Tag: LAD Bible Weird

Donald Trump has credited deportations to a maximum-security prison where inmates are dubbed ‘dead men walking’ for curbing crime in the US – so what is life like in the world’s most notorious jail?

45 miles east of El Salvador’s capital city lies the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a 40,000-capacity mega-prison which has been central to President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on organised crime across the Central American country.

Since opening its doors in January 2023, the controversial mega-prison has been at the centre of a human rights controversy, with critics alleging that prisoners’ human rights are being violated.

However, the prison also has numerous influential supporters, with the US leader being one of them.

Trump gave a shout-out to the jail ahead of the upcoming US midterm elections on his Truth Social account, claiming the US is sending its ‘killers, drug dealers and thugs’ to El Salvador, before going on to claim: “This is why murder and other crimes in America are at record lows.”

Inside CECOT’s ‘cemetery of living men’

Access to CECOT is notoriously difficult, with the El Salvadorian government controlling what is reported to the outside world.

This was evident during Richard Madeley’s Channel 5 documentary, Richard Madeley: Inside the World’s Mega Prison, when the broadcaster struggled to get answers from the prison guards or interview time with one of the jail’s inmates.

However, Madeley was able to get a pretty decent picture of what a day in the life of a CECOT inmate looks like – and it’s absolutely brutal.

Lights are kept on in the prison 24/7, meaning that inmates are forced to sleep under blinding artificial light.

However, this doesn’t mean that inmates will never see darkness again in their lives, as CECOT’s isolation cells are pitch-black and completely silent, meaning that troublesome inmates sent there spend 30 days groping around in the dark.

“[The main prison] would seem like freedom,” Madeley said after viewing one of the prison’s 92 isolation cells. “Boy, you would do exactly what you are told.”

When it comes to meals, the inmates are given 1800 calories a day and live off a diet of rice, beans and a tortilla, all of which are eaten by hand, as cutlery is not allowed.

Inmates also spend 23.5 hours a day locked inside mega cells, only being allowed out for light exercise.

Recreation is also banned, with the only book available to inmates being the Bible.

Is Donald Trump sending US prisoners to CECOT?

Trump’s post seemingly suggests that US criminals have been deported to CECOT, but how accurate is this?

In March 2025, it was reported that 261 Venezuelans were expelled to CECOT from the US under Trump’s mass-deportation policy. They were later released back to Venezuela in July, becoming the only inmates to leave the prison.

Former inmates were also able to provide testimonies about their treatment inside CECOT, with one person claiming the jail’s director, Belarmino García, told them the following upon arrival: “Welcome to hell. Welcome to the cemetery of living men. The only way you leave here is dead.”

Meanwhile, it was revealed earlier this month that 100 El Salvadorans had been deported to the country. However, it is unclear whether or not they were detained at CECOT.

A 44-year-old woman who had fallen from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Odyssey of the Seas earlier this month was found alive and rescued from the water after a 20-hour ordeal.

The woman, an El Salvador native, had been on the Mediterranean cruise which had been sailing off the coast of Greece, with the vessel having departed from Italy on 4 October for a week-long voyage.

According to a release from the Hellenic Coast Guard, she had fallen into the water on the morning of 9 October and spent around 20 hours in the water before she was found.

With a woman overboard, a ‘local emergency plan’ was triggered which alerted other vessels in the area, deploying rescue vessels and a helicopter to join the search.

It was a cargo ship, the MSC Rossella III, which had been participating in the search effort that ultimately found the woman.

The coastguard shared footage of the moment the woman was rescued, with her being spotted floating in the water in an orange life ring before a rope was thrown over to her.

Crew on board the ship asked her if she was alright and she was able to grab the rope and pull herself closer to the cargo ship.

Take a look at the moment she was rescued below:

She received first aid after getting brought on board and was then brought to Katakolo in Greece where she was taken to hospital for ‘medical monitoring and medical examinations’.

A preliminary investigation into the matter has been launched, but fortunately the 44-year-old woman overboard was rescued alive and well.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement: “We immediately launched a search and rescue effort and are working with authorities.

“Our Care Team is actively providing support and assistance to the guest’s loved ones during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.”

What happens when someone falls overboard on a cruise ship?

When someone falls overboard on a cruise ship a protocol kicks into place which results in the ship logging the location where the ‘man overboard’ warning was issued to give themselves and other vessels an idea of where to look.

