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Ghosn for the crimes attributed to him of entering the enemy country and dealing with it economically,” a source told AFP. “A statute of limitations of ten years had passed since the alleged crime.”
On January 8, Ghosn had apologized to the Lebanese people for visiting Israel and signing a deal there to produce electric vehicles. He had traveled there on business with a French passport.
Ghosn also holds Lebanese and Brazilian nationalities.
The disgraced former Nissan chief was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on financial misconduct charges and spent 130 days in detention before he jumped bail and smuggled himself out of the country late last year.
Ghosn appeared at a press conference in Lebanon on January 8, denying all charges and claiming he was a victim of a plot by Nissan and Japanese officials.
Japan has called on Ghosn to return to the Asian country to be tried, while Lebanon has asked Japan to hand over his file on financial misconduct charges.
Still Counting…
Most Americans couldn’t wait for Election Day to be over. The heated rhetoric over the past few months created anxiety and uncertainty that hung like a thick cloud over the country.
But Tuesday didn’t provide any relief. In fact, for many, it created more nail-biting moments.
On Wednesday morning, the future of the United States still hung in the balance as President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden battled over battleground states.
The states in question, as of Wednesday morning, were Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Zigzagging across the country frenetically, both candidates pursued their voters over the past few months. President Trump blitzed around key states in the days before the elections.
More than 100 million Americans cast their votes in early voting, voting before November 3. In all, the number of Americans voting in this year’s election far surpassed 2016’s numbers.
On Tuesday, Trump’s supporters gave him Florida, with 29 electoral votes, despite former President Barack Obama coming out twice for Biden in the Sunshine State and a $100 million pledge from Michael Bloomberg to defeat the president. Biden, on the other hand, flipped Arizona with 11 electoral votes, a state that in the past had voted red.
Still, by night’s end, neither candidate had the magic 270 Electoral College votes needed to declare victory. Trump, chomping at the bit, said prematurely that he emerged victorious in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Biden called for patience and said that it “ain’t over until every vote is counted.”
In this year’s election, several states allow mailed-in votes to be accepted after Election Day, as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday. In Pennsylvania, ballots postmarked by November 3 could be accepted if they arrive up to three days after the election. That means that Pennsylvania may not be called for a few days.
Democrats typically outperform Republicans in mail-in voting; Republicans generally turn out in person on Election Day.
The outcome of the presidential elections, and the fact that it came so close, shows that America is almost evenly divided. Because there was no one candidate that swept the nation, perhaps we are more united that we first thought.
Two issues that played heavily in this year’s election were the coronavirus pandemic and President Trump itself. Democrats consistently urged voters to think about “masks” and “science,” noting the high numbers of fatalities over the past few months. Additionally, Trump himself is a polarizing figure – many came out to vote for him, while many others specifically voted against the president and pulled the lever for Biden – but not because they love Joe.
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Sanctions Imposed
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on eight entities linked to the sale and purchase of Iranian petrochemical products.
The sanctioned companies – which are based in Iran, China and Singapore – are accused of facilitating transactions through Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd., which was sanctioned by the Treasury Department earlier this year.
“The Iranian regime benefits from a global network of entities facilitating the Iranian petrochemical sector,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The United States remains committed to targeting any revenue source the Iranian regime uses to fund terrorist groups and oppress the Iranian people.”
According to the Treasury Department, Triliance has provided funding and support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force, which is designated by the U.S. as a terror group. Petrochemical sales are a major source of revenue for Iran. The U.S. says Tehran uses funds from the sector to finance a “destabilizing agenda” in the Middle East and Venezuela.
The latest sanctions came three days after similar penalties were slapped on Iran’s oil sector and with the White House appearing determined to intensify its “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic. Looking toward Election Day, President Trump said that if he wins a second term, these sanctions will force Tehran to come to the negotiating table.
Additionally, on Thursday, U.S. officials said that they will using the proceeds from the sale of fuel confiscated from Iranian tankers to benefit victims of terrorism. In August, the U.S. military seized 1.1 million barrels of fuel from four Iranian tankers bound for Venezuela.
