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Russia’s huge total losses as war enters 600th day, according to Kyiv

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Russia’s huge total losses as war enters 600th day, according to Kyiv

As the grinding war in Ukraine enters its 600th day, the soldiers filling Russia’s ranks, Moscow’s military equipment and the Russian military‘s resources have taken a battering, with no end to the conflict in sight.

Russia has lost more that 288,000 troops since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Monday.

Detailing a host of other reported losses, Kyiv’s military said the Kremlin’s fighters have lost 4,965 tanks—including 17 in the past 24 hours—9,385 armored personnel vehicles and just shy of 7,000 artillery systems. Total Russian aircraft losses, according to Kyiv, come in at 318, along with more than 5,200 drones, 20 boats and one submarine infamously targeted with cruise missiles in mid-September.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.

The grueling conflict in Ukraine has not been kind to the soldiers filling Russian and Ukrainian ranks, and has severely depleted military supplies and ammunition. Both sides have tried to wear the other down in a war of attrition, burning through supplies in the more than 19 months of all-out war. Western countries supporting Kyiv have funneled military aid and equipment to Ukraine, and have attempted to halt Russia’s ability to wage war through waves of sanctions.

Ukraine’s tally of Russian losses is “not unlikely,” although big questions remain about just how many men and resources Russia and Ukraine each have left, said Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Hague Center for Security Studies.

“Destroying your enemy remains your first priority in battle and Ukraine seems to have done far better than the Russians,” Mertens, told Newsweek. “Otherwise, Kyiv would have been long out of the race already.”

“All we can do is to fight back and to hope that Western sanctions will sooner or later cripple Russian military industry,” Major Viktor Trehubov, who serves in Ukraine’s military, told Newsweek.

However, he said Russia has been able to keep producing “huge amounts of military equipment and weapons,” and can often still access Western parts when needed.”

“That’s why it’s probably not the last offensive of this kind,” Trehubov said.

Ukrainian military losses are also believed to be substantial, although no independent figures are available for either Russia or Ukraine and it is impossible to independently verify losses on both sides. Moscow doesn’t provide a tally for its estimation of Ukrainian casualties, but Russia’s defense ministry said on Monday that it had destroyed 12,673 Ukrainian tanks and other armored vehicles, 6,788 field artillery systems and 491 aircraft.

Russian equipment losses are thought to have been heavy in recent days around the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka that the U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), has described as a “notoriously well-fortified and defended Ukrainian stronghold.”

Avdiivka has spent a long time on the front lines between Kyiv and Moscow. Around 1,600 residents are still living in the town, Vitaliy Barabash, who heads up its military administration, has previously estimated. It had a pre-war population of around 30,000.

As the Russian assault on Avdiivka got underway, which has been called a major Russian offensive, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s office, said that the town was “under mass attacks of Russian artillery and aviation.” It is the first significant offensive from Moscow’s forces since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive against Russian positions in southern and eastern Ukraine in early June.

Russian forces likely faced “initial high losses” and a slower-than-hoped pace of advance around Avdiivka, the ISW said on Sunday.

In the week between October 9 and October 16, Ukrainian drones destroyed 88 armored vehicles, 75 tanks, 101 howitzers and cannons and two Russian air defense systems, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Monday.

Uncrewed technology “proved to be very efficient in the defense of Avdiivka,” he wrote in a post to X.

Russia’s current offensive around Avdiivka “is severe, but still not successful,” Trehubov said, adding Russia’s slow advance was largely down to the “unprecedented effectiveness of Ukrainian combat and reconnaissance UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles].”

Update 10/16/2023 at 11:57 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional comments from Frederik Mertens.

"Last crocodile in Europe" unearthed 4 million years after it vanished

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"Last crocodile in Europe" unearthed 4 million years after it vanished

Researchers have uncovered hundreds of ancient animal fossils from more than 4 million years ago, including the remains of what they believe may have been the “last crocodile” in Europe.

The discoveries came during excavations that began in September at the “Baza-1 site” in the province of Granada in southern Spain, the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) announced in a press release.

The site was discovered in 1996, but it was not until 2000 and 2001 that systematic excavation work resumed. During these excavations, researchers recovered more than 2,000 fossils in an area no larger than about 320 square feet.

