The earthquake comes two months after the deadliest quake in recent Afghan history, which killed thousands of people.
Published On 2 Nov 20252 Nov 2025
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A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake has struck northern Afghanistan, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), two months after a quake killed thousands of people in the impoverished nation’s east.
The USGS said overnight Sunday into Monday that the quake hit at a revised depth of 28km (17 miles) in Kholm, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in the Hindu Kush region, at 12:59 am local time (20:29 GMT). It was felt by correspondents with the AFP news agency based in the capital Kabul.
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The agency had initially given the depth as 10km (6 miles).
Local authorities broadcast emergency telephone numbers for people to call, but did not immediately report any deaths or injuries.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, many people ran into the street in the middle of the night, fearing their homes might collapse, an AFP correspondent observed.
The Taliban authorities have had to deal with several major quakes since returning to power in 2021, including one in 2023 in the western Herat region on the border with Iran that killed more than 1,500 people and destroyed more than 63,000 homes.
A shallow 6.0-magnitude quake struck this year on August 31 in the country’s east, killing more than 2,200 people – the deadliest tremor in recent Afghan history.
Earthquakes are common in the country, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
Afghanistan is contending with multiple crises after decades of war: endemic poverty, severe drought and the influx of millions of Afghans forced back home by neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
Many modest Afghan homes are shoddily built and poor infrastructure hampers rescue efforts after natural disasters like quakes.
Since 1900, northeastern Afghanistan has been hit by 12 earthquakes with a magnitude above 7.0, according to Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.
United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has sent a powerful message to trans youth.
Over the last year, the Trump administration has been relentless in its efforts to roll back protections for trans people.
This includes attempts to limit access to gender-affirming healthcare, restrict participation in sports and define gender narrowly in legal terms.
While the 47th president and his Republican allies are showing no signs of slowing down their tirade, various Democratic lawmakers have come out swinging in support of the trans community, including AOC.
On 3 October, the representative for New York’s 14th congressional district held a Q&A session on her Instagram, during which she discussed several topics.
When a user asked if she had anything to say to trans youth amid the rise of anti-trans rhetoric, AOC delivered a powerful message assuring them that she stands by the community.
“I want to say that I know this time is completely terrifying for so many people. And it feels hard to know where your place is, especially in politics, where it feels like people of both parties are blaming you for everything that’s happening,” she said.
“I just want you to know that they couldn’t be more wrong and you are fine just the way you are, and in a time when it’s hard to know who stands with you, I want you to know that I stand with you, and everyone who wants to be mean shouldn’t be mean around me.”
AOC’s message was immediately embraced by many of her LGBTQIA+ followers, with one person commenting: “Thank you! As a peer support/peer ambassador in the mental health field, I truly appreciate your words #achildislistening”
Another user echoed similar sentiments, writing: “As a trans girl, thank you for standing up for us.”
A third follower added: “Thank you for taking the time to address our trans babies!! They deserve so much more love & respect than they’re receiving rn.”
Since entering the political sphere, AOC has been a staunch advocate for the trans community, often using her platform and public appearances to push back against hateful rhetoric.
In 2021, she effortlessly shut down transphobic critics mocking her for using the inclusive terminology, “menstruating person,” while discussing Texas’ anti-abortion law.
The politician took to Twitter to clarify her comments when news outlets generalised her wording to mean just “women”.
“Not just women,” AOC wrote. “Trans men & non-binary people can also menstruate.”
Not just women! Trans men & non-binary people can also menstruate.
Some women also *don’t* menstruate for many reasons, including surviving cancer that required a hysterectomy.
GOP mad at this are protecting the patriarchal idea that women are most valuable as uterus holders. pic.twitter.com/BJovcw1qPa
“Some women also *don’t* menstruate for many reasons, including surviving cancer that required a hysterectomy. GOP mad at this are protecting the patriarchal idea that women are most valuable as uterus holders.”
In November 2024, she came out in support of her colleague Sarah McBride –the first openly trans person to be elected to the House of Representatives – after Republican lawmakers attempted to pass a bill banning trans people from using the bathrooms on Capitol Hill that match their gender identity.
“If you ask them what is your plan to enforce this is, they won’t come up with an answer. What it inevitably results in are women and girls who are primed for assault because people are going to check their private parts in suspecting who is trans and who is cis and who is doing what,” she told reporters.
“And so the idea that Nancy Mace wants little girls and women to drop trou[sers] in front of who? An investigator? Who would that be? Because she wants to suspect and point fingers at who she thinks is trans? It is disgusting.”
@nbcnews Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls out #Republican Rep. Nancy Mace’s proposal to ban transgender women from female bathrooms in the Capitol. Mace and Speaker Johnson have separately introduced restrictions after #Democrat Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender person elected to #Congress♬ original sound – nbcnews
North Korea unveiled its new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade celebrating the 80th founding anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, state media reported Saturday. Photo by KCNA/EPA
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (UPI) —North Korea showed off its new Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade, state-run media reported on Saturday, touting it as the North’s “most powerful nuclear strategic weapon.”
The parade, held on Friday night at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, was attended by foreign dignitaries including Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam and Russian ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
The event marked the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and highlighted the North’s recent diplomatic outreach efforts as well as its growing military strength.
After a fireworks show and 21-gun salute, thousands of marching troops paraded past the grandstand, followed by a procession of military hardware, according to KCNA.
“The spectators broke into the most enthusiastic cheers when the column of Hwasongpho-20 ICBMs, the most powerful nuclear strategic weapon system of the DPRK, entered the square,” the KCNA report said.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
Also on display were medium- and long-range strategic missiles, drone launch vehicles, Chonma-20 battle tanks, 155mm howitzers and 600mm multiple rocket launchers, KCNA said.
In his remarks, Kim praised the “ideological and spiritual perfection” of North Korea’s military and called for its continued development.
“Our army should continue to grow into an invincible entity that destroys all threats approaching our range of self-defense,” he said. “It should steadily strengthen itself into elite armed forces which win victory after victory.”
Analysts had been anticipating the unveiling of the Hwasong-20 ICBM at Friday’s parade. Last month, Kim oversaw the final test of a new solid-fuel engine made with composite carbon fiber materials that he said would be used for the new ICBM.
Missiles using solid-fuel propellants have long been on Kim’s wish list of weapons, as they can be transported and launched more quickly than liquid-fuel models. North Korea has unveiled several long-range missiles that analysts believe are capable of reaching the continental United States.
It remains to be seen whether Pyongyang has the atmospheric re-entry vehicle technology to successfully deliver a nuclear payload, however.
Images released by KCNA showed Kim flanked by Chinese Premier Li and Vietnam’s To Lam, with Medvedev next to Lam. The parade comes as the isolated regime is making a renewed diplomatic push onto the international stage.
Last month, Kim traveled to Beijing to attend a military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, where he stood shoulder to shoulder with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
During that visit, Kim held his first summit with Xi in six years, as ties between the longtime allies show signs of warming after a suspected rift over Pyongyang’s growing military alignment with Moscow.
