper, and his 53-year-old wife, Michelle Mishcon Stevens, who had retired after working in finance. The former Florida State University student has waived a jury trial, meaning Circuit Judge Sherwood Bauer will decide whether Harrouff was insane when he killed the couple, and seriously injured the neighbor who came to their aid.
“Democrats succeeded again in making the former President a central campaign issue, and Mr. Trump helped them do it.”
“If you work…to install a Supreme Court that will eliminate constitutional rights, prepare to live with the electoral consequences.”
“Trump pretty reliably put his thumb on the scale for the riskiest and most flawed candidates.”
“The Republicans should have done much better on inflation and the economy. They lacked an effective and transparent message.”
“Where does Trump end and the far-right begin?”