Joe Biden Pardons His Siblings and their Spouses

Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses on his way out of the White House, saying Monday that his family had been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me – the worst kind of partisan politics”. 

“Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end”, he claimed as his presidential term was ending. 

The family pardons were the surprise finale in a series of unprecedented presidential actions by Biden. 

Last month, he pardoned his son Hunter for tax and gun crimes, despite his previous pledges not to do so. Then he issued blanket pardons for his brother James and his wife, Sara; his sister, Valerie, and her husband, John Owens; and his brother Francis. 

Biden also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, members of the House committee that investigated the January 06 attack on the Capitol and allies who have been supposedly targeted by President Donald Trump who was sworn in Monday. 

This was a remarkable use of Biden’s presidential power: None of the above has been charged with any crime, and the move was said to guard against possible retribution by Trump. 😮😮😮😮

In the Round of 16 at the Indonesian Masters today, Malaysian women’s doubles pair Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan needed just 34 minutes to secure a straight-set victory, 21-19, 21-16, against Chinese Taipei pair Hu Ling Fang-Jheng Yu Chieh, to advance to the quarter-finals.

As the second-highest seeded pair in this year's tournament, they harbor strong hopes of advancing further. Their path to the next round will likely involve a rematch against Japanese Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto, the Malaysia Open champions.

Elephants Are Not Humans

The Colorado Supreme Court in the US ruled that elephants do not have the same rights as humans. 

The ruling comes after the Nonhuman Rights Project filed a lawsuit against the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, located southwest of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado, over the welfare of their five aging African elephants (Scientific name: Loxodonta africana): Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou and Jambo. 

The NhRP were claiming habeas corpus as the elephants' next friend. This term is typically used when a human speaks up on behalf of another human, but a case being argued regarding an animal is rare. 

The Colorado Supreme Court said the matter boiled down to "whether an elephant is a person" and therefore had the same liberty rights as a human – ultimately deciding that they did not. The 6-0 ruling in favor of a previous district court decision that said the state's habeas corpus process "only applies to persons, and not to non-human animals". 

This was true "no matter how cognitively, psychologically, or socially sophisticated they may be", State Supreme Court Justice Maria Berkenkotter added in her ruling. While she said the five pachyderms were "majestic", the court ruled the claim could not be brought "because an elephant is not a person". 

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) had petitioned for the elephants to be moved from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to a "suitable elephant sanctuary" in 2023. The group argued the animals had a right to freedom because they were emotionally complex and intelligent animals. They claimed the elephants showed signs of "trauma, brain damage, and chronic stress" and that they were effectively "imprisoned" at the zoo. 

The zoological park rejected the claim, arguing the elephants had received remarkable care, and was supported by a district court. After the Supreme Court ruling, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo called NhRP's lawsuit "frivolous" and said they had "wasted" time and money on the case. They accused the group of "abusing court systems to fundraise" and alleged their goal was "to manipulate people into donating to their cause by incessantly publicizing sensational court cases with relentless calls for supporters to donate". 

NhRP said the decision "perpetuate[d] a clear injustice, stating that unless an individual is human, they have no right to liberty".

"As with other social justice movements, early losses are expected as we challenge an entrenched status quo that has allowed Missy, Kimba, Lucky, LouLou, and Jambo to be relegated to a lifetime of mental and physical suffering", the group maintained in a statement. 

An earlier bid by NhRP to free an elephant named Happy from New York's Bronx Zoo was similarly rejected after the court in June 2022 judged it was not legally a person.

Celtic secure play-off spot with a 1-0 win against Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League yesterday.

The former had so many opportunities in the first half but couldn't even score. And then in the second half, they looked spent and lacked a spark – Young Boys had the better of things and Celtic had Kasper Schmeichel to thank for keeping them out. 

Then just when it looked like the game was petering out, Lady Luck smiled on them. Adam Idah's 86th-minute shot was saved before rebounding off the Young Boys' captain and into the net.