On Thursday, Kim held one-on-one talks with Vietnam’s Lam and China’s Li, considered to be the second-in-command to Xi, according to KCNA.
At an event held on the eve of the anniversary, Kim vowed to transform North Korea into a “more affluent and beautiful land” and a “socialist paradise.”
Former Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine received the endorsement of a prominent Democratic women’s group on Monday that backs candidates who support abortion rights. The organization could provide significant funding and grass-roots support to boost Porter’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign.
“Katie Porter has spent her career holding the powerful accountable, fighting to lower costs and taking on Wall Street and Trump administration officials to deliver results for California’s working families,” said Jessica Mackler, president of EMILY’s List. “At a time when President Trump and his allies are attacking Californians’ health care and making their lives more expensive, Katie is the proven leader California needs.”
The organization’s name stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast, a reference to the importance of early fundraising for female candidates. It was founded four decades ago to promote Democratic women who support legal abortion. The group has raised nearly $950 million to help elect such candidates across the country, including backing Porter’s successful congressional campaign to flip a GOP district in Orange County.
“There’s nothing that Donald Trump hates more than facing down a strong, powerful woman,” Porter said. “For decades, EMILY’s List has backed winner after winner, helping elect pro-choice Democratic women to public office. They were instrumental in helping me flip a Republican stronghold blue in 2018, and together I’m confident we will make history again.”
It’s unclear, however, how much the organization will spend on Porter’s bid to be California’s first female governor. There are multiple critical congressional races next year that will determine control of the House that the group will likely throw its weight behind.
At the moment, Porter, a UC Irvine law professor who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate last year, has a small edge in the polls among the multitude of Democrats running for the seat. The primary is in June.
Amazon(AMZN 0.57%) is best known for its e-commerce empire and its highly profitable cloud arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS). The tech giant’s shares have rallied over the last year, lifting the company’s market cap to more than $2.3 trillion as of this writing. That strength reflects solid execution across the business and optimism about the company’s growing role in artificial intelligence (AI). Yet one driver often takes the back seat to AWS: advertising.
Advertising is now a sizable, fast-growing revenue line that benefits from Amazon’s unmatched data, the shopping intent of visitors, and its expanding media footprint. Further, ad revenue accelerated again in Q2, and recent management commentary points to more opportunity ahead. Put simply, advertising is an important reason the long-term investment case remains compelling.
Image source: Getty Images.
Advertising momentum keeps building
Amazon’s advertising services revenue rose 23% year over year to about $15.7 billion in the second quarter of 2025 (22% growth excluding currency impacts). This followed 18% growth in the first quarter (19% excluding currency impacts), showing healthy acceleration as the year progresses. Drivers include more shopping activity, improved ad tools and measurement, the ongoing rollout of Prime Video ads, and connected-TV (CTV) partnerships that broaden where Amazon can serve ads. Notably, Amazon highlighted a June integration with Roku, with the partnership reaching an estimated 80 million U.S. households. The company’s push into CTV expands advertiser reach beyond retail search into high-engagement streaming, where advertisers are willing to pay more for ad spots.
Together with retail search, brand and display placements, and its demand-side platform (DSP), Amazon is deepening the ways it can match advertiser goals with shopper intent and authenticated audiences across its sprawling digital services. In other words, the company isn’t just selling placements; it is selling performance.
Why advertising is key to the bull case
Advertising represents high-margin revenue layered on top of Amazon’s massive retail and media ecosystem. While the company does not disclose ad margins, the economics are attractive and scale with traffic, selection, and relevance improvements.
Although management doesn’t provide specific commentary on its advertising margins, it often implies that they are key to the company’s profit growth story.
“Advertising remains an important contributor to profitability” in both its North America and international segments, said Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky in the company’s most recent earnings call.
While Amazon does not break out operating income for advertising separately, the high-margin nature of the business is a meaningful tailwind for overall profitability in North America and internationally. AWS, of course, remains the largest profit center, generating $10.2 billion of operating income in the quarter, but advertising is an increasingly important profit contributor that diversifies and helps stabilize the overall business through cycles.
It’s also worth noting that Amazon’s capabilities in advertising are difficult for rivals to replicate, given the company’s scale. So it wouldn’t be surprising to see Amazon continue gaining market share in advertising for years to come.
But this part of Amazon’s business comes with risks. Ad budgets are cyclical, and privacy and regulatory changes can impact targeting and measurement. Additionally, competition from other large advertising platforms remains intense. Meanwhile, Amazon stock’s valuation already bakes in healthy growth across its businesses. With a market cap in excess of $2.3 trillion, trailing-12-month sales approaching $700 billion, and net income of $70.6 billion for the same period, shares trade at a premium that assumes steady execution. But advertising strengthens the case that Amazon can sustain double-digit top-line growth and rising profitability alongside AWS over time.
AWS may be the more important profit engine today, but advertising is a quiet force that is enhancing Amazon’s profit engine. The business benefits from Amazon’s data and distribution, adds higher-margin revenue to retail, and opens new monetization surfaces in streaming. For investors evaluating Amazon’s long-term return profile, understanding the momentum and durability of advertising — not just cloud — is key.
Daniel Sparks and his clients ahve no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Roku. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Robot vacuums come in a wide variety of budgets and capabilities, from basic models that just sweep to high-end devices that map your entire home and even mop.
But you don’t always have to splash the cash for great features, as Amazon often drops the price on some leading cleaning devices.
Right now, you can snap up the Vexilar Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum Cleaner for an absolutely steal.
It was priced at £329.99, but is currently reduced to just £199.98 – that’s a discount of almost 40%.
We in the Sun Shopping team haven’t tested out this particular models ourselves – for some tested recommendations, you’ll need to head to our best robot vacuum cleaners page.
But this device has proved incredibly popular with shoppers, currently ranking as the third-best selling robot vacuum on the Amazon site.
The Vexilar packs two pieces of impressive tech for a price that’s now firmly in budget territory.
Firstly, it’s unusual to get a robot vacuum for less than £200 that comes with a self-emptying bin – that’s usually the domain of premium devices.
(I recently reviewed a flagship robot vac that self-empties, but it costs a whopping £1,119 – read my Eureka J15 Max Ultra review if you’re curious.)
The Vexilar’s base station contains a 2L dust bag, which is advertised to last for 60 days before you need to empty it.
That’s a massive plus for busy households.
Secondly, there’s the laser-mapping, which is something you’ll not often see with cheaper devices.
Basically, its Advanced LDS Laser Navigation will precisely map your home in 360 degrees, allowing it to plan the most efficient cleaning route.
It even lets you set virtual ‘no-go’ zones and customise suction or water levels for specific rooms via the app.
When it comes to power, the vacuum boasts a 6000Pa suction, and the manufacturer says it’s effective at tackling pet hair and debris on everything from hardwood floors to low-pile carpets.
