Layton Williams: Who is the Queens for the Night judge and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie star?

Associated Press
Mystery drone sightings keep happening in New Jersey. Here's what we know (and don't know)
A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey and the East Coast in recent weeks, sparking speculation and concern over who sent them and why. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X.
USA TODAY
Mitch McConnell takes a swipe at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over polio vaccine
Mitch McConnell took an apparent swipe at Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after reports that one of his top allies petitioned the FDA to withdraw polio vaccine.
USA TODAY
How Trump's 'big discussion' around vaccines and autism could hurt children's health
Skyrocketing rates of autism have led some to implicate childhood vaccines, though research has consistently cleared the shots.
CBS News
Spain's Mango clothing chain founder dies in accident
Isak Andic founded clothing retailer Mango, one of Europe's largest fashion groups, in 1984.
Associated Press
Pelosi has hip replacement surgery at a US military hospital in Germany after a fall
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had hip replacement surgery Saturday at a U.S. military hospital in Germany after falling while at an event in Luxembourg with other members of Congress. Pelosi, 84, “is well on the mend,” said Ian Krager, a spokesman for the California Democrat, in a statement. Pelosi thanked the staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and the hospital in Luxembourg, where she was also treated, for “their excellent care and kindness.”
AFP
World falls short of drought deal at Saudi-hosted talks
Negotiators failed to produce an agreement on how to respond to drought at Saudi-hosted UN talks, participants said on Saturday, falling short of a hoped-for binding protocol addressing the scourge.A delegate at COP16 from a country in Africa, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told AFP that African nations had hoped the talks would produce a binding protocol on drought.
Politico
Pelosi undergoes ‘successful’ hip replacement surgery in Luxembourg after injury
The 84-year-old former House Speaker “is well on the mend,” said spokesperson Ian Krager.
Associated Press
Storms encase Iowa and eastern Nebraska in ice and generate rare tornado warning in San Francisco
A major ice storm created treacherous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska this weekend and prompted temporary closures of Interstate 80 after numerous cars and trucks slid off the road. “Luckily some warmer air is moving in behind this to make it temporary,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Cousins, who works in the Davenport, Iowa office. Elsewhere, a storm prompted a rare tornado warning in San Francisco and caused some damage.
Associated Press
Women's right activists rally in France ahead of Gisèle Pelicot's rape trial verdict
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in the southern French town of Avignon ahead of the verdict in a trial in which dozens of men are accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and rendered unconscious by her husband. Last month, prosecutors asked the panel of judges for the maximum possible penalty for aggravated rape — 20 years — against the victim’s now ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, 72. Gisèle Pelicot, 71, has become an icon for those fighting against sexual violence.
CNN
Pelosi undergoes successful hip replacement surgery after fall on stairs in Luxembourg
Rep. Nancy Pelosi underwent a “successful” hip replacement surgery Saturday and is “well on the mend,” according to a spokesperson, one day after being hospitalized from an injury sustained during an official engagement in Luxembourg.
Politico
US officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that ousted Assad, Blinken says
Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.
Associated Press
Palestinian refugees return to Yarmouk amid questions about their place in the new Syria
The Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus was considered the capital of the Palestinian diaspora before the war in Syria reduced it to row after row of blasted out buildings where there were once falafel stands, pharmacies and mosques. After the Dec. 8 fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightening offensive by opposition forces, many more hope they will be able do so. At the same time, Syria's Palestinian refugees — a population of about 450,000 — are unsure of their place in the new order.
CNN
US has had direct contact with Syrian rebel group, Blinken says
The United States has had direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Syrian rebel group now in de-facto control of the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday.
AFP
Recovering Lula 'lucid' and walking in Brazil hospital
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remains hospitalized in semi-intensive care but is "lucid" and walking about, health officials said Saturday, four days after he underwent surgery for an intracranial hemorrhage. Lula "continues to be hospitalized at the Hospital Sirio-Libanes, in Sao Paulo, under semi-intensive care.
Associated Press
Filipino woman on Indonesia death row recalls a stunning last minute reprieve and 'miracle' transfer
Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso knelt to pray when officers came to take her to an execution site in May 2015, just a few feet away from her isolation cell on an Indonesian prison island, where a 13-member firing squad was waiting. While she prayed, the Philippines government was wrapping up a lengthy legal battle over her fate. Veloso’s life was ultimately spared — temporarily — by Indonesia’s Attorney General's Office, which issued a stay of execution shortly before Veloso was to be executed with eight other death row inmates.
CNN
Officials demand explanation on mysterious drones as more sightings reported in New York metro area
Federal agencies are facing intense pressure Friday to give the public more details on unexplained drone sightings in the New York City metropolitan area that have been going on for weeks over residential neighborhoods as well as restricted sites and critical infrastructure.
Reuters
Hezbollah chief says group lost its supply route through Syria
Hezbollah head Naim Qassem said on Saturday that the Lebanese armed group had lost its supply route through Syria, in his first comments since the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad nearly a week ago by a sweeping rebel offensive. Under Assad, Iran-backed Hezbollah used Syria to bring in weapons and other military equipment from Iran, through Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon.
Politico
Court denies TikTok’s request to halt enforcement of potential US ban until Supreme Court review
Attorneys for TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court.
AFP
South Korea's President Yoon impeached over martial law bid
South Korean lawmakers on Saturday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a "victory of the people"."Yoon had no choice but to declare martial law.
AFP
Founder of Spain's Mango clothing chain dies in accident
Isak Andic, the founder of Spanish clothing retailer Mango, one of Europe's largest fashion groups, with nearly 2,800 stores worldwide, died Saturday in an accident, the company said.Mango has consolidated its position as one of the leading international fashion groups, with a major presence in more than 120 markets and 15,500 employees worldwide, according to its website. ds/jhb

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