Russia's remote permafrost thaws, threatening homes and infrastructure

The old airport in the Siberian settlement of Churapcha has been unusable for years, its runway transformed into a swampy field of puffed-up mounds and reliefs. Like cities and towns across northern and northeastern Russia, Churapcha is suffering the consequence of climate change thawing the permafrost https://graphics.reuters.com/CLIMATE-CHANGE/PERMAFROST/oakveelglvr/index.html on which everything is built. "There isn't a single settlement in Russia's Arctic where you wouldn't find a destroyed or deformed building," said Alexey Maslakov, a scientist at Moscow State University.

Ted Cruz blasted Australia’s COVID rules. A top Australian official didn’t hold back

The chief minister of the Northern Territory of Australia responded Monday to comments made by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz about the country's strict rules to protect against COVID-19. The territory announced last week that workers who interact with the public must receive their first vaccination shot by Nov. 12 or face a $5,000 fine, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The mandate got a harsh response from Cruz, a senator who has often lashed out against COVID-19 polices in the United States.

Gabby Petito's mom says she wasn't worried about her daughter's road trip because she thought Brian Laundrie would take care of her

Gabby Petito's mother said she'd thought her daughter would be safe with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. Laundrie, a person of interest in Petito's case, has been missing for a month. Gabby Petito's mother said she didn't worry about her daughter's road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, because she thought he would take care of Petito.

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  Gabby Petito's mother says she thinks Brian Laundrie's family knows about her daughter's killing

  INSIDER
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  Gabby Petito’s parents speak out about Brian Laundrie in new interview

  ABC News Videos

Freed murderer charged in Florida with slaying of single mom

Police have charged a convicted murderer who was released from prison last year with the slaying of a South Florida woman whose body was found in a canal after being missing for three weeks. Eric Pierson, 54, was charged Saturday with first-degree murder for the slaying of Erika Verdecia, 33, hours after her body was found Saturday near Fort Lauderdale. Pierson had been released from prison in September 2020 after serving 27 years of a 40-year sentence for the 1993 beating and strangulation murder of 17-year-old Kristina Whitaker, whose death helped galvanize a push for longer prison sentences.

Some Hooters servers on TikTok are saying new shorts are too short

A change to the Hooters uniform at some locations has prompted a handful of the restaurant chain's servers to share their concerns on TikTok. In the videos, which have racked up millions of views since popping up on the platform last week, Hooters servers hold up the new black shorts while sharing their thoughts. The videos have reignited criticisms of Hooters for fostering an outdated concept centered around sexualizing servers' bodies.

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  Hooters Servers Are Complaining About the Chain's Inappropriate New Uniforms

  Eat This, Not That!
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  Hooters amends uniform policy after employees condemn ‘disturbing’ new shorts

  The Independent

Climber's body recovered from mountain after she sent message for help

Rescue personnel and a helicopter successfully completed the highly technical recovery of a 29-year-old Denver woman's body from Kit Carson Peak in Colorado on this weekend. Anna DeBattiste of the Colorado Search And Rescue Association confirmed to CBS Denver that rescue team members safely returned from the operation some time after midnight on Saturday after recovering the body of Madeline Baharlou-Quivey. Kit Carson Peak Climber Madeline Baharlou-Quivey's Body Retrieved By Rescue Crews, Helicopter https://t.co/cp4tHpeXlr pic.twitter.com/efkuciFFH7 Using ropes and climbing harnesses, Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue personnel made the climb from the Spanish Creek side of the peak, appro...

Texas trucker convicted in fiery, fatal crash in Rocky Mountains

A Texas truck driver who lost control of his semi-trailer along a Colorado mountain highway in 2019, ramming into stopped traffic and killing four people in a fiery crash, was convicted late Friday of vehicular homicide and related charges. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera-Mederos, 25, was convicted by a Jefferson County, Colorado, jury of four counts of homicide and more than two dozen other charges, including vehicular assault, reckless driving and careless driving resulting in death. Prosecutors said during the trial that Aguilera-Mederos knew his brakes were failing as he descended Interstate 70, west of Denver, on April 15, 2019.

