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New US sanctions target workarounds that let Russia get Western tech for war

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

The United States said Thursday that it was sanctioning more than 150 businesses and people from Russia to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia to try to crack down on evasion and deny the Kremlin access to technology, money and financial channels that fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.The sanctions package is one of the biggest by the State and Treasury departments and is the latest to target people and companies in countries, notably NATO member Turkey, that sell Western technology to Russia that could be used to bolster its war effort. The package also aims to hobble the development of Russia’s energy sector and future sources of cash, including Arctic natural gas projects, as well as mining and factories producing and repairing Russian weapons.“The purpose of the action is to restrict Russia’s defense production capacity and to reduce the liquidity it has to pay for its war,” James O’Brien, head of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, tol...

Alex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Alex Jones’ personal spending is frustrating families who are trying to collect on the $1.5 billion in judgments against him for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting a hoax.The conspiracy theorist and Infowars host has been paying his own wife, Erika Wulff Jones, $15,000 a month, according to the most recent spending report he filed in his bankruptcy case — payouts called “fraudulent transfers” by lawyers for some of the shooting victims’ families. Jones says they’re required under a prenuptial agreement.In July, Jones spent $7,900 on housekeeping. He dished out more than $6,300 for meals and entertainment, not including groceries, which totaled nearly $3,400 — or roughly $850 per week.A second home, his Texas lake house, cost him nearly $6,700 that month, including maintenance and property taxes, while his vehicles and boats sapped another $5,600, including insurance, maintenance and fuel.His total personal expenses for Jul...

Person stabbed to death on RTD bus

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Police are investigating a deadly stabbing on an RTD bus Thursday morning.According to the Denver Police Department, just after 5 a.m., officers responded to a stabbing at 32nd and Federal in between the West Highland and Highland neighborhoods. Officers said the stabbing took place on an RTD bus.The victim, who was not the driver of the bus, was taken to a local hospital where they were ultimately pronounced dead. Driver nearly hits 20 children while leaving Aurora park Police are now investigating the case as a homicide. At this time, investigators have not released any suspect information but will provide updates as they become available.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous while still being eligible for a cash reward.

Deputy involved in deadly pedestrian crash

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — An Adams County deputy was involved in a crash that killed a pedestrian on Federal Boulevard. On Wednesday just before 3 a.m., the Adams County Sheriff's Office said a deputy was driving northbound on Federal during a routine patrol. Driver nearly hits 20 children while leaving Aurora park In the 5800 block of Federal Boulevard in Berkley, an unincorporated part of Adams County, the deputy struck a person in the roadway, according to the sheriff's office. The deputy got out of the patrol car and rendered aid to the pedestrian while waiting for medical personnel to respond.The sheriff's office confirmed the pedestrian died at the scene.Colorado State Patrol was called to respond to the scene and assist with the investigation. The 17th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team will also be investigating.

Near-death experiences tied to brain activity after death, study says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

(CNN) — Surgeons were about to saw through 80-year-old Aubrey Osteen’s chest after a heart attack in December 2020 when he suddenly became conscious.“I said, ‘Wait a minute here before y’all go any further. Give me some more anesthesia, you know?’ Well, it took me a minute to realize I wasn’t in the same dimension they were in, so they couldn’t hear me anyway.”Osteen then watched his body “weave through the rib cage” and float above the operating table while the surgical team cracked his chest, removed the heart and began to repair the damage. Soon, he heard someone say “kidneys.”“Both kidneys shut down at the same time — I knew I was gone. And that’s when I went to the next level,” Osteen said. “When I got up there, I was in the presence of God — a powerful presence — with light shining from behind him. The light was brighter than anything I’ve experienced here on Earth, but it wasn’t blinding.“And there was the sweetest angel that comforted me and told me ‘Relax. Everything’s goin...

