https://www.namibian.com.na/namibias-adolf-hitler-changes-birth-name/

Adolf Hitler Uunona, a Ompundja constituency councillor in the Oshana region, has removed the name ‘Hitler’ from his identity (ID) document.

He says he no longer wants to be known by his birth name.

Uunona has held his council seat since 2004, winning previous elections in 2015 and 2020 with a significant majority.

He has firmly distanced himself from Nazi ideology, saying his father named him without understanding the historical significance of the name.

In an interview with The Namibian on Wednesday, he said he prefers to go by the name ‘Adolf Uunona’ and says his name doesn’t reflect his character or ambitions.

“My name is not Adolf Hitler. I am Adolf Uunona. I have seen in the past people calling me Adolf Hitler and trying to associate me with someone I do not even know,” he said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/judge-dismisses-cases-james-comey-letitia-james-finding-prosecutor-was-rcna244775

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James after finding the prosecutor who brought the cases, former Trump attorney Lindsey Halligan, was not lawfully appointed.

U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie said that she agreed with Comey, who moved to dismiss the case on the grounds that Halligan's appointment was illegal

"Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment," Currie wrote in finding that Halligan lacked the authority to present a case to a grand jury.

"All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr. Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside," the judge wrote, describing the insurance lawyer as "a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience."

She issued a separate, similar ruling dismissing the James case.

Ministers look poised to end the right to a jury trial for a vast range of criminal offences in England and Wales, as they grapple with a vast backlog of cases that is delaying hearings by many months.

The newspaper reported that juries would remain involved in only the most serious trials — for offences such as rape, murder and manslaughter — or if there was public interest. All other cases would be heard by a judge sitting alone.

https://www.ft.com/content/a47a2cbd-fcbf-4363-a544-032964433965

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/us/politics/kash-patel-girlfriend-fbi-protection.html

When Alexis Wilkins, an aspiring country singer dating the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Atlanta in the spring, she arrived with a formidable protective posse — a SWAT team from the bureau’s local field office.

The two agents, members of a specialized unit trained to storm barricaded buildings and rescue hostages, had been sent there on Mr. Patel’s orders. But seeing that the event at the Georgia World Congress Center had been secured, and that Ms. Wilkins was in no apparent danger, they left before the event was over, according to six people with knowledge of the incident.

She noticed. So did her boyfriend.

Soon after, Mr. Patel ripped into the team’s commander, saying that his girlfriend had been left without taxpayer-funded defenders, and slamming what he saw as failure to communicate their movements up the chain of command during her time on the convention floor — where she sang and chatted with attendees, the people said.

He was concerned that Ms. Wilkins, a high-profile conservative, might be attacked by people who had threatened her online.

Mr. Patel’s heavy use of taxpayer-funded resources during his first nine months on the job has contributed to growing questions inside the administration about whether it exceeds the bounds of standard practice. This includes an intense use of security to protect himself and his girlfriend.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy95jvw57v2o
Ukraine has said a "common understanding" has been reached with the US on a peace deal aimed at ending the war with Russia.

The proposal is based on a 28-point plan presented to Kyiv by the US last week, which American and Ukrainian officials worked on during weekend talks in Geneva.

In a post on social media, US President Donald Trump said the original plan "has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides".

He added: "I have directed my Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians."

President Zelensky's chief of staff said he expects Driscoll to visit Kyiv this week.

The Kremlin previously said that Russia had not yet been consulted on the new draft deal – warning it may not accept amendments to last week's plan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that while Moscow had been in favour of the initial US framework, the situation would be "fundamentally different" if it had undergone substantial changes.

https://time.com/7336327/doge-disbanded-elon-musk/
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doge-doesnt-exist-with-eight-months-left-its-charter-2025-11-23/
WASHINGTON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, ending an initiative launched with fanfare as a symbol of Trump's pledge to slash the government's size but which critics say delivered few measurable savings.
"That doesn't exist," Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE's status.

