• In a new interview, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia didn't deny failing the bar exam.
• She also defended calling herself a lawyer.
• "The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China," she said of the bar exam.

President Donald Trump's new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is defending her self-description as a lawyer, while acknowledging that she took the bar exam and considered the results "inconsequential."

Zacharia's legal qualifications have faced growing scrutiny since her debut White House media briefing earlier this week, when shortly afterward she was asked which state she passed the bar exam in and replied: "When I moved to China."

In an interview Thursday with right-wing provocateur Jack Posobiec on Real America's Voice, she did not deny reports that she'd failed to pass the bar.

Zacharia, who moved to China after earning her law degree in 2011, told Posobiec she had already preregistered for the bar exam before moving to Beijing, where her husband was working at an American private equity firm.

"I didn't want to withdraw from that," Zacharia said of the bar exam. "And we knew we would be moving out to China, and I was obviously incredibly distracted and overwhelmed and excited for finally being married to someone who I had been long-distance from for at least a year."

Zacharia said she thought she'd take the bar and "see what happens."

"The results are somewhat inconsequential because I knew I wouldn't need the bar in China, and we left shortly thereafter," said Zacharia.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that Zacharia failed California's bar exam after graduating from Pepperdine University in 2011.

A Business Insider review of records for all 50 states and the District of Columbia found no evidence that Zacharia had been admitted to practice law in the US.

In China, Zacharia said she took a job in the international practice division of the Zhong Lun law firm, where she said she worked on multimillion-dollar shareholder agreements and cross-border transactions. She said she was one of four associates under a senior partner.

"After moving to China, I didn't really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on," Zacharia told Posobiec, adding, "There's no Chinese bar. I had enough credentials, which was my law degree, to be able to do this practice."

"I had all the necessary requirements to do that, and I was able to do it effectively and well," she said.

She also said that she never retook the bar exam after returning to the US and having the first of four children with her husband within six years.

Zacharia said she consulted with people within the legal field "for a very long time" and was told it would be acceptable to call herself a lawyer "and provide legal analysis, not legal advice."

"They said absolutely, absolutely across the board — you can call yourself a lawyer, you have a JD, and to buffer that, you have international legal experience in transactional law," Zacharia said.

"It's unfortunate that people dub this as some kind of conspiracy," she said. "The truth is, I was very careful how I executed this, and I never came across as someone who was an attorney at law."

Zacharia's LinkedIn page says she served as general counsel for Fix California, a political advocacy group, between January 2024 and March 2025. In California, it is a misdemeanor to practice law or to advertise yourself as an attorney without a license.

At least two watchdog groups have filed a complaint about Zacharia with the State Bar of California this week.

President Donald Trump and the Republican Party have desperately lobbed accusations of “socialism” and “communism” at liberals in their attempts to scare voters in this year’s midterm elections.

Conservative political leaders have instituted “anti-communist” propaganda to indoctrinate schoolchildren with anti-democratic talking points, and Trump’s regime has made a habit of railing against socialism in public — with some rather embarrassing results.

But fresh polling data suggests that a fairly large contingent of the Republican Party actually seems to like socialism. And it’s arguably all Trump’s fault.

The survey by the Economic Innovation Group and Echelon Insights shows that Republicans, at 29%, are more in favor of the government owning a stake in independent companies than independent voters and even Democrats.

The polling suggests majorities of each group oppose the idea. But the not-insignificant number of Republicans who are in favor suggests that Trump’s trend of having the government buy stakes in independent companies — communistic behavior that has led some critics to say he’s practicing “MAGA Maoism” — has led some conservatives to welcome the practice.

So much for all that past talk among Republicans about how the government shouldn’t be in the business of “picking winners and losers.” It has taken less than 10 years of Trump-style authoritarianism to get about a third of the GOP on the record endorsing an undeniably socialist policy, if not a communist one.

So as Republicans rattle on about the supposed scourge of socialism, it sure seems like a chunk of their own party isn’t on the same page.

Or, as Scott Lincicome, a vice president at the libertarian CATO Institute, put it: “The socialist threat is coming from inside the house.”

The post Trump’s desperate war on ‘socialism’ is failing within his own party appeared first on MS NOW.

Stefani e Dabrowski jogam novamente na quadra dura de Wuhan à 1h30 (horário de Brasília) desta sexta (16). Elas enfrentarão a dupla da mexicana Giuliana Olmos e a estoniana Ingrid Neel.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Dupla de Stefani fatura WTA 1000 de Pequim, o 5º título na temporada.
• Brasileiro Rafael Câmara substituirá Ocon na equipe Haas de F1 em 2027.
• Rádio Nacional transmite Estudiantes x Flamengo pela Libertadores.

