After stopping a vehicle whose owner had an active warrant and a suspended drivers license, police in Ohio were surprised to discover a pet raccoon named Chewy with a meth pipe in its mouth. What do you think?No wonder raccoons stay up all night.Pedro Giago, Chapel PromoterI hope Chewy was good to drive home.Ioana Katz, Grammar InnovatorI expect this sort of behavior out of a squirrel, but a raccoon?Jacob Liekki, Cactus PurchaserThe post Raccoon With Meth Pipe Found In Drivers Seat Of Car appeared first on The Onion.

CHICAGOA study published Friday by the National Association of Realtors concluded that most millennials will never own a swanky undersea apartment where fish swim past the windows. For the majority of working adults age 29 to 44, the dream of owning a glass-domed apartment on the bottom of the ocean overlooking a vibrant coral reef is simply out of reach, said the studys author, Nicolette Wendel, adding that while some millennials do own underwater homes, they are generally in lakes where everything is murky brown and the fish are all boring. Prior to 1980, the price of a luxury ocean-floor condo with views of tropical fish, manta rays, and sharks was three times the median income, but today its six times the median income. If current economic trends continue, the average millennial will be stuck waving to a sea turtle from a conch shell bed only as a renter. Though supplies have increased somewhat as baby boomers downsize, most retro-futuristic sea compounds are being gobbled up by Wall Street. The study also noted that steel tariffs will significantly increase the costs of renovating old shipwrecks into beautiful seafloor homes.The post Study: Most Millennials Will Never Own Swanky Undersea Apartment Where Fish Swim Past Windows appeared first on The Onion.

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Harvey Weinstein accuser Kaja Sokola begins testimony in his sexual misconduct trial in New York, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)2025-05-09T16:14:23Z NEW YORK (AP) Harvey Weinstein s lawyers sought Friday to raise doubts about a former models allegations that he repeatedly sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.As defense lawyer Mike Cibella began whats likely to be lengthy questioning of Kaja Sokola, he pointed to differences in some details of her testimony this week and what she told a grand jury last year. Cibella also noted that although documents have indicated that Weinstein and Sokola knew each other by 2006, no witnesses or documents corroborate her account of meeting the then-influential movie producer four years earlier at a Manhattan nightclub. She was 16 at the time and alleges he first sexually assaulted her days after they met. Sokola is the second of three accusers to testify at Weinsteins rape and sexual assault retrial, and shes the only one who wasnt part of the onetime Hollywood honchos first trial in 2020. Weinstein is being retried because an appeals court overturned his landmark #MeToo 2020 conviction, saying the judge at the time allowed prejudicial testimony. After the reversal, prosecutors added Sokolas allegation to the case. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies ever sexually assaulting anyone.The Polish-born Sokola, 39, is a psychotherapist who had a jet-setting modeling career as a teen. She testified earlier this week that Weinstein exploited her youthful interest in an acting career to subject her to unwanted sexual advances, starting days after they met in 2002, while she was on a modeling trip to New York. Another alleged incident, in 2006, is the basis for a criminal sex act charge against Weinstein. Sokola, who was 19 at the time, says he lured her to a hotel room by saying he had a script for her to see, then pinned her down on a bed and performed oral sex on her as she implored him not to. The Associated Press generally does not name people who allege they have been sexually assaulted, but Haley, Mann and Sokola have given their permission to be identified. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 09 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01462-9Drug makers are scrambling to navigate an existential threat to a once-celebrated technology.

Nature, Published online: 09 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01437-wChatbot can analyse health-care imagery, such as PDFs of test results, to accurately diagnose a range of medical conditions.

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A collection of Barbie dolls are placed into a cart in Bowling Green, Ky., on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. (Grace Ramey/Daily News via AP, File)2025-05-09T17:21:25Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trumps tariffs crusade has taken aim at a number of foreign goods, from European wines and car parts from Mexico to films made abroad. Lately, the presidents wandering ire has found another rhetorical poster child: toy dolls. Trump asserted that children will be fine having two dolls perhaps three or five instead of 30 if U.S. import taxes increase consumer prices. The response on social media included memes of him portrayed as the Grinch and photos of a young Barron Trumps child-sized Mercedes convertible. COMPLETELY out of touch, The Loyal Subjects CEO Jonathan Cathey, whose collectible toy company in Los Angeles produces Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite dolls, wrote on Linkedin. If that aint a Let them eat cake moment shot through the echoes of history? Love how toys and dolls have become THE martyr metaphor for this nonsensical trade war incoherence. The presidents comments also touched a nerve with parents, both ones who took offense at the casual way he hypothesized that perhaps two dolls will cost a couple bucks more and those who acknowledged their own kids have more toys than they need. Either way, the U.S. toy industry has a lot riding on a possible deescalation of the tariff standoff between the Trump administration and the government in Beijing. Nearly 80% of the toys sold in the U.S. come from China. The Toy Association, a trade group, has lobbied for an immediate reprieve from the 145% tariff rate the president put on Chinese-made products. Some toy companies warn the likelihood of holiday shortages increases each week the tariff remains in effect.Heres a snapshot of the doll debate and how tariffs are impacting toys: How much is the US doll market worth?From Barbie, Bratz and Cabbage Patch Kids to Adora baby dolls, American Girl and Our Generation, dolls are a big business in the U.S. as well as beloved playthings. The doll category, which includes accessories like clothes, generated U.S. sales of $2.7 billion last year compared to $2.9 billion in 2023 and $3.4 billion in 2019, according to market research firm Circana. Consumers splurged on toys during the height of the COVID pandemic to keep children and themselves occupied, but sales flattened as inflation seized the economy.Younger girls becoming more interested in buying makeup and skincare also has cooled the demand for dolls, Marshal Cohen, Circanas chief retail advisor, said. What are toy companies doing to navigate tariffs?The nations largest toy maker, Mattel, said this week it would have to raise prices for some products sold in the U.S. to offset higher costs related to tariffs.The company, whose brands include Barbie and American Girl, said the increases were necessary even though its speeding up the expansion of its manufacturing base outside of China. Smaller toy companies are expected to have a harder time than Mattel and Hasbro, which makes the eating, drinking and diaper-wetting Baby Alive. Cathey said he paused The Loyal Subjects shipments from China in April because he couldnt pay the stratospheric tariff they would have incurred. Nobody insulates themselves with that much cash, he said.With about four months worth of inventory on hand, Cathey said his ability to secure holiday stock depends on a break in the U.S.-China trade standoff happening in the next two weeks since it would take time for cargo operations to resume. Cepia, a Missouri company that was behind the 2009 holiday season hit Zhu Zhu Pets, launched a line of 11-inch fashion dolls called Decora Girlz last year. CEO James Russell Hornsby said he was working to relocate some production but the move wont happen in time to replace the orders he planned to get from China. Hornsby described himself as a Trump supporter and said he understands the administrations desire to reduce trade imbalances.Lets just get the deals done and stop all this because (Trumps) disrupting Christmas, he said. What goes into making a doll? Although American Girl launched in 1986 with a line based on fictional historical characters, the dolls never were domestic products. They were made in Germany before production eventually moved to China. Toy experts say that in addition to lower costs, Chinese factories have developed techniques and expertise that are not easily replicated. We dont have any capacity in the U.S. to make rooted doll hair. And then youve got things like the faces. Some of them are hand-painted, others are done with a Tampo (printing) machine, James Zahn, editor-in-chief of industry publication The Toy Book, said of doll-making.Hornsby said rooting the synthetic hair onto the heads of Decora Girlz dolls is carried out by skilled workers at factories in Guangzhou and Dongguan, China.Its not just sticking into a machine and it automatically does it, he said. You have to know what youre doing in order to make that doll look like its got a full set of hair when literally maybe only 60% of the head is filled with hair. Are toys from China safe? White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said last week that he assumes consumers would prefer to pay more for American-made products. Dolls made in China might have lead paint in them, he said. Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said the picture is more complicated. Products for children ages 12 and under require third-party testing and certification from labs approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency tasked with enforcing lead levels in toys, Murray said. The rules apply to all products sold in the U.S. Toys by major brands such as Fisher-Price, Mattel, Hasbro and Lego, which have long outsourced manufacturing to China, are usually in compliance, she said.But the rise of online shopping, including e-commerce platforms that ship directly to U.S. consumers from overseas, has posed a challenge, according to Murray. When valued at less than $800, such parcels entered the U.S. duty-free and were not subject to the same scrutiny as bulk imports, she said. The White House eliminated the customs exemption starting May 2 for low-value parcels that originated in mainland China and Hong Kong. U.S Customs and Border Protection expects additional oversight will make it easier to flag problems. Toy companies and industry experts argue the high tariffs on Chinese imports will tempt price-sensitive shoppers to search for cheap counterfeit toys that carry higher safety risks.Can children have too many dolls?Plenty of people agree American consumer culture has gotten out of hand, in large part due to prices kept low through the labor of foreign factory workers who earn much less than they would in the U.S. Katie Walley-Wiegert, 38, a senior marketer in Richmond, Virginia, and the parent of a 2-year-old son, agrees theres too much materialism but thinks parents should have choices when deciding what is best for their children. She found the wealthy Trumps comments off-putting.I think it is a small view of what purchase habits and realities are for people who buy toys for kids, Walley-Wiegert said.San Francisco resident Elenor Mak, who founded the Jilly Bing doll company after she couldnt find an Asian American doll for her daughter, Jillian, now 5, said the presidents remarks upset her because some families struggle to buy even one doll. The trade war with China just makes it even more impossible for those families, Mak said. ANNE DINNOCENZIO DInnocenzio writes about retail, trends, the consumer economy and hourly workers for The Associated Press. twitter mailto DIDI TANG Tang joined the AP Washington bureau in 2023 after spending 11 years in Beijing as a China correspondent. She covers anything related to the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on U.S.-China competitions mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The student, Rumeysa Ozturk, was being detained in Louisiana. A federal judge said her detention threatened to chill the speech of millions of noncitizens.

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The president said reducing tariffs to 80 percent from the current 145 percent sounds right, as U.S. and Chinese negotiators prepare to meet in Switzerland.

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Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, left, Switzerland's Economy Minister Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, center, Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter, right, speak, during a bilateral meeting between Switzerland and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, May 9, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, Pool)2025-05-09T17:55:53Z WASHINGTON (AP) Who called first?Its the question that has put Beijing and Washington in a verbal sparring match even as the two countries are heading into a weekend meeting in Switzerland to discuss lowering sky-high tariffs that they slapped on each other in heated moments that have shaken financial markets and stirred worries about the global economy.The meeting is being held at the request of the U.S. side, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Wednesday. President Donald Trump disagreed. They said we initiated it? Well, I think they ought to go back and study their files, Trump said Wednesday when swearing in David Perdue as the new U.S. ambassador to China. That followed weeks of each side suggesting the other side had reached out first, including Trump implying Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him, only to be refuted by Beijing. When it comes to the worlds two largest economies readying themselves for what is expected to be tough trade talks, the public back-and-forth is no trivial matter. The obsession with who reached out first is a proxy fight over leverage, said Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies. For Washington, signaling that Beijing initiated the meeting reinforces the narrative that the tariffs are working. For Beijing, denying outreach preserves the illusion of parity and avoids domestic perception of weakness. Jockeying for dominanceDaniel Russel, a former U.S. diplomat who oversaw East Asian and Pacific affairs, called the exchange part diplomatic stalemate and part dominance display worthy of a nature documentary.In his decades-long career as a diplomat, Russel said he is unaware of a single instance where a Chinese leader initiated a call with a U.S. president. It may be pride, it may be protocol, but for Beijing, being the demandeur is to show weakness and thats something the Chinese system is hardwired to avoid, said Russel, now vice president for international security and diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute. The Trumps administration is less accommodating. Their position is: If Xi wants the tariffs lifted, he knows how to reach us, Russel said.Not long after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 145% and Beijing retaliated with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods, Trump suggested that China, like many other countries, was in talks with his administration. On April 22, he apparently directed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to say were doing very well regarding a potential trade deal with China.I think its a process thats going to go pretty quickly with China, Trump said on the same day. I think were going to live together very happily and ideally work together. Back and forth ... and back againYet China quickly denied any talk towards a deal. When asked about such negotiations, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun responded: All is fake news. The next day, Guo asked the U.S. to stop creating confusion on tariff talks.Then came a TIME magazine interview when Trump claimed Xi had called him. Details? None provided. When? Trump didnt say. Hes called. And I dont think thats a sign of weakness on his behalf, Trump said in the interview published on April 25. Beijing dismissed it, saying there was no recent leadership phone call.Yet soon the word started to spread on Chinas social media that the Trump administration was contacting Beijing, and it was confirmed a few days later by the Chinese Commerce Ministry. The U.S. had repeatedly and proactively conveyed messages to China recently to express the hope to engage in negotiations with China, the ministry said on May 2. In this regard, the Chinese side is assessing it, the ministry said, in an apparent off-ramp move climbdown that prepared the public opinion for the announcement a few days later that Vice Premier He Lifeng would meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Switzerland this weekend.Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said the reality is more complicated when the two governments have been in regular contact and each side may have its own understanding what constitutes reaching out for tariff talks. Technically, Sun said, both sides are correct. By Thursday, Trump appeared ready to move on. We can all play games who made the first call, who didnt make them. Doesnt matter, Trump said.Referring to the upcoming tariff talk this weekend in Switzerland, Trump said: It only matters what happens in that room. DIDI TANG Tang joined the AP Washington bureau in 2023 after spending 11 years in Beijing as a China correspondent. She covers anything related to the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on U.S.-China competitions mailto

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Wednesday, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-05-09T18:21:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Pentagon has ordered all military leaders and commands to pull and review all of their library books that address diversity, anti-racism or gender issues by May 21, according to a memo issued to the force on Friday.It is the broadest and most detailed directive so far on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths campaign to rid the military of diversity and equity programs, policies and instructional materials. And it follows similar efforts to remove hundreds of books from the libraries at the military academies.The Associated Press obtained a copy of the memo, which was signed Friday by Timothy Dill, who is performing the duties of the defense undersecretary for personnel.Educational materials at the libraries promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with the Departments core mission, the memo states, adding that department leaders must promptly identify books that are not compatible with that mission and sequester them by May 21. By then, the memo says, additional guidance will be provided on how to cull that initial list and determine what should be removed and determine an appropriate ultimate disposition for those materials. It does not say what will happen to the books or whether they will be stored away or destroyed. According to the memo, a temporary Academic Libraries Committee set up by the department will provide information on the review and decisions about the books. That panel provided a list of search terms to use in the initial identification of the books to be pulled and reviewed. The search terms include: affirmative action, anti-racism, critical race theory, discrimination, diversity, gender dysphoria, gender identity and transition, transgender, transsexual and white privilege.Early last month the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Hegseths office to get rid of those that promote DEI. About two weeks later, the Army and Air Force libraries were told to go through their stacks to find books related to diversity, equity and inclusion.The Naval Academys purge led to the removal of books on the Holocaust, histories of feminism, civil rights and racism, and Maya Angelous famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, based on the list of 381 books that have been taken out of its library. In addition to Angelous award-winning book, the list includes Memorializing the Holocaust, which deals with Holocaust memorials; Half American, about African Americans in World War II; A Respectable Woman, about the public roles of African American women in 19th century New York; and Pursuing Trayvon Martin, about the 2012 shooting of the Black 17-year-old boy in Florida that raised questions about racial profiling. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto

Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey, File)2025-05-09T10:51:26Z A federal judge in Vermont on Friday released a Turkish Tufts University student detained in a Louisiana immigration center more than six weeks after she was arrested while walking along a street in a Boston suburb, allowing her to return to her studies.U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Burlington released Rumeysa Ozturk pending a final decision on her claim that shes been illegally detained following an op-ed she co-wrote last year that criticized the schools response to Israels war in Gaza.Her immigration proceedings in Louisiana also will continue separately. Ozturk, detailing her growing asthma attacks in detention and her desire to finish her doctorate degree focusing on children and social media, appeared at a bail hearing remotely from the Louisiana center. She and her lawyer hugged after hearing his decision. Completing my Ph.D. is very important to me, she testified. She had been on track to finish her work in December when she was arrested. Lawyers for Ozturk, 30, said her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. Protesters gather outside federal court during a hearing for Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral student from Turkey who was detained by immigration authorities, April 3, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi, File) Protesters gather outside federal court during a hearing for Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral student from Turkey who was detained by immigration authorities, April 3, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Ozturk was to be released Friday on her own recognizance with no travel restrictions, Sessions said. He said she is not a danger to the community or a flight risk, but that he might amend his release order to consider any specific conditions by ICE in consultation with her lawyers. He said he didnt think electronic monitoring would be in order, and that she would also have at least monthly contact with a staffer of the Burlington Community Justice Center to report on how shes doing, and her current and future plans. The idea is for her to try to reintegrate into her community after what has been a very traumatic event and incident, Sessions said. This is a woman who is just totally committed to her academic career, Sessions said. This is someone who probably doesnt have a whole lot of other things going on other than reaching out to other members of the community in a caring and compassionate way. ... She has done nothing other than essentially attend her university and expand her contacts within the community in such a supportive way. He said the government has not offered any additional evidence. There is no evidence here as to the motivation absent the consideration the op-ed.Sessions told Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher he wants to know immediately when she is released.Sessions said Ozturk raised serious concerns about her First Amendment and due process rights, as well as her health.Ozturk on Friday said the first of 12 asthma attacks came on at the Atlanta airport while she was waiting to be taken to Louisiana. The attack was severe, and she did not have all her medications.I was afraid, and I was crying, she said. A doctor who spoke with Ozturk said her condition could worsen if she is left in detention and could require emergency care. The U.S. Justice Department said an immigration court in Louisiana, which is conducting separate removal proceedings regarding Ozturk, has jurisdiction over her case. Sessions ordered Ozturks transfer to Vermont, where she was last confined before she was taken to Louisiana. The government requested a delay, but a federal appeals court upheld his decision Wednesday, ordering Ozturk to be transferred to ICE custody in Vermont no later than May 14. Sessions decided not to wait for the transfer, going ahead with the bail hearing.Ozturk waived her right to appear at the hearing in person, agreeing to participate remotely. Immigration officials surrounded Ozturk in Massachusetts on March 25 and drove her to New Hampshire and Vermont before putting her on a plane to a detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Her student visa had been revoked several days earlier, but she was not informed of that, her lawyers said.Ozturks lawyers first filed a petition on her behalf in Massachusetts, but they did not know where she was and were unable to speak to her until more than 24 hours after she was detained. A Massachusetts judge later transferred the case to Vermont. Ozturk was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily, last year criticizing the universitys response to student activists demanding that Tufts acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, disclose its investments and divest from companies with ties to Israel.Ozturk said Friday that if she is released, Tufts would offer her housing and her lawyers and friends would drive her to future court hearings.I will follow all the rules, she said.A State Department memo said Ozturks visa was revoked following an assessment that her actions may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization including co-authoring an op-ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in March, without providing evidence, that investigations found that Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.____Associated Press writer Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Yuriy Bukhenik holds up a hat which was found on the yard where John O'Keefe's body was found during the trial of Karen Read in Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)2025-04-28T16:21:15Z A defense attorney in Karen Reads second murder case on Friday grilled a top police investigator about delays in booking critical evidence connected to the death of Reads boyfriend, a Boston police officer. Prosecutors say Read, 45, backed her SUV into John OKeefe, 46, and left him to die on a snowy night in the front yard of another officers home after she dropped him off at a party there in January 2022. Her lawyers say she was framed in a police conspiracy and that someone inside the home that night must have killed him. A mistrial was declared last year. Reads second trial on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene has so far appeared to follow similar contours to the first. What happened to the evidence?On Friday, Reads attorney Alan Jackson pressed one of the investigators, Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, about how the evidence including pieces of Reads taillight were processed.Jackson repeatedly suggested the evidence was collected at the scene by Michael Proctor, the disgraced state trooper who led the investigation. Bukhenik kept saying he wasnt sure who did what.Proctor was suspended for sending sexist and lewd text about Read soon after the first trial and subsequently fired in March. The State Police Trial Board also found Proctor guilty of providing sensitive and confidential information about the case to people outside of law enforcement and consuming alcohol while on duty. Bukhenik was disciplined but not fired for failing to reprimand Proctor for offensive text messages, some of which were read aloud on Friday. Jackson then questioned Bukhenik why about six pieces of Reads taillight from a total of 46 pieces collected in February 2022 werent logged into evidence for another two months. Bukhenik was shown an evidence bag with the items but couldnt say who filled out the evidence bag. Can you point to any documentation indicating where those items went, whose possession they were in and what circumstance between Feb. 10 and March 14, Jackson said, later displaying an evidence bag that had Proctors signature showing evidence collected Feb. 11.Bukhenik insisted the evidence was handled appropriately, saying you claiming it wasnt booked into something doesnt mean it wasnt properly handled in custody and under our control. Reads flirty text messagesThe defense on Friday also had Bukhenik read aloud text messages between Read and Brian Higgins, a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The text messages took place in the weeks leading up to OKeefes death.According to the texts, Read initiated the conversation with Higgins, eventually calling him hot and telling him that she liked how much they were alike. Were single, Read at one point wrote to Higgins. We can do whatever we want.Higgins also called Read hot and asked, where did these feelings come from?During the initial trial last year, Jackson suggested Higgins lured OKeefe to the house party, where the two got into a fight.The texts on Friday also showed Read explaining she was discontent with her relationship with OKeefe and unhappy having to manage OKeefes children when she never wanted kids. I have issues with John and things are far from perfect, Read texted Higgins. On the night of Jan. 28, 2022, Higgins wrote well? after seeing Read and OKeefe at the Waterfall Bar and Grille, the last bar the two were spotted at before going to the party.John died, Read responded the next day. Proctors involvement is questionedJackson kicked off questioning Thursday by focusing on the integrity of the case, which Bukhenik defended. However, when the questioning turned to Proctors involvement, Bukhenik downplayed his former colleagues role and denied Proctor was considered the lead investigator on the OKeefe case. Instead, he said Proctor was assigned the case because he was the person on call.The investigation was conducted with honor and integrity, and all the evidence pointed in one direction, Bukhenik said. The investigation was handled with integrity by Michael Proctor.Proctor did not have a major role, Bukhenik said, explaining that would mean that Proctor was in charge of more than 50% of the case.Jackson then had Bukhenik read several search warrants that allegedly were spearheaded by Proctor but Bukhenik said he could not validate the forms. He later told Jackson that Proctor was keeping the team informed about what was happening, which search warrants were issued and which interviews were conducted. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 09 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01487-0E-mails reveal the stoppage at the US Environmental Protection Agency, which is encouraging workers to resign ahead of a reorganization.

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This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections via AP, File)2025-05-09T04:12:02Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez will move forward next week after a series of delays.The brothers were sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting their entertainment executive father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. The brothers were 18 and 21 at the time of the killings. Defense attorneys argued the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, while prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic on Friday set the hearings for next Tuesday and Wednesday.The hearing was supposed to be about the defense attorneys request to remove the Los Angeles district attorneys office from the case, but defense attorneys withdrew their motion. Prosecutors, meanwhile, tried again to withdraw the resentencing petition set under the prior district attorney. Jesic rejected their efforts.Heres what to know: Resentencing hearings on May 13 and 14Next week, the judge will hear arguments on the crucial question: Have Erik and Lyle Menendez been rehabilitated during 30 years in prison? The brothers attorneys say yes. Since their conviction, the brothers have gotten an education, participated in self-help classes and started various support groups for their fellow inmates.The extended Menendez family, with the exception of an uncle who died last month, has said they fully forgive the brothers for what they did and want them to be freed. Their cousins have said the brothers worked hard over the decades to better themselves and give back to the prison community.Defense attorney Mark Geragos said he plans to call seven family members to testify at the hearings. If the brothers are resentenced, they could become immediately eligible for parole. The state parole board would ultimately rule on whether to release them from prison. LA prosecutors oppose the brothers resentencingFormer LA County District Attorney George Gascn had opened the door to possible freedom for the brothers in October by requesting their sentences be reduced to 50 years with the possibility of parole. His office said the case wouldve been handled differently today due to modern understandings of sexual abuse and trauma, and the brothers rehabilitation during their 30 years in prison.But current district attorney Nathan Hochman reversed course and opposed the brothers resentencing.Hes argued the brothers have not taken full responsibility for their crimes because they have not admitted to lies told during their trials.Theyre not ready to be resentenced, Hochman told the judge Friday.The state parole board made available last month the preliminary results of risk assessments for Erik and Lyle Menendez conducted by a forensic psychologist. While the reports have not been made public, Hochman cited them as the reason why he could not support resentencing.According to Hochman, the reports said the brothers had recently broken prison rules by smuggling cellphones inside, which he argued demonstrated an inability to regulate their own behavior. It came to the conclusion that they were moderately more likely to engage in violence in the community, Hochman said. But Jesic disagreed.I dont see anything new, he said. Hes (Erik Menendez) had cellphones throughout the time hes been in custody. Geragos had filed a motion to remove the case from Hochmans office, arguing that Hochman has a bias against the brothers. But he withdrew that motion Friday. Hochman has said he has done nothing wrong and simply disagrees with the defense attorneys and their arguments as to why the brothers should be resentenced. Clemency from governor still on the tableThe Menendez brothers are still waiting for the full results of a state parole board risk assessment ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom s office. The final hearing, scheduled for June 13, will influence whether Newsom grants the brothers clemency.While parts of the risk assessment were disclosed in court Friday that could be unfavorable to the brothers case, Geragos emphasized they were only one component of the parole boards evaluation, not meant to be made public and could still change.

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