Now, a team of paleontologists has uncovered more than 500 fossils of large and small vertebrates at the site. The bones are around 4.5 million years old and in an excellent state of preservation, according to the researchers.

Among the remains are those of mastodons—an extinct type of elephant-like mammals—rhinoceroses, two species of horse, bovids of various sizes, large and small deer, pigs, large carnivores and turtles.

Sifting through sediments extracted from the site also revealed the presence of numerous small mammal remains, including those of rodents, rabbits and shrews; various amphibians; reptiles; and fish, as well as a large quantity of wood and plant remains.

But perhaps the most intriguing fossil that the team found was the tooth of a crocodile—the first to be uncovered at Baza-1. The researchers said that the tooth represents a crocodile species of African origin and that this is the only discovery of its kind in the European fossil record from this period. This suggests that it was the last crocodile species to be found on the Continent.

“This is a species of crocodile of African origin that arrived in the Iberian Peninsula crossing an arm of the sea just before the Mediterranean dried up during the Messinian salinity crisis, just over 6 million years ago,” Bienvenido Martínez Navarro, the IPHES’s co-director of the excavation, said in the press release. “It is most likely the last crocodile in Europe.”

The Messinian crisis was a geological event that occurred roughly 6 million to 5.3 million years ago. During the event, the Mediterranean Sea became disconnected from the Atlantic and large swaths of it dried up, leaving behind highly salty remnants that were inhospitable to life.

It is theorized that the crisis eventually came to an end with an event known as the Zanclean flood, which refilled the Mediterranean basin and reconnected the sea to the Atlantic.

The researchers are hoping that analysis of the fossil discoveries at Baza-1 will enable them to reconstruct the ancient environment of this fossil site.

To date, the evidence uncovered at the site indicates that it was dominated by a tropical/subtropical climate—characterized by high temperatures and abundant rainfall—and an ecosystem consisting of large forests and some open areas where herbivores, such as three-toed horses, grazed.

Trump wants to be paid for "perverted sexual acts" claims

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Trump wants to be paid for "perverted sexual acts" claims

Former President Donald Trump is going on the legal offensive in hopes of winning a payout from the retired British intelligence officer who claimed Trump engaged in “perverted sexual acts.”

Trump’s lawyers told a London court on Monday that the former president wants to give evidence proving that the claims made against him were false. The two-day hearing on Trump’s lawsuit against Christopher Steele and his business, Orbis Business Intelligence, began Monday.

Trump’s team is arguing that Steele breached British data protection laws and inflicted “personal and reputational damage and distress” on Trump when he leaked the controversial dossier. The “Steele dossier,” which shook Washington when it was made public days before Trump took office in January 2017, alleged that Trump conspired with Russia to win the 2016 election.

Although the claims were viewed as credible at the time because they came from Steele, many of the allegations were never substantiated.

Trump is seeking to prove that the “shocking and scandalous claims” made in the dossier are false, including the allegations that he paid bribes to Russian officials for a blackmail tape of himself with prostitutes in Moscow.

“President Trump brings this case because he seeks vindication of his legal rights,” his attorney, Hugh Tomlinson told the High Court on Monday. Tomlinson also famously represented King Charles III, successfully arguing that a British tabloid should not be able to publish the diaries of the then-Prince of Wales.

The legal action across the pond comes as Trump faces a string of criminal and civil charges in the U.S. that have come with costly legal fees for the former president, who has denied all of the accusations against him. Campaign finance disclosures show that Trump, the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 election, burned through at least $42.8 million in the first half of the year, with much of the money being used to cover his legal costs.

The British lawsuit also comes months after Special Counsel John Durham finished his criminal inquiry into the FBI‘s Trump-Russia probe earlier this year. Durham, who never charged Steele and whose criminal case against Steele’s primary sub-source ended in acquittal, found that the FBI lacked the evidence to open a full investigation into Trump.

Orbis is asking for Trump’s claims to be thrown out of court, saying that while the dossier was leaked, it was never meant to be published by BuzzFeed and that all copies held by Orbis were destroyed in 2017.

Orbis lawyer Antony White also argued that the lawsuit was “brought for the purpose of harassing Orbis and Mr Steele and pursuing longstanding grievances.”

White told the court on Monday that Trump “has a long history of repeatedly bringing frivolous, meritless and vexatious claims for the purpose of vexing and harassing perceived enemies and others against whom he bears a grudge.”

