LOS ANGELES – A shocking new development has emerged in the high-profile murder case against rising R&B artist D4vd, born David Burke: US prosecutors confirmed Thursday that law enforcement recovered a large cache of child pornography on the 21-year-old singer’s mobile phone. Burke is already facing capital murder charges for the brutal killing and dismemberment of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose decomposing remains were discovered stashed in the front trunk of his Tesla parked in the Hollywood Hills.
标签： Jamaica
牙买加
-
US eases access to marijuana for medical use
In a landmark policy shift announced Thursday in Washington D.C., the United States federal government has overhauled the regulatory status of cannabis to widen access for medical users and clear barriers for scientific investigation into the drug’s therapeutic properties.
Under the new rule, cannabis will be reclassified from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal government’s five-tier drug scheduling system. For decades, cannabis had been grouped alongside dangerous substances like heroin and methamphetamine as a Schedule I drug, a classification defined by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as reserved for substances with no recognized medical applications and a very high risk of dependence and abuse.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized that the reclassification, which frames cannabis as having only moderate to low potential for addictive dependence, will remove longstanding regulatory hurdles that limited patient access to cannabis-based treatments and give clinicians greater flexibility to prescribe evidence-based care to their patients. “This change expands patients’ access to life-changing treatments and empowers doctors to make better-informed healthcare decisions,” Blanche stated in an official release.
Thursday’s policy change is not an independent action: it implements a directive first laid out in a December executive order from President Donald Trump, which ordered federal agencies to take steps to remove barriers to legitimate medical research into cannabis’s safety and effectiveness as a therapeutic agent. Prior to the reclassification, the Schedule I status created extensive bureaucratic and legal barriers for researchers seeking to study cannabis, slowing progress in understanding both its benefits and potential risks. The shift to Schedule III is expected to open the door to more rigorous, large-scale clinical trials that can provide clearer data for regulators and healthcare providers moving forward.
-
Farmers urged to prepare for mixed weather up to September
KINGSTON, Jamaica — As the Caribbean region transitions from a La Niña to an El Niño climate pattern, agricultural authorities across Jamaica are sounding the alarm for local food producers, calling for urgent proactive planning to adapt to unpredictable, drier and hotter conditions forecast over the coming five months. The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the body tasked with supporting Jamaica’s rural agricultural sector, has launched an advisory campaign urging all island farmers to adjust their operations ahead of the projected unusual weather trends.
Francine Webb, senior officer for plant health and food safety at RADA, outlined that updated projections from Jamaica’s national Meteorological Service confirm the upcoming wet season will bring far less precipitation than historical averages, making water conservation a non-negotiable priority for agricultural producers.
“Data we have received shows that for the April to June window, leading into the second wet season, conditions will be drier than the historical norm, but we can also expect intermittent heavy rain events,” Webb explained in an interview with JIS News. “This mixed pattern means water conservation has to be at the top of every farmer’s to-do list. We have to be ready for any scenario that unfolds.”
Webb broke down the regional rainfall probabilities by parish, comparing projected totals to 30 years of historical climate data. Across western and northern parishes including St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James, Trelawny, St Ann, and St Mary, there is a 40 to 45 percent chance of rainfall falling below the long-term average. In southern parishes of Manchester, Clarendon, and St Catherine, that probability rises to between 45 and 50 percent. The parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, St Thomas, and Portland face similar odds, with a 45 to 50 percent likelihood of below-average precipitation for the April-June period.
Webb emphasized that the long-term drought watch issued across parts of the island should not be confused with the short-term seasonal rainfall forecast, urging farmers to prepare for all possible conditions regardless of the short-term projections.
Looking ahead to the July to September period, Webb noted that the Meteorological Service projects above-average rainfall for a handful of parishes, most notably central St Thomas. But this expected increase in rain does not eliminate drought risk, she stressed: the same area is also under a long-term drought watch.
“Just because we expect higher rainfall in that period doesn’t mean farmers will have excess water to spare,” Webb added. “With temperatures climbing higher than average across the region, any rainfall we get will be offset by rapid evaporation. That makes water conservation critical even in areas projected to see more rain.”
Naming central St Thomas as one of the most vulnerable areas on the island, Webb repeated that efficient, intentional water use is imperative for all Jamaican farmers as they head into the mixed weather period. By taking proactive steps to store and conserve water now, producers can protect their crops and operations from the worst impacts of shifting climate patterns, RADA says.
