Carnival's women revelers take over the Rhineland for a day, dancing, drinking and kissing
In many places, women stormed city halls, symbolically taking power for one day — which is why carnival's Fat Thursday in this region is traditionally called Weiberfastnacht, or the carnival of the women.
According to another tradition, men get a kiss if they allow women to cut off their ties or shoelaces. On this day, kisses are famously exchanged not just among partners, but strangers as well.
In cities like Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn and Mainz, Karnevalisten — as the revelers are called in German — threw confetti, toasted with beer and swayed together on the streets. In addition to typical German brass band music, the sound of samba was in the air, too.
Bakeries sell vast quantities of jelly donuts during carnival — the so-called fifth season of the year — which lasts from Fat Thursday to Ash Wednesday ahead of Lent in the traditionally Roman Catholic Rhineland.
Across the region, police increased their presence following a recent series of stabbings and other attacks.
State Interior Minister Herbert Reul said that 9,900 police officers were on duty in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia — 2,500 more than on a regular Thursday, German news agency dpa reported.
But despite the recent attacks that have scared many in Germany, Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker called on the revelers to celebrate without fear.
'Nobody will succeed in intimidating us in Cologne,' she said. 'We will not let terrorists or Islamists take away our joy of life.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
15 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Epstein ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell finishes interviews with Justice Department officials
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, finished 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials on Friday, answering questions 'about 100 different people,' her attorney said. 'She answered those questions honestly, truthfully, to the best of her ability,' David Oscar Markus told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. 'She never invoked a privilege. She never refused to answer a question, so we're very proud of her,' Markus said. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence and is housed at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee. She was sentenced three years ago after being convicted of helping Epstein, a wealthy, well-connected financier, sexually abuse underage girls. Officials have said Epstein killed himself in his New York jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Donald Trump. In a social media post this week, Blanche said Maxwell would be interviewed because of President Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes. Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case , overshadowing his administration's achievements. On Friday, reporters pressed the Republican president about pardoning Maxwell, but he deflected, emphasizing his administration's successes. Markus said Maxwell 'was asked maybe about 100 different people.' 'The deputy attorney general is seeking the truth,' Markus said. 'He asked every possible question, and he was doing an amazing job.' Markus said he didn't ask for anything for Maxwell in return, though he acknowledged that Trump could pardon her. 'Listen, the president this morning said he had the power to do so. We hope he exercises that power in the right and just way,' Markus said. Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it would not release more files related to the Epstein investigation, despite promises that claimed otherwise from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The department also said an Epstein client list does not exist. Maxwell is appealing her conviction, based on the government's pledge years ago that any potential Epstein co-conspirators would not be charged, Markus said. Epstein struck a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008 that shifted his case to Florida state court, where he pleaded guilty to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. Epstein in 2019 and Maxwell in 2020 were charged in federal court in New York. ___ White reported from Detroit. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
New York Post
30 minutes ago
- New York Post
‘Doomsday mom' Lori Vallow Daybell sentenced to two life sentences on Arizona murder conspiracy convictions
Convicted 'Doomsday Mom' killer Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to two life sentences in Arizona on Friday for conspiring to murder her estranged husband and another family member. The unhinged murderer, 52, is already serving life sentences in Idaho in the killings of her two youngest children — 7-year-old Joshua 'JJ' Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan — and a romantic rival. The latest hearing comes after the mom was convicted in separate trials in Arizona this spring for conspiring to murder her then-estranged husband, Charles Vallow, as well as her niece's ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux. Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced in Arizona Friday for conspiring to murder her estranged husband and another family member. AP Prosecutors had accused her of carrying out the plots with her brother Alex Cox, who admitted to killing Charles Vallow in July 2019 and was later pinned as the person who opened fire on Boudreaux months later but missed. Vallow Daybell had conspired to kill her ex, who had filed for divorce four months before he died, so she could collect on his $1 million life insurance policy and marry her then-boyfriend Chad Daybell, according to prosecutors. He wound up being fatally shot when he went to pick up his son at Vallow Daybell's home just outside Phoenix, cops said. Authorities said Boudreaux later suspected that Vallow Daybell and Cox were responsible for Charles Vallow's death. Three months after Vallow's murder, someone shot at Boudreaux from an open window of a Jeep as he was driving in Phoenix. Unlike her Idaho case, Vallow Daybell chose to represent herself at both Arizona trials — despite not having a legal background. Vallow Daybell, whose doomsday religious beliefs led her to believe people in her life were possessed by evil spirits, is set to be sent back to prison in Idaho in the wake of the Arizona sentencing. Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell were married in November 2019 shortly after the deaths of their respective spouses. Vallow Daybell's children were last seen in September of that year. Chad Daybell was ultimately sentenced to death in the killings of Vallow Daybell's two kids, as well as his own wife, Tammy. With Post wires
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
