Tito Jackson, founding member of the Jackson 5, dies at 70
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Tito Jackson, founding member of the popular Black American Motown group The Jackson 5 with his brothers, died on Sunday at the age of 70, his family said.
The Jackson 5 was a band of teenage and pre-teen siblings Michael Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson and Tito Jackson. They were managed by their father, Joe Jackson, and produced several hits including “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.”
Tito Jackson’s sons, TJ, Taj and Taryll, confirmed on Monday that their father had died. No cause of death was provided.
Murdoch succession drama plays out in closed court in Reno
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — A battle over control of Rupert Murdoch’s global television and publishing empire begins Monday in a Reno, Nevada courtroom, where a judge will consider the contentious matter of succession.
Murdoch, 93, is attempting to change the terms of the family’s trust — which holds significant stakes in Fox News parent Fox and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. The billionaire is looking to ensure that, upon his death, the media companies remain under control of his eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, according to the New York Times, which obtained a sealed court document detailing the succession drama.
A hearing to determine whether Murdoch is acting in good faith will take place in probate court, where the proceedings are closed to the public.
Beaches close as needles wash ashore
(NYT) — Authorities closed beaches in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware to swimmers Sunday after medical waste — including used hypodermic needles and used feminine hygiene products — washed up in popular vacation spots.
The closures stretched along nearly 50 miles of coast from Fenwick Island in Delaware to Chincoteague Island in Virginia. The beaches include Assateague Island, a barrier island that stretches 37 miles along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia, as well as Ocean City, Maryland, and Dewey Beach in Delaware.
“We currently have no idea where it came from and will not be speculating about a source,” the National Park Service office at Assateague Island National Seashore said of the medical waste in a statement on Facebook.
Along with used needles, authorities said they also discovered used tampon applicators, colored needle caps, and cigarillo cigar tips.
An Assateague park manager told The Washington Post that crews had discovered the garbage early Sunday while patrolling after high tide. They had found nearly 50 needles there, and enough waste material to fill a 5-gallon bucket. The official added that no injuries or incidents had been reported, and swimmers had not encountered the objects.
J&J gets $260 million talc verdict overturned in Oregon; new trial ordered
(Reuters) — A state judge in Oregon has overturned a jury’s $260 million verdict against Johnson &Johnson in a lawsuit brought by a woman who said she got mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, from inhaling the company’s talc powder, the company said on Monday.
Judge Katharine von ter Stegge in Portland granted J&J’s motion to throw out the verdict and hold a new trial in the case at a hearing late on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the company. Von ter Stegge is expected to issue a written opinion explaining her order in the coming days.
Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said the original verdict was “the direct result of numerous egregious errors committed by the plaintiff’s lawyers” and had “no basis in the law or science.”
Trey Branham, a lawyer for plaintiff Kyung Lee, said Lee would appeal the decision.
UN experts censure Western support for Israel since Gaza war
GENEVA (Reuters) — U.N. human rights experts criticised mostly Western states on Monday for continuing to support Israel despite what they described as a genocide in Gaza which might turn Israel into a “pariah” nation.
The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of more than 11 months of conflict has prompted questions about Western states’ long-standing political and military support for Israel, including from the United States and Britain which provide arms.
“Shockingly, in the face of the abyss reached in the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories)…most member states remained inactive at best, or actively aiding and assisting Israel’s criminal conduct,” Francesca Albanese, U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in the OPT, told a press conference in Geneva, repeating allegations of genocide.
Musk writes, then deletes, a post musing about threats to Biden, Harris
(NYT) — Hours after what the FBI called a second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Elon Musk wrote on his social platform — and then deleted — a post suggesting it was odd that nobody had tried to kill President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.
Musk said the post on X had been intended as a joke.
In response to a user who asked, “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?” Musk, who has endorsed the former president and comments frequently on the U.S. presidential campaign, wrote: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” His post, which was captured by X users, included a thinking-face emoji.
Musk took down the post after it immediately drew outrage.
Sweden should lead deepening of NATO presence in Finland; Nordic neighbors agree
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) — The Finnish government is happy for Sweden to lead the establishment of NATO land forces in Finland to boost defenses against neighboring Russia, the two Nordic countries said on Monday.
Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 sparked a historic policy U-turn in previously militarily non-aligned Finland and Sweden, which joined NATO in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
NATO has boosted its presence in the eastern part of the alliance by building multinational battlegroups from the Baltics to the Black Sea, and has said it will develop a presence in Finland, which shares a 1,340 km (830 mile) border with Russia.
Typhoon lashes Shanghai in strongest storm to hit since 1949
SHANGHAI (Reuters) — The normally-bustling financial hub of Shanghai was brought to a standstill on Monday as residents sheltered at home to wait out the worst of Typhoon Bebinca.
Packing top wind speeds of 151 kph (94 mph) near its eye, Bebinca landed in the city of nearly 25 million around 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT), state media reported, the strongest storm to strike Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.
Rain lashed the city and strong winds felled more than 10,000 trees across Shanghai.
Russia ramps up air assault on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (NYT) — Ukrainian authorities on Monday said they had repelled a “massive” Russian attack on Kyiv in the early morning hours. They said it was the eighth attack on the Ukrainian capital in just over two weeks, in what appears to be an escalation by Russia of its long-running air campaign against the city.
Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said Ukrainian forces had shot down nearly two dozen Russian drones around Kyiv, and the Ukrainian air force said it had intercepted 53 of 56 Russian drones overnight.
Popko said that in contrast to recent attacks, “this one was massive,” and that an air-raid alert was announced about 2 a.m. in the capital and remained in effect for about 3 1/2 hours.
The Ukrainian military’s claims could not be independently verified, and there was no comment from Russian authorities.