From Jenna Orkin Row in France as government reluctant to back dry January Addiction experts urge state to promote month of abstinence but alcohol lobby says idea is out of step with French culture CAN FLOW BATTERIES FINALLY BEAT LITHIUM? Jews were almost entirely chased out of Arab countries with nary a peep from those vilifying Israel.) Instead, she made clear that the accuser is subjecting Israel to a standard no other country must meet, which is the essence of antisemitism. During their history, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, she said, all displaced indigenous people. No one is calling these countries illegitimate or demanding they evacuate. “So why is Israel different?” Julia Haart wants to end the gett crisis The 'My Unorthodox Life' star and activists are fighting to change coercive-control laws to save 'chained women' trapped in marriages Multnomah County sees increase in Old Town shigella cases The Censorship Industrial Complex Covid scientists issue warning new variant could cause global 'heart failure pandemic' Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen acknowledges submitting AI-generated fake case citations Scientists beam solar power to Earth from space for 1st time ever Four years on, long covid still confounds us. Here’s what we now know.

From Jenna Orkin Iraq Breaks Ground on $2 Billion Project to Build New City Two Chinese firms will build 30,000 units outside Baghdad Project is part of plan to construct 10 cities across Iraq Ford: your vehicle can not be driven message after failed software update. China's New Rare Earth Policy Shakes Global Tech Industry The march took place simultaneously as thousands of older Jewish pro-Palestinian protesters — wearing all-black apparel and marching to a drumbeat — silently laid to rest 500 effigies of dead children in the middle of Times Square to mourn the scores of Gazan and Israeli children killed after Hamas attacked Israel. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters swarm World Trade Center, chant for end of Israel during rowdy funeral procession Polluters could face jail under MSP's ecocide plan What China’s new defense minister tells us about Xi’s military purge Genes Promoting Fertility May Have Negative Effect on Longevity ‘How can such a tiny woman drive a big truck?’ Japan’s labour shortage forces it to rethink gender stereotypes Zero onshore wind plans submitted in England since de facto ban was ‘lifted’ ‘They told us – you are slaves’: survivors give harrowing testimony of Darfur’s year of hell

From Jenna Orkin Global defence orders surge as geopolitical tensions mount Argentina's Milei Lays Off 5000 Governmetn Employees Fani Willis All But Calls Jim Jordan a Moron Study: Utah is no longer a majority-Mormon state "This trend has produced troubling impacts for patients and health care workers across the country. We have seen private equity firms aggressively loot safety-net hospitals, strip out valuable real estate, cut critical but less profitable services, and exploit government funding programs designed to support and stabilize health care access. The consequences have been borne by health care workers and the communities they serve. Private equity’s hospital profiteering has resulted in dangerous conditions, closures, and reduced access to services, declining quality, and fraud. Despite the growing threat they pose to critical health care services, private equity firms are largely able to operate in the shadows. And aside from a few recent actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Washington—under Democratic and Republican administrations—has largely been asleep at the wheel, or has willingly looked the other way. More monster waves will collide with the California coast after injuring onlookers and causing serious flooding The L.A.P.D. says it has the largest local airborne law-enforcement unit in the world. A recent audit found little evidence that its choppers deter crime. The Year We Stopped Being Able to Pretend About Trump The story of 2023 wasn’t the search for another Republican leader—but the Party’s embrace of the one it already has. 6 Ingenious Projects for Endless Hot Water Without Electricity A classroom without walls: New Zealand’s nature schools emphasise mud over maths

From Jenna Orkin Opinion | Having lost their flexibility, pro-lifers are losing their cause After Sandy Hook, they voted no. Now these senators want new gun laws. Sniffing Women’s Tears May Reduce Aggression in Men, Study Finds Lauren Boebert is switching districts after facing a brutally expensive reelection bid What led to one of the most significant — but least surprising — deaths in Russia's war with Ukraine in 2023 People who are incarcerated in the U.S. are also six times more likely to contract a foodborne illness than the general population. The U.N. Announces the Hottest Year The climate heated up, but clean energy did, too. By Bill McKibben Donating Blood Reduces Toxic Chemicals in Blood Maine disqualifies Trump from presidential primary ballot, citing insurrection clause E coli ‘caught at Christmas market’ leaves 17-year-old in intensive care

From Jenna Orkin New 'Mind-Reading' AI Translates Thoughts Directly From Brainwaves – Without Implants In a scorching year, scientists wonder if climate change is speeding up New York City has lost 100,000 apartments because people in rich neighborhoods keep combining units Inside the world of deep-cover spies that Russia is deploying to infiltrate the West Scientists Destroy 99% of Cancer Cells in The Lab Using Vibrating Molecules (LEAD) Actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead in apparent suicide CBS Herridge: 2024 May See Black Swan Event Malpractice Insurance Prices Are Stopping Small Clinics From Offering Gender-Affirming Care to Minors Pentagon says Iranian drone 'attack' hit chemical tanker near India New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft for using articles to train AI

