’At the end of the day, youth are the most innocent humans on Earth, so anything you can do to save them, help them, it’s worth it,’ the Good Samaritan said

© KSTP 5 Eyewitness News

’At the end of the day, youth are the most innocent humans on Earth, so anything you can do to save them, help them, it’s worth it,’ the Good Samaritan said

© KSTP 5 Eyewitness News

’At the end of the day, youth are the most innocent humans on Earth, so anything you can do to save them, help them, it’s worth it,’ the Good Samaritan said

© KSTP 5 Eyewitness News

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the findings open a new chapter in cancer treatment

© Getty Images

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the findings open a new chapter in cancer treatment

© Getty Images

Despite a decline in hotspots, Indonesia remains on high alert for wildfires due to insufficient rainfall. Students in Kalimantan have protested the government’s response.

BEIJING: A magnitude 7 earthquake hit China’s Tibet region on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people, injuring 32 and collapsing hundreds of homes in the northern regional city of Nagqu, official media said. Search and rescue efforts continued following the collapse of at least 339 homes, the Nagqu media office said, citing city government officials. Among the injured, 11 people were in serious condition and the other 21 sustained minor injuries, the media office said. Rescue teams fr

The U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has begun notifying local county officials that it intends to deploy election monitors for the upcoming November general election. As of this week, notifications have been sent to jurisdictions in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington, with the list of targeted counties reportedly expanding. Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, stated that the department plans to deploy 1,000 observers nationwide, characterizing the move as the largest monitoring effort in the agency's history. Institutional Authority and Procedural Context The DOJ has a longstanding practice of observing elections to ensure compliance with federal voting laws. During the 2022 midterm cycle under the Biden administration, the department monitored 64 jurisdictions across 24 states. However, the current deployment is occurring against a backdrop of significant procedural departures from previous cycles. According to officials in three states, who spoke to NPR anonymously, the Justice Department did not initially notify state-level election officials, a practice that was standard in prior years. State officials reported having to determine the specific scope of DOJ monitoring after the fact, though multiple state officials told NPR they subsequently received notification from the department after the initial local outreach. A DOJ spokesperson, Kiersten Pels, confirmed that the department prioritizes jurisdictions with competitive elections and specific legal obligations. Regarding Adams County, Colorado, Pels noted that the county is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, which mandates that election materials be provided in languages other than English for eligible voters. She contrasted this with neighboring Weld County, which is not subject to that specific provision, explaining why Adams County was selected for monitoring while Weld County was not at that time.

Todd Blanche suggests the Justice Department could intervene in a ‘doomsday’ scenario as federal agents ramp up investigations and prosecutions while voting is already underway

© AP

Todd Blanche suggests the Justice Department could intervene in a ‘doomsday’ scenario as federal agents ramp up investigations and prosecutions while voting is already underway

© AP

‘Everyone was yelling. We were all super scared’

© Reuters

‘Everyone was yelling. We were all super scared’

© Reuters

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, which has accused the US president of stalling to avoid answering questions under oath.

Trump is suing Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster for at least $10 billion over a misleadingly edited clip of a speech. The case is one of several Trump has privately filed against the news media as part of a wider pressure campaign against coverage he dislikes.

US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett ordered Trump to take questions from the BBC’s lawyers under oath in a ruling from the bench at a court hearing on Thursday, according to a spokesman for Trump’s personal legal team. Trump canceled a deposition in October, citing conflicts with his presidential duties.

The Trump spokesman said the lawsuit is aimed at holding the BBC accountable for defamation and “reckless election interference.”

The BBC declined to comment. It previously admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump, though it denies being liable for defamation.

Trump’s lawsuit filed in December in Florida federal court accuses the BBC of intentionally misleading viewers into thinking he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol by splicing together different parts of a January 6, 2021, speech.

In court filings, the broadcaster has accused Trump and his lawyers of dragging their feet in response to their requests for records and other information that is exchanged between parties in a process known as discovery.

The BBC is seeking financial records from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and the web of business entities associated with him, saying the information is necessary to defend against Trump’s damages claims.

Trump’s lawyers say the requests are too broad and irrelevant to the case. They have also denied in court filings that Trump is avoiding a deposition, saying Trump’s duties and security needs must take precedence.

The edited speech appeared in a BBC “Panorama” documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, which Trump won. A leaked internal BBC memo cited the edits as evidence of potential political bias, sparking a public relations crisis for the broadcaster and leading to high-level resignations.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issued an order late Wednesday requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to suspend "elections-related field operations and field interviews" in nine states, including California and New York. The ruling is based on a preliminary determination that these activities likely violate the Voting Rights Act by intimidating or threatening individuals who assist with voting or engage in voter mobilization. The order remains in effect until polls close on Election Day, with a stay in place until 5 p. m. on Friday to allow the government an opportunity to seek an appeal. The institutional action targets specific field operations documented by a CBS News investigation, in which Homeland Security Investigations agents approached homes in multiple states to inquire about immigration status and recent voting history. While the administration frames this practice as an effort to crack down on noncitizen voting, the court focused on the legal risk of targeting U. S. citizens. The judge noted that plaintiffs, including the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, did not claim that investigating unlawful voting is itself illegal. Rather, the suit sought to stop DHS from conducting investigations in a manner that threatens the participation of citizens in civic and organizational efforts to aid voting. Judicial Rationale and Legal Authority Judge Martinez-Olguin grounded her decision in a section of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits the intimidation, threatening, or coercion of those who assist people with voting or engage in voter mobilization. The ruling highlights a "high likelihood of error" in the government's process for assembling lists of potential targets, which relies on data from government agencies and commercially available sources. This procedural deficiency was central to the court's finding that the operations likely had the coercive effect prohibited by the statute.

‘Vivek should keep it up, and let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate,’ Trump wrote

© Getty

‘Vivek should keep it up, and let everyone listen to the mother of a defective, dishonest, and incapable Candidate,’ Trump wrote

© Getty

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip in separate incidents on Thursday, health officials in the enclave said.

In Gaza City, a strike on a car killed at least one person, medics said. They earlier said there had been two deaths. A crowd gathered around the burning wreckage, as orange-vested emergency crews sprayed it with water, photos from the scene showed.

Other strikes killed a Palestinian man on a bike in the southern city of Khan Younis and a man near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, and gunfire killed a woman near the Jabalia refugee camp, in the north, the medics added.

Israel’s military said it had struck Hamas militants in Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Gaza City, but that it was not aware of the reported incident in Jabalia.

The Hamas-led Interior Ministry in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike killed a non-commissioned officer and wounded another officer from the drug control police department after hitting their vehicle while returning from an assignment in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

Israel, which says the Hamas militant group has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks.

Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Last year’s US-brokered ceasefire calls for eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops.

Israeli airstrikes have continued. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory’s health officials, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

WASHINGTON: The United Nations’ climate loss and damage fund moved Thursday to provide $20 million in aid sought by flood-stricken Nepal, the first time it has set aside money for any country, in a key test of the body’s credibility. In an extraordinary meeting, the fund’s board agreed to earmark the modest sum for the Himalayan country, which was hit in August by tsunami-like floods triggered by a climate-induced ice and rock avalanche that killed more than 1,400 people and left over 5,000 mi

Kansas voters faced a critical decision in their U. S. Senate race following a debate between incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor. The contest has emerged as one of the most competitive in the state's history, with early voting figures rivaling those of the 2024 presidential election. The outcome will determine whether Republicans maintain their current Senate majority or if Democrats gain control, a shift that Marshall argued could hand legislative influence to Democratic leaders. Hamilton, who positions himself as a moderate or independent-minded Democrat, emphasized his intent to work across the aisle, distinguishing himself from what he described as more progressive elements of his party. Policy Disputes and Institutional Positions The debate centered on several federal policy issues with direct economic implications for Kansas, particularly regarding tariffs, energy costs, and immigration enforcement. Marshall, aligning closely with President Donald Trump's administration, attributed rising diesel costs primarily to the war in Ukraine rather than the conflict involving Iran. He defended the administration's recent decision to purchase Russian diesel, stating that while it may not be ideal, it is acceptable if it leads to the end of the Ukraine war. Conversely, Hamilton criticized the administration's engagement with Iran, calling the military involvement a poor decision and advocating for an immediate withdrawal. He argued that high gas prices and tariffs are placing severe economic strain on the state's agricultural sector, with many farmers uncertain about their financial survival in the coming year. On tariffs, Marshall described the measures as fostering a "manufacturing renaissance,” whereas Hamilton argued they have created chaos and uncertainty for businesses. The candidates also diverged on immigration enforcement. Marshall maintained that securing the border is the primary objective, while Hamilton criticized recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Kansas as "militarized” and "politicized,” warning of potential workforce disruptions in the agricultural sector. Marshall countered that ICE needs to coordinate with local law enforcement, a stance he previously defended on social media against claims that the raids harmed Kansas farmers.

The Ebola patient in Nigeria, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, is believed to have contracted the disease while travelling in Uganda, a Swiss government statement to Reuters said on Thursday.

Nigeria reported the case, its first Ebola case in more than a decade, on Tuesday, becoming ‌the fourth African country and the most populous yet to be affected by an outbreak that was announced in Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May and has since become the fastest-spreading on record.

Ugandan authorities have said the woman who fell ill in Nigeria had travelled to eastern Congo before transiting through Uganda. But the World Health Organization and ​Africa’s top health agency said on Thursday they had not received confirmed information that the woman had travelled to Congo.

The woman “has been in a private clinic in Abuja for around a week with symptoms. She is believed to have contracted the virus whilst travelling to Uganda around two weeks ago,” said an emailed statement from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Her husband is in isolation; he has not shown any symptoms. He was travelling with his wife when she is believed to have contracted Ebola.”

Uganda reported 20 cases in May and June, mostly imported from Congo, but the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free in August.

Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja told Reuters late on Thursday that Uganda had no Ebola cases.

“That’s a fact. If we did, as has happened before, we’d be the first to say,” he said.

Asked whether the Ugandan government had proof that the woman had travelled to Congo, Kasujja said, “Like what? A passport stamp? Without infringing on the patient’s rights?”

AFRICA CDC, WHO SAY NO INFORMATION THAT PATIENT WENT TO CONGO

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention official Wessam Mankoula said on Thursday that Nigeria and Uganda were sharing information to establish the patient’s movements and possible source of exposure.

“So far, there is no validated information (that) this case traveled to DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo),” Mankoula told an online press conference.

The WHO said information it had received about the case did not include travel outside Uganda.

“The facts which we have received is that the patient returned to Abuja on October 3, being away from September 16 in Uganda,” WHO representative to Nigeria Pavel Ursu told the press conference.

Ursu said the focus in Nigeria was now on containing the viral infection and that the patient remained hospitalised, with her biochemical markers improving.

Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC director, told Reuters on Wednesday that the patient had been on a two-week holiday in Uganda.

Patrick Otim, a WHO emergency response manager, said on Thursday the source of her infection was still unknown as health authorities were working to piece together her travel history.

One issue under investigation is which health facilities the woman visited in Abuja after the onset of her symptoms and before her hospitalisation 48 hours later, Otim said.

KENYA TRACES ALL CONTACTS OF FIRST CASE

Separately, a senior Kenyan health official said authorities there had now traced all 135 contacts of the country’s first Ebola case, which was confirmed on October 6 and after which a further eight cases have been reported.

“We have been able to account for them 100%,” health ministry director-general Patrick Amoth said. He said the last contact to be traced was a Ugandan citizen who had arrived in Kenya in early October on the same flight as the index patient but exited by road via the Namanga border post with Tanzania, which meant it took more time to find him.

Africa CDC is investigating whether the Kenyan case may have come into contact with the patient being treated in Nigeria, as both travelled from Uganda’s Entebbe airport on the same day, Mankoula said. Transmission between the two was one of the possible scenarios being examined, he said.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, whether living or dead. The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.

The rare Ebola species behind the current outbreak kills about half of those infected and has no approved treatment or vaccine.

So far the outbreak is confirmed to have killed about 4,700 people across the four African countries that have reported cases, according to the Africa CDC.