Unbiased headline news – President Joe Biden met with Venezuela’s opposition leader ahead of this week’s inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed third term, according to multiple reports.
Speaking briefly at the White House, Venezuelan Democratic Unitary party leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia described his meeting with the outgoing U.S. president as “long, cordial and fruitful,” The Miami Herald reported. The United States has recognized Gonzalez, who arrived Sunday night, as the rightful winner of Venezuela’s recent presidential election.
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U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein announced that the Israeli Army has begun withdrawing from the western sector of southern Lebanon and will continue the process until it is fully out of the country, describing the effort as “a successful process.”
Hochstein, who arrived earlier in the day and co-chaired the third meeting of the committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the November 27 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire agreement in the border town of Naqoura, said he had “a very good discussion” with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed his decision to step down as the country’s leader and head of the Liberal Party.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide, competitive process,” Trudeau said Monday in Ottawa at Rideau Cottage, speaking in both French and English. The 53-year-old leader will remain in office until March 24 after first taking the role in 2015 from then-Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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A federal judge in New York has found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for failing to provide personal property and information to two Georgia election workers he was found to have defamed.
Judge Lewis Liman ruled in favor of Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who stated Giuliani has “not turned over a single dollar” to satisfy the $148 million judgment against him. Giuliani was held liable in 2023 for defaming Freeman and Moss by falsely accusing them of tampering with the 2020 presidential vote in Georgia.
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The Justice Department has reached a settlement with Antioch, California, and its police department following an investigation into alleged discriminatory practices by the city’s officers against members of the public.
According to allegations, officers exchanged text messages using racial slurs to describe Black residents, praised excessive use of force, and mocked George Floyd. The investigation began after messages between dozens of Antioch Police Department personnel, sent between September 2019 and January 2022, were made public following a separate inquiry by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
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Pope Francis has appointed the first woman to lead a major Vatican office, naming Italian nun Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the department overseeing all Catholic religious orders.
This appointment represents a significant step in Francis’ efforts to increase women’s leadership roles within the church. While women have previously held deputy positions in some Vatican offices, this marks the first time a woman has been named prefect of a dicastery or congregation within the Holy See Curia, the Catholic Church’s central governing body.
