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Earlier, former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan left the courthouse after testifying before the grand jury. And he had strong words for his fellow Republicans. Duncan told reporters he could not speak to the specifics of his testimony, but said "it's important to tell the truth". Duncan later elaborated to the Atlanta Journal Constitution that this was "a pivot point for this country to do something more than just stew on the 2020 election cycle". "We're either gonna as Republicans, take our medicine and realise the election wasn't rigged, Donald Trump was the worst candidate ever in the history of the party [... ] and now we're going to have to pivot from here. "We wanna win an election in 2024, it's gonna have to be somebody else than Donald Trump if we do it." Duncan had a front row seat to Trump's efforts to impact the Georgia election results in 2020 and he harshly criticised the former president and his allies for their actions. Earlier today, Trump had warned in a Truth Social post that Duncan should not testify. FULL STORY

Hawaii wildfires: Crews may find 10 to 20 wildfire victims a day - governor Recovery crews combing through homes and vehicles burned to a cinder in Hawaii are likely to find 10 to 20 more victims per day, the governor has warned. The death toll grew to 96 on Sunday, making this the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century. Governor Josh Green told CBS News it could take up to 10 days to learn the full death toll. The number of missing now stands at around 1,300, he said. Nearly the entire town of Lahaina was destroyed in the fire. "There is nothing to see except full devastation," Mr Green told CBS, the BBC's US news partner, on Sunday. All residents of Lahaina - home to 12,000 people - probably escaped or perished in the fire, he added. He said crews would probably discover more victims and that it would take time to identify them. Laser beams and other Hawaii fire conspiracy theories "It's hard to recognise anybody," Mr Green said. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66470121

Nearly half of Britons want a second Brexit referendum in the next 10 years, a new YouGov poll has revealed. More than a quarter of people support a referendum as soon as the end of 2023. In a survey taken between the 8 to 9 August, 46 per cent of people said there should be a referendum in the next 10 years, while 36 per cent of people said there should not. The poll also surveyed how much progress has been made with the Brexit deal, though the results show little satisfaction. Less than a third of people (30 per cent) think Brexit is “done”, while almost half (49 per cent) said it is not complete. However, in an earlier survey conducted between 28 February to 1 March, only 18 per cent thought Brexit was done while 60 per cent said it was not.When asked how they would vote if there was a referendum on joining the EU, half of the participants said they would vote to join. FULL STORY

Donald Trump is already facing 78 criminal charges across three cases - but this week in Georgia, he could be hit with one he has never seen before: racketeering. Local prosecutors in Fulton County have been investigating the efforts to overturn Mr Trump's defeat in the closely-contested state in the 2020 election. US media reports suggest the district attorney's office could be pursuing racketeering charges that implicate several people in a sprawling election subversion conspiracy, with Mr Trump as the alleged ringleader. If it does, it would be indicting a former American president on charges once used to convict mob bosses like John Gotti and Vincent Gigante. All eyes on Georgia for another potential Trump case How big are Donald Trump's legal problems? Organised criminal activity in the US is routinely prosecuted under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act. Rico laws help prosecutors connect the dots between underlings who broke laws and those who gave them marching orders. More than 30 US states have implemented their own versions of the federal government's Rico Act and Georgia's adaptation is broader in scope than most. FULL STORY

At least 30 people are reported missing after a mudslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar. The mountainous town of Hpakant in the Kachin state is home to the world's biggest and most lucrative jade mines. Many of those affected are believed to be locals digging through the mud along the cliffs, many of whom work and live in abandoned mining pits. Lethal landslides are common in the area when heavy monsoon rain pummels Myanmar between May and October. At least 162 people died in a landslide in the same area in July 2020, while an accident in 2015 left more than 110 dead. Mining operations had been suspended because of the rainy season. However, many of those caught in the accident, which happened at about 15:30 local time on Sunday, were independent scavengers looking to find jade. The intense rain had loosened massive piles of earth more than 150m in height, left over from excavations by mining companies, sending the dirt and debris hurtling down the cliff and sweeping up miners on the way. Survivors have also described a wall of mud, rocks and floodwater overwhelming them as they were digging for jade. The landscape in this part of Myanmar is scarred with hundreds of unregulated mines. These attract huge numbers of migrant workers from other parts of the country who come to search for jade, most of which ends up being sold in China. One rescue worker told the Associated Press than 34 people were missing, while eight were injured and were taken to a hospital on Sunday. FULL STORY

