Climate change is causing mass elephant die-offBy GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA and MAURICIO SAVARESE, Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal police said Thursday they indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people for allegedly attempting a coup to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections. Police said their findings were being delivered Thursday to Brazil’s Supreme Court, which must decide whether to refer them to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who will either formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. The former right-wing president has denied all claims he tried to stay in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 to his rival, leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats since then. Police said in a brief statement that the Supreme Court had agreed to reveal the names of all 37 people who were indicted “to avoid the dissemination of incorrect news.” The 700-page police document likely will take several days for the court to review, Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes said. Dozens of former and current Bolsonaro aides also were indicted, including Gen. Walter Braga Netto, who was his running mate in the 2022 campaign; former Army commander Gen. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; Valdemar Costa Neto, the chairman of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party; and his veteran former adviser, Gen. Augusto Heleno. The investigation started last year. On Tuesday, four military men and one federal police agent were arrested as part of the same probe . Other investigations focus on Bolosnaro’s potential roles in smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring them, and in directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ COVID-19 vaccination statuses. Bolsonaro has denied any involvement in either. Another probe found that he had abused his authority to cast doubt on the country’s voting system, and judges barred him from running again until 2030. The far-reaching investigations have weakened Bolsonaro’s status as a leader of Brazil’s right wing, said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “Bolsonaro is already barred from running in the 2026 elections,” Melo told the The Associated Press. “And if he is convicted he could also be jailed by then. To avoid being behind bars, he will have to convince Supreme Court justices that he has nothing to do with a plot that involves dozens of his aids. That’s a very tall order,” Melo said. On Tuesday, the federal police arrested four military and a federal police officer accused of plotting to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections, including alleged plans to kill Lula and other top officials.After Rudy Giuliani’s courtroom outburst, judge warns ‘court will take action’
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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Alabama A&M University football player Medrick Burnett Jr. is still on life support following an injury during a game against Alabama State in October, according to Alabama A&M University Sports Information Director Brian Howard. This updates an earlier announcement from the university that Burnett had died a month after the injury. Howard said the university got news last night from Burnett's father, who is on the West Coast where the family is from, that his son had died. Burnett's mother, who is with him, said that he is still alive. The announcement from the university Wednesday that originally stated he had died has since been removed from their website . The redshirt freshman from Lakewood, California, joined Alabama A&M's team over the summer after starting his college career at Grambling State. He appeared in seven games for Alabama A&M this season, recording three tackles during a game at Austin Peay.Symbotic Inc. Announcement: If You Have Suffered Losses in Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ: SYM), You Are Encouraged to Contact The Rosen Law Firm About Your Rights
The Liberal candidate in a federal byelection in British Columbia says she is applying for Métis membership after a local group questioned her claims of Indigenous identity. Madison Fleischer says in a written statement that she self-identifies as Métis based on what she knows about her great-grandmother's heritage and is "collecting the necessary documentation to go through the application process" for citizenship with B.C.'s Métis Nation. In the meantime, Fleischer, who is the candidate in the Dec. 16 byelection in Cloverdale-Langley City, says she has removed "Métis" from her social media profile descriptions to ensure there is "no confusion" about her Indigenous status. Her response comes after the Waceya Métis Society — which describes itself as a chartered community representing Métis people in the Langley and White Rock regions of B.C.'s Lower Mainland — said in a release that it "wishes to distance itself from Madison’s claims of Métis identity." The society says it met with Fleischer over the weekend to discuss her claims of Métis identity but was "disappointed that she could not provide any evidence to support her Métis heritage." The attention on Fleischer comes after Edmonton Centre Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault left cabinet last week amid questions