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☆ Tesla’s giant Berlin factory without power after arsonists attack electricity supply
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | Fred Pleitgen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Berlin/London CNN —Power supply to Tesla’s factory near Berlin has been cut following an arson attack on a high-voltage electricity pylon nearby, a German official said Tuesday. “If the initial findings are confirmed, this is a perfidious attack on our electricity infrastructure. He said power supply to the Tesla plant as well as nearby villages had been cut off. German public broadcaster ZDF reported that the factory had been evacuated and its workers sent home. It is unclear if the arson attack is connected with ongoing protests against a planned expansion of the Tesla factory.

Persons: ” Michael Stuebgen, Tesla, ” Stuebgen, Elon Organizations: London CNN —, ZDF, CNN, Reuters Locations: Berlin, London, Brandenburg, —, Europe

☆ Opinion | Why Don’t We Just Ban Fossil Fuels?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Peter Coy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Imagine there were no law against arson and we were trying to figure out a way to stop it. One way would be to require people to pay for the right to burn down buildings. Another would be to issue a strictly limited number of tradable arson-permission certificates, which would-be arsonists could trade among themselves. Burning fossil fuels isn’t the same as burning houses. Unlike arson, the combustion of oil, natural gas, coal and other fossil fuels provides real benefits — running our cars, heating and cooling our homes and so on.

Persons: Let’s Organizations: “

☆ A Canada climate conspiracy theorist pleads guilty to starting 14 wildfires
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Laura Paddison | Paula Newton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A Canadian man who posted conspiracy theories on social media claiming the government was deliberately starting wildfires has pleaded guilty to starting 14 blazes that forced hundreds of people from their homes. Prosecutor Marie-Philippe Charron said one of the fires Paré set forced the evacuation of around 400 people in the town of Chapais, Quebec. Pare does not remember all of the fires he could have started, so we have currently 14 fires, we have 14 counts,” Charron told CNN. They also found multiple social media posts by Paré accusing the Canadian government of purposefully igniting fires to persuade people to believe in climate change. Human activity does play a role in starting wildfires, either deliberately or through accidental actions such as discarding a lit cigarette, but natural factors are also involved.

Persons: Brian Paré, Marie, Philippe Charron, Paré, Mr, Pare, ” Charron, “, Charron, Maxime Bernier, Danielle Smith, Ryan Jespersen, ”, Kira Hoffman, Hoffman, ” Paré Organizations: CNN, Police, ”, Protection Agency, University of British, Research Locations: Quebec, Chapais, North Dakota, United States, Europe, ” Alberta, University of British Columbia, Canada

SUPER FOG OR SMOG? Super fog and smog are both types of fog, according to the National Weather Service. Political Cartoons View All 1218 ImagesThe term super fog describes fog enhanced by smoke from damp, smoldering organic material, according to the weather service. Fireworks can contribute to super fog conditions, and Stanfield said super fog has occurred during Fourth of July and New Year's celebrations. Increasing wind and high pressure were moving towards Georgia, eliminating any imminent threat of a repeat super fog event.

Persons: Tyler Stanfield, ”, Stanfield, Mike Strain, ” Strain, “ They’re, ” Stanfield, “, Stephen Murphy, Strain Organizations: National Weather Service, Tulane’s School of Public Health, Tropical, AP Locations: Louisiana, New Orleans, Orleans, LOUISIANA, Georgia

☆ The Unmaking of the Republican Majority
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Karl Rove | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, arrives for a meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 18. Photo: Jose Luis Magana/Associated PressThe Republican calamity continues. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan hasn’t yet persuaded, cajoled, enticed or threatened his way to 217 votes. It will be ironic if Mr. Jordan wins: The founder of the House GOP’s Freedom Caucus must then become the unifier in chief. He would find quickly that making demands in Washington has limits—as does anyone stuck with the speaker’s job.

Persons: Jim Jordan, Jose Luis Magana, Kevin McCarthy, Matt Gaetz ’, Jim Jordan hasn’t, cajoled, Jordan Organizations: Committee, Capitol, Associated Press, Ohio Locations: , Ohio, Washington

☆ Trump endorses Jordan as he injects himself into House chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The ex-president dived into the mayhem following the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, characteristically seeking to cast himself as kingmaker and to steal the spotlight for himself. Then Trump teased the possibility that he could even step in as speaker himself on an interim basis. But the ex-president’s biggest bombshell was still to come – shortly after midnight, he endorsed Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan for the job. Jordan, who is running against Republican House Majority leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana for the top job, would likely augur a new period of fierce combat with the White House if he wins the speakership. He has opposed the US lifeline of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, and a Republican House majority led by Jordan would likely increase the chances of a government shutdown next month in a showdown over spending with Democrats.

Persons: –, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Trump, Jim Jordan, “, ” Trump, Joe Biden, Jordan, Steve Scalise, Scalise, McCarthy, ”, ” William Cohen, Bill Clinton, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, McCarthy –, Matt Gaetz, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, it’s, ” Rep, Dusty Johnson, ” Johnson, Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Matt Rosendale, Rosendale, Jim Sciutto, CNN Max, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, Republican, Trump White House, Capitol, Ohio Republican, Trump, Republicans, Washington, GOP, Democratic, White, ABC News, Biden, ”, CNN News Central, Ukraine Locations: Washington, Louisiana, Ukraine, Jordan, bankrolling, Russia, Maine, Florida, California, South Dakota, Southern, Matt Rosendale of Montana, Russian

☆ Germany bans neo-Nazi group, raids members' homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO-German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser attends a session of the lower house of parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building, in Berlin, Germany September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - German authorities raided dozens of locations nationwide on Wednesday after interior minister Nancy Faeser banned a right-wing extremist group accused of spreading Nazi ideology. The headquarters of the group, dubbed "Artgemeinschaft", as well as 26 homes belonging to 39 members were searched in the early hours across 12 states, the interior ministry said in a statement. "This right-wing extremist group has tried to raise new enemies of the constitution with its disgusting indoctrination of children and young people." German authorities this month banned another neo-Nazi group, "Hammerskins Deutschland" with roots in the United States and raided the homes of 28 members after an investigation lasting more than a year in co-operation with U.S. officials.

Persons: Nancy Faeser, Liesa, arsonists, Faeser, Friederike Heine, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Bundestag, REUTERS, Rights, Nazi, U.S, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, United States

☆ How California is using AI to snuff out wildfires before they explode
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( Stephanie Elam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says it has a new tool to battle wildfires before they explode – artificial intelligence. “I think it is a game changer … It has enhanced our abilities to validate situational awareness and then respond in a quick fashion,” Phillip SeLegue, Cal Fire’s staff chief for fire intelligence, told CNN. Cal Fire, in partnership with the University of California at San Diego’s Alert California program and its network of more than 1,000 cameras across the state, is using the technology to spot fires early. Stephanie Elam/CNNCal Fire staff chief for fire intelligence Phillip SeLegue stands on a lookout tower in San Diego County. At Boucher Hill lookout tower in San Diego County, volunteer Bill Angel of the Forest Fire Lookout Association is in his second season of keeping an eye out for wildfires.

Persons: ” Phillip SeLegue, Cal Fire’s, ”, Scott Slumpff, ” Slumpff, “, SeLegue, Dean Veik, Cal Fire, Stephanie Elam, Phillip SeLegue, Brian Norton, ” Norton, Bill Angel, Boucher, ” SeLegue Organizations: CNN — Firefighters, California Department of Forestry, Cal, CNN, Cleveland National Forest, intel, Cal Fire, University of California, Alert, UC San Diego Alert, CNN Cal Fire, Lookout Association, Association Locations: California, San Diego County, Alert California, Boucher

☆ Falsehoods Follow Close Behind This Summer’s Natural Disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | More About Tiffany Hsu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Experts said the tactics and tenor of climate denial had evolved. For decades, the oil and gas industry spent billions of dollars waging a coordinated and highly technical campaign to influence public opinion against climate science, and then climate action. Recently, conspiracy theorists and extremists have operated in a more decentralized way, generating revenue through deceptive clickbait about global warming. Natural disasters and extreme weather events would still occur without it, albeit on a smaller scale, for example. That helps fuel many false narratives, said Susannah Crockford, an environmental anthropologist at the University of Exeter in England.