-
WATCH: Pagee flooded after heavy morning rainfall
Heavy, sustained downpours that lasted for hours overnight have left large swathes of the coastal fishing community of Pagee in St. Mary parish, Jamaica, submerged under floodwaters, with local transportation networks thrown into chaos and residents bracing for potential further worsening of conditions early Thursday.
Local resident Sherlon Boota recounted waking to a startling scene: her entire residential yard was fully inundated by rising floodwater. While she has not faced critical disruptions to her own safety so far, Boota explained that many of her neighbors are trapped in their homes, unable to venture outside due to the high water levels. If the rainy conditions persist into the coming days, she warned, dozens of local households will be forced to abandon their properties and find emergency shelter in safer areas.
The flood damage is not limited to residential neighborhoods. Overflow from the Quebec River has left the main roadway connecting Islington and Port Maria nearly impossible to traverse, cutting off a key local travel artery. Albert Johnson, a local taxi operator who works the route, told reporters that drivers have been forced to reroute all trips onto the main highway, and will remain on the alternate path until water levels recede enough to declare the original road safe for use.
In the parish capital of Port Maria, the situation has brought regional travel to a near-standstill. With commuters scrambling to find shelter and all available public and private transportation halted, movement through the town has frozen. As of Thursday morning, emergency officials have not yet received reports of any injuries or casualties related to the flooding event.
Jamaica’s national Meteorological Service has issued an advisory urging all residents living in low-lying, flood-prone zones across the region to remain on high alert. Forecasters project that scattered showers and intermittent heavy rain will continue across the area through at least Friday, keeping flood risks elevated through the end of the workweek.
-
JPS Foundation covers industrial technology CSEC exam fee for over 300 students
KINGSTON, Jamaica — As the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams approach their May launch date, the JPS Foundation has stepped forward to reinforce its longstanding dedication to accessible education, announcing it will fully cover exam registration costs for hundreds of students enrolled in industrial technology programs, most widely known as electrical studies, across the island. In an official public statement, the philanthropic arm of Jamaica’s leading energy provider detailed that for the 2026 academic cycle, more than 300 learners from 20 secondary institutions spanning all regions of Jamaica will receive the grant support, with the total value of the initiative topping JMD 1.5 million. The foundation frames this program as a targeted, strategic investment in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education that serves two core goals: first, to bolster the technical competencies of Jamaican youth, and second, to eliminate the financial barriers that often force low-income and marginalized students to abandon this high-demand, career-focused subject during their secondary schooling. At a recent symbolic handover event marking the launch of this year’s program, Sophia Lewis, head of the JPS Foundation, underscored the critical role that skilled technical workers play in driving the nation’s long-term economic and social growth. “The future of our country depends on a skilled and innovative workforce,” Lewis noted during her remarks. “By supporting students in technical disciplines, we are helping to build capacity and create opportunities for the next generation that would not otherwise exist.” Since the program’s launch, this sustained investment has already reached more than 3,700 Jamaican high school students, with cumulative spending on the initiative surpassing JMD 15.3 million. Through ongoing, consistent support for technical education, the foundation continues to carve out a meaningful role in preparing young Jamaicans for stable, high-growth careers in a range of technical fields, most notably the rapidly evolving local energy sector.
-
Blood on their hands
During Tuesday’s 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in Jamaica’s House of Representatives, National Security and Peace Minister Dr. Horace Chang, who also serves as deputy prime minister, delivered a charged address holding civil society organizations directly responsible for the recent fatal shootings of two retired police officers from his constituency. The minister, who has a long history of tense clashes with advocacy groups – most notably Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), which he has previously accused of accepting “blood money” – doubled down on his scathing criticism, arguing that unfounded public claims of unjustified police killings created a culture of retaliation that led to the officers’ deaths.
Dr. Chang detailed the circumstances of one killing to the chamber, identifying the victim as Mr. Brown, an elderly retired officer described as a quiet, unassuming man. Brown was shot dead by gunmen while driving his aged Toyota Corolla, after slowing down to navigate a pothole. The minister emphasized that just one week before the attack, public claims had circulated that police had killed an unarmed civilian without justification, creating a hostile narrative that criminals exploited to target vulnerable retired officers. “These were retired, so they [gunmen] found the soft targets,” Dr. Chang told lawmakers.
