Feds say Northern Calif. drug busts link to Mexico

Federal authorities are linking a series of drug arrests and seizures in Northern California to a Mexican drug cartel. (Feb. 11)

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  • Myanmar coup: Woman shot at protest fights for life

    The woman was reportedly shot in the head by police at a rally in the capital Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday.

  • Wisconsin judge denies request to re-arrest Kyle Rittenhouse, hike bond

    Kyle Rittenhouse, the U.S. teenager charged with fatally shooting two people during protests in Wisconsin last August, can remain free on bond and need not publicly disclose his whereabouts, a judge ruled on Thursday, denying prosecutors' requests. Prosecutors had accused Rittenhouse, 18, of violating his $2 million bond by not informing the court of his address. Rittenhouse's lawyers argued that safety concerns necessitated a move to a "safe house" and for him to conceal his whereabouts.

  • Pakistan commutes death sentence for 2 mentally ill convicts

    In a landmark ruling, Pakistan's top court on Wednesday commuted the death sentences of two mentally ill prisoners who have spent decades on death row, the first such ruling in this conservative Muslim-majority nation. The decision by the Supreme Court was quickly hailed by Justice Project Pakistan, a rights group that has fought an extensive, years-long legal battle for the two inmates. One of the two prisoners whose sentence was commuted, Kanizan Bibi, has spent 30 years on death row.

  • Freed Saudi activist had electrodes fixed on her head during phone calls with relatives, family says

    A detained Saudi women’s rights activist had electrodes fixed to her head during phone calls with her family to prevent her speaking of the torture she suffered in prison, her sister said on Thursday after her release. Loujain al-Hathoul was released to her family’s home in Riyadh on Wednesday after 1,001 days in prison on charges related to her activism. Under her probation she is unable to travel, use social media or speak to the media. Her sisters, who live abroad, announced Thursday that Ms al-Hathoul will seek legal redress in Saudi Arabia for torture she said she suffered in detention. “She was tortured and she cannot forget this,” her sister Lina said, during an online press conference. The family have previously claimed Ms al-Hathoul was tortured – which Saudi authorities deny – but gave new details Thursday, including that the threat of electrocution stopped her speaking out. “If I complained about anything they were ready to electrocute me,” Lina said her sister told the family on Wednesday of her early months in detention. “It was months later that we found out about the torture” when Ms al-Hathoul was moved to another prison, Lina said. Ms al-Hathoul has identified one of her torturers as Saud Al Qahtani, a top adviser to the Saudi crown prince until he was sanctioned by the US over his role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “He’s the only person that we know the name of who was present at the torture sessions,” Lina said. Mr Qahtani is notorious in Saudi Arabia, sometimes called the “lord of the flies” for his army of Twitter trolls used for attacking dissidents. “Loujain recognised him, he’s a public figure,” said her older sister Alia. Ms al-Hathoul now hopes to use the Saudi justice system to prove she was tortured and seek justice. “The torturers must be sentenced,” Lina said. In December, Ms al-Hathoul was sentenced to nearly six years imprisonment over her activism, which included demanding the right for women to drive and calling for the abolition of Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system. The decades old driving ban was lifted weeks after her arrest, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman eager to claim the credit for the reform. The 35-year-old prince muscled his way to become next in line to the throne in 2015, partly by projecting an image as a dynamic young reformer who could modernise the conservative kingdom. But the sisters believe that any reforms under Mohammed bin Salman are illusory. “MBS is far from being a reformer, he’s an oppressor,” said Lina, referring to him by his initials. “Women’s empowerment is a lie in Saudi Arabia, there are no real reforms,” she said. Lina said she was choosing her words carefully to avoid further negative repercussions for her family still in Saudi Arabia: “There’s really an atmosphere of fear under MBS.” The family believe Ms al-Hathoul’s early release was timed by the Saudi government to impress new US President Joe Biden, who has promised closer scrutiny of his close ally’s human rights record. “Saudi Arabia’s situation is tightly connected with what’s going on in the US,” Alia said. “The Biden administration made clear that they care about human rights.”

  • ‘We are dying.’ 911 call about migrants trapped in tanker has Texas police searching

    State and federal officials are searching for a white tanker.

