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At least 460 fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were killed in an ambush by the Sudanese army and allied joint forces in the state of North Darfur in western Sudan, according to a military communique. In the statement issued on Sunday, Joint Forces military spokesman Ahmed Mustafa said the army and its allied militias ambushed three RSF convoys north of the town of Malit on Saturday afternoon. "The fighting resulted in the death of more than 460 members of the (RSF) militia, including prominent commanders... notably Taha Mudalal, the nephew of militia leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (alias Hemedti)," Mustafa said in the statement. He also claimed that the army and joint forces destroyed more than a hundred RSF military vehicles and seized 60 others that were "in excellent condition." "We report that three convoys of the (RSF) militia have been completely wiped out, causing them heavy human and material losses, while security control in the liberated areas has been strengthened and secured," the statement added. Malit is about 60km north of Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the only army stronghold in western Sudan. The FAR controls four of the five states that make up the Darfur region and has intensified its attacks on North Darfur, which is home to the army's main headquarters and several displacement camps that house tens of thousands of people. The war in Sudan began on April 15, 2023, and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and made the country the site of the world's worst displacement crisis, with more than 14 million people forced to flee their homes, including more than three million who have fled to neighbouring countries. The Sudanese Armed Forces - under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan - and General Hemedti's RSF were part of the military government that seized power in 2021 and began a political process to return the country to a democratic path that included integrating the RSF into the regular army when tensions flared and all-out war broke out between the two. Several human rights organisations and countries such as the United States have accused both the army and the FAR of committing crimes against humanity and even ethnic cleansing during the war, which both sides have denied. The atrocities are reminiscent of the Darfur genocide when an estimated 200,000 people were killed between 2003 and 2005
Denny Hamlin: Connor Zilisch is ‘probably a sure-fire thing’ in NASCAR Cup SeriesThe Big Central Conference released its All-Division football teams for the 2024 season. You can find the selections for the Freedom Silver Division below. NOTE : The selections were made by coaches from the conference and not reporters from NJ.com . If an athlete’s name is misspelled, please let us know and we will make the correction.. FIRST TEAM Kyle Blew, Belvidere,, QB, Sr. Mason Chamberlain, Belvidere, WR, Sr. Brayden Stefan, Belvidere, LB, Sr. Luke Tipton, Belvidere, WR/DE, Sr. Brayden Duckworth, Belvidere, OL/DL, Jr. Nathan Sussko, Belvidere, LB,, Jr. Geoffrey Young, Belvidere, OL/DL, Jr. Elijah White, Belvidere, WR, So. Joey Lawler, Middlesex, OL/LB, Sr. Dom Parenti, Middlesex, QB/SS, Sr. Jax Jarvis, Middlesex, WR/FS, Sr. Eva Willitts, Middlesex, DT/K, Sr. Sean Downes, Middlesex, TE/DL, Sr. Na’quavere Thomas, Manville, FB/DL, Sr. Joshua D’Ambrosio, Manville, QB/RB/FS, Jr. Collin Shimp, Manville, TE/LB, Jr. Edward Cooper, South Hunterdon, RB/LB, Sr. Ty Dunn, South Hunterdon, OL/DL, Sr. Thomas Breuer, South Hunterdon, OL/DL, Sr. Grant Guizzino, Bound Brook, LB/SS, Sr. Xavier Quesada, Bound Brook, K/P, Jr. Luke Pettersen, Dunellen, OL/LB, Sr. Luke Shealy, Dunellen, OL/LB, Sr. SECOND TEAM Julian Dorfman, Belvidere, DB, Sr. Preston Jacoski, Belvidere, OL/DL, Jr. Kadin Labar, Belvidere, OL/DL, So. Julian Samuels, Middlesex, WR/DB, Jr. Sean Hughes, Middlesex, OL/DL, Jr. Ricky Fittin, Middlesex, WR/DB, Sr. Isaiah Bennett, Manville, OL/LB, Jr. Evan Canica, Manville, OL/LB, Jr. Nate Lawton, South Hunterdon, TE/DE, Sr. Parker Rampel, South Hunterdon, OL/LB, Jr. Andy Perpignan, Bound Brook, RB/LB, Sr. Mike Kinney can be reached at mkinney@njadvancemedia.com The N.J. High School Sports newsletter is now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now! Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (formerly Twitter)GREGG Wallace returned to TV screens tonight for the first time since the BBC launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct on set. The 60-year-old TV star hosted MasterChef: The professionals' semi-final, alongside Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing. During the show, the under fire greengrocer turned TV star tasted five varied dishes and helped decide who would progress to the series finale. The remaining five contestants had 1hr 45 minutes to produce a dish worthy of the showpiece. Unfortunately for chef William, his dish was the least complete and he was sent home at the end of a stressful time in the kitchen. The salt-baked chicken roulade with smoked vegetables and black and white noodles, which was inspired by William's grandmother, sounded delicious on paper, but the execution was a big let down. The noodles, in particular, were soggy, and Marcus was baffled by the decision to salt-bake the roulade. The semi-finalists each cooked a dish that had an emotional tie to someone that meant a lot to them. Gregg said: "We have a strong suspicion this is going to be a very emotional day." While four of the five cooks chose family members, quirky Gaston dedicated his lobster dish to pop star Lady Gaga. It prompted Greg to declare: "You are different." Gaston took it as a compliment and replied: "Thank you." Gregg added to camera: "I’m sure Lady Gaga will love it. If he came and did sausage and mash, we’d probably collapse in shock." Elsewhere, George's take on an 1,000 year old Iranian lamb dish went down a storm. Gregg told the delighted chef to thank his girlfriend and her mum - the two inspirations behind the meal - such was its impact. Viewer reaction to his appearance was mixed. One fumed on X: "And there he is, centre stage. Crass, idiotic misogynistic Gregg Wallace's career defies logic, his agent was a genius." A second wrote: "Watching MasterChef and thinking how the heck could Greg Wallace not contain himself to professional standards and protect the charming career he had??!!" However, a third said: "Just want to let you know that I am watching #Masterchef this evening @bbc and I am not being 'triggered'!!" Earlier today, Gregg apologised over his "middle-class women of a certain age" rant. Former MasterChef host Gregg said he'll "take time out" during a probe into his alleged sexual comments on MasterChef. Gregg faces a backlash after mounting a disastrous defence of his behaviour yesterday. He said: "Now I’ve been doing MasterChef for 20 years. Amateur, Celebrity and Professional MasterChef. "In that time I’ve worked with over 4,000 contestants of all different ages, all different backgrounds and all different walks of life. "Now I’m reading in the paper that there have been 13 complaints in that time. "I can see them coming from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age just from Celebrity MasterChef. This isn’t right. "Over 20 years of TV, can you imagine how many women on MasterChef have made sexual remarks or sexual innuendo?" But he has now posted an apology on his Instagram account - saying he was under a "huge amount of stress". He said: "I want to apologise for any offence that I caused with my post yesterday and any upset I may have caused to a lot of people. "I wasn't in a good space when I posted it. I've been under a huge amount of stress, a