On the American soldier who had fled to the isolationist state. (Image c/o Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press) By Anthony Romero News Reporter US Army Private Travis King was released from North Korean custody in September after transfer negotiations between the two nations agreed on his safe expulsion to the Chinese border city of Dandong. Private King was reunited with his family in the United States and entered a reintegration program at the Brooke Family Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas after spending more than two months in North Korea. Following his complete recovery, US military officials are set to discuss the potential consequences of the incident after more information comes to light.
North Korean authorities cited their arrest of Pvt. King on reasons of “illegally intruding” into their territory, signifying continued tensions between the nation’s borders and those who cross it. This correlates with the confirmation of King’s willful trespass into the country on July 18, 2023, during a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area that rests between the borderlines of North and South Korea. The Korean Central News Agency reported that King’s reasoning for his illegal crossing was that he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army and was disillusioned about the unequal US society” (The New York Times, 2023). According to interviews from local authorities and civilians, King was heard laughing as he made a sudden dash across the demilitarized zone and was subsequently picked up by North Korean officials. The day before his capture, King was scheduled to be escorted by American authorities to the Incheon International Airport for a flight back to the US, but King never boarded the plane. Travis King, 23, was stationed in South Korea as a member of the First Brigade Combat Team, First Armored Division, and is a decorated soldier, having been awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, and other additional honors. South Korean police transferred King to US military officials in September 2022, due to an alleged incident of assault of a Korean national and/or nationals and destruction of public goods. King was reported to have been previously detained at a South Korean facility in Cheonan and was set to potentially face additional disciplinary action after his arrival to the US, though it remains unclear if this was in direct response to his charges overseas. Located along what is known as the Panmunjom peace village, the Joint Security Area (JSA) marks a 250 km-long stretch of land designated as a Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. The JSA is monitored by North Korea and the UN Command, and both sides of the area are lined with heavy armaments and razor wire. Multiple companies offer South Korean tourists a tour of the JSA, it was on one of these tours that Pvt. King where made his crossing of the border. King’s capture and release occurred in a series of simultaneous events that encompassed fraught international relations amid rising tensions between Pyongyang, Seoul, and Washington. The same day of King’s crossing also marked the arrival of the USS Kentucky, a nuclear-powered ballistic submarine, that arrived at a port in Busan as a symbol of US-South Korean naval power and the reinvigoration of their alliance. The docking was a response to a February 2023 military test of two ballistic missiles over the seas of Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Sources: Associated Press https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-us-soldier-travis-king-00c171778e378d95fe1115fe31612ec2 CNN Politics (October 2023) https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/04/politics/travis-king-north-korea-army-decision/index.html CNN Politics (July 2023) https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/asia/us-national-north-korea/index.html The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/world/asia/north-korea-travis-king-expel.html The Guardian (19 July 2023) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/19/us-soldier-north-korea-border-travis-king The Guardian (18 July 2023) https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/19/what-is-the-joint-security-area-north-korea-south-korea
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American Journalism Student (Image c/o Drew Angerer/Getty Images 2017) By Edith Cuevas News Reporter Senator Dianne Feinstein, representing California voters for over thirty years, has died at the age of 90. Feinstein has been the longest-serving female senator, first elected into office in 1992.
According to a statement made by her chief of staff, James Sauls, she passed away on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C. hours after placing her final senate vote. Feinstein had a lengthy career in politics, and broke many glass ceilings throughout its entirety. Feinstein was a highly respected, trailblazer senator. “Dianne was a pioneering woman leader, who served as San Francisco's first female Mayor with unmatched courage, poise and grace,” said U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi. “Dianne’s extraordinary career will continue to inspire countless young women and girls to pursue public service for generations to come.” “Senator Dianne Feinstein was a pioneering American. A true trailblazer. And for Jill and me, a cherished friend," said President Biden in a statement, “Serving in the Senate together for more than 15 years, I had a front row seat to what Dianne was able to accomplish.” The most significant legislative accomplishment of Feinstein’s career was the manufacturing and sales ban of certain assault weapons. President Clinton signed this into law as part of a crime bill in 1994. (Blood and Jalonick, 2023) Gun violence had been a major focus issue for Feinstein, despite the relentless opposition by fellow republican senators. “We lost a giant in the Senate,” said Majority Leader Chuck Shumer. “As the nation mourns this tremendous loss, we know how many lives she impacted, and how many glass ceilings she shattered along the way,” Schumer said during the opening of the Senate floor on Friday. Governor Newsom has appointed Emily’s List President, Laphonza Butler, as Feinstein’s successor. “Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings and fight for all Californians in Washington, D.C.” said Newsom. Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/01/us/newsom-senate-feinstein-laphonza-butler.html https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/29/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-passing-of-senator-dianne-feinstein/ https://apnews.com/article/dianne-feinstein-dead-c831f3228ac44faa9653234570bb8ce9 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/long-serving-us-democratic-senator-dianne-feinstein-dead-90-punchbowl-2023-09-29/ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dianne-feinstein-rcna18010 Image Source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/feinstein-dead-obituary-17816907.php Image c/o NBC / Yousef Murad / AP Edith Cuevas News Reporter Libya has experienced record-breaking floods and catastrophic loss of life caused by Storm Daniel combined with crumbling infrastructure. Storm Daniel ravaged through several countries in the Middle East including Libya, which was the most affected country, as well as Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Storm Daniel brought approximately sixteen inches of rain in a 24-hour period to Libya.
