“North Korea and Russia reached a new agreement for expanding economic cooperation following high-level talks in Pyongyang this week, the North’s state media said Thursday, as they continue to align in the face of their confrontations with Washington. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency didn’t elaborate on the details of the agreement signed Wednesday between its senior trade officials and a Russian delegation led by Alexandr Kozlov, the country’s minister of natural resources and ecology. The Russian news agency Tass on Tuesday said officials following an earlier round of talks agreed to increase the number of charter flights between the countries to promote tourism.” (11/21/24)
“A Tennessee man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been convicted of plotting to kill federal authorities investigating his involvement in the insurrection. Edward Kelley, 35, of Maryville, Tenn., was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday following a three-day trial. He faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 7, the Justice Department said in a statement. Kelley had been among the mob of supporters of Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol in January 2021 to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. Prosecutors showed during the trial that Kelley had a so-called kill list of FBI agents and others who were involved in investigating his insurrection case. An unnamed defendant, who previously pleaded guilty to aiding Kelley in the conspiracy, testified that they planned to attack the Knoxville FBI Field Office with car bombs and incendiary devices dropped by drones.” (11/21/24)
“An unprecedentedly bad year for beached dolphins on Cape Cod might have to do with warming waters changing the availability of the animals’ food, said scientists hoping to curb the strandings. Cape Cod, the Massachusetts peninsula beloved by beach tourists and seafood lovers, has a long history of marine mammal strandings. That is partially because of dramatic changes in the tide that sometimes trap wayward dolphins if they swim too close to shore. But this year is different. The International Fund for Animal Welfare, which responds to marine mammal strandings, said Thursday it has responded to 342 live, stranded dolphins this year, and that is five times more than its annual average of 67. An already bad year got worse earlier this month when the organization was inundated with calls about beached dolphins. More than 50 of the animals were stranded on multiple beaches and waterways in the span of a week, the organization said.” (11/21/24)
“A supercomputer built by Chinese military scientists has again come out on top in an international test of artificial intelligence computing efficiency. Tianhe, developed by the National University of Defence Technology, is ranked at the top of the latest list of the world’s most power-efficient big data processing systems released this month, marking its second win since 2021. According to the international supercomputer rating platform, the Green Graph500 list collects performance-per-watt metrics for running large graphs to compare the energy consumption of the fastest supercomputers for data-intensive problems.” (11/21/24)
“The Department of Justice is pushing for Google to sell its Chrome web browser after a landmark ruling found the tech giant had illegally abused its search monopoly. The proposal for a partial breakup of Google and an overhaul of the running of its Android mobile operating system, among other changes, would mark the biggest antitrust action in the U.S. in decades if it’s approved. Google has said it will appeal the federal judge’s August ruling that found the company had violated federal antitrust rules to maintain a monopoly in the online search market and the case will not be finalized before President-elect Trump takes office.” (11/21/24)
“A court in Cambodia on Thursday sentenced activist Ny Nak to two years in prison for incitement and defamation, authorities and his lawyer said, the latest jailing of a dissident critical of the government. At least two dozen government critics, from environmental and labour activists to opposition politicians and journalists, were arrested in Cambodia in the first seven months of this year, a sharp increase on 2023, according to human rights monitor Licadho. Ny Nak was found guilty of criminal defamation and incitement to discriminate against the country’s labour minister over a 2023 Facebook post in which he alleged the minister had unfairly been given forest land by the government.” (11/21/24)
“Two former Georgia election workers are asking a federal judge to hold Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for repeating false claims that have already led to a $148 million defamation judgment against him. Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss say Giuliani repeated baseless claims on an episode of his podcast last week, saying that they counted fraudulent ballots in the 2020 election. … The conflict is now in the hands of U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, who presided over Giuliani’s defamation trial last year and found him liable for the massive payout. Giuliani entered bankruptcy shortly after the judgment and has been fighting additional legal battles in New York over Moss and Freeman’s efforts to take control of his assets, which include his car, his New York apartment and his New York Yankees World Series rings, among other property.” (11/21/24)
“Israel has unleashed a series of air attacks on the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 90 people, including many children in their sleep, as its main ally the United States once again vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire. At least 66 people were killed in an attack early on Thursday that hit a residential neighbourhood in Beit Lahiya, in Gaza’s besieged north, Palestinian health officials said.” (11/21/24)
“A Texas jury awarded nearly $100 million to the family of a man gunned down in his own apartment by a Dallas police officer who thought she was at her own apartment on a different floor. The jury awarded $60 million in punitive damages and $38.6 million in compensatory damages, ruling that Amber Guyger acted with malice or was reckless when she murdered Botham Jean in 2018, KDFW reported. The family had sought nearly $55 million in their lawsuit. Guyger was convicted in the shooting and sentenced to 10 years in prison, as CrimeOnline reported. Jean, 26, was sitting on his sofa eating ice cream on September 6, 2018, when Guyger, still in uniform, entered his apartment. She testified that she shot to kill because she believed she was entering her own apartment — actually on the floor below — and that Jean was an intruder.” (11/20/24)
Yesterday’s fundraiser update thanked supporters WT and DZ for their $35 in donations, bringing our total to $1,927 and leaving us only $748.50 short of our goal.
Nothing’s changed since then — yesterday was a “zero-dollar day.” So no math or “thermometer” updates to look after for me. Easy!
But given our ~5,000 daily readers, of whom less than 100 have supported us this fall, it seems like knocking down that last $748.50 should be even easier! We just need a few more of you to help out at:
