Logan Paul sells ultra-rare Pokémon card in record-breaking bidding war

Logan Paul sells ultra-rare Pokémon card in record-breaking bidding war

An ultra-rare Pokémon card owned by wrestler and YouTuber Logan Paul has been sold at an auction for a record $US16.5 million ($23.3 million).

Paul purchased the Pikachu Illustrator card in Dubai in 2021 for $7.5 million – the most expensive Pokémon card to ever change hands in a private sale.

The pricey trading card investment has proved staggeringly lucrative for the 30-year-old social media star.

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Logan Paul sells his Pokémon card card

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Auction house Goldin confirmed AJ Scaramucci, the son of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, bought the "holy grail" of collectibles for $23.3 million following an hours-long bidding war.

Paul live-streamed the bidding on his YouTube channel and on Instagram.

After the winning bid, a Guinness World Records official appeared on-screen and confirmed Paul had broken the record for selling the most expensive trading card ever at an auction.

It is understood Paul will walk away with around $11 million in profit after subtracting auction fees.

The well-preserved Pokémon card comes complete with a diamond-encrusted necklace, which Paul wore in his WWE debut at WrestleMania 38 in 2022.

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Logan Paul sells his Pokémon card card

Paul also said he would hand-deliver the card, however Scaramucci was present at Goldin headquarters and collected his bounty immediately.

The Pikachu Illustrator cards were issued in 1998 and only 40 are believed to be in circulation.

Paul's card is the only one to have been graded a perfect 10 by a Professional Sports Authenticator.

"No card in the hobby can boast the same prestige and elite place at the very pinnacle of the Pokémon hobby like this unimaginable Holy Grail piece," Goldin noted on its website.

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Logan Paul sells his Pokémon card card

The YouTuber appeared on an episode of Netflix's King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, where auction house owner Ken Goldin was seen convincing him to sell it.

"The Pokémon market is blazing hot. It's dominating the market and that's the number one card," Goldin said at the time.

Paul said he would use some of the funds to pay for his wedding to fiancee, Danish model Nina Agdal.

During the auction, Paul said he also spent around $770,535 on other Pokémon product – mostly sealed boxes.

Pokémon cards, which were popularised in the 1990s, are skyrocketing in value due to collector interest in rare cards in mint condition.

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Obama clarifies alien comments after telling podcast 'they're real'

Obama clarifies alien comments after telling podcast 'they're real'

Former US President Barack Obama says he has seen no evidence that aliens have made contact with Earth, clarifying his position on extraterrestrials after comments he made in a podcast went viral.

Obama found himself in the spotlight over the weekend after he appeared to confirm the existence of aliens in an interview he did with US podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen.

Towards the end of the interview, which dealt with a range of heavyweight issues such as the killing of protesters at the hands of immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota, Cohen posed a series of questions in a "lightning round", starting with: "Are aliens real?"

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"They're real but I haven't seen them," replied Obama.

"And they're not being kept in, what is it? Area 51. There's no underground centre unless there's this enormous conspiracy and they hid it from the president of the United States."

The second question in that round was "what was the first question that you wanted answered when you became president?"

Obama replied, laughing: "Where are the aliens?"

The interviewer did not delve into the response, instead going straight onto the next question.

Obama's answer was picked up by international media, as well as people on social media. On Sunday evening, Obama issued a statement to clarify his position.

He posted the clip of his original comments on Instagram, accompanied by a short statement.

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"I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it's gotten attention let me clarify. Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there's life out there," he said.

"But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we've been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!"

It's not the first time that Obama has spoken out on the issue.

"What is true, and I'm actually being serious here, is that there are, there's footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don't know exactly what they are," he said, In an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

"We can't explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is."

Conspiracy theories involving extraterrestrial life have long abounded about Area 51, a highly classified United States Air Force centre located at Groom Lake in southern Nevada.

One popular UFO conspiracy is that in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico, remains from a flying saucer that supposedly crashed were taken to Area 51 for reverse engineering experiments in order to replicate the extraterrestrial spacecraft.

In June 2019, a poll conducted by YouGov found that 54 per cent of US adults think it is likely the government knows more than it's telling about UFOs.

