A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they were supporting the family of a British man who died in Thailand.
The spokesperson added that officials were in contact with local authorities in the country.
The Bangkok Post reported that a total of 436 people died and a further 2,376 were injured in 2,467 traffic accidents across Thailand from 27 December to 5 January, according to the interior ministry.
Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an indictment against Donald Trump in 2023 in Washington, D.C.
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The Justice Department wants to publicly release only part of its final report on special counsel Jack Smith’s cases against President-elect Donald Trump.
Smith recommended that the DOJ release only the first volume of his final report, covering the investigation and charges against Trump tied to the 2020 presidential election, the DOJ said in a court filing on Wednesday.
The second volume — which concerns the federal case against Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort — will only be available to review to the top members of the House and Senate judiciary committees if they request it. That’s because the classified documents case is still ongoing, with the DOJ pursuing an appeal against two longtime Trump aides, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the DOJ said.
“To avoid any risk of prejudice to defendants Nauta and De Oliveira, the Attorney General has determined, at the recommendation of the Special Counsel, that he will not publicly release Volume Two as long as defendants’ criminal proceedings remain pending,” DOJ lawyers wrote in the filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
The “limited disclosure” to certain lawmakers “will further the public interest in keeping congressional leadership apprised of a significant matter within the Department while safeguarding defendants’ interests.”
Prosecutors dropped the two criminal cases against Trump after he won the 2024 election, and the final report by Smith may be the last chance for prosecutors to explain their decisions.
Florida Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s final report, pending an emergency motion from the appeals court to block the report’s release.
But the DOJ disagreed with that action, saying there was no need for the court to intervene, and also protesting the attempt to block the report’s first volume, on the election interference case.
“Defendants Nauta and De Oliveira have no cognizable interest in that volume of the Final Report,” the filing said.
After Trump won the 2024 election, the Justice Department dropped him from its appeal. But it continued the appellate case for the other two defendants, who raised concern that they would be prejudiced if Smith’s final report is published while they still face the threat of a trial.
Trump has also argued the special counsel was appointed unlawfully and that any public report would be legally invalid and hurt his transition into the White House.
More than a thousand homes, businesses and other buildings have burned and at least two people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County, making this one of the most destructive firestorms to hit the region in memory.
In Pacific Palisades, the Palisades fire had charred more than 5,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, burning down to Pacific Coast Highway where it engulfed homes along the iconic stretch. About 1,000 structures, including many homes, have been destroyed in the fire, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during a press conference Wednesday morning.
The Eaton fire, which broke out Tuesday evening, had burned more than 2,200 acres near Altadena and Pasadena whipped by gusts of up to 99 mph in the area. Two people have died in the Eaton fire and several others have been seriously injured in both the Eaton and Palisades fire, Marrone said.
The Hurst fire, which spread quickly during high winds overnight in Sylmar, had burned 500 acres. Extraordinarily powerful winds and gusts — of up to 99 mph — had been reported overnight.
On Wednesday, firefighters were bracing for another challenging day of fire fueled by strong winds. Red flag warnings remain in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County through Thursday with officials warning of a “life threatening, destructive and widespread windstorm.”
“We are absolutely not out of danger yet,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said.
The National Weather Service reported a gust of 99 mph near Altadena at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday; 98 mph near Woodland Hills at 9:37 p.m.; and 84 mph at Hollywood Burbank Airport at 8:30 p.m.
The National Weather Service has warned of a “particularly dangerous situation” across the San Gabriel Mountains, Beverly and Hollywood Hills, the coastal areas adjacent to the Sepulveda Pass, the Santa Monica Mountains, Malibu and the eastern Ventura Valley.
NWS meteorologist Rich Thompson said this could be the strongest such wind event since the 2011 windstorm that caused serious damage in Pasadena, Altadena and other San Gabriel Valley neighborhoods, knocking out power for days for more than 400,000 people. The 2011 windstorm caused at least $40 million in damage, according to a preliminary estimate.