The device also has a long 180-minute runtime on a single charge in quiet mode, before returning to its base station to re-charge.
You can control it via the companion app, or connect it to your smart home using Alexa, Google Home, or Siri – that’s seriously hands-off cleaning.
2
The Vexilar robot vacuum will run for 3 hours off a single charge in quiet mode
“Worth it – powerful, reliable, and hassle-free,” says one happy customer.
“[I’m] really happy with this robot vacuum. Easy to set up, cleans well, and the auto-empty base is a big time saver.
It navigates around furniture without any issues and picks up dust and pet hair easily… Makes life a lot easier. Definitely recommend.”
Another shopper writes: “I’ve been using this for a few days now but oh boy! I’m honestly impressed!
“The battery lasts long enough to finish the whole house, and if it runs low it goes back, recharges and picks up where it left off.
“I also like that I can control it with the app or just ask Alexa to start cleaning,” said another.
“Worth every penny, don’t hesitate!” wrote a third shopper, while other buyers described it
“Complete game-changer,” commented a fourth.
“Life-changing,” was the verdict of a fifth reviewer.
This huge saving on the Vexilar Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum Cleaner is marked as a limited-time deal, so you shouldn’t wait too long if you want to bag this bargain.
Keep in mind that Amazon Prime Day is happening next week (October 7th-8th), and it’s not impossible that this device could drop even lower in price.
However, any potential further discount will likely be a deal only available to Amazon Prime members.
If you’re not a member yet, it’s well worth signing up for free for 30 days, and nab this saving while you’ve got it.
The compact charger packs a hefty 10,000mAh capacity into a device that weighs just 220g, keeping your phone powered all day without feeling like lugging around a brick.
It uses magnetic suction technology to grip firmly to the back of your iPhone, creating a seamless MagSafe connection that makes charging on the move feel effortless.
Compatible with Apple’s latest line-up from iPhone 12 through to the just-dropped iPhone 17, it’s built to snap on securely even if you’re using a magnetic case.
The Gxorul charger doesn’t just look slick, it’s fast too, with USB-C and USB-A ports capable of powering devices up to 55% in just half an hour.
Better still, you can charge three gadgets at once thanks to its combination of wireless charging, USB-C, and USB-A outputs, making it the perfect travel or commute addition.
There’s also a handy LED display that shows your remaining battery level and lights up with a green fast-charge logo, so you’re never left guessing.
It has a handy built-in stand, so you can prop up your phone at a 60-degree angle, ideal for video calls and catch-ups while your device gets a boost.
Portable enough to slip into your bag and airline-friendly at 38.5Wh, it’s a smart buy for workdays, weekends away, and even long-haul flights.
Shoppers are giving the Gxorul a near-perfect 4.8 out of 5-star rating on Amazon, which tells you everything you need to know about just how well it delivers.
Amazon buyers have been quick to praise its mix of muscle and portability, with one calling it “a powerful thing despite its diminutive size” and hailing it as “powerful and fast.”
Another reviewer noted, “The MagSafe connection is strong and the LED display makes it easy to track power.
“The 10,000mAh capacity easily gives my iPhone multiple charges, and the 22.5W fast charging is noticeably quick.”
A third impressed shopper summed it up perfectly: “Brilliantly designed magnetic wireless charging that grips and fits onto the back of the phone perfectly, even with a normal case on it.
This isn’t the only deal I spotted with serious savings.
The design is ultra-portable, slimmer than a centimetre thick, weighing only 109g, and about two-thirds the size of a phone.
Despite the compact body, it carries a 5000mAh capacity, enough to comfortably get most people through a day without scrambling for a wall socket.
The big sell here is the strong magnetic connection, engineered with a grip force that snaps securely to your iPhone.
There’s no button-pressing or fiddling around; the Dbasne charger attaches instantly and starts charging automatically.
Wireless charging gets you from zero to around 55% in just half an hour on iPhone 12 through 16 series.
While the USB-C outport is there if you prefer a wired boost, pushing you up to 70% in the same time.
It’s a fast and fuss-free option, and reliable enough for daily use or travel.
It also comes with built-in protections against overheating, overcharging, and voltage spikes, giving peace of mind.
Another clever touch is the retractable lanyard cable, which doubles as a charging cord.
It cuts out clutter and keeps the charger close at hand, whether you’re commuting, at the office, or heading out away from a wall charger.
While I’m impressed by the design and value, it’s not just me taking notice.
Shoppers themselves have given it a rare 5-out-of-5-star rating with a 97% approval rate on Amazon, which is almost unheard of for a product in this category.
One buyer raved: “Small, quick, and dependable, what a lifesaver this power bank is. It is ideal for everyday usage or travel, and a phone can be charged multiple times thanks to the battery’s strong capacity.”
Another called it an “Awesome little powerbank”
They added that it’s “Lightweight, charges with cable or wireless. Quick charge, fits in small purses, besides, it’s really cute and smooth.”
A third praised its longevity: “Reliable and powerful. The battery lasts a surprisingly long time.”
“I can use it for multiple charges without recharging the power bank itself. It’s perfect for travel, busy days out.”
This isn’t the only tech deal I’ve had my eyes on of late.
John L. Burton, the proudly liberal and pro-labor lawmaker who shaped California politics and policy over six decades on topics as varied as welfare, foster care, auto emissions, guns and foie gras, has died. He was 92.
With his brother, Rep. Phillip Burton, and college buddy, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Burton was integral to the organization that dominated Democratic politics in San Francisco and the state starting in the 1960s.
Burton was elected to the Assembly in 1964 and Congress a decade later. Laid low by cocaine addiction, he did not seek reelection in 1982. But he returned to Sacramento after getting clean and became the Capitol’s most powerful legislator as Senate president pro tem from 1998 until term limits forced him to retire in 2004.
“I think government’s there to help the people who can’t help themselves. And there’s a lot of people that can’t help themselves,” Burton said, describing his view of a politician’s job in an oral history interview by Open California.
Burton’s death was confirmed in a statement released by his family on Sunday.
“He cared a lot,” said Kimiko Burton, his daughter. “He always instilled in me that we fight for the underdog. There are literally millions of people whose lives he helped over the years who have no idea who he is.”
An L.A. Times writer described Brown, always dapper and cool, as a piece of living art. In contrast, Burton was performance art — rumpled, often rude, too fidgety to sit in long policy meetings. Some people sprinkle conversation with profanities. Burton doused his sentences with expletives, usually F-bombs.
John Burton with then-California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2011.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
He was quick to yell but could also be charming. He bought pies from a fruit stand off Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Sacramento and delivered them as apologies to targets of his rants. An aide once gave him a T-shirt with the phrase: “I yell because I care.”
Unlike most politicians, who dress to the nines, Burton wore ties reluctantly and showed up at meetings with governors wearing guayaberas, rarely with his hair in place. When cameras weren’t around, he drove through San Francisco delivering blankets to homeless people.
