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Article content Southern resident killer whales always look sharp in their smooth black-and-white body suits, but now they have a new accessory. Dead salmon hats. Researchers in Washington have noticed at least one orca balancing salmon on its head in Puget Sound this fall, taking the dead fish for a ride and possibly snacking on the salmon at its leisure. Sporting salmon-corpse lids isn’t exactly new behaviour for the southern residents. The phenomenon was first noticed in 1987, when for that one year, a female from K-pod started wearing a salmon on her head. Within a few weeks, the other endangered pods, J and L, decided to try the fish-hats on as well. Last month, J27 Blackberry, a 32-year-old male, was photographed exhibiting the same behaviour at Point No Point, Washington, off Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. Just why the orcas are doing it is a bit of a mystery. “Honestly, we have no idea why this started again, why it happens or why it seems to be started again,” Dr. Deborah Giles, a Friday Harbour-based researcher who heads the science teams at the Wild ORCA, told the Times Colonist on Friday. She said the fish-hat fad is likely linked to food availability in a certain place. Giles said there have been healthy salmon runs in Admiralty Inlet in Puget Sound, where all three pods have been spending a lot of time recently feeding on fish. And that’s generally been the area where some orcas have been spotted wearing salmon. Andrew Foote, an evolution ecologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, told New Scientist last week it’s possible that some of the original orcas who took part in the fish-hat fad are still around and remember it from before. The Times Colonist reached out to marine-mammal scientists at the Fisheries Department to see if the behaviour has been noticed in Canadian waters amid salmon runs on the Fraser River and other salmon spawning staging areas around Vancouver Island. The DFO did not immediately return the query. J-pod was spotted in Active Pass this week. New Scientist reported this week that large runs of chum salmon in South Puget Sound may be producing more food than the orcas can immediately eat, so they’re packing them on their heads. Giles told New Scientist that mammal-eating orcas have been seen carrying pieces of food under their pectoral fins, tucked in next to their bodies. Because salmon are smaller, the southern residents, which are fish eaters, may be using their heads instead. It isn’t clear how many other whales are exhibiting the behaviour, or if other pods are following suit, said Giles. It may be that the photographed orca was just playing with the salmon. Erin Gless of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, which represents about 30 whale-watching companies on both sides of the border, said there have been no reports of the behaviour from members because under agreements, whale watchers don’t view the southern residents. “It has been making its way around social media,” said Gless. “I think it’s more of a fun distraction [type] of story as opposed to a pressing whale one.” Giles agrees, saying the bigger issue is that endangered fish-eating orcas are facing dire threats in the Pacific Northwest with fish shortages, noise pollution from increasing shipping traffic that interferes with their ability to find food, and toxins and pollution in the water. The J-, K- and L-pods are down to just 73 orcas, according to the latest census completed in July by the Center for Whale Research, based in Friday Harbor, Washington. Two adult males were lost and a male calf that was born and counted in the census period subsequently died. A statement from the Center for Whale Research last month said research “clearly shows that survival rates are closely tied to Chinook salmon abundance,” adding recovery isn’t possible without an increase in that prey. Giles noted the salmon-hat phenomenon may show some pods are getting enough to eat now, “but they’re not getting enough to eat the entire year — both in the United States and Canada — and that’s a real cause for concern.” According to researchers, baleen whales such as grays and humpbacks often sport seaweed hats, something known as “kelping,” where they swim through seaweed, sometimes leaving it on their heads. Starting in 2025, boaters in the U.S. will be required to stay at least 1,000 yards from southern resident killer whales in Washington state waters. A Senate bill expands the existing setback from 300 to 400 yards. Canada’s regulations stipulate boaters must stay 400 metres from all killer whales in southern coastal waters from Ucluelet to Campbell River, and 200 metres in other areas. dkloster@times colonist.com
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'Malcolm in the Middle' to offer new episodes with Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek are reuniting for a new four-episode run of “Malcolm in the Middle” for Disney+ — 25 years after the beloved sitcom first launched. The show ran for seven seasons starting in 2000 and was hailed for looking at ordinary life through the eyes of an extraordinary youngster, now fully grown: Malcolm, played by Muniz, has a genius I.Q. The new four episodes will be crafted by original series creator Linwood Boomer. No air dates were announced. “Malcolm in the Middle” originally aired on Fox and ended its run in 2006. Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits she lied RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The woman who in 2006 falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her has admitted publicly for the first time that she made up the story. The accusations made national headlines at the time, stirring tensions about race, class and the privilege of college athletes. Crystal Mangum, who is Black, said in an interview with the “Let’s Talk with Kat” podcast that she “made up a story that wasn’t true” about the white players who attended a party where she was hired to perform as a stripper “because I wanted validation from people and not from God.” The former Duke players were declared innocent in 2007 after Mangum’s story fell apart under legal scrutiny. Sophia, a famous robot and global icon of AI, wins hearts at Zimbabwe's innovation fair HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Sophia, a world-renowned robot, has been the center of attention at an Artificial Intelligence and Innovation fair in Zimbabwe this week. Described as an AI global icon by the U.N., Sophia can hold human-like conversations with people and recognize their gestures. As a special guest at the week-long event at the University of Zimbabwe, she answered questions on academic topics from researchers. Children quizzed her about