Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's father cut off the electronic monitoring device he was wearing

The US Department of Justice announced that Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess, wife of British Prince Harry, cut off the electronic monitoring device he was wearing after he was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography, according to what was reported by the Associated Press.

US law enforcement forces arrested Thomas Markle in Florida last Friday for possessing images of child sexual assault.

Last month, Meghan Markle said she was “deeply hurt” by accusations that her father possessed images of child sexual abuse. She added that she had cut off contact between him and her children due to previous accusations that were “worrying and annoying.”

Harry, the second son of King Charles III and brother of Crown Prince William, married Meghan, a former American actress, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

The couple left Britain and gave up their royal duties in 2020, but unexpectedly returned with their two children to live in the United Kingdom in August.

Representative from the Republican Party in the US Congress, Thomas Massie, presented 8 articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the purpose of dismissing him, related to the war on Iran and President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela, as well as other measures taken by the administration in Washington, according to a report by the “Reuters” news agency. Hegseth denied any wrongdoing, while Trump criticized Massey and pledged to stand by the Defense Secretary. Below are what the impeachment considers eight “high crimes and misdemeanors” that form the basis of this unusual step led by a representative of the Republican Party against a government official belonging to the same party. 4 charges related to Iran Three of the accusations relate to the war on Iran. Hegseth is accused of directing, approving, and continuing military operations against Iran beyond a period of 60 days, without a formal declaration of war, nor obtaining authorization from Congress to use military force. There is a fourth charge also related to Iran, which is that the Minister of Defense ignored laws requiring American forces to reduce civilian casualties to a minimum, in connection with a raid that targeted a girls’ school in Minab, Iran, on February 28, the first day of the war, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of children. Maduro's ouster in Venezuela Two charges relate to Venezuela, whose president, Nicolas Maduro, was overthrown by US forces in January 2026. Hegseth is accused of directing the kidnapping of the leader of a sovereign foreign state, and of approving extrajudicial deadly raids in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, resulting in the deaths of more than 220 people. Military operations in Yemen Hegseth is accused of directing and carrying out raids and illegal military operations in Yemen, specifically Operation Rough Rider, an American and British air and naval campaign. Freedom of expression Hegseth is accused of seeking to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona, despite the laws protecting his right to expression. Last year, Hegseth sought to prosecute Kelly and strip him of the rank of retired naval captain, after he and five other Democratic lawmakers with military and intelligence experience urged members of the American forces to reject any orders issued to them by their commanders that violated the law. California voters rejected a widely debated proposal by a labor union to impose an unprecedented, one-time tax on the net worth of billionaires. The vote on this tax, called “Proposition 40,” was held in the context of the midterm elections for the US Congress. Most Californians vote by mail, and any ballot postmarked on Election Day will be counted and arrive within a week, meaning close races could take days or even weeks to decide. The Associated Press confirmed that the majority of the state's residents voted "no" on the proposal. “No” supporters collected about 10 times what “Yes” supporters collected. The failure of this measure is considered a victory for Democratic Party leaders who opposed it, including Governor Gavin Newsom, who may run for president in 2028. Critics of the tax said it would have pushed the super-rich to leave the state. This rejection came after a fierce election battle that prompted some prominent technology leaders, striving to prevent their taxes from rising, to spend huge sums of money against the proposal, presented by a labor union for health care workers, aimed at imposing a 5 percent tax on the wealth of billionaires in California. A coalition funded by Google founder Sergey Brin, billionaire Eric Schmidt, and others spent more than $148 million to drop the proposal. Opponents raised more than $379 million to drop this proposal, making it one of the most expensive election battles in the state's history. Most of this money was to be used to make up for shortfalls in federal funding for health care, while 10 percent was to be allocated to education and food assistance programs. The United Health Care Workers of the West union, which supported the tax, said it was needed to make up for an estimated $100 billion the state would lose in federal health care funding over five years. Some teachers and labor unions also opposed the measure, fearing that the tax revenue would go mostly to health care, leaving little for other priorities. Many critics feared that this measure would harm the state's budget in the long term, as it would force billionaires to flee. According to researchers, about 240 billionaires lived in the state on January 1, with a total wealth of $2.05 trillion. Had the measure passed, the tax would have applied to California residents on that date with more than $1 billion in wealth, including their investments, stocks, and companies. This excluded real estate, most pensions and retirement accounts, excluding individual retirement accounts and other similar arrangements exceeding $10 million in value. Some billionaires have already left the state, including technology investor and White House official David Sachs, who described the measure as an “asset seizure.” As for Mark Zuckerberg, who informed Meta's board of directors that he was considering moving to another state, he signed a deal that allows him to sell shares to pay the tax if it is passed, while maintaining full control of the company. Supporters of the proposal say they could bring the proposal back to a vote in 2028. The proposal has received support from liberal leaders outside the state, including Senator Bernie Sanders, who mobilized voters in various California cities during the final weeks of the campaign to urge its passage. “Buying the election does not mean winning the debate,” supporters of the measure said in a statement. The billionaires may have achieved a temporary victory at the ballot boxes, but they did not guarantee an end to this debate, and this is just the first round. A poll conducted by the Associated Press showed that the majority of young voters in California - those under the age of 30 - voted “yes” on the proposal. Older voters were much less supportive, with about 7 in 10 voters aged 65 and over saying they voted “no” on the proposal. Supporters of the tax in California recently began airing ads in New Hampshire, New Mexico and Virginia criticizing Newsom for opposing the measure.