Derna, a rural city of about 100,000 citizens, was the most affected by Storm Daniel. Roads are destroyed and several bridges have collapsed, making it difficult for aid to arrive as the damage to the city infrastructure is severe. Two dams in the outskirts of Derna collapsed on September 11th and sent a seven-meter-high wave towards the city, destroying about 25% of the city. The dams had a combined capacity of 4.76 billion gallons. As of September 19th, the death toll is 11,300, but it is expected to continue rising as thousands remain missing. Aid has slowly been arriving to Derna, but United Nations officials say that at least $71.4 million is needed to provide relief to the 250,000 people impacted by the disastrous floods in five different provinces over the next three months. The dams were constructed in the 1970s with the intention to provide an added layer of protection from flash flooding to Derna. Concerns about the structural integrity of the dams were questioned in 2007. Work was completed in November of 2017, according to the Arsel Construction Company Ltd, who built an additional dam in between of the two existing dams as an added safety precaution. The integrity of the construction firm has been questioned as the third dam is not present in satellite imagery. In 2022, Abdelwanees Ashoor, a professor of civil engineering published a warning in the Sabha University Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences stating, “In the event of a big flood, the consequences will be disastrous for the residents of the valley and the city.” Climate scientists at the World Weather Attribution group found that climate change made the devastating storm up to ten times more likely and made it possible for 40% more rainfall. “Storm Daniel was a low-pressure weather system, as we usually have in the Mediterranean, it was not very deep- but it was very early in the season and it was stagnant and stayed over the south Ionian Sea for four, five days.” Said Kostas Lagouvardos, at the National Observatory of Athens. The sea temperatures in Libya were two to three degrees above average, causing Storm Daniel to draw additional energy and give it capacity to hold more moisture. A storm of this intensity is only expected every 300 to 600 years. Sources: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/corrupt-libya-longtime-warnings-collapse-derna-dams-unheeded-103270780 https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/18/storm-hit-libya-needs-tens-of-millions-in-aid-relief-groups-say.html# https://unric.org/en/libya-floods-un-mobilises-aid-appeals-for-71-4-million/ https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66854670 https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/storm-daniel-leads-extreme-rain-and-floods-mediterranean-heavy-loss-of-life-libya Image Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/libya-floods-derna-death-toll-search-missing-rcna105455 Image c/o CNBC By Jenevieve Monroe News Editor According to Fulton County Jail Records, former president Donald J. Trump was booked late evening of August 24, 2023. The state of Georgia is suing the former president along with 18 co-defendants in their conspiracy to overturn the state’s results in the 2020 presidential election. The former president is facing a total of four indictments, with Georgia’s Superior Court of Fulton County charging thirteen felonies against Trump. In total, the former president and co-defendants face forty one counts by a Grand Jury in Georgia. In their surrender, the following charges include: Conspiracy To Commit False Statements and Writings (2 counts); Conspiracy To Commit Filing False Documents; Conspiracy To Commit Forgery in the First Degree (2 counts); Conspiracy To Commit Impersonating a Public Officer; False Statements and Writings (2 counts); Filing False Documents; Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer (3 counts); and Violation of the Georgia Rico (Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations) Act.