In Epstein furor, Trump struggles to shake off a controversy his allies once stoked
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the sun bearing down on him and the sweat beading across his face, President Donald Trump still lingered with reporters lined up outside the White House on Friday. He was leaving on a trip to Scotland, where he would visit his golf courses, and he wanted to talk about how his administration just finished 'the best six months ever.' But over and over, the journalists kept asking Trump about the Jeffrey Epstein case and whether he would pardon the disgraced financier's imprisoned accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. "People should really focus on how well the country is doing," Trump insisted. He shut down another question by saying, 'I don't want to talk about that.' It was another example of how the Epstein saga — and his administration's disjointed approach to it — has shadowed Trump when he's otherwise at the height of his influence. He's enacted a vast legislative agenda, reached trade deals with key countries and tightened his grip across the federal government. Yet he's struggled to stamp out the embers of a political crisis that could become a full-on conflagration. Trump faces pressure from his own supporters The Republican president's supporters want the government to release secret files about Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in his New York jail cell six years ago while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. They believe him to be the nexus of a dark web of powerful people who abused underage girls. Administration officials who once stoked conspiracy theories now insist there's nothing more to disclose, a stance that has stirred skepticism because of Trump's former friendship with Epstein. Trump has repeatedly denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. For a president skilled at manipulating the media and controlling the Republican Party, it has been the most challenging test of his ability to shift the conversation in his second term. 'This is a treadmill to nowhere. How do you get off of it?' said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist. 'I genuinely don't know the answer to that.' Trump has demanded his supporters drop the matter and urged Republicans to block Democratic requests for documents on Capitol Hill. But he has also directed the Justice Department to divulge some additional information in hopes of satisfying his supporters. A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said Trump is trying to stay focused on his agenda while also demonstrating some transparency. After facing countless scandals and investigations, the official said, Trump is on guard against the typical playbook of drip-drip disclosures that have plagued him in the past. It's clear Trump sees the Epstein case as a continuation of the 'witch hunts' he's faced over the years, starting with the investigation into Russian interference during his election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton nearly a decade ago. The sprawling inquiry led to convictions against some top advisers but did not substantiate allegations Trump conspired with Moscow. Trump's opponents, he wrote on social media on Thursday, 'have gone absolutely CRAZY, and are playing another Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax but, this time, under the guise of what we will call the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM.' During the Russia investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors were a straightforward foil for Trump to rail against. Ty Cobb, the lawyer who served as the White House's point person, said the president 'never felt exposed' because 'he thought he had a legitimate gripe.' The situation is different this time now that the Justice Department has been stocked with loyalists. 'The people that he has to get mad at are basically his people as opposed to his inquisitors and adversaries,' Cobb said. It was Trump's allies who excavated the Epstein debacle In fact, Trump's own officials are the most responsible for bringing the Epstein case back to the forefront. FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, regularly stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein before assuming their current jobs, floating the idea the government had covered up incriminating and compelling information that needed to be brought to light. 'Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are,' Patel said in a 2023 podcast. Attorney General Pam Bondi played a key role, too. She intimated in a Fox News Channel interview in February that an Epstein 'client list' was sitting on her desk for review — she would later say she was referring to the Epstein files more generally — and greeted far-right influencers with binders of records from the case that consisted largely of information already in the public domain. Tensions spiked earlier this month when the FBI and the Justice Department, in an unsigned two-page letter, said that no client list existed, that the evidence was clear Epstein had killed himself and that no additional records from the case would be released to the public. It was a seeming backtrack on the administration's stated commitment to transparency. Amid a fierce backlash from Trump's base and influential conservative personalities, Bongino and Bondi squabbled openly in a tense White House meeting. Since then, the Trump administration has scrambled to appear transparent, including by seeking the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in the case — though it's hardly clear that courts would grant that request or that those records include any eye-catching details anyway. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has taken the unusual step of interviewing the imprisoned Maxwell over the course of two days at a courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where her lawyer said she would 'always testify truthfully.' All the while, Trump and his allies have resurfaced the Russia investigation as a rallying cry for a political base that has otherwise been frustrated by the Epstein saga. Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who just weeks ago appeared on the outs with Trump over comments on Iran's nuclear ambitions, seemed to return to the president's good graces this week following the declassification and release of years-old documents she hoped would discredit long-settled conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The developments allowed Trump to rehash longstanding grievances against President Barack Obama and his Democratic advisers. Trump's talk of investigations into perceived adversaries from years ago let him, in effect, go back in time to deflect attention from a very current crisis.
