A special counsel concluded Thursday that Joe Biden should not face criminal charges for retaining classified documents, but painted a damaging portrait of the US president as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.
The report removed a legal cloud hanging over Biden as he seeks reelection in a contest expected to be against Donald Trump -- who is facing a criminal trial for removing large amounts of secret documents after he lost the White House, then refusing to cooperate with investigators.
However, in a shock for the Biden campaign, special counsel Robert Hur said that his probe had found a president with such reduced mental capacities that he could not remember the dates even of his vice presidency under Barack Obama and the death of his son Beau to cancer in 2015.
A Trump spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, reacted by posting on X: "How are we supposed to trust his ability to lead our country if his memory has 'significant limitations' ?!?!"
The White House said Thursday it was "pleased" by the decision not to file charges against Biden, 81. However, it added that "we disagree with a number of inaccurate and inappropriate comments in the special counsel's report."
Hur was appointed by Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, last year after classified material was found at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware, and in a former office.
The 388-page report said Biden had "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials" in the period after he left the vice presidency -- well before he defeated Trump in 2020 to become president.
Hur -- previously nominated by Trump to be the lead prosecutor for the state of Maryland -- said documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other matters were recovered by FBI agents.
However, "We conclude the evidence is not sufficient to convict, and we decline to recommend prosecution of Mr Biden for his retention of the classified Afghanistan documents," Hur said.
Hur then said he did not think a jury would want to convict Biden, who came across to investigators as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."
"It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him -- by then a former president well into his eighties -- of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness," the special counsel said.
Hur noted clear differences in the Biden and Trump classified documents scandals -- in particular that "after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr Trump allegedly did the opposite."
"According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for many months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.
"In contrast, Mr Biden turned in classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to the search of multiple locations including his homes, sat for a voluntary interview. and in other ways cooperated with the investigation."
Trump, 77, pleaded not guilty in June to multiple charges of unlawfully retaining national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Trump was indicted by another special counsel, Jack Smith, and accused of endangering national security by holding on to top secret nuclear and defense information after leaving the White House.
Trump kept the files -- which included records from the Pentagon, CIA and National Security Agency -- unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them, according to the indictment.
Chelsea Boss, Mauricio Pochettino has said the Blues are happy that their striker Nicolas Jackson could be with the team when they face Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Pochettino also expressed sadness for Senegal after they were recently eliminated from the AFCON round of 16 at the hands of the host nation Ivory Coast.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Liverpool, Pochettino also admitted that Chelsea have missed the Senegal international.
“We are waiting. All I can say is that maybe he will be there [against Liverpool]. The other day, Ghana lost and were out, and Inaki Williams arrived a few hours before and played in the second half to beat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. Why can’t Jackson arrive and score the winning goal?
“Without Nico [Nicolas] we miss the possibility that he provides. He runs a lot, which is massive and helps the team to press high, and also scores goals because he has a good record at the moment.
“I think we miss him a lot and so we are happy because we can recover him, but on the other side sad because they lost. But being selfish we are happy because maybe he can be with us at Liverpool,” Pochettino said.
Super Eagles goalie, Stanley Nwabali thanks Nigerians for concerns during injury scare
Thanks to everyone that checked up and showed disquiet in one way or the other at this strenuous time, I appreciate. We’re all human and anything is prone to happen. Onto the next one! ❤️🇳🇬
New York will expand its legal definition of rape to include various forms of nonconsensual sexual contact, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday.
The state’s current limited definition was a factor in writer E. Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse and defamation case against former President Donald Trump. The jury in the federal civil trial rejected the writer’s claim last May that Trump had raped her in the 1990s, instead finding the former president responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse.
The current law defines rape as vaginal penetration by a penis. The new law broadens the definition to include nonconsensual anal, oral, and vaginal sexual contact. Highlighting Carroll’s case at a bill signing ceremony in Albany, the Democratic governor said the new definition will make it easier for rape victims to bring cases forward to prosecute perpetrators. The law will apply to sexual assaults committed on or after Sept. 1.
“The problem is, rape is very difficult to prosecute,” Hochul said. “Physical technicalities confuse jurors and humiliate survivors and create a legal gray area that defendants exploit.”
In Carroll’s case against Trump, which stemmed from an encounter at a Manhattan luxury department store, the judge later said that the jury’s decision was based on “the narrow, technical meaning” of rape in New York penal law and that, in his analysis, the verdict did not mean that Carroll “failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”
While various states define rape in different ways, every state criminalizes oral, anal, and vaginal sexual contact that is nonconsensual, according to Sandi Johnson, a senior legislative policy counsel at Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network. Prior to its new law, New York defined penetration of the vagina or other bodily orifices with anything other than a penis as “sexual abuse” rather than “rape.”
