The Daily Populous

Wednesday August 20th, 2025 morning edition

image for U.S. sends three warships toward the coast of Venezuela, Maduro mobilises 4.5 million militia members

As per Reuters, the deployed American ships are the USS Graverly, USS John Dunham, and the USS Sampson.

Read more: US deploys forces to the Caribbean to combat drug trafficking.

These military assets are to operate in international waters and international airspace across several months.

The mobilisation of U.S. military assets follows Washington’s recent decision to increase the bounty for Maduro’s capture, doubling it to an unprecedented $50 million USD.

Last week, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the seizure of assets worth $700 million USD from the Venezuelan head of state.

In response to the increased U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, President Maduro announced a plan to mobilise 4.5 million militia members across the country.

On Tuesday, the Maduro regime prohibited the flight of drones through Venezuelan territory for 30 days. »

Trump says he did not call Putin in presence of EU leaders: That would have been disrespectful to Putin

Authored by pravda.com.ua

Details: Trump was asked about Monday’s telephone call between him and Putin, which took place when seven European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were at the White House.

Quote from Trump: "I didn’t do it in front of them — I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin.

Trump also expressed the opinion that the potential deployment of NATO European member states’ troops in Ukraine "would not be a problem" for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. »

Vermont plastic bag use dropped 91% following ban, researchers find

Authored by phys.org

Plastic bag use in the state dropped 91%, and three-quarters of those surveyed approved of the approach.

Now, researchers at the University of Vermont have dug deeper into the 745-person survey conducted by the University of Vermont Center for Rural Studies.

The researchers found the law's strongest effect, by far, was a near-complete elimination of plastic bag use following the ban's implementation—a 91% drop. »

Video captures Rhode Island prosecutor warning officers will 'regret this' as she's arrested at restaurant

Authored by nbcnews.com
image for

Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan and a friend had been asked to leave Clarke Cooke House in Newport when officers arrived, police video showed.

At numerous points of the video, police tell Hogan Flanagan and her friend, Veronica Hannan, that the confrontation would be over if they just left the Bannister’s Wharf restaurant.

Bodycam video shows Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan being arrested in Newport, R.I., on Thursday. »

‘They stole my face’: Streamer claims The First Descendant ads used AI to make it look like he’s promoting it

Authored by videogameschronicle.com

A streamer has claimed that ads promoting Nexon game The First Descendant are using AI to make it look like he’s promoting them.

Over the weekend a series of ads promoting the game appeared on TikTok via the official The First Descendant account.

They stole my face/reactions from my most viral video and used AI to change what my mouth says and a voice that isn’t mine. »