about his shifting claims of Indigenous heritage and his business dealings. In her statement, Fleischer says she has "always been vocal about not yet holding Métis Nation British Columbia citizenship." The Waceya Métis Society says it has asked Fleischer to "properly research and verify her Indigenous heritage before making any further public assertions." "In this meeting, Madison was unable to substantiate her claims with any documentation or historical connections to Métis communities," the society says about their Nov. 23 meeting with Fleischer. "The integrity of Métis identity is not to be taken lightly, especially in public office, where the representation of our community must be accurate, respectful, and legitimate." Cloverdale-Langley City was previously held by Liberal John Aldag, who resigned to run for MLA with the B.C. New Democrats. Aldag was defeated by B.C. Conservative candidate Harman Bhangu in the Langley-Abbotsford seat in the Oct. 19 provincial election. Fleischer, whose Liberal party biography calls her a small-business owner who operates a public relations firm in Langley, is going up against candidates including federal Conservative Tamara Jansen, who held the seat from 2019 to 2021 before losing a close race to Aldag. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian PressKANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Missouri Republican lawmaker wants every public and charter school classroom in the state to display the Ten Commandments, sparking concern from at least one Kansas City area school district. A bill filed this month by Rep. Hardy Billington, a Poplar Bluff Republican, would require public school districts and charter schools to display copies of the Ten Commandments, a set of ethical directions from the Old Testament, in every building and classroom. The legislation is part of a broader push to inject religious teachings into schools and comes as a growing number of Republicans nationally have openly embraced arguments that American politics and culture are rooted in the Christian faith. Billington’s bill also follows similar legislation in other GOP-led states, such as Louisiana , which recently passed a law to require the Ten Commandments in schools. A federal judge last month blocked the Louisiana law on constitutional grounds. “The Ten Commandments is basically throughout our country, right?” said Billington, who serves as majority whip in the House. “I think that would be a good thing for kids to see, not that they got to promote it, or do anything about it, but it’s good to be there, right? To, you know, walk by and see it in the hallway.” “If we all obeyed the Ten Commandments, wouldn’t our country be a lot better off? Be a lot safer, wouldn’t it?” he added. Billington’s legislation would allow, but not require, school boards to pay for displays of the Ten Commandments. It would also allow the districts to accept donated copies. School boards and charter school governing boards would have the power to determine “the nature of the display.” However, Billington’s legislation would set some requirements. Each classroom display would have to be a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches large. The text of the Ten Commandments would also have to be the central focus of the display and printed in a “large, easily readable font.” The displays would be required to include the full text of the Ten Commandments, which begins with the phrase “I AM the LORD thy God” followed by the commandments. The displays would include phrases such as: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” “Thou shalt not kill,” and “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” Kelly Wachel, a spokesperson for the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, said the legislation raised a number of questions, including whether the bill supports the ability for school boards to make decisions about what’s best for students of all backgrounds, religions and beliefs. “How does this legislation impact the enshrined rights in our U.S. and state constitution around keeping church and state separate?” Wachel said in an email. In addition to those concerns, Wachel said her district wants lawmakers to focus on crafting legislation that addresses several issues that currently affect schools such as: increased funding, access to resources and opportunities for students, money to support safety measures to protect students and staff, and teacher development. Billington filed the legislation ahead of the upcoming legislative session, which begins next month. While it’s still unclear how much attention the bill will receive throughout the year — particularly among members of Republican leadership — at least two Republican lawmakers expressed general support. “I would be supportive of that legislation,” said Rep. Brian Seitz, a Branson Republican. “We have not discussed it as a caucus yet, but I know that other states recently have decided to do that.” Seitz added that he felt the bill was “wholly appropriate. There’s nothing offensive in the Ten Commandments.” But Billington’s legislation would also certainly face legal challenges if lawmakers pass it this upcoming session, just as the law in Louisiana has. Tom Bastian, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Missouri, ripped the legislation as unconstitutional in a statement. He pointed to