#Lagos State Fire Service

[vague-humanoid]

The federal government is going MAGA — fast.

Why it matters: President Trump has only been in office a week, but the departments under his command are moving with blazing speed to transform the federal bureaucracy into an army of loyalists.

The new administration immediately moved to freeze nearly all foreign aid, root out DEI programs, remove officials and whole offices deemed ideologically suspect, and muzzle public health agencies.

"We're getting rid of all of the cancer ... caused by the Biden administration," Trump told reporters while signing a Day One executive order that stripped employment protections from civil servants.

Driving the news: Late Friday night, the White House fired 17 inspectors general — independent agency watchdogs responsible for identifying fraud, waste and corruption.

The mass firings, relayed via email, appear to violate a federal law that requires the administration to notify Congress 30 days before removing inspectors general.

Amid outrage from Democrats and ethics experts, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) — a Trump ally and longtime advocate for whistleblowers — called on the president to explain his decision to Congress.

Zoom in: DEI offices and programs have been shuttered across the government, including at the CIA, Department of Veterans Affairs, Army and Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Federal workers have been ordered to report colleagues who may seek to "disguise" DEI efforts by using "coded language."

And Trump directed federal agencies to each identify "up to nine" major companies, universities or non-profits to investigate over their DEI practices.

There have been hundreds of staff removals or reassignments, including at the State Department, where far more career officers were asked to resign than in past administrations.

The Department of Justice reassigned at least 15 senior career officials, including a top counterintelligence attorney involved in the FBI's investigation of classified documents Trump stashed at Mar-a-Lago.

The DOJ also rescinded job offers to recent law school graduates who were placed through the Attorney General's Honors program.

Trump's National Security Council sent home around 160 staffers while Trump officials conducted loyalty screenings to ensure they're aligned with his agenda.

One of the administration's highest-profile firings so far was Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military. She was accused of leadership failures and an "excessive focus" on DEI at the Coast Guard Academy.

Between the lines: Trump loyalists have also moved to centralize control around public messaging, particularly when it comes to public health.

The Department of Health and Human Services ordered an unprecedented "immediate pause" on all health reports and social media posts through at least the end of the month, leading scientists to cancel CDC meetings on the escalating bird flu outbreak.

The Pentagon also ordered a global pause on all official social media posts until the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has promised a radical culture shakeup across the U.S. military.

The new administration is also moving quickly on issues including LGBTQ and civil rights.

The State Department froze all passport applications with "X" designated as the gender.

DOJ ordered a freeze on civil rights litigation and is weighing a potential reversal of police reform agreements negotiated by the Biden administration.

It also ordered federal prosecutors to investigate local and state officials in so-called "sanctuary cities."

Meanwhile, the Pentagon moved to abolish an office set up during the Biden administration focused on curbing civilian deaths in combat operations.

Zoom out: Trump made no secret of his intentions to build a MAGA-aligned federal workforce during the campaign, and he quickly imposed a hiring freeze after taking office.

The vast majority of federal workers are career employees, not political appointments, but the president has made clear he wants them all to board the Trump train.

His administration is currently testing the ability to email the entire federal government workforce from a single email address.

What to watch: Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, will be a key architect of the White House's efforts to re-engineer the administrative state.

Vought has assailed "the woke and weaponized bureaucracy," and said in a 2023 speech to his conservative think tank that he wants to put federal bureaucrats "in trauma," ProPublica reported.

"When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains," Vought said — comments he defended during his confirmation hearing.

[tomorrowusa]

We really do need to be concerned about NOAA. Nitwits with Sharpies are no substitute for professional weather forecasting.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict “above-average” activity this season, with six to 10 hurricanes. The season runs from June 1 to November 30. At least three of those storms will be Category 3 or higher, the forecasters project, meaning they will have gusts reaching at least 111 miles per hour. Other reputable forecasts predict a similarly active 2025 season with around nine hurricanes. Last year, there were 11 Atlantic hurricanes, whereas the average for 1991 to 2020 was just over seven, according to hurricane researchers at Colorado State University. A highly active hurricane season is obviously never a good thing, especially for people living in places like Florida, Louisiana, and, apparently, North Carolina (see: Hurricane Helene, the deadliest inland hurricane on record). Even when government agencies that forecast and respond to severe storms — namely, NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — are fully staffed and funded, big hurricanes inflict billions of dollars of damage, and they cost lives. Under the Trump administration, however, these agencies are not well staffed and face steep budget cuts. Hundreds of government employees across these agencies have been fired or left, including those involved in hurricane forecasting. What could go wrong?

Warm seas act like jet fuel for developing storms. The Caribbean and the adjacent Gulf of Mexico have been getting hotter and hotter.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because the Caribbean has been unusually warm for a while now. That was a key reason why the 2024 and 2023 hurricane seasons were so active. Warm ocean water, and its ability to help form and then intensify hurricanes, is one of the clearest signals — and consequences — of climate change. Data indicates that climate change has made current temperatures in parts of the Caribbean and near Florida several (and in some cases 30 to 60) times more likely.

Thanks to DOGE, we have fewer forecasters studying worsening conditions.

[U]nder the Trump administration, hundreds of workers at NOAA have been fired or otherwise pushed out, which threatens the accuracy of weather forecasts that can help save lives. FEMA has also lost employees, denied requests for hurricane relief, and is reportedly ending door-to-door canvassing in disaster regions designed to help survivors access government aid.

Forecasting depends on observations and taking readings. There's less of that under Trump.

As my colleague Umair Irfan has reported, the National Weather Service is also launching weather balloons less frequently, due to staffing cuts. Those balloons measure temperature, humidity, and windspeed, providing data that feeds into forecasts.

Perhaps the only thing that might cause a reversal of this stupidity in the near future is back-to-back direct hits by hurricanes at Mar-a-Lago and the SpaceX launch site near the Texas-Mexico border.

Related: Trump disasters will become more expensive...

Trump​ Is Going to Raise Your Insurance Premiums

[william-r-melich]

Biden Trials - 05/09/2024

Things seem to be going former president Donald Trump's way in the 4 criminal court cases against him. The documents case in Florida is being indefinitely delayed because of some pre-trial issues, as well as the appearance of the prosecuting attorney Jack Smith having been possibly hired illegally. The prosecutors recently admitted that the documents they seized were in a different order then the scanned copies they turned over to the defense, who argued for discovery, which could delay the proceedings even further.

The Epoch Times yesterday reported the following. "President Trump was charged with 40 counts related to allegedly mishandling classified information. His valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager, Carlos De Oliveira, were charged alongside him as codefendants." Judge Aileen Cannon, who's overseeing the case, wrote that to now set a date for the trial to commence before resolving the “myriad and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA [Classified Information Procedures Act] issues” would not be fair or prudent. From the same article, I quote. "The judge still has before her several motions to dismiss charges or the indictment entirely, motions to unseal information that the defendants argue is critical in the case, and ongoing discovery issues to resolve." She also said she has yet to rule on eight substantive motions, two of which have not yet been docketed publicly, and that there are extensive discovery issues.

On top of all these issues, Trump is currently required to be in attendance in the New York "Hush Money" trial, wherein the prosecutors say they will need two to three more weeks to present their case. The other two defendants in the case, Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira, wanted a speedy trial. The judge said she had considered that against due process rights. She wrote this. “Upon such review, the Court finds that the ends of justice served by this continuance, through the last deadline specified in this Order, July 22, 2024, outweigh the best interest of the public and Defendants in a speedy trial.”

Judge Cannon has scheduled a May 20th deadline (the original trial date) to resolve seal requests over a hearing on grand jury matters. On May 22nd, the judge will hear arguments on the defendants' motion to dismiss the indictment charges due to a vindictive and selective prosecution.

On June 21st, the court will hear arguments on whether special counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional as what has been previously claimed by former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese. Meese has amicus briefs in both of Mr. Smith's cases against Trump.

Partial evidentiary hearings will be held from June 24th to June 26th for the defense's motion to compel discovery from prosecutors and the scope of what they are required to hand over.

The trial date is not likely to emerge until after the judges July 22nd status conference.

The goofy racketeering case in Fulton County Georgia is falling apart from the compromised prosecutor, Fanni Willis who hired a man with whom she had an affair with as her lead attorney. She's agreed to fire him while she's being investigated, so that trial is delayed and stands a good chance of being dismissed.

The New York "Hush Money" trial is becoming more ridiculous every day. Judge Juan Moron (Juan Merchan) is the presiding judge, who recently put another gag order on Trump, has fined him $1,000 for violating it on Truth Social. Mr. Moron said this. "Mr. Trump it’s important you understand the last thing I want to do is put you in jail. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well." If he does that the prison would probably have to shut down a wing of the prison on Rikers Island to secure it for his constitutional right to Secret Service protection. I doubt he'll do it, for if he does that would all but ensure a Trump victory, but with this heavily biased judge, you never know. Porn star Stormy Daniels testified yesterday about the affair which she previously denied happened in a letter signed by her, an incident she now apparently says did occur. Never mind that it's completely immaterial to the 34 misdemeanor counts of accounting errors which have expired from the statute of limitations running out but are kept alive by being linked and raised to a felony charge for a mysterious, unnamed crime. Dictators like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are probably envious, and I have no doubt that we're being mocked, ridiculed, and laughed at around the world.

The case in Washington D.C. spearheaded by Jack Smith is also being delayed because of the presidential immunity arguments being weighed by the justices at the U.S. Supreme Court. They might not make a determination on that until June or July. Jack Smith's appointment there is also being questioned on its legality.

So, there you have the Biden trials, all with serious issues of illegitimacy leading to ridiculous clown shows and numerous delays. And in spite of their obvious attempts to hurt Trump with multiple gag orders and demanding that he be detained in court, he continues to fight them stronger than ever while rising in popularity. Some of these trials appear at this point as unlikely to survive past the upcoming election this November. And Trump is correct to call these Biden trials, for they obviously really are political witch hunts at Biden's direction, election interference that's thankfully backfiring. Boy, what a joke, what a sham, what an embarrassing disgrace!

[beardedmrbean]

A Florida man was accused of making "written threats to kill" former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance and their families just days after a Pennsylvania man attempted to assassinate the 45th. President.

The Jupiter Police Department announced that 68-year-old Michael M. Wiseman was arrested on Friday for charges for written threats to kill.

Authorities alleged that Wiseman wrote threats against the Republican presidential nominee and vice presidential nominee on his Facebook account and also made to members of the Trump and Vance families.

The police department said it was notified of the threats, including bodily harm, by multiple members of the community.

Jupiter, Florida is about 20 miles, or an approximately 30-minute drive, north of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach.

"JPD coordinated the investigation with the United States Secret Service and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office," the department said. "JPD officers took Wiseman into custody without incident."

The threat came just days after Trump was shot at in a shocking attempt on the president's life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

On Saturday, July 13, as Trump was talking about immigration, the first shot from the would-be assassin was fired.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Peter Wehner at The Atlantic:

On the morning of august 8, 2022, 30 FBI agents and two federal prosecutors conducted a court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate. The reason for the search, according to a 38-count indictment, was that after leaving office Trump mishandled classified documents, including some involving sensitive nuclear programs, and then obstructed the government’s efforts to reclaim them. On the day before the FBI obtained the search warrant, one of the agents on the case sent an email to his bosses, according to The New York Times. “The F.B.I. intends for the execution of the warrant to be handled in a professional, low key manner,” he wrote, “and to be mindful of the optics of the search.” It was, and they were. Over the course of 10 hours, the Times reported, “there was little drama as [agents] hauled away a trove of boxes containing highly sensitive state secrets in three vans and a rented Ryder box truck.”

On the day of the search, Trump was out of the state. The club at Mar-a-Lago was closed. Agents alerted one of Trump’s lawyers in advance of the search. And before the search, the FBI communicated with the Secret Service “to make sure we could get into Mar-a-Lago with no issues,” according to the testimony of former Assistant FBI Director Steven D’Antuono. It wasn’t a “show of force,” he said. “I was adamant about that, and that was something we all agreed on.”

The search warrant itself included a standard statement from the Department of Justice’s policy on the use of deadly force. There was nothing exceptional about it. But that didn’t prevent Trump or his supporters from claiming that President Joe Biden and federal law-enforcement agents had been involved in a plot to assassinate the former president. In a fundraising appeal, Trump wrote, "biden’s doj was authorized to shoot me! it’s just been revealed that biden’s doj was authorized to use deadly force for their despicable raid in mar-a-lago. you know they’re just itching to do the unthinkable … joe biden was locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger." On May 23, Trump publicly claimed that the Department of Justice “authorized the use of ‘deadly force’ in their Illegal, UnConstitutional, and Un-American RAID of Mar-a-Lago, and that would include against our Great Secret Service, who they thought might be ‘in the line of fire.’”

Trump supporters echoed those claims, as he knew they would. Steve Bannon, one of the architects of the MAGA movement, said, “This was an attempted assassination attempt on Donald John Trump or people associated with him. They wanted a gunfight.” Right-wing radio hosts stoked one another’s fury, claiming that there’s nothing Trump critics won’t do to stop him, up to and including attempting to assassinate him and putting the lives of his Secret Service detail in danger. The statement by Trump went beyond inflaming his supporters; it created a mindset that moved them closer to violence, the very same mindset that led thousands of them to attack the Capitol on January 6 and threaten to hang Vice President Mike Pence. Which is why Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion asking the judge overseeing Trump’s classified-documents case to block him from making public statements that could put law enforcement in danger. “Those deceptive and inflammatory assertions irresponsibly put a target on the backs of the FBI agents involved in this case, as Trump well knows,” he wrote.

Motivated ignorance refers to willfully blinding oneself to facts. It’s choosing not to know. In many cases, for many people, knowing the truth is simply too costly, too psychologically painful, too threatening to their core identity. Nescience is therefore incentivized; people actively decide to remain in a state of ignorance. If they are presented with strong arguments against a position they hold, or compelling evidence that disproves the narrative they embrace, they will reject them. Doing so fends off the psychological distress of the realization that they’ve been lying to themselves and to others. Motivated ignorance is a widespread phenomenon; most people, to one degree or another, employ it. What matters is the degree to which one embraces it, and the consequences of doing so. In the case of MAGA world, the lies that Trump supporters believe, or say they believe, are obviously untrue and obviously destructive. Since 2016 there’s been a ratchet effect, each conspiracy theory getting more preposterous and more malicious. Things that Trump supporters wouldn’t believe or accept in the past have since become loyalty tests. Election denialism is one example. The claim that Trump is the target of “lawfare,” victim to the weaponization of the justice system, is another.

I have struggled to understand how to view individuals who have not just voted for Trump but who celebrate him, who don’t merely tolerate him but who constantly defend his lawlessness and undisguised cruelty. How should I think about people who, in other domains of their lives, are admirable human beings and yet provide oxygen to his malicious movement? How complicit are people who live in an epistemic hall of mirrors and have sincerely—or half-sincerely—convinced themselves they are on the side of the angels?

Throughout my career I’ve tried to resist the temptation to make unwarranted judgments about the character of people based on their political views. For one thing, it’s quite possible my views on politics are misguided or distorted, so I exercise a degree of humility in assessing the views of others. For another, I know full well that politics forms only a part of our lives, and not the most important part. People can be personally upstanding and still be wrong on politics. But something has changed for me in the Trump era. I struggle more than I once did to wall off a person’s character from their politics when their politics is binding them to an unusually—and I would say undeniably—destructive person. The lies that MAGA world parrots are so manifestly untrue, and the Trump ethic is so manifestly cruel, that they are difficult to set aside.

If a person insists, despite the overwhelming evidence, that Trump was the target of an assassination plot hatched by Biden and carried out by the FBI, this is more than an intellectual failure; it is a moral failure, and a serious one at that. It’s only reasonable to conclude that such Trump supporters have not made a good-faith effort to understand what is really and truly happening. They are choosing to live within the lie, to invoke the words of the former Czech dissident and playwright Václav Havel.

One of the criteria that need to be taken into account in assessing the moral culpability of people is how absurd the lies are that they are espousing; a second is how intentionally they are avoiding evidence that exposes the lies because they are deeply invested in the lie; and a third is is how consequential the lie is. It’s one thing to embrace a conspiracy theory that is relevant only to you and your tiny corner of the world. It’s an entirely different matter if the falsehood you’re embracing and promoting is venomous, harming others, and eroding cherished principles, promoting violence and subverting American democracy.

[...] This doesn’t mean those in MAGA world can’t be impressive people in other domains of life, just like critics of Trump may act reprehensibly in their personal lives and at their jobs. I’ve never argued, and I wouldn’t argue today, that politics tells us the most important things about a person’s life. Trump supporters and Trump critics alike can brighten the lives of others, encourage those who are suffering, and demonstrate moments of kindness and grandeur. I understand, too, if their moral convictions keep them from voting for Joe Biden. But it would be an affectation for me, at least, to pretend that in this particular circumstance otherwise good people, in joining the MAGA movement, in actively advocating on its behalf, and in planning to cast a vote for Trump, haven’t—given all we know—done something grievously wrong.

Some of them are cynical and know better; others are blind to the cultlike world to which they belong. Still others have convinced themselves that Trump, although flawed, is the best of bad options. It’s a “binary choice,” they say, and so they have talked themselves into supporting arguably the most comprehensively corrupt man in the history of American politics, certainly in presidential politics. Whichever justification applies, they are giving not just their vote but their allegiance to a man and movement that have done great harm to our country and its ideals, and which seek to inflict even deeper wounds in the years ahead. Many of them are self-proclaimed evangelicals and fundamentalists, and they are also doing inestimable damage to the Christian faith they claim is central to their lives. That collaboration needs to be named. A generation from now, and probably sooner, it will be obvious to everyone that Trump supporters can’t claim they didn’t know.

Peter Wehner wrote in The Atlantic about the deliberate ignorance to the truth by MAGA cultists.

Wehner is spot-on here: “It’s one thing to embrace a conspiracy theory that is relevant only to you and your tiny corner of the world. It’s an entirely different matter if the falsehood you’re embracing and promoting is venomous, harming others, and eroding cherished principles, promoting violence and subverting American democracy.”

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

What’s next for Canada after Trudeau’s resignation (Washington Post) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation Monday, saying that it’s time for a “reset” and that he is not the best person to lead the country into new elections if he is also fighting “internal battles. Trudeau said Monday that the Liberal Party will hold a nationwide leadership contest to select his successor. In the meantime, Trudeau added, Gov. General Mary Simon—the representative in Canada of King Charles III, Canada’s head of state—granted his request to prorogue or suspend Parliament until March 24. The next leader will inherit a long list of challenges: the high price of goods, a housing shortage, a Canadian public that appears to have soured on the Liberals after nearly a decade in power and a new U.S. president who has promised steep tariffs.

Thousands flee as wildfires burn out of control in and around Los Angeles (AP) California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as officials prepared for the situation to worsen early Wednesday. The flames from a fire that broke out Tuesday evening near a nature preserve in the inland foothills northeast of LA spread so rapidly that staff at a senior living center had to push dozens of residents in wheelchairs and hospital beds down the street to a parking lot. The residents waited there in their bedclothes as embers fell around them until ambulances, buses and even construction vans arrived to take them to safety. Another blaze that started hours earlier ripped through the city’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood. In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases.

The next round of bitter cold and snow will hit the southern US (AP) The next round of bitter cold was set to envelop the southern U.S. on Tuesday, after the first significant winter storm of the year blasted a huge swath of the country with ice, snow and wind. The immense storm system brought disruption even to areas of the country that usually escape winter’s wrath, downing trees in some Southern states, threatening a freeze in Florida and causing people in Dallas to dip deep into their wardrobes for hats and gloves. By early Tuesday, wind chill temperatures could dip into the teens to low-20’s (as low as minus 10.5 C) from Texas across the Gulf Coast, according to the National Weather Service. A low-pressure system is then expected to form as soon as Wednesday near south Texas, bringing the potential of snow to parts of the state that include Dallas, as well as to Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Trump Raises the Possibility of Using Military or Economic Force to Take Greenland and the Panama Canal (NYT) President-elect Donald J. Trump refused to rule out on Tuesday the use of military or economic coercion to force Panama to give up control of the canal that America built more than a century ago, and to force Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States. In a rambling, hourlong news conference at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump also reiterated his threat that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the hostages being held by Hamas are not released by Inauguration Day, repeating the threat four times. “If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” he told reporters. “And it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say anymore, but that’s what it is.” It was not clear how serious the president-elect was about some of his comments during the news conference. At one point, he suggested that his administration will rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Meta is ending fact-checking and removing restrictions on speech across Facebook and Instagram. (WSJ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the change as an attempt to restore free expression on the platforms. He said that starting in the U.S., Meta will have a system, similar to X’s, that lets users flag posts they think need more context. The company will continue to target illegal behavior. Facebook’s content-policing expanded in the wake of Donald Trump’s first presidential election; now Zuckerberg is looking to align himself and Meta with the incoming administration.

Mexico drops migrants in troubled resort as it disperses them far from US border (AP) About 100 migrants from various countries wandered directionless and disoriented through the streets of the troubled Pacific coast resort of Acapulco. After walking for a couple weeks through southern Mexico with hundreds of other migrants, they accepted an offer from immigration officials to come to Acapulco with the idea they could continue their journey north toward the U.S. border. Instead, they found themselves stuck on Monday. Two weeks ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Mexico continues dissolving attention-grabbing migrant caravans and dispersing migrants throughout the country to keep them far from the U.S. border, while simultaneously limiting how many accumulate in any one place. Acapulco would seem to be a strange destination for migrants. Once a crown jewel of Mexico’s tourism industry, the city now suffers under the thumb of organized crime and is still struggling to climb back after taking a direct hit from devastating Hurricane Otis in 2023. “Immigration (officials) told us they were going to give us a permit to transit the country freely for 10, 15 days and it wasn’t like that,” said a 28-year-old Venezuelan, Ender Antonio Castañeda. “They left us dumped here without any way to get out. They won’t sell us (bus) tickets.”

Seventy really may be the new sixty for English baby boomers (Nature) A study examined trends in intrinsic capacity, a comprehensive measure of cognitive, locomotor, psychological and sensory capacities that was recently developed by the World Health Organization. The results indicate that older adults in England today seem to be experiencing far higher levels of physical and mental functioning than did previous generations at the same age.

Ukraine needs ‘realistic’ stance on territorial issues, Macron says (Reuters) French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Ukraine needs to have a realistic position on territorial issues as part of efforts to bring about a negotiation with Russia. Speaking at an annual conference to French ambassadors to outline their strategy for the year, Macron’s comments were the first time he had suggested that Kyiv should consider a position beyond seeking to regain all territory seized by Russia. Macron reiterated that Ukraine’s allies needed to ensure that Kyiv has enough backing so that it can come enter any negotiations from a position of strength. “There will not be a quick and easy solution,” Macron said, referring to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to end the war quickly.

Emeralds for Sale: The Taliban Look Below Ground to Revive the Economy (NYT) In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban’s weekly gemstone auction was underway. These sales, in the emerald-rich Panjshir Province of eastern Afghanistan, are part of an effort by the Taliban government to cash in on the country’s vast mineral and gemstone potential. Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban say they have signed deals with scores of investors to mine gemstones, gold, copper, iron and other valuable minerals, like chromite. These buried treasures offer a potentially lucrative lifeline for a feeble economy. China has led the way in investments under its Belt and Road Initiative, an aggressive effort to spread Chinese influence worldwide. Russian and Iranian investors have also signed mining licenses, filling the void left by the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

Strong earthquake kills at least 126 people in western China near Mount Everest (AP) A strong earthquake killed at least 126 people in Tibet on Tuesday and left many others trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the high-altitude region of western China and across the border in Nepal. Officials in the region said at a brief news conference that 130 others were injured, state broadcaster CCTV said. State media reported that about 1,000 houses were damaged and 130 people were injured in addition to the deaths, citing the Tibet earthquake relief headquarters.

U.S. Eases Some Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid to Syria (NYT) The Biden administration on Monday lifted some restrictions on humanitarian aid to Syria but kept sweeping sanctions in place just weeks after rebel forces toppled the Assad family’s 50-year authoritarian grip on the country. The decision by the Treasury, which lasts for six months, allows humanitarian groups to operate more freely without running afoul of U.S. sanctions, including by helping to provide basic services such as electricity, energy, water and sanitation.