According to the legal indictment presented, over 161 Acts of racketeering and overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy are listed as evidence for the charges. Racketeering is the act of dishonest and fraudulent business dealings. This type of organized crime involves coercion, extortionary, or illegal schemes to make money. The majority of the Acts presented surrounding the case were focused on social media and phone call interactions with Trump, co-defendants, and fellow politicians. These allegations come following a leaked phone call between the former president and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In this phone call, the former president pressures Raffensperger to overturn the state of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, to which Trump states, “they are removing machinery and they’re moving it as fast as they can, both of which are criminal finds. And you can’t let it happen and you are letting it happen… So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state,” (New York Times). In the recording, Ryan Germany, the lawyer for Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office, repeatedly denied the removal of machinery and the shredding of ballots, yet the former president dismissed such claims. Raffensperger concluded the conversation by stating, “We have to stand by our numbers. We believe our numbers are right,” (New York Times). Georgia’s indictment addresses several situations where Trump pressured conspiratorial actions like this in private. One example presented by the lawsuit involved a Fulton County election worker named Ruby Freeman. Freeman volunteered with her daughter, Shaye Moss, to serve Fulton County on election day. In the indictment, both the mother and daughter are victims. While serving their community, these two women were falsely accused to be seen in a surveillance video of workers demanding Republicans leave the ballot room while suitcases of illegal ballots were secretly added. Giuliani publicly targeted these women by name, stating that they were “passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine”. The indictment also mentioned, “in furtherance of this scheme, members of the enterprise [the defendants] traveled from out of state to harass Freeman, intimidate her, and solicit her to falsely confess to election crimes that she did not commit,” (Fulton County Superior Court of Georgia). Stephen Cliffgard Lee was one of the co-defendants that harassed Freeman; not only did he visit her home on December 15, 2020, but Freeman had to call 911 on three different occasions because of his harassment. Trevian Kutti, former publicist for Ye and a co-defendant in this case, also reached out to Freeman at her home. Kutti threatened Freeman to comply with their election goals, implying that she had 48 hours before Freeman’s “freedom” and the freedom of one or more of her family members would be “disrupted” (Huffpost). The president’s stay at Fulton County Jail was a little over 20 minutes long; however, Atlanta criminal defense attorney Erin King commented on how most people booked in Fulton County don’t get such a luxury (NPR). Trump’s 20 minute surrender took place in the same county jail where Lashawn Thompson, 35, died in custody last September due to a bedbug infested cell. King noted how most of the inmates in Fulton County Jail were booked, not convicted, and still awaiting trial (NPR). Trump was released on the same day, with a $200,000 bail to evade Fulton County jail. The bail listed six conditions he must comply with. The fourth order of the Consent Bond Order document states, “the Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codependent or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” (Fulton County Superior Court of Georgia). Trump has been called into question for violating previous Bail terms from his three additional cases in Washington, D.C., Florida, and New York. Following his Washington case in which Trump was also charged with election subversion, several prosecutors came forward to express concern regarding a social media post Trump made, stating, “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” (Reuters). The media post was written in all caps on a site he co-owns, called Truth Social (Politico). Unlike his other indictments, the Georgia agreement is the first to explicitly restrict “posts on social media or reposts”. Trump’s Georgia indictment sheds light on the personal toll his actions have taken on victims listed like Ruby Freeman, her daughter Shaye Moss, as well as elected state leadership like Brad Raffensperger. The former president’s brief stint in Fulton County Jail also highlights the wealth disparities within Georgia’s justice system and the overall complexity of this case. Trump has pleaded not guilty of the crimes accused. SOURCES Trump's 4 indictments in detail: A quick-look guide to charges, trial dates and key players for each case - CBS News Trump arrest full recap: Mugshot, surrender, what’s next in Georgia election case (cnbc.com) INMATE SEARCH – FULTON COUNTY (fcsoga.org) Trump and co-defendants in Georgia election case will be arraigned Sept. 6 (nbcnews.com) Donald Trump's mug shot released following his Georgia surrender: live updates | NPR Trump's bond in Georgia election case: No threats, no jail | Reuters Highlights of Trump’s Call With the Georgia Secretary of State - The New York Times (nytimes.com) https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/21/politics/read-trump-bond-agreement/index.html Read the full text of the Georgia Trump indictment document to learn more about the charges and co-conspirators - CBS News By Edith Cuevas News Reporter A tenured communications professor and former track coach at Diablo Valley College (DVC) is now facing multiple felony charges after being arrested in connection to two cases of human trafficking. The charges include two counts of human trafficking, two counts of pandering, one count of pimping, and four counts of forcible sexual penetration by a foreign object.
Kyle Lee Whitemore, 39, of Crockett is now being held without bond at the Contra Costa County jail in Martinez, after being arrested on September 7th. The arrest was prompted by a report made to DVC campus police, who then alerted the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office. A spokesperson for the Contra Costa Community College District said in a statement that the faculty member was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. “The District is grateful to staff who, through proper training, were able to identify a serious situation and quickly report it to our Police Services, who subsequently communicated with the Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney,” said the district’s statement. “The District is devastated by the seriousness of the allegations that have been raised thus far. The safety of our students and staff is our main priority. We take seriously any accusations of inappropriate behavior by our employees and honor the expectation that our students, staff, and visitors have to be safe when they visit our campuses.” the statement said. Whitemore was arraigned in court on September 12th but did not enter a plea. Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/diablo-valley-college-professor-coach-human-trafficking-sexual-assault-charges/ https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/diablo-valley-college-faculty-arrested-human-trafficking/3316131/ |
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