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Donald Trump’s legal spokesperson has predicted that forthcoming early trial dates in the former president’s four criminal cases will not hold, and that his multiple cases could clash with the final stages of the 2024 presidential election campaign and voting. Alina Habba told the Fox News Sunday show that prosecutors’ plans for fast turnarounds in Trump’s two federal criminal cases and the state indictments in New York and Georgia amounted to “unrealistic theatrics”. She said that each of the trials would last from four to six weeks, raising the threat of overlapping schedules. “No judge is going to say you can be in two trials in two different states, because a lot of these overlap. They are going to have to go into October, November of next year,” she said. Habba, who acts as general counsel for the Trump-supporting political fundraising group Save America PAC, claimed that the possibility of extending the trials right up to election day, 5 November, next year, was “by design”. She claimed, without providing evidence, that Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton county in Georgia who is leading the prosecution of Trump over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who has spearheaded the two federal indictments, were engaged in a “coordinated effort” with partisan motive. “We know this is intentional – it’s to tie [Trump] up, it’s definitely political,” Habba said. FULL STORY

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden is a “natural step forward” following Republican probes into the business dealings of the president and his family. In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy, R-Calif., was asked whether he plans to launch an impeachment inquiry when Congress returns next month. “So, if you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said. He added that an impeachment inquiry “provides Congress the apex of legal power to get all the information they need.” The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. McCarthy's remarks suggest that the House, which Republicans lead by a slim margin, is moving closer toward an impeachment inquiry. Last week, he said the House could move forward with an impeachment inquiry if the administration doesn’t provide documents Republicans say they want to review. “The thing that holds up whether we’ll do an impeachment inquiry: Provide us the documents we’re asking,” he said in a Fox Business interview. “The whole determination here is how the Bidens handle this. “If they provide us the documents, there wouldn’t be a need for an impeachment inquiry,” he added. “But if they withhold the documents and fight like they have now to not provide to the American public what they deserve to know, we will move forward with an impeachment inquiry when we come back into session.” McCarthy said Republicans are seeking bank and credit card statements, but he didn’t specify from which members of the Biden family. FULL STORY

Joe Biden’s re-election campaign isn’t going to focus on Donald Trump's legal woes, co-chair Cedric Richmond said Sunday, as the president continues to refrain from talking directly about his predecessor's four criminal indictments. “The president has said from the beginning that he wanted an independent Justice Department, and we have to do just that,” Richmond, who previously was a top aide to Biden in the White House, said in an interview on ABC News' "This Week." “So we’re not going to comment. We’re not going to focus on Donald Trump’s legal problems.” Biden has taken shots at Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, over a number of issues in recent months, as well as his Make America Great Again agenda, but he has stayed mum on discussing the four separate indictments against Trump that have plagued the early race for the White House. As Trump traveled to the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday night to surrender on charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, a battleground state, Biden posted a link to donate to his campaign on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Apropos of nothing, I think today’s a great day to give to my campaign,” he wrote in the post. Richmond insisted that Biden wasn't referring to the indictment: “No, those emails go out — you get five and six of them a day — so I wouldn’t read much into that.” In separate cases, special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump this month on federal charges that he conspired to defraud the country and tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power to Biden, and he indicted him in June over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office. FULL STORY

Students will be banned from wearing abaya, a loose-fitting full-length robe worn by some Muslim women, in France's state-run schools, the education minister has said. The rule will be applied as soon as the new school year starts on 4 September. France has a strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws. Wearing a headscarf has been banned since 2004 in state-run schools. "When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn't be able to identify the pupils' religion just by looking at them," Education Minister Gabriel Attal told France's TF1 TV, adding: "I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools." The move comes after months of debate over the wearing of abayas in French schools. The garment has being increasingly worn in schools, leading to a political divide over them, with right-wing parties pushing for a ban while those on the left have voiced concerns for the rights of Muslim women and girls. "Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school," Mr Attal told TF1, arguing the abaya is "a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute." He said that he would give clear rules at the national level before schools open after the summer break. FULL STORY