the bible, God and her birth. She also made clear her aversion to human food and romance. The United Nations Development Program said it brought Sophia to Zimbabwe as part of efforts to “inspire youth, policymakers, and innovators to embrace AI as a catalyst for development.” Stanley recalls millions of travel mugs over concerns the lids might fall off, causing burns Stanley is recalling approximately 2.6 million of its switchback and trigger action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the U.S. because of a potential burn hazard. The company said that the mug’s lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and torque, causing the lid to detach during use, posing a burn hazard. Stanley has received 91 reports worldwide, including 16 in the U.S., of the recalled travel mugs’ lids detaching during use, resulting in 38 burn injuries worldwide, including two burn injuries in the U.S., with 11 consumers worldwide requiring medical attention. Miami Dolphins release veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. on Friday, ending the former Pro Bowler’s short tenure with the team. Beckham had missed the past two days of practice for what the team called personal reasons. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel indicated that the decision to part ways was mutual. Beckham signed a one-year deal with the Dolphins in May, but started the season on the physically unable to perform list after offseason knee surgery. Since his Dolphins debut in Week 5 against New England, Beckham had just nine catches for 55 yards in nine games. Bird strike disables a jetliner engine and forces an emergency landing at JFK airport NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the plane’s two engines shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The plane was forced to turn around and land at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Airline officials say no one was injured. Flight 1722 took off from LaGuardia at 7:43 p.m. Thursday with a destination of Charlotte, North Carolina. Airport officials say it safely made an emergency landing at Kennedy at 8:03 p.m. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. The agency received reports of 19,400 strikes at 713 airports across the U.S. last year alone. Rarely do they force jetliners to make emergency landings. 49ers LB De'Vondre Campbell refuses to enter game after losing his starting spot SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter after losing his starting job when Dre Greenlaw returned from an injury. Campbell played 90% of defensive snaps for the 49ers but was benched after Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl. When Greenlaw left with soreness in the third quarter Thursday night against the Rams, Campbell told the coaches he didn't want to play and left the field. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he has never seen that before and the team will “figure out something” on how to deal with it going forward. 'Crown of Thorns' returns to Notre Dame Cathedral for public veneration PARIS (AP) — An ancient relic that many Christians revere as Jesus Christ’s “Crown of Thorns” has returned to Notre Dame, five years after it was saved from the flames of the cathedral’s devastating 2019 fire. The crown — a circular band of branches encased in a gilded golden tube — was brought back to its historic home Friday in a ceremony. The event was presided over by the archbishop of Paris and attended by knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, marking a key moment in the cathedral’s restoration journey. In 1239, it was acquired by King Louis IX of France, who brought it to Paris. 'Vanderpump Rules' star James Kennedy arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Police say “Vanderpump Rules” star James Kennedy has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. Police in Burbank, California, say officers investigated reports of an argument between a man and a woman at a residence late Tuesday night and arrested the 32-year-old Kennedy. He was released from jail after posting bail. A representative of Kennedy did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Burbank city attorney will decide whether to file charges. Kennedy is a DJ and reality TV star who has appeared for 10 seasons on “Vanderpump Rules” — the Bravo series about the lives of employees at a set of swank restaurants. Dick Vitale says he's cancer-free after 4th bout with the disease in just over 3 years Dick Vitale said he’s cancer-free after his fourth bout with the disease in just over three years. The 85-year-old ESPN college basketball analyst posted Thursday on X that he got the news after a morning scan, saying: “SANTA CLAUS came early as Dr Rick Brown called & said that my PET SCAN at 7 AM came back CLEAN OF CANCER !” Vitale posted on X. “OMG thanks so much to ALL of YOU for your (prayers). Yes I’m cutting the nets down baby it’s my National Championship!” Vitale had surgery in the summer to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck. The Basketball Hall of Famer was previously treated for melanoma and lymphoma, and had radiation treatments last year for vocal cord cancer.Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton are the proud parents of two children , their daughter Kinsey Sioux, five, and their son, Wilder Wolf, three, and it seems both little ones are total mini-me versions of their famous parents. The actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as youngest son Roman Roy in the multiple award-winning drama Succession , is not on social media, but his wife of 11 years occasionally shares updates of their family life on her Instagram account. British-born Jazz, who met the Home Alone star at a bar in NYC in 2012, is careful not to share her kids too much, particularly their faces, in order to protect their privacy. But one photo she shared from the summer of the whole family showed off their brilliant personalities. Little Kinsey and Wilder looked adorable in their outfits, which were almost matching thanks to the vibrant patterns and colors. Meanwhile, both kids were embraced by their mom and dad, who also rocked similar laid-back T-shirt and shorts ensembles. Kinsey was planting a kiss on her mom, while Wilder and Kieran, who is the younger brother of fellow actor Macaulay Culkin , looked like two peas in a pod as they played rough and tumble. Kieran and Jazz's expanding family The couple became first-time parents in 2019 and again in 2021, though it seems Kieran is quite keen to expand their family again! During this year's award season, Kieran picked up multiple wins for his final turn as the potty-mouthed joker of the Roy family, Roman, and during his acceptance speech after winning the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmys, he made a very public request to his wife. MORE: Kieran Culkin's tragic family history: Everything we know MORE: Inside Succession star Kieran Culkin's one-bedroom apartment with his wife and two kids "Thank you for sharing your life with me and giving me two amazing kids, Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf," he said to his wife directly, who was sitting in the audience watching proudly. "I love you so many and so much. And Jazz, I want more. You said! You said maybe if I win! I love you so much." Elaborating further backstage, Kieran said: "A couple of months ago – I have been asking for a while – my wife said 'maybe if you win the Emmy' and I didn't bring it up for months. "Then when I won the Globe I said, 'Remember what you said,' and she didn't remember and I spent all week nervous, and instead of talking to her like a human, I blasted her on stage and it was very rude." Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton's wedding After meeting in 2012, the couple decided to get hitched a year later. The pair were enjoying life travelling the world together and, in June 2013, while on a road trip in Iowa, they decided to get married on the side of the road. At the time, they kept details of the nuptials private but did share a sweet photo of two cushions with the words "Mr. Culkin" and "Mrs. Culkin." In recent years, Jazz has opened up more about their wedding. "#TBT to taking time out of our road trip to get married by the side of the road in Iowa during a storm four years ago today. Still the best pit stop I've ever made." She said in another caption on Instagram: "Seven years ago we went on what was supposed to be a 6-week road trip but ended up taking 3 1/2 months. Seven years ago we fell in love with Iowa. "Seven years ago we met a girl named Kinsey who helped us get our marriage license and seven years ago today we said I do in the rain with three strangers. "Whose genius idea was it to have Father's Day right before our anniversary? One gift counts for both right?"
FREIBURG, Germany (AP) — Freiburg survived a late comeback to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 and move into fifth place in the Bundesliga on Friday. The sides started the day equal on points and Wolfsburg had won its last five games in the league and cup. But Lukas Kübler scored an opportunist opener three minutes before the break and added a second with his head six minutes into the second half to put Freiburg in the driving seat. Michael Gregoritsch added the third in the 62nd. Jonas Wind came off the bench to score his third goal in two games and Mattias Svanberg cut the deficit seven minutes from time as Wolfsburg desperately looked for a way into the game. But it was too late, and Freiburg moved above Wolfsburg to fifth place on the table and equal on points with Leipzig, which has a game in hand. The match was an important one for two teams vying for a Champions League place next year. Although Bayern Munich have a six-point advantage over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, only eight points separate the next nine clubs. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer16.5 Mortgage Refinances per 1K Georgia Households Last Year, More Than U.S. Average
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned home Saturday after his meeting with Donald Trump without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. After the leaders’ hastily arranged dinner Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation." Trump said in a Truth Social post later Saturday that they discussed “many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.” Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.
Zimbabwe’s rising star Shumaira Mheuka makes Chelsea senior team debutRecently, I helped a friend move into a brand-new house. Moving is an exciting and stressful time, and I will admit having a little house envy. A new build is a blank slate, with all the latest building technology and appliances. New homes also provide an opportunity that way too many builders miss. My friend is of a certain age and has some physical limitations. Yet neither of the two bathrooms in her new, built-for-her home is fully accessible. A walk-in shower would be a major improvement over the traditional tub. After watching both my great-grandmother and grandmother forced to move out of their lovely Victorian home because of lack of accessibility, my parents bit the bullet and did a major remodel and addition designed to age with them. But a remodel is hugely expensive and out of reach for most homeowners. This brings me to my main question – why aren’t we building our new homes to be accessible? The Americans with Disabilities Act does not include any requirements for private homes, so this isn’t about applications of the law. However, the practicalities of designing homes in which we can easily age (or recover from injury) seem like they would outweigh the lack of regulatory inducement. Many of the features that make a home functional for people with disabilities and older adults are useful to everyone. No-step, covered entryways make it easier to bring in the groceries, push a stroller or use that cute little foldable wagon to haul camping gear out to the car. Lever handles on doors are a necessity for someone with arthritis but are also handy when your hands are full or if you’ve just put on lotion. Designing appliances and surfaces that are usable from either a sitting or standing position can encourage children to be safer and more independent. Walk-in showers with a seat and hand-held shower head are a huge benefit for anyone who is recovering from illness, injury or surgery, in addition to feeling luxurious. And even if the initial homeowner doesn’t need accessibility features, the resale value of a fully accessible home shouldn’t be ignored. Of course, I am a stalwart advocate for inclusion and ensuring that people with disabilities or other limitations can live successfully in our neighborhoods and communities. But I am also a huge fan of doing what makes sense. Building new homes with an eye on accessibility just makes sense from a practical, social and economic perspective. Even the modest increase in the initial cost of materials is more than recuperated by the increased resale value and the possibility of staying in your own home for years longer than you would be without a few accessibility tweaks. Most of us aren’t in a position to build a new home. In fact, our homes, whether rented or owned, are reliant on the decisions of developers, contractors and owner builders before us. For that reason, this is an important community conversation as we look to our futures and living conditions. Tara Kiene is president/CEO of Community Connections.