lot of emotion." In the post, he added: "I felt very alone and under siege yesterday when I posted it. "It is obvious to me I need to take some time out while this investigation is underway. "I hope you understand and I do hope you will accept this apology." Wallace stepped back from the BBC1 cooking show last week after complaints about inappropriate behaviour over a number of years. It has emerged that the BBC was warned about Gregg's sexist behaviour at least five times over seven years. BBC officials carried out an HR investigation in 2018 and spoke to the star multiple times about inappropriate comments. GREGG Wallace has stepped down from his MasterChef hosting role after a probe into alleged inappropriate behaviour. But what's the situation? Regular MasterChef host Gregg Wallace is currently the subject of a probe after an investigation was launched into his alleged misconduct over a number of years. Gregg has been accused of making sexual remarks to 13 colleagues including Beeb anchor Kirsty Wark - accusations he denies. The 60-year-old has now stepped away from the BBC show while historical misconduct allegations against him are investigated. Yet the former greengrocer spoke out on social media to blast the "women of a certain age" who he claimed were behind the allegations. The cooking show’s production company, Banijay UK, has said law firm Lewis Silkin would lead the investigation into Wallace’s alleged misconduct.
On Saturday night, Donald Trump announced he intends to appoint Kash Patel as director of the FBI. The news sparked an immediate frenzy from establishment figures across media and politics. Legal and national security “experts” were deployed to the Sunday morning news shows to characterize the move as evidence that Trump intends to politicize the FBI and use it as a weapon against his many political opponents. The political establishment’s concerns about what a Trump FBI could do mirror a lot of what we’ve heard from the right in recent years as they found themselves in the Bureau’s crosshairs. But almost all of these complaints and warnings have operated under the assumption that—with maybe the exception of a few bad episodes in the 1960s—the FBI has long been an essential crime-fighting force that has only recently become—or threatens to become—corrupted by politics. In truth, the FBI has always been used as a weapon against political movements and rivals of the established political class. That’s the reason it was created. At the end of the 1800s, left-wing anarchists were attacking heads of state all across Europe. In a few short years, the king of Italy, the prime minister of Spain, the empress of Austria, and the president of France were all assassinated by anarchists. While no communist or anarchist movement had yet to take over a country, the tenacity of these activists and revolutionaries was seriously concerning those in power in the United States. Then, in 1901, President William McKinley was shot and killed by an anarchist while attending a meet-and-greet in Buffalo, New York, which brought his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, into office. It was President Roosevelt who tapped his Attorney General Charles Bonaparte—the grandnephew of Napoleon—to create the FBI. The AG was required by law to get congressional approval before creating this new “investigative” service of special agents within the Department of Justice. In the spring of 1908, Bonaparte officially requested the money and authority to create the FBI. Congress came back with an emphatic no. Members of the House saw through the innocuous language of the request and figured out exactly what the president and AG were doing—creating a secret police force that was answerable only to them. House Democrats like Joseph Swagar and John J. Fitzgerald and Republicans like Walter I. Smith and George Waldo all loudly condemned the proposal, saying it called for a “system of espionage” comparable to the Tsar’s secret police in Russia that stood in stark contrast to the very principles at the heart of the American system. Congress explicitly forbade the AG from creating this new Bureau. So what did Bonaparte do? He waited for Congress to break for the summer and then went ahead and created the FBI anyway. Congress was only notified about the new federal police force half a year later when Bonaparte included a quick throw-away line at the end of his annual report: “It became necessary for the department to organize a small force of special agents of its own.” So, the FBI was not created in response to out-of-control crime; its creation was a crime. Immediately, the new Bureau was unleashed on anyone and everyone who was perceived as a threat to those in power. That started with left-wing anarchists but quickly expanded to include many antiwar activists as President Wilson pulled the country into World War I. From the outset, the FBI operated primarily as a domestic intelligence agency—recruiting spies within groups they were targeting and breaking into offices and homes, intercepting mail, and tapping the phones of anyone they considered a threat. As the years wore on—like most other executive agencies—the Bureau evolved away from serving the direct interests of whoever happened to sit in the Oval Office to instead serve its own interest and the interest of the broader entrenched, permanent power structure in Washington. In the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, the FBI conducted covert operations aimed at inciting violence between domestic groups, breaking up political organizations it disapproved of, and, perhaps most famously, collecting blackmail on Martin Luther King Jr. that they then tried to use to drive him to commit suicide. Related Articles Commentary | A new Legislative session: Time for pocketbook pragmatism Commentary | Climate activists should pivot from costly pipe dreams to realistic solutions Commentary | Privacy agency oversteps authority, jeopardizes California’s opportunity to lead in AI Commentary | Newsom’s wrongheaded special session is a misuse of gubernatorial power Commentary | Scott Horton: Can Trump actually fend off the war hawks and bring peace? Although today’s FBI acknowledges and publicly disavows these past activities, they are still carrying out egregious operations that always seem to benefit the political class. The Bureau has taken up a kind of sting operation where, over and over again, agents find isolated, gullible, often mentally-handicapped young men, pretend to be political radicals or higher-ups in a terrorist organization, and then convince the young men to plan and carry out a terrorist attack with FBI-funds and resources. Agents then step in at the end and act like they heroically stopped a real plot. The FBI did this relentlessly with young Muslim men after 9/11. The arrests helped prolong the perception that the global war on terror and extreme measures like the Patriot Act were necessary. In recent years, the FBI has conducted a number of similar schemes with right-wing groups—advancing the establishment’s narrative that Donald Trump is radicalizing “uneducated” middle Americans and turning them into violent insurrectionists. And then there are, of course, all the ways the FBI directly tried to undermine and hinder Trump’s first term. Right-wingers are correctly deriding the establishment for panicking about Trump’s FBI doing to them what they have tried to do to him. But many—on both sides—go wrong when they present the Bureau as only recently, or imminently, being corrupted into serving the interests of those in power. That’s been its role since the beginning. Connor O’Keeffe ( @ConnorMOKeeffe ) produces media and content at the Mises Institute. This commentary is republished from the Mises Institute.
