Author: niyidaram

The months-long search for nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard has ended in tragedy, with authorities confirming that her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, acted alone in killing her. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Melodee was shot in the head during a premeditated killing. Her remains were discovered in Utah earlier this month, roughly two months after she vanished during what investigators described as a sudden and suspicious mother-daughter road trip. Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said the killing was “premeditated, ruthless, calculated and heartless,” noting that maternal filicide is rare and deeply disturbing. Investigators believe Melodee was murdered shortly after she and…

A US federal judge has upheld the Trump administration’s plan to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers. US District Judge Beryl Howell ruled in Washington DC on Tuesday that President Donald Trump acted within his legal authority when issuing the proclamation, rejecting a lawsuit filed by the US Chamber of Commerce. The business group had argued the fee violated federal immigration law and would force employers, including hospitals and small businesses, to cut jobs and services. Howell said the proclamation was issued under an “express statutory grant of authority to the President,” adding that…

The Trump administration has recalled dozens of US ambassadors from posts across the world, removing 48 envoys stationed in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America. The move follows an earlier wave of dismissals targeting ambassadors appointed under former President Joe Biden during the early months of President Trump’s second term. A senior State Department official described the action as routine. “This is a standard process in any administration,” the official said on Monday, December 22. “An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in…

The United States Department of Homeland Security has announced a temporary incentive designed to encourage undocumented migrants to voluntarily leave the country during the holiday season. In a statement released Monday, DHS said undocumented migrants who register to self-deport through the CBP Home app before the end of the year will receive a $3,000 stipend, along with a free, government-funded flight to their home country. Participants will also qualify for forgiveness of civil fines or penalties linked to overstaying or failing to depart the United States. According to DHS, approximately 1.9 million undocumented migrants have voluntarily left the US since…

Foreign nationals working as prison officers in the UK have been granted a temporary exemption from new visa salary rules after warnings that jails were facing a severe staffing shortfall. UK prisons have increasingly relied on overseas recruits, particularly from Nigeria and Ghana, to fill officer roles. However, changes to immigration rules introduced in July raised the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa to £41,700, well above the typical starting pay for prison officers, especially outside London. Unions and prison officials warned the change could force more than 2,500 overseas prison staff out of the system, risking what the…

Elon Musk has moved significantly closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire after a court reinstated his multibillion-dollar Tesla stock options. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires index, Musk’s net worth surged to $749 billion on Friday, making him the first person in history to surpass the $700 billion mark. He now sits roughly $500 billion ahead of the world’s second-richest individual, Google co-founder Larry Page. The jump follows a ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court restoring Musk’s 2018 Tesla compensation package, which includes stock options now valued at about $139 billion. The package had been voided in 2024 by a…

James Ransone, the actor best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka in The Wire, has died at the age of 46. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, Ransone died by suicide on Friday, December 19, in Los Angeles. His cause of death was listed as hanging, and his body has been released. Ransone was a married father of two. His wife, Jamie McPhee, shared a fundraiser supporting the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on her social media following his death. He rose to prominence for his role as Ziggy Sobotka, the troubled son of dockworker Frank Sobotka, in…

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Kaduna-based businessman Kailani Mohammed, demanding a public retraction and apology over alleged defamatory statements or face a ₦100 billion lawsuit. In a letter dated December 20, 2025, served through his lawyer, Dr Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, Dangote accused Mohammed of making libellous claims during an interview aired on TrustTV on December 17, 2025. The remarks were reportedly made in reaction to Dangote’s petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the former CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk…

An image that appeared to show President Donald Trump has been removed from the Department of Justice’s online “Epstein Library,” raising questions about transparency around the released files. The image, previously listed as file EFTA00000468, showed a desk with framed photographs and an open drawer containing additional pictures. One of the photos appeared to include Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and others. It was among the few items in the released documents that referenced Trump. As of Saturday afternoon, the DOJ website shows a gap where the image once appeared, jumping directly from file EFTA00000467 to EFTA00000469. No…

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was met with boos and insults as he arrived at a vigil for victims of last week’s deadly gun attack at Bondi Beach, reflecting public anger over what critics say is a failure to adequately address rising antisemitism. Albanese was jeered when his name was announced on stage, while New South Wales Premier Chris Minns received cheers and a standing ovation. Minns was praised for his visible support of the Jewish community, with speakers thanking him for attending funerals, synagogue services, and community events in the days following the attack. The vigil formed part of…