Many other states continue to place unwanted oral or anal sexual contact in a category other than rape.
Johnson said New York’s new guidelines validate what has happened to survivors. Calling a criminal sexual act anything other than rape “kind of sanitizes it,” she said.
At Tuesday’s bill signing, state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who sponsored the legislation, said the new changes would also make it easier for members of the LGBTQ community to hold perpetrators of sex crimes accountable.
“We can’t have our laws ignore the reality that so many New Yorkers, particularly LGBTQ New Yorkers, among others, have experienced,” the Democrat said.
“Before today, many of those assaults wouldn’t be able to be classified as rape in New York state,” he said. “But now we fixed that language.”
The world of benches is revolutionized. First it was Klopp, who announced his goodbye to Liverpool once this season ends . A few hours later, Xavi, more or less, did the same and announced that on June 30 he will stop being Barça coach . In addition to both official announcements, a few days ago another coach with culé ancestry warned those around him that he was considering putting an end to his time at Arsenal.
Arteta has a contract in force until 2025 , but the passing of the years and the tensions experienced in recent seasons seem to have also taken their toll on the coach. The good relationship that he maintains with the ownership of the London club would allow him to agree on a possible consensual exit once the season ends. Mikel has already communicated this to his entourage, although at the moment maximum discretion is required while waiting to see how the final stretch of the competition develops.
The news of Arteta's possible release coincides with Xavi's goodbye. Simple coincidences since to date, as SPORT has confirmed, no one from Barça has contacted the coach or his agents. However, it is no secret that Laporta has always held Arteta in high regard and on more than one occasion has commented that he has an ideal profile to one day land on the bench of the Barça first team .
Goodbye with three titles? Arteta has not had an easy time leading Arsenal. One FA Cup (2019-20) and two Community Shields (2020 and 2023) are the three titles achieved by a team that in recent campaigns is once again fighting for the Premier League and occupying a Champions League place. A pressure and wear and tear that had made him reconsider his future and the need to face a change of scenery or a possible rest.
In all the surveys or surveys carried out in the last few hours, the name of Mikel Arteta is well received by Barça fans as a possible replacement for Xavi for the 2024-25 season . The first obligatory step, the contractual release of the coach with Arsenal, could be on the way. Now it remains for Joan Laporta and his sports management to agree on the final name of the person designated to take over the difficult relief provided by Xavi Hernández.
The attention of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) has been drawn to a statement broadcast on the National Televisions of Mali and Niger announcing the decision of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from ECOWAS.
The ECOWAS Commission is yet to receive any direct formal notification from the three Member States about their intention to withdraw from the Community.
The ECOWAS Commission, as directed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government, has been working assiduously with these countries for the restoration of constitutional order. Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali remain important members of the Community and the Authority remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to the political impasse.
The ECOWAS Commission remains seized with the development and shall make further pronouncements as the situation evolves.
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, three West African countries ruled by military junta have announced their leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional economic bloc.
The three countries have been placed under some levels of sanctions after the democratic government was terminated by the military at various times.
Sunday’s joint announcement came at no surprise to many as the three nations at some points last year have threatened to engage in war any attempt of ECOMOG (the military coalition of the subregional body) to force out the military junta in Niger, the last of the three nationzs in which democracy was pushed out by a junta.
The decision by the three countries, announced in a joint statement read out on Niger national television, may however be seen as a blow to the bloc’s regional integration efforts after it suspended the three countries following military takeovers.
Since the coups, and despite the sanctions, negotiations and threats of military intervention, the military leaders have failed to provide a clear time table to return the countries to constitutional rule.
Instead, they have hardened their rhetoric against the bloc and accused it of being influenced by external powers. The three countries have also cut military and cooperation ties with former colonial master France, and turned to Russia for security support.
The three military leaders in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, have always posited that their interregnum was based on the need to restore security to their country and that they would only organise elections when they have fully arrested insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
A statement on Sunday by the Niger junta spokesman, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, read: “After 49 years, the valiant peoples of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger regretfully and with great disappointment observe that the (ECOWAS) organization has drifted from the ideals of its founding fathers and the spirit of Pan-Africanism,”
“The organization notably failed to assist these states in their existential fight against terrorism and insecurity.”