Newsweek reached out to Orbis via email for comment.

While Tomlinson acknowledged at the beginning of the hearing that the data protection lawsuit is one of many legal cases Trump is involved in, he added that “None of this is relevant to the question of whether the personal data in question is accurate.”

Last year, a federal judge in Florida threw out the lawsuit Trump filed against Steele, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and 25 other people alleging that they conspired to undermine his 2016 campaign by spreading false information about his ties to Russia.

“Under the guise of ‘opposition research,’ ‘data analytics,’ and other political stratagems, the Defendants nefariously sought to sway the public’s trust,” the lawsuit read. “They worked together with a single, self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump.”

Bob Menendez gets bad news about re-election after indictment

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Bob Menendez gets bad news about re-election after indictment

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez received bad news about his re-election campaign after being indicted on felony charges including fraud, bribery and extortion last month.

Federal prosecutors accused Menendez and his wife of accepting bribes including gold, cash, a luxury vehicle and payments toward a home mortgage by businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes—allegedly in exchange for advancing their interests, as well as those of the Egyptian government, in his powerful role as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez has stepped back from the role following the indictment. He and his wife Nadine Arslanian deny all charges against them.

The charges threaten to challenge his re-election campaign, as the Democratic senator is set to face voters in the Garden State in November 2024. Menendez is already facing a challenge from Democratic Representative Andy Kim, who currently represents New Jersey’s Third Congressional District, which spans across the central region of the state.

The campaigns’ latest fundraising reports delivered difficult news to Menendez, as Kim outraised the senator despite only being in the race for one week of the time period covered by the report.

Newsweek reached out to Menendez and Kim’s campaigns for comment via email.

Kim raised $1,174,346 while Menendez raised $919,105 from July 1 to September 30, according to their campaigns’ Federal Election Commission reports for the third quarter. Kim announced his challenge on September 23.

Still, Menendez’s campaign maintains substantially more cash on hand, according to the FEC. Menendez has more than $8.5 million on hand, while Kim has roughly $1.9 million.

“Unbelievably proud we raised about $1M in just the first week. Thank you to every single person standing in this together to build a campaign around integrity,” Kim wrote in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, following the release of his fundraising numbers.

With regards to his reelection, Menendez has said he “will announce [a campaign] when it comes time,” NBC News reported. He has rejected calls for his resignation.

Bob Menendez’s Chances of Winning Re-Election: Polls

Polls released following the indictment suggest Kim may have an advantage over Menendez.

A Public Policy Polling survey of 502 likely Democratic primary voters, conducted from October 3 to 4, found that 42 percent supported Kim, while only five percent said they would support Menendez. Another 19 percent of respondents said they would vote for First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy, who has not announced a campaign.

If Menendez loses the primary, he would become the first incumbent senator to lose renomination in more than a decade—since Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman lost the Democratic Primary election in 2006.

Meanwhile, a Public Policy Polling survey of 565 New Jersey voters from September 26 to 27 found Menendez trailing a generic Republican in the November general election, with 74 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of the senator. Kim, however, held a 12-point lead over a generic Republican opponent, the poll found.

The Cook Political Report, which monitors elections across the United States, classifies the New Jersey Senate race as “likely Democrat” meaning it is “not considered competitive at this point,” but could potentially “become engaged.”

Menendez was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and making false statements in an unrelated case in 2015, but a jury was deadlocked when the trial took place in 2017, resulting in the judge declaring a mistrial.

How to save nearly $300 in bank fees as prices surge

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How to save nearly $300 in bank fees as prices surge

About a quarter of Americans with checking accounts are having to fork out hundreds of dollars in bank fees at a time when the cost of living is rising, costing them cash they could direct elsewhere, research shows.

The expenses, from ATM charges, service costs and overdraft fees, can come to about $24 a month, according to a Bankrate survey from earlier this year, and annually it gets to about $288. Saving on those fees could allow households to redirect the cash towards debt, retirement funds or other financial priorities.

Millennials and younger Generation Xers, are getting squeezed more than any other demographic group on checking account fees, the survey showed. About 40 percent of this group—18 to 26 year olds and 27 to 42 years olds—find themselves saddled with those costs, while only 14 percent of baby boomers, for example, are paying for such services.

“Their older counterparts also tend to pay less on average each month, at $17 for Gen X and $22 for baby boomers versus $25 for Gen Z and $28 for millennials,” the survey said.

Prices for goods has been elevated for more than two years making Americans increasingly concerned about their livelihoods and financial conditions over the next year. Avoiding costs, such as bank fees, could add a little more cash in their pocketbooks.

The Biden administration this month announced a variety of measures to crack down on what they described as junk fees that are hurting Americans.

“Junk fees cost American families tens of billions of dollars each year and inhibit competition, hurting consumers, workers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs,” the White House said in a statement.

Some of the regulations the government has proposed includes more transparency from banks when it comes to costs of transactions, refunds for surprise overdraft fees and scraping of charges for bank statements.

In an August study, Bankrate found that out of network ATM withdrawal costs were at a three year high at nearly $5 a transaction.

“ATM fees are biting harder than ever as the cost of out-of-network withdrawals hits a new record high,” Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst, said in the report. “But with less need for cash and expansive ATM networks that make it easier than ever to stay within network, the fees are easily avoidable and need not be a frequent drain on your bank account.”

Convenience is a big reason why customers stay with banks that charges them fees despite potential alternatives that could help avoid them, the survey said.

Tips on How to Save on Bank Fees

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has tips for how to ensure customers are able to save on bank fees.

Look for banks that offer free checking and savings accounts, it said.

Having direct deposit of one’s income will ensure that accounts have cash, helping to keep a minimum balance that can protect against overdraft charges. Having multiple accounts at a bank can facilitate a better relationship, which can assist in customers avoiding paying fees. Signing up for automatic alerts can be useful in giving a customer a clearer, regular update of their balance, so they don’t fall below a level that can cost them.

Increasingly, a majority of Americans manage to avoid monthly fees, ABA said. But for those who are spending on such outlays, it could add up.

“Avoiding unnecessary fees is part of the recipe for financial success. Over the coming two decades, assuming the annual rate and level of savings doesn’t change—which it will—one would have another $5,760 to work with,” Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst, wrote.

The states that offer rebates to EV owners

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The states that offer rebates to EV owners

Electric vehicles surged in popularity when they were first introduced to the market, but as sales now dwindle, several states have provided their own incentives for the energy-efficient machines.

While Tesla seized the EV market initially, sales have trended lower than expectations, with its market share falling from 61 percent to just 50 percent in the span of the year so far.

Still, states are hoping with rebates that more residents buy the sometimes costly vehicles—a typical EV can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 depending on the model and manufacturer. State rebates typically apply to those who own the vehicles, and they can save hundreds or thousands in tax benefits or cash money.

Newsweek has compiled a full list of the benefits available in each state.

Full List of EV Benefits by State

In Alabama, residents can get a discounted time-of-use rate from Alabama Power if they lease or own an EV or plug-in hybrid.

Meanwhile, Alaskans can earn a $200 bill credit per residential charger from the Chugach Electric Association. It’s also possible to get a $1,000 bonus from Alaska Power and Telephone if you purchase an EV with a minimum 14 kilowatt battery size.

In Arizona, EV drivers get access to a special high occupancy vehicle lane, regardless of how many passengers are on board. There’s also a $250 rebate available to customers who buy a Level 2 EV charging station from Arizona Public Service Company.

The South also sees its fair share of rebates. In Arkansas, the Entergy Electric eTech program offers $250 to anyone who installs a Level 2 electric car charger. The same is true for the Southwestern Electric Power Company, making Arkansas a good state for EV owners.

There’s also an array of options in California for EV owners. If you qualify under a certain low income, you’re eligible for more than $30,000 through the Inflation Reduction Act, Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, Clean Cars for All, California Air Resources Board and the Clean Fuel Reward Program.

While each program varies, the Inflation Reduction Act and Clean Vehicle Rebate Project bring up to $7,500 each, while Clean Cars for All brings up to $12,000 alone when purchasing a new EV with an income at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

Those living in Colorado can also receive up to $8,000 in rebates, depending on the exact type of vehicle you purchase. Light-duty electric trucks, for instance, can score you $2,800 while medium and heavy-duty ones earn $4,000 and $8,000 respectively.

Connecticut offers a rebate under its Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate Program, and they range from $1,000 to $7,500.

