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Political violence threatens to intensify as the 2024 campaign heats up, experts on extremism warn

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

The man who bludgeoned former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer last year consumed a steady diet of right-wing conspiracy theories before an attack that took place with the midterm elections less than two weeks away.As the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, experts on extremism fear the threat of politically motivated violence will intensify. From “Pizzagate” to QAnon and to “Stop the Steal,” conspiracy theories that demonized Donald Trump’s enemies are morphing and spreading as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination aims for a return to the White House.“No longer are these conspiracy theories and very divisive and vicious ideologies separated at the fringes,” said Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on domestic terrorism. “They’re now infiltrating American society on a massive scale.”A federal jury on Thursday convicted David DePape of attacking Paul Pelosi at his San Francisco home on Oct. 28, 20...

Estonia’s Kallas is reelected to lead party despite a scandal over husband’s Russia business ties

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia’s ruling Reform Party reelected Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as its chairperson Saturday and confirmed her staying on as the Baltic nation’s leader amid widespread calls by opposition and voters for her to resign over a scandal involving her husband’s business dealings in Russia.Kallas was the only candidate for the party leadership post as center-right Reform held a general meeting in the capital, Tallinn. Two-thirds of the 931 delegates who took part in a vote supported her and one-third abstained.The 46-year-old lawyer has been the leader of the Reform Party, Estonia’s largest political group, since April 2018. She became the country’s first female prime minister in January 2021.Earlier this week, Kallas publicly signaled at a foreign policy conference in Washington her interest in becoming the next secretary-general of NATO. NATO’s current chief, Jens Stoltenberg, is due to step down in October 2024 after 10 years in the post.Kalla...

Scientific report urges debate on genetic modification to control insect pests

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

Scientists are learning to turn the genetics of insect pests against themselves, altering the genome of familiar foes in ways that give farmers and doctors new ways to fight them. The burgeoning field offers fresh hope against old scourges such as malaria. And it could provide shiny new tools as familiar insecticides lose their punch and climate change shuffles the deck. But concerns buzz the new technology like a cloud of gnats. “Questions remain about the efficacy of these tools, their safety and their appropriateness,” says a new report from the Council of Canadian Academies. “Will it be suitable to deploy gene editing in the natural environment and how will gene editing fit into the wider pest control tool box?”The report, released last week, was commissioned by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, an arm of Health Canada that regulates chemicals used to manage pests. It’s the start of what its authors hope will be an urgent and thoughtful convers...

‘Forge a new relationship’: Indigenous leaders hopeful of new provincial government

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

WINNIPEG — When Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew took the unconventional move of appointing himself the minister responsible for Indigenous reconciliation, he did so with the intent of strengthening the relationship between the province and Indigenous communities.First Nations and Métis leaders have said that relationship soured during the previous government’s seven years in power. It seemed like a “natural fit” to include Indigenous governments when looking at making positive bonds with other orders of government, said Kinew, Manitoba’s first First Nation premier, in an interview with The Canadian Press this month. “I’ll be doing engagement, relationship-building and defining how we’re going to move forward in a good way with Indigenous nations,” said Kinew, who was raised as a young boy on the Onigaming First Nation in northwestern Ontario.It has been a long-standing practice that the premier take on the role of minister of intergovernmen...

Authorities say they have identified the suspect in the shooting of a hospital security guard

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Authorities say the gunman who was killed after shooting to death a security guard at a New Hampshire psychiatric hospital has been identified.New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said Saturday that 33-year-old John Madore entered New Hampshire Hospital on Friday afternoon and killed Bradley Haas, a state Department of Safety security officer who was working at the front lobby entrance of the facility.All patients at the psychiatric hospital were safe, and the state trooper who killed Madore was not wounded.Formella said Madore was most recently living in a hotel in the Seacoast region and also had lived in Concord.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A shooter killed a security guard in the lobby of New Hampshire’s state psychiatric hospital on Friday before being fatally shot by a state trooper, officials said.The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. at New Hampshire Hospital and was contained to the front...