With this, it is unclear for now how the decision by juntas in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali will impact the 15-member regional bloc where goods and citizens move freely.
According to the bloc’s treaty, member states wishing to withdraw must give a written one-year notice. It is unclear for now if the three states have done so. The treaty say they must continue to abide by its provisions during the year-long period.
The three countries are also members of the eight-nation West African Monetary Union (UEMOA) that uses the West Africa CFA franc currency pegged to the Euro. The monetary union, following decisions by ECOWAS leaders after the coups in Mali and Niger, had cut off their access to the regional financial market, and the regional central bank. It later restored Mali’s access but Niger remains suspended.
Napoli Club President, Aurelio De Laurentiis confirms Victor Osimhen is looking to leave Napoli after the Nigerian said he knows his next move. “We’ve known this since last summer, otherwise the negotiation to extend wouldn't have taken so long. We already knew he'd join Real, PSG or an EPL club."
Aliou Cissé, the Senegal coach, was not well during yesterday’s match against Cameroon 🇨🇲 and has been hospitalized afterward. He is currently undergoing additional tests in the emergency room, and we hope for a positive outcome. #AFCON2023
Super Eagles assistant coach, Finidi George says discipline and tactical switch in formation earned the team victory over Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Finidi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after a pulsating match that the boys played to instructions in a very tactical game against the hosts.
“We are very happy with the victory but nothing has been done yet.
“It was a tactical game, we switched formation and had to defend most of the time and using counter attacks from the flanks.
“It’s a team (Cote d’Ivoire) that is very good on the ball, so we had to sit back a bit, close the spaces and go on counter attacks,” he said.
The coach said in spite of the win, the boys will not get carried away but work harder in their next match against Guinea Bissau on Monday.
“We will keep our cool in the next match because nothing has been achieved yet, we go all out again,” he said.
NAN reports that Nigeria who are currently second in Group A will face Guinea-Bissau on Monday at the Stade Félix Houphouët Boigny in Abidjan for their third and final round of Group A matches from 5.00 p.m. (local time)
The government of Cote d’Ivoire has declared Thursday, January 18, a public holiday for students. It also said that some government parastatals will work half a day in the country as they are expected to close work by 1 pm.
The gesture is to drum more support for the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire ahead of their second group A game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria slated for 5:45 pm (Nigerian time) at the Alassane Outtara Stadium in Abijdan this evening.
According to the information, the government decided to give every citizen enough time to prepare for the all-important game.
Cote d’Ivoire started their AFCON campaign with a 2-0 victory over Guinea Bissau while Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their opening game.
“All the students in the primary and secondary didn’t go to school today but the university students will go to class in the morning. Some government agencies will also work half day and they are expected to close at work by 1 pm today. Every citizen is expected to give maximum support to our team against the Super Eagles,” a citizen of Cote d’Ivoire told Nation Sport.
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's civil fraud case has been subject to a bomb threat, Sky News's US partner network NBC News reports.
Police in Nassau County - east of New York City - responded to the threat at Arthur Engoron's home on Thursday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
Closing arguments in the trial are scheduled today, just hours after a bomb squad was called to the judge's home on Thursday morning.
It is not known if he was home at the time.
On Wednesday, the former president's lawyer, Chris Kise, asked the judge if Mr Trump could speak during the closing arguments - a request he denied.
Court spokesman Al Baker said security will be increased after a threat was made against the judge, without giving further details.
Mr Trump is still expected to attend court, where the state of New York seeks nearly $370m (£291m) from him in penalties for overstating his net worth to banks.
He took part in a campaign event in Iowa on Wednesday night and said he was being "forced" to return to New York for the closing arguments, despite there being no obligation for him to be present.
"This is a rigged and unfair trial," he wrote in a post on social media.
Because of the alleged threat, there was a delay in processing lawyers and members of the media through security lines into court on Thursday morning.
Protesters, meanwhile, chanted behind with banner reading "No Dictators in the USA" while briefly blocking traffic.
Mr Engoron will issue a verdict at a later date without a jury, after he found Mr Trump liable for fraud in September - leaving the trial to focus on how much money he should surrender as ill-gotten gains.
The lawsuit, brought forward by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleges Mr Trump and his associates inflated the value of his assets by billions of dollars to secure better loan terms.
Trump's court cameo will continue to propel his popularity whilst Prosecutor warns of 'frightening future' if Trump wins case.
Mr Trump, who has decried the case as a political with hunt, has denied wrongdoing.
The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has complained the trial interferes with his campaign, though he uses court appearances to rally support with inflammatory remarks to news cameras.