“If it does develop, it can cause very specific damage,” Thompson said before this week’s fires broke out. “Imagine like a wave in the water. … Those winds kind of go down slope, then just hit the surface and get very strong.”
In Pacific Palisades, firefighters grappled with wind gusts up to 100 mph overnight bedeviling their efforts to get the blaze—burning both east and west—under control, said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Erik Scott.
“The fire is being fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and surrounding topography, which makes it extremely challenging for us firefighters to really get a handle on it,” Scott said. “Our priority is life and structure defense.”
On Tuesday night, increasing winds made an air attack against the wildfires impossible. Fearsome winds forced crews to ground aircraft in the battle against the Palisades fire shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
About two hours earlier, the Eaton fire broke out in the hills above Altadena near Eaton Canyon. Strong winds led officials to suspend air coverage of the Eaton fire for the evening, officials said at 8:45 p.m.
The lack of rain has extended the fire season in Southern California. Since Oct. 1, the beginning of the water year, downtown Los Angeles has received 0.16 inches of rain — a tiny fraction of the 4.64 inches that downtown gets, on average, by this point in the season.
By contrast, Northern California hasn’t faced such fire weather, with rainfall at above-average levels. Downtown San Francisco has received 10.39 inches of rain since Oct. 1 — above the 9.29 inches of rainfall the city gets on average by this point in the season.
“Southern California has experienced a particularly hot summer, followed by almost no precipitation during what is normally our wet season,” said Alex Hall, director of the UCLA Center for Climate Science. “And all of this comes on the heels of two very rainy years, which means there is plenty of fuel for potential wildfires.”
Extreme fire conditions were expected to continue through the middle of Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said after midnight Wednesday. “Any wildfires that start will likely spread rapidly with extreme fire behavior,” the weather service said.
Another Santa Ana wind event is expected for Friday. But it is expected to be “more typical,” the NWS said, with winds forecast to come from the northeast “focused along the typical Santa Ana wind corridor, from the Santa Clarita Valley to Point Mugu. … The downsloping winds will also reduce the humidities and increase the fire danger.”
The weather service warned that winds “will be gusty and erratic, with lulls between gusts.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s fires, the National Weather Service issued a “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning, alerting of extreme fire weather (abbreviated as a PDS). The weather service issued the same warning about a month ago — when the Franklin fire ignited and spread rapidly in the Malibu area. It went on to burn more than 4,037 acres, destroying 20 structures and damaging 28 more.
An infographic from the National Weather Service explaining a particularly dangerous situation red flag warning.
(National Weather Service)
And a month before that, a particularly dangerous situation red flag warning was issued on election day. The following day, on Nov. 6, the Mountain fire ignited in Ventura County and, whipped by powerful winds, razed more than 240 buildings. It became the third-most-destructive wildfire in Southern California since 2013, and burned 19,904 acres.
This type of red flag warning is expected to occur, on average, once every three to five years. But the National Weather Service office in Oxnard has now issued such a warning three times in just this fire season. The office issues forecasts for L.A. County, as well as Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
Before November, the last time a particularly dangerous situation red flag warning was issued by the National Weather Service office for L.A. and Ventura counties was in 2020, the first year those alerts existed for the region. That type of warning was issued twice in 2020 — once in October and again in December.
Apple retailers are engaged in a MacBook Air price war.
Pick up the M3 15-inch MacBook Air with a bump up to 512GB of storage for just $1,299 in the latest price war.
The $200 price drop on the upgraded laptop can be found at both Amazon and B&H Photo as the Apple Authorized Resellers engage in a price war.
This configuration features Apple’s M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. It also has 16GB of unified memory and an upgrade to 512GB of storage compared to the 256GB found in the standard spec.
At Amazon, the Midnight colorway is eligible for the $1,299 price, while B&H has both Midnight and Starlight in stock at the reduced price.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently released the official poster for the upcoming UFC 312 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for Sat., Feb. 8, 2025 (Feb. 9 local time) inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Fans lauded the promotion’s latest effort as “amazing” and “great.”
UFC 312 will be headlined by the middleweight rematch between reigning 185-pound titleholder, Dricus Du Plessis, and former division champion, Sean Strickland, who no longer has to worry about those “dirty Canadian leftists.”
In the UFC 312 co-main event, reigning strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, will defend her 115-pound strap against undefeated division phenom, Tatiana Suarez. Both Weili and Du Plessis opened as the odds-on betting favorites.
Elsewhere on the card, Justin Tafa throws heavyweight leather opposite Brazilian bruiser Tallison Teixeira. In addition, Wang Cong tries to regain some of her flyweight hype when she collides with the rough-and-tumble Bruna Brasil.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 312 next month “Down Under” click here.
Meredith Vieira has made great strides when it comes to her long-lasting career. Find out how much her huge net worth comes out to.
Who Is Meredith Vieira?
Meredith Vieira is an American journalist and TV host. She began as a local reporter in Rhode Island and hustled her way to become an investigative journalist for WCBS. Her career continued to sky rocket as she was promoted to become the correspondent for 60 Minutes and a co-anchor at CBS Morning News. Meredith transitioned to ABC to become a co-host on the notorious The View show. She then took another route in her career and went from daytime co-host to being the first host of the addictive primetime show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, through which she became a household name for most Americans. Meredith didn’t stop there, instead she fully delved herself into having her very own talk show called by her name. Most recently, she has become a staple as a TV host for the fun game show 25 Words or Less.
What Is Meredith Vieira’s Net Worth?
Meredith’s net worth is a whopping $45 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
(Photo by Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images)
Who Was Meredith Vieira’s Husband?
Meredith’s husband was Richard Cohen, who was also a journalist. The love birds were married for 38 years. They shared three children together including Lily, Gabriel and Benjamin. Richard got his start at the United Press International. He became most known for his popular column in The Washington Post that he wrote for over 4 decades. He went on to write a book with reporter Jules Witcover, which was called A Heartbeat Away: The Investigation and Resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew.
What Was Richard Cohen’s Cause of Death?
Richard passed away in December 2024 on Christmas Eve, however his death was announced in January 2025, according to People. He passed away after fighting a two-month-long battle with pneumonia. He was 76 and struggled with multiple sclerosis for more than 50 years. Richard also survived two cancer diagnoses in his life. He wrote a memoir titled Chasing Hope: A Patient’s Deep Dive into Step Cells, Faith, and the Future, which came out in 2018 and heavily focused on his emotional and physical struggles living with multiple sclerosis.
After spending hours sifting through the FTSE 100 to find Britain’s best dividend stocks, I decided to call in some artificial help.
I was curious to see what generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT would come up with, but was instinctively suspicious. Wouldn’t it just pick the five biggest yielders and be done with it?
I’m not privy to its algorithms but it’s clearly a bit more sophisticated than that. Although I wouldn’t describe any of its picks as a surprise. They’re all big blue-chips with mighty yields. So which passive income faves did my new ‘bot pal come up with?
Are these really the UK’s best income shares?
Well knock me down with an artificial feather but cigarette maker British American Tobacco was on the list. I’ve just finished writing an article highlighting its fabulous trailing yield of 7.95%.
This isn’t a one-off as ChatGPT pointed out: “The company has a history of consistent dividend payments, making it appealing to income-focused investors.”
British American Tobacco has survived the regulatory onslaught on cigarettes by building market share, sweating its brands and pursuing smokeless alternatives. Even its shares have picked up, climbing 25% in the last year. I can’t really argue with this.
It’s impossible to argue with my robot buddy’s next dividend pick either: HSBCHoldings (LSE: HSBA). I don’t hold the Asia-focused bank, but it’s at the top of my Buy list for when I have some cash.
ChatGPT says: “As one of the world’s largest banking institutions, it has a track record of regular dividend distributions.”
The current yield is 6.26% while the HSBC share price is up 22% over the last year. Yet it’s still cheap, trading at just 8.42 time earnings.
HSBC has challenges. Listed in London but generating the bulk of its profits in Asia, it’s tangled up in US-China trade wars. It’s hard to see how that will play out as President-elect Donald Trump talks of tariffs. New CEO Georges Elhedery is responding by splitting the group into Eastern and Western units.
I think it’s a brilliant income stock
HSBC has also been lavishing investors with share buybacks. They totalled £7bn in full-year 2023 financial year. Nice work, ChatGPT.
It also picked out mining giant Rio Tinto, which has a bumper trailing yield of 7.43%, although as my AI chum warned: “Dividend payments can be influenced by commodity price fluctuations.”
How true. I’ve suffered at the hands of Glencore lately, so won’t be buying Rio Tinto. It’s still a top dividend stock though and cheap at 8.03 times earnings.
I won’t buy its next suggestion either, energy giant Shell, but that’s purely because I hold rival BP. Shell’s yield is relatively modest at 4.6% but it’s also been engaging in share buybacks.
The one chatbot pick I do hold is Legal & General Group. It has a bumper yield of 9.29%. So it turns out that I’m the one chasing the big yielders, not AI. Perhaps my algorithms need a reset.
ChatGPT says Legal & General “is known for its consistent dividend payments”. I’d add it’s also known for its underperforming share price, but I’m hoping that will change.
Even though I can’t fault ChatGPT’s stock pick, I’ve still got doubts about its selection process. But I’d happily buy any five of these FTSE 100 dividend heroes today.
It’s been an interesting last 12 months for the FTSE 100. The UK large-cap index has climbed 7.3% to 8,254 as I write, but hasn’t made much headway since mid-2024.
There have been some big winners including Rolls-Royce and NatWest that have seen valuation gains of 92% and 85% in the last year, respectively.
However, I’m in bargain hunting mode at the moment. That means I want to find a hidden gem in the Footsie that could be a good fit for my existing portfolio.
There’s one unloved stock that has piqued my interest and I’m thinking about buying it in 2025.
Unloved REIT
British Land (LSE: BLND) is the stock in question. The real estate investment trust (REIT) has seen its share price sliding, down 8.6% in the last 12 months and 11.9% in the last three years, to £3.64 per share.
The company is one of the largest REITs in the UK, investing in a portfolio of London campuses and urban logistics assets, as well as retail parks across the country.
British Land’s strategic £1.1bn investment in retail parks in the last few years has helped boost earnings and profitability, partially offsetting challenges in the London office market.
The landlord booked a 1.7% decline in valuation for the half-year ended 30 November 2024, and analysts see its office exposure as a potential impediment to growing earnings per share (EPS) in 2025.
European Real Estate Association (EPRA) net tangible assets (NTA) is a common valuation metric in the REIT game. Notably, British Land’s EPRA NTA per share declined 4.4% to 562p on the back of its office sector exposure.
However, an increase in full-year EPS guidance to 28.1p, up from 27.9p, shows there are some green shoots emerging. Similarly, a 1% increase in the full-year dividend per share to 22.8p is good news for investors.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice.
To buy or not to buy?
There are several reasons why I’m considering buying British Land shares. For one thing, I think the office sector could perform better than expected this year.
It’s certainly an area of the property market that has been under pressure, but a falling interest rate environment and continued return-to-office trend could be supportive of a bottoming out on valuations.
I also like management’s clearly defined strategy. A recent £441m retail park portfolio acquisition from Brookfield is continuing to diversify the portfolio and reduce overall office exposure.
The key factor for me is how retail parks perform, including the recently acquired portfolio, which is fundamental to EPS growth forecasts for FY25 and beyond. Any further evidence of stabilising office valuations should also give investors comfort that the worst may be behind the REIT.
Verdict
I think British Land is an exciting prospect. There are still some big risks to buying the stock including commercial property market volatility, uncertain demand for office space and integration of its acquired retail parks.
However, I think where there’s risk there’s reward and a long-term outlook is important. The REIT would be complementary to my existing portfolio and is one that I’ll be looking at seriously when I get some spare funds.