I read that the official UEFA player of the match award goes to Young Boys goalkeeper Marvin Keller. He made seven saves, including keeping out a first-half penalty from Arne Engels.

Had Celtic not won, they would be going to Aston Villa for their final game with their place in the play-offs up in the air, but now they know they are in the top 24 – it is massive for them, and massive for Scottish football!

Donald Trump Signs Nearly 50 Executive Actions on First Day

US President Donald Trump signed nearly 50 executive actions (which included 26 executive orders) on his first day back in office, after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

Within hours of his inauguration, Trump had rescinded 78 of former President Joe Biden's executive actions and signed dozens of orders, memorandums and proclamations of his own.

The rescinded actions covered a wide range of topics. The targeted actions were aimed at advancing racial equity, combating gender discrimination, addressing climate change, mobilizing the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, adding ethics requirements for political appointees, addressing the root causes of migration, lowering prescription drug costs, imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and the withdrawal of offshore drilling from certain areas. 

Additionally, Trump rescinded Joe Biden’s 2021 order that had repealed a ban on transgender personnel serving openly in the US military. Trump initially barred transgender troops from serving in the US military during his first term in office. Trump subsequently issued a regulatory freeze pending an administration review. 

And among the slew of executive orders he signed pertain to "Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization", "Restoring the death penalty and protecting public safety", "Declaring a national energy emergency", "Establishing and implementing the president's 'Department of Government Efficiency'", "Defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government", "Ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and referencing" and "Securing our borders". 

There are limitations to what a president can legally do via executive action, and many of Trump’s orders are expected to be challenged in court. That legal process could slow down or halt their implementation.

By comparison, Trump signed 14 executive actions in his first week in office in 2017 – setting a new record at that time – and former President Joe Biden signed 15 executive actions on his first day in 2021. 

Trump had vowed during the election to implement major policies on his first day back in the White House, saying that he would not be a dictator “except for Day 1” of his presidency.

In Jakarta, Malaysian badminton duo Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan eased past Taiwan's Hsu Ya Ching-Sung Yu Hsuan 21-16, 21-19 in just 32 minutes in the first round of the Indonesia Masters on Tuesday. 

Soup You Can Suck On

When you're sick, it has been claimed that nothing is truly more reassuring than Chicken Noodle Soup. 

So, General Mills thought, why stop at the soup bowl? They took the satisfying flavors of their Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup and packed them into a fun, savory candy Soup Drop for a totally new way to enjoy the taste you love whenever and wherever you want.

The “Soup Drops” resemble cough drops – or bouillon cubes – and come right in time for “the height of cold and flu season”, the company announced on Thursday.

For $2.49 – the cost of a typical can of Progresso’s sick day comfort food – plus shipping, customers get 20 drops in a real tin, and it comes with a can of the real stuff, too. Indeed, the candies are packed with an alphabet soup of flavors including veggies, chicken, soft egg noodles and a hint of parsley.

The limited-edition confection, with the tagline "Soup You Can Suck On" are available exclusively online – at ProgressoSoupDrops.com – this month in celebration of National Soup Month. FYI, the drops sold out within an hour of the launch but will be restocked every Thursday at 09:00 AM through the end of January, while supplies last.

In a world dominated by on-the-go snacks and bite-sized indulgences, Progresso's Soup Drops may just be the ultimate innovation – or perhaps, the pinnacle of convenience culture.

Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Lille at Anfield yesterday tightened their grip on top spot in the league phase of the Champions League with a seventh consecutive win.

Mohamed Salah netted his 50th European goal for Liverpool in the 34th minute when he sprinted onto a long pass from Curtis Jones after Kostas Tsimikas won the ball inside the Reds' half, and then curled a shot around the Les Dogues goalkeeper. But in the sixty-second minute, Lille OSC equalised.

The Reds quickly regained the lead when a corner was headed out to the edge of the box and Harvey Elliott fired a crisp shot that took a wild deflection into the net in the 67th minute.

Arne Slot's side travel to PSV Eindhoven for their final match of the league phase on January 29.

The North Korean Vanishing Act

The fiction built around North Korean troops continues.