In Delaware, you’ll earn $2,500 when you purchase or lease a new electric vehicle as long as it is after May 2023 and through a participating dealership.

Those living in Washington, D.C., also have a tax incentive to go electric, with 50 percent of the costs of installing a residential charging station covered. You can also earn up to $19,000 based on your alternate fuel vehicle.

In Florida, expect to get a monthly credit from Duke Energy for $10 if you charge your EV during off-peak hours with a Level 2 charging station.

In Georgia, Cobb EMC provides $250 after purchasing and installing an ENERGY STAR-certified Level 2 EV charging station.

In Hawaii, there are incentives for buying an EV. Hawaii Electric Company charges a lower rate for those charging at certain times of the day, and Smart Charge Hawaii gives a discounted rate for chargers.

Idaho exempts electric vehicles from state-required maintenance programs and inspections, while Illinois gives a rebate for up to $4,000.

Indiana customers can score $500 off after signing up for Indiana Michigan Power’s off-peak EV charging program with a new or existing Level 2 charger.

Kansas’s Department of Revenue also supports EV owners by offering up to $2,400 per qualified vehicle, while Louisiana supplies a $250 rebate for installing Level 2 EV chargers at home.

Maine has one of the loftiest incentives for EV owners, with a rebate of up to $7,500 per vehicle. In Maryland, you’ll earn $3,000, and Massachusetts pays $3,500 from its Department of Energy Resources.

Sometimes the incentives go beyond just rebates. In Minnesota, for example, EV drivers get access to a one-time E-ZPass for all E-ZPass toll lanes in the state, saving consumers $250.

Mississippi also provides up to $1,250 for a new or leased EV, while Missouri gives residents $500 when they purchase and install a Level 2 EV charging station.

New Hampshire Electric Co-op provides EV owners a $1,000 rebate for both new and used vehicles, while New Jersey residents can score up to $4,000 in rebates.

New York also rewards EV owners with up to $2,000 available through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

In Ohio, customers of Firelands Electric Cooperative earn $250 if they have an EV, while Pennsylvanians can earn $2,000 or more if they qualify under a certain income.

Those living in Vermont should not miss out on savings either, as the Vermont Drive Electric program gives residents 25 percent off the cost, up to $5,000, of buying an EV.

Customers of Dominion Energy in Virginia, meanwhile, can score $125 per EV charging station they buy.

In the state of Washington, EV owners will not pay any sales tax on the first $20,000 of a qualified new EV purchase.

Jack Smith forces Donald Trump into making difficult decision

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Jack Smith forces Donald Trump into making difficult decision

Former President Donald Trump will have to release a potentially “explosive” trove of documents if he wants to assert a lawyer-advice defense in his election interference trial, a former federal prosecutor has said.

Barbara McQuade, whom Trump sacked along with over 40 other federal prosecutors, said that the Republican nomination frontrunner will have to release “every document, memo, email, text message” sent between the former president, Rudy Giuliani and the rest of the Trump legal team.

That, in itself, could open up whole new areas of attack for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, she said.

In a motion filed on October 10, Smith asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to order Trump to provide notice of any intent to rely on “advice of counsel” as a defense by December 18.

McQuade, a legal professor at the University of Michigan, was writing her opinion on the MSNBC website about the potential for Trump to assert that all his actions around alleged tampering with the 2020 election were on the advice of counsel.

To assert that defense, he would first have to show the judge, and the prosecutors, all of his communication with his lawyer about the election—potentially leading to “explosive” new revelations in the case, McQuade wrote.

“Disclosure of those materials between Trump and his lawyers could be explosive because they may not only debunk the advice of counsel defense, but could contain other admissions that Smith could use at trial.”

“Smith’s motion will push Trump to make a decision—use the advice of counsel defense at trial or protect every document, memo, email, text message sent between him and Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani and the other lawyers,” McQuade wrote.

Both Trump and his current team of lawyers have “repeatedly and publicly announced” that they were going to use such arguments as “a central component of his defense,” prosecutors told Chutkan in their filing. They now wanted an order forcing Trump to reveal his plans by mid-December “to prevent disruption of the pretrial schedule and delay of the trial.”

To assert this defense, he would have to give the court all “communications or evidence” to back it up, along with any “otherwise-privileged communications” that might be used to undermine his claims, their submission states.