Segunda melhor dupla da temporada, Stefani e Dabrowski podem alcançar a liderança caso conquistem o título em Wuhan. Além do WTA 1000 de Pequim, brasileira e canadense levaram o troféus em outros quatro torneios: WTA 1000 de Dubai, WTA 500 de Estrasburgo e dos WTA 250 Eastbourne (Inglaterra) e SP Open. 

A dupla já está classificada para o WTA Finals, torneio que reunirá as oito melhores duplas do ano, em Indian Wells (Estados Unidos), entre 8 e 15 de novembro.

​Three Charlotte cops have resigned and three more are facing termination after a Flock probe uncovered a text chain littered with racist messages, religious and sexual bias and a reported competition over who could arrest the most black people.

The group chat came to light after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officer Seth Elliott was caught using Flock's database to out an undercover cop to his drug dealer friend, which sparked an investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI).

When questioned by the NCSBI, Elliott, who has since resigned, admitted he ran the plate but denied knowing that it belonged to an undercover officer. He told agents that his friend had reached out to ask if Elliott could help identify a strange person hanging out around his father's business, so Elliott ran the plate through Flock's database.​ According to reporting from the Watauga Democrat, the NCSBI arrested Elliott in July and charged him with " illegally accessing a government computer, a Class 1 misdemeanor."

During its investigation into Elliott, the NCSBI downloaded data from his phone, which it turned over to the CMPD, where a subsequent review uncovered the racist text thread. ​According to anonymous sources who spoke to Charlotte's WBTV, the group chat included "numerous uses of the 'n-word' related to use of force and discharging firearms at black residents," and a competition to see who could arrest the most black people. In one text reportedly written by a member of the group, an officer said, "Our texts sound like a clan [sic] rally," according to a message reviewed by WCNC Charlotte, a local NBC affiliate. At a press conference on Thursday, CMPD Police Chief Estella Patterson said that an independent chain-of-command board unanimously voted for the officers' termination. Three have already resigned and the other three she "hopes to refer to as former employees."

The fallout won't end there. Every case these officers touched could now be called into question, and for good reason. In Giglio v. United States (1972), the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors must disclose information that could undermine the credibility of a government witness or law enforcement officer. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather will have to examine the messages and determine whether their word as witnesses can still be trusted. Depending on his decision, this could lead to dropped cases and challenges to prior convictions.

Defense attorney Tim Emery weighed in, telling WBTV that the officers' "credibility is severely questioned and compromised," and that the district attorney's office should consider halting cases in which the officers were heavily involved.

Police abuse of Flock and other automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) is not new. The Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, has cataloged over 200 instances of ALPR abuse at the hands of the police since 2018. In the last year alone, officers have been caught using ALPRs for everything from pursuing personal grudges to stalking exes and romantic interests. This time, the victim of Flock misuse was an undercover officer rather than a civilian.

The post 3 Charlotte Cops Resign After Group Chat Reveals Competition To Arrest the Most Black People appeared first on Reason Magazine.

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Vinte euros.

Vinte euros por mês, num setor onde o salário base médio é de 924 euros.

A remuneração média bruta no setor é de 1.145 euros, enquanto a média nacional é de 1.686 euros.

O turismo gerou 20,1 mil milhões de euros em 2024, mais de 8% de toda a riqueza produzida no país. Só em julho deste ano registaram-se 9,6 milhões de dormidas.

No alojamento e restauração, 36,1% dos trabalhadores recebem o salário mínimo nacional.

A FESAHT, federação afiliada na CGTP, que representa os trabalhadores do setor, entregou a sua proposta em novembro de 2025. A APHORT não respondeu. Os 20 euros só apareceram em processo de conciliação no Ministério do Trabalho, requerido pelos sindicatos.

Entretanto, a APHORT assinou com o SITESE, afiliado na UGT, uma revisão do Contrato Coletivo de Trabalho para 2026. O que lá está retira direitos conquistados ao longo de décadas: permite jornadas de trabalho de 12 horas diárias sem o pagamento de trabalho suplementar; permite às empresas deixarem de pagar os feriados e, deste modo, deixar de pagar mais de 900€/ano a cada trabalhador; reduz para metade o pagamento do trabalho em dia de descanso semanal, acaba com as diuturnidades e com o direito centenário à alimentação em espécie.

O SITESE não tem praticamente associados no setor. Na prática, este contrato não se aplica a ninguém.

Mas pode vir a aplicar-se a muita gente, através de uma Portaria de Extensão, publicada pelo Governo, um contrato assinado por um sindicato sem trabalhadores no setor passa a abranger todos os que não estejam afiliados nos sindicatos da FESAHT.