Persons: ”, Jennie King, Susannah Crockford, Crockford, —, ” Dr Organizations: Institute for Strategic, University of Exeter Locations: England

☆ Greece wildfires: A losing battle to save the lungs of Athens
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eleni Giokos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The national park, known as the "lungs of Athens" is now home to a battle to repel wildfires. Now it is the home to a raging battle, as the emergency services try to repel more than 200 wildfires in Greece since Monday alone. Firefighters look at a wildfire burning on Mount Parnitha, in Athens, Greece, August 24, 2023. Burning cars destroyed by the fire on Mount Parnitha in Athens, Greece, on August 23, 2023. It was a welcome glimmer of hope, but it will take more than a little water to protect Greece from these wildfires and those that will surely come again.

Persons: Nikos, Eleni Giokos, CNN Nikos, ”, Nicolas Economou, Kostas, Michalis Diakakis, Parnitha, Giorgos Arapekos, Dr Diakakis, Nikos ’ Organizations: Greece CNN, CNN, Reuters, of Geology, Kapodistrian University of Athens, AP, Police Locations: Athens, Greece, Paraskevi, Panitha, Greece’s, ”, Parnitha, Dadia, Alexandroupoli, Evros

☆ Firefighters close to stabilising Tenerife fire as evacuees start returning home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nacho Doce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] FILE PHTO: EIRIF forest firefighters work during the extinction of the forest fire in Arafo on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Monday battled to stabilise a huge wildfire that has devastated forests on the Spanish island of Tenerife for six days and forced thousands to evacuate their homes. "The worst is behind us," the Canary Islands' regional leader Fernando Clavijo said on Monday morning on Cadena SER radio station. Clavijo added the fire was almost certainly man-made and said police were investigating to identify and capture the arsonists. However, AEMET said there was a chance Tenerife would see some rainfall later on Monday.

Persons: Borja Suarez, Fernando Clavijo, Clavijo, AEMET, Nacho Doce, Inti Landauro, David Latona, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Cadena SER, Thomson Locations: Arafo, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Rights TENERIFE, Islands, Candelaria

☆ Opinion | Why We Shouldn’t Lose Faith in Organized Religion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Tish Harrison Warren | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Stephen Prothero wrote the book “Religious Literacy,” about the absence of religious literacy in American civic life. I wonder how many people who are reading that have alarm bells going off about the state of American civil society. American religion has long been entrepreneurial, and American religion will likely adapt in ways that increase religious participation in the medium to long run. But I fear that American society and social services will suffer in the short run. This is my understanding of religion, of pluralism, of social change: If you tell an inspiring story, people will want to move in that direction.

Persons: Stephen Prothero, Jessica Grose’s, ”, — Organizations: Catholic Locations: America

☆ Villagers evacuated as wildfire ravages woodlands in western Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, May 19 (Reuters) - Emergency crews evacuated around 600 villagers in western Spain overnight as a wildfire blamed on arsonists ravaged up to 8,000 hectares (19,800 acres) near the border with Portugal, officials said. "The are very strong gusts of wind ... that make efforts to extinguish it difficult," Military Emergency Unit commander David Barona told state TV channel 24H. "It's a very large attack on vegetation and the area," the head of Extremadura emergency services Nieves Villar told reporters, referring to the suspicions of arson. An unusually dry winter across parts of southern Europe coming after three years of below-average rainfall in Spain have raised the risk of wildfires. A total of 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares in Spain last year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

☆ Someone in Russia broke into a military airfield to set fire to a bomber jet, and Russian cops only found out it was happening on social media: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian authorities found out through social media that someone set fire to a military jet. Footage of the burning aircraft emerged on Monday on the Telegram channel for the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Ukrainian organization that consists of military defectors from Russia and Belarus. Local police then discovered the video online, reported the independent Russian media outlet Baza. But it reported that despite the Freedom of Russia Legion's claims that the Su-24 was "completely destroyed," the aircraft was "not particularly damaged." Russian authorities categorized the Freedom of Russia Legion as a terrorist group on March 16.