The sea is a vast expanse that often lacks distinctive features or landmarks, so having the right coordinates as a starting point is crucial.

Vessel crews are trained on how to act when responding to someone in the water, so they know exactly what they have to do when the search begins and how best to conduct themselves.

Sadly, despite it being a scenario crews train properly, for the survival rate for people going overboard into the sea is low, so it is very fortunate that the woman who spent 20 hours in the water was recovered alive.

Donald Trump has been told to delete the AI generated video where he has put himself in the Yorkshire tiger attack which shows him playing with the animal.

William Chapman died of his injuries at the weekend (10 October) after he climbed into the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, he was declared dead at the scene and footage of the incident has been shared online despite police asking people not to do so.

The US president put his own spin on sharing the footage as he posted an AI video of him in Chapman’s place but the tiger plays with him instead of mauling him, and Piers Morgan has told him to take it down.

“This is appallingly tasteless. Delete it, President Donald Trump,” he wrote on social media as he reacted to Trump’s latest actions, joining those who have condemned the decision.

It seems Morgan is an agreement with others who have said it was ‘absolutely disgusting’ for Trump to post an AI mockup of a man’s death and put himself in it.

Trump had shared the original clip which depicted the tiger attacking Chapman, having captioned it ‘don’t ever mess with nature’, and he has been called a ‘complete disgrace’ for doing so.

Chapman, 23, was hailed by his family as ‘bright, warm and engaging’, with them saying he had ‘suffered significant mental illness’ over the course of several years.

His family asked people to stop sharing ‘deeply offensive’ content of him being attacked by the tiger, saying in a statement yesterday: “The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.

“The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”

Yorkshire Wildlife Park remains closed while they work with the authorities as part of their investigation, though they have confirmed that the tiger will not be put down.

It is not known why Chapman, who had been a child actor on BBC and ITV shows, climbed into the tiger enclosure as witnesses said that everything happened very quickly.

Others in the park said they were quickly evacuated, and one said that Chapman had asked someone to take his photo by the enclosure with the tiger in the background.

One woman said that he had been ‘pacing around with his headphones in’ and then ‘climbed up onto the barriers’ before approaching the tiger.

She said that he then started shouting for help.

The resurfaced theory that giant coconut crabs ate Amelia Earhart is linked to the idea that she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, survived an emergency landing on the uninhabited Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro Island in July 1937.

Coconut crabs are the world’s largest land-living arthropods and crustaceans, with leg spans up to 3 feet, weighing over 4 kg and a massive pinch force capable of cracking open coconuts.

Proponents of the theory suggest that if Earhart and Noonan landed on Nikumaroro, they may have died on the island, and the local population of aggressive, carnivorous coconut crabs dragged and scavenged their remains.

In 1940, a British officer discovered 13 human bones on Nikumaroro, which were later lost, along with a makeshift campsite, American-made artifacts and a section of a shoe.

‘Nikumaroro is the final resting place of Earhart’

It comes after a 2018 experiment using pig carcasses demonstrated that coconut crabs could strip a body’s flesh and scatter bones within a couple of weeks.

As of 2014, NASA notes that ‘for decades, forensic scientists, historians, and aviation aficionados have searched for evidence that Earhart landed the Lockheed Electra 10E on Nikumaroro’.

“British colonists in the late 1930s found human bones, a woman’s shoe, airplane parts, bottles of cosmetics, and a box that once contained a sextant (for navigation), among other items,” the space agency said.

“Later explorations have turned up evidence of campfires and of shells and fish, turtle, and bird bones that appeared to have been eaten.”

While the latest evidence suggests that ‘Nikumaroro is the final resting place of Earhart’, a Purdue University team is actively conducting a new investigation.

The 17-member expedition crew arrived at the remote Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro Island on Monday and have started setting up their staging operations.

‘It is incredibly rewarding to be this close’

The team is on the island for five days to investigate the ‘Taraia Object’, an anomaly sitting in a shallow reef lagoon.

It was first spotted in satellite imagery in 2020, and historical researchers later confirmed it was also visible in aerial photographs dating as far back as 1938 – just one year after Earhart vanished.

Scientists are using specialized equipment, including sonar and magnetometers, to determine if this object is the submerged wreckage of Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft.

“It is incredibly rewarding to be this close to completing our inspection of the Taraia Object and potentially solving, at long last, the outstanding mystery of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan more than 89 years ago,” said Rick Pettigrew, executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and leader of the expedition.