West Bank Settlers Hope Trump Will Back Annexation Dreams (NYT) Eliana Passentin delights in her house, which sits nearly 3,000 feet above sea level in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, with a view from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean coast. The dining room looks out over ancient Shiloh, the Israelites’ first capital in ancient times. But Ms. Passentin would feel even better if the area was annexed by Israel. Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s staffing choices have raised hopes among settlers that that could happen. Pete Hegseth, Mr. Trump’s contentious choice for defense secretary, went to ancient Shiloh for an episode of his “Battle in the Holy Land” series on Fox Nation. Mike Huckabee, Mr. Trump’s pick as the next ambassador to Jerusalem, has visited several times over the years and has argued that all of the West Bank belongs to Israel. Nearly half a million settlers and roughly 2.7 million Palestinians live in the West Bank. The Palestinians, and much of the world, have long envisioned the territory as part of a future independent Palestinian state, alongside Israel, and consider the Jewish settlements to be illegal. After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel from Gaza, and with the prospect of a more sympathetic administration in Washington, settler leaders say they are confident that a Palestinian state is off the agenda. They also hope that Israel will extend its sovereignty over parts, or all, of the territory through annexation.

In Africa, Danger Slithers Through Fields (NYT) The snake struck 11-year-old Beatrice Ndanu Munyoki as she sat on a small stone, which lay atop a larger one, watching the family’s eight goats. She was idly running her fingers through the dirt when she saw a red head dart from between the stones and felt a sharp sting on her right index finger. She ran to her father, David Mutunga, who was building a fence. He cut the cloth belt on her dress into strips with a machete, tied her arm in three places and rushed her to a hospital 30 minutes away on a motorcycle taxi. As the day stretched on, her finger grew darker, but the hospital in Mwingi, a small town in Kenya, had no antidote for that kind of venom. Finally that evening in November 2023, she was taken by ambulance to another hospital and injected with antivenom. When the finger blistered, swelled and turned black despite a second dose the next day, “I understood that they will now remove that part,” Mr. Mutunga said with tears in his eyes. Beatrice’s finger was amputated. According to official estimates, about five million people are bitten by snakes each year. About 120,000 die, and some 400,000 lose limbs to amputation.

Antibiotic emergency ‘could claim 40 million lives in next 25 years’ (Guardian) Dame Sally Davies, a former chief medical officer for England, told the Observer that there is a real danger that routine procedures could become life-threatening thanks to the spread of bacteria that possess antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotics prescribed to chickens, cows, and sheep are a large part of the problem. “Winds blow over these patches of contaminated land or water and pick up bacteria and genes with resistance in them, then let them rain down in other places,” Davies explained. “About a million people die every year because of the spread of microbial resistance, and that figure will rise over the next 25 years,” she said. “It is really scary.” When she says “that figure will rise,” she means it—estimates put deaths at almost 40 million people over the next 25 years.

[seoulworldupdate]

Trump Escapes Unharmed After Rifle Incident; Suspect in Custody

Former President Donald Trump is safe following a security scare at his Florida golf course, where a man with a rifle was apprehended. The incident unfolded when Secret Service agents detected the barrel of a rifle emerging from bushes and fired at the suspect, who was reported to be 300-500 yards away from Trump at the time.

The firearm, described as an AK-47-style weapon, along with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera, was later recovered at the scene. A witness observed the suspect fleeing and jumping into a black Nissan, which was subsequently stopped in Martin County after law enforcement was alerted.

Martin County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw confirmed that the suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, from Hawaii, was detained after being positively identified by the witness. Routh, who has a criminal history including multiple offenses in North Carolina, has reportedly expressed controversial views on social media.

In response to the incident, Trump reassured his supporters via email, stating he was “safe and well” and vowing to continue his efforts undeterred. The former president's Mar-a-Lago property and nearby golf course are now under heightened security.

President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have been briefed on the situation, with both expressing relief at Trump’s safety and condemning political violence. Harris emphasized the need to prevent further violence while praising the Secret Service and local authorities for their prompt response.

This incident follows a similar attempt on Trump’s life in July, when a gunman opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service faced scrutiny over that attack, which resulted in one fatality and the death of the shooter.

[warningsine]

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump was the target Sunday of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the FBI said, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody.

U.S. Secret Service agents posted a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.

An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later taken into custody in a neighboring county.

It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee.

And it was sure to add to the questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the attempted assassination of Trump this summer.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” He wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

He returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives, according to a person familiar with Trump’s movements who was not authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect his campaign schedule. He was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in a post online: “I’m glad President Trump is safe. I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits.”

Biden and Harris were briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House said they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

Harris, in a statement, also said “violence has no place in America.”

In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox News hosts.

Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with Trump and the former president’s golf partner, Steve Witkoff.

They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole and about to go up to putt when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised about any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.

The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he plays. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.

The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he is not, “security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter,” Bradshaw said. “But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job.”

Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat levels and exposure, with the toughest typically being in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.

Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some other former presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.

The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials told the AP. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

The FBI was leading the investigation and was working to determine any motive. Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping investigate.

“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the bureau said.

News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday. Bucking tradition, Trump’s campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters travel with him, as is standard for major party nominees and for the president. Harris does not have a protective pool at all times, but does allow reporters to travel with her for public events.

Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” alert detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and description of the occupant.

Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.

“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody.”

Snyder told WPTV that the suspect “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”

The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, saying the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.

“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

May 20, 2025

OUTSOURCING MORALITY TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Hold the phone. Stop the music. Don't look now but Utah Sen. John Curtis, a one-time Democrat turned Republican, said in a floor speech that Congress should start taking responsibility rather than ceding it's constitutional authority to the Trump administration. What the hell. Pinch yourself Wilson, you're not dreaming. Listen to this: “When morality is outsourced to either the market or the state, society has no substance, only systems. And systems are not enough,” Curtis said, quoting Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Whoa baby! In these political times where Republicans dare not look askance, that's like a Richter 7 earth-shaker. The chandeliers must be swinging at Mar-A-Lago. Fresh from a trip to the Holocaust Museum, the former mayor of Provo observed: “I kept asking, How? How did so many participate? How did others stand by? How did some serve to enable? How have so many already forgotten?” Holy shit Wilson, nobody said, Third Reich or uttered the “H-word,” but hey, if the metaphor fits... “We are outsourcing responsibility,” Curtis said. “Congress outsources lawmaking to the executive branch. Communities outsource compassion to agencies. Parents outsource teaching values to institutions. Citizens outsource critical thinking to curated social media feeds.” Well, that just about covers it. Of course, it doesn't mean the rest of the GOP want to hear him — but it's a start.