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flipped pork chops in front of the cameras at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, a plane appeared in the broiling blue sky. It was Donald Trump's Boeing 757 private jet. It circled the fairgrounds, and thousands in the crowd looked up and went wild, cheering for the Republican former president. An hour later, Trump arrived in a motorcade from nearby Des Moines airport to a rock-star reception, stealing DeSantis' thunder and reducing his nearest rival for the Republican presidential nomination to a bit-part player at one of the biggest political events on the U.S. political calendar. It was a moment that epitomized the state of the 2024 Republican presidential nominating race: Trump is far ahead in national polling, eclipsing Florida's governor and the rest of the field, who have so far been at a loss over how to narrow that gap. The Iowa State Fair is a political must for aspiring presidential candidates in the Midwestern state that kicks off the Republican nominating contest in January. But with Trump leading DeSantis by 34 percentage points among likely Republican primary voters in an Aug. 3 Reuters/Ipsos poll, and the rest of the field languishing in single digits, the fair this year had the air of a coronation rather than a beauty pageant. Despite Trump's legal problems - he has been indicted three times this year and could be indicted a fourth time in Georgia this week - he holds one of the biggest primary polling leads in U.S. electoral history. No candidate in modern history has had such a big lead in a contested primary and gone on to lose the nomination. Meanwhile, DeSantis has had two staff shake-ups in the past three weeks and has been sinking in the polls as he desperately tries to recalibrate his campaign. As Trump walked from the pork chop tent to the Steer N' Stein bar to make a speech, flocked by supporters chanting, "We love you Trump!," a reporter asked him about DeSantis. "He's doing very, very poorly in the polls. He really should leave the race," Trump said. Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist who opposes Trump's nomination, has been holding focus groups with Republican voters all year. During the last two she held, in the past two weeks, not a single person even mentioned DeSantis. When asked directly about the Florida governor at the recent focus groups, one voter called him "sneaky." Another dismissed him as just "another regular politician." A third said he was part of the "deep state," a term often used by conspiracy theorists to refer to people in government they believe are working clandestinely to manipulate national policy. "DeSantis is in a death spiral," Longwell said. FULL STORY

Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling on Sunday warned of the possibility that former President Trump’s threatening words could lead to lone acts of violence, ahead of a likely fourth indictment expected. In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Sterling said he does not expect to see any large-scale or organized violence, but he expressed his concern that the violent rhetoric could radicalize individuals who are “probably mentally unstable.” “Obviously, at this point, you never know what’s going to happen,” Sterling said when asked whether he’s concerned that Trump’s rhetoric could lead to violence. Sterling was also asked about an attack ad that Trump’s team is running labeling Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and others the “fraud squad.” “My biggest concern for years now – I’ve said this at election conferences where you get professionals who run elections around this country – is somebody will be motivated by some of these kind of languages at some point and do something stupid,” Sterling continued. “It’s not going to mean organized things. It’s not going to be a bunch of conspirators together. It’s going to be one probably mentally unstable individual who’s going to be radicalized through this process and that’s my biggest concern through this,” he said. FULL STORY

Hunter Biden’s attorney on Sunday criticized Justice Department (DOJ) prosecutors for changing “their decision on the fly” regarding a plea agreement reached between federal prosecutors and the president’s son, a deal that was ultimately put on hold after a hearing last month. Abbe Lowell, who represents Biden, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there were three possibilities for why both sides didn’t leave a July 26 hearing with a plea deal secured by a judge. “One, they wrote something and weren’t clear what they meant. Two, they knew what they meant and misstated it to counsel. Or third, they change their view as they were standing in court in Delaware,” Lowell said, speaking of the DOJ prosecutors. When pressed further by CBS’s Margaret Brennan on whether he thought the prosecutors were “incompetent,” he wouldn’t use that characterization. He instead said prosecutors “changed their decision on the fly standing up in court.” Hunter Biden’s plea deal involving tax and gun charges was put on hold last month after the judge presiding over the case questioned the parameters of the agreement reached with the Justice Department. President Biden’s son was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay income taxes as part of a deal announced last month with the DOJ, but instead pleaded not guilty after the plea deal was placed on hold. FULL STORY