While maintaining that Jamaica remains a robust democracy rooted in the rule of law, and asserting he welcomes legitimate criticism of Jamaica’s security forces, Dr. Chang pushed back against repeated calls from civil society for independent investigations into police-related fatalities. He noted that multiple domestic oversight bodies already monitor, evaluate and regulate the conduct of police officers and public servants, dismissing repeated demands for extra independent reviews as “foolishness.”
Citing official data from the July 2024 report from Jamaica’s Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom), Dr. Chang backed his argument with empirical evidence. Between 2011 and 2023, Indecom investigated 1,936 fatal shootings involving security forces, and only 66 of those cases proceeded to criminal prosecution – a prosecution rate of just 3.4%. Since the start of 2024, 11 police officers have been charged in connection with fatal shootings; of those, 8 were off-duty at the time of the incident, with only 3 facing charges for events that occurred while on active duty.
In a sharp rebuke of JFJ and other advocacy groups that push for increased police accountability measures including mandatory body cameras, Dr. Chang challenged activists to experience the intensity of armed policing first-hand: “Sometimes some of these people who are calling for the police to always have cameras, they should go out there and go to Twickenham Park [training school] and let the JCF fire some rounds and let them hear what the M16 bullets really sound like.”
Dr. Chang remained unapologetic for his stance, stressing that law enforcement officers should not be placed in unnecessary danger because of unfounded “verandah talk” – a colloquial term for unsubstantiated public gossip. He argued that civil society groups and public opinion should not interfere with the work of established oversight bodies, noting that when false narratives portray police as routinely killing civilians without cause, criminals become emboldened to retaliate against easy targets like retired officers. “If criminals come to believe that police officers are killing persons wantonly they will retaliate and attack other officers whom they perceive as soft targets. These groups must adhere to the evidence reflected in the data. It is wrong to do otherwise. It is dangerous, and it is immoral,” Dr. Chang insisted.
-
72-y-o widower starts poultry farm with support from NCB Foundation
KINGSTON, Jamaica — For most people reaching their seventh decade, retirement and slowing down are the expected next steps. But for 72-year-old Clinton Christie, a widower from St Catherine, Jamaica, life is only just beginning a new chapter. After decades of physically grueling work as a plumber to support his six children, age and fading health have forced him to step back from the trade that sustained his family for generations. Now, following the recent loss of his wife to cancer, he is building an entirely new future in poultry farming, driven by one clear, heartfelt goal: to help his youngest daughter finish her education and build her own career as a forensic accountant, and provide stable care for his two grandchildren.
Christie, who has never shied away from hard work or new challenges, said when reflecting on his transition, “I am not afraid of trying something new.” The path forward was not easy to walk alone, however. To turn his small business dream into reality, he applied for support through the NCB Foundation’s 2025 Grant-a-Wish initiative, a program designed to lift up vulnerable Jamaicans by funding practical, community-focused personal projects. His proposal stood out among more than 45 submissions from across the island, earning him a $100,000 grant to construct a fowl coop and purchase chickens to raise for commercial sale.
Perrin Gayle, chief executive officer of NCB Foundation, explained the decision to select Christie’s application in an official release shared Wednesday. “Mr Christie submitted a practical proposal with clear potential to support his family over time,” Gayle said. “This initiative is about meeting people where they are and giving them a real opportunity to move forward.”
At a recent handover event attended by other program beneficiaries and NCB Foundation representatives, Christie shared his story of resilience, gratitude, and hope for what lies ahead. He noted that without the foundation’s support, launching this new venture would have been impossible. “I could not make a fresh start without the help of NCB Foundation,” he said. Today, Christie is hard at work building out his new poultry operation, working toward a sustainable income that will secure his family’s future and help his youngest daughter cross the graduation finish line. “As long as I can help my daughter to finish school, it would be a great improvement,” he shared, a quiet optimism underscoring his life-altering new beginning.
-
Manchester City go top of Premier League as Burnley relegated
In a high-stakes Wednesday night clash at Turf Moor in Burnley, United Kingdom, Manchester City secured a narrow 1-0 victory that delivered two seismic outcomes: it pushed the Sky Blues above Arsenal into first place in the Premier League title race, and confirmed Burnley’s drop back to the Championship for next season.
The result means the Clarets will face a third Premier League relegation in just five campaigns, joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in the second tier of English football when the season concludes. The match’s only goal came from Erling Haaland in the fifth minute, putting Pep Guardiola’s side top of the table for the first time since the opening month of the season. Even with the valuable three points, however, Guardiola made his frustration clear after the final whistle, criticizing his squad for failing to convert their chances into a more dominant win.
