Category: Uncategorized

Investigators hope the notes’ “distinct linguistic characteristics” may be recognised by a member of the public.

Source: BBC.

Both as a young busker and as a famous singer-songwriter, Hansard understood how to make people stop and listen and feel one single thing.

From The New Yorker 

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta would like Paramount-Warner antitrust trial to unfold in April. Paramount is pushing for November.

For months, President Donald Trump has weighed options for next steps in the war with Iran, with no clear front-runner for how to resolve the five monthslong conflict.

Possible military actions have included mounting a large-scale bombing campaign to further degrade Iran’s missile capabilities, targeting the underground Iranian nuclear facility Pickaxe Mountain or seizing Kharg Island to control most of Iran’s oil supply.

On Friday, CBS News reported that the U.S. and Israel were preparing to mount a large-scale attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure in the coming days.

But a new possibility emerged during this week’s Oval Office meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: implementing a land blockade to shut off Iran’s ability to bring in supplies through its border crossings.

“What if you just block the land?” a senior Israeli official said of the idea Netanyahu proposed to combine both military and economic pressure to isolate the Iranian government.

“Suppose Iran cannot bring anything in, cannot take anything out,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door conversations with Trump.

Netanyahu suggested cutting off land routes and supplies to Iran as a potential escalatory measure, the senior Israeli official said, arguing economic pressure can work to isolate Tehran— if coupled with the military pressure of a fully enforced land and sea blockade.

The 93 million people living in Iran rely on cross-border imports of grains, vehicle parts, electronics and other goods. Such a blockade would be a massive disruption to daily life in Iran.

With Iran’s total land border stretching 3,662 miles, it would also be hard to implement.

“The Commander-in-Chief has all options at his disposal,” a White House official said in a statement when asked about the likelihood of a land blockade. A defense official told MS NOW the Pentagon would not speculate on potential future operations.

“I think this is what’s been missing,” retired CENTCOM deputy commander Adm. Robert Harward told MS NOW of a possible land blockade. “Diplomatic and financial or economic pressures are much more effective than military action, and if you tie them all together and synchronize them, you’ve got the best of all worlds, a whole of government effort driven by the president’s objectives.”

But enforcing such a blockade would be challenging.

It would require the seven nations neighboring Iran — Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan — to agree to shut their borders. Without their cooperation, the U.S. would face having to use military force, with anyone moving through “kill zones” becoming targets, Harward said.

Closing off land borders could also make it more difficult for military assistance from Russia and China to enter Iran. Also, Harward said, choking off food imports, vehicle parts, electronics and other supplies essential for survival could cripple Iran’s economy. But it is unclear as to whether that would be enough to spur an uprising to topple the Islamic Republic’s leadership.

In a February Situation Room meeting ahead of the war, Netanyahu argued to Trump that a joint attack on Iran “could advance the probability” that Iranians would rise up against the government, the senior Israeli official said. But those conditions never materialized.

Now, Netanyahu is encouraging the U.S. to take more steps to deal an economic death blow to the Islamic Republic, the Israeli official said. 

“I think that complete isolation and complete financial deprivation drives regime change as much as any of the military activity,” Harward said.

The post Trump, Netanyahu discuss expanding Iran blockade to land borders appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.

Adam22 and Lena the Plug have more fake legal filings to navigate … because the mystery man who filed a fake divorce on Lena’s behalf has also filed for a fake restraining order.  TMZ obtained a restraining order petition filed on July 23 in…

From TMZ.

Brittney Griner has filed for divorce from her wife, Cherelle, after eight years of marriage, and I, for one, am shook.

Per TMZ, the WNBA star filed on July 30, stating their marriage is “irretrievably broken” and that they’d been separated since the 24th. The couple shares a 2-year-old son, Bash, who just celebrated his birthday this month. They married in 2018 and, most notably, stayed together through Griner’s 10 months in a Russian prison before her release in December 2022.

We never know the ins and outs of a marriage, and everyone has the right to walk away from something that isn’t healthy for them. What’s an egregious act to one person isn’t the same for someone else. That said, I won’t speculate about why Brittney didn’t want to remain in the relationship, but I can’t ignore the math.

