Gaetz withdraws as AG nominee

Matt Gaetz, the former Florida representative and Trump nominee for Attorney General, announced Thursday that he is withdrawing as Trump’s pick for the top prosecutor, citing what he described as the “distraction” his nomination had caused due to a swirl of allegations about paying underage women for sex.  “While the momentum was strong, it is…

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US citizen among 4 dead in Laos after suspected alcohol poisoning

An American, two Danes and one Australian tourist died after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos following reports that several people had been sickened in a town popular with backpackers. The only victim’s identity publicly released so far is 19-year-old Bianca Jones of Australia. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament on Thursday that Jones had…

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Percival Everett, Jason De León selected as winners of the 2024 National Book Awards

Percival Everett’s “James,” a daring reworking of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” has won the National Book Award for fiction. Jason De León’s “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling” won for nonfiction, where finalists included Salman Rushdie’s memoir about his brutal stabbing in 2022, “Knife.” The prize for young…

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