Aug 13 (Reuters) - The Los Angeles County sheriff's department agreed to speed up licensing for people who want to carry concealed ‌weapons, to settle a U.S. government lawsuit accusing it of systematically ‌and unconstitutionally denying Californians' Second Amendment rights.
A settlement of the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit was filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, and requires a judge's approval. The sheriff did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
While Republican President Donald Trump's administration is regularly at odds with officials in Democratic-led California, ‌its lawsuit last September ⁠focused more on bureaucracy issues than policy differences.
Los Angeles officials were accused of violating citizens' right to bear arms ⁠by typically waiting nine months to review license applications, and sometimes more than two years to interview applicants.
According to the complaint, the sheriff received 3,982 applications for new concealed carry licenses between January 2024 and March 2025 but approved ‌just two.

#lawsuit #carry #concealed

Demi Moore stunned in a Balenciaga micro minidress featuring a scale-like texture that rode up her thighs. The "Ghost" star opted for the dress for her daughter Tallulah Willis' wedding after-party. The X (formerly Twitter) page, House of Vanity, shared a photo of her look on August 11.
Demi Moore in Balenciaga at daughter Tallulah Willis' wedding after-party. ?

The mother of the bride wore a pale mint strapless mini dress with a fitted bodice, sculptural bubble hem and textured, scale-like fabric — a modern nod to Cristóbal Balenciaga's iconic cocoon… https://t.co/pxV73nAJfL pic.twitter.com/YiL2gmvQkb
— HouseOfVanity (HouseOfVanity88) August 11, 2026
Demi Moore wore a strapless mint green micro minidress from Balenciaga for her daughter's wedding after-party. Designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli, the dress featured a scale-like woven texture and a straight-across, rimmed neckline on the boned bustier bodice. It cinched at the waist before flowing down into a tulip-shaped bubble miniskirt.
Deep box pleating around the waist gave the skirt its rounded, architectural volume, creating an hourglass silhouette. The strapless neckline highlighted her bare shoulders while the short skirt left her long legs on full display. The dress also had concealed pockets on both sides.

#moore #scale

KYIV, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Olha Stefanishyna, dismissed as Ukraine's ambassador to the ‌U.S. earlier this week, is suspected ‌of illegal enrichment and failing to declare ****** ets, authorities said on Thursday, the latest high-ranking official targeted in an anti-graft probe.
Prosecutors said Stefanishyna, who served as a deputy prime ‌minister before being ⁠appointed ambassador, concealed two apartments and other ****** ets worth about $310,000 in ⁠total that could not have been acquired on her official salary alone.
Authorities did not identify Stefanishyna by name, in line with ‌Ukrainian law, but referred to the position she held when the alleged offences took place, from early 2024 to mid-2025.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, she denied ‌wrongdoing and said she has never had anything to hide.
Her dismissal comes amid a recent shake-up ‌of senior officials, including the prime minister and defence minister, that has unsettled Ukraine's political establishment.

#stefanishyna #prime #kyiv

Amy Winehouse's father must pay just under £1m to two of his daughter's friends after a failed High Court claim over the auctioning of the late singer's items.
Mitch Winehouse also racked up at least £950,000 in his own legal costs in the failed attempt against Naomi Parry and Catriona Gourlay.
He claimed the women had profited from selling dozens of his daughter's items at auctions in the US in 2021 and 2023, accusing them of having "deliberately concealed" their sale.
But Ms Justice Clarke threw out the claim earlier this year, finding that he "knew all along" about the intended sale and only afterwards had begun to pursue them for money in an "aggressive and unpleasant way".
In a judgment on Wednesday, she said: "The claimant chose to bring an inherently weak claim, pursue it aggressively and relentlessly to the end, and make serious and unfounded allegations against the defendants which significantly damaged their reputations, career prospects, financial security and health."

#claim #failed #high

Sienna Miller has shared two sweet photos of her newborn baby.
The British actress posted a slideshow of images on Instagram on Wednesday chronicling her life over the last two months.
To begin, Sienna uploaded a snap of her sitting surrounded by pillows while heavily pregnant, before adding an adorable image showing her cradling her third child while in a hospital bed.
She also posted a black-and-white photo of her fiancé, Oli Green, appearing emotional while holding the baby, whose face was concealed.
"Adulting," the 44-year-old wrote in the caption.
Sienna and actor Oli, 29, started dating in late 2021 and welcomed their first baby together, a daughter, in December 2023.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding seemed to have a royal touch. According to a recent report, a giant white staircase was spotted outside Madison Square Garden. It was said to be part of the theme-based decorations for the celebrity couple's upcoming celebration. Furthermore, it was reported that the duo might have a fairytale royal castle at the venue, hence the stairs. For those unversed, several reports claimed that the singer and the NFL star are set to tie the knot on July 3 at MSG in New York.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding would reportedly have a fairytale castle. TMZ reported that they spotted a giant white staircase outside Madison Square Garden. It appeared to be being craned into the venue, according to the video obtained by the outlet. Allegedly, the soon-to-be-married couple could be planning a castle-themed event, adding a royal touch to their nuptials.
Furthermore, a CBS News video captured trucks unloading equipment wrapped in tarps. However, labels were visible that read "Garden Party 1 (scenic)" and "GP" was spray-painted on the items. Swift and Kelce have been secretive about their wedding details. They have not revealed their confirmed date, venue, or guest list. Meanwhile, the buzz outside MSG has raised questions, hinting that the couple will hold their event there.
Earlier, Page Six revealed additional clues about the reported wedding preparations. Staffers were spotted offloading many chairs, spotlights, and lighting equipment. Amid all the work, the secrecy was seemingly maintained. While the huge items were covered, some vendors had reportedly concealed their companies' logos and names. One worker said, "We aren't told anything. Everything is so tight-lipped." They also told the outlet that they had no idea who the clients were.
Meanwhile, another report suggested that Swift and Kelce's wedding guests were said to be "annoyed." They allegedly felt distrusted because the pair seemed not to have shared any details with them as well.

