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Showing posts from June, 2022

The US supreme court just made yet another devastating decision for humanity | Peter Kalmus

The EPA ruling means it may now be mathematically impossible through available avenues for the US to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions goal The US supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade was a direct attack on women. It will result in countless deaths, especially among vulnerable women, and it set civil liberties in the United States back by half a century. Now, the court has made yet another devastating decision for humanity. In a 6-3 decision, the openly partisan and undemocratic court ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought by fossil-fuel-producing states against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The decision strips power from regulatory agencies and advances the Republican goal to end government oversight. In particular, it eliminates one of the only remaining avenues for systemic federal climate action: using the Clean Air Act to phase out fossil fuel power plants. As a result, it may now be mathematically impossible through available avenues for the US to achieve i...

Florida judge temporarily blocks state's 15-week abortion law from taking effect

Florida's new ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy was blocked Thursday by a judge – a day before it was to go into effect.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/vMBOc5F

‘Amazing development’: fossil finds show how panda’s false thumb evolved

Fossils of Ailurarctos, an extinct panda relative, are oldest known evidence for the radial sesamoid Ancient fossils discovered in China have helped researchers get a grip on the enduring mystery of the panda’s false thumb. Modern giant pandas sport a thumb-like sixth digit on their wrists, which scientists believe was pivotal in their transition from omnivores to bamboo-munching vegetarians. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/cmdqnWK

R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years in prison after NY sex trafficking conviction

A judge sentenced R. Kelly to 30 years in prison Wednesday after a jury found him guilty on nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/kjGAg07

Ukraine announces largest exchange of prisoners of war since Russia invaded

144 Ukrainian soldiers have been released, including 95 who defended the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol Ukraine has announced the largest exchange of prisoners of war since Russia invaded, securing the release of 144 of its soldiers, including 95 who defended the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. “This is the largest exchange since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,” said Ukrainian military intelligence in a Telegram message on Wednesday. “Of the 144 freed, 95 are Azovstal defenders.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/HoSc3ef

‘You destroyed so many lives’: R Kelly victims give emotional statements

In a series of heart-rending speeches, victims delivered testimony about the impact his crimes had on their lives The victims of R Kelly gave emotional testimony of the impact his crimes had on their lives during the sentencing hearing that saw the US singer given 30 years in prison. In a series of heart-rending speeches, several women stood up in court, sometimes addressing their abuser, sometimes pausing for breath or holding back tears. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/C9g6OPh

Shop the 60+ best 4th of July sales right now at Amazon, Walmart, Lowe's and more

Independence day is just days away and 4th of July sales have already begun. Shop huge markdowns at Amazon, Target, Walmart and so much more.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/8e2SuQc

Texas tragedy highlights migrants’ perilous journey to cross US border

The number of migrant deaths in 2021 was 650, a stark reminder of the human cost of US immigration policies The deaths of 50 migrants – traveling from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras – in terrible conditions in Texas has cast a spotlight on the immense risks people are willing to take to cross the US border in search of a better financial life or escaping violence in their native countries. Laura Peña, the legal director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, represents asylum seekers at the border. Responding to the tragedy in San Antonio, she said both the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, and President Biden have “utterly failed people who are trying to seek safety by crossing the border”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/tK7YdFm

Snakes, armadillos, porcupines and more: Airport X-ray finds 109 live animals in luggage

The chief of the wildlife checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand said the animals were found in two suitcases after an X-ray inspection.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/BZELP1G

The water regulator finally wakes up to the stench of the sewage scandal

With half the sector now in its sights Ofwat is right to start talking tough Has Ofwat woken from its slumbers? There are encouraging signs. On the troubled issue of sewage – specifically, the vast quantities of the stuff pumped into rivers – the water regulator in England and Wales is suddenly talking as if it means business. “From what we have seen so far, the scale of the issue here is shocking,” said David Black, chief executive, in unusually strong language as he added South West Water , owned by quoted group Pennon, to the list of firms targeted with enforcement cases connected to the management of treatment works. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/qS4J7Co

Laughter and forgetting with Liz as she prepares to break Brexit deal | John Crace

