CHILE
Violent protests continue
Politicians say they have to figure out how to draft a new constitution quickly following another night of violent protests. Police on Wednesday said that they had documented 348 serious incidents, including looting and attacks on police stations, from Tuesday into the early morning. Twenty people have died since mostly peaceful demonstrations about inequality and other issues broke out on Oct. 18. Chileans are demanding a range of reforms and an overhaul of their dictatorship-era constitution. The sticking point is who drafts the new document. President Sebastian Pinera’s plan relies on legislators, but the opposition says citizens need more input. Members of the National Renewal Party, part of the ruling coalition, and the Christian Democratic Party agree “there isn’t much time” to reach an agreement.
MEXICO
Dismembered bodies found
Investigators have found plastic bags containing the hacked-up bodies of 12 people near Guadalajara. The Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday said that the dead included seven men and five women, but the count could increase because experts have so far analyzed only 33 of the 52 plastic bags found at the property. It said all the body parts in the 33 bags came from 12 victims. The area around Guadalajara has witnessed a rise in clandestine burial pits. Drug and kidnapping gangs frequently use such pits to dispose of rivals or victims.
UNITED STATES
Gosar sends Epstein tweets
Representative Paul Gosar on Wednesday sent a series of tweets regarding a theory that Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, including allegations of sex with children. Gosar sent 23 tweets about the first public impeachment hearing on Capitol Hill examining President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. The first letter of each tweet spelled out “Epstein didn’t kill himself.” A New York City medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death in jail a suicide, but theories that he was murdered have persisted, fueled by Epstein’s links to princes, politicians, and other famous and powerful people. When Gosar spokesman Ben Goldey was asked whether the representative sent the tweets himself, his e-mailed response used the first letter of each sentence to spell “Area 51.”
UNITED STATES
‘Unicorn’ puppy a star
A rescued puppy is attracting a lot of attention because of his resemblance to a unicorn. The nearly 10-week-old puppy, Narwhal, has a tail-like appendage growing from his forehead. Narwhal was rescued over the weekend and sent to Mac’s Mission in Jackson, Missouri, which specializes in fostering animals with special needs. Mac’s Mission founder Rochelle Steffen said that Narwhal does not notice the extra tail and is otherwise a happy, healthy puppy. Although it looks like a tail, Narwhal cannot wag it, she said.
UNITED STATES
Fifth WWII sub discovered
A team of ocean explorers said that a US submarine with 80 sailors aboard when it disappeared in 1944 has been discovered in Japanese waters. The “Lost 52 Project” on Sunday announced that the World War II submarine USS Grayback was found in June. The group said that it was the fifth wartime submarine discovery for the team led by undersea explorer Tim Taylor using robotics, and other underwater technological methods and vehicles. The project’s objective is to find the 52 US submarines that were lost during the war.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number