NoneSteve Bannon held his microphone out to the crowd. “Should (Mike) Johnson be speaker of the House?” he asked. “Nooo,” came the reply, as Bannon, the longtime ally of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, spoke at a Dec. 19 “AmericaFest” rally of Turning Point USA, a right-wing advocacy organization. Bannon, who said at the event that Johnson “has got to go,” spoke in Phoenix as the U.S. House debated an end-of-session spending package. Congress ultimately passed a Johnson-endorsed, stopgap funding bill signed by Democratic President Joe Biden on Dec. 21 to avert a government shutdown ahead of the holidays. But Bannon’s remarks foretold likely challenges to Johnson. As the opening of the new Congress approaches on Friday, Johnson’s leadership is being questioned by, among others, Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, who heads the House Freedom Caucus, and Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, who previously led the hard-line conservative group. Neither will commit to backing the Louisiana Republican. The speaker will help determine whether Trump can succeed on an agenda that includes policy shifts on taxes, voting and border policy. Underlying the GOP’s turmoil is how closely it should work with Democrats, if at all, particularly on spending issues. “The political class is infected with a malignant cancer. That cancer is bipartisanship, right?” Bannon told the crowd. Johnson, he said, “doesn’t have what we call the right stuff, right? That combination of guts and moxie and savvy and toughness.” Bannon, who previously served four months in prison for defying a congressional subpoena, is awaiting trial in a case alleging he was part of a scheme to dupe donors who contributed to help build a wall on the Mexican border. Other Republicans have also questioned Johnson’s leadership. Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican, recently floated a proposal to elect billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump adviser and ally, as speaker. The speaker is not required to be an elected House member. The election will occur after the new Congress assumes office on Jan. 3. “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk,” Paul posted on X. “Think about it ... nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).” As Congress raced to avoid a shutdown before Christmas, Musk was instrumental in sinking an earlier spending proposal by House Republicans — Democrats also backed it — to head off a government shutdown. The package contained about $100 billion in disaster aid, including a federal commitment long sought by Maryland lawmakers to pay the full cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge following its March collapse. Musk, citing a pay increase for Congress among other objections, attacked the bill on X, his social media platform, calling it “dead.” Johnson, who has supported Trump, then pitched the alternative that was ultimately approved. He needed a deal acceptable not only to most Republicans but also to Democrats, whose votes were required because the GOP majority was so slim. The final package included the Key Bridge funding commitment but neither the pay raise nor a Trump proposal to suspend the debt ceiling — the amount the government can borrow. Republicans won a “trifecta” — control of the White House, House and Senate — in the November elections, and Trump has claimed a broad mandate for such proposals as mass deportation and reducing the civil service workforce. But his party has split among hard-line spending watchdogs and those more prone to work with Democrats on shared priorities. Among those repeatedly protesting spending levels are Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and Harris, the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation; his district includes Harford County, the Eastern Shore and a piece of Baltimore County. Harris chairs the Freedom Caucus, a group that has focused on fiscal conservatism since its inception. Donalds recently posted on X: “It’s time to clean house. It’s time to slash spending & cut debt.” Harris also expressed concerns during the recent negotiations, saying in a written statement that he believed the Key Bridge replacement should be funded, “but with a $2 trillion-dollar annual deficit left from the Biden administration, we should look to offset any cost with savings elsewhere.” Harris did not respond to correspondence seeking comment on Friday. The party was similarly divided in 2023 when its far-right voting bloc expressed dissatisfaction with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, saying he had not forcefully resisted the Democratic agenda. Johnson, who replaced McCarthy, said at the time that he would emphasize bringing up individual spending bills instead of putting funding measures into a large package as executive branch spending authority is about to run out. But Congress needed such stopgap bills in September and again on Dec. 21 to fund the government in three-month increments. ©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Developer builds 6,000 homes but backtracks on pledge to contribute to building school and roads
Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck taken off on stretcher with ankle injury in loss to BarcelonaLancaster County District Judge Susan Strong listens as evidence is presented during the first day of the medical marijuana civil trial on Oct. 29 in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana petitions. A Lancaster County District Court judge ruled petitions circulated by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana were legally sufficient on Tuesday, dismissing a legal challenge that sought to have the successful initiatives rendered void. Judge Susan Strong said attorneys for former state Sen. John Kuehn and Secretary of State Bob Evnen were only able to show a few hundred signatures were invalid on both petitions, well short of the number needed to declare them insufficient. “After reviewing the evidence, the court finds that they have fallen short,” Strong wrote in a 57-page order made public late Tuesday afternoon. “The court therefore declares that the ballot initiatives contain a legally sufficient number of signatures.” The ruling comes three weeks after both petitions won broad support in the Nov. 5 election. The first petition, which legalizes cannabis for medical use in Nebraska, received the support of nearly 71% of voters, while the second, which enacts regulations for medical marijuana, won the support of 67% of voters. Both initiatives are set to be certified by the Board of State Canvassers on Monday and will take effect 10 days later. The case originated when Kuehn, a staunch opponent of marijuana legalization in Nebraska, sued Evnen on Sept. 12 to stop the petitions circulated by Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana from being certified for the general election ballot. Evnen certified the petitions the next day hours after Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced criminal charges against a paid circulator for the ballot campaign who later admitted to forging signatures to petition sheets he found in a phone book. A week later, Evnen filed a cross-claim against Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, alleging the wrongdoing uncovered in the attorney general’s investigation could render tens of thousands of signatures invalid. His court filing asked a judge to determine whether the initiatives should be declared legally insufficient and removed from the ballot or the election results deemed void. The four-day civil trial , which ended on Nov. 4, focused on the actions of two circulators — Michael Egbert and Jennifer Henning — who described signing petition sheets outside the presence of a notary, in violation of the rules for those officials. Attorneys for Kuehn and Evnen, who was represented by Hilgers’ office, also pointed to what they described as sloppy or potentially