When soldiers in Myanmar arrested Ko Toot's friend and his pregnant wife after the February 2021 coup, he became so angry he decided to join efforts to remove the military from power - by using his IT skills. The app-based mobile game that he developed is based on "real events" in the country and has proved a hit - incensing the ruling junta and raising funds for the anti-military resistance. "They had never done a single criminal thing in their lives," said Ko Toot of the couple, who were detained for supporting the pro-democracy movement. He didn't know what had happened to them. The BBC only recently established the woman was released within a day, but the man was held for about a year and a half. After their arrest, Ko Toot then heard the military had detained the wife and infant daughter of a pro-democracy activist it had been unable to locate. "Imagine you are a young child and you grow up inside a dirty, stressful and sadistic prison, and you have no idea what's going on. It made my blood boil." So Ko Toot, who works as an IT professional, decided he had to be part of the movement to oust the "cruel and dangerous" military - and began working on his game. Ko Toot spoke to the BBC by text message on an encrypted app, and would not reveal his location. We are using a pseudonym for his safety. Myanmar descended into almost full-scale civil war after the coup. More than 4,000 people have been killed by the military since then, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group. The UN says the death toll is "likely to be far higher". Gauging troop casualties is hard - the military has acknowledged losses but not given a figure. The exiled National Unity Government says the resistance has killed 20,000 soldiers, but the BBC has not verified this figure. FULL STORY

China's summer this year has seen both extreme heat and devastating floods. And the flooding this time around has struck areas where such weather has been unheard of, with scientists - blaming climate change - warning that the worst is yet to come. "I've never seen a flood here in my whole life," says 38-year-old Zhang Junhua, standing next to a vast patch of rice, now completely useless. "We just didn't expect it." His family and friends are safe, he says, because they were given plenty of warning to get to higher ground, but everyone in his village now has some tough months ahead. What's more, the devastation in north-east China's Heilongjiang Province has had a major impact on food supplies for the whole country. This month, 40% of the area's famous Wuchang rice crop has been wiped out, visibly flattened by the volume and speed of the water. Places which should appear lush and green are today brown and dead. "The fields where we planted our crops were all submerged. We can't plant again this year," says another farmer, Zhao Lijuan, as she smiles and tries to be philosophical about the impact on her community. "The losses are incalculable. We have tens of thousands of acres of rice fields here," the 56-year-old says, adding: "When I saw the water come here, I cried. It laid waste to everything and I am scared the typhoons will be back." FULL STORY

Bob Barker, the longtime host of The Price is Rightgameshow and a vocal animal rights activist, has died at the age of 99. Barker died of natural causes at his home in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles on Saturday morning, his publicist Roger Neal announced. “It is with profound sadness that we announce that the World’s Greatest MC who ever lived, Bob Barker has left us,” Mr Neal said in a statement. Barker retired in 2007 after hosting the hit CBS game show since 1972. “I was 48 and didn’t have any thoughts about the rest of my life. It was just another show I thought I would have fun with and be well paid for,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

The post Bernie Marsden, Original Whitesnake Guitarist, Dead at 72 appeared first on Consequence. Bernie Marsden, the original guitarist for Whitesnake, has died at the age of 72. He passed away on Thursday (August 24th), according to a social media post from his family. “On behalf of his family, it is with deep sadness we announce the death of Bernie Marsden,” read the announcement on Marsden’s Facebook page. “Bernie died peacefully on Thursday evening with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side. Bernie never lost his passion for music, writing and recording new songs until the end.” Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale issued his own statement, writing, “I’ve just woken up to the awful news that my old friend & former Snake Bernie Marsden has passed. My sincere thoughts & prayers to his beloved family, friends & fans. A genuinely funny, gifted man, whom I was honored to know & share a stage with RIP, Bernie XXX.” After a brief stint in the band UFO, Marsden became a founding member of Whitesnake in 1978, as part of an original lineup that included Coverdale, guitarist Mick Moody, bassist Neil Murray, and drummer Dave Dowie. He appeared on the band’s first five albums, from 1978’s Trouble through 1982’s Saints & Sinners. FULL ARTICLE

Liam Neeson's got a brand new action vehicle to show off his particular set of skills. "Retribution" is out now, exclusively in theaters. (20th Century Fox) When it comes to being an action star, Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills. The Northern Irish actor, also known for his roles in blockbusters like Love Actually, Silence, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and the Oscar-winning Schindler’s List, has been expertly portraying gunslinging heroes since stepping into the role of ex-CIA agent and protective father Bryan Mills in the 2009 film Taken. Now, Neeson’s back behind the wheel of a new action thriller, Retribution, which rolls into theaters today. Here’s what you need to know about the new Liam Neeson movie, plus where it falls in the ranking of Liam Neeson’s top 10 action movies (and how to watch all of them). When does Retribution come out? Retribution premieres exclusively in theaters today, August 25, 2023. Retribution plot The new Liam Neeson movie follows a father who receives a strange phone call while commuting with his kids one day. The mystery caller has rigged the car with bombs, sending the family on a high-speed, high stakes chase across the city completing confusing tasks to appease the attacker. Retribution cast Alongside Neeson, the Retribution cast includes Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz and Matthew Modine. Liam Neeson’s top 10 action movies.......... MORE ON THIS

A majority of Americans in a new Gallup poll disapprove of President Biden’s handling of immigration, the economy and relations with China and Russia as he campaigns for another term in the White House. The poll found Biden’s overall job approval rating at a relatively steady 42 percent, with 53 percent disapproving and 5 percent with no opinion. Less than a third approve of his job on immigration and relations with China, at 31 and 32 percent, respectively. Just 37 percent each approve of his handling the economy and relations with Russia. His economy rating has ticked up five points since March as the country recovers from stress over the debt ceiling and potential default, but it’s still down from 54 percent at the start of his term. On the other hand, Americans’ approval of his handling of the situation in Ukraine, race relations and education are higher than his overall approval score — at 47, 46 and 44 percent, respectively. Biden’s overall approval rating is up five points since a low of 37 percent in April, but is still significantly lower than the 57 percent logged at the start of his first year in office. Nearly nine in 10 Democrats approve of the president’s job performance, while just 3 percent of Republicans say the same, highlighting a stark partisan divide on the question. Thirty-nine percent of independents approve of his handling of the presidency. Taken Aug. 1-23, the Gallup poll surveyed 1,014 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. FULL STORY

Spain’s women’s soccer team said they will not play any games until the president of their country’s soccer federation leaves his post in a statement Friday. Jenni Hermoso, a player for the Spanish national team, said she did not want to be kissed by Spain FA president Luis Rubiales during celebrations after winning the World Cup in the statement released by her and co-signed by her teammates via a union, according to multiple sources. According to the same outlets, Rubiales has said the kiss was consensual. “I do not tolerate it when my word is put into doubt and less so when words that I have not said are invented,” Hermoso wrote in the statement, according to Reuters. This statement comes amid a refusal by Rubiales to step down. He reportedly defended himself Friday at an emergency meeting of the country’s federation. “I won’t resign,” Rubiales said four times in a row at the meeting, to an audience which was “overwhelmingly male” according to The Associated Press. He added that the backlash is a result of a witch hunt by “false feminists.” Hermoso’s teammates are coming to Hermoso’s defense, with several expressing their disdain over the situation on X. “This is unacceptable,” Alexia Putellas reportedly wrote on X, notes the AP. “I’m with you, my teammate, Jenni Hermoso.” FULL STORY

It is the only known photograph of Capt Francis Crozier An original portrait photograph of a famous Arctic explorer, taken shortly before the doomed Franklin expedition, will be auctioned in London next month. Capt Francis Crozier and 13 other senior officers were photographed in May of 1845. The complete set of 14 portraits will be auctioned by Sotheby's. Two images in the set, including Capt Crozier's, are missing from the only other original collection of these portraits known to exist. Sir John Franklin's expedition to find a Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic became one of the best-known maritime mysteries of all time after the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror disappeared without a trace in the summer of 1845. At the request of Sir John's wife Jane, Lady Franklin, at least two sets of 14 daguerreotypes, or early photographs, were taken on board HMS Erebus in the days before the ships' departure. The portraits were made by the Beard Studio, founded by pioneering photographer Richard Beard. FULL STORY

Russia says 10 bodies and flight recorders have been recovered from the scene of a jet crash presumed to have killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. "Molecular-genetic tests are now being carried out," investigators say. The plane crashed near Moscow on Wednesday, prompting speculation that a bomb or a missile was to blame. Claims that the Kremlin gave an order to kill Prigozhin were a "complete lie", Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman told the BBC earlier. Prigozhin - once a Putin loyalist - led an aborted armed revolt by his mercenary fighters in June. Mr Putin at the time described the mutiny as "treachery", but a deal was later struck for Wagner mercenaries to either join Russia's regular army or go to Belarus - Moscow's ally. Even so, in the wake of the rebellion, many observers described Prigozhin, 62, as a "dead man walking", arguing that the Russian president would never forgive the Wagner boss. During Friday's conference call with journalists, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC there was "lots of speculation" around the "tragic" deaths of all 10 people in Wednesday's air crash in the Tver region, north-west of the Russian capital. FULL STORY

