You are here

  • Home
  • Trump website features image of his bloody face to raise funds

Trump website features image of his bloody face to raise funds

Trump website features image of his bloody face to raise funds
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AFP)
Short Url

https://arab.news/jbs48

Updated 15 July 2024
Reuters
Follow

Trump website features image of his bloody face to raise funds

Trump website features image of his bloody face to raise funds
Updated 15 July 2024
Reuters
Follow

WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump’s website featured an image of him with a bloodied face on Monday morning to urge supporters to donate to his campaign and come together in the spirit of unity and peace following this weekend’s shooting.
The website redirected prospective donors to a page on fundraising platform WinRed that shows a black and white image taken by an Associated Press photographer that Trump has described as “iconic.”
It shows the Republican candidate’s face streaked with blood and his fist raised in defiance after a bullet pierced his upper right ear at a rally in Pennsylvania. The image was captioned with the words “FEAR NOT” written in upper case letters.
A message below the image read: “Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again.” The page also carried Trump’s signature and gave visitors to the website options to contribute at different levels.
In an interview published late on Sunday by the New York Post, Trump spoke about the images taken of him immediately after he was shot, including the photo featured on his campaign website.
“A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen,” Trump was quoted as saying in the New York Post. “They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
Trump, who is running against Democratic US President Joe Biden in November’s election, was shot by a 20-year-old man with a semiautomatic rifle on Saturday at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, authorities said.
One Trump supporter who attended the rally was killed, two others were wounded and the suspect was shot dead by security agents. The FBI said it was investigating the shooting as an assassination attempt.
Leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties, including Trump and Biden, appealed to the bitterly divided country to unite and maintain calm after the shooting.
A GoFundMe campaign backed by Trump for the victims of the shooting at the former president’s rally had raised over $3.5 million by the end of Sunday.

Topics: Trump

Ketamine Queen: the alleged dealer charged over Matthew Perry’s death

Ketamine Queen: the alleged dealer charged over Matthew Perry’s death
Updated 17 August 2024
AFP
Follow

Ketamine Queen: the alleged dealer charged over Matthew Perry’s death

Ketamine Queen: the alleged dealer charged over Matthew Perry’s death
Updated 17 August 2024
AFP

LOS ANGELES: A woman allegedly known as the “Ketamine Queen,” who prosecutors say sold “Friends” actor Matthew Perry the drugs that would kill him, didn’t look very regal when she appeared in a Los Angeles court this week.
If they can prove their case against Jasveen Sangha — that she made thousands of dollars from the troubled celebrity, selling him ketamine from her North Hollywood drug emporium — she might never see the outside of prison again.
In the meantime, her court appearance in a green Nirvana sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants was a far cry from the party-filled jet set lifestyle that investigators say she normally leads.
The dual British-American national was one of five people charged in connection with the October 2023 death of the much-loved Perry, who was found unresponsive in the pool of his swanky Los Angeles home.
Others included Perry’s live-in personal assistant, a go-between and two medical doctors who are alleged to have sold $12 vials to the celebrity for as much as $2,000 each, as they exchanged texts wondering “how much this moron will pay.”
But it was the arrest and charging of Sangha that has particularly shone a light on the seedy side of Hollywood glamor.
Court documents allege Sangha, 41, ran a huge drug operation out of her comfortable apartment — dubbed the “Sangha Stash House” — where investigators discovered ketamine, methamphetamine, cocaine and prescription medication like Xanax.
Her source for the ketamine, she told broker Erik Fleming — who is also charged in connection with Perry’s death — was a “master chef” and a “scientist” through whom she boasted she could “fill any order.”
“She only deal[s] with high end and celebs,” Fleming is said to have written to Perry’s personal assistant. “If it were not great stuff she’d lose her business.”
Photos posted on the Internet show Sangha partying with actor Charlie Sheen, a man with well-documented addiction problems.
Her own Instagram account is packed with proof of a glitzy lifestyle that appears to include trips on private jets and plates of caviar in an airport lounge.
Other photos show her sporting a range of designer wear, including jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, shoes by Louis Vuitton and clothes from Chanel.
But the high-roller lifestyle was apparently funded through a trade in misery, exploiting the desperation of addicts like Perry.
The dozens of doses of ketamine she allegedly sold him came in unmarked glass vials with a cheap blue plastic cap.
Prosecutors say Sangha was a consummate saleswoman, offering a sample for Perry to try before he committed serious money.
“It’s unmarked but it’s amazing,” she allegedly texted the middleman. “He [can] take one and try it and I have more if he likes.”
And the final batch Sangha is alleged to have supplied — the one that resulted in Perry’s death at just 54 — came with a sweetener: ketamine lollipops, prosecutors say.
Hours after news of the actor’s death emerged, Sangha set out to cover her tracks, investigators say, ordering middleman Fleming to “delete all our messages.”
Two weeks later, she jetted off to Tokyo, posting smiling pictures of her posing in a kimono.
The trip was one of around a dozen foreign jaunts she has taken since Perry died, a Los Angeles judge heard on Wednesday, which have also included Antigua and Mexico.
That judge remanded Sangha in custody on Wednesday and ordered her to stand trial in October, after hearing her deny all charges.
If convicted of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and the other charges she faces, Sangha could be jailed for the rest of her life.
Salvador Plasencia, one of the doctors also charged with supplying Perry, also denied the charges he faces.
The other defendants have either pleaded guilty or agreed to do so in relation to their charges. They face between 10 and 25 years in prison.