fraudulent actions by circulators and notaries that may have affected enough voter signatures to sink the initiatives. In her order, Strong agreed to rule the signatures gathered by Egbert, who admitted to forging names he found in a phone book, as invalid and have them removed. Egbert, a paid circulator for the campaign from Grand Island, submitted 487 signatures on the legalization petition and 541 signatures for the regulatory petition. Strong also said signatures on petition sheets attorneys for Kuehn and Evnen had proven were improperly notarized by several people working for the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign would also lose the presumption of validity. That included 221 signatures on the legalization petitions and 285 signatures on the regulatory petitions, according to Strong's order. In all, Strong determined a total of 708 signatures on the legalization petition and 826 on the regulatory petition had lost the presumption of validity, while an additional three names signed to petition sheets after they had been notarized were also removed. "This case was about numbers," Strong wrote. "Thus, to prevail in this action, (Kuehn and Evnen) had to show that more than 3,463 signatures on the legalization petition and 3,357 signatures on the regulatory petition are invalid. "The plaintiff and secretary are well short," the judge added. Daniel Gutman, an attorney for Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, said in a brief phone interview Tuesday evening he was pleased with Strong's result. "We appreciate the court's thorough review of this case in an expedited timeframe and agree with the result," Gutman said. "We have always been confident in the process in which the campaign collected signatures, as confirmed by the court's decision today." On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Hilgers said the attorney general was weighing his options for appeal. "We appreciate the court's time and thoughtful consideration in declining this matter," the attorney general's office said in an email. "We are reviewing the decision and considering next steps." Strong’s order follows resolutions reached in two other cases tied to the effort to legalize medical marijuana. Egbert, who hinted during his testimony that he was appearing in exchange for a reduced sentence in Hall County, pleaded guilty to attempted false swearing to a circulator’s affidavit days after the civil trial ended. In exchange for the guilty plea , Hall County Attorney Martin Klein agreed to reduce Egbert's charge from a Class IV felony to a Class I misdemeanor. Egbert, who admitted to forging the signatures of names he found in a phone book, was sentenced to pay a $250 fine. But the former Marine also told the court he was told he would be "covered" if he testified in the civil trial, though he had difficulty describing what that term meant, citing a neurological condition that sometimes affects his memory. And late last week, a Hall County judge dismissed two dozen criminal charges against a notary public accused of notarizing petitions outside the presence of the circulator. Jacy Todd, a York man who owned a CBD shop in Grand Island, was charged with 24 counts of official misconduct, a Class II misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Judge Alfred E. Corey III said while the functions performed by notaries are important, Todd was not acting as a government official when he signed petitions submitted by Egbert. Corey granted a motion to quash from attorney Mark Porto, saying there was no case law to use as a basis to bring criminal charges against Todd. Southwest fans Kylea Stritt (from left), Peg Rice, and Stacey Wilson cheer on their team as the "horsemen" during a Class D-1 first-round match Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Millard West players dogpile on the floor after defeating Lincoln Southwest in five set match during a Class A first-round match Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln Southwest's Shelby Harding dives to save the ball from hitting the ground in the first set during a Class A first-round match Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Second graders Eli Gonzalez (left) and Shrutoshome Datta look at drawings that first and second grade students made at the Monster Jam Art Show on Wednesday at Elliott Elementary School. The elementary school students made drawings of monsters to be turned into different types of art by Lincoln High School students. Norris players celebrate a point against Lincoln Pius X in a Class B state volleyball tournament match, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (right) talks with supporters, including Darlene Starman of Lincoln, at her campaign office on Tuesday in Lincoln. A cutout of Jesus watches over voters on Tuesday at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lincoln. Katie Goeling (left) fills out her ballot while her son Gunner, 4, holds her hand during Election Day on Tuesday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Malcolm. Abigail Webb votes on Tuesday at F Street Community Center. Nebraska's Rollie Worster (24) shoots a layup while defended by Texas Rio Grande Valley's Marshal Destremau (left) and Trey Miller (right) on Nov. 4 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska's Allison Weidner (left) autographs a poster for Freeman Public Schools student Godwil Muthiani, 12 (center), after the game against UNO on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Muthiani's sign says, "#3 Allison Weinder is the GOAT! Sorry I'm only 12." Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule speaks to an official after a targeting call on Nebraska during the first quarter of the game against UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. The call was overturned after review. Nebraska's Dante Dowdell scores against UCLA in the fourth quarter on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Cadet Elena Burgwald (left) and Cadet Mason Beck look up as a B-1B Lancer flies over Memorial Stadium before the UCLA game against Nebraska on Saturday. UCLA's K.J. Wallace (7) defends Nebraska's Jacory Barney (17) as he makes a diving 40-yard catch in the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Lincoln Southeast quarterback Tre Bollen (left) and Tate Sandman react after losing a Class A football playoff game against Millard North on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Seacrest Field. Millard North won 10-3. After the field clears, Norris' Jarrett Behrends (17) kicks his helmet after the Titans fell to Waverly 16-17 in a Class B football playoff game on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Waverly High School. A line of people waiting to vote has been normal at the Lancaster County Election Commission Office at 601 N. 46th St., as it was Friday afternoon. The office will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to allow voters to cast an early ballot. If they wait until Election Day, they will need to go to their precinct or drop off their ballots at one of five drop boxes across the city. For more stories about about Tuesday's election, go to Journalstar.com . Iris Gonnerman, 8 (from right), her brother Oliver, 6, and cousin Noreen Milana, 9, wave flags while watching Veterans Parade outside the state Capitol on Sunday. Nebraska's Connor Essegian scores against Bethune-Cookma on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln Lutheran players embrace one another as threy celebrate defeating Thayer Central in four sets to win the Class C-2 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Covered by a canopy of changing leaves, a car cruises along A street in a neighborhood north of Downtown Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Mild temperatures continue into the mid weeks of November. Wednesday calls for a chance of rain showers before noon with gusty winds. Most days this week are expected to be accompanied by mostly sunny skies and