One of Burton’s many intensely loyal aides was Angie Tate, whom he hired to be his political fundraiser in 1998 knowing she was pregnant with twins. After she gave birth three months early and tried to return to work, Burton insisted that she take a year off, fully paid. She worked with him for the rest of his days.
In later years, he created John Burton Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit group to mentor foster youth and seek policy changes. One such bill extended services for foster youth until age 21, rather than the previous cutoff of 18.
“I don’t think there is a person who has done more for foster kids than John Burton,” said Miles Cooley, a Los Angeles entertainment attorney who was in foster care when he was a child and sits on the board of Burton’s foundation. “He wasn’t speaking truth to power. He was yelling it.”
From his early days in public life, Burton, a lawyer and Army veteran, advocated for greater civil rights, opposed the death penalty, and was an antiwar activist, protesting U.S. involvement in Vietnam in October 1963, when the U.S. had fewer than 17,000 troops there.
As state Senate leader four decades later, Burton joined folk singer Joan Baez at a protest of President George W. Bush’s impending invasion of Iraq. As California Democratic Party chair from 2009 to 2017, he presided as the party changed its platform to oppose capital punishment.
“John Burton was liberal when it was popular to be liberal and he was liberal when it was not popular. I always admired that,” said former state Sen. Jim Brulte, a Republican who tangled with Burton in the Legislature and later when they chaired their respective political parties.
A party chair’s job is to win elections. That requires money. In 2008, the year before Burton took over the state Democratic Party, the California Republican and Democratic parties raised and spent roughly equal sums. By 2016, his final campaign as chair, the Democrats were outspending the Republicans $36.2 million to $17.7 million.
He promoted a ballot measure in 2010 that allows the Legislature to pass the annual budget by a simple majority rather than the previous two-thirds supermajority, allowing the Democrats to pass a legislative session’s most important measure — the budget — without Republican votes, further marginalizing the GOP in Sacramento.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), then-Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis and state Treasurer Fiona Ma were among the politicians, most of them women, who joined Burton on the convention stage in 2017 for his farewell as party chair. Former state Sen. Martha Escutia serenaded him with a rendition of “Bésame Mucho.”
“John is the chief architect of the Democrats’ dominance in California,” Pelosi said at the time.
Burton paid tribute to the people who had helped him, saying, “You’re only as good as your staff,” and closed by exhorting party loyalists to raise their middle fingers and give a Burton-like cheer to then-President Trump.
Although Burton was a partisan, his closest friend in the Senate was Ross Johnson of Fullerton, who was Senate Republican leader. Sharing a quirky love of song, the unlikely duet interrupted a Senate floor session with a rendition of “Big Rock Candy Mountain.”
They also shared a distrust of authority and collaborated to curb law enforcement’s ability to seize individuals’ assets without a trial. Burton and Johnson shaped campaign finance law with a ballot measure permitting political parties to accept unlimited donations, enhancing parties’ power. As a sweetener for voters, the measure required rapid disclosure of contributions.
John Lowell Burton, born in Cincinnati in 1932, was the youngest of three brothers. After his father completed medical school in Chicago, the family relocated to San Francisco, where Dr. Burton cared for patients whether they could pay or not.
Burton lettered in basketball at San Francisco State College and kept a clipping of a newspaper box score showing he scored 20 points against a University of San Francisco team that included young Bill Russell, one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He met Brown at San Francisco State and they became lifelong friends. A bartender in his younger days, Burton was arrested for bookmaking in 1962, but was cleared.
The Burton brothers reflected a dichotomy in California politics, rising from the left while Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan ascended from the right, against the swirl of the Bay Area’s brand of radical politics. John Burton and Brown won their Assembly seats in 1964, the same year that voters approved a ballot measure backed by the real estate industry giving property owners the right to refuse to sell to people of color. Courts later overturned it.
The Burton-Brown organization spawned a who’s who of leaders, including two San Francisco mayors — George Moscone, who was a high school friend, and Brown, the most powerful Assembly speaker in California history. Burton was a friend of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s father, a state appellate court justice, and watched young Gavin’s high school sports games. Brown gave Newsom his start in politics with an appointment.
Barbara Boxer worked for John Burton during his time in Congress, before succeeding him in 1982 and winning a U.S. Senate seat a decade later. When Boxer retired in 2016, Brown helped promote Boxer’s successor, Kamala Harris.
Pelosi is most consequential of all. Phillip Burton’s widow, Sala Burton, succeeded him in Congress. As she was dying of cancer, Sala Burton told John that she wanted Pelosi to succeed her, and he used all his connections to help Pelosi win the congressional seat in 1987.
Outgoing California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton at the California Democratic State Convention in 2017.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
In November 1978, Burton declined an invitation from Rep. Leo Ryan, a Democrat from San Mateo, to accompany him to Guyana to investigate the People’s Temple cult, once a force in San Francisco politics. On Nov. 18, as Ryan’s plane was about to depart with cult defectors, one of cult leader Jim Jones’ followers assassinated the congressman. Jones led a murder-suicide resulting in more than 900 deaths.
On Nov. 27, 1978, with the city convulsed by the Jonestown cataclysm, Dan White, a former San Francisco supervisor, sneaked into City Hall and assassinated Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
Burton fell hard in the months and years after, drinking heavily, huffing nitrous oxide and freebasing cocaine. He missed congressional votes, and aides feared he would be found dead. In 1982, he checked into a rehab facility in Arizona and did not seek reelection.
Burton’s eclectic circle of friends included national political figures, Hollywood glitterati, football coach John Madden, North Beach topless dancer Carol Doda and, from his bartending days, Alice Kleupfer, a cocktail waitress.
In this small world, Kleupfer’s son James Rogan won an Assembly seat from the Burbank area as a Republican in 1994, was elected to Congress in 1996, and helped lead the impeachment of President Clinton. Politics aside, Burton and Rogan shared a connection through Kleupfer.
That friendship mattered on May 30, 1996, when Republicans, holding a short-lived 41-39 seat advantage in the Assembly, rushed to approve tough-on-crime bills. One bill would have made it a crime for pregnant women to abuse drugs, a response to accounts of babies born addicted to cocaine. The GOP-led Assembly seemed certain to pass it when Burton stood to speak.
Though not a commanding orator, Burton spoke from the heart about how cocaine “takes total control of your life,” and how he spent days freebasing in hotel rooms, refusing maid service because he didn’t want anyone to see him.
“It took me, somebody who at least has got a fair set of brains sometimes, who comes from a background that is not deprived, who at the time I was doing it — and I’m not proud to say — was a member of the House of Representatives, and it took me two years to get off this drug, which is the most insidious drug you can imagine,” Burton said.
Floor speeches rarely change minds. But after Burton pleaded with Republicans not to “turn these young women into criminals,” Rogan, then-Speaker Curt Pringle and a few other Republicans withheld their votes. With the bill pending, Republicans conferred behind closed doors and quietly dropped the bill.