Manchester City now sit level on points with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, holding the top spot only by virtue of a superior goals scored record. With five matches remaining for both title contenders, the race for the 2023/24 crown remains wide open. Guardiola acknowledged the positive aspects of his side’s performance, pointing out that his players had shown strong energy just three days after a physically demanding title decider against Arsenal, which City won 2-1. “The chances were there. We created a lot. We made a fantastic game. We did everything after a demanding game three days ago,” Guardiola told reporters. Despite this, City face a statistically tougher remaining fixture list as they chase a seventh Premier League title in nine seasons.
Fresh off their pivotal win over Arsenal at the weekend, City came out flying at Turf Moor. Early on, a spectacular diving save from Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka pushed Rayan Cherki’s goal-bound effort onto the woodwork, denying City an early second goal. Just minutes before that, Jeremy Doku played a perfectly weighted through ball to release Haaland behind Burnley’s defensive line, and the Norwegian striker calmly chipped the ball over the onrushing Dubravka to open the scoring.
City kept launching long-range attacks on Dubravka’s goal for the rest of the first half, but Guardiola grew increasingly irritated on the touchline as his side’s intensity dropped and they failed to add to their lead. Burnley even had a golden chance to equalize before the break, but Zian Flemming dragged his shot wide of the post when he was left unmarked in a dangerous position. After halftime, Haaland hit the goalpost with another effort, but City could not find the second goal they chased. The narrow margin leaves the title race delicately balanced, with both sides still in with a strong chance of lifting the trophy.
For Burnley, the result forces yet another rebuild in the Championship, with the club set to bounce between the two leagues for a fifth consecutive season. After collecting just 20 points from 34 matches, Scott Parker’s side sit 13 points behind the safety line with only four games left to play, making survival mathematically impossible. Manager Scott Parker admitted after the match that his side had simply not been good enough to avoid the drop. “We’ve fallen a bit short. The facts are we had to overachieve this year and we’ve not managed to do that,” Parker said. “In certain moments we’ve lacked a certain quality about us and not managed to get enough points.”
Burnley’s season began with unexpected promise: three wins from their opening nine matches left many believing they could avoid the fate that has seen most newly promoted sides drop straight back to the Championship. But a catastrophic slump followed, with just one win recorded in the 25 matches since that early run, ultimately sealing their fate. Parker has built a reputation as a Championship promotion specialist, having led both Fulham and Bournemouth to promotion from the second tier in previous seasons, but the former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea midfielder has consistently failed to keep his promoted teams in the top flight across all three of his managerial roles.
In another key Premier League fixture on Wednesday, Bournemouth’s bid to qualify for European football for the first time in the club’s history suffered a late blow. Sean Longstaff scored a 97th-minute volleyed equalizer for Leeds United to secure a 2-2 draw at Elland Road. Junior Kroupi gave the Cherries an early opening goal, only for James Hill to score an own goal that leveled the scores just minutes later. A second-half strike from Romain Rayan put Andoni Iraola’s side on course to claim three points that would have strengthened their hold on a European qualifying spot, before Longstaff’s late intervention. The one point leaves Bournemouth one place above Chelsea, who sacked assistant manager Liam Rosenior earlier on Wednesday, in seventh place in the table. For Leeds, the draw moves them nine points clear of the bottom three relegation places, strengthening their own bid to stay in the top flight.
-
GIRLZ ON BRINK
Jamaica’s iconic senior women’s national football side, the Reggae Girlz, stand on the cusp of unprecedented regional history this November, with two tickets to global elite tournaments up for grabs when they clash with Costa Rica in the Concacaf W Championship quarterfinals.
The highly anticipated matchup is scheduled for Friday, November 27 at a venue in Texas, following the official draw conducted by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) earlier this week. For Jamaica, a single victory over their Central American opponents will not only secure a spot in the tournament’s semifinal round, but it will also punch their ticket to the 2025 FIFA Women’s World Cup set to be hosted in Brazil — marking their third consecutive appearance at the global competition.
Beyond World Cup qualification, a win against Costa Rica would also lock in the Reggae Girlz’ place at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a milestone that would make history for the entire Caribbean nation: no Jamaican men’s or women’s football team has ever competed in the Olympic football tournament.
This quarterfinal fixture marks the fourth consecutive World Cup qualifying campaign that Jamaica has drawn Costa Rica as an opponent, creating a compelling narrative of repeated rivalry across more than a decade of regional competition. The two sides have a long, tightly contested history in these high-stakes matches, with Jamaica holding the upper hand in recent encounters.
