List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

An Obama-era White House email transmitting then-vice president Joe Biden’s schedule to his son, Hunter Biden, was sent during planning for a Biden family gathering to mark the one-year anniversary of Beau Biden’s death, The Independent has learned. The communications between an aide for the then-vice president and his youngest and sole surviving son are part of a House Oversight Committee request for Obama-era records sent to the National Archives. The oversight committee chairman, Representative James Comer, said in a letter to the archives released on Thursday that it was “concerning” to the Republican-led panel that Hunter Biden was a recipient of a 26 May 2016 email showing that the then-vice president was scheduled to speak with then-Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko the next day. Republicans have spent the last several years insinuating — without evidence — that then-vice president Biden abused his authority to help Hunter Biden’s business interests. One long-running but oft-disproven allegation states that Mr Biden ordered the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor to disrupt an investigation into a Ukrainian energy firm that employed his son on its board. In reality, the decision to push for the prosecutor’s sacking was official US policy driven by the prosecutor’s failure to pursue corruption cases, and it was supported by the EU, the IMF, World Bank and other stakeholders. In his letter to the Archives, Mr Comer has asked for unredacted copies of four emails that had been released in redacted form pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request. The Independent reviewed copies of the emails that have been publicly available on a website hosting the contents of a hard drive purportedly abandoned by Hunter Biden at a Delaware computer shop. According to the redacted versions of the emails, certain information was blocked out because it contained personal information about the then-vice president’s schedule. But the unredacted versions purportedly from Hunter Biden’s computer show that following the call with Mr Poroshenko, the then-vice president returned home to Delaware. The day of the call — and Mr Biden’s trip home — was 27 May 2016, nearly one year to the day since Mr Biden’s eldest son, then-Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, passed away after a long battle with brain cancer. Mr Biden’s public schedule from those days is available on archives of the Obama White House website, and they reveal that he had no public events for the period of 28 May 2016 to 30 May 2016. But another email from the purported Hunter Biden laptop, dated 30 May 2016, shows that the then-vice president’s staff coordinated movements of 23 Biden family members to and from a private memorial gathering that day, the exact anniversary of Beau Biden’s death. Hunter Biden, who was not present for the gathering, wrote in his recent memoir Beautiful Things that he spent that weekend in Monte Carlo for a meeting of Burisma’s board. But the younger Biden’s children — the then-vice president’s grandchildren — were listed as attending the gathering, which would have provided a reason for Hunter Biden to be kept aware of his father’s schedule. The day after the gathering, 31 May 2016, was also Memorial Day. That day, Joe Biden resumed his public schedule when he commemorated his late son at a ceremony to rename Delaware’s National Guard headquarters in Wilmington as the Major Joseph R “Beau” Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center. The late Delaware attorney general was an Iraq war veteran who had served a Major in the Army National Guard’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. The White House and a representative for Mr Comer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent. Read More Hunter Biden lawyer asks to withdraw from case after special counsel named to investigate president’s son Prosecutors in the Hunter Biden case deny defense push to keep gun charge agreement in place Trump and Hunter Biden legal blockbusters rock Washington – but offer a contrast Hunter Biden lawyer asks to withdraw from case after special counsel named in probe Prosecutors in the Hunter Biden case deny defense push to keep gun charge agreement in place Hunter Biden’s lawyer fight to keep plea deal

An Oklahoma father killed his wife and three children, who are all under the age of 10, in what police are calling a “massacre.” The Oklahoma City Police Department says that it responded to a “domestic call” at a property to find five people suffering from gunshot wounds. Three people were already dead when police arrived on the scene on Wednesday night. The two who were still alive were suspected shooter Ruben Armendariz, 28, and one child. Although both were transported to nearby hospitals, they have since died, said investigators. The police said they think Armendariz and victim Cassandra Flores, 29, were married but separated; investigators said that it looked like Armendariz “shot the four victims before turning the gun on himself.” Police added that the investigation is ongoing, as they are trying to “piece together the chain of events that led to the massacre.” The three children were identified as 9-year-old Hillary Armendariz, 5-year-old Damaris Armendariz, and 2-year-old Matias Armendariz. Flores’s best friend, Jennifer Johnson, told News 9, “It’s just not real. I never expected that of Ruben at all. Like he was so quiet, but they’ve been together since she was like 17, so you know they’ve been together for a long time.” “This investigation is in the very early stages, and detectives are currently trying to piece together the chain of events that led to the massacre,” police said in a statement. Read More Texas woman who helped hide US soldier Vanessa Guillén’s body sentenced to 30 years in prison Man in Bosnia kills his ex-wife, posting it on Instagram, and 2 more people before taking his life

Former President Jair Bolsonaro asked a computer programmer if it was possible to infiltrate Brazil’s electronic voting system