Em Vila Real, há dez hotéis onde os trabalhadores, com o seu sindicato, apresentaram cadernos reivindicativos. São dez de 133 em todo o Norte.

Nesses 133 hotéis, a luta organizada pelo Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Indústria de Hotelaria, Turismo, Restaurantes e Similares do Norte, da CGTP, deu aumentos de 50 a 100 euros, em muitos casos com efeitos retroativos a 1 de janeiro de 2026.

A diferença entre 20 euros e 100 não é o resultado de uma lei. Foram os trabalhadores, organizados no seu sindicato de classe, que os conquistaram.

No dia 17 de outubro, às 10h30, na Praça da Batalha, no Porto, a CGTP promove uma Manifestação Nacional por mais salário, melhores pensões e serviços públicos, e pelo Salário Mínimo Nacional de 1.100 euros. Há pré-aviso de greve para o setor da hotelaria para justificar a falta e há transportes organizados pela União dos Sindicatos de Vila Real.

The post Vinte euros appeared first on A Voz de Trás-os-Montes.

A Missouri judge who locked two children in jail cells because he was frustrated by their resistance to a parental custody decision is liable for violating their Fourth Amendment rights, a federal appeals court ruled this week. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit rejected Taney County Judge Eric Eighmy's claim that he was shielded by qualified immunity, a doctrine that blocks federal civil rights claims unless they allege a violation of "clearly established" law.

"A reasonable judge should have known better," Judge David Stras writes in an opinion joined by the two other members of the 8th Circuit panel. "The law was 'clearly established' enough" to "place the issue 'beyond debate.'"

Institute for Justice attorney Dylan Moore, who wrote an 8th Circuit brief arguing against immunity for Eighmy and participated in oral arguments, welcomed the decision. "Every reasonable person knows that a judge can't throw children in jail for no good reason," he said. "Yet Judge Eighmy claimed qualified immunity shielded him from accountability anyway because no prior case told him that imprisoning innocent kids is unconstitutional. That defense is ridiculous, and we are thrilled that the court saw through it. When government officials commit such obvious constitutional violations, qualified immunity should never enter the picture."

The incident at the center of the case happened after an October 2019 custody hearing involving Kadan Rockett, then 14, and his 12-year-old sister, Brooklyn, who had achieved a modicum of fame as magicians performing on America's Got Talent. Their divorced parents, Bart Rockett and Kami Ballard, agreed that Ballard, who at that point lived in Missouri, would have primary custody of the children, while Rockett, who was living in California, would be "responsible for them at the beginning of each month and 'during TV pilot season.'" But Kadan and Brooklyn did not want to go home with their mother, which led to an argument in the lobby of the courthouse.

Eighmy intervened, telling Kadan and Brooklyn to come with him to a conference room, where he informed them that they had to leave with Ballard. "The children would not budge, even after the judge mentioned that the other option was foster care," Stras notes. "Frustrated, Judge Eighmy had the children follow him again, this time to a waiting area in the courthouse's juvenile division." A few minutes later, Eighmy "led them down a hallway to two holding cells."

Outside the cells, Eighmy again threatened Kadan and Brooklyn with foster care, but they were still unmoved. "Lock them up," the judge told an officer, who "patted them down and ordered them to remove their socks and shoes" before confining them in separate cells.

It is not clear exactly how much time Kadan and Brooklyn spent in the cells. The Institute for Justice says "about an hour," while Stras says "the time spent in the holding-cell area was between twenty and forty minutes." In any case, the children's respect for Eighmy's authority had improved by the time he came back. He "asked them one more time whether they would leave with their mother," Stras writes. "This time, they both nodded yes, so he let them go."

In June 2021, Rockett, the children's father, sued Eighmy on their behalf under 42 USC 1983, which authorizes claims against state or local officials who violate constitutional rights under color of law. In his motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Eighmy argued that he was protected by judicial immunity, which is absolute with respect to a judge's official duties. U.S. District Judge Douglas Harpool disagreed, and the 8th Circuit affirmed that ruling in 2023, noting that Kadan and Brooklyn were beyond Eighmy's contempt power because they were not parties to the custody case and that "judges do not do double duty as jailers."

Eighmy reiterated his judicial immunity claim in a motion for summary judgment, and Harpool rejected it again. After the trial began, Eighmy claimed qualified immunity twice, once after all the evidence had been submitted and again after the jury's verdict in favor of Kadan and Brooklyn. Harpool denied him that defense both times.

The jury ultimately awarded Kadan and Brooklyn $5,000 each in damages, and Harpool added about $327,000 in attorney fees. Eighmy appealed again, reiterating his judicial immunity claim. But the appeals court ruled that he had abandoned that argument by failing to raise it during the trial or after the verdict. So Eighmy was left with qualified immunity, which the appeals court said he did not deserve.

Eighmy clearly violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable seizures, Stras says, because he "did not have 'probable cause to believe that [the children had] committed' an offense, much less one that justified placing them in a holding cell. Rather, their only misdeed was one every parent knows well: resisting authority. Even in the context of legal-custody proceedings, refusing to leave with a parent is not a jailable offense. Nor were there 'exigent circumstances' arising out of danger to themselves or others."

Did Eighmy's authority as a judge give him extra leeway? Nope. "Criminal contempt was off the table because the children were neither parties to the custody case nor present inside the courtroom," Stras notes. "Nor could the power to punish a party for violating an injunction have provided the justification, given that Judge Eighmy never issued one."

Eighmy's motive for jailing the children does not change that analysis. "We have no doubt that Judge Eighmy believed he was acting in 'good faith,' and possibly even in the children's best interests, by detaining them," Stras writes. "But good faith in the Fourth Amendment context is about reasonable reliance, either on binding appellate precedent or a warrant issued by a 'neutral magistrate.'"

What about Eighmy's argument that he had no way of knowing his actions were unconstitutional? "The law in this area" was "clearly established," Stras says. "'[I]t would have been sufficiently clear [to] every reasonable official,' Judge Eighmy included, that locking up two children for refusing to follow directions violated the Fourth Amendment. As we put it over a decade and a half ago, long before the events in this case, '[i]t is clearly established that a warrantless arrest, unsupported by probable cause, violates the Fourth Amendment."

That principle was so well established, in fact, that Kadan and Brooklyn, neither of whom had attended law school, took it for granted. "I don't know how you have a right to lock us up," Kadan told Eighmy when he threatened to jail them, according to Rockett's amended complaint. "We have done nothing wrong." The complaint says Brooklyn raised the same point. "How can you just lock up kids?" she asked. "This isn't legal. We've done nothing wrong."

Given Eighmy's obvious disregard for Kadan and Brooklyn's Fourth Amendment rights, "we are not concerned about the lack of a prior case" with "fundamentally similar" facts, Stras says. "Indeed, given how clear the law is, it would have been surprising to find one." He quotes an observation that Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch made as a 10th Circuit judge: "Sometimes the most obviously unlawful things happen so rarely that a case on point is itself an unusual thing."

The post The 8th Circuit Rejects Qualified Immunity for a Judge Who Jailed 2 Kids for 'Refusing To Follow Directions' appeared first on Reason Magazine.

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Na mensagem de novo ano pastoral, D. António Augusto Azevedo assume existirem três linhas orientadoras para o momento atual, “marcado por incertezas e desafios”.

Isso requer da Igreja “um discernimento mais atento e, por parte dos cristãos, maior consciência e um forte compromisso com a missão”.

Destaca o prelado que “o mundo precisa que sejamos testemunhas da vida nova e da paz de Jesus Ressuscitado. Não podemos desistir de ser anunciadores do evangelho da esperança e construtores de uma magnífica humanidade”.

Com o lema para o próximo triénio “Em Cristo (re)construímos comunidades vivas”, o novo ano pastoral na diocese de Vila Real será marcado por três grandes “linhas orientadoras”, como afirmou o bispo, D. António Augusto Azevedo. A “revalorização da celebração do Domingo”, a iniciação da vida cristã para crianças e adolescentes através da catequese e o cuidado pastoral a idosos e doentes.

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The post Bispo pede “Revalorização” do Domingo appeared first on A Voz de Trás-os-Montes.

• President Donald Trump has had six White House press secretaries across his two presidential terms.
• Sean Spicer, Stephanie Grisham, and Kayleigh McEnany held the role for less than a year.
• Katie Zacharia succeeded Karoline Leavitt, but is "transitioning out" after five days on the job.

The new face at the White House podium didn't last long.

Katie Zacharia held her first briefing as the new White House press secretary on Tuesday after President Donald Trump chose her to succeed Karoline Leavitt, who left the White House in August to spend more time with her young children.

By Friday, a White House official confirmed to Business Insider that she is "transitioning out" of the role.

Zacharia was the sixth White House press secretary Trump has hired across his two non-consecutive presidential terms, and the fourth to serve for less than a year.

It's not unusual for presidents to go through several press secretaries due to the demanding nature of the role. President Barack Obama had three press secretaries during his two terms in office. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush had four.