But Mr Engoron denied his attempt to make his own closing argument after Mr Trump refused to accept rules barring him from making a "campaign speech".
The lawsuit is just one of many legal troubles Mr Trump faces as he campaigns to challenge President Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.
A 60-day state of emergency has begun in Ecuador after a convicted gang leader vanished from his prison cell.
Adolfo Macías Villamar, better known as "Fito", is the leader of Los Choneros, a powerful gang which is thought to have been behind some of the deadly prison riots in recent months.
He was being held in the maximum security wing of a jail in Guayaquil.
The emergency measures include the suspension of the right of assembly and a nightly curfew.
They were announced in a decree issued by President Daniel Noboa, who took office less than two months ago as the second-youngest holder of the post in Ecuadorean history.
He won the election after a campaign overshadowed by unprecedented levels of violence, including the assassination of another candidate, Fernando Villavicencio.
President Noboa said the emergency would allow the military and police to take control of the country's prisons at a national level. Los Choneros control much of the compound at La Regional prison, where Fito was being held.
"These narco-terrorist groups intend to intimidate us and they think we will give in to their demands," the president said.
But he added: "We will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not rest until we have restored peace."
Fito is a notorious criminal suspected of having played a role in last year's killing of Villavicencio, whom he had sent death threats.
Police said they had noticed his absence early on Sunday and could not find him anywhere in the prison wing.
He often defies the authorities, most recently by releasing a "narcocorrido", a slick music video glorifying his criminal exploits, which was partly recorded inside the jail.
The video shows the Mariachi Bravo duo singing along with Fito's daughter, known as Queen Michelle, and praising the "man of honour" they say the criminal is.
"I take my hat off to you, Fito, my dad," his daughter croons, claiming that "through his veins good blood flows".
The video shows Fito caressing a fighting cockerel and freely chatting to fellow inmates.
The fact that the video could be recorded behind bars suggests that the ban on electronic devices inside the jail had been breached.
It is still not clear if Fito managed to leave the prison compound in the port city or if he may be hiding somewhere inside.
A police commander said he could "neither confirm nor deny" an escape, nor could he say for how long the convict had been missing.
He said hundreds of officers were searching the prison.
La Regional jail is located in a large prison compound which houses a total of five penitentiaries and more than 12,000 inmates. Fito has spent much of his past 12 years behind bars there.
In August, he was briefly transferred to La Roca, a smaller jail in the same compound, which is considered safer because of the lower number of inmates. It took thousands of soldiers to move him.
When Fito was transferred, graffiti appeared in the football field of his old jail demanding he be returned But the convict's lawyer appealed against the decision to transfer him and won, and Fito was moved back to La Regional after just a month.
Fito has escaped from the prison compound before. In 2013, he and 17 other inmates broke out of La Roca and fled in boats on the River Daule, which borders the compound.
The fugitive was captured along with his brother, a fellow member of Los Choneros, four months later at their mother's home in the city of Manta.
Fito has been in prison ever since. After the killing in December 2020 of Jorge Luis Zambrano, he took over the leadership of Los Choneros.
The gang, which is named after its power base in the town of Chone, mainly engages in drug trafficking and extortion and has forged links with Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel.
He won the euros with Germany in 1972 and also won the Champions League (formerly European Cup) with Bayern Munich in 1974, 1975 & 1976.
As a player: 🏆 World Cup 🏆 EUROs ⚽ 2 Ballon d’Or 🏆 5x Bundesliga 🏆 4x German Cup 🏆 3x European Cup 🏆 1x Cup Winners' Cup 🏆 2x UEFA Super Cup 🏆 1x Intercontinental Cup 🏆 3x American Soccer League
👔 As a coach: 🏆 World Cup 🏆 UEFA Cup 🏆 Ligue 1 🏆 Bundesliga
He is one of these managers, alongside Didier Deschamps (France) and Maria Zagallo (Brazil), to have won the World Cup as a player (1974) and as a Manager (1990).
He won the Balloon d'Or twice (1972 & 1976)
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, one of the greatest players of all time, has died at the age of 78.
Beckenbauer, nicknamed 'Der Kaiser', won the World Cup with West Germany as a player in 1974 and a manager in 1990, while at club level he is considered a Bayern Munich legend.
A family statement read: "It is with deep sadness that we announce that my husband and our father, Franz Beckenbauer, passed away peacefully in his sleep yesterday, Sunday, surrounded by his family.
"We ask that you be able to grieve in silence and refrain from asking any questions."