A California Construction Worker Asked a Speeding Motorist to Slow Down. He Was Shot Seven Times In Response.

The family of a California Black construction worker wants answers after their loved one was shot several times in what is now being looked at as a potential hate crime. Bobby Gayle is still recovering, KCRA reported this week, after being shot seven times this month in the town in California's Central Valley. Bobby's brother, Marlon Gayle, told the outlet that his brother had just finished the job when the shooting occurred.

Anti-Vaxxers Are Already Trying to Weaponize Powell’s Death

When the death of Colin Powell due to complications from COVID-19 was announced early Monday, medical experts feared that anti-vaxxers and others who question the reality of safe and effective shots might try to use the tragedy to fuel their conspiracy-laden agenda. In a statement, Powell's family said the beloved 84-year-old general and former official in multiple Republican administrations passed away from unspecified COVID-19 complications on Monday at Walter Reed National Medical Center. While Powell was fully vaccinated against the deadly virus, he underwent prostate cancer treatment in 2003, and had been previously diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

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  Colin Powell dies of COVID-19 complications

  Yahoo News
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  Report: Ex-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin Powell dies of COVID complications

  Yahoo News Video

Adrien Brody Felt 'So Stupid' After Rejecting What Became An Iconic Series

Adrien Brody told GQ he was almost in “The Lord of the Rings” franchise, but that he rejected the part because he “didn't grasp it.” The actor said he regretted it when he went to see the first film with an ex-girlfriend. While he missed out on “The Lord of the Rings,” Brody did end up in Jackson's 2005 “King Kong” film ― a role he believes he wouldn't have gotten if he had been a hobbit.

Microsoft president Brad Smith reportedly told Bill Gates to stop emailing female employees 'more than a decade ago'

Microsoft president Brad Smith reportedly told Bill Gates to stop emailing female employees. The Wall Street Journal reported Smith confronted Gates "more than a decade ago." Two top executives at Microsoft told the company's billionaire founder Bill Gates to stop emailing female employees "more than a decade ago," according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources.

Louisiana gators thrive, so farmers' return quota may drop

Once-endangered alligators are thriving in the wild, so Louisiana authorities are proposing a deep cut in the percentage that farmers must return to marshes where their eggs were laid. “Over the past 50 years, alligator nest surveys have increased from an estimate of less than 10,000 in the 1970s and 1980s to well over 60,000 nests in recent years," the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission said in a notice published Wednesday. "This increase in nesting has produced a population that can now be sustained with a much lower farm return rate.”

Stimulus Check Update: Here's Who May Be Getting Another $1,400 Check

Senior citizens are among the most economically vulnerable in the country. A letter sent by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) Chairman Rick Delaney to Congressional leaders illustrates the situation faced by some seniors. The letter reads in part: "We've heard from thousands of them (seniors) who have exhausted their retirement savings, who have started eating just one meal a day, stated cutting their pills in half because they can't afford their prescription drugs, to list just a few of the drastic steps so many have had to take because of what inflation has done to them this year."

Mom charged in daughter’s death months after she’s found dead in yard, SC police say

A South Carolina woman has been charged with manslaughter in the August death of her daughter, police said. Ayla Franklin, 22, was found face down and unresponsive in the front yard of a home on Irby Street in Woodruff on Aug. 7 and was pronounced dead, according to a news release from the Woodruff Police Department. Police said they investigated the case along with the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office and the Spartanburg County Solicitor's Office and later “upgraded” it from a death investigation to homicide.

Turkey's Erdogan says U.S. proposed F-16 sales in return for its F-35 investment

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United States had proposed the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in return for its investment in the F-35 programme, from which Ankara was removed after purchasing missile defence systems from Russia. Reuters reported earlier this month that Turkey made a request to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. Speaking to reporters before departing for a trip to West Africa, Erdogan said Turkey wants a return for its investment in the F-35 programme and that talks on the issue are ongoing.