Topics: Matthew Perry

Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison

Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison
Updated 16 August 2024
AP
Follow

Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison

Man who pulled gun after Burger King worker wouldn’t take drugs for payment gets 143 years in prison
  • In April, a jury found Robertson guilty of 17 crimes, including eight counts of attempted murder
  • The sentences for many of the crimes were stacked on top of each other, leading to a long sentence
Updated 16 August 2024
AP

DENVER: A man who was convicted of pointing a gun at Burger King drive-thru worker who wouldn’t accept drugs for payment and later shooting at other people elsewhere the same night has been sentenced to 143 years in prison.
Prosecutors who announced the sentence Thursday said the drive-thru incident was the beginning of a series of crimes Eugene Robertson carried out in the Denver suburb of Aurora on Oct. 17, 2022. No one was wounded.
In April, a jury found Robertson guilty of 17 crimes, including eight counts of attempted murder. The sentences for many of the crimes were stacked on top of each other, leading to a long sentence. Robertson had faced a maximum sentence of more than 400 years when he was sentenced Aug. 9.
“I hope this century-long prison sentence serves as a warning that my prosecutors and I will not tolerate violent crime in our community,” 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said in a statement.
After Robertson pointed the gun at the drive-thru worker, prosecutors said he walked into a convenience store across the street and pointed a gun at the head of a clerk. When Robertson saw there was a surveillance video camera system there, he shot at the screen and left, then shot toward two people outside in the parking lot, Kellner’s office said.
The Sentinel Colorado in Aurora previously reported that a witness at the convenience store store told police there seemed to be “something off” about Robertson and that he was “talking about God” and carrying a Bible with a purple cover.
Later that night, a woman who was friends with Robertson called 911 to report that he had fired shots after she refused to open the door of her apartment, where she was with several people, prosecutors said.
Police spotted Robertson at the woman’s apartment complex. He hid behind some bushes before being arrested, prosecutors said.

Topics: Colorado Burger King drugs Eugene Robertson court

Related

Prince William with the founders of YouTube channel Sorted Food which reviews kitchen gadgets and shares recipes. (Photo/Twitter
Offbeat
Burger king: Prince William serves up food to surprised diners
Cheese-tastic: Burger King serves up new sandwich with no meat and 20 slices of cheese
Offbeat
Cheese-tastic: Burger King serves up new sandwich with no meat and 20 slices of cheese

China’s growing ‘robotaxi’ fleet sparks concern, wonder on streets

China’s growing ‘robotaxi’ fleet sparks concern, wonder on streets
Updated 16 August 2024
AFP
Follow

China’s growing ‘robotaxi’ fleet sparks concern, wonder on streets

China’s growing ‘robotaxi’ fleet sparks concern, wonder on streets
  • China’s tech companies and automakers have poured billions of dollars into self-driving technology in recent years
  • Debate around safety was sparked in April when a Huawei-backed Aito car was involved in a fatal accident
Updated 16 August 2024
AFP