27 Attorneys General wrote to the court saying that removal of Trump from the ballot could cause widespread chaos.
The Supreme Court in the United States of America has said that it will hear a landmark case to determine whether Donald Trump is eligible to run for president.
The justices decided to consider Mr. Trump’s appeal against Colorado’s decision to bar him from the state’s ballot for 2024.
The decision in this case will be implemented nationally, and the trial is scheduled for February.
Several states are pursuing lawsuits to disqualify Trump from running for office on the grounds that he participated in an act of rebellion during the US Capitol riot that occurred three years ago.
The legal challenge hinges on whether a constitutional amendment from the Civil War era makes Mr. Trump ineligible to run for office.
The attorneys general from 27 states submitted a brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Colorado’s judgement, which led to the court’s decision to consider Mr Trump’s appeal.
They contend in it that Mr. Trump’s exclusion from the vote would “create widespread chaos.”
The submission further read, “Most obviously, it casts confusion into an election cycle that is just weeks away… Beyond that, it upsets the respective roles of the Congress, the States, and the courts.”
Although the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment prohibits anybody who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office, the attorneys representing the former president contend that Trump is exempt from this provision.
They took the argument further by saying, “The Colorado Supreme Court decision would unconstitutionally disenfranchise millions of voters in Colorado and likely be used as a template to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters nationwide.”
Additionally, Mr. Trump has filed an appeal challenging the Maine election officials’ decision to remove him from the ballot.
Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, said that she had certified the state’s ballots for the forthcoming presidential primary elections and that Mr. Trump’s name was on them.
The presidential candidates that will run in November’s election will be determined in part by the results of each state’s primary elections.
Colorado’s is scheduled for early March, not long after it is anticipated that the Supreme Court will rule on Mr. Trump’s case.
Griswold, in a statement, said, “The United States Supreme Court has accepted the case, and Donald Trump will appear on the ballot as a result.”
The Colorado Supreme Court’s divided 4–3 ruling last month is the first instance in US history that the 14th Amendment has been applied to remove a presidential contender from the race.
The Supreme Court will examine the interpretation of the provision for the first time.
In November’s election, Mr. Trump is the current front-runner for the Republican nomination against the Democratic incumbent, President Joe Biden.
Attempts to remove Mr. Trump from office have been rejected by courts in Minnesota and Michigan. There are still outstanding cases, one of which is in Oregon.
With three justices that were nominated by President Trump during his administration, the US Supreme Court has a conservative majority.
However, they decisively decided against him in his cases contesting his loss to Mr. Biden in 2020.
On Friday, the court decided to accelerate the case, setting a date for oral arguments on February 8.
The opening brief from Mr. Trump’s legal team is to be submitted by January 18th.
By January 31st, the organisation advocating for Mr. Trump’s disqualification must present its case.
The involvement of the highest court in the United States has evoked analogies to the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which resulted in a Supreme Court case.
By stopping Florida’s vote recount, the conservative-majority court effectively gave Mr. Bush the win.
On the day of the US Capitol riot, supporters of Trump stormed Congress as senators were confirming Joe Biden’s election victory.
The then-president called on protestors to “fight like hell” and march “peacefully” to the Capitol on that day, repeating bogus accusations of widespread election fraud. The event was staged outside the White House.
Republicans who oppose Mr. Trump contend that he ought to be disqualified for his behaviour during the violence as well as for his and his campaign’s attempts to void the election results in areas where he lost.
Although prosecutions in federal court and a state court in Georgia centre on Mr. Trump’s purported attempts to influence the results of the 2020 presidential election, he has not been charged with inciting insurrection in any of the cases.
An Alaska Airlines flight traveling from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, had to make an emergency landing Friday night after a portion of the aircraft blew out mid-air.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 left Portland International Airport at 4:52 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, according to the public flight tracking website FlightAware. The aircraft returned to Portland and landed safely a little before 5:30 p.m.
Social media video obtained by CBS News appeared to show that one of the passenger window panels had been blown out.
The aircraft reached approximately 16,000 feet about six minutes into the flight before beginning its descent, according to FlightAware.
The jet had 174 passengers and six crew members aboard. In a statement provided to CBS News, Alaska Airlines said that Flight No. 1282 "experienced an incident this evening soon after departure" and "landed safely back" in Portland but did not elaborate.
Immediately after the incident, the pilot radioed to the air traffic controller, declaring that the flight had depressurized.
"We're declaring an emergency," the pilot said. "We do need to come down to 10,000."