consistent breezes. Norris' Anna Jelinek (left) lifts the the Class B championship trophy alongside Rya Borer on Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Superior players celebrate their three set win over EMF during the Class D-1 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Reflected in a ceiling beam, Leyton takes on Shelton in the first set of the Class D-2 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Omaha Skutt's Nicole Ott (left) and Addison West react after a point in the second set during a Class B semifinal match Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Hasan Khalil, owner of Golden Scissors, trims the beard of Vitaliy Martynyuk on Friday at his barbershop in Lincoln. Second-time mother giraffe Allie nuzzles her new calf in the giraffe experience enclosure on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Nebraska celebrates during the first set of the match against Minnesota on Thursday at the Devaney Sports Center. Luca Gustafson, 6, rides to school Tuesday with the bike bus at Riley Elementary School. Each Tuesday, students can bike to school with adult chaperones along a specific route. Wahoo's Braylon Iversen celebrates with Warrior players after they defeated Auburn in a Class C-1 state semifinal game Friday in Wahoo. Lincoln Fire Fighters Association member Andy Evans works to assemble a headboard during a bed-building day hosted by Sleep in Heavenly Peace on Saturday at Hampton Enterprises. Volunteers helped build 20 beds for children in need. A Lincoln firefighter sprays water on to the roof from a ladder truck as they battle a fire at the former Village Inn at 29th and O streets the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com . On Twitter @ChrisDunkerLJS Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Biden's broken promise on pardoning his son Hunter is raising new questions about his legacy WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to go back on his word and pardon his son Hunter wasn't all that surprising to those who are familiar with the president's devotion to his family. But by choosing to put his family first, the 82-year-old president has raised new questions about his legacy. Biden has held himself up as placing his respect for the American judicial system and rule of law over his own personal concerns. It was part of an effort to draw a deliberate contrast with Republican Donald Trump. Now, both his broken promise and his act of clemency are a political lightning rod. Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter ATLANTA (AP) — Already reeling from their November defeat at the polls, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden's pardoning of his son for a federal felony conviction — after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who operates above the law. The White House on Monday struggled to defend the pardon claiming the prosecution was politically motivated — a page out of Trump's playbook. That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats who are angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump. Hezbollah fires into Israel-held area after multiple Israeli strikes in Lebanon since truce began JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah fired into a disputed border zone held by Israel after multiple Israeli strikes inside Lebanon since a ceasefire took hold last week. The militant group said the volley, its first during the truce, was a warning shot in response to what it called repeated Israeli violations. Israeli leaders threatened to retaliate, further straining the fragile U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire. Israeli strikes in recent days, including a string of hits on Monday, have killed at least four people in Lebanon. U.S. officials said the ceasefire was largely holding. Great Lakes region gets yet more snow after a weekend of snarled Thanksgiving travel Some storm-weary residents of the Great Lakes region saw additional snow and faced the prospect of even more accumulations this week. Lake-effect snow continued to fall on parts of western New York that were already blanketed with a foot or more over the past four days. Lake-effect snow warnings were in effect through Tuesday night in parts of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Snow showers fell in western Michigan overnight, and heavier, persistent snow of up to a foot was expected to follow Monday. Turkey calls for reconciliation between Syria government and opposition to end conflict ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's foreign minister says the recent rapid advance by opposition fighters in Syria shows that Syrian President Bashar Assad must reconcile with his own people and hold dialogue with the opposition. Speaking Monday at a joint news conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart, Hakan Fidan said Turkey and Iran, which support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, have agreed to resume diplomatic efforts along with Russia to restore calm days after insurgents launched a lightning offensive and captured almost all of the country’s largest city, Aleppo. The swift advance by fighters that Turkey supports was a huge embarrassment for Assad. Stock market today: Rising tech stocks pull Wall Street to another record NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid mixed trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday after closing November at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared after saying an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or the company’s board. Retailers were mixed coming off Black Friday and heading into what’s expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. A top Fed official leans toward December rate cut but says it depends on economic data WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official says he is leaning toward supporting an interest rate cut when the Fed meets in two weeks but that evidence of persistent inflation before then could cause him to change that view. Speaking at George Washington University, Christopher Waller, a key member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said he was confident that inflation is headed lower and that the central bank will likely keep reducing its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans. But he noted that there’s a risk that inflation “may be getting stuck above” the Fed’s 2% target, which would support an argument for keeping the Fed’s rate unchanged this month. More than 3 million travelers screened at US airports in a single day. That's a record Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday are setting a record. The Transportation Security Administration says that it screened nearly 3.1 million travelers on Sunday, breaking the previous record by about 74,000. That mark was set on July 7, also a Sunday after a holiday, July Fourth. Hundreds of thousands of travelers were delayed or had their flights canceled. FlightAware says more 6,800 flights were delayed on Sunday, with the highest numbers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Panic among spectators at soccer game kills at least 56 in the West African nation of Guinea CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Officials and witnesses say chaos erupted at a soccer game in Guinea after fans protested a referee’s call and thousands of panicked spectators tried to flee the stadium, leaving at least 56 people dead in the West African nation. Local news website Media Guinea reported that security forces used tear gas. A journalist covering the game for a local sports website tells The Associated Press many of the dead were crushed as they tried to escape through the stadium gates. The world’s latest sports crowd disaster unfurled Sunday in the second-largest city in the military-run nation. Information there is sparse and government-controlled at the best of times. It was not immediately clear how much the death toll could grow.