a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found a similar Kentucky law violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. “Public schools are meant to provide students with equal access to education, free from discrimination based on religion, race, and ethnicity, or the official endorsement of any religion,” Bastian said. “The use of political power to force students to adopt the preferred religious beliefs of a state representative is the proselytization of our children and a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.” Billington, however, appeared to signal that he felt his bill would hold up in court. He pointed to the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has grown more conservative in recent years. “Everybody disagrees with some point, but I think it’s something the Supreme Court would agree with now,” he said. “We got a very — a lot more conservative Supreme Court than we’ve had in the past.” ©2024 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says denying health care coverage can be seen as ‘act of violence’Ohio State is looking to beat Michigan for the first time in more than 1,800 days. The Buckeyes, 10-1 on the year, last defeated the Wolverines in November of 2019. The two schools did not play in 2020, due to the pandemic and an outbreak within the Ann Arbor program. Michigan then rallied off three straight wins over Ohio State from 2021-23, capping it with a Big Ten championship and national title win last season. But the two programs are in much different places this season. Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in the country and favored to win the national championship. Michigan, meanwhile, is 6-5 under first-year head coach Sherrone Moore, in the first year of the post-Jim Harbaugh era. Who will come out on top on Saturday? Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images A computer model has released its prediction for the game on Saturday. Ohio State is favored to beat Michigan by 21 points. However, OddsShark's computer model believes that the Wolverines will end up covering the spread. Here's the final score prediction, from OddsShark: Ohio State 39.3, Michigan 22.3 Jason Mowry/Getty Images Ohio State fans would obviously take that. The Buckeyes surely want to cover the spread, too, but at the end of the day, all that matters is getting the victory. Kickoff between Ohio State and Michigan is scheduled for noon E.T. on Saturday afternoon. The Week 14 college football game will air on FOX. Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt will be on the call.Rockridge Files Management Information Circular for Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders to Approve Business Combination with Eros Resources and MAS Gold
2025 Audi A6 And S6 E-Tron Reimagine An Iconic Model For The Electric AgeHUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Alabama A&M University football player Medrick Burnett Jr. is still on life support following an injury during a game against Alabama State in October, according to Alabama A&M University Sports Information Director Brian Howard. This updates an earlier announcement from the university that Burnett had died a month after the injury. Howard said the university got news last night from Burnett's father, who is on the West Coast where the family is from, that his son had died. Burnett's mother, who is with him, said that he is still alive. The announcement from the university Wednesday that originally stated he had died has since been removed from their website . The redshirt freshman from Lakewood, California, joined Alabama A&M's team over the summer after starting his college career at Grambling State. He appeared in seven games for Alabama A&M this season, recording three tackles during a game at Austin Peay.
Oakes girls' hoops tkae down Kidder County 61-37
AI voice cloning: How programs are learning to pick up on pitch and toneIsraeli airstrikes killed a hospital director at his home in northeastern Lebanon and six others, while at least five paramedics were killed by Israeli strikes in the country's south on Friday, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. The United Nations reported heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon. Four Italian peacekeepers were lightly wounded when a rocket, likely fired by Hezbollah, hit their base, the U.N. said. A full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-intensity conflict. More than 3,640 people have been killed in Lebanon and 15,350 wounded, the majority following Israel’s escalation and ground invasion, the Health Ministry said Friday. In Gaza, Israeli strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of the territory, wounding six medical staff and damaging its generator and oxygen systems, the hospital director said Friday. More than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children. Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250 . Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here’s the Latest: BEIRUT — An Israeli airstrike killed the director of a university hospital and six others at his home in northeastern Lebanon, state media said. The strike targeted Dr. Ali Allam’s house near Dar Al-Amal Hospital, the largest health center in Baalbek-Hermel province, which has provided vital health services amid Israel's campaign of airstrikes, the Health Ministry said. State-run media reported that the strike came without warning. The ministry described his death as a “great loss,” and provincial governor Bachir Khodr said in a post on X that, “Mr. Allam was one of the best citizens of Baalbek.” In two separate episodes on Friday, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed five paramedics with Hezbollah's medical arm, the Health Ministry said, describing it as “war crime.” The militant group provides extensive social services, including running schools and health clinics. In a report published Friday, the World Health Organization said nearly half of all attacks on health care in Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023, have resulted in fatalities. “This is a higher percentage than in any active conflict today across the globe,” WHO said. In Lebanon, 226 health workers and patients were killed and 199 were injured between Oct. 7, 2023, and Nov. 18, 2024, the report said. The Health Ministry said Friday that 3,645 people have been killed in nearly 14 months of war between Hezbollah and Israel, while 15,356 were wounded, the majority following Israel’s escalation in late September. The death count includes 692 women and 231 children. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza, wounding six medical staff and damaging its generator and oxygen systems, its director said Friday. Hossam Abu Safiya said the strikes before dawn Friday hit the entrance of the emergency unit as well as in the hospital courtyard. He said two members of the nursing staff suffered critical injuries. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Abu Safiya said the strikes caused damage to the functioning of the generator and disrupted oxygen supplies. The hospital is currently treating 85 wounded, 14 children in the pediatric ward and four newborns in the neonatal unit, he said. During the past month, Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit several times, was put under siege and was raided by Israeli troops, who are waging a heavy offensive in the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp and towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya. The Israeli military says it detained Hamas fighters hiding in the hospital, a claim its staff denies. UNITED NATIONS – Two rockets hit a headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, injuring four Italian peacekeepers, the United Nations says. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the rockets were likely launched by Hezbollah militants or by affiliated groups Friday, impacting a bunker and a logistics area in the southwest headquarters at Chamaa. One of the structures that was hit caught fire, and the blaze was swiftly put out by U.N. staff, he said. According to Italy’s Defense Ministry, some glass shattered due to the explosion, hitting the four soldiers. Dujarric said the four injured peacekeepers were receiving treatment at the medical facility of the mission, known as UNIFIL. “Thankfully, none of the injuries are life-threatening,” he said. Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the attack on the UNIFIL base “intolerable.” He reiterated that the Italian contingent remains in southern Lebanon “to offer a window of opportunity for peace, and cannot become hostage to militia attacks.” Dujarric said Friday’s attack was the third on Chamaa in a week and came amid heavy shelling and ground skirmishes in the Chamaa and Naqoura areas in recent days. UNIFIL’s main headquarters is in Naqoura. Friday’s attack follows a rocket attack on a UNIFIL base east of the village of Ramyah on Tuesday that injured four peacekeepers from Ghana. Dujarric said UNIFIL strongly urges Hezbollah and its affiliates and Israel to avoid fighting near its positions, which are supposed to be protected. “We remind all parties that any attack against peacekeepers constitutes a serious violation of international law” and the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, he said. BEIRUT — Israeli airstrikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs and the southern port city of Tyre on Friday, after the Israeli army issued several evacuation warnings saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites. The strikes in Beirut came dangerously close to central Beirut and Christian neighborhoods. One strike hit a building housing a gym and medical and beauty clinics, located just meters (yards) from a Lebanese army base. “What is there in the building to target? This attack they carried out on us in this building is a criminal and vile act,” resident Hassan Najdi told The Associated Press. “Because if their intention is targeting Hezbollah, this building has nothing to do with Hezbollah.” Najdi said he purchased an apartment in the building last year but had not yet moved in. He allowed a displaced family to move in and urgently asked them to evacuate after receiving the Israeli warning. The blasts sent plumes of smoke into the air and shattered glass in the vicinity. No casualties have been reported, but the strikes caused damage to nearby infrastructure and a key road connecting central Beirut to its southern suburbs. “We remain steadfast,” said Ali Daher, an employee at a mall facing the targeted building. “Everything that is lost can be replaced, and whatever is destroyed can be rebuilt in (no time).” In Tyre city, the Israeli military conducted multiple airstrikes