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the crew reported a "pressurization issue." Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said they were launching investigations.
CBS News learned that the plane, a Boeing 737-MAX 9, had been recently delivered to the airline in October.
This type of aircraft comes equipped with a rear emergency exit door, used mainly by international airlines, and has a seat configuration that allows for more passengers on the plane. Most U.S. airliners don't use that configuration and design the area to appear as a window from the inside of the aircraft.
In a statement sent to CBS News, Boeing was "working to gather more information" and was in contact with Alaska Airlines.
Boeing said it has a technical team standing by to support the investigation.
Alaska Airlines chartered a replacement flight following the ordeal to bring passengers from Portland to Ontario.
Alaska Airlines grounds all Boeing 737 Max 9 pending investigation, inspection and full maintenance
A statement from Alaska Airlines CEO, Ben Minicucci: At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day. Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days.
I am personally committed to doing everything we can to conduct this review in a timely and transparent way.
We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The NTSB is investigating this event and we will fully support their investigation.
My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead.
-Ben
Information for impacted guests Guests whose flights have been impacted by this grounding are being notified with guidance on next steps and are also encouraged to visit alaskaair.com for self-service options. We deeply apologize to our guests and are working to reaccommodate everyone as quickly as possible.
Zagallo, Germany's Franz Beckanbaeur & France's Didier Deschamps are the only players to have won the World Cup as a player and as a Coach.
The first person to win the FIFA World Cup as both a player and coach, Mario Zagallo was as instrumental a figure as any in Brazil's rise to prominence as a global football power.
Zagallo, who died Friday at the age of 92, was the only surviving member of the Brazil team that lifted the 1958 World Cup trophy, the country's first title and one that eased the pain of a traumatic defeat by Uruguay at the Maracana eight years prior.
"I was at the Maracana for that fateful loss to Uruguay. I was a soldier and it was my job to keep people off the pitch," said Zagallo of a result that prompted national mourning.
"I'll never forget the silence, the sadness and the disappointment of that defeat."
His legendary teammate Pele died in December 2022.
While that memory remained vivid, Zagallo would do his utmost to relieve the anguish by leaving his fingerprints on four of Brazil's five World Cup triumphs.
Emerging from the amateur ranks during the 1950s, Zagallo, a diminutive left winger, embodied Brazil's quest to blend attacking flair with defensive solidity, combining his own exquisite technique with admirable commitment.
He won five Rio de Janeiro state championships with Flamengo and Botafogo. He only made his Brazil debut at the age of 26, shortly before the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but became an integral member of the team, winning 37 caps.
Brazil's run of success The tournament, which launched 17-year-old sensation Pele on the world stage, ended with Brazil beating the hosts 5-2 in the final. Zagallo scored his team's fourth and then set up Pele for the final goal.
Four years later, Zagallo played every single minute as a Garrincha-inspired Brazil overcame an injury sustained by Pele in the group stage to retain their crown, coming from behind to beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in Santiago.
After retirement, Zagallo returned to the game as a manager, taking over former club Botafogo and leading them to two more state titles in a country under a military dictatorship.
Joao Saldanha had guided the national team to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico but was cast aside before the tournament in favor of Zagallo. Saldanha fell out with Pele and refused to bow to demands of then-president Emilio Garrastazu Medici on squad selection and, as a known Communist sympathizer, his fate was sealed.
Zagallo, just 38 at the time, inherited an exceptionally gifted squad -- including Pele, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho and Rivelino -- and oversaw six wins from six games as Brazil captured the title for a third time in four attempts.
Years ahead of his time as a player, Zagallo quickly demonstrated his merit as a coach. He later reflected on the fabled 1970 World Cup, dominated by a spectacular Brazilian display, as his "greatest memory as a manager".
A counter-intuitive type who believed in the number 13, Zagallo's unabating hunger for success brought further domestic titles with Fluminense and Flamengo before he ventured abroad to Kuwait, winning the Gulf Cup in 1976 and reaching that year's Asian Cup final.
Tireless pursuit of glory After taking United Arab Emirates to Italy in 1990, Zagallo was called on by Brazil for a final time, as technical director for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Together with his protege, Carlos Alberto Perreira, he guided the side to another world title after a dull final against Italy led to a penalty shootout.
His tilt at a fifth success fell agonizingly short in 1998, when Ronaldo, the pre-eminent player of his generation, suffered a mysterious fit before the final and Brazil slumped to a 3-0 defeat to hosts France.