Police in Georgia are investigating online threats to members of a grand jury that voted to indict Donald Trump and 18 of the former president’s allies accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in a sprawling criminal case. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is “aware that personal information from members of the jury” has been shared across social media platforms, the agency announced on 17 August, less than three days after a sweeping charging document was unsealed. As required under state law, the names of the jurors are listed in the 98-page indictment. The sheriff’s office is working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to “track down” the origins of the threats in the county and in other jurisdictions, according to the statement. The former president’s supporters have published the jurors’ names, social media profiles, addresses and phone numbers as part of an apparent harassment campaign following right-wing outrage over a sweeping criminal indictment, the fullest accounting yet of an alleged effort among Mr Trump and his allies to coerce officials into a fraudulent scheme to subvert the votes of millions of Americans. Far-right message boards and platforms dominated by pro-Trump users such as Gab and Truth Social have been flooded with comments and posts surrounding the case and the jurors, with pledges to “doxx” or publish a person’s personal information online with the intent to harass them. Accounts on fringe far-right message boards such as 4chan and The Donald have threatened to follow jurors home and “photograph their faces,” labelled their names a “hit list,” posted images of jurors’ alleged profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn, tried to determine their political affiliations and religious and ethnic backgrounds, and promoted violence against them. The Independent’s review of posts across Truth Social, where users vie for the audience of the former president himself, shows users rushing to Mr Trump’s defence while trying to identify and smear members of the jury who indicted him. Users on the far-right, pro-Trump message board The Donald, frequently a hotbed for violent rhetoric targeting political opponents, have promoted the killing of jurors and suggested igniting civil war. This is a developing story Read More Trump insists Democrats are angry at his indictment too as Georgia jail booking nears – live updates Will the Georgia gang of 18 turn on Trump? Trumpworld hanging by a thread as co-accused pressured to flip on ex-president Who is Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who could take down Trump

This story is the first of Bloomberg’s Open House series, featuring some of Hong Kong’s most interesting homes.

Rishi Sunak’s government said UK banks could face fines if they don’t preserve easy and free access to

China Evergrande Group sought Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York on Thursday, a move that protects its

A songwriter and model who co-wrote one of Katy Perry’s hit songs has mysteriously vanished and her loved ones fear someone is holding her captive. Swedish-born Camela Leierth-Segura, 48, was last seen in the Beverly Hills area back on 29 June, according to the California Department of Justice’s missing persons page. Her longtime friend Cecilia Foss told The Independent that it’s not like her to just vanish without a trace and the fact that her beloved 19-year-old cat Morris is also missing has made it even more of a mystery. “My worst fear is that someone has her, and is hurting her,” Ms Foss said, adding that Ms Leierth-Segura is not someone who would just disappear for seven weeks without responding to anyone. “If she was going for a drive to clear her head, I get it,” Ms Foss said. “But it’s been seven weeks. And no one has heard from her. Nobody goes for a seven-week drive.” Ms Leierth-Segura had already been missing for several weeks before her friends and family put the pieces together. “She was always so busy with projects but when 10, 20, 50 of us discovered none of us had heard from her, we got really worried,” Foss said. She said their friend Liz Montgomery called for a welfare check and Beverly Hills police responded to her apartment where the landlord informed them she had been evicted. Neighbours have told local news they hadn’t seen her in weeks, pointing out that the usually well-tended plants on her balcony are now dead. Ms Montgomery filed a missing person report and has been in contact with her family. Beverly Hills Police have alerts out for Camela, her black cat Morris and her car. It’s not known if the cat is with Camela. Ms Foss and their friend Liz Montgomery are in close contact with Camela’s family in Sweden. “They are devastated and overwhelmed,” Ms Foss said. “With them there and Camela here, I think it’s just very hard for her family to even comprehend that she is missing.” Ms Leierth-Segura’s last text message was sent on 29 June, and her Ford Fusion car was last seen on police cameras leaving Beverly Hills the following afternoon, 30 June. But it’s not clear who was driving the vehicle. “She had mentioned it to all of us that she was having trouble; Covid definitely was not helpful for her because she’s a musician, model, actress, all that stuff,” Ms Montgomery told The Los Angeles Times. “And there was no money coming in.” It is not clear when exactly she was evicted or where she was staying afterwards. In an Instagram post, Ms Montgomery also urged for help in tracking down the missing woman. “This is a personal friend of mine. A best friend. People are asking so, YES! PLEASE SHARE - HELP NEEDED! My dear friend of over 25 years is missing. LAST SEEN IN BEVERLY HILLS ON JUNE 29,2023,” she wrote. “We are extremely worried about her safety, and despite our best efforts, the local authorities have not been able to locate her. If you have any information, even the smallest detail can help, please reach out immediately.” She added: “She means the world to us and time is of the essence. Her family in Sweden is pleading for your assistance. PLEASE spread the word, SHARE this post, and help us bring Camela home safely. Thank you for your support and assistance in this critical matter.” “I’d like to think that nothing bad happened, but do I think something bad happened? Yeah,” she said. A GoFundMe has been created by her sister Lisa and loved ones are hoping money will help bring in information to find her. Read More Maryland police to announce ‘potential suspect’ in Rachel Morin murder investigation Camela Leierth-Segura – update: Search for missing Katy Perry songwriter after mysterious disappearance Musician who wrote Katy Perry hit song mysteriously vanishes from Beverly Hills