A civil servant taking home five salaries was contracted to work more hours that exist in a week, according to prosecutors.

Kashim Chowdhury, from Whitechapel, east London, has been accused of lying about his employment status by pretending to work 183 hours a week for five jobs.

There are 186 hours in a week, making this physically impossible.

Jurors at Southwark Crown Court were told that the 55-year-old earned almost £350,000 from eight employers between February 2020 and September 2023.

Prosecutor Lucy Organ recalled a ‘laughable’ incident in May 2023 when Chowdhury allegedly put on white makeup during a video call to pretend that he was ill.

His UKHSA manager Aleesha Adams had arranged a video call to discuss his recent sick leave, as the court heard that Chowdhury had told employers he had to work from home to care for his ‘unwell’ mother.

Chowdhury appeared on camera ‘coughing and blowing his nose’, the court heard, while Adams said that his face appeared white, as his neck was a different colour.

“There could be no doubt about it, the defendant had applied makeup to his face for this Teams meeting to try and pretend to his line manager that he was unwell,” she said.

“This almost laughable incident demonstrates, we say, quite how far the defendant was willing to go in his deceit.”

Chowdhury started working at Tower Hamlets Council in February 2020, followed by Defra in April 2021.

During 2022, he also worked for East London NHS Trust for four months. After leaving the council, he reportedly took further positions at the Department of Health and Social Care, UK Health Security Agency, Department for Business and Trade, Food Standards Agency and Home Office.

By May 2023, he allegedly held five full-time jobs simultaneously, totalling 183 contracted hours weekly.

The defendant denies nine counts of fraud.

Organ said that between March 2020 and September 2023, Chowdhury had over £300,000 in credits into his three bank accounts and nearly £250,000 in debits.

“He also made, the prosecution say, continuing implied false representations by having a full-time job and not revealing to his employers that he had other full-time employment,” she added.

“In fact members of the jury, you will hear evidence that at times he positively lied about his employment history and having other full-time jobs.

“He concealed that he had multiple simultaneous employments from his employers. As a result, he was paid for multiple full-time jobs at the same time.

“We say those jobs were obtained by false representation – fraud – and made a financial gain for himself from this fraud.”

Kathleen Zellner has been slammed over a social media post in which she declared that ‘the case is solved’, leaving her followers furious.

Zellner is known for her association with the Netflix series Making a Murderer, which follows the case of Steven Avery.

Avery was convicted of murder in 2007, after having previously been wrongfully convicted of sexual assault and attempted murder in 1985, for which he has since been exonerated.

The Netflix docuseries Making a Murderer followed Avery’s story since his 2007 conviction, and Zellner has taken him on as a client.

Zellner took to social media, sharing an article published by The Guardian which was reporting on a development on an entirely separate case about a Chicago police officer who was identified as the killer of an eight-year-old girl in a murder which happened some 65 years ago.

Sharing the reporting on the new development, she wrote: “Finally the case is solved!!”

However, many of her followers were left frustrated, as they had read the caption of the post and assumed at first that it was referring to Avery, when in fact it was referring to a different case entirely.

They took to the comment section below the post to share their frustration.

“Expected better than clickbait from you,” wrote one. “Really thought it was about Steven Avery.”

Another drew attention to the same problem, writing: “Kathleen, this is great news for the guy involved in the story you shared but how does that link to Steven Avery??

“I almost sent this to my ex, because we watched it together!!! Christ on a bike!!”

Meanwhile a third wrote simply: “Doesnt [sic] have anything to do with Steven….”

The case in question was the murder of eight-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz in 1960, a case which had gone cold for decades.

However, on Monday Chicago police announced that they have now used newly-found DNA evidence, which has implicated a former detective with Chicago Police to the crime.

Thomas McInerney was identified as Gloria’s killer, more than 20 years after he himself had died, and long after he had retired from the Chicago Police Department.

“McInerney should have never worn the CPD star,” the statement said, “and it is devastating to accept that he was never identified and held accountable while he was alive.”

Depite this, the statement still shared a hope that the breakthrough would bring ‘measure of closure to all who knew Gloria and her story’.

The DNA evidence in question was obtained from a website that allows people to explore their genetic ancestry.

On 12 November 1960 Gloria had been walking from her home to a nearby church where she would attend mass, but she would never make it to church.