Far-right EU lawmakers nominate Elon Musk for human rights award

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

STRASBOURG — The far-right political group in the European Parliament nominated tech billionaire Elon Musk for the EU’s top human rights award. The Identity and Democracy (ID) grouping, which includes members of European Parliament tied to France’s Marine Le Pen and Italy’s Matteo Salvini, put Musk’s name forward, according to a document sent to MEPs on September 14 and seen by POLITICO. An ID official confirmed to POLITICO its decision to nominate Musk. ID cited Musk’s decision to release the so-called Twitter Files, which consisted of selected internal documents over how the social media platform handled requests to remove political posts. This amounts to a defense of the principle of freedom of expression, ID argued.The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought includes a €50,000 prize. Last year, it was awarded to the Ukrainian people. Past laureates include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai and Kofi Annan.Musk is highly unlikely to receive the...

Hungary taunts Sweden over stalled NATO bid

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Thursday accused Stockholm of making “unfair and unjust” remarks on the state of democracy in Hungary, which he said were in “contradiction” to Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance, which Budapest hasn’t yet ratified.“You urge our parliamentarians to ratify your accession to NATO, while you continue to accuse them as if they had destructed [sic] democracy in Hungary,” Szijjártó wrote in a letter to his Swedish counterpart Tobias Billström posted on X (formerly Twitter).“This contradiction became now even stronger and definitely does not help your continuously raised demand to be fulfilled,” the minister warned about Stockholm’s NATO aspirations.Hungary, which was one of the last countries to sign off on Finland’s accession to NATO, has dragged its feet on approving Sweden’s candidacy to join the military bloc for months because it says Stockholm...

NASA to Americans: Help us spot UFOs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

NASA is calling for a “government-wide approach” to collect data on UFOs, and is even asking the public to use smartphone apps to help identify mysterious aerial craft.The report released Thursday morning comes a year after NASA formed a group of experts to examine how information about UFOs, which the government officially calls unidentified anomalous phenomena, is collected by the government and private sector. The study is based on unclassified reports and sightings and is separate from a Pentagon effort to collect information on UFOs.By using sensors from NASA’s Earth-observing satellites and commercial remote-sensing technology, Washington could create “a robust and systematic data acquisition strategy within the whole-of-government framework,” according to the report.https://973888d3b7e424d46f4f0ff8e01309ac.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.htmlIt also added that “artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential tools for identifying rar...

Governor’s Council Approves Four Healey Pardon Requests

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

A Governor’s Council meeting that featured approval of four new pardons took an unexpected turn Wednesday as one member persistently rebuked her colleagues, before councilors across the room successfully moved to establish a new Rules Committee for the elected panel.At the outset of the session, the Governor’s Council unanimously consented to the latest pardons recommended by Gov. Maura Healey, granting forgiveness to four individuals — Joanne Booth, Kenny Jean, Murphy Smith, and Evan Willey — for convictions ranging from drunken driving to armed robbery between 1979 and 2016.Councilor Tara Jacobs said she noticed a common thread connecting the most recent recommendations and Healey’s first round of clemency in June. They were “almost exclusively” to give a second chance to people who committed “criminal offenses occurring during teenage years, during emerging adult years,” she said during the votes.“I t...

NASA releases UFO report and says more science and less stigma are needed to understand them

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:59:50 GMT

By MARCIA DUNN (AP Aerospace Writer)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA said Thursday that the study of UFOs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites as well as a shift in how unidentified flying objects are perceived. The space agency released the findings after a yearlong study into UFOs.In its 33-page report, an independent team commissioned by NASA cautioned that the negative perception surrounding UFOs poses an obstacle to collecting data. But officials said NASA’s involvement should help reduce the stigma around what it calls UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena.“We want to shift the conversation about UAPs from sensationalism to science,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. He promised an open and transparent approach.Officials stressed the panel found no evidence that UAPs had extraterrestrial origin. But Nelson acknowledged with billions of stars in billions of galaxies out there, another Earth could exist.“If yo...