News Dump for Apr. 28, 2024

US

USA Today – No. 1 threat: Drone attacks prompt urgent $500 million request from Pentagon
Drone attacks have become the No. 1 threat to U.S. troops deployed abroad, prompting a $500 million urgent request to help erect defenses.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/04/27/drone-attacks-urgent-500-million-request-pentagon/73347448007/

AP – Anti-war protesters dig in as some schools close encampments after reports of antisemitic activity
As students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at college campuses across U.S. dug in Saturday and dozens of demonstrators were arrested, some universities moved to shut down encampments after reports of antisemitic activity.
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinian-campus-student-protests-war-2ab919ad849c50c9d177a32c0309bd1e

CNN – What Trump’s war on the ‘Deep State’ could mean: ‘An army of suck-ups’
At one campaign rally after another, former President Donald Trump whips his supporters into raucous cheers with a promise of what’s to come if he’s given another term in office: “We will demolish the deep state.” In essence, it’s a declaration of war on the federal government—a vow to transform its size and scope and make it more beholden to Trump’s whims and worldview.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/27/politics/trump-federal-workers-2nd-term-invs

Oh boo-fucking-hoo. Cry me a river.
BBC – Harvey Weinstein hospitalised after conviction overturned
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalised just days after his 2020 rape conviction in New York was overturned, his lawyer has said. Arthur Aidala said he was moved to a Manhattan hospital on Friday. He remains in jail after being separately convicted of rape in Los Angeles. Mr Aidala said his client was “somewhat of a train wreck health wise”.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68913116

NBC – Biden swipes at Trump at White House correspondents’ dinner
President Joe Biden on Saturday used his White House correspondents’ dinner speech to swipe at former President Donald Trump, taking shots at the presumptive GOP nominee while highlighting the stakes of the election.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-swipes-trump-white-house-correspondents-dinner-rcna149622

These two assholes deserve each other. Get a room and leave us out of it.
The Hill – RFK Jr. hits back after Trump’s ‘barely coherent’ rant
“When frightened men take to social media they risk descending into vitriol, which makes them sound unhinged,” Kennedy said Saturday in a social media post on X. “President Trump’s rant against me is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims that should best be resolved in the American tradition of presidential debate.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4626758-rfk-jr-hits-back-after-trumps-barely-coherent-rant/

Mueller, She Wrote – The Arizona Fantasy Indictment League
There was so much news this week, that for the first time since I set up $99 microphones at my kitchen table to document the Mueller investigation, I was literally unable to cover it all. Even with three podcasts.
https://muellershewrote.substack.com/p/the-arizona-fantasy-indictment-league

Raw Story – Busted: GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy reportedly hired staffer who promoted racist posts
Republican businessman Tim Sheehy, who is running for U.S. Senate in Montana, reportedly hired a staffer (Caleb Oriet) whose social media account liked and shared racist posts. Oriet is a self-proclaimed “Anglo-Saxon Protestant” as well as a “menace to society.”
https://www.rawstory.com/tim-sheehy-racist-staffer/

WORLD

WAPO – Britain’s Conservative Party, like the U.S. Republican Party, is in turmoil
Five years after a landslide victory, Britain’s Conservative Party is deeply divided and appears headed towards one of its worst defeats in a generation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/28/britain-conservative-party-turmoil-analysis/

Daily Beast – Kremlin Disputes Report Putin Didn’t Order Navalny’s Death
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, told Russia’s state-run media on Saturday that he had seen the Wall Street Journal report, which cited an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies, and that there was little reason to believe it. He derided its logic and said it wasn’t worth looking into. The Kremlin’s rejection of the U.S. report oddly puts them in agreement with Navalny’s allies, who have also disputed its findings.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kremlin-disputes-report-vladimir-putin-didnt-order-alexei-navalnys-death

BBC – Iraq criminalises same-sex relationships in new law
Iraq’s parliament has passed a bill criminalising same-sex relationships with jail terms of between 10 and 15 years. Transgender people could also be sent to prison for between one and three years under the new law.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68914551

WAPO – As Ukraine runs low on ammo, civilians build troops DIY drones at home
A growing number of Ukrainians are building equipment for the military at home because they fear Russia is going to advance on the front lines and further destroy their country.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/28/ukraine-runs-low-ammo-civilians-build-troops-diy-drones-home/

SCIENCE

ABC – Large fossil footprints point to discovery of new ‘megaraptor’ dinosaur: Study
The new dinosaur is believed to be a relative of the well-known velociraptor.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/large-fossil-footprints-point-discovery-new-megaraptor-dinosaur/story?id=109617154

Forbes – Earth’s New ‘Second Moon’ Is As Big As The Statue Of Liberty—And Scientists Just Found Its Origin
Earth’s “second moon”—as asteroid called Kamo’oalewa—appears to have come from the moon itself. Scientists have concluded this using computer models, revealing its origin as the Giordano Bruno crater on the moon’s far side.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2024/04/27/earths-new-second-moon-is-as-big-as-the-statue-of-liberty-and-we-now-know-its-origin/?sh=22460aa52ecb

TEXAS

KXAN (AP) – At least 15 people died in Texas after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police
At least 15 people died in Texas over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Several of the fatal incidents occurred in Dallas and its nearby suburbs. Other cases were documented across the state, from Odessa to Austin to Galveston.
https://www.kxan.com/news/at-least-15-people-died-in-texas-after-medics-injected-sedatives-during-encounters-with-police/

Can you both just go away please?
The Hill – Cornyn ‘not too worried’ about possible challenge from Texas AG Ken Paxton
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is “not too worried” about a possible primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, he told a local news anchor Friday evening.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4625939-cornyn-not-too-worried-about-possible-challenge-from-texas-ag-ken-paxton/

MISC

CNN – Evacuations ordered after dozens of train cars derailed near New Mexico state line, some carrying propane
Thirty-five rail cars of a train derailed in New Mexico Friday afternoon, prompting evacuations and forcing a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 40 to close.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/27/us/new-mexico-train-derailment-evacuation/index.html

WAPO – Lawsuits test Tesla claim that drivers are solely responsible for crashes
Evidence emerging in the Tesla Autopilot cases — including dash-cam video obtained by The Washington Post — offers sometimes-shocking details.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/28/tesla-trial-autopilot-lawsuit/

OMG This is terrible!
Sulphur, OK – tornado damage – Drone 4k
https://youtu.be/qemoIZH3FgU?si=8XYSc6mM_BtlcvzU