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Man 'armed with traffic cone' causes $100K in damage to cars inside Sydney casino

Man 'armed with traffic cone' causes $100K in damage to cars inside Sydney casino

A man has been charged with using a traffic cone to cause about $100,000 worth of damage to 35 cars at the Star Casino in Sydney.

Police allege the man first damaged the casino's carpark boom gate in Pyrmont at around 3.50am today before targeting dozens of unoccupied cars inside.

Upon arriving at the scene, officers set up a crime scene and began an investigation.

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The Star casino, in Sydney, was temporarily closed during the first nationwide lockdown in Australia.

They found the man nearby and arrested him after a foot chase. 

The 42-year-old man was taken to Day Street Police Station where he was charged with 37 counts of destroying or damaging property.

He was refused bail and will face the Downing Centre Local Court later today.

Police will allege in court the estimated value of the damages is about $100,000. 

In a short statement, Star Casino said the incident was "isolated".

"We note that the damage to cars caused this morning at the Star Sydney is an isolated incident, and as this matter is now subject to a police investigation we will not be making any further statement," a Star Casino spokesperson said.

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'Spirit of Tasmania' helps save seven stranded after boat capsizes

'Spirit of Tasmania' helps save seven stranded after boat capsizes

The Spirit of Tasmania ferry pitched in to help with a rescue operation off the coast of Victoria overnight.

Emergency services were called when a boat capsized in Corio Bay off Geelong at about 8.20pm.

A large police operation was launched, involving the marine unit, water police and Air Wing, to assist in the rescue effort.

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The Spirit of Tasmania ferry

The coast guard and the Spirit of Tasmania ferry also deployed rescue boats.

The capsized boat's seven occupants were brought to safety and medically assessed at the scene.

What caused the boat to capsize is under investigation.

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Drenching continues for South-East Queensland

Drenching continues for South-East Queensland

Residents across Queensland are being warned today to expect another burst of wet weather, with up to 50mm of rain forecast in some parts.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting more heavy falls and the risk of flooding across southern, central and northern parts of the state.

Senior Meteorologist Dean Narramore told Weekend Today this morning Brisbane and the Gold Coast are among areas set to bear the brunt over coming hours.

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"We're going to see that rain really pick up this afternoon and this evening around the Gold Coast and of south-east Queensland.

"And that's why we're going to see the flood watches are current."

The bureau says a large trough over western, southern, and central Queensland has caused the wet conditions of past days.

The rain and thunderstorms are likely to shift north and west away from the coast into central Queensland by tomorrow.

Rapid river level rises are possible in areas that receive the heaviest rainfall.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/2022792442076877003?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The bureau warns catchments likely to be affected include the upper and lower Brisbane River, including the Bremer River, and Warrill, Lockyer, Laidley, Ipswich and Brisbane creeks.

A strong marine wind warning has also been issued today for waters in Capricornia, Hervey Bay, K'gari, and the Sunshine and Gold coasts.

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Two young men hospitalised with stab wounds in capital city

Two young men hospitalised with stab wounds in capital city

Two young men have been hospitialised following separate stabbings in western Sydney overnight.

A man aged in his 20s was found in a car with multiple stab wounds at Hoxton Park Road in Hoxton Park just after midnight.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

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Later, police were called to a home at Oleander Road, St Marys, at 12.30am where they found a young man stabbed following a break and enter.

Officers were told several men had forced entry into a house and stabbed the 18-year-old victim.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition, with one stab wound to the back of his left thigh.

Police have opened investigations into both incidents and set up crime scenes.

Police are urging anyone who may have information to contact Crime Stoppers.

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Brazilian au pair gets 10-year sentence for killing man in murder plot against lover's wife

Brazilian au pair gets 10-year sentence for killing man in murder plot against lover's wife

An au pair who schemed with her employer-turned-lover to kill his wife and another man received a 10-year prison sentence in the US on Friday.

Prosecutors had recommended Juliana Peres Magalhães walk free after she pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge in the February 2023 killing of Joseph Ryan.

Instead of being tried for second-degree murder, she became their star witness, testifying that she had fatally shot Ryan as Virginia man Brendan Banfield was fatally stabbing his wife, Christine, in the couple’s bedroom.

