Rep. George Santos, the chronically untruthful Long Island Republican who has fabricated much of his biography, claimed in a newly-unearthed podcast interview that he survived an “assassination attempt” — and separately had his shoes stolen off his feet during a mugging in the middle of Fifth Avenue.
The notorious fabulist made a series of wild allegations during a virtual sit-down with a Brazilian podcast in December, which was translated from Portuguese by MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and aired on Monday.
We have already suffered an attempt on my life, an assassination attempt, a threatening letter, having to have the police, a police escort standing in front of our house,” said Santos, who previously went by the name Anthony Devolder and was introduced on the show as George Santos-Devolder. MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Monday aired parts of George Santos’ podcast interview translated from Portuguese, in which he painted himself as a victim of multiple crimes. MSNBC
The freshman congressman, who is of Brazilian descent — but previously claimed he was “Jew-ish” and the descendant of Holocaust survivors — alleged that he has been the victim of multiple crimes over the years, including the “assassination attempt.”
He also said that when he and his husband returned home from a New Year’s Eve party in 2021, they found their Florida home to have been vandalized in what he described as a politically-motivated attack. He also claimed he was mugged by two white men in the middle of Fifth Avenue who stole the shoes right off his feet. MSNBC
It was vandalized because we were at a Republican party, he argued.
Later in the interview, Santos recounted how one afternoon in the summer of 2021, he was mugged by two men in the middle of Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Before asking any questions, they (the robbers) werent black, they were even white, but they robbed me, took my briefcase, took my shoes, and my watch,” Santos said on the podcast. “And that was in broad daylight. It was 3 p.m. I was leaving my office, going to the garage, getting my car, and I was mugged.
Santos went on to say that the worst part of the robbery was that “nobody did anything.” The serial fabulist has lied about much of his life, including his education, work history and family heritage. REUTERS
“The fear is real,” he added. “Its surreal what we live through here.
Maddow said during Monday night’s broadcast that the hosts of the Brazilian podcast later asked Santos — aka Devolder — for a copy of a police report documenting his purported robbery but did not receive a response.
Since flipping a Democrat-held seat in November, Santos has been mired in a seemingly ever-expanding web of lies, scandals and investigations running the gamut from his murky finances to his equally shady resume and puzzling ancestry.
The newly sworn-in Republican congressman was found to have fabricated his college education at Baruch College and NYU, his employment history at top Wall Street firms, his family heritage, and even the circumstances of his mother’s death, which he claimed was tied to the 9/11 attacks. People demonstrate against Rep. Santos in Queens on Jan. 7. REUTERS
Santos was caught in yet another lie last week, when it emerged that he performed as a “drag queen” named Kitara Ravache in Brazil back in 2008, despite his repeated denials of that fact.
After a photo of Santos in a sparkly red dress and wig was shared by a former friend from Brazil, Santos, who is openly gay, finally admitted to dabbling in cross-dressing — but insisted that he was not a drag queen, and only having fun at a festival.
Despite growing calls from both Democrats and Republicans demanding Santos’ resignation over his unending litany of falsehoods, the freshman lawmaker has flatly refused to step down — and instead was awarded seats on two House committees.
The chancellor is back out on the road to start the government’s re-launch week, ahead of the parliamentary recess.
In today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy explain how comments on a proposed wealth tax by Rachel Reeves’s cabinet colleagues may have already put her in a tricky situation.
Elsewhere, Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Windsor Castle will host US President Donald Trump for a second unprecedented state visit in September.
Southend Airport has been closed until further notice after a small plane crashed – as video footage emerged showing the aftermath of a huge fireball.
Images posted online showed large flames and a cloud of black smoke following the incident on Sunday afternoon.
Essex Police said it responded to “reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane” shortly before 4pm.
“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours,” the statement said.
“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”
Southend Airport said it would be “closed until further notice” due to the “serious incident”.
“We ask that any passengers due to travel (on Monday) via London Southend Airport contact their airline for information and advice,” it added.
Image: A huge fireball near the airport. Pic: Ben G
Zeusch Aviation, based at Lelystad Airport in the Netherlands, confirmed its SUZ1 flight had been “involved in an accident” at the airport and its thoughts were with “everyone who has been affected”.
It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.
According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.
Pilots ‘waved’ to families watching planes
One man, who was at the airport with his wife and children, told Sky News the plane crashed within seconds of taking off.
John Johnson said the pilots “waved” at his family as they taxied the aircraft.
“We all waved [back] at them,” he continued. “They carried on taxiing to their take-off point and turned around.
“Then they throttled up the engines and passed by us. The aircraft took off and within a few seconds it had a steep bank angle to its left.”
The aircraft then “almost seemed to invert and unfortunately crashed,” he said. “There was a large fireball.”
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Smoke seen after small plane crashes
‘Airport was in lockdown’
Wren Stranix, 16, from Woodbridge in Suffolk, was in another aircraft waiting to take off for Newquay, Cornwall, with her family and boyfriend when the plane came down.
They watched from their aircraft as the emergency services arrived and were not able to leave their seats.
“The flight attendant didn’t know what was going on,” she told Sky News. “They said the plane had exploded and they didn’t know if it was safe or not. The airport was in lockdown.”
