Latest news with #WilliamBurns
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Franklin Co. couple admits to producing CSAM of 1-year-old
ST. LOUIS – A Franklin County couple admitted to filming and producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of a 1-year-old. The couple, William Burns, 41, and his wife, Rachel Burns, 34, both pleaded guilty in May in relation to the disturbing crimes. Court documents say the couple was arrested back in 2023 by the University City Police Department. During their arrest, the couple had two children in their car. Prosecutors charged the pair with attempted enticement of a minor. When speaking with investigators, the wife admitted to detectives that her husband had CSAM on various devices, prompting deputies to further investigate the case. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Upon their discovery at the home, deputies found not only electronic devices containing CSAM but also sexual devices and a silicone sex doll that was made to resemble a young girl, according to the couple's plea agreement. Investigators found more than 13,000 files of CSAM, and prosecutors say William Burns used an app to share the material with other users. In one video that investigators found in 2022, the couple was sexually abusing a 1-year-old. Investigators say that they found countless videos and images from that specific victim between 2022 and 2023. Rachel Burns pleaded guilty on May 22 to one count of conspiracy and two counts of production of child pornography. She will be sentenced on Aug. 25, with the U.S. Attorney's Office recommending no more than 35 years in prison. Her husband, William, pleaded guilty in court on May 30 to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography, three counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. William Burns is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3. The U.S. Attorney's Office recommends between 35 and 40 years in prison. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NHK
3 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Richard Armitage memorial praises diplomat's contribution to Japan-US alliance
About 400 people have gathered to remember former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who played a key role in US-Japan relations. The high-ranking diplomat died in April at the age of 79. The memorial ceremony was held on Thursday at the US Naval Academy in the state of Maryland. The participants included former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and diplomats from Japan and other countries. In a speech, former CIA Director William Burns praised Armitage's achievements and character. He said Armitage knew that "diplomacy was not an abstraction but a very human business of building trust with allies and partners." Former Japanese Ambassador to the US Kato Ryozo said, "The passing of Richard Armitage, the greatest and most skilled craftsman in the history of the US-Japan alliance," was a "profound loss" to both countries. Kato added, "The friendship, trust, the many gifts he gave us are living still through us." Armitage worked under President George W. Bush. He was a top expert on Asian and Japanese affairs, and called for strengthening the US-Japan alliance.
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency' due to Send costs
Nearly 20 councils have warned publicly that they are at risk of insolvency because of multibillion pound debts caused by years of overspends on special educational needs support, the Guardian can reveal. Overspending on special educational needs and disability (Send) services in England is forecast to grow by nearly £2bn over the next 12 months, a Guardian investigation shows. Councils will see mounting special educational needs and disabilities (Send) deficits rise by 54% on average, with some anticipating accrued debts to increase by millions of pounds every month as they struggle to cope with soaring demand. The deficits – currently totalling £3.4bn – will hit £5.2bn in 12 months' time. At least 18 councils have warned explictly the debts put them at risk of insolvency unless the government intervenes, with council estimates suggesting even more could go bust. 'The deficits are pushing councils all over England to the financial brink. The clock is ticking, and councils are being left in limbo with significant uncertainty over the future of services,' said William Burns, social care policy adviser for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa). Mass defaults on Send deficits would cause chaos and damage other local services, said Cipfa, because councils which declare effective bankruptcy would be forced to drastically rein in spending in all areas, not just local schools. It estimates as many as 75 councils are at risk. The spiralling debts were kept off council books by Tory ministers using an accounting fix called a 'statutory override' but this ends on 31 March 2026, when the debt returns to town hall balance sheets. Ministers must now decide whether to clear the debt, or extend the override until the deficits can be cleared safely. The Send deficit ballooned under the last government, triggered by rapid increases in the cost of meeting education and health care plans (EHCPs) which give children the legal right to school support for conditions such as autism, and speech and language difficulty. In 2015, 240,000 ECHPs were in place in England, more than doubling to 576,000 in 2024, according to Department for Education (DfE) statistics. Insufficient special needs capacity in state schools, and the high costs of Send placements in private specialist schools, have been driving overspends. A government insider said: 'Those [council] forecasts can only have been based on the failing Tory system that we will change. Tackling the chaos that the Tories left in our Send system is a major priority for [the education secretary] Bridget Phillipson, so we can give every child the opportunity to get a brilliant education.' A Guardian investigation shows at least 101 English councils – over two-thirds of the total – spent more than their allocated Send budget during the past year, with 18 councils breaching their annual allocations by over £30m. Nearly nine out of 10 English upper-tier councils – of the 131 which responded in full to the FoI – will have an accumulated deficit on their high needs budgets by the end of next March, with one-in-four (32 out of the 131 who responded in full) now predicting debts of more than £50m and 15 debts of £100m or more. Leeds city council, which covers chancellor Rachel Reeves's Leeds West and Pudsey constituency, has forecast its accumulated Send deficit will soar from £17.5m to £50m by the end of the next financial year, and warned the increase will put it at 'serious financial risk'. Hampshire county council, which has England's largest forecast deficit at £312m, is projecting its debt to rise by £111m over the next year. In its budget reports, the council said that if the override was removed and the debt became a part of the organisation's deficit, 'a section 114 notice would become inevitable'. Middlesbrough, one of England's most deprived authorities, said its forecast Send deficit will rise by more than quarter to £26m over the next 12 months. In council papers last month, it called this 'a critical risk to the council's financial viability, given that it will wipe out the council's general fund reserves.' The average forecast accumulated deficit across the councils covered by the analysis is £40m by the end of March 2026, with 112 forecasting their accumulated high needs deficit will worsen over the next 12 months. A DfE spokesperson said: 'The evidence is clear that the Send system has been on its knees for years – with too many children not having their needs met and parents forced to fight for support. 'It will take time, but as part of our Plan for Change we are thinking differently about what the Send system should look like, to spread opportunity, restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for.'
Russia Today
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
West knew NATO push for Ukraine was risky
US and European officials were long aware of the high risk of conflict stemming from Kiev's NATO ambition, Wikileaks revealed on Monday. Citing a trove of documents it obtained, the publisher detailed how Washington looked for ways to overcome some countries' opposition to the idea despite warnings from Western envoys. Moscow repeatedly warned the diplomats that Ukraine's accession to the US-led bloc could trigger a civil war or destabilize the whole region, forcing Russia to make a decision it 'does not want to have to face,' according to a 24-minute-long video published by Wikileaks on X. The organization also cited a February 2008 cable from then US ambassador to Moscow William Burns, who warned that Russia saw NATO expansion as a security threat. 'Not only does Russia perceive encirclement, and efforts to undermine Russia's influence in the region, but it also fears unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences which would seriously affect Russian security interests,' he wrote. That sentiment was shared by some NATO allies in Europe at the time, another document suggests. A 2005 cable documenting a meeting between the then US assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Daniel Fried, and several high-ranking French officials said that Paris was concerned about Ukraine's NATO trajectory sparking an armed conflict on the continent. 'If there remained one potential cause for war in Europe, it was Ukraine,' the document said, citing French presidential diplomatic adviser Maurice Gourdault-Montagne. He cautioned that the US and its allies were intruding upon Russia's 'core zone of interest,' which could provoke a strong response. Fried acknowledged at the time that Ukraine lacked a national consensus on NATO membership, but dismissed concerns over a violent internal split or Moscow's reaction. Despite the repeated warnings, Washington still pushed for Ukraine's entry, and intended to 'pursue western integration and NATO enlargement deliberately, but quietly,' while 'firmly' disagreeing with Russia, according to a September 2009 cable by the then US ambassador to Moscow, John Beyrle. Russia has consistently cited Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO and the prospect of the bloc's military infrastructure appearing in the neighboring state as one of the main reasons for the conflict. Moscow has also repeatedly described it as a 'proxy war' against Russia, being waged by the West via Ukraine.
Bloomberg
20-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Eagle Football Is Said to Tap UBS on Planned New York IPO
Eagle Football Holdings Ltd., one of the most active investors in football clubs globally, is working with UBS Group AG on its planned initial public offering in New York, people familiar with the matter said. The investment firm aims to file for an IPO as soon as the next few weeks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. William Burns, a San Francisco-based managing director who focuses on media deals at UBS, is leading the Eagle Football IPO work, the people said.
