Thomas Pinkerton Jr. used to tell children in his youth group in Maryland that it was normal for a pastor to kiss boys on the lips, because that’s how Jesus greeted his disciples, according to an arrest warrant made public last week. Kissing was just the beginning, several men from Pinkerton’s former youth group told police. Pinkerton, 52, a youth minister known as Pastor Tommy, is being held without bond following accusations that he sexually abused six teens from 2006 to 2010 while working at Central Christian Church, an Assemblies of God church in Baltimore County. He was extradited from...
Prominent Chinese Diplomat Liu Jianchao Taken For Questioning, Sources Tell Reuters
Senior Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao, widely seen as a potential foreign minister, was taken away by authorities for questioning in early August, five people familiar with the matter said. Liu, 61, was detained after returning from a work trip to Singapore, South Africa and Algeria, which ended on July 30, according to the sources. His house was searched by authorities in early August, two of the people said. The people did not know why the authorities questioned Liu. They could not be named for safety reasons. Liu’s detention was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Liu’s detention marks the highest-level disappearance...
Nigerian Afropop Star Tems: ‘Women Are Not Respected In The Industry’
Nigerian Afropop star Tems has told the BBC “people don’t really respect women” in her industry. The two-time Grammy award-winner told the BBC that at the start of her career, she struggled to be taken seriously. “I realised that there’s always a cost. There’s always a price that you pay. And a lot of those prices I wasn’t willing to pay and there wasn’t a lot of options,” Tems said. Afropop has gained immense global popularity over the past decade, but despite this growth it remains notoriously male-dominated. The industry’s so-called “Big Three” – Burna Boy, Davido and Wizkid –...
Outrage As 1-Month-Old Baby Dies After Genital Mutilation In The Gambia
The death of a one-month-old baby girl who was the victim of female genital mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia has sparked widespread outrage. The baby was rushed to a hospital in the capital, Banjul, after she developed severe bleeding, but was pronounced dead on arrival, police said. Although an autopsy is still being conducted to establish the cause of her death, many people have linked it to FGM, or female circumcision, a cultural practice outlawed in the West African state. “Culture is no excuse, tradition is no shield, this is violence, pure and simple,” a leading non-governmental organisation, Women In...
Veteran Race Car Driver Robbie Brewer, Dies After Medical Emergency During Race At Bowman Gray Stadium
A veteran stock-car driver at a North Carolina short track died over the weekend after suffering a medical emergency while competing in a race, officials said. Robbie Brewer’s car struck head-on a wall on the quarter-mile (0.40-kilometer) track at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem and came to a stop near the start-finish line. Track workers peeled away the roof to remove the 53-year-old Brewer, and an ambulance took him to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist hospital, after which he died, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. “We are saddened by the passing of Robbie Brewer after he was transported to an area medical...
US Teen Influencer Has Been Stranded In The Chilean Antarctic Since Landing Without Permission
What was intended as a fundraising mission for cancer research has become a nightmare for American teen influencer Ethan Guo, who has been stuck since June in a remote location in Chilean territory in Antarctica. Authorities say Guo landed his small plane illegally after providing false flight plan information to officials who opened an investigation. Guo made headlines last year when the then-19-year-old teen began a trip in an attempt to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents and at the same time collect donations for research into childhood cancer. As part of his trip, the teen who identifies...
Migrant Sentenced To Life For Murdering Maryland Mum In Case Invoked By Trump
An illegal immigrant from El Salvador has been sentenced to life without parole for killing an American mother of five – in a case invoked by President Donald Trump to support his border security crackdown. Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was found guilty this year in the rape and murder of Rachel Morin, 37, on a hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland, in August 2023. He assaulted her, bludgeoned her head with rocks and strangled her before hiding her body in a drainage culvert, the court heard. The killer was also linked to a 2023 home invasion in Los Angeles and is...
Italian Athlete Dies After Collapse At World Games
Italian orienteer Mattia Debertolis has died after collapsing during the World Games in China last week. The 29-year-old was found unconscious by organisers during an orienteering event last Friday in Chengdu. The Italian died on Tuesday – four days after his collapse. “Despite receiving immediate expert medical care at one of China’s leading medical institutions, he passed away,” World Games organisers said in a statement. International Orienteering Federation (IOF) President Tom Hollowell said he was “not able to adequately describe the unfathomable depth of sadness in this tragic loss of life”. Debertolis’ cause of death is unknown at this stage....
President Trump Federalizes D.C. Police Due To Declare Crime Rate, Deploys The National Guard.
President Donald Trump has placed the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and deployed the National Guard in response to what he describes as rampant crime, despite recent data indication that crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. Vice president JD Vance in support of Trump via X after the president federalized D.C claimed that the crime is high, making it unsafe place for the residents, in his words: “The rampant crime and lawlessness in Washington have turned our nation’s capital into an utter disgrace. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the American people will have a capital...
