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Vote checkers were so overwhelmed by the comedian’s high-profile push for the pūteketeke that they had to postpone naming the winner. A pūteketeke and its chick at Lake Ellesmere, south of Christchurch, New Zealand. WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Comedian John Oliver has succeeded in his campaign to have what he describes as a weird, puking bird with a colorful mullet win New Zealand’s Bird of the Century contest. He managed to elbow out the iconic national bird, the kiwi. Conservation group Forest and Bird announced Wednesday that Oliver’s favored water bird, the pūteketeke, had won after Oliver went all-out in a humorous campaign for the bird on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight.” The North Island brown kiwi came in second. Vote checkers in New Zealand were so overwhelmed by Oliver’s foreign interference they had to postpone naming the winning bird for two days. Usually billed Bird of the Year, the annual event is held to raise awareness about the plight of the nation’s native birds, some of which have been driven to extinction. This year, the contest was named Bird of the Century to mark the group’s centennial. Oliver exploited a loophole in the rules allowing anybody with a valid email address to cast a vote. Oliver had a billboard erected for “The Lord of the Wings” in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington. He also put up billboards in Paris, Tokyo, London and Mumbai, India. He had a plane with a banner fly over Ipanema Beach in Brazil. And he wore an oversize bird costume on Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show.” “After all, this is what democracy is all about,” Oliver said on his show. “America interfering in foreign elections.” Forest and Bird did not immediately release the final vote tally Wednesday but said the group received more than 350,000 verified votes, more than six times the previous record of 56,700 votes in 2021. They said Oliver’s “high-powered” campaign temporarily crashed their voting verification system. Comedian John Oliver, dressed as a pūteketeke bird, on “The Tonight Show” last week. “It’s been pretty crazy, in the best possible way,” Chief Executive Nicola Toki told The Associated Press before the winner was announced. New Zealand is unusual in that birds developed as the dominant animals before humans arrived. “If you think about the wildlife in New Zealand, we don’t have lions and tigers and bears,” Toki said. Despite nearly nine of every 10 New Zealanders now living in towns or cities, she added, many retain a deep love of nature. “We have this intangible and extraordinarily powerful connection to our wildlife and our birds,” Toki said. The contest has survived previous controversies. Election scrutineers in 2020 discovered about 1,500 fraudulent votes for the little spotted kiwi. And two years ago, the contest was won by a bat, which was allowed because it was considered part of the bird family by Indigenous Māori. This year, the organizers said they eliminated more fraudulent votes, including 40,000 cast by a single person for the eastern rockhopper penguin. Toki said that when the contest began in 2005, they had a total of 865 votes, which they considered a great success. She said the previous record vote count was broken within a couple of hours of Oliver launching his campaign. Toki said Oliver contacted the group earlier this year asking if he could champion a bird. They had told him to go for it, not realizing what was to come. “I was cry laughing,” Toki said when she watched Oliver’s segment. Oliver described how the pūteketeke, which number less than 1,000 in New Zealand and are also known as the Australasian crested grebe, eats its own feathers before vomiting them back up. “They have a mating dance where they both grab a clump of wet grass and chest bump each other before standing around unsure of what to do next,” Oliver said on his show, adding that he’d never identified more with anything in his life. Some in New Zealand pushed back against Oliver’s campaign. One group put up billboards reading: “Dear John, don’t disrupt the pecking order,” while others urged people to vote for the kiwi. Oliver responded by saying the kiwi looked like “a rat carrying a toothpick.” “For the record, all of your birds are great, and it would be an honor to lose to any of them when the results are announced on Wednesday,” Oliver said on his show. “The reason it is so easy for me to say that is that we aren’t going to lose, are we? We are going to win, and we are going to win by a lot.” Link

Fisker confirms entry-level SUV's WLTP figure The Fisker Ocean Sport has achieved a respectable 288 miles of driving range from its WLTP tests. Fisker cares to tell us because initial estimates lowballed the range at a modest 250 miles. Tested on 20in wheels, the US carmaker has now confirmed its entry-level fully electric SUV does a crazy 38 miles more. Chuckle not – with regular nightly charging, that’s the kind of range that means plug-in hybrid drivers never need to refuel. The Sport variant has just the one motor driving the front axle to propel almost two and a half tonnes of heft. That said, it has a top speed of 99.4mph and covers 0-62mph in a not-exactly-sluggish 7.4 seconds. The Ocean Sport can also support up to 200kW DC charging, giving up to 188 miles in around 30 minutes. Available from £36,900, it’s a giant leap to the fancier top-end Ocean Extreme which is priced from £60,880. Fisker has promised us more interesting 550bhp off-roading examples of the Ocean, and it’s also gearing up to offer a sub-$30k (£24,000) PEAR model, with a disappearing boot lid. Boss Henrik Fisker said: “At its core, the Fisker Ocean Sport brings the thrill of electric driving to customers with a comprehensive package, while making it accessible and efficient. "The range performance confirmed from the intensive WLTP testing procedure reinforces the strength of the Ocean Sport’s offering even further, providing comprehensive performance to meet customers’ needs.” Link