“It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t scripted. It was pure John Burton,” said Rogan, who went on to become a Superior Court judge in Orange County. Burton was the only Democrat who had the relationships and gravitas to derail the bill.
For most of his time in office, Burton served under Republican governors. He butted heads with them and on occasion won them over.
When young Assemblyman Burton sought to decriminalize marijuana, Reagan, implying that Burton was a nut, quipped that the San Franciscan was the one man in Sacramento who had the most to fear from the squirrels that populate Capitol Park. Burton answered by calling reporters to the park and trying to feed squirrels a copy of some Reagan-backed legislation.
“There’s some benefit to people thinking you’re nuts,” Burton said in an interview.
Though he was a relatively junior legislator, Burton took a lead role in Reagan’s 1971 welfare overhaul, pushing for annual cost-of-living adjustments for welfare recipients, something he fought to protect over the years.
He disparaged Gov. Pete Wilson, a Marine Corps veteran, for his efforts to limit welfare by calling him “the little Marine.” Burton had a “wicked sense of humor and a “colorful” way of expressing it” but was “a straight shooter,” Wilson said.
“With respect to legislative leaders, as Democrats, I would say that the combination of John Burton and Willie Brown negotiating budget and policy solutions during a time of crisis in the Reagan Cabinet Room was some of the finest policy and political talent California has ever seen,” Wilson said.
Voters elected Burton to the state Senate in 1996, and senators elected him Senate president pro tem in 1998, the year Gray Davis was elected governor, the first Democrat to hold that office after 16 years of Republicans. The relationship was strained.
In appearance, temperament and approach, they were opposites, and they clashed. Davis was a centrist who tried to be tightfisted. Burton, often dismissive of Davis, tried to pull him to the left. When it suited their interests, however, Davis signed legislation that Burton advocated, and Burton carried administration legislation.
“It ain’t brain surgery,” Burton said in 2021 of the art of turning a bill into a law. But few legislators could handle a lawmaking scalpel like Burton.
As Senate leader, he shepherded legislation to buy the last large stands of old-growth redwoods, increase public employee pensions, restrict guns and expand the right to sue, including for victims of sexual harassment. He was the target of such a suit in 2008. It was settled a few months later.
Burton routinely blocked legislation that increased the length of prison sentences but was a favorite of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., which represents prison guards. He was, after all, pro-labor.
In 2002, Burton carried legislation ratifying the prison officers’ contract negotiated by the Davis administration granting officers a raise of roughly 35% over five years, and boosting their pensions. Later that year the union, run by the fedora-wearing Don Novey, celebrated Burton’s 70th birthday by donating $70,000 to his campaign account.
Often, Burton sought no credit for what he helped others accomplish, as Fran Pavley discovered. In 2001, her first year in the Assembly, Pavley, an Agoura Hills Democrat, proposed far-reaching climate change legislation to authorize the California Air Resources Board to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle tailpipes.
Lobbyists for automakers shifted into overdrive, airing ads warning California that AB 1058 would dictate what cars people could own. The oil industry, drive-time talk radio hosts, and even Cal Worthington and his dog Spot piled on. AB 1058 looked like roadkill.
Burton’s solution: Hijack another bill and insert the contents of Pavley’s bill into it. With that bit of legerdemain, AB 1058 died, AB 1493 was born, and the auto industry’s campaign crashed.
Burton didn’t attend the ceremony when Davis signed the bill. Nor did he accompany Pavley a decade later when President Obama held a Rose Garden ceremony embracing the California concept in nationwide fuel-efficiency standards.
Pavley said she had never seen a politician work so hard for a bill for no credit, ”and I haven’t seen it since.”
Burton took special interest in certain issues. He was, for example, appalled at the force-feeding of ducks and geese to enlarge their livers to produce foie gras. In one of his final bills, he battled restaurant owners and agricultural interests to ban the practice. It passed the Senate by one vote.
In a letter urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign the bill against the wishes of some chefs, he included Burtonesque doggerel: “Save Donald Duck. F— Wolfgang Puck.”
Schwarzenegger signed the bill and sent Burton a photo of himself and Burton in the governor’s office looking at the bottom of the governor’s shoe with a note: “I got duck liver on my shoe!” In the background of the photo, there’s an image of Reagan, smiling with his head tilted back as if he’s having a good laugh.
Burton, who was divorced twice, is survived by his daughter, attorney Kimiko Burton, and two grandchildren.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
Beijing stages its largest military parade ever with dozens of world leaders in attendance.
On the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, President Xi Jinping told the world, China does not fear violence, and showed them its weapons: Sophisticated military hardware, ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons filled Tiananmen Square, along with thousands of soldiers.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also took centre stage.
So, was Xi showing there is an alternative to a US-led world order?
If so, how was this message received? And what does it mean for global politics?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Richard Weitz – Senior non-resident associate fellow the NATO Defense College
Andy Mok – Senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing
Fraser Howie – Writer and commentator and co-author of Red Capitalism and Privatizing China
Among its spider prevention tips are keeping windows shut at night. clearing any clutter that they may like to hide in and vacuuming regularly.
The website also praised cats and dogs as great helpers in terminating the critters.
B&Q’s stain-free and non-toxic solution is set to keep the pests at bay.
Giant huntsman spider lurking in his bunch of Aldi bananas
Bargain hacks that help keep spiders at bay
You can also keep spiders out the house by using a simple kitchen staple.
Earlier this year, The Sun revealed that white vinegar can often do the job.
Pest control expert Doug O’Connor explained that “spiders hate vinegar.”
He added: “The smell is overwhelming to them, and it causes irritation on contact.
“It is one of the simplest and most effective ways to deter them.”
You can pick up a bottle for as little as 35p from Sainsbury’s, though there is a good chance you will already have some sitting in your cupboard.
Peppermint oil is also a great way to keep critters out.
Adeel Ul-Haq, a sleep expert from Divan Beds, explained: “Peppermint oil is a great way to keep spiders away for cheap, and not only does it leave your home smelling amazing, but spiders hate it.
“The strong smell overwhelms the spiders and encourages them to go elsewhere.”
Keep pests out all summer
IF you want to ensure that your home is pest free this summer, here’s what you need to know.
Hornets and wasps – hate the smell of peppermint oil so spraying this liberally around your patio or balcony can help to keep them at bay.
Moths – acidic household white vinegar is effective for deterring moths. Soak some kitchen roll in vinegar and leave it in your wardrobe as a deterrent.
Flying ants – herbs and spices, such as cinnamon, mint, chilli pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves, or garlic act as deterrents.
Mosquitoes – plants, herbs and essential oil fragrances can help deter mozzies inside and out. Try eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass.
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B&Q is providing the perfect solution to spider seasonCredit: Nicholas Strugnell – Commissioned by The Times
One of California’s most influential labor organizations endorsed redrawing the state’s congressional maps to counter President Trump’s effort to push Republican states, notably Texas, to increase his party’s numbers in Congress in next year’s midterm election.