Across Asia, by far the most popular form of personal transport is the motor scooter. Thailand has 20 million of them, Vietnam 45 million, and Indonesia more than 80 million. They are cheap and convenient - but polluting. To cut emissions, cities need to switch to a clean, electric alternative. But how? One Taiwanese company, which has already built the world’s largest battery-swapping network, says it has the answer. We took the bike for a ride in Taipei to find out how the system works. WATCH VIDEO REPORT

The annual Perseid meteor shower has lit up skies across the world to the delight of those hoping to catch a glimpse of a shooting star. The phenomenon brings up to 100 meteors an hour, as the Earth slams into the debris left behind from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. As the debris hits the Earth's atmosphere it burns up, resulting in the bright flashes known as shooting stars, which can be seen with the naked eye. The natural display happens at a similar time in July and August each year, and this year peaked between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday. Heavy cloud over much of the UK meant many stargazers were disappointed, although some sightings were possible over Yorkshire, north-east England and parts of southern Scotland. Looking ahead to the chances of spotting a shooting star over the coming days, BBC weather forecaster Billy Payne said many should be able to get a glimpse despite less than perfect conditions. "Tonight, we'll see cloud and rain spreading across much of England and Wales, so viewing opportunities will be limited," he said. "East Anglia and the south-east and the far north of England may see some breaks for a time before cloud increases later. "Scotland and Northern Ireland will have a few clear spells overnight but even here there will be some areas of cloud around. "Tomorrow night should offer better conditions as cloud and rain gives way to clearer skies for many. "Rain may drag its heels across northern England though, while the far north and west are likely to see areas of cloud come and go, particularly towards coasts and hills." FULL STORY (more pictures)

Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) has cut ties with its Indonesian franchise after several contestants alleged sexual abuse days before the pageant's crowning ceremony in Jakarta. Contestants said finalists were unexpectedly asked to strip for "a body check for scars and cellulite" and some said they were photographed topless. The US-based MUO said it was clear the franchise had not lived up to its brand standards, ethics, or expectations. Jakarta police are probing the claims. MUO also said it was also cancelling this year's pageant in Malaysia which is run by the same company, PT Capella Swastika Karya. Miss Universe Organisation thanked the women that filed the complaints for their bravery and reiterated "providing a safe place for women " was its priority. It said it was evaluating its policies and procedures to avoid similar occurrences and said there were no measurement or body dimensions requirements to join its pageants worldwide. "In light of what we have learned took place at Miss Universe Indonesia, it has become clear that this franchise has not lived up to our brand standards, ethics, or expectations," MUO posted on Saturday night. Miss Universe, which is now on its 73rd edition, is popular in South-east Asia, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, where winners go on to become celebrities and social media influencers. Its owner Anne Jakrajutatip, a Thai transgender woman and media mogul, has sought to revamp the brand to make it more inclusive by allowing married women, transgender women and single mothers to compete. Poppy Capella, Indonesia's franchise director said on Instagram that she had "never known, ordered, requested or allowed anyone who played a role and participated in the process of organizing Miss Universe Indonesia 2023 to commit violence or sexual harassment through body checking". She also added that she was against "any form of violence or sexual harassment." FULL STORY

A knife darting out in a packed subway car. An assailant, chasing shoppers, stabbing wildly in the street. These nightmares have played out in the minds of many South Koreans following a mass stabbing attack last week - the country's second in as many weeks. On 21 July, a man attacked commuters in the capital, killing one person and stabbing three more at a subway station. He later told police he lived a miserable life and "wanted to make others miserable too". Then, on 3 August, 14 people were injured in Seongnam, south-east of Seoul, when a man rammed his car into pedestrians near a subway stop, and then ran into a department store, where he stabbed nine people. One woman died later from her injuries. The second attacker, Choi Won-jong, 22, was a delivery driver and high-school dropout who had been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder. Police said he had googled news about the first attack before his own rampage. "What's happening in South Korea these days?" cried citizens online afterwards - dazed by back-to-back stabbings in a nation known otherwise for low rates of violent crime. "Our country used to be one of the safest in the world… but recently I can't say that any more," one commented on YouTube. 'Mudjima' crimes In South Korea, they are known as "Don't Ask Why" or Mudjima crimes - inexplicable acts of violence targeting strangers, driven by no personal link to victims or obvious motive. FULL STORY

