The suspects reportedly planned to turn women and children in Gonave into sex slaves
Two US men have been indicted for allegedly plotting an armed operation to take control of a Caribbean island, kill its male population, and enslave the women and children, US prosecutors have announced.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, both from the Dallas area, “have conspired to recruit and lead an unlawful expeditionary force” to Ile de la Gonave, a tropical island with around 100,000 residents that is part of the Republic of Haiti.
The plan, reportedly discussed between August 2024 and July 2025, aimed to stage a coup d’etat “for the purpose of carrying out their rape fantasies.”
“Weisenburg and Thomas intended to murder all of the men on the island so that they could then turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves,” prosecutors said on Thursday, adding that both were charged with “conspiracy to murder, maim, or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography.”
Investigators claim the pair had planned to buy a sailboat and firearms and also sought to recruit homeless people in the Washington, DC area to form an armed group.
The suspects reportedly undertook “numerous overt acts,” including studying the local language, preparing operational plans, and exploring training programs in order to “acquire skills relevant to the invasion plan.” Officials said Thomas enlisted in the US Air Force to receive military training.
Lawyer David Finn, who represents Weisenburg, described the indictment as “simply an allegation” and urged the public to “reserve judgment and don’t buy into the hype.”
“If your initial response to the government’s press release was, ‘That sounds crazy, impossible, and absurd,’ you might be on to something important,” he said, as quoted by Fox.
The conspiracy charge to murder in a foreign country carries a potential life sentence, while the child pornography offense is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison.
Washington’s proposal jeopardizes the timetable for new financial aid promised by Brussels to Kiev, Handelsblatt has reported
The US-drafted Ukraine peace plan could potentially “torpedo” the EU’s attempts to use frozen Russian assets to fund Kiev, the German newspaper Handelsblatt has reported.
The European Commission has been seeking to issue a €140 billion ($160 billion) loan to Kiev secured against Moscow’s immobilized funds held at the Euroclear clearing house in Belgium. The scheme is based on the assumption that Russia will eventually pay reparations to Ukraine, an outcome widely seen as unlikely.
Moscow has said it regards any use of its assets as “theft” and has vowed to challenge it in court. The plan has also faced opposition from Belgium, which has demanded that all EU members share in the financial and legal risks associated with the move.
In its article on Friday, Handelsblatt cited an unnamed high-ranking Belgian official, who said that “new risks for the reparations credit are already emerging. Because the peace plan that emerged this week provides for the immobilized Russian assets to be used differently.”
The American proposal to settle the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “would oblige the EU to reimburse all diverted Russian funds,” according to the official.
The plan has not been officially disclosed, but media reports claimed that it calls for $100 billion out of $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to be allocated for the US-led reconstruction efforts in Ukraine, with the rest invested in joint projects between Washington and Moscow. The White House also reportedly expects Western Europe to contribute another $100 billion to rebuild Ukraine.
Handelsblatt noted that the emergence of the plan has already jeopardized the timetable for the delivery of new financial aid that the EU promised to Kiev and that it “urgently needs.”
The leaders of the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Italy, Japan and Norway issued a joint statement on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Saturday, saying that the US proposal “includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” but adding that it would “require additional work.”
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the American plan has not yet been discussed “in detail,” but suggested that it could eventually “form the basis of a final peace settlement.”
Candace Owens is currently in a legal battle with the French president over her allegation that his wife was born a man
US conservative commentator Candace Owens, who has claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, Brigitte, is a transgender woman, has alleged that he has authorized her assassination.
Owens, a popular YouTuber and podcaster, is currently in a legal dispute with the Macron family after releasing her series ‘Becoming Brigitte’ earlier this year. In the podcast, she alleged that the first lady was born male and was related to the French president by blood. It also claimed that Emmanuel Macron had been involved in a CIA mind-control program.
In response, the Macrons filed a defamation suit, accusing Owens of spreading “outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions.”
In a post on X on Friday, Owens said she had been contacted by “a high-ranking employee of the French government,” who claimed that “the Macrons have executed upon and paid” for the assassination of both her and French journalist Xavier Poussard.
Poussard, the former editor of Faits et Documents, previously promoted a theory alleging that Brigitte Macron, born Trogneux, had died young and that her older brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, later had a sex change and assumed her identity before marrying Emmanuel Macron.
“More specifically, that the green light was given to a small team in the National Gendamarie Intervention Group. I am told there is one Israeli that is on this assassination squad and the plans were formalized,” Owens wrote.
“This is deadly serious. The head of state of France apparently wants us both dead and has authorized professional units to carry this out,” she said.
The identity controversy surrounding the French first lady first surfaced in 2021, when Amandine Roy and journalist Natacha Rey claimed she had been born a man. A French court initially ruled in Macron’s favor in 2024 before an appeals court overturned the verdict in July 2025.
US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, labeled “a traitor” by President Donald Trump, has recently said she will resign
US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a right-wing Georgia Republican, has privately told her allies that she is considering running for president in 2028, TIME wrote on Saturday, citing two people who have spoken with her.