In their motion to Chutkan, prosecutors noted that at least 25 witnesses in their sprawling investigation had withheld information based on assertions of attorney-client privilege.

Those people, the prosecutors said, included Trump’s alleged co-conspirators, some of his former campaign employees, some “outside attorneys” and “even a family member of the defendant,” who was not identified.

Trump sends "final" message before judge’s gag order ruling

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Trump sends "final" message before judge’s gag order ruling

Donald Trump sent his supporters a “final” message before Monday’s ruling by a federal judge on whether a gag order will be imposed on the former president.

In a fundraising email, Trump wrote, “Because I may be prohibited from speaking out against [President Joe Biden‘s] corruption as of later today, I want to say all I can right now in this final email to you before the hearing.”

At the end of Monday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said she would impose a “narrowly tailored” gag order against Trump, at the request of prosecutors, in the federal election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The prosecutors have cited the former president’s threatening comments about key players in the courtroom as a reason to restrict his speech regarding the case.

Gag orders are not uncommon with trial participants, but Trump’s status as the GOP front-runner in the 2024 presidential race, and his efforts to portray a gag order as being politically motivated, complicated the decision Chutkan had to make.

As Monday’s hearing played out in court, Trump reiterated his view of a possible gag order, sending an email blast to supporters that said, “Today really isn’t about gagging me…. It’s an attempt to gag the American people.”

He said that while Americans had long been “silenced by the Washington Swamp” and had their priorities cast aside by politicians on Capitol Hill, “that all changed on June 16, 2015 when I announced my candidacy as a political outsider.”

“I became a megaphone for the American people,” the email went on. “Suddenly, the Silent Majority was HEARD all across the world — and no matter how much the establishment wanted to turn me off, they couldn’t.”

The former president accused Washington’s elite of trying to shut him down by raiding his Florida home for government documents he had taken from the White House, as well as indicting and arresting him and publicizing his mug shot, among other actions. But he said that the Make America Great Again movement had “only gotten stronger” despite those efforts.

“Now, they’ve decided to try and FORCIBLY SILENCE me — and, by extension, our movement — by imposing a court-sanctioned gag order upon me,” he said.

Trump acknowledged that he was not attending Monday’s hearing, saying that he chose not to “dignify this attempt to STRIP ME of my First Amendment rights” and that he would be on the campaign trail in Iowa instead.

“Now, after years of being your voice, I am asking YOU to be a voice for America and prove that NOTHING can silence the greatest movement in American history,” he said. He also asked for contributions that would “prove” that his supporters would never give up the fight to “put America First.”

During the hearing, Trump’s lawyers argued that imposing a gag order would restrict his right to free speech as a presidential candidate, describing it as an “order of censorship.” But Chutkan pushed back, telling the attorneys that no one has “unfettered” First Amendment rights.

“Mr. Trump is a criminal defendant. He is facing four felony charges. He is under the supervision of the criminal justice system and he must follow his conditions of release,” Chutkan told Trump attorney John Lauro. “He does not have the right to say and do exactly what he pleases. Do you agree with that?”

“One hundred percent,” Lauro responded.

Zach Elliot and Delta Airlines: Pete Davidson’s SNL Skit Explained

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Zach Elliot and Delta Airlines: Pete Davidson’s SNL Skit Explained

Saturday Night Live returned to TV screens this week with alumnus Pete Davidson hosting the show for the first time.

Davidson, who joined the cast in 2014, left SNL last year.

As well as filming a parody version of the Barbie movie’s “I’m Just Ken” called “I’m Just Pete” and addressing the Israel-Gaza crisis in his cold open, the actor and comedian also starred in a bizarre sketch that namechecked an even more peculiar news story from earlier this year.

In a spoof of WIRED magazine’s popular Autocomplete Interview viral video series, Davidson played a character called “Zach Elliot”, taking part in a promotion for a fictitious Marvel & Disney Plus TV show.

During the sketch, the other characters were asked safe and predictable questions. The central gag was that Elliot was revealed to be and continually asked about being “the guy who lost full control of his bowels on that Delta flight and the plane had to turn around?”

This refers to the story from last month when a Delta Airlines Airbus A350 was forced to turn back only two hours into its flight after a passenger experienced severe diarrhea.

Footage shared online showed that the sick passenger had caused a mess throughout the plane, reported The Guardian, which forced the flight from Atlanta to Spain to return home.

