“A leader of Japan’s Yakuza crime syndicate who tried to sell Iran weapons-grade plutonium has pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking narcotics, weapons and nuclear material. Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, of Japan entered his guilty plea Wednesday in a Manhattan courtroom to six federal conspiracy and trafficking counts, for which he now faces decades in prison when sentenced. The development comes more than two years after Ebisawa was arrested and initially charged with drug and weapons trafficking offenses, with a superseding indictment unsealed in February alleging he tried to sell nuclear material secured from Myanmar to an undercover federal agent posing as an Iranian general.” (01/09/25)
“Armenia could soon be on the path to joining the European Union, the country’s prime minister claimed Thursday against a backdrop of growing tensions with the Kremlin, which was once one of its top allies. At a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Yerevan, Nikol Pashinyan said the government would back a new bill introduced in parliament that would effectively launch the South Caucasus nation’s bid to become a member of the 27-country bloc. Pashinyan said the bill would only begin the process of diplomatic negotiations.” (01/09/25)
“Firefighters battling the Pacific Palisades blaze in Los Angeles are running into empty fire hydrants, hampering their ability to contain the fire. The Pacific Palisades neighborhood relies on three water tanks, but all three million-gallon tanks were out of water by 3 a.m. Wednesday after an extraordinary amount of water was used, according to Janisse Quiñones, the chief executive officer of the LA Department of Water and Power. Quiñones said during a Wednesday press conference that the agency is sending more water to the area but is still unable to fill the neighborhoods’ tanks fast enough, according to the LA Daily News. She urged LA residents to conserve water in order to maintain water pressure to fight the fires. Erik Scott, a fire captain at the LA Fire Department, told SFGATE on Wednesday that the dry fire hydrants were predominantly in the higher elevation areas of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.” (01/09/25)
“The U.S. Justice Department is suing several large landlords for allegedly coordinating to keep Americans’ rents high by using both an algorithm to help set rents and privately sharing sensitive information with their competitors to boost profits. … The department, along with 10 states including North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado and California, is accusing six landlords that collectively operate more than 1.3 million units in 43 states and the District of Columbia of scheming to avoid lowering rents.” (01/09/25)
“The body of Youssef Ziyadne, an Israeli Bedouin taken hostage by Hamas-led fighters on Oct. 7, 2023, has been found in a tunnel in Gaza, along with evidence suggesting his son may also have been killed, the Israeli military said on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear how Youssef Ziyadne had been killed but Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said his death did not appear to have been recent. … Shoshani said special forces soldiers had conducted a ‘complex and difficult operation’ in a tunnel in the area of the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Tuesday, and that the body of Ziyadne had been recovered close to bodies of armed guards from Hamas or another Palestinian militant group. Two other children of Ziyadne, who were also abducted at the same time, were released in an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners that took place in November 2023.” (01/08/25)
“A fresh Los Angeles wildfire that ignited in the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday night is threatening homes and iconic L.A. landmarks, and it’s prompted authorities to issue expanding evacuation orders. The rapidly growing Sunset Fire that’s threatening Hollywood landmarks along with homes was one of multiple fires burning out of control across Los Angeles County into Thursday morning.” (01/09/25)
“Port terminal operators and the longshoreman’s union reached a tentative deal on Wednesday that averts a port strike that would have shut down the major East and Gulf Coast ports next week. The deal must still be voted on by union members but offers workers new protections against automated technology replacing jobs. … The looming strike could have shut down all major ports from Maine to Texas had a deal not been reached by Jan. 15, costing the economy hundreds of millions of dollars a day, according to some estimates.” (01/08/25)
“Romania’s ruling coalition agreed on Wednesday to rerun a two-round presidential election on May 4 and May 18 and stuck to an original plan to endorse a single candidate, the Liberal Party, one of the three coalition parties, said. Three consecutive ballots to elect a new president and parliament in the European Union and NATO state descended into chaos when Calin Georgescu, a little-known far-right, pro-Russian politician, won the first presidential round on Nov. 24. Amid suspicions of Russian interference, the top court annulled the presidential election and ordered the new coalition government to rerun it in its entirety. Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, will stay on as head of state until the May election.” (01/08/25)
“The Justice Department said Wednesday that it will release special counsel Jack Smith’s findings on Donald Trump’s efforts to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election but will keep under wraps for now the rest of the report focused on the president-elect’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The revelation was made in a filing to a federal appeals court that was considering a defense request to block the release of the two-volume report while charges remain pending against two Trump co-defendants in the Florida case accusing the Republican former president and current president-elect of illegally holding classified documents. Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge presiding over the classified documents case, granted the request Tuesday, issuing a temporary block on the report.” (01/08/25)
“Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum chided President-elect Trump for saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico, saying she has a new name for the [continent of North America]. ‘Mexican America. That sounds nice,’ Sheinbaum quipped Wednesday in Mexico City during a press conference, Reuters reported. Sheinbaum cited a map from 1607 during the press conference and was joined by Mexico’s former culture minister, Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real. ‘The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century … as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent,’ Suarez del Real said, pointing to the map. Sheinbaum’s remark followed Trump holding his own press conference Tuesday, where he made a series of announcements and further previewed his upcoming second administration, including saying he plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico.” (01/08/25)
