Jamal Uddin Covid Update Ukraine Faces Rolling Blackouts After JamalPur Hellal Khan Natore 2022
The Justice Department has ramped up prosecutions of pro-life activists in the months following the Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, under a law that was barely used in 2020 and 2021 but has now been used to indict 26 people this year.
In the seven months since Russian forces seized Europe’s largest atomic energy station, Ukrainian engineers have managed to keep the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant running safely even as artillery shells repeatedly destroyed the facility’s backup electricity.
But as temperatures drop heading into winter, the risk of a radiation accident is rising, the head of Ukraine’s state nuclear company told HuffPost on Tuesday.
As fighting intensified last month, operators powered down the last of the plant’s six reactors lest another electrical outage jeopardize the cooling systems needed to keep the scorching-hot radioactive material from melting down even when the reactor is idle.
“It was the safest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and now it is the most dangerous nuclear power plant in the whole world,” said Petro Kotin, president of Ukrainian state-owned nuclear plant operator Energoatom. He spent most of his career working at Zaporizhzhia.
Bodies of water all over North America are drying up as a result of drought and a decrease in precipitation, experts told ABC News.
Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that the 22-year megadrought affecting the West would not only intensify but also move eastward.
That prediction appears to be coming into fruition, with about 82% of the continental U.S. currently showing conditions between abnormally dry and exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
But Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear plant operator, wants to restart at least one of the reactors. A Russian bombing blitz over the last week destroyed 30% of Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure, spurring widespread blackouts. And the neighboring towns where Zaporizhzhia’s workers live have no other source of warmth in the winter besides a district heating system hooked up to the power plant.
Restarting a reactor is also a matter of safety at the plant. There’s a limited amount of diesel to run the generators that provide the last-resort power to keep the plant’s cooling system running — running heaters to keep the storage tanks containing refueling water would only drain the supply sooner.
“Even before we de-occupy the plant, because of the decrease in temperature, we need just to start this one unit to supply steam for heating purposes of the plant itself,” Kotin said dressed in dark green military fatigues as he spoke to HuffPost for 80 minutes over Microsoft Teams from his office in Kyiv, roughly 400 miles northwest of Zaporizhzhia.
Then there are the fish. Zaporizhzhia collects water for its cooling system from an outdoor pond, which operators stocked with an imported fish species to eat algae that could otherwise gum up the reactor turbines. A running reactor expels warm water into the pond, keeping temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit at all times — and, by extension, keeping the Egyptian fish alive. With no reactors running, water temperatures would eventually drop below 50 degrees, Kotin said.
Accomplishing that feat comes with lofty expectations from a Democratic Party hungry for a new generation of leaders. Moore would also enter the governorship under intense scrutiny: a political neophyte promising to usher in an era of transformation in his first elected gig
Two Russian nationals were arrested in a scheme to obtain sensitive U.S. military electronics and technology to provide it to the Russian defense sector, prosecutors said Wednesday, noting that some of the items were found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Yury Orekhov and Artem Uss are accused of using false documents and a front company to purchase electronics like advanced semiconductors and microprocessors used in fighter aircraft, missile systems and smart munitions.
The men sent the items to sanctioned Russian companies that serve the defense sector, according to federal prosecutors.
“Some of the same electronic components obtained through the criminal scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized on the battlefield in Ukraine,” prosecutors said.
The operation was part of a broader scheme that involved smuggling oil from Venezuela to companies in Russia and China — and millions of dollars in cryptocurrency transfers to launder the proceeds of the criminal enterprise, according to a 12-count indictment that charged a total of seven people.
"This network schemed to procure sophisticated technology in direct support of a floundering Russian Federation military industrial complex," Assistant FBI Director Michael Driscoll said in a statement.
Orekhov, who is 42 and lives in the United Arab Emirates, was arrested in Germany on Monday. Uss, who is 40 and lives in Moscow, was arrested in Italy the same day.
Both men will undergo extradition proceedings, prosecutors said. It was not immediately clear whether they had hired lawyers.
