China

Charlottesville tiki torch carrier pleads guilty in Jan. 6 riot case A former Marine who carried a tiki torch ahead of a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., pleaded guilty Friday in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tyler Bradley Dykes, of Bluffton, S.C., pleaded guilty to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers who were protecting the Capitol. The crime carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years supervised release, according to the plea agreement. Click on the link for the full article

Giuliani bankruptcy creditors fire off subpoenas to try to establish whether Trump owes him money Creditors in disgraced former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case have issued subpoenas to his associates to try to determine whether his former client Donald Trump owes him money, as the ex-mayor has previously claimed. The Committee of Unsecured Creditors — individuals and entities that Mr Giuliani owes — served more than a dozen subpoenas on Friday in an effort to recover his assets. Mr Giuliani filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being hit with a massive $148m verdict for defaming two election workers. The former Trump lawyer listed a “possible claim for unpaid legal fees against Donald J Trump” in a January bankruptcy court filing. The following month, he elaborated in a hearing that he is owed $2m in unpaid wages for a spurious legal battle to overturn election results in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. However, Mr Giuliani underscored that the money is owed not by Mr Trump himself, but by either Trump’s campaign and/or the Republican National Committee. He also suggested that the arrangement was made verbally, calling it a “word-of-mouth situation.” The Independent previously reported that the creditors’ committee is “discussing” taking legal action against Mr Trump to recover this $2m — a move that Mr Giuliani has said he does not want to take. Now, the creditors’ committee has issued subpoenas to obtain documentation to substantiate the unpaid wages claim. Click on the link for the full article

All the more reason to watch with the sound off.

The score is still 0 - 0, but the Caps can't even maintain in the Rangers end on the power play. Caps look totally outmatched.

Residents push for renaming of Trump Plaza to disassociate from ex-president While Donald Trump endures the ignominy of being the first former US president to face criminal trial, there is further humiliation brewing, with a movement to strip the Trump name from a building in his home state. Residents at Trump Plaza, a 40-story high-rise in the suburban New York city of New Rochelle, are pushing for the building to be renamed and to escape a near-two decade association with the legally-troubled ex-president and real estate mogul. It would follow the slew of buildings in New York City and elsewhere that have abandoned the Trump name since he entered politics, as Trump has become a divisive, much-loathed figure by liberals even as he is loved by his fans. Owners of Trump Plaza apartments – there are 194 units – are in the middle of a vote which would further erase Trump’s name – something which would not just have implications for the people who live in the building. Trump Plaza is located in the center of New Rochelle, a couple of blocks from restaurants and the local movie theater. Renaming the building would spare residents and workers in this racially diverse city of 80,000 people from encountering, at least visually, the Trump name. Some people would be pleased with that. “That would be perfect. That would be great,” said Delva Domond, 65. Click on the link for the full article

It's complicated. Trump's hair history.

Yeah, I told my Hawaiian friend about that place, and he went there on a Monday and it was the same. He just left and said he'd try it again another time after the newness had worn off and the lines had died down.