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Juliana Peres Magalhães testifies during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

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Brendan Banfield was convicted by a jury this month of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife and Ryan.

“I know my remorse cannot bring you peace,” Magalhães told the victims' families on Friday, wiping away tears and muffling sobs.

“I hope you can someday understand that I really did not believe his plan would actually happen.”

Instead of sentencing her to time served, Judge Penney Azcarate delivered the maximum possible sentence to the woman from Brazil.

"Let’s get it straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and his family. May it weigh heavily on your soul,” the judge said.

At Banfield's trial, Magalhães testified that she and the IRS agent created an account in the name of his wife, a paediatric intensive care nurse, on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes.

Ryan connected with the account and agreed to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife.

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Brendan Banfield testifies during his double murder trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

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Magalhães, then 22, said she and Brendan Banfield took the couple’s four-year-old child to the basement, and then found Ryan surprising Christine Banfield with a knife in the couple's bedroom.

She said Brendan Banfield shot Ryan and then began stabbing his wife in the neck.

When she saw Ryan moving, Magalhães said, she fired the second shot that killed him.

The au pair wasn’t arrested until eight months later, and hasn't left jail since.

Prosecutors raised concerns that if she were to be allowed bail, she would flee to Brazil or be deported by immigration officials before they could finish their case.

She didn’t talk with investigators for more than a year, until she changed her mind as her trial date approached.

“I lost myself in a relationship, and left my morals and values behind,” Magalhães told the judge.

“You were texting and speaking to Joseph Ryan, encouraging him to bring a knife and ultimately, through the phone conversation, getting his consent, knowing all along you were bringing him to his death,” the judge responded.

Ryan's mother, Deirdre Fisher, told the court that her son, born days before Christmas, was her “greatest gift.”

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Magalhães was delivered the maximum possible sentence.

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Three years after his killing, she can’t bear taking down their Christmas tree.

An urn with Ryan’s ashes sits in front of the decoration.

“I say good morning to him each day when I turn on the tree’s lights,” she said.

“But of course that’s not Joe sitting there. He can’t say ‘I love you’ back.”

Sangeeta Ryan described her nephew as “inquisitive, curious, smart, charming and so dang talkative.”

She said he loved martial arts and role-playing with his friends.

She also noted that he had moved in with his octogenarian grandmother to care for her.

“His sudden murder devastated his grandma, she could no longer live in the family home without Joe,” his aunt said.

The woman quietly moved away, hoping to avoid her memories and the reporters knocking at the door.

Christine Banfield's relatives attended Friday's hearing.

A judge has said Banfield will be sentenced in May.

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'Priceless' Egyptian artifacts stolen in Queensland museum heist

'Priceless' Egyptian artifacts stolen in Queensland museum heist

"Priceless" Egyptian artifacts have been stolen from a Queensland museum, police said.

A man smashed a window of Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in Caboolture in Moreton Bay near Brisbane around 3am this morning and made off with the treasures.

The museum said on Facebook it was"devastated to advise that the Museum was broken into last night, and several of our precious Egyptian artefacts have been taken."

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"Priceless" Egyptian artifacts have been stolen from a Queensland museum, police said."Priceless" Egyptian artifacts have been stolen from a Queensland museum, police said.

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"We are working closely with Queensland Police Service in the hopes to retrieve our objects" it said.

The museum is described as "a treasure trove of world history that engages young and old."

It says its Egypt collections include predynastic stone tools and pottery, Dynastic amulets, jewellery, figurines, painted panels and ceramics, as well as a "wonderful gilt cartonnage mask".

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"Priceless" Egyptian artifacts have been stolen from a Queensland museum, police said.

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That was among the items stolen, alongside jewellery and a statue.

Cartonnage is a type of material used in ancient Egyptian funeral masks.

"Initial investigations indicate at approximately 3am, a man smashed a window of The Abbey Place property and took a quantity of priceless Egyptian artifacts before leaving the scene," Queensland Police said.

Police are appealing for information.

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Chilling images from Nancy Guthrie's porch could hold valuable clues

Chilling images from Nancy Guthrie's porch could hold valuable clues

The chilling videos of a masked man outside Nancy Guthrie’s home in Arizona before she vanished show just glimpses of the suspect, but for investigators they hold a mountain of clues.