As a result of her split with Sebastian Bear-McClard, Emily Ratajkowski is currently in the “bitch age.” On Wednesday’s episode of the Today show, the model and mother of a kid who is one year old named Sylvester opened up about her life as a soon-to-be single woman. She explained to hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager that she no longer tolerated what she formerly did.
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It’s beyond reason. In all honesty, it’s a perfect thing. Ratajkowski, who is now 31 years old, has stated that the only man to whom she feels she has any obligation is her son.
The author of “My Body” admitted that she had spent most of her adult life as a serial monogamist, prompting Kotb and Bush Hager to inquire about her current self-identity. Is cursing allowed during this show? She chose to limit herself and responded, “I’ve been joking that I’m in my B era.”
This word appeals to me because it gives me the impression that I am reclaiming it. It is regarded in a pejorative manner. On the other hand, I find myself saying, “No, no, this is a good thing!” She continued her speech without uttering profanity till the very end. I am not one to put up with nonsense.
When challenged about the possibility that she may have skipped from one relationship to another in the past, Ratajkowski responded that doing so helped her feel more secure.
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She revealed that she believed it was a means for her to protect herself. I knew I was getting into a bizarre field, and I was already working in one where it is generally accepted that predatory, terrifying males abound. Blurred Lines’ vixen diva further said that her need for adoration and approval also played a role.
A stunning Welsh railway route has been hailed as one of the “world’s greatest” thanks to its breath-taking views of the lush Welsh countryside.
The Heart of Wales line, a 121-mile rural railway stretching from Swansea to Shrewsbury through Carmarthenshire, Powys and Shropshire, has earned a spot in the Telegraph’s roundup of the “world’s greatest” train journeys.
The cherished railway offers travellers a scenic, leisurely way to soak up spectacular views and take a nostalgic journey back in time.
“It’s not the longest train journey ridden in full, just 120 miles over about four hours. But there’s a magic to it”, writes the publication.
Since its establishment, the journey has been loved by countless passengers. It was inaugurated in stages between 1861 and 1868, finally opening as a through route in 1868, reports Wales Online.
The line was constructed by five different railway companies over a span of 29 years and has seen numerous changes over time, including new timetables, modern trains and gradual modernisation.
The publication added: “Boarding in south Wales, popping out in Shropshire, disappearing into wild borderlands in between, it’s a bit Alice in Wonderland, like you’ve gone down a very green rabbit hole.
“The rural Heart of Wales Line connects the midst-of-nowhere communities of the Welsh Marches. Well, it does if you ask; many of its lyrical halts Pontarddulais, Llangadog, Llangammarch, Llangunllo are request stops, so you must stick out your arm.
“Along the way, it passes lovely Llandeilo, pointy Sugar Loaf hill, the handsome viaducts of Cynghordy and Knucklas. It’s accompanied by a Heart of Wales Line Trail, which you can use to walk between stations. Oddly, it’s busiest over winter: Welsh pensioners can ride for free from October to late March. So they do. My off-season journey was packed with over-65s out for the day, tables filled with nibbles and wine. Take your own. Raise a glass to Welsh wonderland.”
Dubbed as a “rural lifeline”, this route offers a stunning view of the Welsh landscapes and an opportunity to visit some incredible places along the way.
With railway heritage, bustling towns, independent coffee shops and restaurants, and a variety of accommodation options, you could easily transform your journey into a weekend getaway or a longer trip, depending on how many stops you wish to make in mid Wales and the borders.
The Heart of Wales Line describes each station along its route as a “gateway to a community.”
As stated on their website: “Unlike urban stations with a high footfall, we have few commercial cafes or newsagents on stations along the Heart of Wales Line, other than at the larger stations either end. Instead, stations are made available to local people – gardeners, rail enthusiasts, small rural enterprises and volunteers.”
For those not in a rush, it’s an ideal opportunity for a couple of adventures. The Heart of Wales journey has garnered much praise over the years, often leaving a lasting impression on travellers as it offers a unique glimpse into different ways of life depending on how one chooses to traverse through.