☆ Russians trying to help the Kremlin are being scammed into throwing Molotov cocktails at its offices and cars instead: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They were told by scammers to chuck Molotov cocktails, but most were unsuccessful, per local media. The people involved have tried to set fire to enlistment offices, bank ATMs, a car trunk, and a police department, though most have been unsuccessful, the outlet reported. Olga told authorities an unknown man had been calling her for a month, saying he was a bank employee. He'd taught Olga how to create the Molotov cocktails and instructed her to start a fire in the government building, according to Shot. We're standing on the street where they stopped me," Olga told the man on the phone.

☆ Spain's Asturias ravaged by fires as authorities blame 'terrorist' arsonists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Vincent West | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dozens of fires have already been put off by emergency services in Asturias and the neighboring region of Cantabria over the past two days. [1/6] Firefighters use a controlled burn to tackle a wildfire in Setienes, Asturias, Spain, March 31, 2023. In the past, intentional fires have often been linked to pastoralists seeking to gain more grazing land for their cattle. The densely-forested mountainous region is one of Spain's rainiest areas, though fires are common in March, according to the regional government. A combination of scarce rainfall, high temperatures and winds has placed most of northern Spain at a high wildfire risk.

☆ The Indie-Rock Trio boygenius Returns, Confident and Connected
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jon Pareles | More About Jon Pareles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A streak of conspiratorial glee runs through “The Record,” the full-length debut album by boygenius. At Bridgers’s instigation, they regrouped to record a full album in January 2022; it’s being released on Friday. Even in the quietest, most self-questioning songs on “The Record,” boygenius sounds like its members are egging on one another, cheering the boldest moves and pushing past collaboration toward synergy. The three songwriters found one another as they crossed paths on the indie-rock circuit in the 2010s. On “The Record” — produced by boygenius with collaborators including Catherine Marks, Sarah Tudzin (of Illuminati Hotties) and Melina Duterte (a.k.a.

Persons: “, ” Julien Baker, Baker, ” Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, it’s, —, boygenius, Catherine Marks, Sarah Tudzin, Melina Duterte, Jay Som Organizations: “ Locations: “

☆ Wildfires ravage Spain's Asturias as temperatures hit record highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 30 (Reuters) - More than 100 wildfires broke out in Spain's northern Asturias region on Thursday, most of them started on purpose by arsonists and others, authorities said, as temperatures soared to record highs. Flames raged near a road as cars drove by in Asturias, a lush region with rainy oceanic climate, local TV footage showed. Spain registered its hottest March 29 on record on Wednesday, with temperatures exceeding normal levels by seven to 14 Celsius (44.6-57.2 Fahrenheit), the meteorological agency AEMET said. The Canary Islands registered temperatures more common for the summer, with 37.8C in Tasarte, Gran Canaria. Other regions in the Basque Country and some parts of central Spain also recorded record temperatures for the time of year.

☆ George Santos, my New York colleague in Congress, is a danger
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Rep. Ritchie Torres | The Democratic Representative For | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Rep. George Santos, of New York's 3rd Congressional District, was widely celebrated by Republicans for flipping a Democratic seat in the latest midterm elections. Under normal circumstances, the depth and breadth of his deception would shame one into resigning from public office. But these are not normal times, and Santos is shameless not only in lying but in lying about his lying. The modern GOP has been hijacked by arsonists bent on burning down everything around them, including the Office of Congressional Ethics. The right’s acceptance of Santos is a function of power politics rather than ethics: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy needs every vote he can get, and he needs George Santos to remain in power.

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