News

After being found guilty of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor, a U.S. airman stationed in Japan was given a five-year jail sentence on Friday. On December 24, 2023, while serving at Kadena Air Base on the Japanese island of Okinawa, 25-year-old Senior Airman Brennon Washington contacted the girl, who was under 16, at a nearby park and brought her to his off-base home. He was indicted in March for allegedly kidnapping her and having sex with her without her will, but the case wasn't made public until June, which infuriated the local administration. According to local media, Washington entered a not guilty plea when prosecutors urged the Naha District Court to sentence him to seven years in prison. According to the Kyodo news agency, Judge Tetsuro Sato explained his decision by stat...

As she considers whether to back Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst encounters some intraparty strife in her home state of Iowa, which feeds rumors that she may be challenged from the right when she seeks reelection in 2026. Ernst's supporters are not concerned about a possible primary challenge, pointing out that she has solid conservative credentials and is still well-liked by Republicans in the state. Conversations with a dozen Iowa Republican leaders and strategists, however, showed that grassroots conservatives who want Republicans to support Trump's Cabinet choices were angry with Ernst. Other Republicans, on the other hand, eye-rolled him, claiming that rank-and-file Republicans are not as upset about Ernst as some a...

Portugal's Braga Rocks and dirt in a little plastic jar, collected at a family tomb just before she left Kabul, are among 15-year-old Farida Ahmadi's most treasured belongings and serve as a memory of home. It's still unknown whether she will ever visit that hallowed location in Afghanistan or see her family in person after three years and 4,000 kilometers away in her new home in northern Portugal. Farida told NBC News that while she was a student at the Afghan National Institute of Music (ANIM), she was afraid that Taliban gunmen who had taken back control of the nation would knock on her door and declare, "You are arrested." Notes of Protest: Afghanistan's Orchestra in Exile will be broadcast on NBC News NOW tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET. In one of her interviews this year, she stated, "I d...

Israel has instructed soldiers to get ready to spend the winter on Mount Hermon, a strategic peak inside a buffer zone that has been shared with Syria for decades but that Israeli forces have taken control of since the fall of the Assad administration. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement widely reported by Israeli media and the AFP news agency that "our holding of the Hermon peak is of great security importance due to what is happening in Syria and everything must be done to ensure the IDF's preparations in the area, to allow the troops to stay there in the difficult weather conditions." Although Israel has stated that its presence in the buffer zone is only temporary, worries have increased in light of what UN chief António Guterres called "severe violations of Syria'...

In violation of U.S. sanctions, the Department of Justice accused 14 North Korean nationals of plotting to use phony identities to obtain IT employment with American corporations and syphon off money back to their homeland. The conspiracy allegedly made at least $88 million between April 2017 and March 2023, according to the indictment, which was submitted to a federal court in Missouri on Wednesday. More from CNBC China stresses plans to boost growth at top agenda-setting meeting Why egg prices may soon flirt with record highs 45% of Singapore workers fear looking lazy for admitting AI use at work The charges against the 14 defendants include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft, and conspiracy to violate the International E...

President Joe Biden is on pace to become the first president to nominate more federal judges of color as he makes a last-ditch effort to confirm judicial nominations before his term ends. Tiffany Johnson, Biden's judicial candidate for the Northern District of Georgia, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday. To far, Biden has appointed more Black women to lifetime federal judgeships than any other president in a single term. According to data the White House provided to NBC News, approximately 60% of Biden's 233 appointees are individuals of color. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nominations of Benjamin Cheeks and Serena Raquel Murillo, two additional candidates for U.S. district judge, on Thursday; they now await Senate confirmation. According to the Leadership Conference on Ci...

More than 3,000 homeowners were permitted to return home by Thursday, according to officials, as cooler weather aided California firefighters in making good headway on a wildfire that broke out in picturesque Malibu. According to fire officials, the Franklin Fire, which has destroyed numerous homes and scorched over 4,000 acres, was 30% contained Thursday night. During a briefing on Thursday, Dusty Martin, one of the fire incident commanders, stated that we have made significant progress on the incident in the past few days. About 3,700 residents have been permitted to return, which Martin referred to as "a big win." According to Franklin Fire's operations section commander, Los Angeles County Fire Assistant commander Drew Smith, the fire started Monday in a culvert in Malibu Canyon and wa...

California firefighters made considerable headway on a wildfire that started in picturesque Malibu and has displaced thousands of people from their homes thanks to cooler weather. According to fire officials, the Franklin Fire, which has destroyed numerous homes and scorched over 4,000 acres, was 30% contained Thursday night. "We have had a great opportunity to do perimeter control," Franklin Fire's operations section chief, Assistant Chief Drew Smith, said a briefing Thursday night on behalf of Los Angeles County Fire. Firefighters were mopping up and getting ready for homeowners to return to their houses in the southern part of Malibu, he added. High winds accelerated the fire's quick development and spread after it started Monday near a tunnel in Malibu Canyon, according to Smith. The f...

California firefighters made considerable headway on a wildfire that started in picturesque Malibu and has displaced thousands of people from their homes thanks to cooler weather. According to fire officials, the Franklin Fire, which has destroyed numerous homes and scorched over 4,000 acres, was 30% contained Thursday night. "We have had a great opportunity to do perimeter control," Franklin Fire's operations section chief, Assistant Chief Drew Smith, said a briefing Thursday night on behalf of Los Angeles County Fire. Firefighters were mopping up and getting ready for homeowners to return to their houses in the southern part of Malibu, he added. High winds accelerated the fire's quick development and spread after it started Monday near a tunnel in Malibu Canyon, according to Smith. The f...

According to UnitedHealthcare's parent firm, Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the CEO's murder, was not covered by the company's insurance. According to UnitedHeath Group, there is no evidence that Mangione, 26, has ever had insurance from the firm. Mangione is suspected of shooting CEO Brian Thompson dead on a street in midtown Manhattan on the morning of December 4, while Thompson was making his way to a hotel for an investor meeting. The murder is still being investigated. According to Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, Mangione's writings and social media posts reveal that he sustained a life-altering, excruciating back injury. According to Kenny, Mangione might have singled out Thompson because to UnitedHealthcare's size. He mentions that United Health...