  • Warnock Under Investigation for Role in Stacey Abrams’ Voter Registration Org

    Senator Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.) is under investigation for his involvement in the New Georgia Project, a voter registration organization founded by Stacey Abrams, which officials say failed to follow state election deadlines in 2019. The Georgia State Election Board voted 3-0 Wednesday to launch an investigation into Warnock’s time as chairman of the board for the New Georgia Project in 2019, when officials say the group violated state election rules that require voting registration organizations to submit completed voter application within ten days after they are received from the voter. Officials say the New Georgia Project submitted 1,268 applications to the Gwinnett County elections office after the ten-day deadline in 2019. The board will refer the investigation to Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican. The only Democrat on the board, as well as Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, abstained from the vote. Nse Ufot, the CEO of New Georgia Project, pushed back against the claims in a statement, saying the board meeting was “the first time we heard about the allegations regarding NGP’s important voter registration work from 2019.” “We have not received any information on this matter from the Secretary or any other Georgia official,” Ufot said. In December, Raffensperger announced an investigation into the New Georgia Project and other voter registration groups, alleging that they had “sought to register ineligible, out-of-state, or deceased voters.” Warnock resigned from the New Georgia Project on January 28, 2020. Abrams founded the organization in 2014 and later made an unsuccessful bid for Georgia governor, losing by roughly 55,000 votes to Governor Brian Kemp. She claimed that Kemp, who was then- Georgia secretary of state, had won thanks to voter suppression efforts he implemented during his time in office, such as purging voter roles.

  • Sri Lanka to allow burial of COVID-19 victims following ban

    Sri Lanka will begin giving permission for Muslims who die of COVID-19 to be buried, the prime minister said Wednesday, following an outcry over a previous ban. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa gave the assurance in response to a question from a lawmaker in Parliament. Sri Lanka has required the cremation of all people who die from COVID-19, saying the virus in human remains could contaminate underground water.

  • How to Add a Little Extra Luxury to Your Bath Time

    If not a lot of luxuryOriginally Appeared on Architectural Digest

  • EU approves all requests for COVID-19 vaccine export to UK, U.S., Japan, China

    The European Commission has so far approved all requests for the export of COVID-19 vaccines, including to Britain, the United States, China and Japan, since it set up on Jan. 30 a mechanism to monitor vaccine flows, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. The accommodating stance is expected to alleviate concerns from global partners about the EU's willingness to allow COVID-19 vaccines to leave its territory, despite the 27-nation bloc having faced supply disruptions and a cut in vaccine deliveries. The EU had exported millions of vaccines to several countries including Britain, Israel, China and Canada before the monitoring scheme was set up, according to customs data cited in an EU internal document seen by Reuters.

  • Republican senator switches vote at impeachment trial

    "I said I'd be an impartial juror. Anyone listening to those arguments - the House managers were focused, they were organized, they relied upon both precedent, the Constitution, and legal scholars. They made a compelling argument," Cassidy told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday (February 9).Cassidy also had harsh words for Trump's defense attorneys."President Trump's team were disorganized, they did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand. And when they talked about it, they kind of glided over it, almost as if they were embarrassed of their arguments. Now, if I'm an impartial juror and one side is doing a great job, and the other side is doing a terrible job on the issue at hand, as an impartial juror, I'm going to vote for the side that did a good job."Trump is on trial in the U.S. Senate after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to indict him for inciting insurrection and sparking a violent mob that invaded the Capitol on January 6th.Lawyers for the former president argued that their client is no longer in office, and not subject to impeachment.Senator Cassidy, who previously voted to dismiss the case against Trump, changed his vote Tuesday in favor of proceeding. He joined five other Republicans who voted with Democrats that the impeachment was proper.

  • Lawyer David Schoen leaves impeachment trial to do Fox News interview ‘on Trump’s orders’

    The lawyer went on the cable news channel to call the impeachment managers' argument 'offensive'

  • Israel's former UN envoy regrets tweet asking Biden to call Netanyahu

    Israel's former UN envoy has said he regrets the phrasing of a provocative tweet imploring Joe Biden to phone their prime minister, denying that the move was coordinated with Benjamin Netanyahu's office. “I didn’t formulate the tweet, but I take responsibility for it,” Danny Danon told Army Radio on Thursday, in an apparent attempt to distance himself from the phrasing of the post. “The choice of words was not successful but I stand behind the message.” "The tweet was not coordinated with the prime minister or his adversaries,” he added. A day earlier, Mr Danon’s tweet – which included an out-of-service phone number at the Israeli foreign ministry – fuelled speculation that the Israeli government was directing him in order to pressure Mr Biden, or that perhaps he was trying to embarrass Mr Netanyahu.

  • Jailed Chinese lawyer Yu Wensheng wins human rights award

    A jailed Chinese lawyer who defended other human rights lawyers arrested in a sweeping crackdown against activism has won an international human rights award, the jury said on Thursday. Yu Wensheng was arrested in Jan. 2018, a day after publishing an open letter calling for reforms. The Martin Ennals award, named for a former secretary-general of Amnesty International, has been awarded annually since 1994.

