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IMPORTANT | | Send Weapons! | Eastern Ukraine Braces for Assault, Seeks Arms From NATO Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in Brussels Thursday morning to meet with NATO leaders, saying, “My agenda is very simple … it’s weapons, weapons and weapons.” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged members to provide them while carefully avoiding the appearance of direct NATO involvement by noting that sending weapons is not the same as deploying troops. U.S. defense officials reported that all Russian forces have withdrawn from the devastated area around Kyiv, but increasing numbers of Moscow’s troops and mercenaries are moving into the eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian authorities are urging residents to evacuate in anticipation of a renewed assault. (Sources: WaPo, AP) |
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| | | Going Nuclear | UK Banks on Nuclear Energy to Reduce Dependence on Russian Oil Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a new plan today to more than triple Britain’s use of nuclear power, adding eight new reactors to reduce the country’s dependence on energy that’s at the mercy of “volatile international prices.” The plan also calls for increases in wind, hydrogen and solar power, with the goal of getting 95% of electricity from domestic renewable sources by 2030. But environmentalists are dismayed that new North Sea drilling and fracking remain on the table, and critics argue that amid soaring energy costs, more should be done to improve efficiency by better insulating buildings. (Sources: BBC, The Guardian) |
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| | Subpoena Setbacks | Trump Aides Hit With Contempt, Bannon Denied Privilege The House voted Wednesday to hold Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino, advisers to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The vote, which saw only two Republicans cross the aisle, sends the charges to the Justice Department to consider further action. Meanwhile, a federal judge ruled yesterday that former White House adviser Steve Bannon can’t use Trump’s executive privilege as a defense in his own contempt of Congress case for defying the committee’s subpoenas. Bannon’s two charges carry maximum jail terms of one year each. (Sources: The Hill, Politico) |
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| | Botnet Blockers | US Disrupts Russian Malware Attack in Secret Operation In keeping with President Joe Biden's strategy to thwart Russian aggression by making moves public before Moscow strikes, the U.S. announced yesterday it had secretly removed malware from computer networks around the world. The effort, announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland, detailed Russian attempts to strike critical U.S. infrastructure, including electricity, pipelines and financial institutions, as payback for crushing sanctions. The malware would enable Russia to create “botnets” that can inject malicious software controlled by the Russian military into computer systems. “Fortunately, we were able to disrupt this botnet before it could be used,” said Garland. (Sources: AP, NYT) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: OK KBJ. The Senate is expected to vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court today after several Republicans signaled they would support Biden’s pick. (Source: AP) Google bans apps. The platform has removed dozens of apps linked to U.S. national security contractors that were secretly harvesting data from users. (Source: WSJ) Surprise! Chocolates made by Italian candy manufacturer Ferrero, including Kinder Surprise Eggs, have been recalled in Europe and Australia over potential salmonella contamination. (Sources: DW, SMH) |
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INTRIGUING | | | Out of This World | Pentagon Releases 1,574 Pages of ‘Real-Life X-Files’ In 2017, British tabloid The Sun filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents from the U.S. government’s secretive Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program — and it’s finally paid off. The newly released documents feature research on the biological effects of UFO contact on humans, including radiation burns, brain damage and even “unaccounted for pregnancy.” Meanwhile, earthbound scientists are proposing an update to the message we’ve broadcasted into space since 1974. The new Beacon in the Galaxy hopes to educate listening life-forms about humanity, our exact location and the biochemical composition of life on Earth. What could possibly go wrong? (Sources: LiveScience, The Sun, IFLScience) |
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| | Have a Heart | Report Accuses Doctors of Harvesting Organs From Living Inmates New research from the Australian National University suggests that hundreds of Chinese surgeons and medical personnel defied international standards for organ transplants by removing inmates’ hearts or lungs before they were officially declared dead. A forensic review of 2,838 reports in Chinese scientific journals revealed 71 cases where organs were removed before a “legitimate determination of brain death.” Study co-author Matthew Robertson said, “We found that the physicians became the executioners on behalf of the state, and that the method of execution was heart removal.” The cases took place between 1980 and 2015, the year China officially banned harvesting organs from inmates. (Source: Al Jazeera) |
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| | Looking Out for Number Two | Communities Plan Wastewater Surveillance to Detect Future Pandemics Over the course of the pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology has become a powerful public health tool, providing early warnings of COVID-19’s spread by sampling traces of the virus in human waste. The CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System, launched in September 2020, has been ramping up operations with increased federal funding, and the state of Colorado is heading toward statewide coverage with its program. According to the COVIDPoops19 dashboard, 64 countries are now sampling human waste to monitor public heath. But poop-prospecting is a diagnostic tool with applications far beyond tracking viruses, including monitoring a community’s exposure to pollution and illegal drugs. (Sources: NPR, Vox) |
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| | Pop Latin | Academic Wants to Get Kids Hooked on Latin With Taylor Swift Lyrics A Cambridge University academic wants to get 21st-century kids excited about learning Latin by using pop music, Minecraft, Disney songs and fan fiction. Steven Hunt, who has been teaching the ancient language for 35 years, proposed that Latin should be taught like modern languages, including conversation, performance and creative expression rather than just memorizing vocabulary and grammar. Noting that “the human brain is hardwired for sound,” Hunt suggested that translating modern song lyrics can help students appreciate ancient Roman poetry. After all, as Taylor Swift sang, “Quod, care, nunc malum sanguinem habemus.” (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | Play Ball! | MLB Returns With Expanded Postseason, Universal DH and New Rules After a 99-day lockout and a seemingly endless offseason, Cubs veteran Kyle Hendricks will deliver the first pitch of the 2022 season at Wrigley Field this afternoon. The new season brings some dramatic changes for the league, including the NL adopting the designated hitter — giving aging sluggers like 42-year-old Albert Pujols a little more mileage — and prompting the new Ohtani rule, which essentially lets superstar pitcher/slugger Shohei Ohtani be his own DH. Expanded playoffs will also see 40% of teams reach the postseason. And in Cleveland, ace Shane Bieber will throw the first pitch for the newly rebranded Guardians. (Sources: AP, Bleacher Report) |
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