“A homeowner found herself behind bars after attempting to reclaim her home from an alleged squatter. Loletha Hale was charged with criminal trespass following a confrontation at her property on Dec. 9, according to WSB-TV 2. … The situation began in August when Hale discovered Sakemeyia Johnson, whom she described as a squatter, occupying her home. However, a judge ruled that Johnson was not a squatter due to her relation to a previously evicted tenant’s partner.” [hat tip — RRS] (12/21/24)
“The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, collapsed during crowd surges as people grew desperate for food items while the country grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. The dead included 22 people in southeastern Anambra state’s Okija town, where a philanthropist on Saturday organized a food distribution, local police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. Ten others died in the capital, Abuja, during a church-organized similar charity event. Police said they were investigating the two incidents, only days after another stampede in which 35 children were killed.” (12/22/24)
“President-elect Trump unleashed a tirade against Panama Canal tolls Saturday, claiming the U.S. is being ripped off by high prices. In a Truth Social post Saturday, Trump complained at length about the fees levied on U.S. ships going through the Big Ditch. The Panama Canal’s tolls can range from three to six figures depending on how large a vessel is and how much cargo it carries, with the largest ships being charged as much as $500,000. ‘The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security,’ Trump wrote in his post. ‘A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports.’ The incoming president criticized former President Carter, who Trump said ‘foolishly gave it away, for One Dollar.'” (12/21/24)
“The New York Police Department’s top uniformed officer, known as the Chief of Department, abruptly resigned Saturday amid allegations he demanded sexual favors from a subordinate. Jeffrey Maddrey, a close ally of New York Mayor Eric Adams and a 33-year veteran of the NYPD, has submitted his resignation, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced. The resignation came hours after the New York Post reported Maddrey demanded sexual favors from a female lieutenant in exchange for awarding her hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of overtime pay.” (12/21/24)
“The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is ‘playing with fire’. U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department said Friday that $295 million in military sales had been approved. A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement urged the U.S. to stop arming Taiwan and stop what it called ‘dangerous moves that undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait’. Taiwan is a democratic island of 23 million people that the Chinese government claims as its territory and says must come under its control. U.S. military sales and assistance aim to help Taiwan defend itself and deter China from launching an attack.” (12/21/24)
“A car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least two and injuring dozens more in what local officials said they believed was a deliberate attack. The prime minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, said police had detained a man originally from Saudi Arabia in connection with the incident, which he said had claimed two lives and injured at least 60 people, 15 of them severely, according to city authorities. Haseloff said that the suspected perpetrator, believed to be 50, had lived in Germany since 2006 and worked in Magdeburg as a doctor, and appeared to be acting alone.” (12/21/24)
“A Russian missile strike killed one person and wounded nine others early on Friday morning, Ukrainian officials said …. First responders were battling fires in the streets, and several high-rise buildings were damaged. Debris had fallen in at least four districts in the city, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app. More than 600 buildings, including more than a dozen medical sites, were without heat after the strike damaged a heating main in the city’s southwestern Holosiivskyi District, he said.” (12/20/24)
“A Republican spending bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump failed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown that could disrupt Christmas travel. By a vote of 174-235, the House rejected the spending package, which was hastily assembled by Republican leaders after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk scuttled a prior bipartisan deal. Despite Trump’s support, 38 Republicans voted against the package along with all but three Democrats. Government funding is due to expire at midnight on Friday. If lawmakers fail to extend that deadline, the U.S. government will begin a partial shutdown that would interrupt funding for everything from border enforcement to national parks and cut off paychecks for more than 2 million federal workers.” (12/19/24)
“Embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his Cabinet Friday. The prime minister’s office confirmed late Thursday that Trudeau will participate in the swearing-in ceremony and chair a meeting with his new Cabinet later Friday. Trudeau is facing rising discontent over his leadership, and the abrupt departure of his finance minister on Monday could be something he can’t recover from. A rising number of Liberal lawmakers are calling on Trudeau to resign but new Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday Trudeau has the ‘full support of his Cabinet.'” (12/20/24)
“U.S. immigration authorities in 2024 removed the largest number of people in the country illegally [sic] in a decade, according to a new report. In fiscal year 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed 271,484 noncitizens — the highest number since 2014, according to the agency’s year-end report, released Thursday. … The deportation numbers showed a 90% increase from the past two fiscal years, according to ICE data.” [editor’s note: These people seem to be as punctilious as Hitler’s SS was at documenting their own crimes; hopefully they’ll eventually face justice as well – TLK] (12/19/24)
