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Years before he said he was running for president to “defeat the cult of gender ideology,” Donald Trump welcomed and praised the inclusion of transgender women in the Miss Universe pageant. In since unreported radio and television interviews from spring and summer 2012, Trump celebrated the interest in a 23-year-old transgender woman named Jenna Talackova participating in a Canadian pageant. He then later effusively praised the winner of the Miss USA pageant, Olivia Culpo, for saying that transgender women should be allowed to compete.

Some of the stories now emerging from the boat disaster off Greece on Wednesday morning create a picture of unthinkably horrific conditions onboard. Up to 500 people are missing after an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations has said. Authorities rescued 104 people and recovered 78 bodies in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, but nothing has been found since. Witness accounts suggested 400-700 people had packed the 20-30m-long trawler, which capsized and sank about 50 miles from the southern coastal town of Pylos as it was travelling from Libya to Italy.

A gunman accused of killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 has been found guilty by a jury in the US state of Pennsylvania. The federal trial of Robert Bowers, 50, now moves to the sentencing phase, with the court poised to decide whether he should be given the death penalty. The 27 October assault inside the Tree of Life synagogue was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. Bowers pleaded not guilty to all 63 charges against him. The jury convicted him on all counts after less than a full day of deliberations. During the three-week trial, prosecutors called 60 witnesses as they tried to prove the gunman carried out his attack because of a hatred for Jews.

Millions of Mormon crickets have invaded the town of Elko, Nevada as they enter their migratory phase. The insects, which technically aren't crickets, are members of the katydid family and don't sting or bite. But they can cause widespread damage to crops and other vegetation. Their name comes from their invasion of the crops of Mormon settlers in Utah in the 1800s.

Tell me more, tell me more: It has been 45 years since "Grease" was released in theaters, making John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John household names. The movie, which was released on June 13, 1978, followed Sandy Olsson (Newton-John) and Danny Zuko (Travolta) as they struggled to make their relationship work due to the fact that they come from two completely different worlds. Danny is a greaser and Sandy is a good-girl cheerleader. Their love story quickly captured the hearts of America, becoming such a hit it inspired the sequel, "Grease 2," starring Michelle Pfeiffer as the female lead, Stephanie, in her breakthrough role.

Ukraine war: Village recounts '28 days in hell' when they were held hostage and tortured in a basement by Russian soldiers The villagers of Yahidne in northern Ukraine are still suffering a collective trauma from what many describe as their 28 days in hell when they were held hostage by Russians soldiers. They're now about to be the star witnesses of Ukraine's biggest war crime trials to date.

Sir Richard Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic says it will launch its first commercial flight before the end of this month. The firm is targeting a launch window for the flight, which is called Galactic 01, from 27 June to 30 June. After the announcement to investors, Virgin Galactic shares jumped more than 40% in extended New York trading. In May, Virgin Orbit - a separate space firm owned by the UK billionaire - shut down, months after a mission failed. Virgin Galactic said the first flight will be a scientific research mission, carrying three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy to conduct microgravity research. The company said its second commercial spaceflight will follow in early August, and it expects to operate monthly spaceflights from then on.

Japan has passed laws that redefine rape and raise the age of consent in a landmark overhaul of sex crime laws. The definition of rape was broadened to "non-consensual sexual intercourse" from "forcible sexual intercourse", aligning Japanese law's definition with other countries. The legal age of consent, previously at only 13, has been raised to 16 years. Previous laws did not protect those coerced into having sex and deterred reporting of such attacks, critics say. They have also led to inconsistent court decisions, fuelling calls for change. The new laws were passed by the upper house of the Diet - Japan's parliament - on Friday. They explicitly outline eight scenarios where it is difficult for a victim to "form, express, or fulfil an intention not to consent" to sexual intercourse.

The countries with the world's largest penises have been revealed, but it's bad news if you are from the US or the United Kingdom. On average, men who live in Ecuador and Cameroon have the biggest members, with penises measuring nearly seven inches (17cm) from the root to the tip of the head when erect. The US and UK didn't even make the top 50, with America languishing at 60th with men having an average size of 5.4in (13.5cm) — nearly a third shorter. Britain was in 68th place, with a penis size of 5.2in (13.1cm). Full Article

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Just for info; 161,400 living in Isreal. Average age is 85.5, with over 1,000 over age 100; social equality minister notes urgency in providing assistance as some 40 survivors die each day Source A report to be issued this spring by The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the organization that annually negotiates with Germany for Holocaust reparations, will estimate that just 50,000 Holocaust survivors remain in the United States. (JewishTimes)

An American tourist was arrested in Germany Thursday for allegedly pushing two fellow American tourists down a steep slope – killing one of them – near a famous German castle. The incident took place Wednesday afternoon near the Marienbruecke, a bridge over a gorge that offers a view of the Neuschwanstein Castle. The 30-year-old man met the two American women, ages 21 and 22, on a hiking path and lured them onto a trail that leads to a viewpoint, police said.