The attorney who helped persuade the Supreme Court to strike down Hawaii's private-property concealed-carry restriction on Thursday criticized the state's reliance on a Reconstruction-era Black Code to defend the law.
In a 6-3 decision in Wolford v. Lopez, the Court held that Hawaii cannot require licensed gun owners to obtain express permission before carrying firearms onto private property open to the public. Gun-rights challengers dubbed the policy the "vampire rule" because lawful gun owners had to be "invited in" before entering businesses while armed.
"It is disgraceful that any state would rely on a law specifically aimed at taking away the Second Amendment rights or any constitutional right of Black Americans as it was at that time," attorney Kevin O'Grady, who represented the plaintiffs, told Fox News Digital.
"And it's not surprising, however, that Hawaii would rely on it as they are diametrically opposed to the Second Amendment. We fully expected that the Supreme Court would identify that as the kind of law that one absolutely should not look to determine whether or not something is constitutional because this is the perfect example of something which is not constitutional."
Supreme Court Hands Second Amendment Win To Concealed Carry Holders In Blue State Gun Control Case

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks as the Best Data Center Stocks That Are Cheaper Than the S&P 500. Although the stock has declined roughly 21% on a year-to-date basis over macroeconomic concerns and massive AI capital expenditure forecasts, the Street expects more than 44% upside over the next 12 months.
Recently, on June 15, Reuters reported that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is facing a lawsuit from the shareholders accusing the company of securities fraud, with plaintiffs claiming it concealed slowing growth in its Azure cloud business and downplayed the cost of its AI infrastructure buildout.
According to Reuters, the case was filed in Seattle federal court and was followed by a 10% single-day drop in Microsoft's stock on January 29, which wiped out roughly $357 billion in market value. The trigger for the lawsuit was the company's fiscal second-quarter earnings, which showed Azure revenue growth slipping to 39% from 40% the prior quarter, with a further projected slowdown to 37%–38%. Moreover, the capital spending also came in at $37.5 billion, up 66% year-over-year and above **** yst expectations.
The lawsuit alleges Microsoft failed to adequately disclose that AI-related investments, including its Copilot chatbot and OpenAI partnership, were straining resources and constraining Azure's growth capacity. Microsoft has called the claims "without merit" and says it will vigorously defend itself.
That said, TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) with a $540 price target on June 4. The firm highlighted that the company has launched seven new self-built AI models designed for fine-tuning and cost optimization. TD Cowen sees this as a meaningful shift in how Microsoft approaches AI development. The firm also noted that these models will reduce the company's dependency on external frontier labs for AI capabilities.

Gypsy Rose Blanchard is giving fans another sweet glimpse into motherhood, and her latest video of her daughter, Aurora, has social media melting down. The internet star recently shared a heartwarming clip on Instagram showing a playful moment with her little girl, who is now officially on the move.
In the adorable video, Blanchard could be seen kneeling on the floor while encouraging her daughter to walk toward her. Aurora, dressed in pink pajamas, toddled across the room before stopping to blow kisses toward her mom, prompting an emotional reaction from fans in the comments.
While Blanchard allowed followers a peek into the milestone moment, she continued to keep her daughter's face concealed from public view. Throughout the clip, Aurora's back remained turned toward the camera as she walked toward her mom and wrapped her in a hug.
Blanchard captioned the touching post simply, "My world [pink heart emoji]."
The wholesome moment quickly sparked a wave of emotional reactions from followers, many praising Blanchard's journey into motherhood. "Motherhood is the sweetest. You're healing your younger you and your current you too," one commenter wrote. Another added, "I'm glad you get to have this, Gypsy."

Russia hunts Ukrainian drone operators, units, and command centers.
As a result, Ukraine tries to keep them on the move and concealed and underground.
A Ukrainian defense official said the West should take heed, even though it makes things expensive.
RIGA, Latvia — The West would do well to make sure that its future drone units and command centers are mobile and ideally underground because they are such high-value targets, a Ukrainian defense official said.
The West is investing heavily in drone warfare and tactics after seeing how effective they have been in the war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has hard-earned lessons to offer.

Exclusive-As India seeks Hormuz safe passage, Tehran asks for return of seized tankers, sources say

By Saurabh Sharma and Krishna N. Das
NEW DELHI, March 16 (Reuters) - Iran has asked India to release three tankers seized in February as part of talks seeking the safe passage of Indian‑flagged or India‑bound vessels out of the Gulf via ‌the Strait of Hormuz, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Indian authorities seized the three Iran‑linked tankers near ‌Indian waters alleging they had concealed or altered their identities and were involved in illegal ship‑to‑ship tran

Scientists have given us another reason to fear – or marvel at – ruddy-hued marine bloodworms.
The haunting, copper-fanged invertebrates that may grow to over a foot long can do something remarkable with their long flexible mouth, known scientifically as a “proboscis.”
In the event of an attack or the need to burrow, the venomous Glycera dibranchiata bloodworms can “explosively” turn their appendage, which normally remains concealed within their bodies, inside out. Now, researchers say they know how it happens.
The process has been likened to fictional biology portrayed in the 1979 scifi ho

Wednesday morning, I observe that the sun and warm weather remain concealed, and I'm excessively irritable today for this.
#brvl
#wednesdayvibes

The news? I spent years trying to keep concealed. My personal business was totally word of mouth. I didn’t grow up in the Tinder Age? I was on the party line. And bonus, no drugs. I was organic.