It is no longer a "centralized entity," Kupor added, in the first public comments from the Trump administration on the end of DOGE.
The agency, set up in January, made dramatic forays across Washington in the early months of Trump's second term to rapidly shrink federal agencies, cut their budgets or redirect their work to Trump priorities. The OPM, the federal government's human resources office, has since taken over many of DOGE's functions, according to Kupor and documents reviewed by Reuters.
At least two prominent DOGE employees are now involved with the National Design Studio, a new body created through an executive order signed by Trump in August. That body is headed by Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, and Trump's order directed him to beautify government websites.
Gebbia was part of billionaire Elon Musk's DOGE team while DOGE employee Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls,” encouraged followers on his X account to apply to join.

https://www.axios.com/2025/11/21/zelensky-respond-trump-ukraine-peace-plan
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Ukrainian people on Friday and said President Trump's 28-point peace plan will force Ukraine to choose between "losing our dignity" or risking the loss of U.S. support.

The plan would force Ukraine to accept harsh concessions, including the loss of even more territory than Russia currently controls. Zelensky has told the Trump administration he's prepared to negotiate, but the White House is pushing him to sign within one week.

"This is one of the most difficult moments in our history," Zelensky said in his video address. "The pressure on Ukraine is now among the heaviest. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice: the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner." Zelensky warned that Ukraine faces an "extremely harsh winter" if he spurns Trump's offer. He said U.S. officials "expect an answer from us."

Given his claim that accepting the current deal would force Ukraine to accept "life without freedom, without dignity, without justice," it doesn't sound as though his answer can possibly be yes. However, he said he would work with the U.S. to find solutions: "I will provide arguments, I will persuade, propose alternatives." Zelensky made clear he will be leaning heavily on European support as he comes under intense pressure from the US.

Zelensky spoke by phone on Friday with the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K., all of whom are helping Ukraine shape its response to the U.S. plan and come up with alternative proposals. "We remember Europe was with us. We believe Europe will be with us," Zelensky said in his speech.

Zelensky also spoke with Vice President Vance on Friday. The White House has made clear it wants him to sign by Thanksgiving, two sources told Axios' Barak Ravid.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-scheduling-interviews-with-democratic-lawmakers-who-warned-military-about-2025-11-25/
WASHINGTON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic members of the U.S. Congress who in a video message told members of the military they can legally refuse to carry out unlawful orders, a Justice Department official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The Pentagon on Monday threatened to recall Senator Mark Kelly, a Navy veteran and one of the six lawmakers, to active duty potentially to face military charges over what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described on social media as "seditious" acts.

President Donald Trump, who critics have said has sought to harness the power of the government to try to stifle dissent, accused the six Democrats of sedition and said in a social media post that the crime is punishable by death.
The Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the FBI interviews with the lawmakers were to determine "if there's any wrongdoing, and then go from there." The FBI is headed by Trump appointee Kash Patel.
In a memo made public on Tuesday, Hegseth referred Kelly to the secretary of the Navy for "potentially unlawful comments" made in the video last week. Hegseth, in the memo, said he wanted a brief on the outcome of the review by December 10.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-rejects-ridiculous-us-plan-designate-cartel-de-los-soles-terrorist-2025-11-24/
WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday formally designated Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, layering additional terrorism-related sanctions on the group it has said includes President Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials.
Venezuela's government rejected what it called a "ridiculous" U.S. plan to designate the "non-existent" group.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month the U.S. would designate Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) for the network's alleged role in importing illegal drugs into the U.S.

Maduro faces escalating pressure from President Donald Trump's U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, raising concerns that the U.S. may seek to use the designation to justify military action. Sanctions experts, however, have said the statute for the designation does not authorize such a move.

The U.S. for months has waged a campaign of deadly strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and the Pacific coast of Latin America.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the designation would bring "a whole bunch of new options to the United States," in excerpts released on Thursday from an interview with One America News.

U.S. officials have accused Cartel de los Soles of working with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Washington also ties to Maduro and previously designated an FTO, to send illegal narcotics to the U.S.