“Jack ‘Ziz’ LaSota, leader of a so-called ‘death cult’ linked to at least six deaths across the United States, is in custody after months on the run, officials in Maryland confirmed Sunday. Also in custody is Michelle Zajko, who is a person of interest in the double homicide of her parents in Pennsylvania, and Daniel Blank, another member of the cult. LaSota, 33, was taken into custody on Sunday evening in Allegany County in northwestern Maryland. According to county jail records, LaSota, who uses female pronouns, is being held on charges of trespassing on private property, obstruction and having a handgun in her vehicle. … The three have been on the run since 2023, when they were found by law enforcement officers enacting a search warrant on a Chester City, Pennsylvania hotel.” (02/17/25)
“A Russian court has fined Alphabet’s Google 3.8 million roubles ($41,530) for hosting content on YouTube that included videos instructing Russian soldiers how to surrender, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Monday. Russia has for several years ordered foreign technology platforms to remove content it deems illegal, such as what it calls ‘fakes’ about the war in Ukraine, issuing small but persistent fines when it sees failures to comply.” (02/17/25)
“Talks between the United States and Russia over the war in Ukraine are set to begin Tuesday, multiple sources have told CNN. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz are all traveling to Saudi Arabia for the talks. A Saudi official told CNN they would be doing more than just hosting and would be involved in a mediation role. The Saudi team will be led by the country’s national security adviser. A Ukrainian official said they would not be present at the talks though Keith Kellogg, the Trump administration’s Russia-Ukraine envoy, discussed a ‘dual track’ set of negotiations and will be in Kyiv this week. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said the Ukrainians would be part of the negotiations.” (02/16/25)
“President Donald Trump’s bid to expand his power to fire executive branch officials reached the Supreme Court on Sunday — the first of many fast-moving legal challenges during the early weeks of Trump’s second term to land at the high court. Trump asked the justices to lift a lower-court order that temporarily reversed his dismissal of the head of a usually obscure office that enforces laws relating to federal employees. The Trump administration decried the lower court’s order reinstating Office of Special Counsel chief Hampton Dellinger as a grave and unwarranted intrusion on presidential power that threatened the president’s ability to oversee the executive branch.” (02/16/25)
“Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have entered Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing the regional governor’s office. Some people lined the streets to clap and cheer the fighters as they marched and drove into the city centre without resistance. It is the second city after Goma to fall to the rebels in the mineral-rich region in the past few weeks. The Congolese government has acknowledged its fall and urged residents to stay at home ‘to avoid being targeted by the occupying forces.’ The UN and European countries have warned that the latest offensive, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes, could spark a wider regional war.” (02/16/25)
“After two weeks of protests at the Utah state capitol, the state has banned collective bargaining for teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public employees, a move unions have vowed to fight.
Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed the ban even as protests continued outside the state capitol in Salt Lake City demanded he veto the controversial bill. Federal law protects the collective bargaining rights of workers in the private sector, but determining labor law for public employees is up to the states. Supporters of the law argued that labor unions were inherently political and that allowing them to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of public employees presented a conflict of interest and could burden the taxpayer.” (02/16/25)
“Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is working closely with the US to implement Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, which involves US ownership of the coastal strip, the removal of more than 2 million Palestinians and the redevelopment of the occupied territory as a resort. The Israeli prime minister was speaking after a meeting in Jerusalem with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who defended the Trump plan as bold and visionary. Rubio and Netanyahu blamed Iran for the violence in the Middle East and insisted Tehran would be stopped from developing nuclear weapons. Trump’s shock proposal earlier this month for a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ has been condemned around the world as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing, but Rubio and Netanyahu insisted it would proceed.” (02/16/25)
“Mouldy half-finished food on bunk beds, discarded military uniforms and abandoned weapons – these are the remnants of an abrupt retreat from this base that once belonged to Iran and its affiliated groups in Syria. The scene tells a story of panic. The forces stationed here fled with little warning, leaving behind a decade-long presence that unravelled in mere weeks. Iran was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most critical ally for more than 10 years. It deployed military advisers, mobilised foreign militias, and invested heavily in Syria’s war. Its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) built deep networks of underground bases, supplying arms and training to thousands of fighters. For Iran, this was also part of its ‘security belt’ against Israel.” (02/16/25)
“At least 18 people, including 14 women, were killed in a stampede at a railway station in India’s capital of New Delhi, the Press Trust of India news agency reported Sunday. Many of the victims were Hindu pilgrims who were traveling to the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj in northern India, according to Delhi’s caretaker chief minister, Atishi, who uses only one name. … The incident occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a footbridge that connects train platforms, authorities said.” (02/16/25)
“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reportedly cutting thousands of probationary workers as tax season ramps up, according to The Associated Press. The announcement comes just days after the Trump administration instructed agencies to fire most probationary workers who have not secured civil service protection. The layoffs could potentially impact hundreds of thousands of people, although the exact number has not yet been confirmed, the AP reported. In addition to the probationary cuts, President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 29 that federal employees would be fired if they did not return to in-person work by early February. A buyout offer, which has been extended, has already been accepted by about 65,000 employees. The Associated Press reported IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season, which began on Jan. 27, are not eligible for the buyout until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent recently to IRS employees.” (02/15/25)
