News
Hunter Biden ‘Crossed Line’ When He Purchased a Handgun
Hunter Biden was a crack cocaine addict when he drove his father’s Cadillac and illegally purchased a gun, his criminal trial heard, as US First Lady Jill Biden watched in court. The US president’s son was accused of willfully falsifying on a form when purchasing a handgun.
According to the defence, Mr Biden, 54, was in recovery at the time and was truthful when he stated on the application that he did not use illicit drugs. This is the first time a sitting US president’s son has faced trial.
If convicted of all three federal counts in the case, Mr. Biden faces up to 25 years in jail.
He is accused of lying to a federally registered gun dealer, making a false representation on the application that he was not a drug user, and illegally possessing the firearm for 11 days.
The jury will learn how Hallie Biden, the widow of the president’s late son, Beau Biden, became hooked to crack cocaine during her brief relationship with Hunter Biden.
She snatched the gun from him and dumped it in a grocery store bin 11 days after he purchased it, worried about what he would do with it.
“No-one is above the law,” prosecutor Derek Hines told jurors in his opening statement on Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what your name is.”
Hunter Biden “crossed the line”
Mr Hines claimed Mr Biden “crossed the line” when he purchased the handgun and allegedly lied about a federal background check.
The prosecutor also told jurors that Mr. Biden was not accused of any violence, but that firearms were “pointed in his face” during cocaine dealings and that he had “learned how to defend himself”.
However, the defense said that this assertion had nothing to do with when Mr. Biden purchased the gun in Delaware.
In his opening speech, defense attorney Abbe Lowell stated that the Cobra Colt.38 revolver was purchased on impulse due to pressure from a demanding gun store owner.
He claimed his client drove his father’s Cadillac to a mobile phone store on the day in question before across the street to the guns business.
The defense’s central point is that the federal application form for a gun purchase merely asks if the buyer is a drug user, not if they “have ever been”.
Mr Lowell stated that Mr Biden was in recovery at the time, having attended a rehab clinic in California, and did not consider himself an addict.
“Hunter was not using drugs when he bought that gun,” he stated.
The US First Lady
Hunter Biden sat with his defense team, pen in hand, and put on his glasses several times to peruse documents. The Yale-educated lawyer frequently peered at the jury and seemed to be paying careful attention to the proceedings.
The US First Lady sat right behind him. President Joe Biden, who has always been quite protective of his son, was in the White House in Washington, DC.
Ashley Biden, the first lady and Hunter Biden’s half-sister, became distraught as she listened to courtroom recordings of Hunter discussing his spiral into addiction. The audio came from his narration of his 2021 memoir Beautiful Things.
Ashley Biden rested her head against the first lady’s, appearing to wipe her eyes.
Jill Biden once put an arm around Ashley Biden’s shoulder, after which he left the Wilmington court and did not return.
The defense claimed that Mr Biden did not dispute earlier drug usage, explaining that it was the product of recurring tragedy in his life.
This included the deaths of his mother and infant sister in a 1972 car accident when he was three years old, as well as his older brother, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015.
Melissa Cohen Biden, Mr. Biden’s wife, was also in court and approached a former Trump official in an angry manner. According to a CBS reporter, Mrs. Cohen Biden began a profanity-laced outburst at Garrett Ziegler in the hallway outside the courthouse.
According to other US media, she referred to Mr Ziegler as “a Nazi” after he distributed embarrassing communications and photographs from a laptop that had belonged to the president’s son.
Mr. Biden is currently suing Mr. Ziegler for disclosing material from the laptop. Hunter Biden will also face a trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.
Source: Yahoo News
News
Trudeau Rocks to Taylor Swift While Montreal Burns
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.
Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”
The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”
Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.
Lawless protestors run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest.
The Prime Minister dances.
This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.
Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved. pic.twitter.com/PVJvR6gtmf
— Don Stewart (@donstewartmp) November 23, 2024
“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”
“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.
On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”
Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.
Pro-Palestinian protests
Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.
Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.
Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.
On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.
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News
Calgary Zoo Admits Human Error in Death of Baby Gorilla
The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.
The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.
The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.
“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”
According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.
Calgary Zoo Questioned
It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.
An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.
Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.
“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.
The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.
“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.
“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.
While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”
Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.
The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.
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News
Canada’s Lotto Max jackpot Climbs to $80M
Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.
Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.
The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.
While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.
Lotto Max History
Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.
The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.
Let’s have a look at the rules:
- Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
- Numbers cannot be repeated
- Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
- Each play buys 3 lines
- Each play costs $5
Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)
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