Zagallo's durability and lasting aura ensured he was a natural choice to stand in briefly for the departed Luiz Felipe Scolari following Brazil's fifth World Cup victory in 2002.
"He was one of the greatest Brazilian players of his generation and, after winning the World Cup four times, he has left a permanent mark on Brazilian football," said Ronaldo of the man nicknamed "The Professor".
His wife of 57 years, Alcina de Castro, passed away in 2012.
A top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri, has been killed in an Israeli drone strike in the south of Beirut, according to Hezbollah media.
Arouri, one of the founders of Hamas's military wing, had headed the Palestinian militant group's presence in the West Bank.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him even before the Hamas-Israel war began on 7 October 2023.
Israeli officials declined to comment.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the blast killed four people and was carried out by an Israeli drone.
An explosion shook the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs on Tuesday evening causing chaos in the militant Hezbollah group's stronghold, but the nature of the blast was not immediately known.
It was not clear if the explosion inflicted any casualties in the Beirut suburb but videos circulating on social media showed serious damage and fire.
The explosion came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah along Lebanon's southern border.
Since the fighting began it has been concentrated a few miles from the border but on several occasions Israel's air force hit Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border targeting Israeli military posts.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped the year with fresh threats of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare for a war that can “break out at any time” on the peninsula, state media reported Sunday.
Kim lambasted the United States during a lengthy speech at the end of five days of year-end party meetings that set his country’s military, political, and economic policy decisions for 2024.
The meeting announced plans for further military development in the coming year, including launching three more spy satellites, building unmanned drones and developing electronic warfare capabilities, as well as strengthening nuclear and missile forces, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Pyongyang this year successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite, enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution, and test-fired the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal.
At the meeting that ended Saturday, Kim accused the United States of posing “various types of military threat” and ordered his armed forces to maintain “overwhelming war response capability”, according to KCNA.
It is a “fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula due to reckless moves by the enemies to invade us”, Kim said.
In an effort to deter Pyongyang, Washington earlier this month deployed a nuclear-powered submarine in the South Korean port city of Busan, and flew its long-range bombers in drills with Seoul and Tokyo.
The North has previously described the deployment of Washington’s strategic weapons – such as B-52 bombers – in joint drills on the Korean peninsula as the “intentional nuclear war provocative moves”.
“We must respond quickly to a possible nuclear crisis and continue to accelerate preparations to pacify the entire territory of South Korea by mobilising all physical means and forces, including nuclear force, in case of emergency,” Kim said.
‘Uncontrollable crisis situation’ At the meeting, Kim said he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, noting the “persisting uncontrollable crisis situation” which he said was triggered by Seoul and Washington.
Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated to a low point this year, with Pyongyang’s spy satellite launch prompting Seoul to partially suspend a 2018 military agreement aimed at defusing tensions.
“I believe that it is a mistake that we should no longer make to consider the people who declare us as the ‘main enemy’... as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification,” KCNA cited Kim as saying.
Kim ordered the drawing-up of measures for reorganising departments handling cross-border affairs, to “fundamentally shift the direction”.
Leif Easley, a professor of international relations at Ewha University in Seoul, said the emphasis on North Korea’s “significant military capabilities” was likely aimed at hiding the country’s poor economic achievements this year.
“Much of what state-controlled media publishes is recycled propaganda,” he said, adding: “Pyongyang’s bellicose rhetoric suggests its military moves are not only about deterrence but also domestic politics and international coercion.”
Pyongyang declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power last year and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nukes programme, which the regime views as essential for its survival.
The United Nations Security Council has adopted many resolutions calling on North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes since it first conducted a nuclear test in 2006.
A gunman killed at least 15 people and wounded at least 24 others at a Prague university on Thursday before he was "eliminated", according to police and Prague emergency services, marking the country's worst-ever mass shooting.
Czech police responded to the shooting at Charles University's faculty of arts building in Jan Palach Square shortly after 3 p.m. (1400 GMT). Police said the father of the shooter - a student at the faculty - was found dead earlier on Thursday.
"We always thought that this was a thing that did not concern us. Now it turns out that, unfortunately, our world is also changing and the problem of the individual shooter is emerging here as well," Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda told Czech Television.
Petr Nedoma, director of the Rudolfinum Gallery at a concert hall across Palach Square, told Czech TV he saw the shooter.
"I saw a young person on the gallery who had some weapon in his hand, like and automatic weapon, and shooting toward the Manes Bridge. Repeatedly, with some interruptions, then I saw as he shot, put hands up and threw the weapon down on the street, it lay there on the pedestrian crossing," he said.
