- Associated Press
2 political outliers claim seats in European Parliament by leveraging social media's viral power
One is a wildly popular, seemingly happy-go-lucky YouTuber from Cyprus. The other is a brash, fringe figure of Spain's far right who rails against unauthorized immigrants. YouTuber and TikToker Fidias Panayiotou is a 24-year-old with no political experience and no formal higher education who rode the wave of his online popularity — and public anger at the country's political elites — all the way to one of six seats allotted to Cyprus in the European Parliament.
- Associated Press
3 men set for pleas, sentencings in prison killing of Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger
Three men accused in the 2018 prison killing of notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger are due in court Monday for a plea hearing and sentencing. The combined hearing for Fotios “Freddy” Geas, Paul J. DeCologero and Sean McKinnon is to be held in federal court in northern West Virginia. Plea deals for the three were disclosed May 13, nearly six years after the 89-year-old Bulger was beaten to death in his cell hours after being transferred to a troubled West Virginia prison.
- Associated Press
Watchdog: Nuclear-armed nations are deepening reliance on nuclear weapons
The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday. “We have not seen nuclear weapons playing such a prominent role in international relations since the Cold War,” said Wilfred Wan, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's weapons of mass destruction program. Earlier this month, Russia and its ally Belarus launched a second stage of drills intended to train their troops in tactical nuclear weapons, part of the Kremlin’s efforts to discourage the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.