WUHAN, China: Turning heads as they cruise past office buildings and malls, driverless taxis are slowly spreading through Chinese cities, prompting both wariness and wonder.
China’s tech companies and automakers have poured billions of dollars into self-driving technology in recent years in an effort to catch industry leaders in the United States.
Now the central city of Wuhan boasts one of the world’s largest networks of self-driving cars, home to a fleet of over 500 taxis that can be hailed on an app just like regular rides.
At one intersection in an industrial area of Wuhan, AFP reporters saw at least five robotaxis passing each other as they navigated regular traffic.
“It looks kind of magical, like a sci-fi movie,” a local surnamed Yang said.
But not everyone shares Yang’s awe.
Debate around safety was sparked in April when a Huawei-backed Aito car was involved in a fatal accident, with the company saying its automatic braking system failed.
A minor collision between a jaywalker and a Wuhan robotaxi last month re-ignited concerns.
Taxi drivers and workers in traditional ride-hailing companies have also raised fears of being replaced by artificial intelligence — although the technology is far from fully developed.
Wuhan’s driverless cabs are part of tech giant Baidu’s Apollo Go project, which first received licenses to operate in the city in 2022.
Initially only five robocars ferried passengers around 13 square kilometers (five square miles) of the city of around 14 million.
Baidu says the taxis now operate in a 3,000-square-kilometer patch — more than a third of the total land area of Wuhan, including a small part of the city center.
In comparison, US leader Waymo says the largest area it covers is 816 square kilometers, in Arizona.
When a car reaches its pickup point, riders scan a QR code with their phones to unlock the vehicle — with the front seats blocked off over safety concerns.
The fares are currently heavily discounted, with a thirty-minute ride taken by AFP costing just 39 yuan ($5.43) compared with 64 yuan in a normal taxi.
“They are stealing our rice bowls, so of course we don’t like them,” Wuhan taxi driver Deng Haibing said, using a popular Chinese term for livelihoods.
Deng said he fears robotaxi companies will push traditional drivers out of business with subsidized fares, before raising prices once they achieve domination — similar to the strategy employed by ride-hailing apps in the 2010s.
“Currently the impact isn’t too big because robotaxis aren’t fully popularized and can’t drive everywhere yet,” Deng said.
The robotaxi fleet is a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of taxis and ride-hailing cars in Wuhan.
More and more Chinese cities are rolling out policies to promote self-driving services though, part of a national push for tech supremacy.
Baidu and domestic rival Pony.ai have for years tested models of varying autonomy levels in industrial parks around the country.
Shanghai issued its first batch of provisional permits for fully driverless cars last month, and the capital Beijing has approved fully autonomous robotaxis in suburban areas.
The southwest city of Chongqing and southern tech hub of Shenzhen also have pilot projects underway.
Technology wise, there’s still a long way to go before self-driving taxis become ubiquitous though, according to Tom Nunlist, tech policy analyst at Trivium China.
“Everybody seems to think autonomous driving is inevitable at this point, and frankly, I don’t know that it is,” he said.
“Presently fully autonomous driving tech is simply not ready for large-scale deployment,” he said.
Even in Wuhan’s Apollo Go taxis — which can spot obstacles and wait scrupulously at intersections — ultimate responsibility for safety still lies with human officers monitoring rides remotely.
During one ride in an Apollo Go car, one manipulated the car’s built-in touchscreen to remind AFP reporters to put on their seatbelts.
“Safety personnel provide strong assurances for your ride via remote 5G assistance technology,” the Apollo Go app tells users.
Robotaxis are also far from able to replicate the human touch.
“Some customers have disabilities and (driverless cars) definitely wouldn’t be able to help them, and some passengers are carrying large items,” ride-hailing driver Zhao said.
“Only a human can help.”

Topics: China

Related

Driverless taxis start operating in China
Business & Economy
Driverless taxis start operating in China
Road test: Chinese ‘robotaxis’ take riders for a spin
Business & Economy
Road test: Chinese ‘robotaxis’ take riders for a spin

Kosovo man braves wildfires on motorbike to deliver water to firefighters

Kosovo man braves wildfires on motorbike to deliver water to firefighters
Updated 15 August 2024
Reuters
Follow

Kosovo man braves wildfires on motorbike to deliver water to firefighters

Kosovo man braves wildfires on motorbike to deliver water to firefighters
  • Allmedin Smaili, 26, a dentist from the nearby town of Prizren, has been helping firefighters for seven days
  • Most of the time he carries two backpacks with water totalling 50 liters, food and bottles of drinking water
Updated 15 August 2024
Reuters