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis cited Floyd’s posts on X about Georgia elections worker Ruby Freeman and state officials Brad Raffensperger and Gabriel Sterling. A judge was hearing arguments Tuesday on the Fulton County district attorney's request to revoke the bond of Harrison Floyd, one of former President Donald Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case, over social media posts that prosecutors said are “intentional and flagrant violations” of his bond conditions. In a motion last week to revoke Floyd’s bond, District Attorney Fani Willis' office cited Floyd’s posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, targeting Georgia elections officials such as Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and one of his top officials, Gabriel Sterling, and former election worker Ruby Freeman. Sterling was seen in the courthouse ahead of the hearing with an attorney for Raffensperger's office. Floyd, who was wearing a bright green blazer, appeared relaxed as he waited for the hearing to start, drinking a NOS energy drink and reading a book called, “How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius.” Willis was in the courtroom as well and handled the arguments for her office. "We're asking that his bond be revoked and he be remanded," Willis told Judge Scott McAfee at the start of the hearing. They called three witnesses, including Sterling. The first witness to be called was Michael Hill, an assistant chief in Willis' office, who testified about the authenticity and content of Floyd's posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. Hill read a series of Floyd’s posts aloud. He said he heard from the attorney of Jenna Ellis — who was originally one of the 19 defendants in the case but became a witness after having pleaded guilty last month — that Ellis believed the posts about her were meant to intimidate her. “So in the message, Ms. Jenna Ellis states: 'I saw it a couple of days after it was posted. Yes, I believe it was meant to both intimidate and harass me and also encourage others to harass me, which others have done in the comments, and separate posts,'” Hill said in reading a text he received Tuesday morning. Harrison Floyd. During a cross-examination of Hill, Floyd's attorney John Morrison asked if Floyd sent any witness a direct message on X. Hill said he couldn’t say that he did. Morrison said that tagging someone in a tweet is how you reference them, not necessarily how you contact them directly. Hill said in this instance, Floyd used the tagging function to reference and to communicate with witnesses. Willis noted that Floyd was barred from communicating directly or indirectly with witnesses. After Willis directed Hill to read a condition of Floyd’s bond aloud, Hill testified that Ellis, Sterling and Freeman are witnesses. Willis asked Hill: “Is it the culture of social media when one posts, other people respond?” He replied: "That's correct." Sterling, a top elections official in Georgia, was called as the second witness. Willis asked Sterling if he sees it when someone tags him in a post on X, and he said yes. Morrison then asked Sterling if he’s not a fan of Trump, Willis objected. “These posts aren’t threatening to you. they may not be nice, but they’re not threatening and intimidating to you, are they?” Morrison asked Sterling. Sterling replied: “It’s par for the course when you’re a public figure.” Sterling said he generally looks at who tags him in tweets. Morrison asked if he’d contact law enforcement if he felt threatened, Sterling said yes, but that he did not in this case. Von DuBose, an attorney for Ruby Freeman, was called as the third witness. DuBose said he has a third-party service that monitors threat levels against Freeman and her mother Shaye Moss to look for spikes, adding that it’s a service that the FBI recommended. DuBose testified there was a threat level spike tied to Floyd’s posts. “So that got our attention, we were very concerned about that, and we wanted to make sure we address it appropriately,” DuBose said, adding that there were some security measures taken at that time. Morrison asked DuBose if Freeman called the police about the threat level spike. DuBose said “no.” In court papers, Willis contended, “Since November 1, 2023, the Defendant has publicly tweeted multiple times from the Twitter account @hw_floyd in an effort to intimidate codefendants and witnesses, to communicate directly and indirectly with codefendants and witnesses, and to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.” “As set forth above, since his release from custody, the Defendant has engaged in a pattern of intimidation toward known codefendants and witnesses, direct and indirect communication about the facts of this case to known codefendants and witnesses, and obstruction of the administration of justice in direct violation of this Court’s order,” she continued. In her filing, Willis cited more than 15 comments by Floyd in a series of posts to X as well as an appearance on a podcast. One of Floyd’s posts that Willis alleged constituted “an act to intimidate known witnesses and direct communication with known witnesses about the facts of the case” read: “Passing