The Justice Department also charged three other Russians in connection with the scheme: Svetlana Kuzurgasheva, 32, also known as Lana Neumann; Timofey Telegin, 39; and Sergey Tulyakov, 52.
Two other men were charged in connection with the allegedly illicit oil deals: Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce, who is 47 and lives in Dubai, and Juan Carlos Soto, whose age and hometown were not provided by U.S. authorities.
Ponce and Soto are accused of brokering oil deals worth millions of dollars involving a front company operated by Orekhov and Uss and purchasers in Russia and China. The deals were routed through a complex web of shell companies and bank accounts to disguise the transactions, prosecutors said.
If such a high-pressure debut seems like cause for caution, his supporters aren’t tempering their enthusiasm.
Moore has racked up a slew of endorsements, including a rare political nod from Oprah Winfrey. Democratic luminaries are drawn to the energy and charisma he displays on the trail running for the state’s open governorship.
Even President Joe Biden chose a Democratic Party event in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Rockville as his unofficial midterm campaign kickoff. There Biden heaped praise on Moore, the former head of the Robin Hood Foundation, the anti-poverty nonprofit, as well as a captain who led troops in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.
To say it's been another tumultuous day in UK politics would be an understatement. If you're just joining us, here's a recap of Wednesday's events at Westminster:
- Suella Braverman has resigned from her role as home secretary after six weeks in the job. Braverman said she was quitting after she had sent an official document from her personal email account, but expressed concerns about "the direction of the government" in a blistering resignation letter
- Former transport secretary Grant Shapps was appointed as the new home secretary
- In Parliament, there was uproar as Tory MPs tried to seek clarity on whether a vote on fracking was a confidence vote in government. A Labour MP claimed Tory MPs were manhandled into the voting lobby
- The Conservatives won the vote, with 326 voting against a ban, and 230 MPs voting for it - though 40 Tory MPs, including several senior figures, did not vote
- Reports began to emerge suggesting chief whip Wendy Morton and deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker had resigned
- After hours of speculation about their depature, No 10 confirmed both were still in their posts
- Charles Walker, a Tory MP, told BBC News that the evening's events in the voting lobby were a "shambles and disgrace". A number of his colleagues sided with him, including Maria Caulfield MP, who tweeted: "We are all Charles Walker"
- Lord David Frost, Boris Johnson's former Brexit negotiator and Tory peer, added his voice to calls for Truss to resign
“Wes is the real deal. The real deal, folks. He’s a combat veteran. Only drawback is he’s a Rhodes Scholar,” Biden joked. “Former CEO of one of the biggest anti-poverty organizations in America,” he continued, “and if we all do our part, the next governor of Maryland.”
And while the president made no mention of his former boss, others in the party can’t help but compare Moore, a moderate, to the nation’s first Black president. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer not-so-subtly reached for not one, but two former presidents as comparisons when asked about Moore’s experience.
“Ronald Reagan didn’t have much experience before he became the governor of the largest state, except as an actor. Barack Obama had a few years [in the U.S. Senate],” said Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, deflecting criticisms raised about Moore.
Moore’s been slammed during the campaign as unequipped to meet Maryland’s challenges, having never worked in government before, and he’s been labeled as a “phony” by his Republican challenger for being untruthful about how long he’s lived in Baltimore, embellishing parts of his biography in his best-selling memoir, “The Other Wes Moore.”
These projections being placed on Moore can be heavy for any candidate, particularly for someone new to the political arena.
It also speaks to the rarity of Black candidates getting elected to statewide posts, which are typically seen as a springboard for any future run for the Senate or the White House. The Moore candidacy highlights Democrats’ craving to find a class of leaders that is younger and more diverse than its current crop of long-tenured party heads, one that can help excite the base.
In the last four weeks alone, the Justice Department has indicted 14 people under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or the FACE Act. That Clinton-era law makes it a federal crime to use or threaten to use force to "injure, intimidate, or interfere" with anyone seeking either abortion services or pro-life pregnancy counseling services.
. Vladimir Putin declares martial law in occupied regions of Ukraine.