Here's a look at all of the White House press secretaries who have represented the Trump administration.

Sean Spicer

Sean Spicer's time as White House press secretary spanned 182 days — the shortest tenure of all of Trump's press secretaries.

After leaving the White House, he appeared on season 28 of "Dancing with the Stars." He now serves as a political contributor at NewsNation and hosts several podcasts, including "Full Court Press with Sean Spicer" and "The Sean Spicer Show."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

During Trump's first term, Sanders served as White House press secretary for just under two years, from July 2017 to July 2019. In the final months of her tenure, Sanders largely stopped holding formal White House press briefings.

Sanders is the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who now serves as the US ambassador to Israel in the second Trump administration. After her time as press secretary, Sanders was elected governor of Arkansas in 2022. She is running for reelection in the 2026 midterms.

Stephanie Grisham

Grisham served as White House press secretary for less than a year, from July 2019 to April 2020. Throughout her tenure, she did not hold a traditional press briefing.

Grisham went on to become Melania Trump's White House chief of staff, then resigned from the role following the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

She has since become a vocal critic of Trump and spoke about her time working in the Trump administration at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Kayleigh McEnany

McEnany served as Trump's 2020 campaign press secretary before Trump chose her to replace Grisham as White House press secretary. She held the role for less than a year, from April 2020 until Trump left office in January 2021.

McEnany resumed formal White House press briefings after Grisham's tenure.

McEnany now hosts "Saturday in America with Kayleigh McEnany" on Fox News, and co-hosts another Fox News show, "Outnumbered."

Karoline Leavitt

Leavitt served as White House press secretary from January 2025 to August 2026. At 27 years old, when she started the role, she was the youngest person ever to hold the position.

Leavitt established a "new media seat" in the White House briefing room, highlighting podcasters, independent journalists, social media influencers, and other non-legacy media sources.

She was also the first-ever pregnant White House press secretary, and gave birth to her second child while in the role. Leavitt resigned shortly after returning from parental leave, citing her desire to spend more time with her family.

She will begin working as an on-air contributor for Fox News starting November 1.

Katie Zacharia

Trump named Zacharia as Leavitt's successor, writing in a Truth Social post on October 9 that Zacharia "has an unblemished record of support, and has been a loyal and brilliant supporter, right from the beginning," and calling her "a devoted fan and member of MAGA."

Zacharia previously worked as a senior communications advisor at Trump Media and Technology Group, which runs Truth Social.

She held her first briefing on Tuesday, but after a rocky five days as White House press secretary — during which Zacharia's briefing performance and legal qualifications were widely criticized — a White House official told Business Insider on Friday that she was leaving the role.

• Two watchdog groups asked the California state bar to investigate White House spox Katie Zacharia.
• She worked as a general counsel in California. The state bar has no record she was licensed there.
• Zacharia said she consulted with people in the field to see if she could label herself a lawyer.

A growing chorus is voicing concern about White House press secretary Katie Zacharia's self-described legal career.

Two watchdog groups Wednesday filed complaints with the State Bar of California, asking it to investigate whether she violated California law by calling herself a lawyer.

It is a misdemeanor in California to practice law or advertise yourself as an attorney if you don't have a license to do so.

Several law and legal-ethics professors told Business Insider that if Zacharia misrepresented herself as an attorney, or used a title like general counsel without having been admitted to the bar, that could land her in trouble with state bar officials should she try to join in the future.

Substack publication Popular Information this week reported that Zacharia hadn't been admitted to any state bar, and The Wall Street Journal reported that she failed California's bar exam after graduating from law school in 2011. After her graduation, she moved to China, where she worked for a law firm as an associate on an international practice team.

Zacharia Thursday defended calling herself a lawyer.

In an interview Thursday with right-wing activist Jack Posobiec, Zacharia said she considered her bar exam results "inconsequential" because of her impending move to China.

"After moving to China, I didn't really think much of the bar results or consider that something that I needed to focus on," she said.

She told Posobiec that she "consulted for a very long time with many people in the field" to see if she could label herself a lawyer and offer legal analysis, not "legal advice." She also said she wouldn't weigh in on legal matters as press secretary.

President Trump's new press secretary has repeatedly referred to herself as a lawyer. Her LinkedIn page says she worked as a general counsel in California, and on Tuesday, in a statement to Business Insider, she said she had "practiced international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials."

Zacharia used her legal pedigree to give herself credibility in her White House role, the Campaign for Accountability said Wednesday in its complaint to the California bar.

"The public is entitled to rely on the representation that a person who calls herself a lawyer is in fact licensed to practice law," the group wrote.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said Thursday that Zacharia "is uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people about all the great things President Trump and his Administration have been doing, and she will do an incredible job as Press Secretary."