A high school in north-eastern Cambodia has been forced to close temporarily after thousands of unexploded munitions were discovered. Cambodia remains one of the world's most heavily mined countries, 48 years after the end of its brutal civil war. At that time, the Queen Kosomak High School in Kratie province was being used as a military station. Photos show tons of rusty explosives neatly stacked in rows, with grenades and anti-tank launchers among them. In total, more than 2,000 pieces of ordnance was discovered over three days - Heng Ratana, director general of the Cambodian Mine Action Centre, told AFP news agency. He said the munitions were found when the ground was being cleared to expand a garden, and if the whole school was cleared, more would likely be dug up. "It is a huge stroke of luck for the students. These explosive devices are easy to explode if someone dug into the ground and hit them," Mr Heng said. Students were told to stay away from the school until the clean up was complete, which was expected to take two days. Cambodia's eight-year civil war ended in 1975, however it continue to suffer from the aftermath. Landmines that are scattered across the country have killed more than 64,000 people, while 25,000 amputees have been recorded since 1979, according to The Halo Trust. The Cambodian government has vowed to clear all landmines and unexploded artillery by 2025. FULL STORY

Latest........... Maui fire: 93 killed as governor warns of 'significant' death toll rise Ninety-three people have been confirmed killed in the Maui fire that razed the historic town of Lahaina, marking the most deadly US fire in a century. The number of victims could rise "significantly", Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned on Saturday, as forensic work continues to identify the victims. Hundreds remain unaccounted for while hundreds of others fill shelters across Maui after fleeing the flames. "It's an impossible day," Mr Green said. The fire will "certainly be the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced", he said. "We can only wait and support those who are living. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them health care, and then turn to rebuilding." While the wildfires are now largely under control, efforts to fully extinguish them are continuing in parts of the island, including around Lahaina, which has been devastated. What caused the Hawaii wildfires? Famous banyan tree and centuries-old church hit by Hawaii fires Survivors describe harrowing escapes from the flames https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66489815

Laser pen works, won't stop them returning but does move them quietly and efficiently.

We didn’t drink much water when I was a child. It was either Tizer or milk. I’m an old fella now but when I was at school, everyone would have half a bottle of milk. Sometimes it was off and it was awful, especially in the summer when it was left outside. When I was 16 I got very sick on whisky and my dad gave me a thump around the head. I’d been in a pub called the Duke of York in Goodge Street in London because I was a wannabe beatnik. I just had too many of them. It really turned me off whisky for a while. Each morning, I have a cup of tea brought to me in bed by staff. They come up with the newspapers and say, ‘Good morning, Mr Stewart’ and I say, ‘Good morning, ladies’. I drink my tea, look at Sky News and read the newspapers. I’m usually out of bed by ten past eight. I have to have my tea in a mug in the morning, but it has to be in a proper tea cup in the afternoon. I take it with one and a half sugars in a sort of light mahogany colour. I also have a coffee around 11am and that is my intake of caffeine for the day. FULL ARTICLE

No 10 was forced to correct a tweet suggesting that the UK was still inside the EU. Downing Street made the mistake in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, boasting about Britain’s prowess in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The official account used a graphic saying the UK “is home to twice as many AI companies as any other EU country”. After users pointed out that Britain was no longer part of the bloc after Brexit, No 10 then changed to say “any EU country” instead. The post was aimed at highlighting the Rishi Sunak government’s investment in AI, including £13m invested in tech for the NHS. As well as hoping to make London the home of a new global regulator, Sunak is keen for the UK to host an international AI summit this autumn. But experts in the field have questioned Britain’s capability, with concerns that the country is lagging behind much of Europe and the US. It comes as AI has been recommended for use to aid NHS clinicians for the first time, in a move that could help boost cancer patients by saving radiographers hundreds of thousands of hours. FULL STORY

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The Home Office is facing mounting pressure over its “startling incompetence” after asylum seekers had to be evacuated from the Bibby Stockholm barge following the discovery of Legionella bacteria. Conservative backbenchers have accused the department of overseeing a “farce” after the 39 people who had boarded the vessel were transferred to alternative accommodation on Friday evening. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock also wrote to his opposite number on Saturday asking what the Home Office knew about the risk of the bacteria being present before moving migrants onto the barge. Department officials are understood to have been told by Dorset Council on Wednesday evening about the discovery of initial results indicating that the bacteria was present, but the transfer of a further six migrants on to the barge still went ahead on Thursday. Government sources said the UK Health Security Agency then told ministers on Thursday that Legionella had been found in the vessel’s water system and advised them that they needed to remove those six migrants. Former Brexit secretary David Davis said the barge would not serve as a “solution” to the backlog even without the presence of the bacteria. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The primary thing that’s been revealed has been the startling incompetence of the Home Office itself… It’s really, really hard to understand how, at all layers, this could not be caught early”. FULL STORY

