UNITED STATES
Fox settles defamation case
Fox News has reached a settlement with Venezuelan businessman Majed Khalil, the network said on Sunday, ending a defamation case in which Khalil said he was falsely accused on air of helping to rig the 2020 US presidential election against former US president Donald Trump. Khalil had filed a defamation suit against the news outlet and former host Lou Dobbs, arguing in filings that they had fabricated claims that he and other Venezuelans were involved in “orchestrating a non-existent scheme to rig or fix the election” against the former Republican president. A short letter sent to US District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan on Saturday said the parties had reached a “confidential agreement to resolve this matter” and expected to file a joint stipulation of dismissal next week.
UNITED STATES
Puppy survives police chase
A puppy that was thrown out of a moving pickup truck in Los Angeles during a high-speed police chase “miraculously” survived, authorities said. The Los Angeles police department on Saturday said that on April 7, just after midnight in a southeast part of the city, officers chased a suspect who was wanted in connection to an attempted murder and carjacking that occurred the previous month. The pursuit crossed through multiple cities across Los Angeles county, including Inglewood and Westchester, when a puppy was placed in a brown Michael Kors designer bag and then “tossed from the suspect’s moving vehicle,” police said. The puppy, an eight-week-old beige mixed breed, “miraculously emerged unharmed and was rescued by responding officers,” the police department said. The puppy is reportedly in the care of South Los Angeles Animal Services.
UNITED STATES
Senior resumes bank heists
A 78-year-old woman with two past bank robbery convictions faces new charges after authorities alleged she handed a teller a polite note demanding cash during a recent Missouri heist. Bonnie Gooch has been jailed on a US$25,000 bond after she was charged with one count of stealing or attempting to steal from a bank in the holdup on Wednesday in Pleasant Hill, local media reported. She was convicted of robbing a California bank in 1977 and one in a Kansas City suburb in 2020. Her probation in the second heist ended in November 2021. Court documents filed in Cass County in the latest case said the robbery note demanded “13,000 small bills,” adding: “Thank you sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” Surveillance video also recorded her banging on the counter, asking the teller to hurry, prosecutors said. She smelled strongly of alcohol when officers stopped her less than 3.2km away, with cash scattered on the vehicle’s floorboard, they added. “It’s just sad,” Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright said.
UNITED STATES
Hawaii surfer bitten by shark
A surfer was in serious condition after being bitten in the leg by a shark on Sunday morning off Honolulu, authorities said. The 58-year-old man was attacked shortly before 7am near Kewalo Basin, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said. Paramedics responded and “administered life-saving treatment to a patient who was surfing and suffered shark bite to right leg.” it said in a statement. “Honolulu Ocean Safety will continue to patrol the waters off of Kewalo Basin and Ala Moana after this morning’s shark bite. Lifeguards posted signs in the area,” EMS spokesperson Shayne Enright said.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed his call for a “limitless” expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats in comments reported yesterday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since US president-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory on Oct. 6. At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the US for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an “Asian NATO” that was escalating tensions and instability in the region. Kim also criticized the US over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion.
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
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