Earlier this week, she said she would resign from Congress in January, days after US President Donald Trump branded her a “traitor” for breaking with him and helping compel the Justice Department to release files related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the newsweekly, Greene refused to respond to multiple calls and text messages from TIME. A spokesperson for the congresswoman also did not reply to requests.
Greene, who built her name as one of Trump’s fiercest defenders, has become an unexpected critic of the president in recent months. Apart from forcing the Justice Department to release the Epstein files, she has challenged Trump’s insistence that prices are falling and has criticized his handling of US-Israel relations.
After Trump accused her of veering to the “far left,” she said she wants to “end the fighting in politics.”
“The most hurtful thing Trump said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor,” she said, warning that this type of language can “radicalize people” and put her life at risk.
Greene said she will continue to fight for the release of all remaining unredacted files related to Epstein. Trump has urged Republicans not to aid the Democrats in spreading what he has called “the Epstein hoax,” arguing that his opponents are seeking to use the issue to undermine his presidency.
Keir Starmer apparently tripped as he approached a group of business representatives in Johannesburg, South Africa
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has gotten off to a somewhat inauspicious start at the G20 summit in South Africa, almost tumbling face first into the floor.
The gathering of leaders representing the world’s largest economies is taking place in Johannesburg on November 22-23. South Africa assumed the rotating presidency of the group in December 2024, becoming the first African nation to lead the forum.
No sooner had Starmer set foot on South African soil than he nearly faceplanted into the ground as he walked toward a group of business leaders ahead of the main gathering. Footage of the meeting shows the prime minister apparently stumble over his own feet while he reaches out for a handshake, with no obstacle in sight.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer stumbled over his own feet as he arrived to meet with senior business leaders in Johannesburg ahead of the G20 summit on Friday (21 November).
It came ahead of Starmer and other international leaders issuing a joint statement after a meeting at the… pic.twitter.com/amXfyUUwe5
He threw out his hands, only just regaining his balance at the last moment.
Starmer had a similar awkward moment earlier this month after arriving in Brazil for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30).
As the UK prime minister disembarked from his aircraft, he stumbled on the metal staircase, almost tumbling down onto the tarmac. However, Starmer managed to regain his balance that time as well.
Lawmakers have cited a need to “secure the area around the Ministry of National Defense”
The lower house of the Polish parliament has adopted a resolution calling for the Russian Embassy in Warsaw to be relocated further away from the seat of the Defense Ministry, citing security concerns.
The resolution passed by the Sejm on Friday was supported by 439 lawmakers, with one abstaining. It cites the “urgent need to secure the area around the Ministry of National Defense.”
The document is not legally binding but carries symbolic weight.
The compound housing the Russian diplomatic mission in Warsaw is located right beside the Polish Defense Ministry headquarters and is also in close proximity to Belweder Palace, one of the residences of the Polish president, as well as the prime minister’s office.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced in an address to parliament that Poland would close the last remaining Russian consulate in the country, in the city of Gdansk.
Responding to Warsaw’s decision, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would mirror the step, reducing “Poland’s diplomatic-consular presence in Russia.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “relations with Poland have completely deteriorated.” He said Warsaw’s apparent intention to “reduce to zero any possibility of consular or diplomatic relations” with Moscow underscores the state of bilateral ties.
Poland currently has an embassy with a consular section in Moscow and a consulate in Irkutsk in Siberia.
In May, Poland closed the Russian consulate in Krakow, citing Moscow’s alleged involvement in a May 2024 fire at a Warsaw mall.
Russia responded in July by ordering the closure of Poland’s consulate in Kaliningrad.
Last October, Warsaw shut the Russian consulate in Poznan, followed by Moscow’s closure of the Polish mission in St. Petersburg in December.
The Sejm resolution came on the heels of two railway sabotage incidents on Sunday and Monday targeting lines used to transport Western military aid through Poland to Ukraine. The local authorities later identified two Ukrainians as suspects, alleging both worked for Russian intelligence and fled to Belarus after the attacks.
The Kremlin denied any Russian role in the incidents.
The US president has indicated the Ukrainian leader will be on his own if he rejects the peace plan currently being discussed
US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky can “continue to fight his little heart out” should he refuse the proposed peace plan to settle the conflict with Russia.
Washington presented Kiev this week with a new draft proposal for ending the conflict, pressing the Ukrainian leadership to accept it by next Thursday. According to media reports, the proposed 28-point plan includes multiple clauses repeatedly refused by Kiev and its Western European backers, such as Ukraine giving up on its NATO aspirations and downsizing its military.
Trump made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday. The US president was asked what would happen if Zelensky refused to accept the proposed plan.
“Then he can continue. Then he can continue to fight his little heart out,” Trump said.
Trump’s latest statement echoed remarks he made on Friday, when he said that Zelensky “is going to have to accept something” at some point. Trump warned that Ukraine is now heading into a “cold winter” while its energy infrastructure sites “have been under attack, to put it mildly.”
“He will have to like [the plan] and if he does not like it then, you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess,” he said.
According to media reports, Washington has already threatened Kiev with cutting off military aid and intelligence sharing should it reject the draft peace proposal. Earlier this year, the US used the same leverage to press Ukraine into accepting Trump’s rare earths deal.