From separation to filing took less than a week. That could be a rough estimate on the Connecticut Sun star’s part. But if it’s not, it took Griner less than a week to decide she didn’t want to continue the union. That has to feel pretty horrible for Cherelle, for a number of reasons. When you love someone, you want them to fight for what you have. When they don’t, that hurts. And of course, we know Cherelle knows plenty about fighting for the person she loves.

In the face of real adversity during their marriage, she was an admirable advocate for her wife. She made her pleas known when Brittney was detained in Russia in February 2022, after a vape canister with cannabis oil was found in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Brittney was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison colony for the offense, which she told officials was an honest mistake from packing hurriedly. Cherelle could have balled up in a corner in devastation, but she persisted even when they went upwards of 100 days without a phone call to one another, connecting instead through letters here and there. She spoke publicly, lovingly, about her wife, and asked for prayers for her. Amid all that, she found the resilience to finish law school as well, staying encouraged and valiant in the fight for her wife’s release.

“I won’t go down until she’s back… every single day matters for me to be sound, for me to be alert, for me to be attentive, to make sure that she comes back,” she told Robin Roberts in May of 2022

And she did come back, freed in December in a prisoner exchange after months of forced labor and living amid poor conditions.

“I was hopeless a lot of days,” Cherelle said following Brittney’s release. “You try and stay grounded, but I’m human. Still, I would never completely give up hope on my wife’s life.”

She was also inspired by BG’s experience to expand her own career plans, saying she wanted to advocate for Americans wrongfully detained in countries around the world.

After the couple reunited, they privately started a family, announcing the news shortly before Cherelle gave birth. She then took on the work of being a mom while Brittney hit the road to play basketball again, including for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. And as a note, once Griner was back from her ordeal in Russia, Cherelle didn’t seek to remain in the public eye. She was by her side, but she let Brittney have the spotlight while she balanced their family with her career.

She did all that. And in less than a week, a divorce was filed.

Whatever the reason for the end of their relationship, Cherelle will have no regrets for fighting for Brittney in the way that she did, not just waiting around for a resolution but actively seeking it, keeping Brittney’s struggles from being forgotten in the news cycle. Her dedication was inspiring to witness.

I wish both Brittney and Cherelle well as they move forward without each other. But I especially think of Cherelle as she navigates a new wave of attention, for yet another unexpected and unfortunate circumstance. The grace and strength she’s shown, even in the most uncertain times, is the same tenacity that will carry her through whatever this next chapter holds.

From The Hill

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) pointed to weaknesses in President Trump’s influence in Congress amid opposition from three outgoing Republican senators to the president’s nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to a permanent role overseeing the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.) and John Cornyn (Texas) have all expressed skepticism…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art said Friday that John Galliano will be the subject of its landmark spring 2027 Costume Institute exhibition, John Galliano: Horizons, with the annual Met Gala set to celebrate the acclaimed British designer’s influence on fashion while also confronting the controversy that reshaped his career. Galliano becomes just the third living […]

Source: Deadline.

Olympian David Hearn was torched by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who charged him with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool … but now she’s eating her words and dropping the case, because the pieces that came apart were caused by…

From TMZ.

From The Hill

{beacon} Technology Technology   The Big Story ‘Rogue’ AI hacking incidents amplify debate over open-source tech Concerns over AI’s cybersecurity risks reached a fever pitch this week following two hacking incidents at OpenAI and Anthropic, sparking further debate in Silicon Valley over whether open-source could reduce these threats. Illustration / Samantha Wong; and Adobe Stock…

Sheriff’s officials have released two ransom notes allegedly sent by those who kidnapped Nancy Guthrie from her Arizona home earlier this year. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department released the notes in hopes of generating new leads in the case. The first note was sent a day after her disappearance from someone who claimed they have […]

Source: Deadline.

England’s Georgia Hunter Bell eyes an ambitious sweep of gold medals in 2026 after winning the 800m Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow.

Source: BBC.