GREEN MAG

A federal judge on Saturday temporarily locked down the Justice Department's access to some evidence used in its criminal case against former FBI Director James Comey, just as the Trump administration prepares to seek a new indictment after thedismissal of previous chargesearly last week.

The judge'sordersets up a fast-moving emergency court proceeding over this week that could exclude key pieces of evidence from any future proceeding against Comey, potentially limiting what prosecutors may present to a grand jury after his previous case was dismissed for different reasons.

The development follows a court challenge from Comey's friend and former lawyer Dan Richman,who went to courtafter learning federal investigators may have used unauthorized access to his digital communications to prosecute Comey.

Richman asked for his data to be returned and to block the Justice Department from accessing it without proper warrants. The judge temporarily agreed.

"The Court concludes that Petitioner Richman is likely to succeed on the merits of his claim that the Government has violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures by retaining a complete copy of all files on his personal computer (an 'image' of the computer) and searching that image without a warrant," DC District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a four-page ruling.

The court orders the DOJ to "identify, segregate, and secure" an image of Richman's personal computer made in 2017 as well as his Columbia University email and iCloud accounts, any copy of those files, and "any material obtained, extracted, or derived" from the files currently in the government's possession.

The judge ordered the Justice Department to certify by Monday that it is complying with the court. Further developments in the disputed evidence are expected this week.

The evidence the Justice Department collected from Richman's online accounts, iPhone, iPad and a hard drive was becoming a serious issue in the recently dismissed criminal case against Comey in Northern Virginia.

Richman, a Columbia University law professor, called the Justice Department's access to his files a "callous disregard" of his Fourth Amendment rights.

Saturday's temporary court restriction also creates the possibility for a judge to dig into the allegations of prosecutorial missteps, which were not fully exposed or litigated in the Comey case before it was dismissed last Monday, or close off evidence prosecutors may want to use as they try to refashion charges against Comey related to his 2020 congressional testimony.

Comey had pleaded not guilty before the charges were dismissed. The indictment alleged he had misled Congress in 2020 on his interactions with Richman. The Alexandria, Virginia, grand jury heard evidence from the Richman files, according to court records.

Virginafederal magistrate judge William Fitzpatrickwrote last month that the original search warrants in the national defense leak investigation known as Arctic Haze didn't authorize federal investigators to seize evidence related to Comey's alleged crimes of lying to Congress in his 2020 testimony, the charges for which he was ultimately indicted.

The evidence from Richman was also dormant for years, and the Justice Department hadn't obtained new warrants to access it again for investigating Comey this year, Fitzpatrick also noted. Comey's team said they hadnever had accessto the evidence before he was charged.

The Arctic Haze investigation never resulted in a criminal case, and Richman has never been charged.

The Comey criminal case ended abruptly last week with a separate judge's ruling that Trump-backed lawyer Lindsey Halligan, who had been acting as the US Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia and solely presented the case to the grand jury in late September, didn't have prosecutor powers at that time.

The Justice Department has said it planned to appeal the decision voiding Halligan's work, though that appeal hasn't been filed yet.

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Japan said on Sunday that Chinese fighter jets had directed fire-control radar at Japanese military aircraft in two "dangerous" incidents near Japan's Okinawa islands, an account Beijing denied.

"These radar illuminations went beyond what is necessary for the safe flight of aircraft," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi posted on X, adding that Japan had lodged a protest with China over Saturday's "regrettable" incident.

Meeting with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles in Tokyo, Koizumi said Japan would respond "resolutely and calmly" to China's conduct to maintain regional peace and stability.

A Chinese navy spokesperson, Colonel Wang Xuemeng, said Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.

Strained ties over Taiwan

The encounters near islands claimed by both Japan and China are the most serious run-ins between the two militaries in years and are likely to further escalate tension between the two East Asian powers.

Relations have soured in the past month since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned that Japan could respond to any Chinese military action against Taiwan if it also threatened Japan's security.