Argentine presidential candidate Milei goes to the opera – and meets both jeers and cheers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Both jeers and cheers for Argentina’s right-wing presidential candidate resounded with acoustic perfection inside the country’s legendary Colón Theater, laying bare the country’s polarization on the eve of Sunday’s runoff.The audience had gathered Friday evening in Latin America’s premiere opera house that is world-renowned for its acoustics to watch a performance of “Madama Butterfly” — but Javier Milei soon became the main event. A group began insulting him as he sat in the front row of a box alongside his girlfriend.“Milei, trash, you are the dictatorship!” some attendees can be heard chanting at the candidate in videos on social media. He has downplayed Argentina’s bloody 1976-1983 military rule, saying the number of its victims is far below what human rights organizations have long claimed, among other controversial positions.Some videos on social media also showed a few orchestra musicians playing the “Peronist March,” an anthem of the poli...

4 businesses targeted in burglaries on South Side: CPD

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

CHICAGO -- Four businesses were burglarized on the South Side early Saturday morning, police said. Police said an unknown number of individuals smashed the glass to front doors of four businesses in the 5400 block of South Wentworth Avenue around 4:26 a.m. and took an unknown amount of property before fleeing. NTSB investigating CTA crash that injured 38 There is currently no one in custody and police are investigating.

Invisible killer: How to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning during the heating season

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

(WHTM) -- Now that the temperatures are starting to fall, more people will be turning their heat on in their homes or apartments. But with some heating systems comes a hidden danger: carbon monoxide. What is carbon monoxide?Carbon monoxide, also abbreviated as CO, is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas. Burning fuels such as gas, wood, propane and charcoal all create carbon monoxide. Car engines and some appliances also create this gas. Why is carbon monoxide dangerous?CO is extremely harmful, and it can poison you. Mayo Clinic says that carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when the gas builds up in the blood. When this happens the body replaces oxygen in the red blood cells with carbon monoxide. This can lead to serious health issues and even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 420 people die each year due to accidental CO poisoning, and around 100,000 people are taken to the emergency room each year due to being poisoned by carbon monoxide....

LIST: 2023 Thanksgiving meals, donations and food pantries in Central Texas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – If you find yourself not feeling up to cooking the traditional Thanksgiving meal in your home this year, a few organizations around Austin have got you covered. Additionally, if if you would like to donate some time or money, check out the list below. Central Texas Food BankVolunteering information can be found here. CTFB will be giving out turkeys, fresh produce and other items for free. Information to donate can be found here. H-E-B Feast of Sharing by United Way for Greater Austin Enjoy a free Thanksgiving meal from H-E-B and United Way for Greater Austin. Volunteers can sign up and parking information can be found here. When: Nov. 21 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Where: Palmer Events CenterAustin Turkey TrotThundercloud Subs is hosting an Austin Turkey Trot event Thanksgiving morning. Racers can choose to run (or walk) in the one mile or five miles legs. All the proceeds will go to Caritas of Austin, a nonprofit aiming to help those experiencing homelessness. Del Valle ...

Inna Faliks: Where have all the pianos gone? No one has time for them anymore

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:16:18 GMT

The students have too many activities and academic deadlines, the Montessori school principal informed me. This is not a good time for piano recitals, and the piano wasn’t needed either.“Please feel free to take the piano and donate it” elsewhere, the email said.Several months ago, with help from my favorite piano technician, I had found a free upright piano and arranged for its delivery with the school principal. It had stood against the back wall of the classroom, used as a table for lunches and backpacks, and now it was no longer wanted.As a pianist, I wanted my children, who attended the elementary school, and their friends to hear the sound of a real piano at school. The kids have one music class a week, which involves a few pop songs played on a keyboard. There is nothing wrong with pop songs or keyboards. But I had imagined the kids’ delight at hearing the full sound of chords on a piano, the storm of a Beethoven sonata, the mist of a Debussy prelude, ...