Author: Grace Thompson

HONG KONG AHong Kongcourt sentenced dozens ofleading pro-democracy figuresto up to 10 years in prison Tuesday in thesingle largest trialunder anational security lawthat critics say has been used to all but eliminate political dissent in the Chinese territory. Benny Tai, 60, a former law professor at the University of Hong Kong who co-organized an unofficial primary election at the center of the case, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the longest of the 45 sentencesand the longest since the national security law was introduced in 2020. The others ranged from four years and two months to seven years and nine months. The defendants had faced up to life imprisonment under the national security law, which Beijing imposed in response to pro-democracy demonstrations that roiled Hong Kong for...

Paul Teal, a TV and stage actor who appeared on shows including One Tree Hill, died Friday in Raleigh, N.C. He was 35. Teal s death was confirmed by a representative for the actor, with the cause of death revealed as cancer. Emilia Torello, Teal s partner,shared with TMZthat he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in April. The news was first broken by Torello after she shared more about the actor s death online. You were my soulmate, my soon-to-be-husband, my rock, and my future,Torello wrote in a post on Instagram. You were taken too soon, in a battle that you fought bravely without fail. While a part of me died with you, I promise to fight to find joy in life as hard as you fought to live every single day. Teal first appeared on television with his guest role as Josh on ...

The Houston Texans dominated their interstate rival the Dallas Cowboys to cap Week 11 in the NFL, winning 34-10. Joe Mixon ran for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Texans. C.J. Stroud completed 23 of 34 passes for 257 yards. The Cowboys offense struggled. Cooper Rush, starting in place of the injured Dak Prescott at quarterback, completed 32 of 55 passes for 354 yards. But Rush was sacked five times and also intercepted once. Dallas converted only five of 19 third and fourth downs. The game started with a six-play, 77-yard drive by Houston, which took a 7-0 lead after its first possession. The Cowboys couldn t get a first down after faking a punt on their first drive, before the quarterbacks exchanged picks on the next two possessions. But the Texans settled down with a 10-pl...

Police inAustraliacharged former radio show host Alan Jones with 24 assault and sexual touching offenses on Monday, indictments that followed accusations in a newspaper that Jones had assaulted young men for decades. Police confirmed the arrest and charges against an 83-year-old man in Sydney but did not name him. He was widely identified by Australian media as Alan Jones and TV footage on Monday showed him in a police car arriving at a police station and, later, leaving surrounded by media. He did not make any comments. Police allege the offenses took place between 2001 and 2019 against 8 victims, some of whom Jones knew professionally or personally. The youngest was 17 at the time of the offense, they said. More alleged victims are likely to come forward now charges have been laid, New S...

WASHINGTON Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk's new effort to increase government efficiency could initially target the nearly two-thirds of federal workers who are still approved to work from home 18 months after the pandemic ended. Vacant federal office space in downtown Washington is costly to maintain and a deep source of frustration to Mayor Muriel Bowser. She told reporters last week that she had requested a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump and that top on her agenda is pushing federal workers to return to downtown Washington. How we can make sure that our federal workforce is back to work is one big thing, Bowser said, adding that she wants a partnership with the federal government to bring vibrancy back to our town. According to the Office of Management and Budget, telework...

Australia s Senate on Monday censuredan Indigenous woman parliamentarian over her protest against King Charlesduring his visit to the parliament last month when she accused the British monarch of genocide. Independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe shouted that she did not accept Charles sovereignty over Australia moments after he delivered a speech in which he paid his respects to the traditional owners of the lands. Both the ruling Labor party and the opposition coalition supported the censure motion, which will not have any legal or constitutional consequences and is only considered as a symbolic move by lawmakers when they disagree on a member s conduct. Thorpe s protest was disruptive and she did not respect the democratic institutions, the motion said. The British mon...

The family of a 30-year-old Hawaii resident is searching for her in Los Angeles after she missed a connecting flight, sent unusual text messages and then went silent, the relatives said. Hannah Kobayashi arrived in Los Angeles on Nov. 8 en route to New York City but missed a connecting flight because a 30- to 45-minute window to get to its departure terminal may not have been enough, aunt Larie Pidgeon said in an interview. Kobayashi, of Maui, stayed in Los Angeles as she awaited an opening for a last-minute flight to New York and used the time for sightseeing, family members said. She went to The Grove shopping center in the Beverly Grove neighborhood, about 12 miles north of Los Angeles International Airport, to see a Nike marketing event on Nov. 10, they said. Kobayashi's Instagram acco...

Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump s pick to lead the Justice Department, paid a woman for sex at a small, invitation-only party in Florida, where prostitution is illegal, in 2017 while he was a member of the House, the woman s attorney said Monday. In an interview, Joel Leppard said the woman also said she saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 at the time, at the same invitation-only party in Orlando. Leppard said two women he represents, whom NBC News is not naming, told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex several times and that they believe the committee s report on Gaetz should be publicly released. They want the American people to know the truth and that they are speaking the truth, he said. Within minutes of arriving at the party in Orl...

WASHINGTON Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced a resolution Monday that would ban transgender women from using female bathrooms in the Capitol just weeks before Democratic Rep.-electSarah McBrideof Delaware is set to becomethe first out transgendermemberof Congress. The measurewould prohibit any lawmakers and House employees from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex. Asked by reporters whether her resolution was meant to target a marginalized person, Mace said, Sarah McBride doesn t get a say in this. This is a biological man trying to force himself into women s spaces, and I m not going to tolerate it, she added. McBride, who won the race for Delaware s lone House seat this month, slammed the measure Monday. This is a blatant attempt from...

A Wyoming judge ruled Monday that two laws restricting and banning abortion in the state violate its constitution,making the procedure legalup until fetal viability for the time being. Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens imposed an injunction on the pair of state laws in a ruling that said they ran afoul of the state constitution, which says every person has a right to personal autonomy in making medical decisions. Owens wrote that under the two statutes the Life Act and the Medication Abortion Ban the state "has enacted laws that impede the fundamental right to make health care decisions for an entire class of people, pregnant women. Owens added that the state laws created a restriction on abortion beginning at the earliest stages of development, did not differentiate between a ...