Police sealed off the square and the area adjacent to the building, located in a busy part of town with a popular street leading tourists to Old Town Square.
Czech TV live broadcast showed several ambulances and police cars with flashing lights lined up alongside the building accompanied by the sound of sirens.
One witness told news website iDnes.cz that they got off at the tram stop by the school and "suddenly I heard shooting".
Klara, a student, told the news website she was among those who police evacuated from the building.
"It was terribly scary, there were a lot of policemen everywhere, who were shouting at us with submachine guns, telling us to run outside," she said.
An email sent to staff and students had said the shooter was in one of the buildings.
"Don't go anywhere, if you're in the offices, lock them and place furniture in front of the door, turn off the lights," the email said.
One X user posted a photo of a group of students, hiding crouched on a ledge of the building.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala cancelled his trip to the east of the country and was en route to Prague, he said on X.
Gun crime is relatively rare in the Czech Republic. In December 2019, a 42-year-old gunman killed six people at a hospital waiting room in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava before fleeing and fatally shooting himself, police said.
In 2015, a man fatally shot eight people and then killed himself at a restaurant in Uhersky Brod.
Angola is leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because membership is not serving its interests, oil minister Diamantino Azevedo said on Thursday.
Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, produces about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, compared with 28 million bpd for the whole group.
Confirming an earlier report by local news agency ANGOP, Azevedo told public television the decision to leave was because OPEC membership was not serving Angola's interests, but did not give further details.
Oil prices extended losses on the news, with Brent prices down over $1 to $78.50 a barrel by 1250 GMT.
Angola's exit is a setback for OPEC and its allies, just as the group tries to get members to cut output to support prices.
Last month, Azevedo's office protested a decision by OPEC to cut its production quota for 2024. Bloomberg also quoted Angola's OPEC Governor Estevao Pedro as saying the country was unhappy with its 2024 target and did not plan to stick to it.
Disagreements over African output quotas had earlier helped delay a meeting of the wider OPEC+ oil producer group.
A Vatican court has sentenced Italian cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former adviser to Pope Francis, to five-and-a-half years in jail for financial crimes.
Becciu, 75, was the most senior Vatican official ever to face such charges and once seen as a papal contender himself.
The trial centred on a London property deal that ended in huge losses for the Catholic Church.
He strongly denied charges including embezzlement and abuse of office.
Cardinal Becciu's lawyer said his client was innocent and would lodge an appeal.
He was on trial with nine other defendants accused of embezzlement, abuse of office and witness tampering. All were convicted on some counts and found not guilty on others.
The United States on Friday vetoed a proposed United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally.
Thirteen other members voted in favor of a brief draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained. The vote came after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a rare move on Wednesday to formally warn the 15-member council of a global threat from the two-month long war.
"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" Deputy UAE U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council. "Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?"
The United States and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the council that the draft resolution was a rushed, imbalanced text "that was divorced from reality, that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way."
"We do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war," said Wood.
The U.S. had offered substantial amendments to the draft, including a condemnation of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that Israel says killed 1,200 people and in which 240 people were taken hostage.
Britain's U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country abstained because there was no condemnation of Hamas.
"Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such an attack can never be carried out again," she told the council.
'HUMAN PINBALLS' Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour told the council the result of the vote was "disastrous," adding: "Millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance. Every single one of them is sacred, worth saving."
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan did not address the Security Council after the vote, but in a statement said: "A ceasefire will be possible only with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas."
The United States favors its own diplomacy over Security Council action to win the release of more hostages and press Israel to better protect civilians in Gaza as it retaliates against Hamas.
However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged on Thursday that there was a "gap" between Israel's intent to protect civilians and what has happened on the ground. Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 17,480 people have been killed.
Israel has bombarded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground offensive. The vast majority of the Palestinian enclave's 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes.
"There is no effective protection of civilians," Guterres told the council earlier on Friday. "The people of Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs – ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival. But nowhere in Gaza is safe."
A seven-day pause - during which Hamas released some hostages and there was an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid to Gaza - ended on Dec. 1.
After several failed attempts to take action, the Security Council last month called for pauses in fighting to allow aid access to Gaza, which Guterres on Friday described as a "spiraling humanitarian nightmare."
Foreign Affairs › "Elderly Man With Poor Memory": Biden Escapes Trial for keeping Classified Docs by HonNL(op): 10:55pm On Feb 08, 2024*. Modified: 12:17am On Feb 09, 2024