After claims of weeks of relentless attacks, North Korean soldiers deployed by Kim Jong-un to support Russia's Vladimir Putin in the war against Ukraine have practically vanished from the battlefield in Kursk, The Washington Post reported on January 19! 😛😛😛😛

You can be sure Western propagandists quickly concocted reasons to explain the said disappearance. They alleged that the "sudden absence" of North Korean troops on the battlefield may indicate that they are regrouping and assessing their future actions. And it could also be a result of numerous injuries and exhaustion from recent battles.

On January 09, Ukrainian President [V]ladimir [Z]elensky declared that the losses of North Korean soldiers had reached 4,000, according to The New Voice of Ukraine. He added that Russian military personnel attempted to burn the faces of deceased North Korean soldiers who participated in battles against Ukrainian forces to conceal their losses.

But a South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun said on January 13, citing information from Seoul's spy agency – based on a CNA report – that around 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed and 2,700 injured in Kursk. He said the soldiers, reportedly from North Korea's elite Storm Corps, had been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner. 😮😮😮😮

Straightaway, you'll notice [Z]elensky's and Lee's numbers don't add up.

And on January 11, [Z]elensky even announced that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had captured two wounded North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast. They were transported to Kiev, where they were interrogated by their SBU investigators. 😂😂😂😂

FYI, Moscow has not acknowledged the deployment of Pyongyang's forces to fight in the Kursk region, as confirmed by Seoul and Washington.

The Lonely Sunfish

A sociable sunfish who was reportedly missing its human audience during a temporary closure of its aquarium in Japan has been comforted in an unorthodox way. 

In a photo posted by the Kaikyokan aquarium in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture, the sunfish is seen swimming in front of photos of human faces attached to a row of uniforms. The move was a "last resort" to solve the sunfish's health issues, which a staff member believed had stemmed from loneliness, the aquarium said on their X account earlier this month. 

And it apparently worked. "It seems to be in good health again!" the aquarium wrote on X the next day. 

After the aquarium shut for renovation in December, the sunfish stopped eating jellyfish and started rubbing its body against the tank, the Mainichi Shimbun reported on Monday. 

Some staff members had initially suspected a case of parasites or digestive issues, but one of them suggested the fish might have been lonely without visitors showing up to its tank. 

Sunfish (Scientific name: Mola mola) found in every ocean in the world, are a delicacy in Japan. They are believed to be able to live up to 10 years in captivity, though they are not commonly found in aquariums due to the meticulous care needed to host them. 

Still, they are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, but on a regional scale they are data deficient (meaning we don't know enough about the population to judge their conservation status). 

The sunfish in Kaikyokan is about 80cm long (31in) and weighs nearly 30kg (66 lb). 

Mai Kato, a staff member, told Mainichi Shimbun that the sunfish, which arrived at the aquarium a year ago, had a "curious" personality and "would swim up to visitors when they approached the tank". 

After the photos and uniforms went up, the fish "felt better" the following day and was seen "waving its fins" in the tank, the aquarium said in their X post. 

The post has been met with an outpouring of support from social media users. Some shared photos and videos of they had taken of the sunfish on previous visits, and others promised to go and see it when the aquarium reopened.

Donald Trump Receives Praise for TikTok Reprieve

The TikTok app voluntarily shut down service in the US just hours before a Sunday deadline, cutting off access to tens of millions of users after the Supreme Court this week upheld a law that effectively banned it over concerns about its ties to China.

[On a different note, ByteDance’s other apps, including video editor CapCut and social platform Lemon8, were also removed from US app stores. And as TikTok went offline, rival Chinese app RedNote emerged as the most downloaded free app on Apple’s App Store, with millions of Americans adopting the “#tiktokrefugee” hashtag as they switched platforms]. 

The law passed by Congress last year had given TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance until January 19 to divest from TikTok or be cut off from the Apple or Google Play stores as well as hosting services. 

TikTok said a sale wasn't possible and challenged the law in court, but it was rejected by a unanimous Supreme Court on Friday.