after a series of warnings, claiming the targets belonged to Hezbollah’s Aziz unit, accusing it of firing projectiles into Israel. The Israeli military carried out other airstrikes across Lebanon, many without warnings, as heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in villages along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified. ROME — Italy said Friday it plans to discuss the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court over the Israel-Hamas war when it hosts Group of Seven foreign ministers next week. Premier Giorgia Meloni insisted that one point remained clear for Italy: “There can be no equivalence between the responsibilities of the state of Israel and the terrorist organization of Hamas.” Italy is a founding member of the court and hosted the 1998 Rome conference that gave birth to it. But Meloni’s right-wing government has been a strong supporter of Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, while also providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. In a statement Friday, Meloni said Italy would study the reasonings behind the decision to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy respects the ICC and supports it. “But at the same time we are also convinced that the court must have a judicial role, and should not take up a political role.” Tajani will host G7 foreign ministers Monday and Tuesday outside Rome for the final meeting of the Italian G7 presidency. “As far as decisions are concerned, we will take them together with our allies,” Tajani said. During the G7 meetings, “we will talk about this with my allies there, and we will see what to do next.” Another member of the governing coalition, the outspoken Transport Minister Matteo Salvini was more defiant in supporting Israel. “If Netanyahu comes to Italy he will be welcomed,” Salvini was quoted by Italian media as saying. This item has been updated to correct that Salvini spoke of a potential Netanyahu visit to Italy, not Israel. ROME — Four Italian soldiers were slightly injured after two exploding rockets hit the United Nations' peacekeeping mission base on Friday in Chamaa in southern Lebanon, Italy's defense ministry said. Initial information suggested that two rockets hit a bunker and a room of the mission base, damaging the surrounding infrastructure, the ministry said. Shattered glass hit the four soldiers. The incident was the latest in which UN peacekeeping posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called Friday's attack “intolerable.” He said he will try to speak to the new Israeli Defense Minister to ask him “to avoid using the UNIFIL bases as a shield.” Crosetto said the conditions of the four Italian soldiers “did not cause concern.” He reiterated that the Italian contingent remains in southern Lebanon “to offer a window of opportunity for peace and cannot become hostage to militia attacks.” Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday said she learned about the new attack with “deep indignation and concern.” Meloni reiterated that “such attacks are unacceptable,” renewing her appeal for the parties on the ground “to guarantee, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to collaborate to quickly identify those responsible.” GENEVA — The World Health Organization says nearly half of the attacks on health care in Lebanon have been deadly since the Middle East conflict erupted in October last year, the highest such rate anywhere in the world. The U.N. health agency says 65 out of 137, or 47%, of recorded “attacks on health care” in Lebanon over that time period have proven fatal to at least one person, and often many more. WHO’s running global tally counts attacks, whether deliberate or not, that affect places like hospitals, clinics, medical transport, and warehouses for medical supplies, as well as medics, doctors, nurses and the patients they treat. Nearly half of attacks on health care in Lebanon since last October and the majority of deaths occurred since an intensified Israeli military campaign began against Hezbollah militants in the country two months ago. The health agency said 226 health workers and patients have been killed and 199 injured in Lebanon between Oct. 7, 2023 and this Monday. JERUSALEM — Israel’s new defense minister said Friday that he would stop issuing warrants to arrest West Bank settlers or hold them without charge or trial — a largely symbolic move that rights groups said risks emboldening settler violence in the Israeli-occupied territory. Israel Katz called the arrest warrants “severe” and said issuing them was “inappropriate” as Palestinian militant attacks on settlers in the territory grow more frequent. He said settlers could be “brought to justice” in other ways. The move protects Israeli settlers from being held in “administrative detention,” a shadowy form of incarceration where people are held without charge or trial. Settlers are rarely arrested in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has spiraled since the outbreak of the war Oct. 7. Katz’s decision was celebrated by far-right coalition allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. National Security Minister and settler firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir applauded Katz and called the move a “correction of many years of mistreatment” and “justice for those who love the land.” Since Oct. 7, 2023, violence