While she was on her way, Gloria was abducted and shot, with her body being discovered in a ditch located on an area of preserved forest south-west of Chicago.

McInerney had joined the Chicago Police in 1959, and had been about to turn 25 when Gloria was killed.

A statement from the FBI has also said that it will investigate whether McInerney’s DNA is a match to any other cold cases.

Millions of motorists are in line for an average payout of £829 due to car finance compensation but they’ll have to wait for challenges against it to be heard, which will come in February.

The compensation scheme is worth £9.1 billion and there are thought to be around 12.1 million car finance agreements affected, but any possible payout will be beyond the legal challenge period set for between 16 and 26 February.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to compensate drivers who were mis-sold car finance between 2007 and 2024, but the scheme is on hold while Volkswagen Financial Services, Mercedes Benz Financial Services, and Credit Agricole Auto Finance challenge it.

According to the FCA lenders have to keep preparing to pay compensation out and keep progressing people’s complaints, but they also warned ‘there may be no motor finance compensation scheme and no complaint handling pause’.

That’s in the event that the compensation scheme is quashed in court.

As for what this is all about, the FCA has accused car finance firms of having ‘broken the law by failing to disclose important information to customers’.

When people bought cars on finance there was often something called a Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA) which meant that dealerships got a commission from the lender based on the interest rate charged.

Costs were passed onto the customer which meant that in millions of cases the interest on their car finance was increased to pay the dealer or get a higher commission.

It means that in around 12.1 million car finance deals in the UK someone was paying more than they should and they often weren’t told about a DCA being part of their car finance costs.

Because of exclusive agreements between dealerships and lenders it means customers may not have been given accurate information about the best deal available.

Regulators had been hoping that this would get handled in December but with the delay it’s going to be the new year at the earliest when people can expect to get any compensation.

Remember that the £829 payout is an average, the amount people will get depends on the cars they bought and how much they were paying for them.

If you wanted to know whether you were eligible, if you bought a motor vehicle on finance between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024 with a Personal Contract Purchases (PCP) & Hire Purchase (HP) then you might be eligible.

In which case your first port of call ought to be your lender to make a complaint, after which you should hear within three months whether or not you’re eligible for compensation.

After that you have a month to accept the compensation amount or challenge it.

PopeLeo XIV has had surgery to remove a cancer, the Vatican has said, as experts explain what will happen next for the pontiff.

The Pope went to Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic in Rome on Tuesday to have tissue removed from his lung after it was found to be pulmonary adenocarcinoma, which doctors said was detected at ‘a very early stage’.

This is the most common form of lung cancer, and makes up around 40 percent of all cases.

Pope Leo had the growth removed, as well as a section from the lower lobe of his right lung as an additional precaution in the procedure, the Vatican has said.

Dr Juanita Mora is the national medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association, and shared that catching such a condition early means that the Pope should have a good prognosis.

“The fact that Pope Leo had a localised case of adenocarcinoma with an early-stage detection works in his favor,” she told CNN, “especially after surgical removal.”

Pulmonary adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung cancer, and often spreads and grows slower than other forms of lung cancer.

Dr Mora explained that the procedure will make it more difficult for Pope Leo to breathe for some time, but his lungs will start to adapt.

“Initially, it will be a little harder for him to breathe until the left lung starts to compensate for it,” she said.

There are also other factors which are working in the Pope’s favour, she said, including that he does not smoke and that aside from this he is a healthy 71-year-old, and exercises regularly, including playing tennis.

Nonetheless, she added that there are still more steps that doctors will take as Pope Leo moves into the post-surgery step. This will include respiratory therapy to help build his lung function back up.

It also makes him particularly vulnerable to respiratory infections, Mora said, but many people are able to live full lives.

“So obviously, a lot of people live and can fully do everything in terms of function and capacity, even with a lobectomy,” she said.

Mora explained that patients usually remain in hospital for a few days after surgery so doctors can keep an eye on their vitals, before moving to recovery at home once doctors are satisfied that their oxygen levels are stable.

“We’re hoping, though, that it’s just an isolated cancer where he’s one and done, in which now we see a survival rate of 80% to 98% when it comes to surgical removal,” Mora said. “But now we will have to wait for these tests.”

Pope Leo has a trip to South America scheduled next month, and whether he is able to go will depend on the test results, in which doctors will look at samples taken from the lymph nodes around his lung.