The first meeting in this streak of consecutive qualifying matchups came in 2014, when Costa Rica claimed a 2-1 win over Jamaica that blocked the Reggae Girlz from advancing to the knockout round and secured the Central Americans’ spot at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada. It would be the last time Costa Rica bested Jamaica in qualifying.
In the 2018 Concacaf W Championship, a single first-half strike from star striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw earned Jamaica a 1-0 win that pushed them through to the knockout stage. The side went on to defeat Panama in a penalty shootout in the third-place playoff to secure their first ever Women’s World Cup berth for the 2019 tournament in France. Four years later, at the 2022 edition of the regional championship, Jamaica again edged Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time to advance, booking their spot at the 2023 Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, where they made history by advancing to the knockout round for the first time.
Leading the Reggae Girlz into this latest high-stakes clash is head coach Hubert Busby, who is aiming to become the third different manager to lead Jamaica to a Women’s World Cup, following Hue Menzies (2019) and Lorne Donaldson (2023). Busby can already point to an impressive start to the side’s campaign: Jamaica finished the group stage of Concacaf W Championship qualifying undefeated, topping Group B with four wins from four matches. Most recently, they secured a 2-0 home win over Guyana at Kingston’s National Stadium on the final matchday to cement their place in the quarterfinals.
The Reggae Girlz-Costa Rica matchup is one of four quarterfinal fixtures in the regional competition. Other matchups see four-time World Cup champions the United States face El Salvador, 2024 Olympic bronze medalists Canada take on Panama, and host nation Mexico square off against Haiti.
The historic nature of this matchup is not lost on fans or players alike: a single result this November can cement the Reggae Girlz’s status as the most successful women’s football side in Caribbean history, while opening an entirely new chapter for football development across the region.
-
Court confirms Neymar corruption acquittal over Barcelona transfer
In a long-running legal saga surrounding Brazilian soccer star Neymar’s 2013 high-profile transfer to FC Barcelona, Spain’s Supreme Court has issued a final ruling upholding the acquittal of all defendants, including the player himself and two of the Catalan club’s former presidents. The case originated back in 2015, when Brazilian sports investment group DIS launched legal action over the deal, arguing that it had suffered substantial financial harm due to its 40% stake in Neymar’s sporting rights during his early career at Brazil’s Santos FC.
DIS claimed that key details of the transfer were deliberately hidden from the firm, most notably a 2011 exclusivity agreement between Neymar and Barcelona that was never disclosed to the rights holders. The high-profile first trial wrapped up in 2022, when a lower Spanish court cleared every named defendant of corruption and fraud charges. Alongside Neymar, former Barca presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, Neymar’s parents, Santos FC, the club’s ex-president Odilio Rodrigues Filho, and N&N — the career management company owned by the Neymar family — all received not guilty rulings.
Unsatisfied with the 2022 outcome, DIS launched an appeal seeking to overturn the acquittal and recover 35 million euros in damages the firm claimed it was wrongfully denied. The Supreme Court’s Wednesday ruling rejected the appeal, concluding that the evidence presented in the case failed to back up the accuser’s claims. “The proven facts have revealed the inconsistency of the accusation,” the court explained in an official statement. “There was neither an offence of corruption in business dealings nor improper fraud, neither by the player, his representatives nor FC Barcelona.”
The court further noted that the transfer timeline and structure stemmed simply from a strategic sporting decision by Barcelona, which moved to accelerate Neymar’s signing amid intense interest from multiple top rival clubs across Europe. At the time of the transfer, Barcelona publicly stated the total cost of the deal stood at 57.1 million euros, with 40 million euros paid to N&N and 17.1 million euros transferred to Santos. Of the sum paid to the Brazilian club, only 6.8 million euros was passed on to DIS, which formed the basis of its financial claim.
Notably, prosecutors initially pursued harsh penalties for Neymar, calling for a two-year prison sentence and a 10 million euro fine against the attacker. In an unexpected shift late in the process, however, prosecutors chose to drop all corruption and fraud charges against every defendant in the case. This is not the only legal controversy tied to the 2013 transfer: Neymar also faced separate tax fraud allegations linked to the deal, which were resolved back in 2016 when Barcelona agreed to pay a 5.5 million euro fine to close the case with prosecutors. Now, 11 years after the transfer and nearly a decade after legal action first began, the final ruling from Spain’s highest court brings this high-stakes soccer legal battle to a close.