PREVALLE, Kosovo: As firefighters in southern Kosovo prayed for rain in their battle against wildfires in the Sharr Mountains National Park, a young man on a motor-bike approached them and said: “I am here to help.”
Allmedin Smaili, 26, a dentist from the nearby town of Prizren, has been helping firefighters for seven days to stop a fire in the park where he and his friends usually go with their motorbikes to enjoy the thrill of riding over the harsh terrain.
Two men at the fire department base fill backpack waterbags of 25 liters each and Smaili transports them to other firefighters to use to douse the flames as huge areas of pine trees burn.
Most of the time he carries two backpacks with water totalling 50 liters, food and bottles of drinking water.
“When I saw what firefighters are going through and how committed they are I told myself I have to do something,” Samili said as he prepared to transport more water.
On Wednesday, Smaili called three other friends to transport more water as breeze stopped the flames and a US helicopter from the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo started to drop water. The challenge is to stop slow burning trees which can ignite again with a more destructive fire.
“To reach the highest point with water on our back we need three hours and the boy (Smaili) was doing it in less than ten minutes,” said Flamur Hoti, the firefighters’ commander.
“We never imagined he could be so helpful.”
Video from his GoPro camera shows Smaili handing water to his new colleagues as his motorbike sped along trails made by brown bears and wild goats.
Steep slopes can be seen from his left and right side through traces of old burned areas which are still visible.
Fire trucks can not reach the terrain some 1,900 meters above the sea level.
“Cross motor-bike is a hobby for me but this week in turned into a real job,” he said, smiling. “When I see the impact, it gives me pleasure and I never got tired during these days.”

Topics: Kosovo firefighters wildfires

Related

Greece tackles last of wildfire near Athens, assesses damage
World
Greece tackles last of wildfire near Athens, assesses damage
Algerians flee wildfires in country’s northeast
Middle-East
Algerians flee wildfires in country’s northeast

US judge says ‘monopolist’ Google can’t avoid app store reforms

US judge says ‘monopolist’ Google can’t avoid app store reforms
Updated 15 August 2024
Reuters
Follow

US judge says ‘monopolist’ Google can’t avoid app store reforms

US judge says ‘monopolist’ Google can’t avoid app store reforms
Updated 15 August 2024
Reuters

A US judge on Wednesday said he was planning to issue an order forcing Alphabet’s Google to give Android users more ways to download apps, but would not micromanage the tech giant’s business, following a jury verdict last year for “Fortnite” maker Epic Games.
US District Judge James Donato in San Francisco heard from technology experts and lawyers for Epic and Google about proposed reforms in the blockbuster antitrust case.
Donato showed impatience for Google’s protests about the costs and difficulty of implementing many of Epic’s proposals, and signaled he would issue a ruling that would maximize users’ and developers’ flexibility to download and distribute apps outside the Play store.
“You’re going to end up paying something to make the world right after having been found to be a monopolist,” Donato said.
He said his injunction will be about three pages long and will ensure Google knows what the “rules of the road are.”
Donato said he will rule in the coming weeks and set up a three-person compliance and technical committee to implement and monitor the injunction.
“Google foreclosed competition for years and years and years. We’re opening the gate now and letting competitors come in,” Donato said.
Google declined to comment, and Epic did not immediately respond to a request for one.
Epic’s lawsuit accused Google of monopolizing how consumers access apps on Android devices and how they pay for in-app transactions.
The Cary, North Carolina-based company persuaded a jury in December 2023 that Google unlawfully stifled competition through its controls over app distribution and payments.
Epic has asked Donato to require Google to make it easier for Android users to download apps from third-party app stores, such as Epic’s, and from other Internet sources. It also wants the court to forbid Google from automatically installing its Play store on Android devices.
Google has denied harming competition, and it told Donato that Epic’s proposals “would make it nearly impossible” for the Alphabet unit to compete and harm consumer privacy and security.
Google lawyer Glenn Pomerantz told Donato on Wednesday that Google should not be forced to distribute its rivals’ app stores. “Competition will be worse if you impose a duty that you have to deal with your competitor,” Pomerantz said.
Epic’s lawyer Gary Bornstein urged the court to direct Google to act quickly to implement his injunction.
Google faces another threat to its business practices in a separate government lawsuit in Washington, D.C. challenging the company’s dominant search engine.
Last week, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled for the US Justice Department and said Google had illegally monopolized web search, spending billions to become the Internet’s default search engine. Google has denied the claims.
Mehta has set a Sept. 6 hearing to discuss a timeline for the court to impose remedies on Google in that case.

Topics: Google

Latest updates

Indian medics refuse to end protests over doctor’s rape and murder
Indian medics refuse to end protests over doctor’s rape and murder
Blinken says Gaza talks ‘maybe the last’ chance for truce
Blinken says Gaza talks ‘maybe the last’ chance for truce
Russian court upholds sentence of jailed US soldier Gordon Black
Russian court upholds sentence of jailed US soldier Gordon Black
Ukraine repels Russia’s air attack, including on Kyiv
Ukraine repels Russia’s air attack, including on Kyiv
Philippines detects first mpox case this year, yet to determine strain
Philippines detects first mpox case this year, yet to determine strain

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.