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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been accused of threatening colleagues with political blowback if they vote for his impeachment. State Representative Charlie Geren, who like Mr Paxton is a member of the Republican Party, said that “several members of this House while on the floor of this House, doing the state business, received telephone calls from general Paxton personally, threatening them with political consequences in their next election,” according to The Texas Tribune. Mr Geren made the claim during the opening remarks in the impeachment hearing in the Texas statehouse. The 73-year-old rejected Mr Paxton’s claims that the impeachment is a witch hunt and that the whistleblowers behind a lawsuit against him are “political” appointees. Mr Geren, who sits on the House General Investigative Committee, repeated what the panel said in the articles of impeachment filed against Mr Paxton, that the committee wouldn’t have probed the issue if he hadn’t made the request that the legislature greenlight a settlement worth $3.3m to the former members of staff. “We are here today because the attorney general asked the state Legislature to fund a multimillion-dollar settlement,” Mr Geren said. “There was no investigation prior to this time. We wanted to look further into the reasons behind that.” Mr Geren went on to say that the settlement was Mr Paxton trying to hide the possibility of wrongdoing. “This settlement served to stave off a trial, including a discovery process that could have brought new info to light,” he said. Mr Paxton has long been accused of violating the standards of his office, which he has held since 2015, before which he served in the Texas state senate between 2013 and 2015 and before that the Texas Statehouse from 2003 until 2013. On Saturday, members of the GOP in the Texas House started to present their case for impeaching Mr Paxton, arguing that he used his role to benefit himself and a donor to his campaign and that he should be put on trial in the state Senate for a range of violations. It’s the first vote on the impeachment of a statewide officeholder in Texas since 1917, The New York Times noted. Former President Donald Trump issued a statement of support for Mr Paxton on Truth Social, writing that “the RINO Speaker of the House of Texas, Dade Phelan, who is barely a Republican at all and failed the test on voter integrity, wants to impeach one of the most hard working and effective Attorney Generals in the United States, Ken Paxton, who just won re-election with a large number of American Patriots strongly voting for him”. “You would think that any issue would have been fully adjudicated by the voters of Texas, especially when that vote was so conclusive,” Mr Trump added. The Republican-controlled bipartisan statehouse committee that advanced the process against Mr Paxton filed 20 articles of impeachment this week, with the panel unanimously finding him unfit to hold office, sending the issue on to the full statehouse. Republican Representative David Spiller said that Mr Paxton used his office to help the donor, an Austin real estate investor, to his campaign as well as himself. “Attorney General Paxton continuously and blatantly violated laws and procedures,” Mr Spiller said, according to The New York Times. “Today is a very grim and difficult day for this House and for the State of Texas.” For the issue to head to a trial in the state Senate, 75 of the statehouse’s 85 Republicans and 64 Democrats would have to vote for impeachment, according to the House Speaker’s office. Mr Paxton, 60, has rejected all allegations of wrongdoing. He has been a vocal supporter of conservative legal issues and a main combatant of the Biden administration on issues such as the Affordable Care Act and immigration. He won a third term last year after beating George P Bush, the son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the nephew of former President George W Bush, in a Republican primary in May 2022. The allegations against him became a part of the campaign, and Mr Paxton accused the Republican House leadership of working with Democrats to remove him from office. If the impeachment vote succeeds, Mr Paxton would be temporarily removed from his office as the issue head to the state Senate for a trial, where a number of his main allies, such as his wife, state Senator Angela Paxton, will be jurors. Read More Texas' GOP-held House set for impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Ken Paxton Texas’ extraordinary move to impeach scandal-plagued GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton A look at the 20 articles of impeachment against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