The photo of Donald Trump scowling defiantly into the camera in the Fulton County Sheriff's office will go down in history. The mugshot, the first of a former US president, came after his fourth arrest in five months. Mr Trump posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since January 2021 to share the address of his website and the mugshot with an all-capital letters caption: "Election interference. Never surrender!" Within hours, his campaign website was selling mugshot-branded mugs, t-shirts and drink coolers. John Bolton, who served as national security advisor under Mr Trump, said the image was likely carefully staged. "I think it's intended to be a sign of intimidation against the prosecutors and the judges," he told CNN. "He could've smiled. He could've looked benign," Mr Bolton added. "Instead he looks like a thug." FULL STORY

Hundreds of people are set to join what has been described as the biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster in more than 50 years. Two hundred volunteers are to help record natural - and any unusual - sights on Loch Ness from vantage points on land. Almost 300 have signed up to monitor a live stream from the search, which is taking place on Saturday and Sunday. It is 90 years since the modern myth of Nessie began. In April 1933, hotel manageress Aldie Mackay said she had seen a whale-like creature in the loch. Nessie hunter: I thought this job would be easier Loch Ness Monster may be giant eel, say scientists Is Nessie just a tourist conspiracy? The Inverness Courier newspaper reported the sighting and the editor at the time, Evan Barron, suggested the creature be described as a "monster". Since then the mystery of Nessie has inspired books, TV shows and films, as well as sustaining a major tourism industry. This weekend's search has been organised by the Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit and a volunteer research team called Loch Ness Exploration. Drones fitted with infrared cameras are to be flown over the loch, and a hydrophone is to be used to detect unusual underwater sounds. FULL STORY

Has to be Nutrition first, then strength/flexibility then Cardio depending on age and condition of course.

Just this week, an Atlanta college announced that they will reinstate mask mandates for students and faculty at their university. The Lionsgate film studio in Los Angeles has told their crews to wear masks again. The Biden administration is buying Covid equipment and hiring pandemic “safety protocol” officers. And the federal government is also sending $1.4 billion to defense contractors and pharmaceutical companies for more Covid “countermeasures” and vaccines. Does the lunacy ever stop? The Covid fanatics’ nonsense never seems to end. In 20 years, we will still probably be prepping for our next lockdown and queuing for our 100th booster shot. And why would it end? Biden’s Project NextGen proves that no lessons have been learned from the last set of pandemic restrictions. Even the British government – certainly not one you could accuse of failure to lock down and vaccinate – is doing none of this. We the people are sick of it, and are starting to resist. Only 17% of Americans got their Covid booster shot according to CDC data. Americans constantly read alarmist stories about new variants and potential future lockdowns, and have started saying “hell no” to the tyranny. But it is easy to say things online, and much more difficult to muster the strength to refuse to comply in the face of shame, vitriol, and the admonishment of those around you. I know just how hard it can be. I lived in Los Angeles for the bulk of the Covid pandemic, one of the cities where the draconian hammer stroke of the law fell the hardest. Everyday was a test of my patience. Every grocery store employee told me to wear a mask. Every bartender told me I couldn’t enter without a vaccine card. Every person walking down the street kept their six feet distance and wouldn’t look at you. It was truly a miserable place to live, for not just people like me who stood up to the mandates and tyranny, but for the people who complied as well. And now Biden wants to bring all this back again? FULL ARTICLE