NSFW language: The Fat and the Furious

Republican Calls for Violence Are Going to Get People Killed It’s already happened: Heather Heyer, 32, a civil rights activist born and raised in Charlottesville, Virginia, was killed on August 12, 2017, by James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of people protesting the Unite the Right rally that had been held the night before on the campus of the University of Virginia. Fields, who drove to Charlottesville from his home in Maumee, Ohio, to attend the white supremacist rally, hit Heyer with his car and killed her as she stood on a street talking with other protesters. Twenty-four other protesters were injured in the incident. I raise this seven-year-old murder because of statements made recently by two prominent Republicans calling for violence and vigilantism. On Sunday, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake told a crowd in Lake Havasu to “strap on a Glock” to ready themselves for the upcoming election in November because “they’re going to come after us with everything.” Lake also urged her followers to “put on our helmet or your Kari Lake ball cap. We are going to put on the armor of God.” On Monday, fist-raising insurrectionist macho-man Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton responded to reports of pro-Palestinian protestors blocking the streets of multiple cities by putting out a tweet calling for political violence against protesters: “I encourage people who get stuck behind the pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic: take matters into your own hands to get them out of the way. It’s time to put an end to this nonsense.” He also tweeted a video of a man dragging protesters off a street and throwing them to the ground with the comment: “How it should be done.” Later the same day in an appearance on Fox News, Cotton told an interviewer that “if something like this happened in Arkansas on a bridge there, let’s just say, I think there would be a lot of very wet criminals that have been tossed overboard, not by law enforcement but the people whose road they’re blocking.” It’s tempting to use the cliché “I don’t know what planet these people are on” to describe these kinds of calls for political violence by Republicans, but I know all too well what planet we’re all on. On this planet, when prominent people call for violence in public comments, such rhetoric sometimes leads to violence and even death. When Donald Trump urged a large crowd of his supporters gathered on the Ellipse on Jan. 6 to “fight like hell,” enough of them took him at his word that five people lost their lives in the hours immediately following Trump’s call for violence at the Capitol that day. Responding to the violent Unite the Right rally that ended in the death of Heather Heyer, instead of denouncing the violence, Trump claimed that “there were good people on both sides.” In a country with more guns than there are people, telling a crowd at a rally to be ready to “strap on a Glock” to prepare for an election isn’t just irresponsible, it is a statement intended to provoke gun violence, of which we already have more than we can handle. Cilck on the link for more

Kansas Congressman Jake LaTurner won’t seek reelection, creating race for open seat U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican who represents Kansas’ 2nd District, announced Thursday he won’t seek reelection, creating another open race in a furious partisan fight for control of the House. LaTurner, 36, was first elected to the House in 2020. In a statement, LaTurner said it was time to “pursue other opportunities and have the benefit of spending more time with my family.” “It has become fashionable for some to fear for the future of this country and act as though the problems we face and the divisions that exist are insurmountable, but that is just not true. Undoubtedly, the current dysfunction on Capitol Hill is distressing, but it almost always has been; we just didn’t see most of it,” LaTurner said, adding that he remains optimistic about the future of the country. LaTurner joins a wave of Republican members who have resigned or retired as their party’s narrow majority in the House has struggled to govern. His announcement came as a surprise to many Kansas Republicans and his departure creates an open race in a district that largely supports Republican candidates. Click on the link for the full article

5 shot, including 2 kids, during senior skip day water gun fight in Greenbelt Police in Prince George's County are investigating after multiple people were shot in the Greenbelt area near Schrom Hills Recreation Center. Police believe it began as a senior skip day for students across multiple high schools in the area. Investigators with Greenbelt Police say a group of roughly 600 people had planned the water gun fight in Bowie Friday afternoon. Bowie Police and Prince George's County Police dispersed the group, who made its way to Schrom Hills Park in Greenbelt. During a press conference Greenbelt Chief Police, Richard Bowers, said that Park Police patrolled the area at 1:30 p.m. and reported no one was in the park. About an hour later, Greenbelt Police was notified of the large crowd at the park. Greenbelt Police, Maryland State Police, and Prince George's County Police all responded to monitor the situation and keep an eye on the group. According to officials there were between 20-30 officers present to monitor this large group. Police say, within 15 minutes of officers being present 8-10 shots rang off. Five boys were injured in the shooting ranging from ages 16-to-18-years-old. One of the victims is currently in critical condition. The remaining four are stable according to hospital employees. Police are still searching for the shooter, they believe the suspect slipped away while everyone was panicked and running out of the park. Officers do not think they are looking for multiple shooters. Click on the link for the full article

Compton community leader mistakenly detained by L.A. County deputies demands answers A Compton community leader wants accountability from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after deputies broke into his home and wrongfully detained him. On April 18, 2023, deputies burst into the home of Derrick Cooper, 55, at around 4 a.m. with their weapons drawn. They handcuffed him and hauled him outside while he was still naked from the waist down. Cooper was sleeping and said he was shocked waking up to “guns and flashlights in my face” as deputies ordered him to get out of bed. “They looked at me, saw a black man laying in the bed, buck naked and said, ‘We got a criminal here,” Cooper said. “Thank God they didn’t shoot me because that’s exactly what I was thinking the whole time.” Cooper, who was only wearing a shirt at the time, said he asked if he could put on some pants or clothing to cover himself but was denied by authorities. He was walked over to a police car parked on Compton Boulevard where he was placed inside and detained. “When I was in the police car, I’m sitting there and I hear the dispatch on the radio say, ‘You’re at the wrong building. That’s not the person that we’re looking for. Let him go.’” Deputies later confirmed they had been searching for a burglary suspect at the wrong address. A year later, Cooper said he is still waiting for answers as to why the incident, which he described as humiliating and a violation of his rights, happened the way it did. “It’s been one year and nothing has changed,” Cooper said. “Nothing has changed. I want accountability.” Click on the link for the full article

Boeing hit with 32 whistleblower claims, as dead worker’s case reviewed Boeing has been the subject of 32 whistleblower complaints with the workplace safety regulator in the United States during the past three years, newly obtained documents reveal, amid mounting scrutiny of standards at the beleaguered aircraft maker. The figures shed light on the extent of alleged retaliation by Boeing against whistleblowers as the Virginia-based company is facing mounting questions over its safety record and standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which handles claims of retaliation against workers who blow the whistle on their employer, received the complaints of retaliation between December 2020 and March of this year, according to a table of figures compiled last month by officials at the agency. The documents, obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera via a freedom of information request, do not provide details of the alleged workplace violations or alleged retaliation by Boeing in each case. However, 13 of the complaints were filed under a statute that protects whistleblowing related to aviation safety, specifically. Fifteen of the complaints were filed under a statute related to workplace safety, two were filed under the category of fraud, and one related to the control of toxic chemicals. Click on the link for the full article

Maryland high school student arrested after authorities discovered a 129-page document detailing school shooting plan, police say A Maryland high school student was arrested and charged with threat of mass violence Wednesday after police say they discovered evidence revealing the teen had plans to commit a school shooting. Authorities discovered a 129-page document they say was written by 18-year-old Alex Ye, the Montgomery County Department of Police said in a news release Thursday. Authorities learned of the writings following an exchange Ye had via Instagram messaging with an unidentified person who felt a school shooting was “imminent,” according to the teenager’s arrest warrant. The unidentified person knew Ye from an inpatient treatment at a local psychiatric facility, the warrant says. Ye referred to the writings as “his memoir,” which begins with a disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, the arrest warrant says. “In the document, Ye writes about committing a school shooting, and strategizes how to carry out the act. Ye also contemplates targeting an elementary school and says that he wants to be famous,” police said in the news release. A search warrant obtained by investigators “led to internet searches, drawings and documents related to threats of mass violence.” The police department said it was notified by the FBI about Ye’s alleged writings, which prompted a joint investigation by the two agencies. Ye is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, where he is being held without bond until his scheduled June 3 trial. Mass violence is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said during a Friday news conference. Click on the link for the full article

Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal A helicopter hovers over the Gee family farm, the noisy rattle echoing inside their home in this rural part of West Virginia. It’s holding surveyors who are eyeing space for yet another power line next to the property — a line that will take electricity generated from coal plants in the state to address a drain on power driven by the world’s internet hub in Northern Virginia 35 miles away. There, massive data centers with computers processing nearly 70 percent of global digital traffic are gobbling up electricity at a rate officials overseeing the power grid say is unsustainable unless two things happen: Several hundred miles of new transmission lines must be built, slicing through neighborhoods and farms in Virginia and three neighboring states. And antiquated coal-powered electricity plants that had been scheduled to go offline will need to keep running to fuel the increasing need for more power, undermining clean energy goals. “It’s not right,” said Mary Gee, whose property already abuts two power lines that serve as conduits for electricity flowing toward the biggest concentration of data centers — in Loudoun County, home to what’s known as Data Center Alley. “These power lines? They’re not for me and my family. I didn’t vote on this. And the data centers? That’s not in West Virginia. That’s a whole different state.” The $5.2 billion effort has fueled a backlash against data centers through the region, prompting officials in Virginia to begin studying the deeper impacts of an industry they’ve long cultivated for the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue it brings to their communities. Critics say it will force residents near the coal plants to continue living with toxic pollution, ironically to help a state — Virginia — that has fully embraced clean energy. And utility ratepayers in the affected areas will be forced to pay for the plan in the form of higher bills, those critics say. But PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, says the plan is necessary to maintain grid reliability amid a wave of fossil fuel plant closures in recent years, prompted by the nation’s transition to cleaner power. Click on the link for the full article

Let's see if he can live without oxygen.