By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The picture of who will be in charge of executing President-elect Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration and border policies has come into sharper focus after he announced his picks to head Customs and Border Protection and also the agency tasked with deporting immigrants in the country illegally. Trump said late Thursday he was tapping Rodney Scott, a former Border Patrol chief who’s been a vocal supporter of tougher enforcement measures, for CBP commissioner. As acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Trump said he’d nominate Caleb Vitello, a career ICE official with more than 23 years in the agency who most recently has been the assistant director for firearms and tactical programs. They will work with an immigration leadership team that includes South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as head of the Department of Homeland Security ; former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Tom Homan as border czar ; and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff. Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Scott led during Trump’s first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country’s borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he joined the agency, San Diego was by far the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. Traffic plummeted after the government dramatically increased enforcement there, but critics note the effort pushed people to remote parts of California and Arizona. San Diego was also where wall construction began in the 1990s, which shaped Scott’s belief that barriers work. He was named San Diego sector chief in 2017. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump’s policies. “He’s well known. He does know these issues and obviously is trusted by the administration,” said Gil Kerlikowske, the CBP commissioner under the Obama administration. Kerlikowske took issue with some of Scott’s past actions, including his refusal to fall in line with a Biden administration directive to stop using terms like “illegal alien” in favor of descriptions like “migrant,” and his decision as San Diego sector chief to fire tear gas into Mexico to disperse protesters. “You don’t launch projectiles into a foreign country,” Kerlikowske said. At the time Scott defended the agents’ decisions , saying they were being assaulted by “a hail of rocks.” While much of the focus of Trump’s administration may be on illegal immigration and security along the U.S.-Mexico border, Kerlikowske also stressed the importance of other parts of Customs and Border Protection’s mission. The agency is responsible for securing trade and international travel at airports, ports and land crossings around the country. Whoever runs the agency has to make sure that billions of dollars worth of trade and millions of passengers move swiftly and safely into and out of the country. And if Trump makes good on promises to ratchet up tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada, CBP will play an integral role in enforcing them. “There’s a huge amount of other responsibility on trade, on tourism, on cyber that take a significant amount of time and have a huge impact on the economy if it’s not done right,” Kerlikowske said. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda. He has appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He’s also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, he advocated for a return to Trump-era immigration policies and more pressure on Mexico to enforce immigration on its side of the border.The investigation into and search for the masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of UnitedHealthcare has moved into its third day. Possible leads have emerged about his travel before the shooting and a message scrawled on ammunition found at the crime scene. Here's the latest: In many companies, investor meetings like the one UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was walking to when he was fatally shot are viewed as very risky because details on the location and who will be speaking are highly publicized. “It gives people an opportunity to arrive well in advance and take a look at the room, take a look at how people would probably come and go out of a location,” said Dave Komendat, president of DSKomendat Risk Management Services, which is based in the greater Seattle area. Some firms respond by beefing up security. For example, tech companies routinely require everyone attending a major event, such as Apple’s annual unveiling of the next iPhone or a shareholder meeting, to go through airport-style security checkpoints before entering. Others forgo in-person meetings with shareholders. ▶ Read more about how companies protect their leaders Those images include New York’s subway system, a law enforcement official said. In establishments where the person was captured on camera, he always appeared to pay with cash, the official said. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. — Mike Balsamo Medica, a Minnesota-based nonprofit health care firm that serves 1.5 million customers in 12 states, said it’s temporarily closing all six locations. The firm has offices in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and North Dakota, and employs about 3,000 people. Employees will work from home, Medica spokesman Greg Bury said in an email Friday. “The safety of Medica employees is our top priority and we have increased security both for all of our employees,” a statement from Medica said. “Although we have received no specific threats related to our campuses, our office buildings will be temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution.” Bury also said biographical information on the company’s executives was taken down from its website as a precaution. The insurer cited the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in its announcement about the Dec. 12 event. “All of us at Centene are deeply saddened by Brian Thompson’s death and want to express our support for all of those affected. Health insurance is a big industry and a small community; many members of the CenTeam crossed paths with Brian during their careers,” Centene CEO Sarah M. London said in a news release. “He was a person with a deep sense of empathy and clear passion for improving access to care. Our hearts are with his family and his colleagues during this difficult time.” Centene Corp. has grown in recent years to become the largest insurer in Medicaid, the state- and federally funded program that covers care for people with low incomes. Insurers manage Medicaid coverage for states, and Centene has more than 13 million people enrolled in that coverage. The insurance company also said it’s focused on ensuring the safety of employees and assisting investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring of kindness and support in the hours since this horrific crime took place,” the company said. But he said Friday that he’s confident police will arrest the shooter. “We are on the right road to apprehend him and bring him to justice,” Adams said on TV station WPIX. Later, it removed their names and biographies entirely. Police and federal agents have been collecting information from Greyhound in an attempt to identify the suspect and are working to determine whether he purchased the ticket to New York in late November, a law enforcement official said. Investigators were also trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone recovered from a pedestrian plaza through which the shooter fled. The fatal shooting of Brian Thompson while walking alone on a New York City sidewalk has put a spotlight on the widely varied approaches companies take to protect their leaders against threats. Experts say today’s political, economic and technological climate is only going to make the job of evaluating threats against executives and taking action to protect them even more difficult, experts say. Some organizations have a protective intelligence group that uses digital tools such as machine learning or artificial intelligence to comb through online comments to detect threats not only on social media platforms such as X but also on the dark web, says Komendat. They look for what’s being said about the company, its employees and its leadership to uncover risks. ▶ Read more about the steps companies take to protect their leadership Police said Thursday they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper from a trash can near the scene of the ambush and think the suspect bought them from a Starbucks minutes before the shooting. The items were being tested by the city’s medical examiner.