In an X post Wednesday, Cheung referred to the Campaign for Accountability as a "radical leftist-organization run by rabid numbskulls suffering from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome."

"Nobody takes them seriously because they are deranged low lifes," his post said.

Watchdog group Democracy Defenders Fund also filed a complaint with the bar.

'Character and fitness'

There is no record that Zacharia has ever been licensed to practice law in her home state of California, a spokesperson for the state bar told Business Insider.

Zacharia earned her law degree at California's Pepperdine University in 2011, then moved to China, according to her LinkedIn page.

She later served as general counsel for Fix California, a political advocacy group, between January 2024 and March 2025, her LinkedIn page says. Richard Grenell, the founder of Fix California and a state department official in the Trump administration, didn't respond to requests for comment about Zacharia's work for the organization.

That résume entry could hurt her chances of admission to the bar in future, legal-ethics professors told Business Insider.

The bar admissions process in most states includes a step in which the bar evaluates prospective members' "character and fitness," according to Richard Zitrin, a legal-ethics professor at the University of San Francisco's law school.

Claiming to be a general counsel in California would cut against her if she didn't have a license to practice law at the time, Zitrin said.

Business Insider reviewed records for all 50 states and the District of Columbia and found no evidence that Zacharia had been admitted to any state bar in the US.

A law firm in China

Zacharia moved to China with her husband because of his job at an American private equity firm, the White House said.

In China, only Chinese nationals can become a member of the country's bar and practice law, experts in the Chinese legal system told Business Insider.

According to her LinkedIn page, Zacharia worked for Zhong Lun, a large law firm in Beijing, between 2011 and 2013. Asked by a reporter on Tuesday which state she passed the bar exam in, Zacharia responded, "When I moved to China."

Unlike the United States, where the bar admission process varies by state, China has a single unified bar exam process. It is available only to Chinese nationals and generally requires a degree from a Chinese university, according to Jacques deLisle, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania law school who studies the Chinese legal system.

"The odds that she is a member of the Chinese bar are essentially zero," he said. "Both because of the citizenship requirement and the education requirement."

It's possible for employees of international law firms to do some work on transactions without passing a bar exam, but the scope of the work they're permitted to do is limited, according to Taisu Zhang, a professor of Chinese law at Yale Law School. Those firms generally require employees to pass a bar exam within a few years, he said.

Law firms like Zhong Lun often hire recent foreign law school graduates to review contracts and advise on elements of US law for transactions, but they need to "stay within the edges" of their work so that they don't cross into practicing law, which is illegal in China, deLisle said.

"She was never a lawyer in China. It doesn't mean she didn't do law-related work, but she was never a lawyer in China," deLisle said.

Representatives for Zhong Lun didn't respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.

Eve Livingston sensitively draws us into the worlds of two women who share a similar past: abusive partners who committed suicide. Through powerful scene‑setting, we’re there when each woman hears the news, and we feel the complex emotions these deaths provoke. This is a difficult, complicated subject—not often tackled. Livingston bravely shines a light on how, in these particular circumstances, suicide can bring both grief and relief.

Things started as they so often do: he was older, professionally successful in a similar field to Siri’s, and there was something “magnetic” about him. There was also, she came to realise, a darkness beneath the surface. A tragic bereavement in his past had left him struggling with his mental health, something which immediately evoked sympathy in Siri and made him seem a deeper and more sensitive person, qualities she was drawn to. At the beginning of their relationship, he would often turn up uninvited to her home or events she was attending, or bombard her with messages — behaviour she now views as stalking, but found flattering in those hazy early days of a new relationship.

• Ukraine's access to military-grade Starlink services is returning, sources told Business Insider.
• Defense ministry and parliamentary sources said on Thursday that Starshield operations had been at least partially restored.
• On Wednesday, Ukraine was caught off guard by sudden speed restrictions, affecting drone missions.

Ukraine's access to military-grade Starlink services appears to have been at least partially restored on Thursday, a day after Kyiv was stunned by sudden speed limits that it said hamstrung some drone operations.

Ukrainian defense ministry sources told Business Insider that Starshield services remained functional while in motion as of roughly 11:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to reports that they had received from military units.

The sources said the defense ministry is working to understand how and why there was a disruption to the operation of Starshield, SpaceX's dedicated satellite network for military services.

Yehor Cherniev, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's national security, defense, and intelligence committee, told Business Insider that Starshield services had been restored to their pre-disruption capacity.