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak next Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy

Applied Materials Inc., the largest US maker of chipmaking machinery, gave a bullish forecast for the current quarter,

Since Donald Trump’s term as president ended and his power to pardon vanished with it in January 2021, he has managed to keep a wide range of former aides, confidantes and associates close to him by dispensing the millions of dollars he’s raised for his political action committee as legal fees for allies who’ve been caught up in investigations into his conduct. According to a Federal Election Commission disclosure report filed late last month, his Save America political committee spent roughly $20m on legal fees during the first half of this year. And a separate review of FEC filings dating back to when Mr Trump first reentered life as a private citizen shows the legal costs to be twice that amount dating back to the end of the ex-president’s term. The commission’s data reveals that Save America’s legal costs since January 2021 were $38m, the largest set of expenditures for the group. According to advisers to the ex-president, that amount represents legal fees not just for Mr Trump, but for dozens of former aides and associates who have become involved in the criminal investigations that have led to him facing four sets of charges in four separate courts. That group of aides includes Mr Trump’s two co-defendants in the criminal case pending against him in the Southern District of Florida, his longtime valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance supervisor at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. In a superseding indictment filed against the ex-president, Mr Nauta and Mr De Oliveira last month, prosecutors alleged that Mr Trump personally telephoned Mr De Oliveira and assured him that he would pay for his legal representation. The indictment also alleges that prior to that call, Mr Nauta conferred with another employee of the ex-president’s who vouched for Mr De Oliveira’s loyalty. In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the ex-president’s political operation pays legal fees for his associates “to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed”. But Mr Trump’s legal largesse does not appear to extend to a small number of aides who’ve incurred the ex-president’s wrath even though their legal exposure has come as a result of their work for him. One of the 18 co-defendants who was indicted along with the former president in a sprawling racketeering case brought by the Fulton County, Georgia district attorney’s office is Jenna Ellis, an attorney and commentator who first came to public attention as part of the self-described “elite strike force” that pushed unfounded claims of election fraud after Mr Trump lost the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden. Ms Ellis, who broke with Mr Trump and has endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in next year’s election, appears to be getting no help from the ex-president’s political operation. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) published on Tuesday, she included a link to a crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo, the right-wing competitor to GoFundMe that gained prominence in pro-Trump circles after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Her attorney, Mike Melito, said on the campaign’s page: “We will fight for Jenna. If you would like to help support our efforts please consider donating by clicking the link below. America and the profession of law are worth the fight”. Another of her former “elite strike force” compatriots turned Georgia co-defendants, ex-New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, also appears to be struggling financially under a crush of legal fees brought on by his work for Mr Trump — work that has reportedly gone unpaid for nearly three years. According to CNN, Mr Giuliani and his longtime counsel, Robert Costello, journeyed to Mar-a-Lago earlier this year to plead for Mr Trump to turn on the financial spigot and alleviate some of the ex-mayor’s legal bills, which reportedly have reached the seven-figure mark. The former prosecutor, who now faces criminal charges under the same type of Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law which he used against the Italian-American mob in the 1980s, left only with a promise by Mr Trump to pay for “a small fee from a data vendor” which hosts the contents of digital devices for discovery in a defamation suit against him by two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss. Mr Giuliani, who recently listed his New York City apartment for sale was described in a court filing for that case as “having financial difficulties” that impede his ability to produce discovery. It’s not known exactly why Mr Trump has refused to cover his former lawyer and longtime friend’s legal costs, but according to multiple reports, he became disillusioned with Mr Giuliani’s work after it failed to result in him remaining in the White House despite having lost the 2020 election. Read More Trump judge makes barbed comment about Elon Musk as contents of Jack Smith’s Twitter warrant revealed Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta’s lawyer may have conflict of interest, prosecutors say All of Trump’s lawsuits and criminal charges - and where they stand Trump’s team creates legal defence fund to pay for growing number of allies caught up in his legal problems Connecticut official continues mayoral campaign despite facing charges in Jan. 6 case Biden’s approval rating on the economy stagnates despite slowing inflation Canadian woman sentenced to nearly 22 years for sending ricin letter to Trump

LL Flooring Holdings Inc. shares slumped Thursday after its founder withdrew his proposal to buy the flooring business,