SHELLS ON BEACH SPELL ASSASSINATION & 2 + 2 = 5

If you're going to the beach this summer you'd better watch out. Depending on which shells you see washed up on the sand, you could be accused of high crimes and misdemeanors — or even conspiracy to commit murder. It could be even worse than penning an opinion column for your college newspaper supporting Palestinians and calling for the slaughter to end in Gaza. It might even be worse than having tattoos on your knuckles that don't spell “ms-13.” For example, let's say you're a former director of the FBI and you're out for a stroll on the beach after which you post a picture of sea shells that look like,“86 47.” Well, it's obvious what that means, according to scary people who run this country right now. It means assassinate the president. This sounds like Orwellian fiction — evil thugs doing evil things while twisting the truth into a pretzel. But it's not fiction. The former FBI director is James Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017. ICE Barbie, aka Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security boss and Tulsi Gabbard, director of intelligence, say it's clear that Comey was ordering a hit on President Trump. They promise to investigate him to the fullest extent of the law. Gabbard went so far as to say Comey should be in jail right now. You're right Wilson, maybe its best not to take your phone to the beach. Or maybe it's best if you just don't go to the beach at all. Or maybe we should unplug all of our devices and hide under the bed because two plus two still does not equal five.

A TRUMP THIRD TERM — WHY THE HELL NOT

Things are going so swimmingly well in the four months since Donald J. Trump regained the mantle of the presidency that he and his minions are talking up a third term. Won't that be beautiful Wilson, he could be the Fidel Castro of America, outfits not withstanding. Since January 20, he has remade global trade with on-again off-again tariffs that have shown the world just how powerful he is. And that's just the beginning. He got the world's richest man — who has a lot of empathy — to take a chainsaw to the federal government and do away with weather forecasters, Social Security offices, IRS staffers, Veteran Affairs personnel, some 5,400 Defense Department workers, as well as employee cuts to the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Dept. of Homeland Security, National Park Service, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Dept. of Agriculture, Inspectors General, Dept. of Justice, State Department and the Energy Department — some 30,000 employees in total. All that in just four months. And hey, he's just getting started. There are going to be big budget cuts for Medicaid and food stamps, assistance to food banks and school nutrition programs, green energy subsidies, rental assistance programs, pollution controls and public safety. Look at all the money the federal government will save. Unfortunately, Trump's budget will add trillions to the national debt due to splendiferous tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Think “trickle down.”

Post script — Another fab week is in the books here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of the shrinking Great Salt Lake so you and the Utah Legislature don't have to. “Don't Worry Be Happy” is the motto the Republican controlled state house is taking for the lake. God will bring more snow storms, despite climate change, that will fill up the lake as runoff. Such good news. In the meantime more than 1,000 square miles of lakebed and easterly winds spell nothing good for Salt Lake County residents. Lakebed sediments contain harmful elements, such as aluminum, antimony, arsenic, copper, uranium and vandium. Saving the lake would require northern Utah farmers to stop growing alfalfa that drinks water like there's no tomorrow. Lately, 30% of that crop is shipped to China. The fix seems like a no-brainer — but it's hard to fix things these days. Here's something else from our “produce file” — Former Utah Tech University President Richard Williams left a departing gift, two eggplants and a long zucchini, arranged like male genitalia. Nice touch. A misconduct investigation by the university concluded with no findings. Better call Sherlock. And finally from our “So Long Joe Biden” file — As various political leaders sent well-wishes to the former president after announcing he had prostate cancer, Utah Sen. Mike Lee responding to a post like this: “Medical malpractice or fraud, which was it.” Mr. Empathy strikes again.

Well shucks Wilson, the beach has become more dangerous than we thought. Maybe you and the guys in the band could find a beach without seashells so you won't get charged with treason or something. Or maybe just go to a beach in Mexico. Great idea, so why don't you take us out with a little Mexican beach theme:

Nibblin' on sponge cake Watchin' the sun bake All of those tourists covered with oil Strummin' my six-string On my front-porch swing Smell those shrimp They're beginnin' to boil Wasting away again in Margaritaville Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt Some people claim That there's a woman to blame But I know it's nobody's fault Don't know the reason Stayed here all season With nothing to show but this brand-new tattoo But it's a real beauty A Mexican cutie How it got here I haven't a clue Wasting away again in Margaritaville Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt Some people claim That there's a woman to blame Now I think, "Hell! It could be my fault." I blew out my flip-flop Stepped on a pop top Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home But there's booze in the blender And soon it will render That frozen concoction that helps me hang on Wasting away again in Margaritaville Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt Some people claim That there's a woman to blame But I know, it's my own damn fault (Margaritaville — Jimmy Buffett)

[bllsbailey]

Trump Receives Standing Ovation as He Enters a UFC Event in Miami

President Donald Trump entered to a standing ovation and cheers from a crowd of thousands attending a UFC event on Saturday night, shaking hands with supporters against a backdrop of fans waving his trademark MAGA hats.

Just as Trump entered, he greeted podcast host Joe Rogan, who sat to the right of the president. On the other side of Trump sat Elon Musk, billionaire and chief of the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump, who accented his dark suit with a bright yellow tie, pumped his fist in the air, prompting cheers to strains of “Taking Care of Business.”

He brought along several members of his administration and White House team, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FBI Director Kash Patel, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and White House communications aides Steven Cheung and Taylor Budowich. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also joined Trump for UFC 314.

Trump entered the arena with UFC President Dana White, with whom he has been close for decades. He was also accompanied by his granddaughter, Kai Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump Jr.

Throughout the fight, the UFC jumbotron frequently featured the president, drawing roars from the sold-out arena. The crowd periodically cheered “USA," and Trump briefly danced to the Village People's “YMCA” standing from his seat, firing up the crowd.

In between fights, Trump would occasionally shake hands with people who approached him and lean in to speak to Musk, who at times held his son on his shoulders. However, he mostly stayed seated, acknowledging and speaking to fighters who would go against the net to greet the president.

The Republican president is a longtime UFC fan and sports enthusiast, who has frequently attended major fights. The mixed martial arts fight at Miami’s Kaseya Center was Trump's first UFC visit since he took office in January, and it came weeks after Trump attended the Saudi-sponsored LIV golf tournament at his golf club in Miami.

In a further nod to his sports enthusiasm, Trump has also attended the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 since taking office. He sat cageside at a UFC championship fight in New York City last November, shortly after he won the 2024 election.

Aside from the president, the main event for the UFC 314 fight is a championship bout between Australian former champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brazilian fighter Diego Lopes, who are competing for the featherweight championship title. It's the fourth UFC event in Miami, in a county that supported the president by about 11 percentage points in the November election.

The president arrived in West Palm Beach on Friday for his 10th visit to South Florida since he became president, spending the evening in his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. He flew to Miami after playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.

“You know who’s going to win? Dana White. Dana White’s gonna win,” Trump told reporters Saturday night aboard Air Force One.

His close affiliation with UFC helped boost his 2024 presidential campaign among young male voters prior to the November election, where he made promoting hypermasculine tones a signature of the campaign.

[gurutrends]

Lagos: The Reason of the Explosion in Ijora Badia is known

Lagos: The Reason of the Explosion in Ijora Badia is known Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has revealed the real cause of the explosion that rocked the Ijora-Badia area of Lagos on Sunday afternoon, injuring no fewer than 15 people. According to a statement by the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, the explosion occurred around 4:10 p.m. inside a mini shop…

[rovingupdates]

Tension As BRT Bus Catches Fire In Maryland, Lagos (PHOTOS)

A BRT bus reportedly went up in flames in the Maryland area of Lagos State on Saturday morning. LeadNaija  this report According the obtained information gathered  that personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), the fire service, and local security agencies were already on-site to manage the situation. Vanguard reported that the bus was…

[lmsintmedia]

Governor Otti Orders Probe as Aba Firefighters Go Missing During Major Blaze

Tragic Fire in Aba Prompts Immediate Action from Governor Otti Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has launched a full-scale investigation into a devastating fire outbreak that razed a two-storey residential building located at 73 Lagos Street, Aba. The directive follows disturbing reports that Fire Service officials in Aba were unreachable during the crisis, as their phone lines were allegedly…

[newstfionline]

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Trump administration fires thousands for ‘performance’ without evidence (Washington Post) The first message from her manager on Saturday afternoon misspelled Amanda Mae Downey’s name. The second mentioned “the news” about probationary federal workers and how the Trump administration planned to fire them. When Downey called her boss at a Michigan branch of the U.S. Forest Service for an explanation, she learned her name was on a firing list. She would have to come into the office to sign a letter formalizing her termination. And she had to do it before the holiday weekend was over. Many federal government employees were dismissed over the holiday weekend as managers confronted a Trump administration demand to fire workers by Tuesday. In group texts and in online forums, they dubbed the error-ridden run of firings the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” The firings targeted new hires on probation, who have fewer protections than permanent employees, and swept up people with years of service who had recently transferred between agencies, as well as military veterans and people with disabilities employed through a program that sped their hiring but put them on two years’ probation. The Trump administration will not disclose how many workers it cut since last week, but the government employed more than 200,000 probationary workers as of last year. The termination letters hitting inboxes all struck the same note: Probationary workers were getting the ax for poor job performance. But many of those fired had just received positive reviews, or had not worked in the government long enough to receive even a single rating.

Trump says AP will be curtailed at the White House until it changes its style to Gulf of America (AP) President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will continue to restrict The Associated Press’ access to his events and news conferences until the news outlet goes along with his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico in its reports. He acknowledged that the move was a presidential retaliation against the news agency’s editorial policy. “We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America,” Trump said, speaking to reporters who witnessed the signing of an executive order at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate. “We’re very proud of this country, and we want it to be the Gulf of America.” It was the first time the president himself had commented on the issue since the White House began not allowing AP to cover several of his events last week.AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said Tuesday that “this is about the government telling the public and press what words to use and retaliating if they do not follow government orders. The White House has restricted AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a location.”

Winter’s next wave of storms takes aim at the East Coast (AP) The latest in a long line of winter storms is taking direct aim at the East Coast, threatening to dump heavy snow and some ice in several states. A storm that dropped snow in the Midwest was spreading across the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys on Wednesday, bringing more misery to some places just starting to clean up from deadly weekend floods. Up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow was possible along the Atlantic Coast in Virginia and significant ice accumulations were forecast in eastern North Carolina, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere, a polar vortex took over from Montana to southern Texas. Bismarck, North Dakota, hit minus 39 degrees (minus 39.4 C) early Tuesday, breaking a record for the date set in 1910.

C.I.A. Expands Secret Drone Flights Over Mexico (NYT) The United States has stepped up secret drone flights over Mexico to hunt for fentanyl labs, part of the Trump administration’s more aggressive campaign against drug cartels, according to U.S. officials. The covert drone program, which has not been previously disclosed, began under the Biden administration, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the program. But President Trump and his C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, have repeatedly promised more intense action against Mexican drug cartels. Increasing the drone flights was a quick initial step. The C.I.A. has not been authorized to use the drones to take lethal action, the officials said, adding that they do not envision using the drones to conduct airstrikes. For now, C.I.A. officers in Mexico pass information collected by the drones to Mexican officials. The flights go “well into sovereign Mexico,” one U.S. official said. The drones have proved adept at identifying labs, according to people with knowledge of the program. Fentanyl labs emit chemicals that make them easy to find from the air.

Brazil Charges Bolsonaro With Plotting a Coup After 2022 Election Loss (NYT) Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president, was charged on Tuesday with overseeing a vast scheme to hold on to power after losing the 2022 election, including one plot to annul the vote, disband courts and empower the military, and another to assassinate the nation’s president-elect. The accusations, laid out in a 272-page indictment, suggest that Brazil came strikingly close to plunging back into, in effect, a military dictatorship nearly four decades into its modern democracy. Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco indicted Mr. Bolsonaro and 33 other people, including a former spy chief, defense minister and national security adviser, accusing them of a series of crimes against Brazil’s democracy. The case will now go before Brazil’s Supreme Court, which will decide whether to order Mr. Bolsonaro’s arrest and have him face trial. If convicted, he could face 12 to 40 years in prison, according to the indictment, though political analysts expect any sentence to be shorter.

Farming in France is on the decline. Who will feed the French? (CSM) Jean-Baptiste Maillier kicks through hay and mud as he passes through the open archway into his barn. Inside, a row of hulking Normande cows is lined up head to tail at the milking machine. After a loud beep, one steps onto a metal plate as a set of white tubes descends onto her teats. Fresh milk pours into a plastic receptacle below her. Here in Houdan, this scene is increasingly rare. Ten years ago, there were 22 dairy farmers in the area. Now, Mr. Maillier is the only one. Half of all France’s farmers are expected to retire in the next five years, and few young people are signing up to take their place. At stake is not just the survival of French agriculture but also a key part of what it means to be French: its food culture. Now, the French must decide how far they are willing to go to keep their diverse terroirs alive, says Jean-Pierre Poulain, a professor emeritus of food culture at the University of Toulouse—Jean Jaurès. As food prices rise and cheap imports crowd local goods off the shelf, “Are they willing to spend more on French-made products instead of buying a new cellphone?” he wonders.

US, Russia forge ahead on peace talks, without Ukraine (Reuters/NYT) U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday it had agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine after an initial meeting that excluded Kyiv. As the 4-1/2-hour meeting in the Saudi capital was underway, Russia hardened its demands, notably insisting it would not tolerate the NATO alliance granting membership to Ukraine. Ukraine has said it will not accept any deal imposed without its consent, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated “there must be no decision over the heads of Ukraine.” Even before the talks took place, some European politicians accused Trump’s administration of handing free concessions to Moscow last week by ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine and saying it was an illusion for Kyiv to believe it could win back the 20% of its territory now under Russian control. Although Europe wants a larger role in the peace talks, it’s also divided about the aftermath. Consider European leaders’ recent talks about deploying soldiers in Ukraine after the war: France supported the idea. Britain conditioned its deployment on American backup. Poland said it needed to keep its forces at home to defend its own borders from Russia. Germany said these discussions were premature. None of this inspires much confidence for Ukraine. The West has fractured, and Russia knows it.

Trump calls Zelensky a 'dictator' as he hits back at 'disinformation' criticism (BBC) Donald Trump has escalated a war of words with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, branding him a “dictator” who has done a “terrible job”. “Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left,” the US president wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. Trump was hitting back after Zelensky earlier accused him of “living in a disinformation space” created by Russia, following US-Moscow talks about ending the war in Ukraine—which Kyiv was excluded from. The barbed comments traded between the two leaders began on Tuesday when Trump claimed Zelensky has an approval rating of 4% and appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war.

As Israel uses US-made AI models in war, concerns arise about tech’s role in who lives and who dies (AP) U.S. tech giants have quietly empowered Israel to track and kill many more alleged militants more quickly in Gaza and Lebanon through a sharp spike in artificial intelligence and computing services. But the number of civilians killed has also soared, fueling fears that these tools are contributing to the deaths of innocent people. Israel’s recent wars mark a leading instance in which commercial AI models made in the United States have been used in active warfare, despite concerns that they were not originally developed to help decide who lives and who dies. “This is the first confirmation we have gotten that commercial AI models are directly being used in warfare,” said Heidy Khlaaf, chief AI scientist at the AI Now Institute and former senior safety engineer at OpenAI. “The implications are enormous for the role of tech in enabling this type of unethical and unlawful warfare going forward.”

Palestinian families flee West Bank homes in droves (AP) By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers’ sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank—the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war. After announcing a widespread crackdown against West Bank militants on Jan. 21—just two days after its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza—Israeli forces descended on the restive city of Jenin, as they have dozens of times since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. But unlike past operations, Israeli forces then pushed deeper and more forcefully into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem, Far’a and Nur Shams, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel’s creation. During that war, 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. That Nakba, or “catastrophe,” as Palestinians call it, gave rise to the crowded West Bank towns now under assault and still known as refugee camps. “This is our nakba,” said Abed Sabagh, 53, who bundled his seven children into the car on Feb. 9 as sound bombs blared in Nur Shams camp, where he was born to parents who fled the 1948 war.

Medical evacuations from Gaza slow amid uncertainty over right of return (Washington Post) For many Palestinians with critical injuries or chronic illnesses, a medical evacuation out of the Gaza Strip is the only way to access lifesaving care. But now, after President Donald Trump proposed to empty Gaza of its inhabitants, aid workers and doctors say they fear that those leaving the territory could be forfeiting their ability to one day return home. Inside Gaza, the evacuations have slowed for a range of reasons, including this uncertainty and tightened security checks, according to doctors and aid workers. At the same time, fewer countries are accepting evacuees, a development that aid workers say could partially be a result of fatigue more than a year into the crisis but that also reflects the growing fear that those who leave will not be allowed to return. All of this means a longer wait for families with injured loved ones. But doctors who have worked in Gaza’s hospitals say many of the people awaiting medical evacuations don’t have time. The World Health Organization says 25,000 people in Gaza are in need of medical evacuation, including 2,500 children who need urgent attention for war wounds and for chronic diseases like cancer that cannot be treated in the territory.

Residents say Rwanda-backed rebels are advancing on a third city in eastern Congo (AP) Rwanda-backed rebels appeared to be heading toward a third major city in eastern Congo, residents said Tuesday, as international pressure rose over the M23’s expansion in a mineral-rich region that’s critical for global technology. The M23 rebels on Tuesday attacked all the main Congolese army positions on the road to Butembo, a city of 150,000 people, and the situation was rapidly deteriorating, said Auguste Kombi, a civil society leader in Kitsombiro, a town along the road. Butembo is about 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Goma, the city of over 2 million people that the M23 rebels seized last month as about 3,000 people were killed.

[lagmennet]

Couple Survives Container Collapse on Lagos Expressway

A couple narrowly avoided death on Wednesday when a container collapsed on their Lexus Jeep at the Toyota bus stop on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. According to a statement issued on Thursday by the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, the event occurred in the evening following a distress call. According to her, the event occurred when the container accidently…

[akeliciousmedia]

FRSC, Fire Service, and LASEMA Contain Tanker Fire on Epe-Ijebu Expressway

The Lagos State Sector Command of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has successfully managed a serious crash involving a Mark tanker that occurred at 13:59hrs today along the Epe-Ijebu (Outward Epe) route, specifically around Odo Agboju. The incident was promptly attended to with an impressive response time. The crash involved two male individuals. One male sustained injuries and was immediately…