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Clayton had seven rebounds for the Bobcats (3-5). Victor Searls scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Jackson Paveletzke and Aidan Hadaway both scored 11 points. The Colonials (6-3) were led by Josh Omojafo, who recorded 15 points. Antallah Sandlin'El added 14 points for Robert Morris. Alvaro Folgueiras finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Colonials. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .BATAVIA — With the city needing to replace 3,800 water meters and upgrade to more efficient technology to accurately compute water usage by customers, City Council is considering borrowing $2.5 million for the project. “We’ve tried three years in a row for grant funds and were unsuccessful,” City Manager Rachael Tabelski said during Monday’s Council session. “We’re at a critical point where the water meter readers, if they fail, we’ll be reading them by hand. We do need to move forward with this project. I think, at this point, I think we need to borrow the capital to be able to move forward with the project.” Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Social media users are misrepresenting a report by the Justice Department inspector general’s office, falsely claiming that it’s proof the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The examined a number of areas, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. Claims spreading online focus on the report’s finding that 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who had been tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the events. Although 17 of those informants either entered the Capitol or a restricted area around the building during the riot, none of the 26 total informants were authorized to do so by the bureau, according to the report. Nor were they authorized to otherwise break the law or encourage others to do so. Here’s a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: A December 2024 report released by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General is proof that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a setup by the FBI. THE FACTS: That’s false. The report found that no undercover FBI employees were at the riot on Jan. 6 and that none of the bureau’s informants were authorized to participate. Informants, also known as confidential human sources, work with the FBI to provide information, but are not on the bureau’s payroll. Undercover agents are employed by the FBI. According to the report, 26 informants were in Washington on Jan. 6 in connection with the day’s events. FBI field offices only informed the Washington Field Office or FBI headquarters of five informants that were to be in the field on Jan. 6. Of the total 26 informants, four entered the Capitol during the riot and an additional 13 entered a restricted area around the Capitol. But none were authorized to do so by the FBI, nor were they given permission to break other laws or encourage others to do the same. The remaining nine informants did not engage in any illegal activities. None of the 17 informants who entered the Capitol or surrounding restricted area have been prosecuted, the report says. A footnote states that after reviewing a draft of the report, the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington said that it “generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021 was to enter restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol, which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals; and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach.” The assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office’s counterterrorism division told the inspector general’s office that he “denied a request from an FBI office to have an undercover employee engage in investigative activity on January 6.” He, along with then-Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven D’Antuono, said that FBI policy prohibits undercover employees at First Amendment-protected events without investigative authority. Many social media users drew false conclusions from the report’s findings. “JANUARY 6th WAS A SETUP!” reads one X post that had received more than 11,400 likes and shares as of Friday. “New inspector general report shows that 26 FBI/DOJ confidential sources were in the crowd on January 6th, and some of them went into the Capitol and restricted areas. Is it a coincidence that Wray put in his resignation notice yesterday? TREASON!” The mention of Wray’s resignation refers to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s announcement Wednesday that he at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January. Other users highlighted the fact that there were 26 FBI informants in Washington on Jan. 6, but omitted key information about the findings of the report. These claims echo a advanced by some Republicans in Congress that the FBI played a role in instigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters determined to overturn Republican Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden stormed the Capitol in a violent clash with police. The report knocks that theory down. such theories “ludicrous” at a congressional hearing last year. Asked for comment on the false claims spreading online, Stephanie Logan, a spokesperson for the inspector general’s office, pointed The Associated Press to a about the report. In addition to its findings about the the FBI’s involvement on Jan. 6, the report said that the FBI, in an action its now-deputy director described as a “basic step that was missed,” failed to canvass informants across all 56 of its field offices for any relevant intelligence ahead of time. That was a step, the report concluded, “that could have helped the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations in advance of January 6.” However, it did credit the bureau for preparing for the possibility of violence and for trying to identify known “domestic terrorism subjects” who planned to come to Washington that day. The FBI said in a letter responding to the report that it accepts the inspection general’s recommendation “regarding potential process improvements for future events.” — Find AP Fact Checks here: . By Melissa Goldin, The Associated Press