Foreign secretary in the Commons to introduce second reading of the Northern Ireland protocol bill It’s just over six years since years the UK voted to leave the EU. Now, I’m not quite sure back then how you thought the country might look in 2022 but I’d put money on you not imagining a prime minister capable of interpreting two disastrous byelections as a mandate to carry on for two further terms. If only The Convict had lost a few more byelections, then he could have nominated himself as president for life. But say you did make the right calls on Boris Johnson’s “World King” ambitions, surely no one would have dreamed that the UK would be busy trying to break the Brexit treaty it had signed just over two years previously. That was a level of incompetence and stupidity that was surely beyond even the derelicts who were left to make up The Rwanda Panda’s cabinet? Satire not just dead, but completely incinerated. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Hpyub8D

‘All her movies are nonfiction’: remembering the life and work of Nora Ephron

In an expansive new biography, the acclaimed writer and director’s complexities are explored and contextualised You can’t chart the whole of Nora Ephron with just the name-making hits that placed her atop the end-of-the-century romcom boom, but you can’t do so without them, either. The polymath writer’s best-known traits – her barbed wit, her particular taste mistaken by some for pickiness, her profound and enduring love of food – course through scripting gigs like When Harry Met Sally … as well as such directorial projects as Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Lovelorn and loquacious, this is the Nora fans feel they know well enough to assume the first-name basis, a characterization that only covers one side of a many-splendored woman. Kristin Marguerite Doidge, the author of the newly released Nora Ephron: A Biography, hopes to expand the image of a singular talent for the blinker-visioned faithful and uninitiated alike. “She wrote for five or six decades, and so everyone co...

Juul's appeal allows it to sell vaping devices, pods as federal court weighs FDA ban.

In appealing the ban, Juul says the FDA acted on political pressure from Congress blaming it for the youth vaping epidemic.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/IhuMoZm

Beat Prime Day prices with today's Best Buy deals on Apple, Samsung and LG

If you're looking for more amazing savings during Prime Day 2022, these Best Buy deals have quality tech, kitchen appliances and more.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/eAFtURB

At least one Tory MP from 2019 intake in advanced talks to defect to Labour

One of the potential defectors in marginal seat while another also elected in 2019 sounded out Labour MP At least one Conservative MP from the 2019 intake is in advanced discussions about potential defection to Labour, with another elected then also in close talks with a Labour MP. Neither has met Keir Starmer or had formal contact with the leaders’ office but they are understood to be communicating with Labour MPs. One senior party source said they were doubtful about the intentions of one of the MPs but the other was more serious. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/UeRFKVY

Zara Aleena: police arrest man on suspicion of murder in east London

Aleena, 35, was killed in what police called a ‘stranger attack’ near her home in Ilford on Sunday morning A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 35-year-old woman was beaten to death in a London street. Zara Aleena was killed after what police described as a “horrific assault” close to her home, which detectives currently believe was committed by a stranger as she walked in Ilford, east London. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/8nvxweK

60+ best 4th of July sales to shop right now at Amazon, Walmart, Lowe's and more

Independence day is just days away and 4th of July sales have already begun. Shop huge markdowns at Amazon, Target, Walmart and so much more.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/ugdpTbe

G7 grapples with packed agenda of world turned upside down

Analysis: A price cap on Russian oil and potential famine in Africa are among issues pressing for attention Russia-Ukraine war – live updates A price cap on Russian oil, deferral of climate change commitments, a potential famine in Africa and the further supply of weapons to Ukraine are to crowd into a meeting of G7 world leaders over the next three days held against the backdrop of the biggest geopolitical crisis since 1945. The agenda reveals how the world has been turned upside down since leaders of the industrialised states last met in Cornwall a year ago in a summit chaired by Britain, largely to focus on the threat posed by China. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/A6GZjqI

Prince Charles’s charities are no stranger to controversy

Analysis: Reports that prince accepted €3m from a former Qatari prime minister again throws spotlight on donations • Charles given €3m by Qatari politician, according to report Claims by the Sunday Times of alleged cash donations given to the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund by a former Qatari prime minister are the latest to throw a spotlight on fundraising for the heir to the throne’s charities. The billionaire Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, who was Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister between 2007 and 2013, is a contentious figure. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/lde1VK5

How to prevent cops from killing: Weaken unions and make police pay for misconduct

We have to weed out the bad officers so the good ones can thrive. States should follow Colorado's lead.           from USATODAY - News Top Stories https://ift.tt/qv2iEex