GM to sell stake in battery cell plant to joint venture partner for roughly $1 billionChicago (4-7) at Detroit (10-1) Thursday, 12:30 p.m. EST, CBS BetMGM NFL odds: Lions by 10 1/2. Against the spread: Bears 6-4-1; Lions 9-2. Series record: Bears lead 105-78-5. Last meeting: Bears beat Lions 28-13 in Chicago on Dec. 10, 2023. Last week: Vikings beat Bears 30-27; Lions beat Colts 24-6. Bears offense: overall (26), rush (22), pass (29), scoring (T-22). Bears defense: overall (17), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (8). Lions offense: overall (2), rush (4), pass (6), scoring (1). Lions defense: overall (17), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (8). Turnover differential: Bears plus-9; Lions plus-9. QB Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall pick from the NFL draft in Detroit has looked more comfortable the past two games with Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator. Williams was regressing in the weeks leading up to Shane Waldron’s firing. He threw for 340 yards and two TDs last week in his fourth straight turnover-free game and fifth in a row without an interception. RB David Montgomery. He has run for a TD in each of the past three games and has rushed for 11 scores this season. In 25 games with the Lions, he has 24 rushing TDs. In 60 games with the Chicago Bears from 2019 to 2022, he ran for 26 scores and had 4,849 yards from scrimmage. Montgomery was slowed by a shoulder injury last week, but is expected to play. Detroit's running game against Chicago's defense. The Lions have a rushing TD in an NFL-record 25 straight games. Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are the first RBs on a team to have at least 10 TDs on the ground in consecutive years. The Bears are ranked 20th against the run, a relative weakness that may be pivotal in Detroit. Bears G Ryan Bates (concussion) and DB Elijah Hicks (ankle) were ruled out after both players missed last week’s game. ... Lions PR/WR Kalif Raymond (foot) was put on injured reserve Wednesday, when the team ruled out CB Carlton Davis (knee/thumb) and OT Taylor Decker (knee) against Chicago. ... Montgomery (shoulder) and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (knee) were full participants in practice Wednesday, but both were listed as questionable. Chicago ended a three-game losing streak in the series last year. ... The Lions started their tradition of playing on Thanksgiving on Nov. 29, 1934, with a 19-16 loss to the Bears. ... Chicago has beaten Detroit three straight times on Thanksgiving, sending Lions fans home unhappy in 2021, 2019 and 2018. ... The Bears will play the Lions on the holiday for the 20th time, trailing only Green Bay's 22 appearances in Detroit on Thanksgiving. Chicago has dropped five straight for the first time since losing the last 10 games of the 2022 season. ... The Bears have lost three games on the final play during their skid. They lost on a Hail Mary at Washington in Week 8, had a game-ending FG blocked by Green Bay and watched as Minnesota’s Parker Romo made a 29-yard FG last week. ... The Bears are 5-18 in one-possession games under coach Matt Eberflus, including a 2-5 mark this year. ... Eberflus, in his third season, is 14-31 overall and 1-3 against Detroit. ... WR DJ Moore caught seven passes for a season-high 106 yards and a TD against Minnesota. That gave him 14 receptions for 168 yards the past two games after being limited to 13 catches for 104 yards over the previous four games. ... Cairo Santos has had three FGs blocked this season, including one in each of the past two games. The three blocked FG are the most for Chicago in a single season since it also had three blocked in 2012. ... The Bears will host Detroit in Week 16. ... Buffalo and Pittsburgh are the two teams in the NFL with a better turnover differential than Detroit and Chicago. ... Detroit has lost seven straight games, including three times to Chicago, and 16 of its past 20 games on Thanksgiving and the Bears have won four in a row on the holiday. ... The Lions lead the NFC with a 10-1 mark and are tied with Kansas City for the NFL's best mark. ... Detroit has won 10 of its first 11 games for the first time since 1934 and has a chance to be 11-1 for the first time in franchise history. ... The Lions can clinch a spot in the playoffs with numerous scenarios including a win over Chicago along with losses by San Francisco, Arizona, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Montgomery may be a little more motivated, going against his former team. He has been held without a rushing TD in just two games this season. The Bears are week against the run and Montgomery is as strong as any back in the league. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
President Joe Biden —AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden’s decision to go back on his word and issue a categorical pardon for his son, Hunter, just weeks before his scheduled sentencing on gun and tax convictions was a surprise that wasn’t all that surprising. Not to those who had witnessed the president’s shared anguish over his two sons after the boys survived a car crash that killed Biden’s first wife and a daughter more than a half-century ago. Or to those who heard the president regularly lament the death of his older son, Beau, from cancer or voice concerns—largely in private—about Hunter’s sobriety and health after years of deep addiction. But by choosing to put his family first, the 82-year-old president—who had pledged to restore a fractured public’s trust in the nation’s institutions and respect for the rule of law—has raised new questions about his already teetering legacy. READ: Biden’s legacy in ruins after Trump triumph “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis wrote in a post on X. He added that while he could sympathize with Hunter Biden’s struggles, “no one is above the law, not a President and not a President’s son.” Biden aides and allies had been resigned to the prospect of the president using his extraordinary power in the waning days of his presidency to ensure his son wouldn’t see time behind bars, especially after Donald Trump ’s win. The president’s supporters have long viewed Biden’s commitment to his family as an asset overall, even if Hunter’s personal conduct and tangled business dealings were seen as a persistent liability. But the pardon comes as Biden has become increasingly isolated since the loss to Trump by Vice President Kamala Harris, who jumped in to the race after the president’s catastrophic debate against Trump in June forced his exit from the election. He is still struggling to resolve thorny foreign policy issues in the Middle East and Europe. And he must reckon with his decision to seek reelection despite his advanced age, which helped return the Oval Office to Trump, a man he had warned time and again was a threat to democratic norms. Trump has gleefully planned to undo Biden’s signature achievements on climate change and reverse