Ukrainian officials and service members were caught off guard on Wednesday by the unexpected Starshield disruption, which they said restricted speeds above 100 miles per hour. Some units experienced a loss of connection at speeds as low as 45 miles per hour.

The full extent of the service limitation remains unclear.

Yuriy, an officer with Ukraine's National Guard, told Business Insider that his units use Starshield to support drone operations and that speeds were back above 100 miles per hour as of Thursday morning. He asked to be identified only by his first name for security purposes.

However, Yuriy said that several operations were disrupted during the earlier restrictions.

Defense ministry sources said the disruption complicated mid-range strikes, air defense intercepts, and front-line logistics. Starlink does not work inside Russia, so the issue was limited to missions in Ukrainian territory or Russian-occupied territory.

The sudden Starlink disruption caused widespread confusion and raised questions about the source of the decision and whether it was connected to tensions between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Kyiv's targeting of Russian energy facilities.

Ukrainian forces use Starlink, the commercial satellite internet service run by SpaceX, and Starshield, a secure network for military and government work built by the company but operated by the US government. Some Ukrainian officials initially blamed SpaceX for the disruption.

In an X post on Wednesday responding to Ukraine's former defense minister, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk put the issue on the Trump administration, saying that Starshield was "owned and controlled by the American government." He said "any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."

A senior US official told Business Insider Thursday afternoon that "no such request was ever made by the President."

The Pentagon has not responded to requests for comment.

Sprawling influence

The outage and impact on front-line operations have called attention to Ukraine's deep dependence on Starlink, which has become critical for battlefield communications and drone warfare.

As Business Insider recently reported, Starlink's rapid expansion has given Musk and SpaceX an enormous source of influence and soft power, and the world's richest man has not been shy about using that power in Ukraine to influence the course of the war.

Musk said in 2023 that he refused a request from Ukraine's military to activate Starlink to assist a Ukrainian assault on the occupied Crimean peninsula. Earlier this year, SpaceX clamped down on Russian forces' use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine, handing Ukraine a key battlefield advantage.

While support for Ukraine has varied, Musk has consistently been a prominent critic of the Ukrainian president. In an X post late on Wednesday, hours after responding to Ukraine's defense minister, he wrote that it was "time for Zelenskyy to go."

The sudden Starlink disruptions came as Ukraine faces growing pressure from the US, with Trump pushing Kyiv to halt its strikes on Russian energy facilities. The US president said on Tuesday that Washington had not cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine, another concern for the country.

Cherniev, the Ukrainian lawmaker, confirmed on Thursday that the US continues to share intelligence with Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Russia has intensified its ballistic missile attacks against Ukraine, firing dozens overnight. Recent attacks have targeted Kyiv and Ukrainian energy facilities.

L’Europa si prepara all’inverno con le scorte di gas più basse degli ultimi 15 anni, mentre l’Italia guarda in faccia l’appuntamento in una posizione decisamente più solida. Secondo i dati più recenti, gli stoccaggi europei viaggiano intorno al 72-73%, contro l’88% del nostro Paese, ormai a un passo dall’obiettivo fissato dall’Arera.

Un quadro che intreccia prezzi, forniture dalla Russia e scelte politiche che si giocano anche a Washington. Ecco qual è il quadro generale, perché Roma è così avanti, il ruolo di Trump e soprattutto un po’ di dettagli sull’annoso nodo russo.

Le scorte di gas in Europa

I depositi europei sono pieni al 72%, contro l’83% di un anno fa, stando al rapporto invernale di Entsog, l’associazione dei gestori delle reti. I dati di Gas Infrastructure Europe, al 6 ottobre, indicano un livello di poco inferiore al 73%, pari a 826,3 TWh, contro i 945,86 TWh dello stesso periodo del 2025.

In particolare la situazione più critica riguarda i grandi mercati del Nord, con Germania e Paesi Bassi sono sotto il 60% con la Germania ferma a 146,68 TWh, contro gli oltre 190 dell’anno scorso. All’origine di tutto c’è chiaramente la crisi nel Golfo, che ha bloccato la rotta da cui passa circa un quinto del gas naturale liquefatto mondiale, facendo salire i prezzi e rendendo poco conveniente riempire i depositi durante l’estate.

Perché l’Italia sta meglio

Il quadro italiano è molto diverso. Secondo Gas Infrastructure Europe, al 6 ottobre, gli stoccaggi nazionali hanno superato l’88%, con una riserva complessiva di 179,45 TWh. Un progresso costante nel corso dei mesi, considerando un livello vicino all’80% ad agosto e all’84,8% a settembre.

