Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right senator defeated in Brazil's presidential runoff, landed in Miami on Wednesday after a clandestine route through Argentina and Ecuador. He left Brazil despite Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordering him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports, citing flight risk in a money-laundering and currency-evasion investigation. The U.S. State Department confirmed it would issue visas for Bolsonaro and his family. Brazilian police canceled his passports after he failed to comply.
The investigation involves alleged money laundering tied to digital payment platforms and the betting sector in Rio de Janeiro. Bolsonaro claims the passport seizure was political intimidation and made unsubstantiated election-fraud claims, while his own party accepted Lula's victory. Supporters of Bolsonaro argue the probe is politically motivated; police likely argue his covert departure validated their flight-risk concern.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated right-wing presidential candidate, left Brazil for Miami after a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports, while under investigation for alleged money laundering; he and his supporters made unsubstantiated election-fraud claims, though his party accepted Lula's victory.
Tolkien did sell film rights in 1969 to United Artists, and the Tolkien estate later sued New Line Cinema over unpaid profit participation from Peter Jackson's films; the parties reached a settlement in 2009, so saying the heirs received “nothing” without qualification is misleading.
BGood morning, it's Thursday, six a.m. Eastern. Flávio Bolsonaro touched down in Miami overnight after losing Brazil's presidential runoff.
BThe senator and son of the former president was ordered to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. A Supreme Court judge said he was a flight risk.
BHe didn't comply. Instead he left through Argentina and Ecuador, then flew to Florida.
BAnd he did all this while under investigation for alleged money laundering tied to digital payments and betting in Rio.
BHe says the passport order is political intimidation. He's also made election-fraud claims his own party won't stand behind.
BHard to claim you're not worried about the investigation while you're crossing through three countries.
BBrazilian criminal law professors say legally he's not a fugitive yet. There's no arrest warrant.
BNo warrant, just a judge taking his passports and police canceling them after he left. Same picture.
BIt's not the same legal category, and that matters if he ever comes back.
BFine. Legally not a fugitive yet. Practically, he just proved the court's flight-risk point.
BLula's party accepted the result. Flávio is running his own version from Miami.
BAnd the State Department says it issued visas for him and his family. That part is confirmed.
BDifferent story now. CNN reports Alaska's governor has ordered an investigation into Mary Peltola's campaign after what it calls a bombshell report.
BThe order is the news. What's in the bombshell report, we still don't know.
BPeltola is the former Democratic congresswoman. The governor wants a full investigation, not just a review.
BWhich is serious. But no details, no independent confirmation yet.
BRight. The phrase "bombshell report" is doing a lot of work before we've seen a single page.
BIran's Revolutionary Guard says it captured a U.S. spy and deception drone west of the Strait of Hormuz.
BThat's Iranian state media via Al Jazeera. No U.S. comment, no independent confirmation.
BIt's a big claim at the most important oil chokepoint on earth, and it lands while Tehran is already pushing its seven-day plan there.
BIran has a history of announcing drone captures. Some real, some theater.
BExactly. Until the U.S. says a drone is missing, treat it as a claim.
BIf one is missing, that's a different morning.
BReuters reports far-right groups clashed with Spanish police in Madrid after a high-speed train crash killed at least sixty-eight people.
BProtesters are demanding the government resign. The train crash is the tragedy underneath all of it.
BThe clash is reported by Reuters. The death toll alone is hard enough.
BSeeing far-right groups turn a crash into a street fight is ugly. But the grief is real.
BAnd the government is facing both grief and fury at the same time.
BOne more from the culture world, and a correction. A post says Tolkien's heirs got nothing from the Lord of the Rings films.
BThat's not true. They sued New Line Cinema over unpaid profit participation and settled in 2009.
BTolkien did sell the film rights to United Artists in 1969, reportedly to cover a tax bill.
BThe internet loves Hollywood accounting. But going from tax bill to zero skips the settlement.
B"Nothing" is too clean. The estate got something, after a fight.