toward Palestinians by Israeli settlers has soared to new heights, displacing at least 19 entire Palestinian communities, according to Israeli rights group Peace Now. In that time, attacks by Palestinian militants on settlers and within Israel have also grown more common. An increasing number of Palestinians have been placed in administrative detention. Israel holds 3,443 administrative detainees in prison, according to data from the Israeli Prison Service, reported by rights group Hamoked. That figure stood around 1,200 just before the start of the war. The vast majority of them are Palestinian, with only a handful at any given time Israeli Jews, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked. “All of these detentions without charge or trial are illegitimate, but to declare that this measure will only be used against Palestinians...is to explicitly entrench another form of ethnic discrimination,” said Montell. BERLIN — A German official has suggested that his country would be reluctant to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. The ICC’s warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant put Germany, a staunch ally of Israel, in an awkward position. The government said in a statement Friday that it is one of the ICC’s biggest supporters, but “at the same time, it is a consequence of German history that unique relations and a great responsibility connect us with Israel.” The government said it takes note of the arrest warrants and that “we will examine conscientiously the domestic steps.” It said that any further steps would only be an issue if a visit by Netanyahu or Gallant were “foreseeable.” Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit was pressed repeatedly at a regular news conference on whether it would be conceivable to arrest an Israeli prime minister. He replied: "It’s hard for me to imagine that we would carry out arrests in Germany on this basis.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Friday refused to comment on the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, saying that the court's rulings are “insignificant” for Russia, which doesn’t recognizes the court’s jurisdiction. The ICC last year issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a number of other top Russian officials, accusing them of war crimes in Ukraine. The Kremlin has brushed off the warrants, saying that in Moscow’s eyes they’re “null and void.” Asked if the ICC warrants for Netanyahu and others can help resolve the tensions in the Middle East, Peskov said: “Well, in general, the actions of the ICC are unlikely to help anything. That’s the first thing. And secondly, we don’t see any point in commenting on this in any way, because for us these rulings are insignificant.” DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Large crowds of displaced people crammed themselves in front of a bakery in the Gaza Strip for the second day in a row, desperate to get their share of bread after bakeries closed for five days due to a flour shortage and the lack of aid. “I am a 61-year-old man. This is the third day that I have come to Zadna Bakery and I still cannot get bread ... I have children to feed,” said Majdi Yaghi, a displaced man from Gaza City. The price of a small bag of pita bread increased to $16 by Friday, a stark increase from about 80 cents last month. A bag of pasta now costs $4 and a small bag of sugar costs nearly $14. That has left many Palestinian families surviving on one meal a day and reliant on charitable kitchens to survive. In Khan Younis, women and children lined up at the al-Dalu charitable kitchen for bulgur, the only food available at the makeshift charity. One of the workers there, Anas al-Dalu, told the AP that they cook ten pots every day of either rice, beans, or bulgur. But that hardly fills the need for the thousands of people displaced in the area. “The charity here is in a difficult situation. It is a drop in the ocean, and there is no aid or charities. There is nothing," said Nour Kanani, a displaced man from Khan Younis. “It is a crisis in every sense of the word. There is no flour, no charities, and no food.” BEIRUT — Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of U.N. peacekeepers. A spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast. UNIFIL’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel. “We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment.” Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.Voice cloning is an emerging technology powered by artificial intelligence and it's raising alarms about its potential misuse. Earlier this year, New Hampshire voters experienced this firsthand when a deepfake mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice urged them to skip the polls ahead of the primary. The deepfake likely needed only several seconds of the president's voice to create the clone. According to multiple AI voice cloning models, about 10 seconds of an actual voice is all that is needed to recreate it. And that can easily come from a phone call or a video from social media. "A person's voice is really probably not that information-dense. It's not as unique as you may think," James Betker, a technical staff member at OpenAI, told Scripps News. Betker developed TortoiseTTS, an open-source voice cloning model. "It's actually very easy to model, very easy to learn, the distribution of all