The money “will now go to a far better use than either regime, Iran or Venezuela, could have envisioned
because it will provide relief for victims of terrorism rather than the perpetrators of such acts,” said Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s special representative for Iran and Venezuela.
“So that is both poetic and tangible justice,” he noted.
The United States estimates that it will be able to recoup some $40 million from the sale, according to Michael Sherwin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Oregon Decriminalizes Drugs
Tuesday’s elections brought more than just senators and representatives into office. Certain ballot measures were passed when voters went to the ballot box to cast their votes.
Oregon this week became the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including heroin, cocaine, and LSD. The measure, backed by criminal justice reform groups, is aimed at diverting people from jails and prisons by treating possession as a citation and expanding access to treatment and recovery.
Additionally, voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota passed state ballot measures to legalize recreational cannabis use. The District of Columbia and 11 other states already legalize adult use of cannabis, which remains illegal at the federal level in the U.S.
The Oregon drug initiative will allow people arrested with small amounts of hard drugs to avoid going to trial, and possible jail time, by paying a $100 fine and attending an addiction recovery program. The treatment centers will be funded by revenues from legalized marijuana, which was approved in Oregon several years ago.
“Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, the executive director of the Drug Policy
Alliance, which backed the measure.
Oregon voters also approved a measure making it the first state to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms.
Dead Candidate Wins
David Andahl’s name was on the ballot this week in North Dakota to represent the 8th district in the state’s House of Representatives. On Tuesday, Andahl won the election – although he isn’t alive to enjoy the victory.
A few weeks before elections, Andahl passed away from complications from coronavirus. He was 55. He had defeated Rep. Jeff Delzer, the longtime incumbent, in the June primary.
After Andahl passed away on October 5, state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem affirmed that his name would still remain on the ballot, and if he won, the state Republican Party would appoint a replacement.
“In the event the deceased candidate receives the majority of the votes, the candidate is elected. However, if the prevailing candidate has died, the candidate is no longer qualified, and a vacancy would exist,” Stenehjem wrote, citing state law on filling a legislative vacancy.
Voters have the option to petition for a special election after the legislative session if they are unhappy with the appointment.
“He had a lot of feelings for his county…and wanting to make things better, and his heart was in farming. He wanted things better for farmers and the coal industry,” Andahl’s mother related.
Holocaust Denier Fired – Again
William Latson, principal at Spanish River Community High School in Boca Raton, has been fired for the second time.
The principal wrote in a 2018 email to a parent that he could not confirm that the Holocaust was a “factual, historical event.” He also said that he could not “force” Holocaust lessons on children because some parents did not believe that it happened.
Since that email came to light in 2019, the school board voted to fire Latson. His termination was not specifically because of the email but because he “failed to respond to communication from his supervisors and failed to assist the district in addressing the serious disruption caused by the aforementioned email and news coverage,” the Miami Herald said.
But in August, an administrative law judge ruled that while Latson did commit “several acts of poor judgment,” his conduct did not warrant suspension or termination.
It was decided in October to then reinstate Latson. But then, on Monday, amid public outcry, the school board decided to fire Latson again.
In a YouTube video uploaded last week, Latson apologized for his inflammatory email.
“When I wrote to a parent in 2018 that as an employee of Palm Beach County Public Schools I could not state that the Holocaust was a historical fact, I was wrong,” he said in the video. “I apologize to the Palm Beach County community, the School Board, the school administration, the parents, students, teachers of Palm Beach County, the Jewish community and everyone offended or hurt by my mistake.
“I am not a Holocaust denier,” he said. “I have never been a Holocaust denier.”
Walmart Lays Off Robots
Walmart prefers humans over robots.
The retail giant said on Monday that it will be ending its relationship with Bossa Nova Robotics, which builds roving robots equipped with cameras for identifying out-of-stock or misplaced items in stores.
Walmart had deployed the robots
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