VENEZUELA
Opposition reports raid
A leading opposition party said that a group of armed men with their faces covered on Friday raided its headquarters, taking cellphones, computers and ID cards from staffers and raising tensions the night before a nationwide protest against President Nicolas Maduro. Popular Will members said that Juan Guaido, who belongs to the party, was not inside at the time. They said they believe the armed men were some kind of government or security officers, although they did not identify themselves or show a court order. Guaido arrived at the 18th-floor office in Caracas minutes later and called for an end to Maduro’s “dictatorship,” saying the men who broke into the office were “cowards” for covering their faces and not identifying themselves. “What they were looking for was to intimidate us,” Guaido said. “They didn’t succeed.”
UNITED STATES
Robocall bill makes progress
House and Senate leaders on Friday said that they had reached an agreement in principle on merging bills to clamp down on robocalls and sent it to President Donald Trump this year. The final bill would require phone companies to verify that phone numbers are real and to block calls for free. It would also give government agencies more ability to go after scammers. Phone companies have been rolling out verification tools after prompting from regulators. They are also offering call-blocking apps for smartphones and many home phones, although not always for free.
UNITED STATES
Epstein guards refuse deal
Federal prosecutors offered a plea deal to two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his death, but the officers have declined the offer, people familiar with the matter said. The existence of the plea offer signals that the Department of Justice is considering criminal charges in connection with the wealthy financier’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August. The city’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to publicly discuss the investigation.
UNITED STATES
Kanye West follows Cash
Kanye West has followed the Johnny Cash route and performed for inmates at a Houston jail. In secret from the public, the star rapper-turned-gospel singer performed songs on Friday from his new gospel album Jesus is King. He and his choir performed for more than 200 male inmates at one jail facility before crossing the street to another facility and performing for a smaller crowd of female inmates. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said West’s representatives asked jail officials about doing secret shows. The concerts were performed two days before West is to speak at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston. The events were reminiscent of prison concerts given by country singer Cash in California.
UNITED STATES
Boy catches big catfish
A nine-year-old New Mexico boy landed a 19kg blue catfish on Sunday last week while fishing in the Elephant Butte Reservoir. Kris Flores said that his son, Alex, made the big catch by himself and shattered dad’s record of reeling in a 16kg fish. Flores said the fourth grader named the fish Wailord after a Pokemon character. The father said his son released the fish back into the reservoir after taking some photos and videos. The biggest fish reportedly caught in Elephant Butte was 35kg.
A Zurich city councilor has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting, and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media. Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later wrote on social media that she had been practicing shots from about 10m and only found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target. “I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I
The governor of Ohio is to send law enforcement and millions of dollars in healthcare resources to the city of Springfield as it faces a surge in temporary Haitian migrants. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday said that he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program under which about 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020, but said the federal government must do more to help affected communities. On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost directed his office to research legal avenues — including filing a lawsuit — to stop the federal government from sending
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense