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Man arrested outside Kavanaugh’s house charged with attempted murder

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2 years ago

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A man was arrested outside the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh early Wednesday morning after making threats against the justice.

The man was identified in a criminal complaint as Nicholas Roske, a 26-year-old Californian who was taken into custody without incident after calling 911 on himself. According to officials, Roske was carrying a suitcase and backpack that contained a tactical vest, knife, pistol, ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crow bar, pistol light, duct tape and hiking boots.

Roske was charged with attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice. According to the affidavit, Roske said he “began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill” Kavanaugh after finding his address on the internet.

“At approximately 1:50 a.m. today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s residence,” a Supreme Court spokesperson said in a statement early Wednesday. “The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District.”

Kavanaugh’s home was the site of peaceful protests following a leaked opinion last month that would result in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling protecting abortion rights. If the final ruling is in line with the draft, Kavanaugh is one of the justices voting to gut abortion access for millions of people around the country. The Senate quickly moved to pass funding for more security for the nine justices, who have lifetime appointments.

“House Democrats must pass this bill and they need to do it today. No more fiddling around with this, they need to pass it today,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday following the man’s arrest. “Before the sun sets.”

When asked about the arrest at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “This kind of behavior is obviously behavior that we will not tolerate. Threats of violence and actual violence against justices of course strike at the heart of our democracy. And we do everything we can to prevent them and hold people who do them accountable.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Wednesday’s briefing that President Biden “[condemned] the actions of this individual in the strongest terms.”

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh

The Washington Post first reported that the man was angry about the leaked draft and “over a recent spate of mass shootings.” The Supreme Court is also expected to rule against a New York law making it more difficult to carry a gun outside the home — an expansion of the Second Amendment even as polling shows American wants stricter gun laws.

Kavanaugh was nominated to the bench by then-President Donald Trump in 2018 and was confirmed by a 50-48 margin in the Senate amid accusations of sexual misconduct when he was a teenager. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was a key vote in favor of Kavanaugh and claimed he would not overturn Roe.

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released last month found that confidence in the court had collapsed since September 2020, prior to when Trump and then-Senate Majority Leader McConnell rushed through the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, shifting the court to a 6-3 conservative alignment.

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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7 days ago

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April 16, 2024

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Africa

Donors raise more than 2 billion euros for Sudan aid a year into war

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7 days ago

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April 16, 2024

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PARIS/CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) – Donors pledged more than 2 billion euros ($2.13 billion) for war-torn Sudan at a conference in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said, on the first anniversary of what aid workers describe as a neglected but devastating conflict.
Efforts to help millions of people driven to the verge of famine by the war have been held up by continued fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), restrictions imposed by the warring sides, and demands on donors from other global crises including in Gaza and Ukraine.
Conflict in Sudan is threatening to expand, with fighting heating up in and around al-Fashir, a besieged aid hub and the last city in the western Darfur region not taken over by the RSF. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in the area.
“The world is busy with other countries,” Bashir Awad, a resident of Omdurman, part of the wider capital and a key battleground, told Reuters last week. “We had to help ourselves, share food with each other, and depend on God.”
In Paris, the EU pledged 350 million euros, while France and Germany, the co-sponsors, committed 110 million euros and 244 million euros respectively. The United States pledged $147 million and Britain $110 million.
Speaking at the end of the conference, which included Sudanese civilian actors, Macron emphasized the need to coordinate overlapping and so far unsuccessful international efforts to resolve the conflict and to stop foreign support for the warring parties.
“Unfortunately the amount that we mobilised today is still probably less than was mobilised by several powers since the start of the war to help one or the other side kill each other,” he said.
As regional powers compete for influence in Sudan, U.N. experts say allegations that the United Arab Emirates helped arm the RSF are credible, while sources say the army has received weapons from Iran. Both sides have rejected the reports.
The war, which broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF as they vied for power ahead of a planned transition, has crippled infrastructure, displaced more than 8.5 million people, and cut many off from food supplies and basic services.
“We can manage together to avoid a terrible famine catastrophe, but only if we get active together now,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, adding that, in the worst-case scenario, 1 million people could die of hunger this year.
The United Nations is seeking $2.7 billion this year for aid inside Sudan, where 25 million people need assistance, an appeal that was just 6% funded before the Paris meeting. It is seeking another $1.4 billion for assistance in neighbouring countries that have housed hundreds of thousands of refugees.
The international aid effort faces obstacles to gaining access on the ground.
The army has said it would not allow aid into the wide swathes of the country controlled by its foes from the RSF. Aid agencies have accused the RSF of looting aid. Both sides have denied holding up relief.
“I hope the money raised today is translated into aid that reaches people in need,” said Abdullah Al Rabeeah, head of Saudi Arabia’s KSRelief.
On Friday, Sudan’s army-aligned foreign ministry protested that it had not been invited to the conference. “We must remind the organisers that the international guardianship system has been abolished for decades,” it said in a statement.

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Africa

SA users of Starlink will be cut off at the end of the month

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7 days ago

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April 16, 2024

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Starlink users in South Africa are facing a major setback as the satellite internet service provider has issued a warning that their services will be terminated by the end of the month.

In an email sent to many South African users, Starlink stated that their internet access will cease on April 30 due to violation of its terms and conditions.

The email emphasized that using Starlink kits outside of designated areas, as indicated on the Starlink Availability Map, is against their terms. Consequently, users will only be able to access their Starlink account for updates after the termination.

Starlink, a company owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, operates a fleet of low earth orbit satellites that offer high-speed internet globally. Despite its potential to revolutionize connectivity, Starlink has been unable to obtain a license to operate in South Africa from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

Icasa’s requirements mandate that any applicant must have 30% ownership from historically disadvantaged groups to be considered for a license. However, many in South Africa resorted to creative methods to access Starlink services, including purchasing roaming packages from countries where Starlink is licensed.

However, Icasa clarified in a government gazette last November that using Starlink in this manner is illegal. Additionally, Starlink itself stated in the recent email to users that the ‘Mobile – Regional’ plans are meant for temporary travel and transit, not permanent use in a location. Continuous use of these plans outside the country where service was ordered will result in service restriction.

Starlink advised those interested in making its services available in their region to contact local authorities.

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