U.S.Associated Press'Whoa, that's not right': Georgia towns lead census appeals
When officials in Chester, Georgia, heard that the 2020 census had pegged their small town at 525 people, their jaws dropped. “I said, 'Whoa, that's not right,'” City Clerk Melanie McCook said. Chester and two other small, rural municipalities in Georgia are the first communities in the U.S. to challenge the accuracy of their numbers from the once-a-decade head count.
HealthUSA TODAY OpinionI am done with masks. We've been idiotic about them since the beginning.
Opinions in your inbox: Get a digest of our takes on current events every day Americans were then urged to wear cloth masks to save specialized medical-grade masks for the health care professionals and COVID patients. And fights over mask mandates soon spread nationwide. Now, experts are saying never mind.
U.S.INSIDERA 73-year-old New York grandmother outsmarted scammers who pretended to be her grandson and said he needed $8,000 to be bailed out of jail
A Long Island grandmother outsmarted a group of scammers who wanted $8,000 from her. The woman said a man called her and pretended to be her grandson, claiming he needed $8,000 in bail money. A Long Island grandmother outsmarted scammers who tried to steal thousands from her.
WorldReutersGerman government distances itself from navy chief's comments on Putin
The German government on Saturday distanced itself from comments made by its navy chief after video footage emerged in which the vice-admiral said Russian President Vladimir Putin deserved respect and that Kyiv would never win back annexed Crimea from Moscow. German Navy Chief Kay-Achim Schoenbach apologized for his "rash" comments, published on YouTube and widely circulated on German media, and called them a mistake. In a Twitter post, Schoenbach said his remarks at a thinktank discussion in India expressed a personal opinion and not the official position of the defence ministry.
WorldNextSharkSamsung pulls ad featuring Muslim mother showing support to her drag queen son after Singapore backlash
The ad was part of the South Korean electronics company's “Listen to Your Heart” campaign to promote its Galaxy Buds2 and Watch4. Samsung partnered with ad agency Cheil Singapore to demonstrate the wearable products in the commercial by recording the heart rates of participants while they listen to different kinds of music. The company then has the participants listen to voice recordings of their loved ones giving a heartfelt speech.
- WorldAFP Videographics
Taliban stage protest denouncing "disrespect" to the hijab
The Taliban stage a demonstration with around 300 men, chanting "We want Sharia law" and "We want the hijab, even if we die for it". The crowd accuses women's rights activists who have taken to the streets in recent weeks of being hired "mercenaries", especially after they stamped on a burqa during a recent protest.
U.S.Associated PressStray bullet kills English astrophysicist visiting Atlanta
A stray bullet struck and killed an English astrophysicist while he was inside an Atlanta-area apartment, authorities say. Matthew Willson, 31, of Chertsey, Surrey, England, was visiting his girlfriend in the United States when he was hit by a bullet that pierced the wall of the apartment. “He was supposed to be here for three months because we've been long distance for a while,” Katherine Shepard, his girlfriend of three years, told WSB-TV.
BusinessLA TimesColumn: Here's what happened after $1,200 was drained from an 11-year-old's bank account
In response to Chase's refusal to restore even a portion of his daughter's money, Golden said he closed his five Chase accounts and moved about $160,000 in assets to another bank. "I was amazed," he told me. "They showed no remorse whatsoever.
U.S.TODAYA Pennsylvania woman rescued a ‘scared’ animal. No one knows what it is
A woman in Pennsylvania has experts flummoxed by the animal she discovered outside of her home. Christina Eyth rescued the animal earlier this week near her home in Fairfield Township after finding paw prints outside of her door. Eyth followed the tracks, assuming they had belonged to her neighbor's dog after they had gotten loose.
WorldReutersTwo Canadians die in shooting at Mexican Caribbean resort
Two Canadians died of gunshot wounds after an argument turned violent at a resort near Cancun on Mexico's Caribbean coast, authorities said on Friday. Both guests at the upscale resort on the Riviera Maya of Quintana Roo state had criminal records, said Mexican officials, citing information from the Canadian police. Mexican police are searching for another person thought to have fired the shots who had a "long" criminal record in Canada, said the attorney general's office in Quintana Roo, home to a stretch of white-sand beach resorts and lush jungles.
U.S.HuffPostI Work With Dying Veterans. Here's Why I Don't Automatically Thank Them For Their Service.
A smiling intern approaches with a flag pin intent on thanking him for his military service whether he likes it or not. Earlier that morning, I noticed James standing apart from the milling crowd gathered for a workshop on terminally ill veterans who have “combat-related psychological challenges” like post-traumatic stress disorder, moral injury and complicated bereavement. With his straight back and hair cut in the style of a Marine, James was a stark contrast to the business card-exchanging group of social workers and psychologists with whom I'd been chatting.
PoliticsINSIDERClarence Thomas' wife spoke at a conservative conference featuring the founder of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group involved in the Capitol riot
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife has ties to right-wing groups, the New Yorker reported. The founder of the Oath Keepers was featured in an event where Virginia Thomas co-hosted a banquet. Earlier this month, Stewart Rhodes was charged with sedition in connection to the Capitol riot.
U.S.Associated PressMother: teachers manipulated child to change gender identity
A mother who claims teachers secretly manipulated her 11-year-old daughter into changing her gender identity and name has filed a legal case against a tiny California school district. Spreckels Union School District was responsible for “extreme and outrageous conduct” that led the student on a path toward transitioning as a boy and drove a wedge between mother and child, according to the claim filed Wednesday by a conservative legal group. Jessica Konen said two middle school teachers who ran the school's Equality Club — later known as UBU (You Be You) — planted the seed that her daughter was bisexual in 6th grade and then introduced the idea she was transgender.