This will also determine whether he needs additional surgery or a course of chemotherapy, which may be necessary if the tests indicate that there are cancerous cells inside of the lymph nodes.

The former school of a man who died after entering the tiger enclosure at a zoo in Yorkshire has paid tribute to him.

William Chapman got into the enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, where he was attacked by a tiger living in the enclosure, with footage of the horrifying attack circulating widely on social media.

Tragically, Mr Chapman died of his injuries, and an investigation is now underway around the incident.

Since then, Mr Chapman’s former school, the Jackie Palmer Stage School & Agency, has released a statement on its Instagram page paying tribute to him.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our former student, William Chapman,” said the statement.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with William’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”

The statement added: “We loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer, during his time with us.

“It was a privilege to be part of his journey, and he will be remembered with great fondness by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.

“William will be truly missed, and he will always hold a special place in our hearts.

“Rest in peace, William.”

Mr Chapman’s family have also released a statement paying tribute to him, and saying that he had ‘suffered significant mental illness’ over several years.

“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” the state, released on Tuesday, said.

The statement added: “The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”

Paying tribute to Mr Chapman, the statement added: “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back.”

The family also called out the sharing of ‘deeply offensive media content’ on social media in the aftermath of the incident.

“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this,” the statement said.

South Yorkshire Police have also asked that people stop sharing footage of the tragedy on social media.

In a statement released on 10 October, South Yorkshire Police said: “At 1.35pm today (Saturday 10 October) we received reports of a man entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. The tiger subsequently attacked the man, resulting in serious injury.”

The statement added: “Following the incident, Yorkshire Wildlife Park was evacuated and officers remain on scene carrying out enquiries. We are aware of videos circulating online and we would encourage people not to share this footage.”

Mr Chapman had been a child actor, and appeared on programmes on the BBC and ITV as a child.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park has since confirmed that the tiger involved in the tragedy will not be euthanised as a result.

“We would like to thank everyone who has expressed their concern following yesterday’s tragic incident,” said the statement.

“Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies remain with the family and loved ones of the man who sadly lost his life.

“The park will be closed today while the staff team who were deeply affected by events receive specialist support.”

A business owner ended up getting more than he bargained for when he bought a house after a legal mixup meant that he ended up also owning the primary school next door.

Sukhjit Bains had bought the three bedroom house from Birmingham City Council at auction for £395,000, but when he was finalising the purchase his solicitor mistakenly sent him the incorrect kind of contract, which also included the school in the purchase.

This initial error was then also not noticed by the conveyancers at the council, who approved the purchase, making Mr Bains the legal owner of the three bedroom house, and George Dixon Primary School.

It would take an astonishing 10 years for the error to be noticed, when the school applied for status as an academy, the Daily Star reports.

Mr Bains reportedly only discovered he had been the unwitting owner of the school the whole time when the council had to make the awkward call to him to request that he give it back.

As technically speaking Mr Bains is the legal owner of the school, if he wanted to he could potentially do things like demand rent to use the property or even attempt to evict the school and demolish it.

Mr Bains runs a care provider called NH Care Ltd, and bought the property at auction back in 2013. The house itself was originally built as a cottage for the school caretaker, and it’s this link that created the circumstances which made the extraordinary mistake possible.

Due to their connection, both the school and the house are registered under the same number on the land registry.

When the contracts were being drawn up the form used was one called a TR1, which transfers all the property which is registered under a single number with the land registry.

That meant that no legal distinction was made between the former caretaker’s cottage that Mr Bains was purchasing, and the entire school which was registered under the same number.

When he found out about the bizarre situation Mr Bains initially agreed to return the school to the council.

However, since then he has stopped replying to the council, and has also declined to sign paperwork which has been sent over to him.

It is believed that the parents of the more than 300 pupils at the school were not aware of the situation.

Birmingham City Council has confirmed that it has now started legal proceedings in a bid to get the school returned to them after the colossal mistake, claiming that he has not answer letters, and phone calls, and that they have also been unable to reach him at his office in person as well after sending council officers to speak with him.

The city council, which went bankrupt in 2023, has launched a legal case against Mr Bains, as well as against Lloyds Bank who are his lender, with the case being pursued in the High Court in London.

In their case, the council sets out its formal demand that the school be returned to them, as well as saying that both the school and the playing fields attached cannot be sold without the permission of the Secretary of State.

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “The council is pursuing the appropriate legal process to rectify the position.

“As the matter is currently the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”