Directing fire-control radar at another aircraft is a threatening step because it signals a potential attack and may force the targeted plane to take evasive action. Japan did not say whether the Chinese had locked on their planes or how Japan's aircraft responded.

Wang, in a statement on official social media channels, countered that Japan's statement was erroneous and its actions had seriously endangered flight safety.

"We solemnly demand that the Japanese side immediately stop slandering and smearing and strictly restrain front-line actions," Wang said. "The Chinese Navy will take necessary measures in accordance with the law to resolutely safeguard its own security and legitimate rights and interests."

Australia's Marles, at a press conference with Koizumi after discussions on deepening defense cooperation, said, "We are deeply concerned by the actions of China in the last 24 hours. We will continue to work with Japan and stand with Japan in upholding that rules-based order."

As China-Japan tensions over Taiwan have mounted, Beijing advised its citizens not to travel to Japan and paused plans to restart seafood imports suspended after Japan released treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has ramped up military and political pressure against the island, whose government rejects Beijing's territorial claims. Taiwan lies just 110 km (70 miles) from Japan's westernmost island, Yonaguni.

Japan hosts the biggest overseas concentration of US military power, including warships, aircraft and thousands of US Marines in Okinawa.

The US State Department and the US Embassy in Tokyo did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Japan's claims about China's use of its fire-control radar.

Trump silent, China steps up military activity

US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began, but President Donald Trump and other senior US officials have remained silent.

Trump, who plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks, telephoned Takaichi last month, urging hernot to escalatethe dispute, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

That call followed a conversation between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who told Trump that Taiwan's return to China was central to Beijing's vision for the world order, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Japan said the Chinese J-15 jets involved in the two incidents were launched from China's Liaoning aircraft carrier, which was maneuvering south of the Okinawan islands with three missile destroyers. Japan said it scrambled F-15 fighters in response to flight operations from the Chinese carrier.

In 2013, Japan said a Chinese warship locked fire-control radar on one of its destroyers in the East China Sea. Three years later, Beijing accused Japanese jets of directing fire-control radar at Chinese fighters. In June, Japan said Chinese jets flew dangerously close to one of its patrol aircraft near Okinawa.

On Thursday, China had more than 100 naval and coast guard vessels deployed across East Asian waters at one point, Reutersreported,citing sources and intelligence reports.

Taiwan's government described that build-up as posing a threat to the Indo-Pacific region. Japan said it was monitoring Chinese activity closely.

On Sunday, Taiwan's coast guard said it was monitoring drills by three Chinese maritime safety ships on the western side of the Taiwan Strait's median line but that the situation in the waters surrounding Taiwan was "normal."

Chinese state media said the search-and-rescue drills were in the central waters of the strait, patrolling "high-traffic areas, and areas with frequent accidents."

Taiwan's coast guard said China was using "misleading and false wording" about what it was doing, with the aim of harassing Taiwan and carrying out psychological warfare.

China says it alone exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait, a major trade route for about half of global container ships. The United States and Taiwan say the strait is an international waterway.

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A nightclub fire in the popular Indian resort region of Goa has killed at least 25 people including four tourists, officials said.

The blaze is suspected to have broken out after a cylinder exploded in the kitchen area of the club in Arpora village around midnight on Saturday local time,CNN affiliate News18reported.

Fourteen of the victims are believed to have been staff, and the nationalities of the tourists are not yet confirmed, police told the English-language Indian news channel.

Seven people are being treated for injuries, including one person with 60% burns, it added.

Goa, a small state on India's west coast known for its beaches and Portuguese heritage, attracts hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists and millions of domestic tourists every year.

"Today is a very painful day for all of us in Goa," the state's Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said Sunday morning in a post on X.

Videos on social media showed fire trucks and ambulances lining up to help the injured.

Goa's Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on X that the injured were taken to Goa Medical College and Hospital, and are receiving "the best possible medical care," with teams working through the night.

Some of the victims succumbed to burn injuries and others died due to suffocation, News18 reported.

"In this moment of profound grief, we stand firmly with the affected families, assuring them of our unwavering support in every possible way," Rane added.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the fire was "deeply saddening" and pledged that his office would offer compensation of up to 200,000 rupees ($2,200) to each family of those killed and 50,000 rupees ($556) to the injured.

"My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones," he said on X.

"May the injured recover at the earliest."

An inquiry has been ordered to "examine the exact cause of the fire and whether fire safety norms and building rules were followed," Sawant said.

Early reports suggest the venue lacked the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) and violated fire regulations, the Director of Fire and Emergency Services Nitin Raiker told News18 on Sunday.

"Fire services were rushed towards the spot immediately," Raiker told the channel.

"In half an hour we extinguished the fire. NOC was not given, fire norms were not followed by the club."

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Darian Mensah threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns to Jeremiah Hasley to lead Duke to a 27-20 overtime win over No. 17 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C.

After Mensah found Hasley for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in overtime, Luke Mergott intercepted Chandler Morris on the first play of Virginia's overtime drive to secure the victory.

The win clinched the Blue Devils' (8-5) first outright ACC championship since 1962 and avenged their 34-17 home loss to Virginia 21 days ago.

It also may have cost the ACC a spot in this year's College Football Playoff, denying what would have been a certain bid for the Cavaliers (10-3).

Duke head coach Manny Diaz, though, vehemently disagrees with the possibility that the ACC could be shut out of the playoff.

"The ACC champion should go to the College Football Playoff this year and every year," Diaz said postgame. "We'll be very excited to find out how they rule on that (Sunday)."

Trailing 20-10 with 5:02 left after a Duke field goal, Virginia strung together a quick 50-yard drive to set up Will Bettridge's 42-yard field goal with 3:54 left and then got a defensive stop.

Morris capped off a 10-play, 96-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Eli Wood with 22 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

"I obviously don't like the outcome, but at the end of the day, our guys fought," Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. "They fought all the way to the end, they believed they were going to win the game. We came up a few plays short."

Mensah completed 19 of 25 passes (75%), throwing his 29th and 30th touchdowns and fifth interception of the season. Cooper Barkate caught five passes for a game-high 91 yards. Hasley caught three passes, two of which were touchdowns.

"Shoutout to my o-line, shoutout to my defense," Mensah, who was named ACC championship game MVP, said. "Those guys played their asses off."

Morris was 21-of-40 passing for 216 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. J'Mari Taylor had 99 yards from scrimmage (65 rushing, 34 receiving) and a TD.

The Blue Devils made a statement to begin the game, receiving the opening kickoff and going on a 15-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock before Mensah found Hasley for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

After a missed field goal on Virginia's opening possession, Corey Costner's interception set up Virginia's game-tying touchdown when Morris threw a screen pass to Taylor, who scored from 11 yards out.

Duke responded right back with another extended drive, this one 13 plays and 8:02 of game time, before retaking the lead on Nate Sheppard's 16-yard TD run.

Virginia finished the first half with 115 yards, 9:31 time of possession and seven points.

The Cavaliers did put together a promising drive after receiving the ball to start the second half, but the 17-play drive stalled inside the 10, resulting in a 24-yard Bettridge field goal that cut the deficit to 14-10.

Duke again responded with a score, this time Todd Pelino's 29-yard field goal that restored its lead to seven points late in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils added to their lead when Caleb Weaver's interception set up another Pelino field goal that made it 20-10.

--Field Level Media

LAS VEGAS -- Despite the steepest of odds, Petr Yan is the king of the bantamweight division once again after stunning Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision at UFC 323 on Saturday.

The fight was a complete reversal from the pair's first meeting in March 2023, where Dvalishvili registered a historically dominant effort in a demoralizing defeat for Yan.