  • Josh Hawley's wife pens Fox News editorial detailing protests, death threats over husband's election response

    Ms Hawley called the protest 'an assault' on her home, though there was no damage and no violence occurred

  • Murkowski says after seeing 'pretty damning' evidence, she doesn't think Trump could ever be re-elected

    Previously unreleased footage of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot shown during Wednesday's impeachment proceedings left Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) "angry," "disturbed," and "sad," she told reporters Wednesday night. The video and audio showcased the brutality of some members of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol. In one clip, an officer was shown getting crushed in a doorway, while other videos showed officers getting shoved as they tried to keep rioters back. "I don't see how after the American public sees the whole story laid out here ... how Donald Trump could be re-elected to the presidency," Murkowski told reporters. The House impeachment managers put together a timeline detailing where the rioters were at the Capitol, Trump's messages to the mob, and pleas lawmakers made to Trump in an attempt to get his supporters to leave the complex. The managers are trying to prove that Trump incited an insurrection, and they are making "a strong case," Murkowski said. "The evidence that has been presented thus far is pretty damning." More stories from theweek.comThe most important person in the impeachment trial is missing. It isn't Trump.Would the Capitol mob have killed Mike Pence?5 brutally funny cartoons about Republicans' twisted impeachment logic

  • White House says it will defer to CDC on reopening schools

    Facing criticism that President Joe Biden has not acted aggressively enough on reopening schools, the White House on Thursday said it’s aiming for a full reopening but will defer to science experts on how to achieve it in the middle of a pandemic. The White House drew criticism this week when it said schools would be considered opened if they teach in-person at least one day a week. Asked about it Thursday, press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden hopes to get students in the classroom five days a week as soon as it’s safe.

  • Man dies by suicide outside U.S. representative's Texas home

    Police said there is no reason to believe there is a further threat to Van Duyne, a Republican. The FBI is assisting in the investigation.

  • Philippines to get China-donated vaccines this month for troops, medical staff

    The Philippines is set to receive 600,000 doses this month of Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine donated by China, a portion of which will be used to inoculate military personnel, a senior government official said on Thursday. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told a regular news conference the Feb. 23 arrival of the vaccines is certain, but they would not be administered without the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

  • Trump publicly attacked Pence during the Capitol riot knowing Pence was in trouble, GOP senator suggests

    Former Vice President Mike Pence was a perhaps unlikely hero of Day 2 of former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial — unlikely because the people lauding his courage and extolling his patriotic fulfillment of duty to God and country were the fairly progressive Democrats prosecuting the case that Trump incited an insurrection on Jan. 6. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), for example, described how Trump "turned on" Pence, who was presiding over the counting of President Biden's electoral win. The impeachment managers also showed new footage of Pence and his family being evacuated from the Senate chamber down some back stairs at 2:26 p.m., 14 minutes after the pro-Trump mob broke into the Capitol building. Pence had been evacuated from the Senate chamber at 2:14 p.m. At 2:24 p.m., the impeachment managers noted, Trump tweeted: "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution. ... USA demands the truth!" Video from the siege made clear the rioters were reading Trump's tweets and hunting for Pence. The time Pence was evacuated and Trump tweeted were public knowledge before the impeachment trial started, but it wasn't clear if Trump knew what was going on in the Capitol when he tweeted about Pence. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) may have provided that missing link, HuffPost's S.V. Date and Politico's Kyle Cheney suggest. Trump called Tuberville during the insurrection, via Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) phone, and Tuberville told reporters Wednesday night he had informed Trump that security personnel had just whisked Pence out of the chamber for his safety. "He didn't get a chance to say a whole lot because I said, 'Mr. President, they just took the vice president out. I've got to go,'" Tuberville said. Less than 10 minutes later, Trump tweeted his attack on Pence, strongly suggesting, Date notes, that "Trump was aware of the danger Pence was in at the time he posted his tweet." More stories from theweek.comThe most important person in the impeachment trial is missing. It isn't Trump.Would the Capitol mob have killed Mike Pence?5 brutally funny cartoons about Republicans' twisted impeachment logic

  • Saudi TV: Yemen rebel attack on airport sets plane on fire

    Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday targeted an airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia with bomb-laden drones, causing a civilian plane on the tarmac to catch fire, the kingdom's state television reported. The attack threatened to escalate Yemen's grinding war. No one was hurt in the assault, but the damaged passenger plane at Abha airport served as a powerful reminder of the danger that Houthi rebels pose to Saudi Arabia, which nearly six years ago launched a bombing campaign that has devastated the Arab world's poorest country.