human voices from a fairly small amount of data," Betker added. How AI voice cloning works AI models have been trained on vast amounts of data, learning to recognize human speech. Programs analyze the data and train repeatedly, learning characteristics such as rhythm, stress, pitch and tone. "It can look at 10 seconds of someone speaking and it has stored enough information about how humans speak with that kind of prosody and pitch. Enough information about how people speak with their processing pitch and its weights that it can just continue on," Betker said. Imagine a trained AI model as a teacher, and the person cloning the voice to be a student. When a student asks to create a cloned voice, it starts off as white noise. The teacher scores how close the student is to sounding correct. The student tries again and again based on these scores until the student produces something close to what the teacher wants. While this explanation is extremely simplified, the concept of generating a cloned voice is based on bit-by-bit, based on probability distributions. "I think, at its core, it's pretty simple," Betker said. "I think the analogy of just continuing with what you're given will take you pretty far here." There are currently some AI models that claim to only need two seconds of samples. While the results are not convincing yet, Betker says future models will need even fewer voice samples to create a convincing clone.
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Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies are continuing their search for the suspect or suspects involved in Tuesday’s shooting at Reynolds High School. A male student at the school is recovering after he was shot in the upper leg minutes after the final bell. The incident happened on Northwest Boulevard, near the two gymnasiums. No arrests have been made as of Friday. “We are working diligently to put those responsible for this in custody to ensure that justice is served,” Chief Deputy Henry C. Gray Jr. of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said. Security cameras near the scene captured footage of the shooting, a school official said. Meanwhile, attendance at the school appeared to be back to normal on Friday, the first day of semester-ending exams, said Amanda Lehmert, a school district spokeswoman. People are also reading... On the day after the incident, 567 of the school's 1,739 enrolled students did not go to school. On Thursday, the number of absent students dropped to 246, according to information provided by Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The shooting has sparked conversation about what the community can do to help the school district and young people in the community as a whole. Superintendent Tricia McManus invited parents to call their child's principal and schedule a time to visit if they are curious about what goes on in local schools and how they can help. In addition, the school district has launched "See for Yourself," which takes anyone interested — church members, community leaders, clubs — to a local high school where they can meet with a principal, visit classrooms and see what it's like in the hallways between classes, Lehmert said. The first high school tour was last month at Mount Tabor. Several more are scheduled for 2025, Lehmert said. Families wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place after dismissal on Tuesday. "It's an opportunity for the community to witness, with their own eyes, what it's like in our high schools and where we are struggling," she said. "It's a chance to ask questions. If you are not day-to-day in high schools and all you see are snippets of worst-case scenarios, that's what rises to the top." Action4Equity, a local nonprofit organization that advocates for equity in public education, issued a statement on Thursday calling on the community to support grassroots initiatives that address the root causes of violence and conflict, including Full Circle Mentoring, which works with children who live in and around the Piedmont Circle neighborhood. The shooting victim played basketball with the program and on a local AAU team, the Action4Equity statement said. "This young man has come a long way thanks to the work of our mentors and advocates," the statement said. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus answers questions about the shooting during a press conference on Wednesday. With her are Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and Assistant Chief Manny Gomez of the Winston-Salem Police Department. Action4Equity also mentioned such programs as My Brothers Keeper and Triad Restorative Justice as examples of programs that are targeting young people in need of support. Forsyth County Sheriff's Office cruisers form a barricade for school buses pulling into Cloverdale Plaza on Tuesday. The shopping center was the reunification site for parents and students. "Our school district invests millions of dollars in metal detectors and school resource officers and yet these shootings still happen," the statement said. "The failed practices of the past — blaming parents, expecting police officers and educators to be social workers and mental health care professionals and admonishing poor people to 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps' — will only ensure that these inequities persist. We have to do something different if we want to see different results." Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough talks about Tuesday's shooting at Reynolds High School. PHOTOS: Reynolds High School student shot Tuesday on school grounds Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputies talk in front of Bryson Gymnasium after a student was shot at Reynolds. Law enforcement personnel talk outside of Bryson Gymnasium after the shooting. Dozens of law enforcement officers responded to Northwest Boulevard and the area surrounding Hanes Park after a student was shot at Reynolds High School on Tuesday. Winston-Salem Police officers stand outside the exit of the afterschool program at the William G. White YMCA after a student was shot on the grounds of Reynolds High School on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. A Winston-Salem Police unit heads west on Northwest Boulevard away from the scene where a student was shot on the grounds of Reynolds High School on Tuesday. Winston-Salem police, Forsyth County sheriff's deputies and Winston-Salem firefighters are the scene of a reported shooting at Reynolds High School. A school bus pulls into Cloverdale Plaza where families wait to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Cruisers with the Winston-Salem Police Department create a barricade as school buses pull into Cloverdale Plaza where families wait to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. A Winston-Salem police officer stands on a school bus after it pulled into Cloverdale Plaza where families wait to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Cruisers with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office create a barricade as school buses pull into Cloverdale Plaza where families wait to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools administrators register family members before students are picked up at Cloverdale Plaza after a shooting took place near Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait in line at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. A Forsyth County Sheriff’s deputy stands by as families wait in line at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait in line at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Officials organize the pick-up process as families wait in line at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Precious Hentz (left) hugs her son, Aaron, 15, who is a student at Reynolds, as they wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with his sister, Aubree, 13, a student at Wiley, after a shooting took place near Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families are gradually reunited at Cloverdale Plaza after a shooting took place near Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Families wait at Cloverdale Plaza to be reunited with students from Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools following a shooting that took place near both campuses after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Keagan Snow (clockwise from center), 11, who is a student at Wiley Middle School, is embraced by his mother, Tara, and brothers, Nevyn, 6, and Siencyn, 7, at Cloverdale Plaza after a shooting took place near Reynolds High and Wiley Middle schools after dismissal on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Winston-Salem, N.C. lodonnell@wsjournal.com 336-727-7420 @lisaodonnellWSJ Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Third Ward's staple restaurant, The Turkey Leg Hut, has closed for good. According to ABC13's news partners at the Houston Chronicle, the company's landlord terminated the lease at the restaurant on Almeda Road and would have had to relocate to stay in business. The Turkey Leg Hut started as a food truck in 2015 and quickly became popular. Nakia Holmes, the owner, announced she filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in March. The restaurant closed in September due to health code violations and did not respond to ABC13's request for comment. The health department says an inspection revealed 35 violations, such as improper food storage, unsafe equipment, and infrequent cleaning. Holmes had posted on social media that it was closed for "renovations." RELATED: Turkey Leg Hut owner files bankruptcy to 'reposition and strengthen' business Court records show the business owes about $4.7 million to creditors, including nearly $2 million in state tax revenue. The filing shows the business has assets valued at $50,000 or less. For months, ABC13 has been reporting problems within the restaurant. RELATED: Turkey Leg Hut sued for nearly $1.3M over outstanding debt The business was sued last year for an outstanding debt and lawsuit fees amounting to $1,288,583.12. The lawsuit alleges it all began in September 2020, when US Foods Inc. said it supplied produce, other non-PACA (Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act) foods, and food-related products and services in exchange for Turkey Leg Hut's timely payment of invoices. In February, the Houston Chronicle reported Holmes fired her husband and business partner after filing for divorce last year. In April, the Turkey Leg Hut's business office reportedly caught fire . The incident is being investigated as arson, and investigators are reviewing video and other evidence to determine what caused it.
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