The elaborate sexual extortion plot that led to 17-year-old Jordan DeMay’s death unravelled in less than six hours. In the early morning of 25 March 2022, the teenager died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after being gripped by fear that his nude photos would be shared with the world. The exchange that led to the tragedy was initiated by three men far across the Atlantic posing as a woman on Instagram. The trio, who American prosecutors have since identified as Nigerian brothers Samuel and Samson Ogoshi, and Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, allegedly convinced the minor to send the explicit photos and then blackmailed him for $1,000. Jordan, known by loved ones for his passion for sports and kind-hearted nature, only managed to send $300. Despite telling the Instagram profile carrying out the extortion that he was seriously considering suicide as a result of the extreme duress he was being subjected to, the revolting threats continued to come. “There wasn’t really a chance for him to reach out or for us to stop anything because it happened in the middle of the night,” Jordan’s mother Jennifer Buta tells The Independent. “Losing a child is the worst thing that I could have ever imagined. For the first day, I was just banging my head asking, ‘What happened to my son?’ Because I saw him the night before. I talked to him the night before and when I started my day, he was gone.” The suspects were indicted earlier this year in Michigan, marking a rare instance in which federal authorities have successfully managed to prosecute one of the alarming growing number of sextortion schemes targeting young men in the US. The Ogoshi brothers were extradited to the US on Monday and are expected to appear in court in Grand Rapids for a bond hearing on Thursday. ‘I can’t imagine what Jordan went through’ Jordan was a senior student nearing graduation at Marquette Senior High School when he died. He played basketball and football and had worked hard to physically recover after suffering an injury during his freshman year. “He loved music ... We travelled a lot with basketball so some of my memories, my favourite memories with him are being in the car and listening to the music. Both of us singing, dancing around,” Ms Buta said. “He had a lot of friends and was really good at connecting with people. He wanted to be everybody’s friend.” His suicide came as a shock to his parents, who scrambled to process the sudden loss and work out what could have possibly driven their lighthearted, always-in-good-spirits son to kill himself. Jordan had deleted any messages on his phone that might have alerted his parents or authorities to the extortion scam before he died – but, a day after his death, one of his friends told his mother that they had received his nudes. “Once [law enforcement] got a hold of it, they were able to start digging and get some records from Instagram,” Ms Buta said. “It gave us like answers as to what did happen. What Jordan went through that evening ... as a mom, I can’t imagine how scared he was ... the torture. It makes me feel sick to think about it.” According to prosecutors, Samuel Ogoshi, 22, Samson Ogoshi, 20, and Mr Robert, 19, gained access to an Instagram account by the name of “dani.robertts”. While impersonating the user, they allegedly encouraged Jordan and more than 100 other victims to send them nude photographs. “I have screenshot all ur followers and tags can send this nudes to everyone and also send your nudes to your Family and friends Until it goes viral… All you’ve to do is to cooperate with me and I won’t expose you,” Samuel Ogoshi allegedly wrote. In a series of texts encouraging Jordan to kill himself after Jordan only paid $300, the social media account responded: “Good/Do that fast/Or I’ll make you do it.” Cyber ‘sextortions’ lead to dozens of suicides The number of reported sextortion cases carried out overseas and targeting Americans have increased in alarming numbers in recent years. In May, the FBI issued a national public safety alert to warn parents after seeing a tenfold increase in online sexual blackmail cases. According to the bureau, 3,000 children were victims of sextortion plots that were connected to more than a dozen suicides in 2022. “These crimes have had devastating effects on children and their families,” FBI San Francisco Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan said in the statement. “We need to disrupt these criminals by making potential victims and their parents aware of the sextortion threat. Parents and guardians should talk to their children about the dangers of online communication, and the importance of speaking up if anyone makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened.” The Justice Department announced earlier this year that agents from the bureau had travelled to Nigeria to conduct a cooperative investigation with the African country’s law enforcement officials regarding Jordan’s case. Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) then arrested Samuel and Samson Ogoshi and Mr Robert. The indictment against the three men was announced in May and, late last month, a Nigerian judge ordered the Ogoshi brothers to be extradited to the US. The process was finalised earlier this month after the Nigerian solicitor-general signed the final surrender order. Both Ogohsi brothers face charges of conspiracy to sexually exploit minors, distribution of child pornography and stalking. Samuel Ogoshi is also charged with sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death and faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted. Mr Robert is currently awaiting extradition to the US. Ms Buta said she plans to attend the Ogoshis’ hearing on Thursday as she spoke of her gratitude to US authorities. “This is a huge undertaking and accomplishment for our justice system and the FBI. I am so grateful for it and so grateful for the cooperation that they had from their counterparts in Nigeria and the Nigerian Government,” she said. Raising awareness Since her son’s death, Ms Buta has been in touch with other families who have lost their children under similar circumstances. “His dad and I agreed that we needed to let everybody know about this. To let our community know because everyone was affected by this and everybody’s thinking, ‘What did we miss? Here we have this homecoming king who is happy and took his own life ... If we didn’t know about this and we were talking about it with our son, we were certain that other parents weren’t having this conversation and they needed to sit down and have that conversation immediately,” she said. She says she now hopes that by sharing Jordan’s story, other teens going through similar experiences will realise that help is there. “I get messages weekly from parents that this happened to their child and that their child came to them and spoke to them and they were able to stop what was going on,” Ms Buta told The Independent. “Because it’s happening so frequently and because of the sensitivity and the embarrassment factor ... we need to talk about it from all ends of the country. [It happens] in the middle of the night to these young kids. They just aren’t ready to handle a situation.” Jordan was larger than life and always cared for others, his mother said. He was an older brother to four sisters whom he enjoyed sharing his time with and planned to attend Michigan University to study athletic training. “I want my son to be remembered as that smiling kid, there’s one picture out. One of the things that Jordan would say to people was ‘I got you.’ Meaning, ‘I have your back.’ And this is something that friends and family in our community, we’ve really latched on to,” Ms Buta said. “It’s something that we say to each other to provide support. And in a way, Jordan is saying, ‘I got you,’ by us sharing his story and being able to change how these cases are handled.” She added: “And sending a message to the people that are engaging in this that if you are doing it, you can be caught. You’re not just a face on the other side of the computer.” If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. Read More Michael Oher’s rags-to-riches story inspired millions in The Blind Side. Now he says it wasn’t true Two years on, I’m haunted by the moment the Taliban brought death to Kabul

Ecuador's National Electoral Council announced on Tuesday that early presidential elections would be held on Aug. 20 after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree last week and brought forward the vote scheduled for 2025. Lasso's decision to dissolve the opposition-led legislature came as lawmakers tried to impeach him for not stopping a deal between the state-owned oil transport company and a private tanker company, accusations he denies. In disbanding the assembly, the president made first use of an option available to him under the constitution in conflicts with the legislative branch. Elections had to be called within three months, for both the assembly and presidency, and the winners will serve out what would otherwise have been the remainder of the terms of those elected officials. If there is no outright winner a runoff vote will be held in October. Lasso can choose to run in the presidential election. In the meantime, he can rule by decree for up to six months. Ecuador’s Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected multiple challenges that sought to invalidate Lasso’s decree dissolving the National Assembly. Lasso, a 67-year-old former right-wing banker, took power in May 2021 for a four-year term after winning the general election. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says he is undergoing a procedure to receive a pacemaker

A Black high school student who was suspended over his loc hairstyle and his mother have sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the state's attorney general for allegedly failing to enforce the state's CROWN Act, a law that protects against hair discrimination.

Roberto Mancini has been appointed coach of the Saudi Arabia national team

Niger's junta ordered the French ambassador in Niamey on Friday to leave the country within 48 hours, according to the Nigerien Foreign Ministry.

A 27-year-old Indian woman has started a petition to put an end to the social evil of dowry.