The California Federation of Labor Unions voted unanimously Tuesday to support putting a measure on the ballot in November. The proposal, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and many of the state’s Democratic leaders, would ask voters to temporarily change congressional district boundaries that were drawn by an independent redistricting commission four years ago, with some conditions.
Republicans could potentially lose up to a half dozen seats in California’s 52-member delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives. After it returns for its summer recess on Aug. 18, the California Legislature is expected to vote to place the measure on the statewide ballot in a special election.
“President Trump has said that Republicans are ‘entitled’ to five more congressional votes in Texas. Well, they aren’t entitled to steal the 2026 election. California’s unions refuse to stand by as democracy is tested,” Lorena Gonzalez, president of the federation, said in a statement. “California Labor is unified in our resolve to fight back against President Trump’s anti-worker agenda.”
Redistricting — the esoteric redrawing of the nation’s 435 congressional districts — typically occurs once every decade after the U.S. census tallies the population across the nation. Population shifts can result in changes in a state’s allocation of congressional seats, such as when California lost a seat after the 2020 census the first time in the state’s history.
The political redistricting process had long been crafted by elected officials to give their political parties an edge or to protect incumbents — sometimes in brazen, bizarrely shaped districts. Californians voted in 2010 to create an independent commission to draw congressional maps based on communities of interest, logical geography and ensuring representation of minority communities.
The ballot measure being pushed by Newsom and others would allow state lawmakers to help determine district boundaries for the next three election cycles if Texas approves a pending measure to reconfigure districts to increase Republican-held congressional seats in that state. Line-drawing would return to the independent commission after the 2030 census.
The California Federation of Labor is committed to spending several million dollars supporting a mid-decade redistricting ballot measure, on top of what it already planned to spend on competitive congressional races next year, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about the strategy.
A spokesperson for several organizations devoted to fighting any effort to change the state’s redistricting process said that Charles Munger Jr., the son of a billionaire, and who bankrolled the ballot measure to create the independent commission, is committed to making sure it is not weakened.
“While Charles Munger has been out of politics since 2016, he has said he will vigorously defend the reforms he helped pass, including nonpartisan redistricting,” said Amy Thoma, spokesperson for the Voters First Coalition. “His previous success in passing ballot measures in California means he knows exactly what is needed to be successful. We will have the resources necessary to make our coalition heard.”
A vacuum cleaner is a household essential, and Amazon has a huge 52% saving on a popular model.
The Uninell Cordless Vacuum Cleaner has been reduced from £229.99 to £109.
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The vacuum cleaner is great for hard-to-reach areas.
Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, £109 (was £229.99)
If you’re not keen on spending hundreds on the latest premium vacuum cleaner, you’re not alone.
Shoppers are flocking to Amazon to find the latest and greatest discounts, and there’s one stand-out cleaning deal right now.
The Uninell Cordless Vacuum Cleaner is now £109, and it has lots of handy features that make it versatile for cleaning all different surfaces.
Firstly, it’s cordless, which makes it easier to clean awkward areas, like the stairs or corners that aren’t within reach of a plug socket.
The cordless battery lasts up to an hour, and charges using a wall-mounted charger.
The handy design also allows you to transform it into a handheld vacuum cleaner, which is ideal for cleaning the car and tackling dirt and debris under sofa cushions and on other soft furniture.
Parents will know that the school holidays equal constant crumbs and mess, and this versatile vacuum is great for quick clean-ups.
There’s a ‘barefloor’ mode for hard flooring, a carpet mode, and a turbo mode for extra-powerful cleans and tackling ground-in dirt and hair.
The Amazon vacuum cleaner has a high 4.8 star rating, with hundreds of shoppers leaving their feedback.
One shopper said: ‘’Honestly would never go back to buying the likes of Miele, Dyson and Shark, of which I have owned over the years.’’
Another shopper commented: ‘’It’s lightweight, powerful, and glides around corners easily, picking up all my dog’s hair effortlessly.’’
‘’Great value for money. Can’t believe how cheap it was for what I got!’’
While a third shopper praised the ‘’Excellent vacuum cleaner’’, calling it ‘’easy to use, lightweight, good attachments, battery lasts long enough to clean medium sized house.’’
They also went on to say: ‘’Can’t differentiate much between this and the much pricier Dyson equivalent.’’
In comparison, Dyson’s cheapest vacuum online right now is £249.99, and that’s the reduced price – some cost as much as £799.
Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, £109 (was £229.99)
A vacuum cleaner is a big purchase, and if you’re still unsure which is best for your household, give the Sun Shopping’s best cordless vacuum cleaners rundown a read.
If you’re considering a Shark vacuum, and want to know The Sun’s thoughts on a popular, highly-rated model, check out our Shark IZ202UKT review.
Unlike bulkier battery packs, this one is designed with portability front and centre.
It weighs just 192g, so it’s lighter than most out there and easy to slip into a handbag, backpack, or carry-on.
With a 10000mAh capacity, it’s got more than enough power to get you through a full day, and then some.
And because it’s well under the TSA’s 27,000mAh limit, you can safely pop it in your hand luggage for a mid-flight top-up.
It’s not just the size that makes it handy. It supports 3A fast charging, twice as fast as your average power bank, so you won’t be stuck waiting forever to recharge.
It also has smart safety tech built in to protect your devices from overheating or battery damage, which is always reassuring.
There’s a USB-C IN & OUT port, a USB-A port, and a built-in USB-C cable, so you can charge three devices at once.
Whether it’s your phone, wireless earbuds, or even a mate’s device, this little power bank can handle it.
There’s also a clever little design touch: the micro cable doubles as a lanyard, so you can clip it to your bag and keep it handy while you’re out and about.
There’s no guessing games when it comes to battery life, the LED power display shows you exactly how much juice you’ve got left.
“Compact, powerful, and perfect for on-the-go,” writes one shopper. “It’s honestly become a lifesaver for my on-the-go lifestyle.”
“A solid battery pack,” says another customer. “The in-built USB-C cable is extremely convenient, snug fitting in my phone and provides a nice, fast charge. “
Another buyer writes: “The wireless charging works flawlessly with my phone… The battery level indicator is a nice touch.
Amazon’s been rolling out a string of similar deals lately, with popular picks like the TRKOY and Matast Magsafe portable chargers flying off the shelves.
If you’re looking for more top-rated options, check out my tried and tested guide to the best power banks UK buyers love.
Hosgubo Fast-Charging Power Bank, £159.99 £12.99 (Prime member exclusive)
Quake strikes 136km east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s far east, according to US Geological Survey.
Tsunami alerts have been issued in multiple countries after a powerful earthquake off the Russian coast, with waves of 3-4 metres reported in Russia’s far east.
A tsunami measuring 3-4 metres high was recorded in parts of Russia’s Kamchatka region, the regional minister for emergency situations said early on Wednesday.
The magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck 136km (85 miles) east of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in Russia’s far east, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Japan’s meteorological agency issued a tsunami advisory for the country, warning of waves of up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) high.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an immediate “tsunami watch” for the state of Hawaii.
The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in a social media post that the quake may be strong enough to “generate destructive waves” in Hawaii.
There have been no reports of damage or casualties so far.
When Lauren Hersh, the national director of the anti-sex trafficking activist group World Without Exploitation, heard Wednesday that Sean “Diddy” Combs was convicted only on the two least serious charges against him, she felt grief for his former partner Casandra Ventura and his other accusers.
“I think this is a travesty,” Hersh said. “It shows there is culturally a deep misunderstanding of what sex trafficking is and the complexity of coercion. So often in these cases, there’s an intertwining of horrific violence and affection.”
Hersh, the former chief of the sex trafficking unit at the Kings County district attorney’s office in Brooklyn, said that Combs’ verdict — guilty on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted on one for racketeering and two for sex trafficking — is a mixed message about Combs’ conduct. But it will likely be felt as a step backward for the movement to hold powerful men to account for alleged sex crimes.
In a cultural moment when other music stars like Marilyn Manson and Chris Brown have mounted successful comebacks after high-profile abuse investigations and lawsuits, Hersh worries the Diddy verdict may deter prosecutors from pursuing similar cases against powerful men and chill the MeToo movement’s ability to seek justice for abuse victims.
“It’s a huge setback, especially in this moment when the powerful have continuously operated with impunity,” Hersh said. “It sends a signal to victims that despite the MeToo movement, we’re still not there in believing victims and understanding the context of exploitation. But I’m hoping it’s a teachable moment to connect the dots with what trafficking is and understanding the complexity of coercion.”
The charges against Combs were not a referendum on whether he had abused Ventura or the myriad other women and men involved in his “freak-off” parties, where group sex and drug use intertwined into an allegedly decadent and violent culture around Combs.
Combs’ defense team freely admitted that his relationship with Ventura was violent, as seen in an infamous 2016 videotape of Combs beating Ventura in an elevator lobby at the InterContinental hotel in Los Angeles. Marc Agnifilo, one of Combs’ lawyers, said in closing arguments that Combs has a drug problem but described his relationship with Ventura as a “modern love story” in which the hip-hop mogul “owns the domestic violence” that plagued it.
“The defendant embraced the fact that he was a habitual drug user who regularly engaged in domestic abuse,” federal prosecutors wrote in a hearing about Combs’ possible bail terms.
The jury decided that Combs’ conduct, however reprehensible, did not amount beyond a reasonable doubt to a criminal racketeering organization or sex trafficking. Yet the case’s impact on movements within music and other industries to hold abusers to account is uncertain.
Many civil suits against the music mogul are still moving through court and could affect his depleted finances. Combs’ reputation has been thoroughly tainted by the lurid details of the trial and strong condemnations from his many accusers.
Still, for victim advocates, the verdict was a bitter disappointment.
Reactions within the music world were swift and despairing. “This makes me physically ill,” said Aubrey O’Day of Danity Kane, the band Diddy assembled on his popular reality TV show “Making the Band,” on social media. “Cassie probably feels so horrible. Ugh, I’m gonna vomit.”
“Cassie, I believe you. I love you. Your strength is a beacon for every survivor,” wrote singer Kesha, who in 2014 sued producer Dr. Luke, accusing him of assault. Kesha has frequently altered the lyrics of her hit single “TikTok” in performances to lambast Combs.
Even longtime Diddy antagonist 50 Cent seemed to acknowledge his partial victory. “Diddy beat the feds that boy a bad man,” 50 Cent wrote on Instagram, before referencing a famous mobster notorious for evading convictions. “Beat the RICO he the gay John Gotti.”
Mitchell Epner, a former assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey who prosecuted numerous sex trafficking and involuntary servitude cases, said that despite some recent high-profile sex trafficking cases that ended in convictions, Combs’ charges were never going to be easy to prove.
“In recent years, we’ve seen prosecutions of Ghislaine Maxwell in the Jeffrey Epstein case, Keith Raniere of NXIVM and R. Kelly, where they are trafficking in order to feed the traffickers’ sexual desire,” Epner said. “But this indictment was all about Sean Combs sharing women with people he was paying. He wasn’t receiving money, he wanted to be a voyeur. That technically fits the definition of sex trafficking, but it wasn’t the primary evil Congress was thinking about.”
The hurdles for accusers to come forward with claims against powerful men, and for juries to discern between transgressive sexual relationships and criminally liable abuse beyond a reasonable doubt, make such cases difficult to prosecute.
In the absence of convictions, some recently accused artists have already mounted successful comebacks.
Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson had been under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since 2021, when several women accused him of rape and abuse including “Westworld” actor Evan Rachel Wood and “Game of Thrones” actor Esmé Bianco.
Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in January that the statute of limitations had run out on Manson’s domestic violence allegations, and that prosecutors doubted they could prove rape charges.
“While we are unable to bring charges in this matter,” Hochman said in a statement then, “we recognize that the strong advocacy of the women involved has helped bring greater awareness to the challenges faced by survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault.”
Bianco told The Times that, “Within our toxic culture of victim blaming, a lack of understanding of coercive control, the complex nature of sexual assault within intimate partnerships, and statutes of limitations that do not support the realities of healing, prosecutions face an oftentimes insurmountable hurdle. Once again, our justice system has failed survivors.”
Manson has denied all claims against him. He has since released a new album and mounted successful tours.
Meanwhile, R&B singer Chris Brown was recently the subject of “Chris Brown: A History of Violence,” a 2024 documentary that shed new light on a 2022 lawsuit where a woman accused Brown of raping her on a yacht owned by Combs in 2020.
That lawsuit — one of many civil and criminal claims made against Brown over the years, beginning with the infamous 2009 incident in which he assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna — was dismissed. In 2020, Brown settled another sexual assault lawsuit regarding an alleged 2017 incident at the singer’s home. Brown currently faces criminal charges around a 2023 incident where he allegedly assaulted a music producer with a tequila bottle in a London nightclub.
Brown denied the claims in the documentary, and his attorneys called the film “defamatory.” He sued Warner Bros. Entertainment for $500 million. He is currently on a stadium tour that will stop at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in September.
Combs, meanwhile, may still face a range of criminal and civil consequences. He could be sentenced from anywhere up to the maximum of 10 years apiece on each prostitution charge, or to a far lesser sentence. Some experts said it’s possible he may be sentenced to time served and walk away a free man soon.
Though it’s too soon to know what kind of future awaits Combs should he return to public life, it’s hard to imagine a return to the heights of influence that defined his ‘90s tenure at Bad Boy Entertainment, or his affable multimedia-mogul personality in the 2000s. A fate similar to the former hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons seems most likely — reputationally tarnished and culturally irrelevant.
Still, his supporters thronged outside the New York courtroom waving bottles of baby oil — an infamous detail of the trial — in a pseudo-ironic celebration of his acquittal on the most serious charges.
If Combs wants to ever return to music, he’ll have at least one ally in Ye, the embattled Nazi-supporting rapper who showed up in court to bolster Combs. Ye featured the incarcerated mogul on his song “Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine,” and released clothing featuring the logo of Combs’ old fashion label Sean John.
President Trump, another convicted felon and alleged sexual assailant who quickly returned to the heights of power, has said he is open to pardoning Combs. “It’s not a popularity contest,” he has said, regarding a Combs pardon. ”I would certainly look at the facts if I think somebody was mistreated.”
The Ukrainian air force said on Saturday that Russia struck with 215 missiles and drones overnight, and Ukrainian air defences shot down and neutralised 87 drones and seven missiles.
At least three people were killed and 17 others, including two children, were wounded in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said, describing the assault as “the most powerful” on the city since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He reported 48 Iranian-made drones, two missiles and four guided bombs were fired before dawn at the city of 1.4 million people, located just 50km (30 miles) from the Russian border.
“Drones are still circling above,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram at 4:40am (01:40 GMT), as air raid sirens wailed across the city. Residential buildings and civilian infrastructure were heavily damaged.
The northeastern city was also hit by a missile strike on Thursday that left 18 people injured, including four children.
Surge in attacks
Elsewhere in the south, Russian shelling hit the city of Kherson, killing a couple and damaging residential buildings, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin confirmed. In Dnipro, two women, aged 45 and 88, were injured in separate attacks.
Officials said on Friday that at least six people were killed and dozens were wounded on Friday when Russia launched an aerial bombardment across Ukraine. Rescue workers in the city of Lutsk on Saturday recovered another body, raising the toll from Friday’s attacks to seven.
Moscow said Friday’s assault was carried out in response to Ukrainian “terrorist acts” against Russia, saying military sites were targeted.
The surge in Russian attacks follows a Ukrainian drone operation last weekend that damaged nuclear-capable military aircraft at Russian airbases deep behind the front lines, including in Siberia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to retaliate for the attack, which Kyiv reportedly planned for 18 months using smuggled drones.
Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to push for a 30-day ceasefire and presented its latest proposal during talks in Istanbul on Monday. But Moscow has rejected calls for a truce, insisting the war is a matter of national survival.
“For us, it is an existential issue,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday. “It concerns our national interest, our safety, and the future of our country.”
Putin has demanded Ukraine withdraw from four partially occupied regions, abandon its NATO ambitions and halt all Western military cooperation – terms Kyiv has dismissed as unacceptable. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instead called for a three-way summit involving himself, Putin and United States President Donald Trump.
CHINA has given rare insight into its souped-up DF-5B nuclear missile – a 7,500-mile-range weapon with staggering explosive power.
The missile is said to pack hundreds of times the destructive force of the bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands in World War II.
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China’s DF-5B nuclear weapons are said to have a 7,500-mile range and an explosive yield of four megatonnes of TNTCredit: AFP
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Chinese President Xi Jinping has claimed in the past that China’s arsenal is for self-defenceCredit: Getty
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Although China has long kept its nuke programme secret, state broadcaster CCTV revealed details about the upgraded DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Monday.
This missile boasts a maximum range of 7,500 miles and an accuracy of 0.3 miles, as per reports by journalist Li Zexin on X.
This range is enough to reach most of Europe and nearly all of the US from launch sites inside China.
For example, the distance from Beijing to London is around 5,000 miles and from China to New York is roughly 7,000 miles.
The DF-5B is said to deliver a yield of three to four megatonnes.
This is about 200 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, which had an estimated explosive yield of about 15 kilotonnes of TNT.
It also far surpasses the destructive power of the bomb unleashed on Nagasaki, which had a yield of around 21 kilotonnes of TNT.
The hi-tech missile has integrated Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle technology – allowing it to carry and release multiple nuclear warheads at once.
A single DF-5B missile can release up to 10 warheads, striking different targets across wide areas.
Since each warhead is independent, missile defence systems find it much harder to intercept, making this weapon far more lethal than other known weapons.
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Military vehicles carrying DF-5B missiles participate in a military parade in Beijing in 2019Credit: AFP
Inside world’s craziest city where you never know which floor you’re on, trains run through houses & maps are useless
CCTV described the missile as China’s “first-generation strategic ICBM”.
The DF-5B, first created in 2015, is an upgraded variant of China’s original DF-5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which entered service in 1981.
It’s unclear why this information was released, but it is believed that Beijing wants to showcase its military modernisation and deter potential threats.
The Chinese defence ministry said in a statement the rocket “fell into expected sea areas”, and that it was a “routine arrangement in our annual training plan”.
China said the test was not directed at any country or target, and that it “informed the countries concerned in advance”, reports claimed.
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A KJ-500 early warning plane and Y-20 transport aircraft parked on the tarmac on Woody IslandCredit: Reuters
LOOKING for life support for your devices? Amazon is offering an absolute gem of a deal on a portable charger.
Right now, you can pick up a fast-charging power bank for just £15.19, a massive 89% discount from its original price of £139.99.
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This super-fast portable charger is now almost 90% cheaper on Amazon – perfect for dying devices
OHOVIV Portable Charger, £15.19 (was £139.99)
If you’re planning a summer getaway or just spending more time out and about in the months to come, this power bank could well come in handy.
Nobody wants to be stuck with a dead device, whether it’s on a plane, beach or out in the park.
Amazon often offers great tech deals on device from lesser-known brands, and this one seems to have impressed shoppers, boasting over 150 glowing reviews.
The Sun Shopping team hasn’t tested this cheap-as-chips gadget, but the specs are seriously impressive-looking.
The OHOVIV charger comes armed with a 12000mAh battery, one that a customer claims meant their “iPhone 16 reached 50% in under 30 minutes”.
What’s especially cool is that it can charge up to three devices at the same time, thanks to its dual USB ports and Type-C port.
It even has a sleek LED display that shows the remaining battery level and charging status, so you’re never caught out with a dead charger.
Safety is another big plus with this device.
The OHOVIV power bank has been rigorously tested for durability, and it also has built-in protections against overheating, short circuits and overvoltage.
The same person write: “The compact and lightweight design slips easily into my pocket or backpack, making it ideal for travel, commuting, or outdoor adventures.
“The screen is a handy touch, clearly showing the remaining battery level so I’m never caught off-guard.”
Another happy customer added: “It feels sturdy, looks sleek, and I love that it’s allowed on planes.
“Plus, it has safety protection built in, so I don’t have to worry about it overheating. For the price, it’s a total bargain.”
A third person wrote, “It’s compact yet powerful, making it a great choice for daily use or travel.
“The 12000mAh capacity provides multiple charges for my phone, and the charging speed is impressive – quick and reliable.”
If you’re looking for an affordable way to stay powered up this summer, this deal might be worth a closer look.