The aggressive move could allow pro-Russian authorities to impose even tighter restrictions on the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow recently annexed but does not fully control. The move could also allow Russian troops and their allies to seize property and forcibly resettle residents.
Russian proxy officials, apparently girding for a battle for control, said they began moving as many as 60,000 civilians out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson today. Ukrainian officials dismissed the plans as “a propaganda show,” but the move was another sign that Moscow’s hold on the area was slipping.
Jamal Uddin Covid Update Ukraine Faces Rolling Blackouts After JamalPur Hellal Khan Natore 2022
Each of those 14 indictments were against pro-life demonstrators, and all of the 26 FACE Act indictments this year have been against pro-lifers. These alleged FACE Act incidents, for which DOJ is now pressing charges, occurred at least one year ago and carry potential jail time of up to 11 years and over $200,000 in fines.
In contrast, only four FACE Act indictments took place in 2021, according to DOJ.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before Congress. (Greg Nash/Pool Photo via AP)
The sudden uptick in FACE Act charges follows the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case in June that overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion access. In response to the Dobbs opinion, DOJ launched a reproductive rights task force, which the department says was formed to "identify ways to protect access to reproductive health care."
Obumseli would later die from his wound, and Clenney, who has 2 million followers on Instagram and a once-thriving OnlyFans business, faces a second-degree murder charge. On the call, she did not say whether she stabbed Obumseli, but her legal team claims she acted in self-defense.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle previously said Obumseli was unarmed, while describing the couple's relationship as "extremely tempestuous and combative."
Larry Handfield, the attorney representing Obumseli's family, said the 911 call speaks for itself.
"It shows her state of mind," he told the Herald. "She's saying she's sorry because she's realizing what she's done. She's not saying ‘I was defending myself.’"
(Bloomberg) -- The Ukrainian electrical grid operator Ukrenergo told the nation to be prepared for alternating blackouts on Thursday after Russian missile attacks damaged more power producers on Wednesday.
Most Read from Bloomberg
- A Tense Pay Dispute Overshadows Nintendo’s Upcoming Bayonetta 3
- Trump Prosecutors See Evidence for Obstruction Charges
- $200 Diesel Puts Biden in an Ugly Corner
- Trump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Records Spats
- Weed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations in US Next Year
All regions in Ukraine may face four-hour cutoffs between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., a necessary step because of a shortage of power generation, the company said, urging consumers to conserve as much energy as possible.
Russian missiles struck three electricity producers in Ukraine on Wednesday alone. The damage to facilities in Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsya was on top of other attacks on power plants.
Since Oct. 10, the Ukrainian energy system has suffered more attacks than it did since the Russian invasion began in February, Ukrenergo said. About 30% of Ukrainian power stations have been destroyed since Oct. 10, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday.
“It is very important energy is consumed with awareness tomorrow,” he said in his nightly address. “We are preparing for all possible scenarios in the light of approaching winter season. We proceed from the fact that Russian terror will be directed at energy facilities, until with the help of our partners, we can shoot down 100 percent of enemy’s missiles and drones”
Kyiv, Lviv and other big cities have already experienced emergency power cutoffs, though some capacity has been restored.
--With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska.
(Updates with Zelenskiy remarks, in fifth paragraph. An earlier version corrected the length of the war, in fourth paragraph.)
One of Clenney's lawyers, Frank Prieto, said his client was emotional moments after defending herself.
"The 911 call that Courtney made to get help for Obumseli captures the chaos, confusion, and raw emotion Courtney experienced after she was forced to defend herself," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The audio of Courtney's call to 911 is clearly not an admission of guilt; it is a human and humane reaction to the traumatic events and actions she took to save her life that night. As with many victims of domestic violence, Courtney allowed her abuser back into her apartment despite knowing their relationship was toxic; however, her actions that evening were taken in defense of her own life."
While DOJ has been prosecuting alleged FACE Act violations by pro-life activists, the Supreme Court decision has also led to dozens of violent incidents at pro-life pregnancy centers staged by pro-choice demonstrators. For example, the radical abortion rights group Jane's Revenge has claimed credit for vandalizing or firebombing at least 18 of these pro-life clinics.