I think she even mentioned in the ruling that she sought advice from her bosses at the 11th circuit. Something that's straightforward that she'd too stupid to figure out herself.

NY AG asks Trump civil fraud judge to declare $175M bond ‘without effect’ The New York attorney general’s office has asked a judge to void the $175 million bond former President Trump secured to put off paying the larger monetary damage award in his civil fraud case. State lawyers said in court filings Friday that the former president and his co-defendants — the Trump Organization and its top executives, including his two eldest sons — failed to prove the surety Trump used to obtain the bond actually has the money to back it. They also say the defendants did not show that “sufficiently secure and ascertainable” collateral backs the bond. “Based on the foregoing, the People respectfully request that the Court deny Movants’ motion to justify the surety, declare the Bond to be without effect and order that any replacement bond be posted within seven days, along with such other and further relief the Court deems necessary and appropriate,” lawyers with New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) office wrote in a 26-page filing. Click on the link for the full article

Judge denies Trump co-defendants' motions to dismiss charges in classified documents case U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday denied motions by two of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants to dismiss charges in the classified documents case. Trump aide Walt Nauta's lawyers asked this month for five charges against him to be dismissed, while lawyers for Carlos De Oliveira, who was the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida estate, requested that all charges against him be tossed out. In her filing in Florida, Cannon said De Oliveira "does not meaningfully dispute that the charging document satisfies the minimum pleading standards." She also noted that his lawyers can challenge prosecutors' evidence during a trial, "where the Special Counsel will bear the entire burden of proof as to all essential elements of the obstruction offenses." Similarly, she dismissed the motion from Nauta's lawyers, who had argued that obstruction charges against him were unconstitutionally vague. Click on the link for the full article

META'S AI IS TELLING USERS IT HAS A CHILD AI chatbots are apparently trying to be just like us — but in the case of Meta-formerly-Facebook, those attempts are coming off very weird. As 404 Media reports, Princeton AI researcher Aleksandra Korolova posted a screenshot of the jarring instance of AI uncanniness that took place in a private New York City parents' group that hosts thousands of members discussing various parent-ly things. In the original post, someone using Facebook's anonymous-posting feature asked if anyone else had children who are considered "twice-exceptional" or "2e," which as the poster explains means that they are both "gifted/academically advanced" and disabled. Facebook's chatbot weighed in, writing about its own alleged child. "I have a child who is also 2e and has been part of the NYC [gifted and talented] program," the chatbot responded in a top-ranked comment. "We’ve had a positive experience with the citywide program, specifically with the program at The Anderson School. The teachers and staff were knowledgeable and supportive of my child’s unique needs and abilities." Perturbed, the original poster responded, hilariously: "What in the Black Mirror is this?!" "Haha I’m just an AI," the chatbot quipped back. "I don’t have any sinister intentions like the show Black Mirror!" Click on the link for the full article

I'm not talking about just weed.

House Republican insults 'tubby' Matt Gaetz to his face in heated discussion: report Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) reportedly got into a heated discussion Thursday with rebellious members of his caucus who have been trying to block foreign aid from passing. CNN's Haley Talbot reports that Van Orden grew frustrated with Gaetz and his fellow hardliners who have spent months derailing aid packages to American allies Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. "DVO called Gaetz 'tubby' in fiery scrum," reports Talbot. "GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden entered the 20 minute heated floor conversation as it was ongoing and dared his right-wing colleagues to move on the motion to oust Johnson." "Matt Gaetz just wants to be on TV," Van Orden said, according to Soellner. "They’re holding up foreign aid and not governing. I’m not OK with that." Click on the link for the full article

I don't think it's a good idea for Congress members to be doing drugs a) because they could divulge information from national security briefings while under the influence, and b) they could potentially be blackmailed by foreign operatives or bad actors to pass legislation or do other things not in our best interests.