Michael Cohen Pleads Guilty
President Trump’s formal personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty earlier this morning. In a Manhattan court, he entered a plea deal with counsel Robert Mueller concerning false statements he made to congress during the then-ongoing Russian investigation.
Those false statements include a letter referring to the “Moscow Project”, written to Congress amid the inquiries into the suspected collusion. This letter was an attempt to limit the links between the project and an unidentified Individual 1.
He said he made the comments in an effort to “be consistent with Individual 1’s political messaging and to be loyal to Individual 1,” who is assumed to be President Trump. The crime carries a minimum 5 years in prison, as well as a $200,000 fine. His plea deal brought that down to zero to six months, and he was released without bail. He is scheduled for a hearing on December 12th.
Ebola Outbreak
The Congo’s current Ebola outbreak is now the second biggest in the world. The WHO reported around 430 people infected, and a death total of at least 242. The outbreak, first reported in August, still doesn’t come close to the numbers reported in the 2014 outbreak in Africa.
As the number of affected increase, WHO reports that 10% of the current cases are health workers. Along with that, the rate of infection is rapidly rising in infants and children. The WHO states that although they are trying their best, their efforts aren’t working as well as they hoped.
Egypt’s Human Rights Campaign
Egypt has finally organized a human rights committee. This is in response to the censure of its human rights, but critics are saying that it will have no change. The committee, set up by Egypt’s Prime Minister, will not include any non-government influence.
This has drawn criticism from many activists within Egypt. They aren’t convinced that this will have any effect within the political climate of the country. They insist that in order to make change, something must be done to help the government make the change.
Philippines Drug War
Earlier today, three Philippine police officers were found guilty of murder. The murder, which took place back in 2017, was that of a teenage drug dealer. The murder is one of 5,000 that have occurred after the anti-narcotic was launched back in 2016.
The three officers were sentenced to up to 40 years each for the murder. They claimed the killing was in self defense, but CCTV footage revealed the truth. This caused large public outcry and involvement of human rights groups.
Australia Brings Wrong Man To Court
A mix-up involving an Australian murder case has brought the wrong man in front of a judge. The judge, who was not pleased, saw one Peter Brown brought in front of him for the murder of Simone Fraser. The man, who was in prison for a different crime, was turned away, and after a delay the correct man was brought before the judge.
The correct Peter Brown was charged for murder and will now serve 30 years in prison. The corrections facility has since apologized for the mishap.