Article content A photograph of Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of killing a health care executive in New York City on Dec. 4, is strikingly reminiscent of one of the most famous images of a would-be assassin from the 19th century. After his capture in late April of 1865, Lewis Powell was photographed aboard the USS Saugus, where he was held before trial on charges of conspiracy and attempted murder for his participation in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln and top members of his government. Recommended Videos The Powell photograph was taken by the Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner, who posed the 21-year-old man against what appears to be the pitted metal cover of the ship’s gun turret. Like an image of Mangione made shortly after his capture, the Gardner photograph shows a handsome young man against a bland, almost abstract background, staring directly at the viewer with half-open but alert eyes. Gardner’s portrait is famous today, in part, because it was key to a 1980 book about photography, “Camera Lucida,” written by the brilliant French critic Roland Barthes. For Barthes, the image of a man who engages the camera with a keen sense of intelligence, yet who would be executed only a few months later, encapsulated one of the central mysteries of photography: It can sustain the living presence of something that has passed or died. “He is dead, and he is going to die ...” he wrote. But Barthes was also captivated by Powell’s good looks, as many people on social media are clearly drawn to Mangione’s chiseled features, despite the accusation that he killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Images of a shirtless and muscular Mangione have flooded social media, along with memes that pose him as a saint with a halo or a potential martyr protectively embraced by Jesus (“It’s okay they called me guilty too,” reads one poorly punctuated caption). A Free Luigi movement presents him as a folk hero, images of his hooded face before capture have apparently been tattooed on arms or legs, and on TikTok and other sites he’s been given the epithet of a superhero or cinema vigilante: “The Adjuster.” Praise for him seems to cross partisan lines and is worrisome to the insurance industry, which suddenly seems to be widely loathed in the United States despite polls that paint a more complicated picture. “My empathy is out of network,” another phrase circulating on social media, suggests that many people are struggling to hold in their heads two ideas at the same time: That killing is wrong and yet our health care system, and especially the insurance industry that generates enormous profits, is arguably broken and at times feels cruel. Memes are a good way to think one thought vehemently, but less efficient at thinking two thoughts simultaneously. Behind many of the images celebrating or excusing the crime Mangione is accused of committing are two ideas that Barthes might have called “mythologies,” spoken or unspoken thoughts that arise within a capitalist society that feel powerfully true yet often elude rational analysis or criticism. In the case of the Mangione images, these seem to be: “He doesn’t look like a killer” and “Somebody should do something about this,” with “this” being the state of the private health care industry. The notion that Mangione doesn’t look like a killer should be easily dismissed, if we give even rudimentary consideration to how class and race influence popular conceptions of criminality. Mangione is White, comes from a privileged background and went to a private school. But it would be a ridiculous syllogism – racist, classist and just plain ignorant – to conclude, “therefore he can’t be a criminal.” “Somebody should do something about this” is deeply problematic, too, but in different ways. Who is the somebody, and what is the something? “Somebody” could be politicians, or voters, or health-care executives, who might be chastened by public anger into diverting more of their profits into actual health care and the well-being of the American people. “Something” could be reform or regulation, which voters seem to have rejected in the last election. Or it could be the institution of a single-payer, public system, that doesn’t divert billions of dollars of profit to private shareholders and insurance executives. But voters seemed to have rejected that, too, on several occasions. The vagueness of the “Somebody should do something” idea is the problem. One of the most disturbing memes circulating shows the moment that Thompson is shot, a grainy image of a figure in a dark, hooded jacket with a backpack points a gun at the back of man in a suit a few feet away, both casting shadows on the momentarily empty sidewalk. Underneath, the word “Hope” appears in sans serif type, just as it did in the famous 2008 Shepard Fairey poster promoting the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. This meme celebrates the violence itself, the something, with no reference to the someone, or anything else that might put it in context. Rationally, pragmatically, morally, there’s no justifying homicide. And it may be that our insurance rates only go up given the industry’s investment in more security, costs which could be born by the consumer. If violence becomes the routine remedy for consumer dissatisfaction or political dysfunction, the cost to society is inestimably high and unsustainable. This image is profoundly disturbing because it seems to collapse two more things into one: We know killing is wrong and yet no one will acknowledge and address the rage, the hurt, the death, that comes from harnessing health care to a capitalist system that insists on the highest possible return on shareholder investment. It wasn’t a crime, it was self-defense; it isn’t terrorism, it’s revolution. Have we reached that point? I’m staring at a 2023 letter from my insurance provider blandly addressed to “Dear Appellant.” It tells me that despite my being told, and reassured twice, that I would only be responsible out of pocket for $800 for a procedure that costs $5,000, they would in fact reimburse only a few hundred dollars of the cost. I fought it, I spent hours on the phone, wrote multiple letters, sent emails, demanded they refer back to their own records, reference numbers and promises, and yet I lost. I’m looking at the woman’s signature at the bottom of the letter and all the rage I felt then, amplified by the rage I feel at airlines, banks, shrinkflation and the company that made my lemon of a car, comes flooding back. How does Alicia live with herself, writing these terrible letters, doing this cruel work in service of oligarchs, day after day? I was lucky, the procedure worked, the cost didn’t bankrupt me – and the anger abated. But what if it hadn’t worked, what if the problem and the pain persisted? What if the costs were unsustainable and I lost my home, my car, my retirement trying to stay above water? The iconography of political violence depends on who wins the argument, who writes the history and who paints the picture. The biblical David is invariably depicted as a beautiful young man, a beauty that helps reassure us of the morality of his single-handed slaying of Goliath. Artemisia Gentileschi’s early 17th century depiction