Lieve flessione rispetto al 2025, quando le scorte al 6 ottobre erano a 188,85 TWh, che però non inficia il risultato positivo. A fine ottobre scorso si era arrivati al 94,7% ma ora non si esclude un netto avvicinamento a quella soglia. Detto ciò, restiamo comunque a un livello tra i più alti d’Europa. Abbastanza per coprire una quota significativa della domanda invernale.

Un vantaggio che ha diverse ragioni. Una spinta decisiva è arrivata dal premio di giacenza riconosciuto agli operatori, che ha reso conveniente riempire i depositi anche quando il mercato non lo consentiva. A questo si aggiunge una rete di forniture diversificata, con i gasdotti da:

• Algeria;
• Azerbaigian;
• Libia.

A ciò si aggiungono i rigassificatori di:

• Panigaglia;
• Cavarzere;
• Piombino.

Ultimo elemento da segnalare, poi, è una capacità di stoccaggio elevata rispetto ai consumi. Sul fronte alleanze, poi, è stato importante il viaggio di Giorgia Meloni a Oslo. Un momento chiave, perché si è trattato della prima visita di un presidente del Consiglio italiano in circa 15 anni. Il tutto con il tema della sicurezza energetica al centro.

Al netto di tutto ciò, siamo a un passo dall’obiettivo fissato dall’Arera: riempire gli stoccaggi al 90% entro il 31 ottobre. Con i depositi oltre l’88% al 6 ottobre, mancano dunque circa due punti percentuali. Un traguardo che appare alla portata entro la fine della stagione di stoccaggio.

Il gas russo

Con l’Europa che ha scorte basse, ogni carico in arrivo conta, compresi quelli dalla Russia. Secondo l’Ong tedesca Urgewald, nei primi nove mesi del 2026 i porti europei hanno ricevuto circa 16 miliardi di metri cubi di gas liquefatto russo.

Si parla di record, per un valore stimato di quasi 8 miliardi di euro. In pratica un carico su sette è russo, quasi tutto proveniente dall’impianto artico di Yamal. Inevitabilmente tutto questo fa scattare il dibattito. È vero che il gas di Mosca aiuta a riempire i depositi, ma l’Ue ha deciso di chiudere gradualmente il rubinetto.

I contratti brevi sono già vietati, mentre quelli di lunga durata lo saranno dal 1° gennaio 2027. Sostituire quei volumi, però, ha chiaramente un costo. Secondo l’istituto Ieefa, compensare le minori scorte con nuove importazioni costerebbe circa 3 miliardi di euro, il 12% in più di un anno fa, con il prezzo di riferimento europeo che si è mosso intorno ai 63-64 euro al megawattora sui mercati.

Rischi per l’inverno?

Rispondendo subito ai dubbi, il gas non dovrebbe mancare in inverno. I margini però sono stretti. Con poche scorte, infatti, sarà più difficile reggere un’eventuale ondata di freddo a fine inverno. Il gas liquefatto copre il 40% delle forniture europee e, per arrivare a primavera con una riserva di sicurezza, ne servirebbero quasi 100 miliardi di metri cubi in sei mesi.

Non si può soltanto guardare all’immediato, anzi. Sommando il calo delle scorte e lo stop al gas russo da gennaio, secondo Ieefa l’Europa potrebbe dover ridurre i consumi invernali del 7%, pari a 14 miliardi di metri cubi. Si spiega così l’agitazione di vari governi:

• i Paesi Bassi hanno stanziato fino a un miliardo per riempire i depositi;
• la Germania ha chiesto alla società pubblica Sefe di comprare altro metano;
• l’Italia, con stoccaggi elevati, parte da una posizione più tranquilla rispetto ai consumi previsti.

Dipendenza da Trump

Sullo sfondo c’è però un elemento politico che si muove e può cambiare gli equilibri. A settembre infatti il Congresso americano ha approvato il Lindsey Graham Act. Ciò obbliga il presidente USA a valutare una lista di soggetti russi da sanzionare, tra cui Novatek, la società che controlla l’impianto di Yamal. Il primo termine scade il 18 ottobre.

Di fatto se Trump decidesse di colpire Novatek, banche, assicuratori e armatori sarebbero costretti a lasciare Yamal e il gas russo smetterebbe di arrivare in Europa con circa 2 mesi d’anticipo. La legge però consente anche di rinunciare alle sanzioni, motivando la scelta al Congresso. L’ipotesi per ora è descritta come “non improbabile”.

Il tutto però andrebbe a intrecciarsi con interessi d’affari, stando ad alcune ricostruzioni. Letture ancora da verificare, che però sottolineano come una parte della stabilità energetica europea passi anche per le scelte della Casa Bianca.