Month: April 2022

Man Charged in Quebec Halloween Sword Attack Was Suffering From Delirium: Doctor

The man accused in Quebec’s Halloween 2020 stabbing attacks that left two people dead was in a state of psychosis and suffering from delirium, a psychiatrist testifying for the defence said Friday. Dr. Gilles Chamberland, who assessed Carl Girouard after the killings, said he believes the accused is on the autism spectrum and likely suffers…


$20.5 Million Buys a Calabasas, California, Eden

Designed by world-renowned architect John Reed AIA, this Calabasas, California, estate exudes captivating charm and uncompromising style. From the moment you enter the property’s courtyard, you’re transported to a Tuscan dreamscape. Fronted with a wonderful beam-trellised loggia, the house envisioned by owner, real estate developer, and builder James Ring is anything but typical. Located between the…


Broad-Based Euro Zone Inflation at Record High 7.5 Percent in April

FRANKFURT—Euro zone inflation inched up to a new record high as expected this month, making uncomfortable reading for European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers already worried that rapid price growth could become entrenched, creating a hard-to-break wage-price spiral. Inflation in the 19-country currency bloc rose to 7.5 percent in April from 7.4 percent in March, in…


14 AGs Sue Biden Administration Over Changing Asylum Policy

Fourteen attorneys general, led by Arizona, Louisiana, and Missouri, have sued the Biden administration for altering immigration policies established by Congress related to the immigration asylum process. They sued the same day Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a separate lawsuit against the administration in federal court in Texas over the same policy. Attorneys general…


‘No-Compromise’ Gun Lobby Group to Challenge Biden’s Ghost Gun Rule in Court

Gun Owners of America, which describes itself as the “no-compromise gun lobby,” is preparing a legal challenge to President Joe Biden’s ghost gun regulation, according to GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt. In a memorable April Rose Garden press conference, during which Biden showed how to put together gun parts, he announced a new rule…


Hong Kong Student Jailed for 5 Years Under National Security Law

HONG KONG—A Hong Kong court on Friday increased a jail sentence to five years, in line with a Beijing-imposed national security law, for a student charged with “inciting secession.” Lui Sai-yu, 25, an engineering undergraduate at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was charged with inciting secession in April 2021 with messages on social media calling for…


Australian Navy Bids Farewell to Veteran Armidale Patrol Boats

The Royal Australian Navy has started retiring its veteran Armidale patrol boats, with the HMAS Maitland decommissioned after 16 years of service. They’ll be replaced by a dozen much larger Arafura class offshore patrol vessels, which can remain at sea for longer periods and travel further, in the face of growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region….


Biden Admin Challenges Alabama Law That Bans Transgender Procedures, Substances for Youth

The Department of Justice under the Biden administration filed a complaint on Friday to challenge a new Alabama law that bans certain transgender procedures and substances for people under 18. The Justice Department’s complaint (pdf) alleges that the new Alabama law “violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause” by discriminating on the basis of sex and transgender…


Hong Kong’s Mandatory COVID-19 Testing in Schools Fuels Plastic Waste Woes

HONG KONG—A Hong Kong government rule that all school students and staff take daily COVID-19 tests will add massively to the city’s plastic waste problem, environmental activists say, with some 20 million kits a month set to be dumped at bursting landfills. The mandatory rapid antigen tests (RAT), and their plastic accessories are expected to…


Prosecutors: Don’t Need Steele to Prove Intersection Between Dossier and Sussmann

Former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, the purported author of the infamous “Steele Dossier,” will not be called as a witness when Clinton Campaign attorney Michael Sussmann goes on trial next month for lying to the FBI. United States District Court Judge Christopher Cooper Wednesday sorted through five motions regarding what can be entered as…