January 30 top stories
It is January 30. Here are today’s top stories.
Leaker of Trump’s tax returns gets maximum sentence
Multiple sources reported that the man who stole and disclosed tax return information of a high-ranking government official, former President Trump and thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people without authorization has been sentenced to five years in prison.
In October, Charles Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosures of income tax returns. According to his plea agreement, he stole the tax data of the former President Trump and thousands of wealthy Americans, while working for a consulting firm with contracts with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Littlejohn leaked the information to two news outlets between 2018 and 2020. He then deleted the documents from his IRS-assigned laptop before returning it and covered the rest of his digital tracks by deleting places where he initially stored the information.
Judge Ana Reyes highlighted the gravity of the crime, saying multiple times that it amounted to an attack against the US and its legal foundation. His actions were also a threat to our democracy.
Littlejohn’s lawyer, Lisa Manning, wrote in a sentencing memo, “He committed this offense out of a deep, moral belief that the American people had a right to know the information and sharing it was the only way to affect change.”
Miss Japan sparks identity debate
When Carolina Shiino got crowned Miss Japan, she got teary-eyed and said in impeccable Japanese, “There have been racial barriers, and it has been challenging to be accepted as Japanese.”
The 26-year-old model, who was born in Ukraine, moved to Japan at the age of five and was raised in Nagoya.
She was the first woman born outside of Japan to non-Japanese parents to win the title, but her victory has re-ignited a debate on what it means to be Japanese.
Her win came nearly 10 years after Ariana Miyamoto became the first bi-racial woman to be crowned Miss Japan in 2015.
Back then, with a Japanese mother and African American father, Miyamoto’s victory raised questions about whether a person of mixed race should be eligible to win the competition.
Now, the fact that Shiino has no Japanese percentage has upset some on social media. Some said her win was sending the wrong message to others in the country and that wrong message is when a European-looking person is called the most beautiful Japanese.
Russian skater Valieva DQ’d
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) banned Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years and said her 2022 Olympic results were disqualified, ending a dispute that has dragged on for nearly two years. They ruled that Valieva’s four-year suspension begins on the date she took that test, December 25 2021 meaning Valieva will next be eligible for the 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy.
As a refresher, Valieva was only 15 when she led Russia to the gold medal in the Olympic team event in Beijing on February 7, 2022. But the next day, the medal ceremony for the event was canceled and the results were thrown into disarray after Valieva was found to have tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine taken six weeks earlier at the Russian national championships. The Olympic officials were not notified by a laboratory in Sweden until hours after she competed in the team event.
The CAS ruling prompted the International Skating Union (ISU) to award the United States the gold medal, followed by Japan with the silver medal and fourth-place finisher Canada moving up to win the bronze medal.
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Soup thrown at Mona Lisa painting
French activists from Riposte Alimentaire or “Food Response”, the food-security group, splattered the “Mona Lisa” painting with soup at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The video shows two women wearing t-shirts that read “Riposte Alimentaire” opening thermoses and splashing pumpkin soup on the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting. They then stood in front of the painting, saying: “What is more important? Art or the right to healthy sustainable food? Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work.”
[Shows video - CREDIT to CLPRESS / Agence de presse ]
The Louvre said the work was behind protective glass and was not damaged.
Alex has a news story to share about Alex Murdaugh. Here it is.
Alex Murdaugh denied new murder trial
Thanks, Callie. I’ll explain. Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty last year of murdering his wife and younger son in South Carolina, will not get a new murder trial.
His attorneys accused a court clerk of jury tampering. The clerk is accused of telling jurors to watch Murdaugh closely, making it seem like he was already guilty. The clerk was also writing a book about the trial and told a colleague that a guilty verdict would mean more books sold.
Murdaugh’s attorneys wanted a new trial, but a South Carolina judge denied it. The judge said although the clerk may have made foolish comments and may have wanted to become famous, there is no evidence that the comments influenced the jurors’ decision to find Murdaugh guilty.
Murdaugh is currently serving two life sentences and a separate, 27-year sentence for financial crimes.
Thanks for that story. That is all the news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
Trump tax leaker:
Miss Japan:
Kamila Valieva:
https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/39415639/kamila-valieva-dqed-russia-lose-22-skating-gold-us
Mona Lisa:
Alex Murdaugh: