Trump's Speeches, Increasingly Angry and Rambling, Reignite the Question of Age — (LINK)
Saturday, 5 October 2024
Israeli strike hits north Lebanon, striking Tripoli for the first time, as raids pummel Beirut suburbs — 5 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 225 media reports (LINK)
Hezbollah has lost contact with possible Nasrallah successor after an Israeli airstrike, source says — 5 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 106 media reports (LINK)
Six soldiers, including lt.col., and eight rebels killed in fighting in northwest Pakistan — 5 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 48 media reports (LINK)
Congo finally begins mpox vaccinations in a drive to slow outbreaks — 5 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 80 media reports (LINK)
Florida's biggest insurer cuts over 600k policies after Hurricane Helene — 5 October 2024 (LINK)
Friday, 4 October 2024
Israeli airstrikes rock southern suburbs of Beirut and cut off a key crossing into Syria — 4 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 227 media reports (LINK)
Israel claims elimination of 250 Hezbollah fighters in four days — 4 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 40 media reports (LINK)
Gang attack this week on a Haitian town killed at least 70 people, UNOCHR says — 4 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 102 media reports (LINK)
Indian troops kill 31 suspected Maoist rebels in forest battle — 4 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 66 media reports (LINK)
Over 100 elephants evacuated from Chiang Mai sanctuary as flooding in northern Thailand worsens — 4 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 56 media reports (LINK)
CERN confirms ultra-rare particle transformation, hints at new physics — 4 October 2024 (LINK)
— Particle physicist Cristina Lazzeroni of the University of Birmingham in the UK and her colleagues have now established, experimentally observed, and measured the decay of a charged kaon particle into a charged pion and a neutrino-antineutrino pair. Not only is it incredibly rare, but also well predicted by the complex mathematics making up the Standard Model of physics.
— Kaons consist of a combination of a quark and a different quark antiparticle bound under the strong force, which quickly decay in a rather unique fashion physicists describe as 'strange'. This odd characteristic has made them a handy tool in determining the rules of how particles in general ought to behave.
Europe's ski resorts face 'existential crisis' from climate change — FIS — 4 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 3 media reports (LINK)
US economy added a whopping 254,000 jobs last month: unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% — 4 October 2024 (LINK)
Oldest living microbes found in 2-billion-year-old rock: The organisms are 1.9 billion years older than the previously known record holders — 4 October 2024 (LINK)
Dollar surges after US payrolls blast past expectations — 4 October 2024 (LINK)
Oil prices set for 9% weekly gains on threat of wider war in the Middle East — 4 October 2024 (LINK)
How to find your dream job using AI: ChatGPT could help you strategize how and where to find your ideal job — 4 October 2024 (LINK)
Thursday, 3 October 2024
U.S. and Microsoft seize more than 100 websites alleged to have been part of Russian espionage campaign — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
The UN's shiny new reform pact doesn't appear to have any mention of shifting power to local leadership or the so-called participation revolution of listening to and including people affected by crises in decision-making — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
UN and global ski federation sign climate change agreement — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
— Plans under the agreement include training sessions about climate change and its impact on snow, ice and snow sports for all 137 national ski federations as well as venues and organisers.
UK hands sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal to secure US base — 3 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 192 media reports (LINK)
Brussels takes Hungary to court over its controversial 'national sovereignty' law — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
Singapore court jails ex-minister Iswaran for 12 months in landmark ruling for accepting illegal gifts and obstructing justice: 1st ex-Cabinet member jailed in city-state known for clean governance — 3 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 54 media reports (LINK)
CNN Fact check: Amid bipartisan praise for Biden hurricane response, Trump falsely claims reviews are 'universally' negative — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
Rolling Stone: Trump's Lies About the Hurricane Response Are Getting More Outrageous: The former president accused the Biden administration of stealing FEMA funds to support undocumented migrants — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
NYPost: Feds say there's no money left to respond to hurricanes — after FEMA spent $1.4B on migrants — 3 October 2024 (LINK)
Wednesday, 2 October 2024
Israel says 8 soldiers killed in Lebanon amid "intense fighting" on the ground with Hezbollah, the deadliest military loss against Hezbollah this year — 2 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 93 media reports (LINK)
— Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza continues, resulting in at least 65 Palestinian fatalities, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Iran "will pay" for its missile attack.
Palestinian officials say 50+ killed in Israeli operation on southern Gaza — 2 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 249 media reports (LINK)
Oil prices jump most in nearly a year after Iran launches missile attack at Israel — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged higher on Wednesday but were near two-week lows as investors watched for an escalation in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
Israel bars U.N. secretary-general from entering country for not condemning Iran's missile attack — 2 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 151 media reports (LINK)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has banned imports from a Chinese steel manufacturer and a sweetener maker due to allegations of forced labor from Xinjiang, China — 2 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 23 media reports (LINK)
Dominican Republic to deport up to 10,000 Haitians a week, citing an 'excess' of immigrants — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
Investigators in Haiti accuse three members of transitional presidential council of corruption — 2 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 25 media reports (LINK)
— The three officials allegedly demanded over $750,000 from the director of the National Bank of Credit to secure his position, as reported by the Unit for Combating Corruption.
First-ever compact nuclear reactor runs for 8 years without water in Canada: capability to generate five megawatts of electricity and produce over 13 megawatts of high-temperature heat — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
— The Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported in 2012 that a single megawatt of capacity from a conventional power plant can meet the energy needs of 400 to 900 homes in a year.
Elon Musk's X is worth nearly 80% less than when he bought it in October 2022, Fidelity estimates — 2 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 29 media reports (LINK)
WSJ: Musk funded right-wing political non-profit years before he endorsed Trump, sources say — (LINK)
Special counsel Jack Smith provides fullest picture yet of his 2020 election case against Trump in new filing — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
— Broadly, and in response to the Supreme Court's ruling this summer that granted Trump sweeping immunity for official actions, Smith's motion claims the former president took the steps he did as a political candidate — not as a president — and that, therefore, he is not entitled to protection from prosecution the justices identified in July.
U.N. human rights expert will highlight dangers of inclusion of trans athletes in women's sports — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
Anne Applebaum: The only way the Ukraine war can end — 2 October 2024 (LINK)
Tuesday, 1 October 2024
Israeli troops have begun a ground war in southern Lebanon — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
— The incursion is the first since Israel's 34-day war in the country in 2006.
Migrants in U.K. hotels for up to three years, report suggests — 1 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 14 media reports (LINK)
— The ruling Labour party had pledged to "end asylum hotels" but a Whitehall source told the Times that the it is "much worse than we thought".
Attorney says 120 accusers allege sexual misconduct against Sean 'Diddy' Combs — 1 October 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 141 media reports (LINK)
World Wide Web Foundation closes, says "mission accomplished" — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
— "The threats to the Web have increased, social media's dominant business model has brought about the commoditisation of users data and a concentration of power contrary to Tim's original vision," its statement said.
— To tackle this problem, Tim Berners-Lee plans to devote his time and resources to developing decentralized technologies like the Solid Protocol, which he hopes will return control of personal data to individuals.
5 key takeaways from the VP debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz: Both focused on the top of the ticket, not each other. Walz admitted to flubbing a personal story. Vance distorted Trump's health care record. And they fought over economic records. — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
14 U.S. ports on east and Gulf coast shut down as dockworkers strike — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
— The action marks the first such shutdown in almost 50 years. President Joe Biden has the power to suspend the strike for 80 days for further negotiations, but the White House has said he is not planning to act.
— On 30 September, US Maritime Alliance (USMX) said it had increased its offer, which would raise wages by almost 50%, triple employers' contributions to pension plans and strengthen health care options. USMX has accused the union of refusing to bargain, filing a complaint with labour regulators that asked them to order the union back to the table.
Dollar sturdy after Powell pushes back against bets on more supersized interest rate cuts — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
Heather Cox Richardson: Social media today is full of accounts claiming that the federal government is not responding to the crisis in western North Carolina because it prefers to spend money in Ukraine and on undocumented immigrants. Newsmax host Todd Starnes claimed that FEMA's "top priority is not disaster relief" but to push diversity, equity and inclusion. "So, unless you've got your preferred pronouns spraypainted on the side of your submerged house—you won't get a penny from Uncle Sam. Western North Carolina is just too Conservative and too Caucasian for FEMA to care." The House Judiciary Committee posted that "Joe Biden was at the beach." — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
— These posts echo Russian disinformation, and Trump was on board with it. Touring Valdosta, Georgia, today, as a private citizen where people are still without power amidst the devastation, Trump said he had spoken to Elon Musk to get his Starlink satellites into North Carolina; FEMA has already provided 40 of the systems to North Carolina. He claimed that Georgia governor Brian Kemp is "having a hard time getting the president on the phone. They're being very non-responsive."
— Kemp himself told reporters that Biden had called yesterday. "And he just said, 'Hey, what do you need?'
A one-in-10-billion particle decay hints at hidden physics: physicists have detected a long-sought particle process that may suggest new forces and particles exist in the universe — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
AI reveals how infants learn to interact with environment — 1 October 2024 (LINK)
— While early movements may seem chaotic, they reveal meaningful patterns as infants interact with their environment. AI identified significant changes in foot movements as infants learned to interact with their environment. Compared to other parts of the body, the movement patterns of the feet changed most dramatically across the stages of the experiment.