of Judith slaying Holofernes – which probably channeled the rage and hurt she felt after having been raped – depicts the heroine as a beautiful, powerful woman. People making memes of Mangione may not be thinking of these particular examples, but they are clearly aware of how history determines memory, how it can redefine a savage attack as righteous vengeance, and lone acts of violence as collective self-defense. I find myself profoundly disconcerted by these images, and I waver in what I feel, arguing in my head with both his defenders (that they are paving the path to social ruin) and his critics (that they profoundly underestimate and recklessly discount the quantum of rage at the insurance industry). One way to keep both of these thoughts balanced in the mind is to look back on the history of violence and iconography, and insert a negative into both of the mythologies circulating in these memes: If somebody doesn’t do something about this problem, then he won’t look like a killer.Amazon has reduced the price of a handful of its own-brand devices in a surprise sale ahead of Christmas. For a limited time only, shoppers can make savings on three of its best-selling household tech devices, including the Echo Pop , Fire Stick 4K and a Ring Doorbell . There are considerable savings to be made, with more than half off a selection of devices. For instance, you can get 55% off the Echo Pop (newest model) , now on sale for less than $20. Before we get into the Amazon offers, other retailers and brands are offering reductions on similar products. Over at Walmart, you can save $20 on a Beats Pill Portable Bluetooth Speaker — slashed from $149.95 to $129.95. Meanwhile, Home Depot has the Blink Video Doorbell Plus Sync Module 2 for $69.99. Anthropologie offering an extra 40% off sale including sweaters, home decor, and gifts Best Christmas gifts from Oodie for the whole family under $50 Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K streaming device (newest model) is now almost half off, having been slashed from $49.99 to $27.99. The best-selling 4K Fire Stick can be inserted into the back of your TV or projector. Use it to stream thousands of films and shows , as well as watch all of your favorites from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and more (subscription fees may apply). It is the only streaming media player with the Xbox app, Amazon claims. The Fire TV Stick comes with an Alexa-Voice control remote. The device has more than 46,000 reviews. One rated it five stars, writing: "The 4K Fire Stick provides spectacular viewing. I set it up on my smart TV — the directions that came with the product were easy to follow . As an Amazon Prime customer with a registered account, all my information and apps were restored to the new Fire Stick, with no issues. After a final Prime Video update, and adding the other apps I subscribe to, I was enjoying movies and TV in 4K — a feast for the eyes! It never ceases to amaze me that so much incredible technology can be wrapped up in this small device!" Another mentions it's a cost-cutting device, they wrote: "Easy to hook-up and it offers more features than my earlier version. You should also note that Amazon has a trade in policy for older units that aren't quite up to speed. I found this out after I ordered the new one, but there was still a credit applied to my account. I haven't had cable in quite some time and with the Firestick & Prime membership, I do not miss it at all and save a considerable amount of money each month." Not all buyers were happy, with one saying they had issues with the volume settings. They explained: "For some reason the volume on this is very quiet. In order for it to be usable I have to turn my TV volume up way higher than normal, then when I switch to another source it's deafening." Shoppers can get 55% off this Echo Pop just in time for Christmas. Available in four colors — charcoal, white, lavender and teal — the smart Bluetooth speaker with Alexa features a full sound that's great for bedrooms and small spaces. Ask Alexa to play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from your favorite providers like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and more. Have Alexa set timers, check the weather, read the news, re-order paper towels, make calls, answer questions , and more. A pleased buyer said: "The Echo Pop (Newest Gen) is a fantastic little smart speaker! Despite its small size, it delivers full, clear sound that fills the room. The Glacier White color is sleek and looks great in any space." "Alexa responds quickly, and it's easy to set up with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options. I'm impressed with the sound quality for the price, making it a perfect addition to any room for music, smart home control, or casual listening. Highly recommend this compact yet powerful speaker!" A second rated it two stars after having trouble getting it to connect to Spotify, they said: "I have five other devices that can be used through Spotify. Even when I have this device running a radio station, it won't work with Spotify. Intermittently problem, so even more infuriating. Both apps and the device repeatedly restarted, and data caches cleared. I'm returning it." With the Ring Battery Video Doorbell you'll know who is on your property whenever your Video Doorbell is pressed, or motion is detected. Charge it up, click into place, and stay connected right from your phone. The Ring app lets you connect all your devices, adjust their settings and use modes to 'Arm or Disarm' your devices when you're home or away. You can also add pre-recorded voice messages to your Ring Doorbell that play whenever someone presses the bell. On the latest version, one pleased customer said: "I’m shocked with the new (2024) Ring Doorbell Camera! The 180-degree field of view and head-to-toe visibility are amazing. I can see everything —from packages left on the stoop to the entire front yard and the driveway, stretching well over 100 feet. This version is such a vast improvement over previous models. I might even whisper that it's better than the floodlight camera I had installed a few years ago." Another impressed customer shares: "Living in an apartment complex can be interesting. The best way to feel safe in your environment is to have access to who is at your front door. This product not only provides great fish eye camera but also great camera quality, sensitive microphone, and motion Detection. Would buy again." One customer rated it a lowly one-star saying the Wi-Fi connection drops frequently: "Had to get a replacement and it did the same thing. Battery drains really fast. It also doesn't charge to 100%. And lastly, the unit disconnects at will from Wi-Fi and leaves you without security and a doorbell."