U.S.Kansas City StarMissouri jail officer wore Confederate flag to prom. She calls it ‘southern heritage’
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Office is defending one of its jail employees for her decision to wear attire featuring the Confederate flag years before she began working for the agency. Sgt. Samantha Bell, an employee with the jail division for the sheriff's office, wore a red dress with the stars and bars to her senior prom at Wellington-Napolean High School in 2013. Bell has been employed with the sheriff's office for the past five years.
U.S.The Daily BeastCanadian Guests Killed After Gunfire Erupts at Ritzy Playa del Carmen Resort
The shooting is the latest in a spate of horrific violence in the vacation hotspot. A man wielding a gun was caught on CCTV at the five-star Xcaret Hotel, located at popular Playa del Carmen, in a gray sweatsuit by the pool. Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez, the Public Secretary of Defense for the state of Quintana Roo, said gunfire broke out after a group of Canadian guests got into an argument.
U.S.Associated PressKansas teen's death has spotlight on 'stand your ground' law
Kansas lawmakers were thinking of homeowners facing down burglars and people attacked on the street when they wrote a “stand your ground” law more than a decade ago allowing use of deadly force in self defense. Now even some Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature who support the idea behind the law want to revisit it. Police took 17-year-old Cedric Lofton to the center after a foster care agency said he needed a mental health exam for increasingly erratic behavior.
HealthThe TelegraphInvestigation sought into health trust after 369 patients take their own lives following treatment
More than 360 patients took their own lives after being treated by a mental health trust that was warned 15 times to improve care by coroners in the last five years, a Telegraph investigation has found. Last night, bereaved families, MPs and charities called for an urgent investigation by ministers and health regulators into “repeated failings” and missed chances to prevent suicides. Between 2016 and last year 369 patients at Sussex Partnership NHS Trust took their own lives, according to figures obtained by the Telegraph.
U.S.TheGrioThe problem with Joe Rogan…and white boys
However, I cannot, in good conscience, declare that I am unbiased when it comes to Spotify's $100 million white man because of one fact: I like Joe Rogan. Perhaps “like” is too austere a word. I've paid to see him perform live.
U.S.Associated PressTexas attorney general refuses to hand over Jan. 6 records
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has rejected a prosecutor's demand for records of his appearance at a pro-Donald Trump rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Last week, the Travis County district attorney's office had set a four-day deadline for Paxton to turn over the records involving the Jan. 6, 2021, rally or face a lawsuit accusing him of violating the state open records law. But in a letter to the district attorney's office Friday, the attorney general's office denied any violations and rejected the office's demands.
U.S.NBC NewsToddler clears out mom's online shopping cart, orders $2K worth of items from Walmart
A New Jersey woman was browsing furniture on Walmart's website and adding items to her cart, but had not yet purchased any of them. Madhu Kumar said she asked her husband and two older children if they had bought the items, but they said it wasn't them. Ayaansh, who is most likely still learning how to count, was playing on his mother's phone when he ordered the items totaling almost $2,000.
U.S.The Daily BeastFBI Reveals What Was in Brian Laundrie’s Notebook
Brian Laundrie scrawled messages in a notebook admitting that he killed his girlfriend Gabby Petito, the FBI said in a statement Friday as they announced that their investigation into the couple's deaths was now closed. The notebook was found alongside Laundrie's remains in a wooded area in Florida in October, weeks after police say he killed Petito while they were traveling the country in a van. “The FBI's primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family,” said FBI Denver Special Agent Michael Schneider.
BusinessReutersU.S. suspends 44 U.S flights by Chinese carriers after China action
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. government said on Friday it would suspend 44 China-bound flights from the United States by four Chinese carriers in response to the Chinese government's decision to suspend some U.S. carrier flights over COVID-19 concerns. The suspensions will begin on Jan. 30 with Xiamen Airlines' scheduled Los Angeles-to-Xiamen flight and run through March 29, the Transportation Department said. The decision will cut some flights by Xiamen, Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.
U.S.Record-CourierIllegal firearms and ammunition seized from Ravenna Township home Friday
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the Portage County Sheriff's Office and its Drug and Violent Crime Unit seized 20 firearms and approximately 5,000 rounds of ammunition while executing a federal search warrant at a Ravenna Township residence on Friday, according to a sheriff's office press release. Numerous high capacity magazines were also recovered. An individual in the residence is prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous felony drug trafficking and drug possession convictions in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas.
PoliticsHuffPostTrump Trolled Over Ron DeSantis Threat In Taunting ‘What’s The Matter, Donald?’ Ad
Former President Donald Trump is mocked for his reported rift with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over their possible rival 2024 runs for the White House in a taunting new ad. The spot from the Remove Ron group mocks Trump over DeSantis' refusal, so far, to rule out a presidential bid. “Rumor is, you're still waiting for those magic words from Ron,” the voiceover continues.
U.S.Associated PressPolice: Truck with 100 monkeys crashes, some of them missing
A truck carrying about 100 monkeys was involved in a crash Friday in Pennsylvania, state police said as authorities searched for at least three of the monkeys that appeared to have escaped the vehicle. The truck carrying the animals crashed with a dump truck in the afternoon in Montour County, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Andrea Pelachick told the Daily Item. Authorities have asked residents who might see the monkeys to call state police at 570-524-2662.
“Cooking is the No. 1 way you’re polluting your home … You’re basically living in this toxic soup.”
“People (myself included) like cooking with gas! It’s one of the few energy uses that inspires brand loyalty to the fuel consumed.”
“It’s time to start making new buildings all-electric and switching out all those existing gas appliances, including gas stoves.”
“If you're looking for personal ways to protect the environment and your health right now, you have much bigger fish to fry.”
“Market-based solutions have not achieved their desired goals, thus new ways of thinking need to emerge.”