And those images, from the suspect's gloves to his flashlight, could be what's needed to break the case.

“There’s a tremendous amount of information that this guy left,” said former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt.

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This combo from images provided by the FBI shows surveillance footage at the home of Nancy Guthrie the night she went missing in Tucson, Ariz. (FBI via AP)

The FBI already has analysed the videos from Guthrie's doorbell camera to identify the suspect's backpack, posting an alert on Thursday with a photo of the brand and model in hopes of narrowing down tips flooding the agency.

It has been nearly two weeks since the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie was believed to have been abducted.

Former criminal investigators say it's almost certain that authorities are building a physical and psychological profile of the suspect, using the footage released publicly on Tuesday that totals less than a minute.

Whether authorities recovered more footage isn't known, but technology will allow them to see more than meets the eye.

“Every single thing that is in the video is being digitally enhanced. Everything from the mask to backpack to the jacket,” said Ed Davis, the former Boston police commissioner during the marathon bombing and manhunt in 2013.

Here's what was captured in the footage and what clues each might yield:

The backpack

It probably didn't take long to pinpoint the type of backpack the suspect was wearing, Davis said.

Technology available today allows investigators to break down photos and videos to the pixel, he said, giving them images of the stitching and maybe the manufacturer or brand name.

The FBI described the backpack as a black, 25-litre “Ozark Trail Hiker Pack.”

The holster

The FBI says the man on Nancy Guthrie's porch was armed.

But the video shows he had an unusual holster setup, hanging over the middle of his waist and not on the side. It might be an indication that whoever it was has little experience with firearms.

“I've never seen anything like that,” Davis said.

The gloves

The footage gives a close-up view of the suspect trying to cover Guthrie's doorbell camera, first with a gloved hand and then with part of a plant ripped from the yard.

The black gloves appear to be thicker than most and shimmered in the light.

“I spend a lot of time in Home Depot, and I've never seen those gloves,” Davis said. “They're not very common.”

The clothes

The suspect's zip-up jacket, pants, shoes and mask don't immediately stand out. But identifying one or more of those items could be a key.

Because once that happens, investigators can start looking at where those items are sold and combing through receipts and store surveillance cameras, starting with stores in the Tucson area closest to Guthrie's home, said Van Zandt, who spent 25 years with the FBI.

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Law enforcement agents check vegetation areas around Nancy Guthrie's home in Tucson, Arizona.

Going through mounds of receipts and footage will take time and isn't something that would be done on most cases, but there's no shortage of people assigned to this one, he said. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department earlier this week said several hundred detective and agents have been assigned to the case.

“If all of the stars line up properly — and they rarely do — I find someone who was in there two weeks prior who bought the jacket, the shoes, the backpack all at the same time,” Van Zandt said.

The torch

In one of the videos, the suspect appeared to be holding a small torchin his mouth while in front of Guthrie's door.

Figuring out the type of torch might be difficult, but there's something else to look at there, said David Lyons, a former homicide detective and police commander in Lexington, Kentucky.

Not many people instinctively hold a torchin their mouth, but those who work in the trades might — such as an electrician or a plumber, he said.

“That’s a small thing,” he said.

“But at the same time, down the road, it could be something.”

The movements

Every step and movement the suspect made on the porch is worth a close look — from the way he walked, to how he seemed unhurried and how he grabbed the plant from the yard, Lyons said.

All of that will likely be used by behavioral analysts to create a profile of the suspect, he said.

“That’s what this will come down to,” Lyons said.

“Those small aspects added all together.”

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Teen pedestrian struck by truck on NSW highway dies

Teen pedestrian struck by truck on NSW highway dies

A teenager walking on a highway south of Sydney died this morning when he was allegedly hit by a truck.

Emergency services were called to the intersection of the Hume Highway and Golden Vale Road, at Sutton Forest about 5am over reports of a crash.

Police say the pedestrian- aged in his late teens - was struck by the vehicle as he entered the roadway.

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Paramedics treated him, but he could not be revived and died at the scene.

He is yet to be formally identified.

The truck driver – a 48-year-old man – was not injured and taken to Bowral Hospital for mandatory testing.

Police have set up a crime scene which will be forensically examined by officers.

Traffic diversions are in place, and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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