U.S. and world news for May 26
Oath Keepers founder sentenced for Jan. 6 plot: Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for leading the plot to physically stop the Electoral College from confirming Joe Biden”™s presidential election victory on Jan. 6, 2021. Judge Amit Mehta stated Rhodes “wanted the democracy in this country to devolve into violence” and called him “an ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the republic and the very fabric of our democracy.” Rhodes”™ sentence was the longest from the more than 1,000 prosecutions stemming from the attack on Capitol Hill.
Feds predict milder hurricane season: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting that 12 to 17 named tropical storms will develop in the Atlantic basin this year, with five to nine of these storms having the potential to develop into hurricanes. This storm season officially begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30 and is expected to be less active than in recent years due to the potential for El Niño to develop this summer that would suppress Atlantic hurricane activity.
German economy goes into recession: Europe”™s largest economy has slipped into a recession as Germany”™s Federal Statistical Office reported a 0.3% decline for the first quarter of this year that followed the 0.5% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2022. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining output, and the German government acknowledged this turn of events by noting that the “persistence of high price increases continued to be a burden on the German economy at the start of the year.”
U.S. affirms Ukrainians coordinated Kremlin drone attack: The mysterious drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month was not a Russian hoax, as many Western observers insisted, but was orchestrated by Ukrainians. CNN, citing “sources familiar with the intelligence,” reported that US officials have intercepted communications that suggest Ukrainian special operations forces conducted the May 3 operation involving two drones striking the top of the Kremlin”™s Senate Palace. However, the U.S. could not definitively identify who was responsible and stressed it was unlikely that senior Ukrainian government officials, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, were involved.
A new monkeypox threat: The mpox health emergency ”“ formerly known as monkeypox ”“ runs the risk of re-emerging ahead of June”™s Pride Month celebrations. Mpox infections became a new health emergency last summer, with more than 30,000 U.S. cases reported last year ”“ about 40 people died during that period. However, research determined that most of the mpox cases were transmitted by sexual contact between gay and bisexual men. This year, however, there is a ready supply of vaccine and more people with immunity, and federal health officials are encouraging event organizers to provide information on avoid mpox infections.
Singer Rolf Harris dies: Rolf Harris, the Australian singer who enchanted audiences with his off-beat comic songs but whose life ended in disgrace after being convicted and imprisoned for sexually assaulting four teenage girls, died at the age of 93 after a long bout with neck cancer. Harris was best known for his chart-topping novelty tune “Tie Me Kangaroo Down” ”“ he performed a version of the song with the Beatles ”“ and his tongue-twisting ditty “The Court of King Caractacus” inspired a viral video lip-sync craze in the mid-2000s. For years he was a popular staple on British television as a singer, artist and storyteller. In 2013, Harris was arrested and charged with a total of 12 attacks on four young girls from 1968 to 1986; he was later sentenced to five years and nine months in prison and the many honors he received during his career were rescinded.
Cover photo of Stewart Rhodes