Poll: Trump could be in big trouble for 2024 if convicted of crimes So far, the fact that former President Donald Trump has been criminally indicted four times this year has done little to dent his support among Republican voters. But what if he’s eventually convicted? A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll has found that in that scenario, even some current Trump supporters could start to have second thoughts about casting their ballots for him in 2024. The survey of 1,665 U.S. adults was conducted from Aug. 17 to 21 — after the news of Trump’s most recent indictment, for allegedly orchestrating a racketeering ring to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, had some time to sink in, but before he surrendered Thursday at the Fulton County Jail. The results are striking. A Trump conviction could upend the GOP primary Asked about their current preference for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, a full 52% of potential Republican primary voters — that is, voters who identify as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents — select Trump. That makes him the party’s undisputed frontrunner, with the next closest candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, trailing by 40 percentage points. But when the same voters are asked a new follow-up question — “If Trump is convicted of a serious crime in the coming months, who would you vote for in your state’s 2024 Republican primary?” — support for the former president suddenly plummets by 17 points (to just 35%). Support for DeSantis, on the other hand, rises by 8 points (to 20%). Another 17% say they’re not sure (up from 14%). No other candidate gains more than a point or two. Biden also stands to benefit Asking registered voters who they would vote for in next year’s general election “if Trump is convicted of a serious crime” produces a similar (though smaller) shift. In that case, support for President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, holds steady at 47%. But support for Trump falls by 3 points, from 41% to 38%, while the overall number of voters who say they're not sure (9%) or that they would not vote (6%) increases by 3 points. That gives Biden a 9-point lead. FULL ARTICLE

Eighty-eight people in the UK died after buying a poisonous substance from a seller in Canada, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said. The NCA says it cannot confirm the chemical was the direct cause of the deaths in the UK but is investigating potential criminal offences. British police have been making welfare visits to hundreds of addresses to trace buyers across the country. Kenneth Law was arrested in May and is accused of assisting suicide in Canada. Mr Law, 57, is thought to have run a number of websites selling equipment to assist suicide. That also included a poisonous chemical which he sent to customers in more than 40 countries. Peel Regional Police said they began investigating the case in April following the sudden death of an adult in the Toronto area. Since Mr Law's arrest, police forces across the UK have been making checks on everyone who ordered the substance. The NCA, which was coordinating the checks, said that 232 people in the UK had been identified as buying from Mr Law over a two-year period. The agency says 88 of them later died but it could not confirm a direct link with the death. NCA deputy director Craig Turner said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of those who have died. They are being supported by specially trained officers from police forces. "In consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, the NCA has taken the decision to conduct an investigation into potential criminal offences committed in the UK. This operation is under way." FULL STORY

The announced expansion of the five-nation Brics club of emerging economies was described as "historic" by Chinese President Xi Jinping, but it is still not clear how far the countries' common interests stretch. The growth of Brics "will… further strengthen the force for world peace and development" the president said while addressing the leaders gathered at a conference centre in South Africa's commercial hub, Johannesburg. The Brics countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are often seen as a counterweight to the Western-led world. The six new countries - Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - are set to join in January. China was the state pushing hardest for group expansion as a way to counter Western dominance. Steve Tsang, director of London's Soas China Institute, says though the Brics members do not have much in common on the surface, President Xi was trying to show his fellow bloc members that they all want a similar future: none of them want to live in a Western-dominated world. "What the Chinese are offering is an alternative world order for which autocrats can feel safe and secure in their own countries," says Prof Tsang. "They can find an alternative direction of development without having to accept the conditionalities imposed by the democratic Americans and European powers." FULL STORY

A catastrophic die-off of emperor penguin chicks has been observed in the Antarctic, with up to 10,000 young birds estimated to have been killed. The sea-ice underneath the chicks melted and broke apart before they could develop the waterproof feathers needed to swim in the ocean. The birds most likely drowned or froze to death. The event, in late 2022, occurred in the west of the continent in an area fronting on to the Bellingshausen Sea. It was recorded by satellites. Dr Peter Fretwell, from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), said the wipeout was a harbinger of things to come. More than 90% of emperor penguin colonies are predicted to be all but extinct by the end of the century, as the continent's seasonal sea-ice withers in an ever-warming world. "Emperors depend on sea-ice for their breeding cycle; it's the stable platform they use to bring up their young. But if that ice is not as extensive as it should be or breaks up faster, these birds are in trouble," he told BBC News. "There is hope: we can cut our carbon emissions that are causing the warming. But if we don't we will drive these iconic, beautiful birds to the verge of extinction." FULL STORY

Former President Trump has surrendered to authorities in Georgia on Thursday evening following an indictment by a grand jury on 13 criminal counts stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. Trump will not enter a plea at this time. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has requested arraignments for the 19 co-defendants in the election interference case just after Labor Day. Trump’s bail is set at $200,000, and the order also places rules on his social media use and his ability to talk to co-defendants and witnesses about the case. Trump arrived at the jail just after 7:30 p.m. ET, spending about 22 minutes inside being booked before his release. A massive motorcade and police presence accompanied him to the jail from the Atlanta airport and back. FULL STORY

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