The Workers Won’t Be Coming Back, Covid or Not. Here Are Theories on Where They Went.

More people are choosing not to work, confounding employers and economists and leading to worrisome labor shortages and supply chain problems. The September jobs report showed the slowest pace of hiring all year, a surprise decline in labor-force participation and a rise in wages. Whatever the explanation for the worsening labor shortage, it goes beyond temporary factors associated with the pandemic.

Ex-Spy Behind Salacious Trump Dossier Has Damning Theory About Alleged Pee Tape

Christopher Steele, the British former spy behind a salacious and unverified dossier about Donald Trump, said he believes one of the most infamous allegations in the document. Steele told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that the “pee tape” is “probably” real, according to a promo for the upcoming series, “Out of the Shadows: The Man Behind the Steele Dossier.” The dossier claims Trump in 2013 hired prostitutes in Moscow to perform a golden showers show as he watched.

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  Christopher Steele stands by discredited anti-Trump dossier claims about Michael Cohen in Prague and 'pee tape'

  Washington Examiner
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  Ex-British spy Christopher Steele defends Trump dossier and says kompromat tape ‘probably’ exists

  The Independent

Coast Guard: 1,200-foot ship dragged California oil pipeline

Investigators believe a 1,200-foot (366-meter) cargo ship dragging anchor in rough seas caught an underwater oil pipeline and pulled it across the seafloor, months before a leak from the line fouled the Southern California coastline with crude. A team of federal investigators trying to chase down the cause of the spill boarded the Panama-registered MSC DANIT just hours after the massive ship arrived this weekend off the Port of Long Beach, the same area where the leak was discovered in early October. During a prior visit by the ship during a heavy storm in January, investigators believe its anchor dragged for an unknown distance before striking the 16-inch (40-centimeter) steel pipe, Coast Guard Lt. j.g.

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  U.S. Coast Guard boards ship in connection with California oil spill

  Reuters Videos
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  Investigators believe cargo ship dragged California oil pipeline in January

  The Week

Never Order Seafood Unless You've Asked Your Server This, FDA Warns

Loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and protein, seafood consumption has been linked to increased longevity, better heart health, and weight loss. If you're ordering raw seafood, like sushi, oysters, ceviche, or tuna tartare, at a restaurant, you should always inquire with your server about how it's been stored prior to serving, the FDA recommends. Specifically, the authority says that anyone ordering raw seafood should ask if the food they're ordering has been frozen, thawed, and kept on ice.

Gambian Toufah Jallow tells of surviving rape by dictator

Toufah Jallow's name resonates deeply in Gambia as one of the few women who has taken a public stand against sexual assault in the small West African state. She gained fame at the age of 18 when she won a university scholarship in a national talent competition for young women. But in 2015 she fled Gambia, fearing for her life, after dictator Yahya Jammeh allegedly drugged and raped her, angry that she had turned down his marriage proposal.

A Florida school says students who get vaxxed must stay home for 30 days because of unfounded claim that they'll infect others, report says

Centner Academy in Florida told parents any student who gets vaccinated must quarantine for 30 days. An infectious-disease expert who spoke with WSVN characterized that belief as "science fiction." A private school in Miami is requiring students who get vaccinated to quarantine at home for 30 days after each dose.

6 Social Security Changes for 2022

Every October, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announces its annual changes to the Social Security program for the coming year. Below is our summary of the Social Security changes that were announced in October 2021 and are set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022. The big news for 2022 is that nearly 70 million Social Security recipients will see reflected in their monthly benefits the largest cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) since Ronald Reagan's first term in office in 1982.

Japan PM says Fukushima wastewater release can't be delayed

Japan's new prime minister on Sunday said the planned mass disposal of wastewater stored at the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant cannot be delayed, despite concerns from local residents. Speaking at his first visit to the facility since taking office, Fumio Kishida said his government would work to reassure residents nearby the plant about the technical safety of the wastewater disposal project. The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown in 2011 following a massive earthquake and tsunami.