Crews reportedly spent five hours cleaning the plane before passengers, including the one who had suffered the bout of diarrhea, were let back onboard.

Audio of the pilot was posted on X, formerly Twitter, in which they described the incident as a “biohazard issue.”

They added “We had a passenger who had diarrhea all the way through the airplane so they want us to come back to Atlanta.”

In the SNL sketch, “Zach Elliot” is asked a series of specific questions about the incident such as whether the smell was “so bad on Delta flight that oxygen masks came down?” and why he went “to the bathroom in his seat instead of using the airplane toilet?”

However, the passenger who was sick on the Delta flight has not been named. Zach Elliot is a fictitious character, as are the other characters in the sketch.

Although a number of articles appeared after the SNL sketch which appeared to suggest that Zach Elliot was the name of the Delta passenger, these appear to simply have been attempts to capitalize on the attention from SNL and Davidson.

SNL chose to forego its typical cold open parodying the week’s news, with Davidson instead delivering a solemn message addressing the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“This week, we saw the horrible images and stories from Israel and Gaza,” Davidson said.

“And I know what you’re thinking, who better to comment on it than Pete Davidson? Well, in a lot of ways, I am a good person to talk about it because when I was 7 years old, my dad was killed in a terrorist attack. So I know something about what that’s like.” Davidson’s father, Scott Davidson, was a New York City firefighter who died in the 9/11 attacks.

Donald Trump Jr. hosting event for challenger to Trump-backed candidate

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Donald Trump Jr. hosting event for challenger to Trump-backed candidate

Donald Trump Jr. will appear at a fundraiser for an Illinois congressional candidate who has waged a campaign against a longtime GOP incumbent endorsed by Donald Trump.

Trump’s eldest son will appear with Darren Bailey on October 27 at the Thelma Keller Convention Center in Effingham, Illinois. A flyer for the event said tickets start at $150 per person or $250 per couple and include a free copy of the former president’s Letters to Trump book, said to be a $99 value. Those who want a private roundtable and photo opportunity with Trump Jr. will have to shell out $3,300 per couple.

Bailey, a former GOP state senator who in November 2022 ran unsuccessfully against Illinois’ Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, is challenging five-term Representative Mike Bost. Both Bailey and Bost have received acclaim and endorsements from the former president in the past. A primary challenge for the GOP-held seat has led to party infighting.

Andrew Surabian, a spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr., referred Newsweek to reports that the appearance of the ex-president’s son at Bailey’s fundraiser does not mean an endorsement.

A source close to Trump Jr. reportedly told Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman that Bailey’s gathering is merely a “book event” and that the president’s son would happily participate in a similar event for Bost.

Surabian told Newsweek he had no further comment. Newsweek reached out to the Bailey and Bost campaigns via email for comment.

Animosity between the two campaigns has seemingly begun already as both seek to represent Illinois’ 12th Congressional District, which Trump won in 2020 with 56 percent of the vote.

Bailey reportedly referred to Chicago as a “hellhole,” an “unruly child” and “the OK Corral” during his campaign against Pritzker, in which he lost by about 13 percentage points, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

After he won the GOP nomination last year, Bailey was criticized for what some said were cavalier remarks made following a deadly shooting in the Highland Park suburb of Chicago.

“Let’s move on and celebrate the independence of this nation,” Bailey said in a Facebook Live video approximately two hours after the shooting occurred.

He has maintained his allegiance to Donald Trump and called it an “honor” to stand by him amid his legal troubles. Bailey and Bost are both seen as vying for far-right votes.

Following Bailey’s announcement to run in July, Bost’s campaign manager, Myles Nelson, reportedly labeled it a “shame” and accused Bailey of wanting to “divide conservatives.”

Bost has held his seat since 2015 and represents 34 counties in southern Illinois.

“Bailey is putting selfish opportunism and personal ambition ahead of the interests of Southern Illinois conservatives,” Nelson said. “Republican primary voters won’t forget that.”

During Bailey’s congressional announcement, he said the United States is “at a crossroads.”

Both he and Bost have railed against “woke” government and a lack of so-called common sense. Following his vote for the National Defense Authorization Act, Bost said that the Biden administration “has sacrificed recruitment and readiness for social justice campaigns and virtue signaling.”

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