Image: Plumes of black smoke. Pic: UKNIP
They were eventually allowed back in the terminal to wait before all flights were cancelled.
Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.
Image: A photo of the plane at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in September 2024. Pic: Pascal Weste
After the incident, EasyJet – one of just a few airlines that uses the airport – said all of its remaining flights to and from Southend had been “diverted to alternative airports or are no longer able to operate”.
The airline said it has contacted customers who were due to travel on Sunday. Anyone due to fly on Monday should check online for up-to-date information, it added.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.
The East of England Ambulance Service said four ambulances, four hazardous area response team vehicles and an air ambulance had been sent to the incident.
Image: Fire engines at the airport
David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, asked people to keep away from the area and “allow the emergency services to do their work” in a post on social media.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “monitoring the situation closely and receiving regular updates”.
Essex Police have set up a dedicated public portal and phone line where people can contact them about the crash at https://esxpol.uk/LIbaz and on 0800 0961011.
Chief Superintendent Morgan Cronin said: “In these very early stages it is vital we gather the information we need, and continue supporting the people of Essex.”
He added: “We are working closely with all at the scene, as well as the Air Accident Investigation Branch, to establish what has happened today and why.”
Honda’s patent filings offer a clear glimpse into the company’s plans for an ultra-affordable electric motorcycle, integrating a proven chassis with a simple electric powertrain. It’s a clear glimpse into how the world’s most prolific motorcycle maker plans to challenge the nascent electric motorcycle market.
The filings in Honda’s new patent show a bike built around the familiar platform of the Honda Shine 100, a best-selling commuter in India, reimagined in electric form for a cost-effective future of urban mobility.
According to Cycle World’s Ben Purvis, Honda’s patent sketches outline a design that repurposes the Shine’s sturdy frame and chassis mounting points to house an electric motor and compact battery setup. Positioned where the engine once sat, a mid-motor drives the rear wheel via a single-speed reduction gear and chain – mirroring the essentials of the original gasoline-powered commuter bike.
Instead of a traditional fuel tank, the design features two lithium-ion battery packs, angled forward on either side of the spine frame and fitting neatly into the existing geometry.
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What makes the bike revealed in this patent even more interesting isn’t just its clever packaging, but rather the platform. By leveraging the proven Shine chassis, Honda can significantly cut development costs, manufacturing complexity, and market price. That’s a big statement given that surviving in price-sensitive markets like India demands simplicity and reliability. And by piggybacking off a proven platform, Honda can dramatically reduce the time to market from the time the boardroom bigwigs give the project the final green light.
Honda’s patent images show an electric motorcycle built on the same platform as the Honda Shine 100
The design still seems to feature styling that would be fairly consistent with the Shine 100, even down to a gas cap-like circular protrusion likely on top of a faux-tank. Some electric motorcycles in the past have used this location to hide a charging port, keeping similar form and function to outdated fuel tanks and fill ports, though it’s not clear if that is Honda’s intention.
It’s not clear what power level Honda could be targeting, but the Shine bike from which Honda’s creation draws its design inspiration could provide some clues. The Honda Shine 100 features a 99cc engine that provides around 7.3 horsepower (around 5.5 kW) and has a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph), solidly planting it in the commuter segment of motorcycles.
The electric motorcycle in Honda’s design would be unlikely to target much higher performance as it would drastically increase the required battery capacity, and thus similar speeds of around 80-85 km/h (50-53 mph) would seem likely.
There also appears to be no active cooling, which would also limit the amount of power that Honda would be likely to draw continuously. The patent describes a channel formed by the two battery packs, leading to the speed controller and creating ducted cooling that pulls heat out of the batteries and electronics without drawing extra power.
Honda hasn’t released a final design, but I ask AI to create one based on the patent images. I’d ride that!
This emerging design is just one piece of Honda’s broader electric two-wheeler strategy. Their entry-level EM1 e: and Activa e: scooters launched with mobile battery packs and budget-friendly pricing. Meanwhile, high-tech concepts continually push the envelope. But this Shine-based bike aims squarely at the heart of mainstream affordability – a move likely to resonate with millions of new electric riders in developing regions like India where traditionally-styled small-dsiplacement motorcycles reign supreme.
Honda hasn’t revealed a timeline or pricing yet, but Honda’s patents offer real hope to fans of the brand’s electric efforts. If scaled effectively, this could be the first truly mass-market electric motorcycle from a major OEM, with a sticker price likely far below the $5,000 mark usually seen as a floor for commuter electric motorcycles from major manufacturers. That would also dramatically undercut models from brands like Zero or Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire, even as those brands rush to bring their own lower-cost models to market.
Electrek’s Take
Honda’s patent reveals a clever, no-frills EV designed to democratize electric two-wheeling, especially in developing markets that are even more price-sensitive than Western electric motorcycle customers.
Using a trusted frame, simple electric drive, and passive cooling, I’d say it definitely prioritizes cost over complexity, which is exactly what urban commuters need. If Honda can bring this to market, it would not just add another electric bike to the mix… it could create a new baseline for affordability in affordable electric mobility. Now we’re just waiting for the rubber to hit the road!
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