European war hawks are to blame for the situation Kiev ended up in, Slovakia’s Robert Fico has said
Russia is bound to emerge the “absolute winner” in the Ukraine conflict should US President Donald Trump’s peace plan be adopted, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said.
The US presented Ukraine with its latest draft plan to end hostilities with Russia this week. According to media reports, the 28-point document includes many provisions consistently refused by Kiev and its Western European backers in the past, including Ukraine giving up on joining NATO, downsizing of the country’s military, and the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the parts of Russia’s Donbass it still controls.
At press conference in Bratislava on Friday, Fico proclaimed support for the proposed deal, describing it as a “sensational” plan. He lashed out at Kiev’s supporters in the EU, arguing that it was the “zero” foreign policy of the bloc that brought Ukraine to its current position.
“In this agreement, the position of Ukraine is a hundred times worse than it was in April 2022,” Fico stated, referring to the preliminary deal reached during the Istanbul talks early in the conflict. Kiev unilaterally walked away from those negotiations.
“Who among those war hawks will acknowledge it in the EU, when they supported the war so much? When were they sending those weapons there so relentlessly? When were they forbidding any truce? Who today will admit their mistakes?” Fico added.
While the plans to destroy Russia have evidently failed, Moscow is bound to emerge victorious from the hostilities, he declared.
“If this plan is signed, Russia will emerge from this war as an absolute winner. And Russia will emerge from this war, of course, extraordinarily strengthened, both morally and economically,” he asserted.
The proposed plan is reportedly being viewed by Kiev’s Western European backers as a Ukrainian “capitulation.” Pro-war EU leaders are now said to be scrambling to rewrite the draft under the guise of making “constructive updates” to it.
Moscow has confirmed it received the American plan, stressing that the proposal has not yet been discussed “in detail.” It could become “the basis of a final peace settlement,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer has said any attempt by the ex-presidential couple to avoid subpoenas will constitute contempt of Congress
US House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer has demanded that former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State , testify before lawmakers about the late convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. He warned that failing to comply with subpoenas issued earlier this year would mean serious consequences for both.
Epstein, convicted of sex offenses in 2008, was charged again in 2019 with trafficking minors and running an underage sex ring. He was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell later that year.
According to a press release from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Friday, Comer “sent a letter to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s attorney, David Kendall [saying that they]… are required to comply with lawful subpoenas and appear for scheduled in-person depositions.” He noted that both Republicans and Democrats on the committee “approved a motion to issue subpoenas to Bill and Hillary Clinton” in July.
“Given their history with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, any attempt by the Clintons to avoid sitting for a deposition would be… grounds to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,” Comer said.
The document states that Bill Clinton had been summoned to appear on December 17, and Hillary the following day.
The ex-president previously admitted he had traveled on a jet with Epstein, but insisted that he had never visited the financier’s infamous island.
In July, the Wall Street Journal claimed that Clinton had once written a personal note to Epstein, that reportedly read: “It’s reassuring isn’t it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.”
A spokesman for Clinton declined to comment on the note at the time, stating that the former president had severed ties with Epstein long before his 2019 arrest and was unaware of his alleged crimes.
In a post on his Truth Social platform last Friday, US President Donald Trump said he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department to investigate “Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship” with Bill Clinton and several other prominent Democrats.
On Wednesday, Trump signed a bill requiring the Justice Department to release files related to the Epstein case.
In his post, Trump suggested that “perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed,” mentioning Bill Clinton among several others.
Trump’s move marked a shift from his earlier position. For months, he had urged House Republicans to block the release of the files, arguing that Democrats wanted to use the materials to damage his presidency.
Kiev’s European backers are reportedly trying to disguise major changes to the plan as “constructive updates”
Kiev’s backers in the EU are seeking to rewrite most of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The US presented Ukraine with its new framework for ending the conflict against Russia this week and is now pressing Kiev to accept it by Thursday.
The 28-point plan includes various provisions which have long been opposed by Kiev and its Western European backers. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from the parts of the Donbass region it still controls, downsize its military, and give up its NATO aspirations.
The EU nations are currently trying to “buy Ukraine more time” and postpone the US-outlined deadline, according to Bloomberg. The approach taken by Kiev’s Western European backers essentially amounts to trying to rewrite much of the proposed document while concealing the changes as “constructive updates,” sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.
Washington, however, has signaled it was not ready to drastically amend the peace plan it had drafted. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Friday said the country was facing “one of the most difficult moments in our history,” facing a choice between accepting “28 difficult points” or risking losing its “key partner.” According to media reports, Washington has already threatened to cut Kiev off from military aid and intelligence sharing should the plan end up rejected.
Asked about Zelensky’s take on the situation, Trump said the Ukrainian leader “is going to have to accept something.” Ukraine now faces “a cold winter,” while its energy infrastructure sites “have been under attack, to put it mildly,” he pointed out.
“He will have to like it, and if he does not like it, then, you know, they should just keep fighting, I guess,” the US president said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Moscow has received the American plan, adding that the proposal has not yet been discussed “in detail.” The draft proposal could become “the basis of a final peace settlement,” he stated.