this along to @GaSecofState and @GabrielSterling. Should they be more concerned about interfering in elections, perjury before Congress, lying to DA Fani Willis, or all the above?” Floyd posted the comment earlier this month in response to a user who suggested he “get some decent legal advice before you wind up spending 20 years in prison for someone who could care less about your sorry a**.” Floyd’s attorneys denied in a filing Monday that his social media posts violated his bond order and said the motion is a “retaliatory measure” against him. “In exercising his First Amendment rights, Mr. Floyd neither threatened or intimidated anyone and he certainly did not communicate with a witness or co-defendant directly or indirectly. He has no idea who the State’s witnesses even are at this point,” they wrote in the filing. “If this truly were an issue, the State had every opportunity to notify Mr. Floyd or his counsel that his posts on social media were a problem.” Floyd’s attorneys said he was in plea negotiations just “weeks ago” and that Willis’ office did not mention the social media posts referenced in the motion to revoke his bond. “All of Mr. Floyd’s posts constitute political speech, the touchstone of First Amendment guarantees," they wrote. "None of them contain any threat to use force that would make a reasonable person believe the posts were somehow intimidating or unlawful." In response to allegations that his tweets about Freeman were an effort to intimidate her, Floyd’s attorneys also argued that Freeman’s testimony is actually helpful for his case. “It is Mr. Floyd’s position that Ms. Freeman is a valuable defense witness — not a witness favorable to the prosecution. There is not a chance Mr. Floyd would want to intimidate Ms. Freeman,” they wrote. Floyd’s attorneys also demanded prosecutors show evidence that Freeman has suffered harm as a result of their client's posts and asked Judge Scott McAfee to reject the motion or include language that would “mirror” former President Donald Trump’s bond order. Prosecutors in the Georgia election interference case have accused Floyd of involvement in a scheme to pressure Freeman to make false statements. Trump and his allies had falsely accused Freeman of fraud in the 2020 election. Floyd, the former leader of Black Voices for Trump, was the only defendant in the case who was held in jail after surrendering in August. All of the other defendants, including Trump, were released on bond after they were booked. Floyd was informed during his initial court appearance that he’d remain at the Fulton County Jail because he was considered a potential flight risk. Floyd negotiated a bond days later. McAfee set Floyd’s bond at $100,000 — with $40,000 on racketeering charges and $30,000 each on a charge of influencing witnesses and a charge of conspiring to commit solicitation of false statements and writings. Link

Colleagues of the two journalists gathered outside Al Mayadeen's offices in Beirut after learning of their deaths Four people, including two journalists, have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, local media say, as exchanges of fire intensify along the border. Lebanon's prime minister condemned the "attack" in the village of Tayr Harfa that killed an Al Mayadeen TV reporter and cameraman along with another man. Israel's military said it had "operated against a threat" in the same area and that it was reviewing the incident. An elderly woman was also reportedly killed in Kfarkela, to the east. Earlier, Israeli aircraft struck what the military said were "terrorist cells" in the border area as well as targets belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has repeatedly fired missiles and mortar shells across the border since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip six weeks ago. Al Mayadeen, a Beirut-based Arabic TV channel, said its reporter Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih al-Maamari were "deliberately targeted" as they reported from Tayr Harfa, a village about 2km (1.2 miles) from the border. "An Israeli warplane fired two rockets on Farah and Rabih's location," it said. "Farah and Rabih had just ended a live broadcast at 10 AM [08:00 GMT], giving updates on the latest Israeli bombardment in South Lebanon." A picture posted on social media appeared to show the journalists' bodies on the ground near a burning TV camera mounted on a tripod. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said another civilian, whom it named as Hussein Aqeel, was killed. Al Mayadeen's director, Ghassan bin Jiddo, said he was a "contributor". "This attack proves once again that there are no limits to Israeli crimes, and that its only goal is to silence the media that exposes its crimes and attacks," Lebanese Prime Minister Nabjib Mikati said, according to NNA. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its soldiers had "operated against a threat posed from a launching area of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation" in the Jibbain area, which is 1.5km east of Tayr Harfa. "This is an area with active hostilities, where exchanges of fire occur. Presence in the area is dangerous. The incident is under review," it added. The IDF has previously insisted that it does not deliberately target journalists, but this would appear to be the third attack on journalists working in southern Lebanon since the start of the war. A fourth person, who NNA identified as 80-year-old Laiqa Sarhan, was killed and several family members were wounded in a strike on a village further east along the border, the aftermath of which was witnessed by a BBC team. Their house in Kfarkela was hit and badly damaged. Fire fighters from local civil defence units rushed to the scene to put out the blaze, as ambulances took the wounded family members, including children, to hospital. Smoke was seen rising in southern Lebanon from northern Israel after an artillery strike on Tuesday Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF put out a statement saying that aircraft had "struck three armed terrorist cells in the area of the border" and "a number of Hezbollah terror targets, including military infrastructure and structures used for directing terrorist activity". Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shia Islamist group that wields considerable military and political power in Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, UK, the US and others. The deadly exchanges along the border escalated after 7 October, when Gaza-based gunmen from Hamas - another Iran-backed group that is also classed as a terrorist group by Israel and Western powers - attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 240 others hostage. Israel launched a military operation to destroy Hamas in response to the attack. More than 14,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the Hamas-run government. Tuesday's incident in Lebanon comes almost a week after an Israeli attack hit an area in the village of Yaroun where a group of journalists was working. On 13 October, Israeli strikes killed a Reuters news agency cameraman, Issam Abdallah, and six other journalists were wounded as they reported on clashes near the border. Lebanon's public health ministry reports that at least 77 people, including combatants and civilians, have been killed due to armed clashes along the border with Israel, according to the UN. Israeli authorities say six soldiers and three civilians have been killed in northern Israel over the same period. Link

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With a claimed 384-mile range and a raft of tech onboard, what can we expect from the brand’s new forerunner? Volkswagen’s flagship ID.7 model has debuted in the UK at a starting price of £55,570, which slots it right between the BMW i4 and Mercedes-Benz EQE. It becomes the brand’s first upper-mid-sized EV and sits atop the ID. range. Named the ID.7 ‘Pro Launch Edition’, the car can accept charging speeds of up to 175kW and has a claimed range of 384 miles. Volkswagen’s latest 210kW electric motor is supplied and provides around 282bhp and 402 lb ft of torque, which makes it the most powerful ID. model yet. The ID.7 also boasts a spacious cabin that can be fitted with optional ergoActive premium seats that feature a number of massage settings. The panoramic sunroof has also been given smart glassing, allowing occupants to switch between opaque and transparent settings via touch control. This can also be done using Volkswagen’s new IDA voice assistant - a potential tool of anarchy for petulant children looking for new ways to annoy you. Further technology enhancements are headlined by the Travel Assist suite that now debuts assisted lane changing at speeds of over 56mph, and automatic parking with memory function at a distance of up to 50 metres. Completing the cabin’s talking points is a 15-inch infotainment unit that’s now been revised following consumer feedback, leading to updates such as a slider to adjust cabin temperature. As a gesture of goodwill, Volkswagen will also provide customers with a few treats to sweeten the deal. That includes a free Ohme home wall charger or the equivalent of £750 in charging credit - deals which last until 2 January 2024 The ID.7 Pro Launch Edition will be followed up by a ‘Tourer’ estate and ‘Pro S’ long-range model which aims for 430 miles of driving, courtesy of a bigger 74kWh battery pack. Volkswagen has yet to announce pricing for the duo, but both are expected to arrive at some point in 2024. Link

President Joe Biden is ramping up attacks on former President Donald Trump after some allies privately urged him to do so in recent days. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Community Building Complex of Boone County in Belvidere, Ill., on Thursday. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is shifting more into campaign mode, with plans to increasingly attack his likely 2024 Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, after some of his allies have urged him to do so in recent days, according to five people familiar with the matter. Biden personally made the decision to criticize Trump on more than policy during an event Thursday with the United Auto Workers, according to two of the people, after he had privately expressed dismay that union members might support his predecessor over him. He also took a punchier approach to his typical swipes at Trump during a fundraiser that same day, saying, “Since I came off the sidelines to go toe to toe with Donald Trump, we haven’t stopped winning.” “The truth is, this guy can’t get tired of losing,” Biden added. The president was “very tapped in” as Tuesday’s election results rolled in that night and were analyzed the following morning, as one person familiar with the matter described it. Multiple people familiar with the matter said he felt buoyed by Democrats’ strong showing after a string of polling that showed Biden losing to Trump in key battleground states. “The fight that he has in him is starting to come out,” one Biden ally close to the White House said. It’s an energy some of the president’s supporters have been looking for him to show at his public events. “We’d all like to see him inject some more energy into his speeches and his appearances,” another Biden ally close to the White House said. One Democratic strategist said, “The path to stronger political standing is a stronger contrast message with Trump.” “Re-electing Biden in the abstract is not as potent of a message as re-electing President Biden against Donald Trump,” the strategist said. As Biden prepared for his UAW event, he saw an opportunity to do more than just outline what he has done for union workers, one person familiar with the matter said. Already, he planned to criticize Trump over his record on manufacturing jobs — a line of attack he plans to continue, two people familiar with the matter said. But the idea of Trump peeling off his labor support after Biden joined the picket line during the UAW strike and has designated himself “the most pro-union president in history” made him want to go further, these people said. “When you were in the middle of the fight, I stood and others stood with you, shoulder to shoulder, on that picket line. My predecessor went to a nonunion shop and attacked you,” Biden told the UAW audience. “I hope you guys have a memory. Where I come from, it matters.” A White House official said the president still doesn’t plan to fully engage in campaigning against Trump until early next year. “Not every day at every event, but we’ll look for opportunities to do it,” the official said. Biden has been talking to people outside the White House this past week who’ve been telling him that he needs to start hitting Trump and hitting him hard, and not wait until next year, according to two people familiar with the conversations. “You can’t have Trump out there slapping him and not hit back,” said the ally, who argues the fight in Biden is starting to come out publicly. “He’s getting a little ticked off. He wants to whack him back.” People familiar with the planning said the president will continue to attack Trump not just on economic issues — drawing a contrast between their records in office — but also on abortion. Biden criticized Trump by name on Thursday over his abortion record. It’s an issue where voters in Tuesday’s elections overwhelmingly favored Democrats. “The only reason abortion is banned in America is because of Donald Trump,” Biden said at a campaign fundraiser on Thursday. “The reason fundamental rights have been stripped away from the American people for the first time in history is because of Donald Trump.” Link

The protest in Madrid drew 80,000 people, officials say Protests have been held across Spain against an amnesty deal with Catalan separatists aimed at securing a new term for the Socialist-led government. The biggest rally was held in Madrid, where tens of thousands took part. Centre-right leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused acting PM Pedro Sánchez of pursuing his own interests rather than Spain's and called for a new vote. Mr Feijóo People's Party (PP) came first in a snap election in July but could not form a majority. But pro-independence Catalan parties agreed to support Mr Sánchez, who has been in office since 2018. The deal, announced on Thursday, includes an amnesty for separatists who led a failed bid to secede from Spain in 2017. The agreement triggered anger from conservatives. An estimated 80,000 people took part in Sunday's rally in Madrid. Addressing supporters in the capital, Mr Feijóo said: "We will not shut up until there are new elections. What is being done now is the contrary of what [Spaniards] voted for." Many protesters held Spanish flags and banners with slogans including "respect the Constitution". Similar marches were held in cities including Granada, Seville and Valencia. Before Thursday's agreement, Pedro Sánchez had sealed a deal with one pro-independence party. The Catalan Republican Left (ERC) is in power in Spain's north-eastern region. His negotiators then clinched an agreement with the more radical Together for Catalonia (JxCat). It is led by Carles Puigdemont, who led the breakaway independence vote but fled to Brussels to avoid being sent to jail. The deal will provide an amnesty for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and all those involved in the failed bid for Catalan independence in 2017 While Mr Puigdemont went into exile in 2017, nine other Catalan leaders were jailed for sedition before being pardoned by Mr Sánchez in 2021. The crime of sedition has since been removed from the penal code but Mr Puigdemont is still accused of disobedience and embezzling public funds, and others have faced similar allegations. Under the agreement pages, the draft amnesty covers charges arising from the start of the Catalan push for independence in 2012 to 2023 but it does not refer to any named individuals. It says JxCat will propose holding a "self-determination referendum on the political future of Catalonia" within the terms of the Spanish constitution while the Socialist party says it will defend the "broad development" of Catalonia's autonomy by judicial means. The text also refers to "lawfare", a word used by JxCat to refer to judicial cases it claims were used to persecute pro-independence figures politically. Mr Puigdemont said the deal marked a step towards resolving "the historic conflict between Catalonia and Spain". Santos Cerdán, the Socialist party negotiator, said: "It's necessary to form a progressive government as soon as possible, that gives stability to Spain and that fulfils the mandate of the people in last elections." The controversial amnesty law will be put before parliament in the coming days and, assuming it passes, the next step will be for an investiture debate and a vote next week. Link

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