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In older individuals and the elderly, falls can be dangerous and even fatal. They're also frequent: the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that less than half of older persons who fall each year report it to their doctor. According to the CDC, falling once also doubles your odds of falling again. What causes older persons to fall, and what effects does it have on the body? What you should know is as follows. What increases the risk of falling? The CDC claims that a variety of variables increase the likelihood of falling. These may consist of: weaker lower body having insufficient vitamin D difficulty with balance and walking. using specific medications, such as sedatives or antidepressants vision problems Poor footwear or foot pain Home dangers like trip risks like broken stairs or toss rugs How falls affect your body Falls can have a variety of physical effects on your body. Some of the main dangers, according to the National Institutes of Health, are as follows: broken backs broken hips head injury "A person could have an injury as simple as a bruise or a fall could cause a serious injury," Dr. William Buxton of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John's Health Centre in Santa Monica, California, tells Yahoo Life. "Falls can render people immobile and prevent them from participating in activities for a while." He claims that can socially isolate one and possibly lead to despair. According to Dr Christopher Barnes of Corewell Health Advanced Primary Care, hospitalisation and severe injury are the biggest risks for older people who fall. "Hospital stays are expensive, and being bedridden can lead to many other secondary issues, such as pneumonia and blood clots." According to Dr. Kathryn Boling, a primary care physician at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Centre, all prevention is essential, especially in older persons. "It's important to get things out of the house that can cause falls, like slippery throw rugs, and put lighting in to help you see clearly where you're going," she advises. Boling remembers that one of her patients even had the "genius" idea to install motion detector lights on their stairs so that they could be seen plainly at night. Making your shower a walk-in so you don't have to step over anything, having grab bars and railings on steps, and having some sort of non-slip area in the shower are all useful, according to Boling. According to Dr. Alfred Tallia, professor and chair of the department of family medicine and community health at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, stretching frequently, practising yoga, and strength training exercises can all be beneficial. Here are some great exercises ! You can make them a Daily Routine. You can download these 12 Easy Balance exercises for seniors here: https://www.ptprogress.com/balance Copyright 08-12-2023

National Democratic operatives are looking to the decisive defeat of Ohio's Issue 1 this week as a green light for abortion-focused message going into the 2024 campaign. Why it matters: The Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade resulted in a burst of grassroots energy that many Democrats credit for their better-than-expected midterm showing. Driving the news: On Tuesday, voters in the increasingly Republican-leaning state voted by a decisive margin against raising the threshold for amending the state's Constitution. The measure would have made it more difficult for a state constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights to pass. What we're hearing: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is circulating a memo, first obtained by Axios, noting that the measure was rejected by large majorities in "competitive House districts across the state[.]" The memo argues that the end of Roe is "still a major motivating factor even after the [2022] midterms," pointing also to Democratic over-performances in special elections this year. "It is crucial that Democrats remind voters early and often that ... MAGA Republicans are focusing their power on advocating for dangerous and unpopular abortion bans," it says. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Tommy Garcia echoed the memo in a statement to Axios. “Ohio's special election is the latest confirmation that the GOP's toxic agenda on abortion will lead their Senate campaigns to defeat,” he said. FULL STORY

The Hawaii wildfires have reached a grim milestone as the death toll rose to 67, making it the deadliest natural disaster in the state's history. Hundreds more have been reported missing and the toll may still rise. It comes as Lahaina residents are being allowed to briefly return home on Friday to take stock of the damage to their fire-ravaged town. They returned amid warnings they would be greeted by "destruction like they've not ever seen in their lives". State officials reopened Lahaina to people with proof of residency on Friday for the first time since flames swept rapidly through early this week, razing much of the historic town. A curfew will operate daily from 22:00 to 06:00 local time, and some of the hardest hit parts of the town remain restricted to search and rescue personnel. West Maui, where Lahaina is located, is still without power and water. Search crews are still in the area looking for wildfire victims. Governor Josh Green warned Hawaiians what they found in Lahaina would be hard to see. "Lahaina is a devastated zone. They will see destruction like they've not ever seen in their lives," said the governor, who visited the town on Thursday. "Be very safe, be very careful." Warnings over Maui fires came late, evacuees say What caused the Hawaii wildfires? FULL STORY