On Saturday, Yan made good on his promise to be the aggressor and delivered by landing bomb after bomb throughout the fight. Yan first stunned Dvalishvili with an explosive combo in the first round, and he delivered a cringe-inducing kick to the ribs in the third round that likely broke Dvalishvili's ribs and served as the death knell for his record-breaking title defense.

Yan didn't pinpoint that kick as the moment he won the fight, but he made it clear his mindset entering the evening was to leave no doubt about the result.

"I don't know if there was actually a moment that I realized the fight was mine," Yan said. "I knew the entire time, I had to push my initiative. I had to make sure to damage him. There wasn't, like, an actual moment. This is his backyard. I flew 30 hours to get here. I knew that in order for the belt to go in my hand, I had to make sure to leave no stone unturned, no questions."

Yan (20-5) won the judges' cards 49-46, 49-46, 48-47.

His stunning upset prevents Dvalishvili (21-5) from becoming the first fighter in UFC history to successfully defend a belt four times in a single year. In most betting markets, Yan closed as greater than a 3-to-1 underdog.

Joshua Van, 24, became the UFC's first 2000s-born champion with his first-round defeat of flyweight legend Alexandre Pantoja, but the way it happened was borderline nightmarish for all involved. Twenty seconds into the fight, Pantoja attempted a doomed headkick and broke his arm trying to brace for an awkward fall after the kick rolled off Van.

Van (16-2), who faced off with Pantoja (30-6) in the Octagon at UFC 317 after they each won their respective fights that night, expressed a desire to rematch with Pantoja and run their fight back the proper way when he's healthy again. For now, however, it appears a non-Pantoja defense is next on the horizon for Van.

Following the fight, UFC CEO Dana White clarified that it was actually a dislocated shoulder that resulted in the gruesome-looking injury. White said Pantoja's shoulder was put back into place backstage following the fight, but he doesn't anticipate a recovery happening soon enough to challenge Van before another defense.

"They popped his shoulder back," White said. "It wasn't the elbow, it was his shoulder and they popped it back in backstage. Listen, I'm no doctor or anything, but I don't see (Pantoja) coming back anytime soon. I think that there would be a defense before he comes back. I think he's gonna need some time."

The highly partisan crowd in favor of Mexican flyweight Brandon Moreno was met with disappointment rather quickly in the main card's third fight, as the former champion lost by second-round technical knockout to Tatsuro Taira after a somewhat early stoppage.

The second bout of the main card featured a passing of the torch, as Henry Cejudo's storied combat career as double UFC champion and Olympic wrestling gold medalist came to a close with a decisive but entertaining loss to rising bantamweight star Payton Talbott.

Talbott (11-1) managed to land two shocking early takedowns on the former wrestling champion, but Cejudo (16-6) managed to hold his own in the striking exchanges and in turn, it made for an action-packed 15 minutes.

Following his loss by unanimous decision, Cejudo received a video tribute and an outpouring of love from the Las Vegas crowd. Talbott, 27, also joined in, urging the crowd to show appreciation for Cejudo while giving him credit for saving the lightweight division before his move to bantamweight in 2019.

Cejudo, 38, who had said this would be his last fight, announced his retirement -- for the second time in his career -- after the bout.

Light heavyweights Jan Blachowicz and Bogdan Guskov opened the main card by fighting to a majority draw in a seesaw slugfest that started slow and finished fast. Blachowicz had the edge in a largely uninteresting first round that drew boos from the crowd, but Guskov opened the second with a devastating right hand that sent Blachowicz to the canvas and got the fireworks started.

Guskov controlled the remainder of the second and did so in such decisive fashion that two judges scored the round 10-8. This proved vital, as Blachowicz came back to life in the final round and regained control, even landing a last-second knockdown of his own with under 10 seconds remaining in the fight.

--Will Despart, Field Level Media

--Will Despart, Field Level Media