Gold Coast Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News. Don’t f*** with bats. A Gold Coast woman has suffered through what could be considered the most epically unfortunate first date, and a flying mammal is to blame. Tayla Solly had just enjoyed some hot wings and ribs at The Sporting Globe in Robina, when she and her beau decided to move the date to a new venue. Unfortunately, as they took a U-turn at the roundabout on Laver and Easthill Drive, winged disaster struck. A fruit bat suddenly flew straight through the driver’s window, landing in Tayla’s lap on the passenger side. “My natural reaction was to just get the (expletive) out, so I grabbed it. Oh my Lord, this thing didn’t just bite ... it LATCHED on to my finger,” she posted on social media. “So I banged it off and once the bat was out, we laughed and decided Robina hospital was the place to go instead of ripping up the D-Floor.” A wise decision, given that our bats can carry the rare but deadly rabies-related Australian Bat Lyssavirus. Tayla Solly on her worst first date which left her in hospital in excruciating pain With her hands covered in blood, Tayla and her date proceeded to wait at the hospital for hours. She asked to clean her finger, feeling slightly unnerved that potential rabies could be festering in the wound, but was told to wait for a doctor. At 1am, she was given permission to have her date drive her to her own car so he could go home and she could continue to wait. And kudos to this young man for hanging around in a hospital waiting room for so long on a first date ... that’s a big green flag. But for Tayla, her tale took a dark turn from here. “At 2am this lovely nurse asks if I would like a bed, so I get a bed. I finally nap for 30 minutes and am woken up saying the vaccines are good to go,” she said. “The vaccinations: When I say this is the most pain I have ever been in, even the doctors said it’s borderline inhumane. I mean it was the worst, I thought I was being tortured. “First were two jabs into my arm, one in each. There was a third needle though, they had to administer as much of this fluid (immunoglobulin) as possible around the bite. Now my fingers are small and this was a large needle with a lot of liquid. “I’m hysterical as this extremely painful injection is happening, they get half the fluid into the finger and the rest goes to the top of the arm. I would rather have had my finger cut off.” She was finally sent to her northern NSW home at 5am, but poor Tayla’s tale did not end there. “On my way home, I am itchy to the point of almost ripping my skin off, I can’t sit still while driving so I present at Tweed Hospital. I’m still having a reaction, not bad enough to get steroids, but bad enough for Public Health to be advised and to eat a lot more antihistamines. “Going forward, I need three more shots, but we don’t know what shots I’m allergic to so when I’m given the vaccine shots, adrenaline and whatever else will need to be available. They do not know if the allergy will get worse with more exposure, but I also don’t have a choice on getting them as I’m still at risk. “Point of my story is, bats do fly low and they will bite. It was all funny until it wasn’t.” Tayla Solly on her worst first date which left her in hospital in excruciating pain As for that first date? Well, a second one is being planned ... although Tayla said she wasn’t sure whether she ever wanted to leave her house again. And, unfortunately, experts warn that when it comes to bats, you just never know. Bats Queensland president Rhiannon Traish-Walker stressed that bats were not aggressive creatures but something perhaps even worse ... goofy and accident-prone. “Bats are herbivores, they eat nectar and fruit and are big scaredy cats ... but they are also goofy and accident prone, they panic and fly around and knock into people. “Do not touch bats. This season we’re especially concerned as bats have been stricken by a mystery paralysis and are being found stranded and scared in people’s backyards. Don’t touch them, just call us. “It’s an extremely small chance that they carry rabies lyssavirus, but it is a real chance. And that’s an almost 100 per cent mortality rate. So if you get scratched or bitten, you have to go through that process which is not fun.” So don’t f*** with bats. And Tayla, keep us posted as to whether it was love at first bite. Or first bat. More Coverage ‘Absolutely disgusting’: New tower spark fears of traffic chaos Andrew Potts Sarah and Archie’s first day – seven years later Tahlia Leathart Originally published as Tayla Solly on her worst first date which left her in hospital in excruciating pain Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories Gold Coast Country club stoush, supercar fire sale and a fall from grace Five years ago, Scott Hookey was on top of the world, with a collection of expensive supercars, beautiful homes, membership at an exclusive country club and a commercial property portfolio churning out low-effort cash. Now it’s all gone. 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The year in money: inflation eased, optimism ticked upwardATLANTA — To improve Georgia’s troubled prison system, the General Assembly should hike correctional officer salaries, consider more private-public partnerships to expand capacity, increase mental health services and move to single-person cells to improve safety. Those are among a slate of recommendations that a state Senate study committee approved Friday, following hours of testimony at a series of meetings that began in August. Other recommendations that won approval include asking for an audit of contracts to identify any excessive vendor costs, ordering a compensation study, prioritizing new technology to improve security at current and new facilities, and taking action to make sure wardens adhere to consistent policies to prevent culture differences among facilities. The committee also recommended that the state seek federal approval to jam cellphone signals at prisons. Prisoners have used cellphones to run criminal enterprises from inside the prisons, including directing drug trafficking networks and operating various fraud schemes. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Social media users are misrepresenting a report by the Justice Department inspector general’s office, falsely claiming that it’s proof the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The examined a number of areas, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. Claims spreading online focus on the report’s finding that 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who had been tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the events. Although 17 of those informants either entered the Capitol or a restricted area around the building during the riot, none of the 26 total informants were authorized to do so by the bureau, according to the report. Nor were they authorized to otherwise break the law or encourage others to do so. Here’s a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: A December 2024 report released by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General is proof that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a setup by the FBI. THE FACTS: That’s false. The report found that no undercover FBI employees were at the riot on Jan. 6 and that none of the bureau’s informants were authorized to participate. Informants, also known as confidential human sources, work with the FBI to provide information, but are not on the bureau’s payroll. Undercover agents are employed by the FBI. According to the report, 26 informants were in Washington on Jan. 6 in connection with the day’s events. FBI field offices only informed the Washington Field Office or FBI headquarters of five informants that were to be in the field on Jan. 6. Of the total 26 informants, four entered the Capitol during the riot and an additional 13 entered a restricted area around the Capitol. But none were authorized to do so by the FBI, nor were they given permission to break other laws or encourage others to do the same. The remaining nine informants did not engage in any illegal activities. None of the 17 informants who entered the Capitol or surrounding restricted area have been prosecuted, the report says. A footnote states that after reviewing a draft of the report, the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington said that it “generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021 was to enter restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol, which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals; and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach.” The assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office’s counterterrorism division told the inspector general’s office that he “denied a request from an FBI office to have an undercover employee engage in investigative activity on January 6.” He, along with then-Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven D’Antuono, said that FBI policy prohibits undercover employees at First Amendment-protected events without investigative authority. Many social media users drew false conclusions from the report’s findings. “JANUARY 6th WAS A SETUP!” reads one X post that had received more than 11,400 likes and shares as of Friday. “New inspector general report shows that 26 FBI/DOJ confidential sources were in the crowd on January 6th, and some of them went into the Capitol and restricted areas. Is it a coincidence that Wray put in his resignation notice yesterday? TREASON!” The mention of Wray’s resignation refers to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s announcement Wednesday that he at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January. Other users highlighted the fact that there were 26 FBI informants in Washington on Jan. 6, but omitted key information about the findings of the report. These claims echo a advanced by some Republicans in Congress that the FBI played a role in instigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters determined to overturn Republican Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden stormed the Capitol in a violent clash with police. The report knocks that theory down. such theories “ludicrous” at a congressional hearing last year. Asked for comment on the false claims spreading online, Stephanie Logan, a spokesperson for the inspector general’s office, pointed The Associated Press to a about the report. In addition to its findings about the the FBI’s involvement on Jan. 6, the report said that the FBI, in an action its now-deputy director described as a “basic step that was missed,” failed to canvass informants across all 56 of its field offices for any relevant intelligence ahead of time. That was a step, the report concluded, “that could have helped the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations in advance of January 6.” However, it did credit the bureau for preparing for the possibility of violence and for trying to identify known “domestic terrorism subjects” who planned to come to Washington that day. The FBI said in a letter responding to the report that it accepts the inspection general’s recommendation “regarding potential process improvements for future events.” — Find AP Fact Checks here: . By Melissa Goldin, The Associated PressAll 15 present locations in Astro Bot