From Jenna Orkin Student Accidentally Created Battery that Could Last 400 Years Russia and China are on the brink of a military alliance that could overwhelm the US The most potent El Niño event in almost a decade is about to exert its peak influence on North American weather. Israel planning to end ground operation in Gaza in '3rd phase of war': Media A REPORTER'S LAWYER In memory of Michael Nussbaum SEYMOUR HERSH How dairy farms are rethinking their water use The Egyptian proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel’s professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel’s insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war. Multiple arrests, officer injured at pro-Palestinian protest in Manhattan, NYPD says Alec Baldwin gets into heated exchange with protester at pro-Palestinian rally in NYC Attacks across Europe put Islamist extremism back in spotlight

From Jenna Orkin Genetic engineering was meant to save chestnut trees. Then there was a mistake. US Promotion of Banned Fukushima Seafood Contradicts Biden’s Cancer Initiatives South Korea is facing a new, younger type of criminal — the 'MZ gangster' Putin Open To Negotiation Are Houthi Red Sea attacks hurting Israel and disrupting global trade? Autobiography of Generation X Series Prologue (start here and read each chapter of Juvenile Crimes in order) WESLEY T. MILLER Bad air forces Pakistan to shut schools and markets and seed the clouds A catatonic woman awakened after 20 years. Her story may change psychiatry. Kevin Spacey and Tucker Carlson Release Bizarre Christmas Video Slamming 2024 Election and ‘House of Cards’: ‘Netflix Exists Because of Me’ Monotreme dreams: the plan to reintroduce platypuses into Adelaide’s once ‘noxious’ river

From Jenna Orkin No, an Israeli Real Estate Company Is Not Selling Beachfront Homes in Gaza Accused leaker Teixeira was seen as potential mass shooter, probe finds In Germany’s struggle against antisemitism, the arts are suffering Should the Fourteenth Amendment Be Used to Disqualify Trump? The weak point in this argument is the finding that Trump’s behavior constitutes “insurrection.” This is a defensible shorthand for January 6, one I’ve used frequently myself. But it’s not the most precise term. When I have the chance to use a longer description, I generally say that Trump attempted to secure an unelected second term in office. Reindeer take mini naps while chewing their food. WHO: Covid-19 Variant JN.1 Spreading Fast, Risk Still Low An eye surgeon in China repeatedly punched an 82-year-old patient he was operating on, video shows Kibbutz says Gadi Haggai, abducted Oct. 7, died in Hamas captivity; body held in Gaza Iranian Spy Ship Helps Houthis Direct Attacks on Red Sea Vessels Assistance raises pressure on Israel and the U.S. to take action against the Yemen-based rebels

From Jenna Orkin Angola says it is leaving OPEC SEC Charges Tingo Mobile Founder, Three Companies with Massive Fraud and Obtains Emergency Relief Revisiting Jenner's Smallpox Vaccine Every containership over 8,000TEUs, except for one, have turned from the Bab el-Mandeb. This means that all the major ocean container lines have abandoned the region even after the @DeptofDefense and @CENTCOM have announced Op Prosperity Guardian. At least 10 killed, dozens injured in Prague university shooting, officials say Flowers ‘giving up’ on scarce insects and evolving to self-pollinate, say scientists NY Times on Harvard President and Allegations of Plagiarism Amidst strained relations between Armenia and Russia, Russia's state atomic energy company will modernize Armenia's nuclear power plant and presumably build a new unit. FUTURE OF FOOD Artificial intelligence can find your location in photos, worrying privacy experts

From Jenna Orkin New coronavirus variant JN.1 is spreading fast. Here’s what to know. Exploitive, illegal photos of children found in the data that trains some AI Failure at the Fence: How Hamas breached Israel’s security barrier on Oct. 7 Deep in the Sonoran Desert, high on a mountain’s wind-swept peak, there lives a tree known as Bigelow 224. With its stout orange trunk and long, graceful needles, the tree looks like any other ponderosa pine growing on Mount Bigelow. But a sliver of its wood, taken amid Earth’s warmest year on record, shows that this tree has a story to tell — and a warning to offer. Since Rhysida surfaced, in May, its victims have included the Chilean Army, a medical-research lab in Australia, and Prospect Medical Holdings, a health-care company with hospitals in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and California. There are reports that its code contains fragments of Russian, and it appears not to have struck inside Russia or its close allies. When I checked the Rhysida Web site last week, there were data for sale from Grupo José Alves, a Brazilian conglomerate; Insomniac Games, the maker of the Spider-Man 2 video game; HSE, a Slovenian energy company; and the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club. Danny Danon, the former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, believes there’s no path forward for a Palestinian state. Life with Long Covid - NYT There were two shoot-and-move ranges, both backstopped by man-made berms. One featured a façade where assaulters could practice storming a building; another allowed trainees to fire at a junked car, to see which ammunition best penetrated automotive steel. An area was designated for “explosive training,” and Banyai told people that he planned to add a sniper course, a helipad, and a “maritime” element, in case anyone needed experience blitzing a ship. An epidemic of sexual abuse in schools 'So much gratitude': Americans freed by Venezuela in US prisoner swap land in Texas