the Democrat’s efforts to reinvigorate the country’s alliances, all while standing poised to take credit for a strengthening economy and billions in infrastructure investments that are in the pipeline for the coming years. And now, Biden has handed the Republican a pretext to carry through with sweeping plans to upend the Department of Justice as the Republican vows to seek retribution against supposed adversaries. “This pardon is just deflating for those of us who’ve been out there for a few years yelling about what a threat Trump is,” Republican Joe Walsh, a vocal Trump critic, said on MSNBC. “‘Nobody’s above the law,’ we’ve been screaming. Well, Joe Biden just made clear his son Hunter is above the law.” Jean-Pierre said Monday from Air Force One that the president wrestled with the decision but ultimately felt his son’s case had been tainted by politics, though she tried to thread the needle — insisting he had faith in the Justice Department. “He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” she said. But Trump has already made very clear his intent to disrupt federal law enforcement with his initial nomination of outspoken critics like former Rep. Matt Gaetz to be attorney general and Kash Patel to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray, who nominally still has more than two years left in his term. (Gaetz ended up quickly withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.) Reacting to the pardon, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement: “That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.” In a social media post, the president-elect himself called the pardon “such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice.” “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump asked. He was referring to those convicted in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters aiming to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. Biden and his spokespeople had repeatedly and flatly ruled out the president granting his son a pardon. In June, Biden told reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.” In July, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters: “It’s still a no. It will be a no. It is a no. And I don’t have anything else to add. Will he pardon his son? No.” In November, days after Trump’s victory, Jean-Pierre reiterated that message: “Our answer stands, which is no.” Neither Biden nor the White House explained the shift in the president’s thinking, and it was his broken promise as much as his act of clemency that was a lightning rod. He is hardly the first president to pardon a family member or friend entangled in political dealings. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after he had served his sentence roughly a decade earlier. In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner, as well as multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Yet Biden held himself up as placing his respect for the American judicial system and rule of law over his own personal concerns—trying to draw a deliberate contrast with Trump, who tested the bounds of his authority like few predecessors. Inside the White House, the timing of the pardon was surprising to some who believed Biden would put it off as long as possible, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. It came just after Biden spent extended time over the past week with Hunter and other family members on Nantucket in Massachusetts, a family tradition for Thanksgiving. “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said in a statement announcing the pardon. Some in the administration have privately expressed anguish that the substance of Biden’s statement, including his claim of an unfair politically-tinged prosecution of his son resembled complaints Trump — who faced now-abandoned indictments over his role in trying to subvert the 2020 election — has been making for years about the Justice Department. Biden said the charges in his son’s cases “came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.” Many legal experts agreed that the charges against the younger Biden were somewhat unusual, but the facts of the offenses were hardly in dispute, as Hunter wrote about his gun purchase while addicted to illegal drugs in his memoir and ultimately pleaded guilty to the tax charges. The pardon too was unusual, coming before Hunter Biden was even sentenced and covering not just the gun and tax offenses against his son, but also anything else he might have done going back to the start of 2014. It’s a move that could limit the ability of the Trump Justice Department to investigate the younger Biden’s unsavory foreign business dealings, or to find new ground on which to bring criminal charges related to that time period. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Biden, in his statement, asked for consideration: “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.”
Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Hundreds were set to take to the streets of Edinburgh from 6.30pm until 8.30pm this evening for the event, a popular part of the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay programme, but organisers have now made the decision to call it off in the interests of public safety. A spokesman said: “Due to ongoing high winds at sections of the Torchlight Procession route, unfortunately tonight’s event is unable to go ahead on the grounds of public safety. Advertisement Advertisement “The safety of all attending is our top priority and following recent torch tests on the route, the winds are proving too strong to proceed safely. We know that this will be hugely disappointing to all who wished to participate.” He added: “For those who have collected torches, please deposit these with event stewards as you leave The Meadows or with Edinburgh’s Christmas box offices, and our box office will be in touch with further instructions to ticket buyers.” Edinburgh's Christmas box offices can be found at George Street, East Princes Street Gardens and West Princes Street Gardens. There have been concerns for the city’s Hogmanay celebrations in recent days after the Met Office issued multiple weather warnings for the New Year week. Advertisement Advertisement Edinburgh is set for a wet and windy start to 2025, with warnings for rain, snow and wind having been issued over four days from Monday. Speaking on Sunday, a spokesperson for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay said: “We continue to work closely with the Met Office and other agencies to monitor forecasts leading up to Hogmanay. “As always in Scotland, the forecasts are changing regularly, and we are still a few days away, so we advise customers to stay up-to-date via our social channels and the Met Office. “For all Edinburgh's Hogmanay outdoor events, we recommend audiences dress appropriately for winter events in Scotland– prepare for all weather, wrap up warm and double check with your travel operator for the latest updates."