[But lest Americans forget, it was Donald Trump (right), who in 2020, tried to ban TikTok during his first term over national security concerns]. 

On the same day, he had claimed he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about TikTok. A Chinese summary of the call did not mention that it was a topic of discussion.  

On Sunday, Trump posted on social media that he would restore TikTok, first writing "SAVE TIKTOK" and then vowing to issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time – it's only a reprieve! – before the law takes effect. Further, he said there would be no liability for companies that helped keep TikTok from going dark before the order went into effect. 

In the meantime, TikTok said Sunday that it was in the process of reinstating access after Trump vowed to try to pause the ban by executive order on his first day in office.

TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi expressed gratitude to Trump earlier in the week, thanking him for his efforts to keep the app accessible to approximately 170 million users in the US. And CNN reported, citing anonymous sources, that Chew planned to attend both Trump’s victory rally on Sunday and his inauguration today. 

Surely, this must tell us something. I betcha Chew groveled at Trump's feet and sucking up to him.

Anyway, according to a post on his social media platform, Trump said he would seek US acquisition of a 50% stake in TikTok through a joint venture. 

The TikTok story continues.

Bloodied John Wick Pop

When it comes to modern action franchises, none are as beloved as John Wick, i.e. actor Keanu Reeves (left). 

Since 2014, the Keanu Reeves-led franchise has redefined the genre and is about to get its next major spin-off in Ballerina this summer. 

Now, before Reeves suits back up in the role, Funko has unveiled their latest John Wick Pop. 

The new John Wick figure sees the not-so-retired assassin in the middle of battle. He's particularly battle-damaged at the moment and bleeding in multiple places. However, he’s always ready to make the next deadly move with two blades at his disposal. 

Reeves never gets out of the fray without a few scratches or two, but he's always the last one left standing. 

The Pop figure now joins the pair of John Wick: Chapter 4 figures Funko released last year. 

While John Wick: Chapter 4 felt like a definitive end to the franchise, Ballerina gives a narrative reason for the famous assassin’s return. 

Taking place between Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, the spin-off follows a female assassin played by No Time To Die’s Ana de Armas who's out for some classic revenge against the people who killed her family. John Wick will just be a side character in the film, but he's not the only major actor returning for the action-thriller. Both Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick are returning to their respective roles as Winston and Charon. 

It's going to be exciting to see how well Ballerina does financially off the massive success of Chapter 4. That sequel was the highest grossing in the franchise to date, making over $440 million worldwide. It also was the highest reviewed film with a certified-fresh 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. 

FYI, Ballerina will be exploding into theaters on June 06, 2025.

Yoon Suk Yeol's Detention Extends

A South Korean court issued a detention warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) early this morning over his failed martial law attempt. With the warrant, Yoon's detention will be extended to up to 20 days, including the arrest period. 

On Saturday, Yoon appeared at the Seoul Western District Court to attend the detention necessity hearing on whether to be kept in custody for up to 20 days. 

After being questioned by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) for the initial ten days, Yoon will be interrogated by the prosecution for the remaining 10 days before being indicted as the two sides agreed to jointly investigate Yoon's insurrection charge. 

Yoon was arrested in the presidential residence Wednesday, becoming the country's first sitting president to be arrested. 

After the approval of the warrant, some 300 Yoon supporters protesting outside the court climbed over the court's rear fence and threw stones to shatter windows. Police moved in and arrested 46 protesters, with 9 officers and about 40 others injured in the scuffle. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic began their defence of the Scottish Cup with a 2-1 fourth-round win over a spirited Kilmarnock side at Parkhead yesterday. 

The league leaders scored in the 12th minute, a pile-driver from outside the box by skipper Callum McGregor. They were, however stunned in added time in the first half when teenage striker Bobby Wales leveled from close range.

Celtic stepped up the pressure after the break and Daizen Maeda slotted the winner when he struck in the 70th minute. 

Overall, the scoreline didn't reflect the game but the cup holders had done enough to progress to the next round.