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☆ Two failing dams in North Carolina force urgent evacuations after days of heavy rain
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

At least two major dams in North Carolina were at risk or in the process of failing on Friday, forcing evacuations after Hurricane Helene inundated the region. Officials in South Carolina have been warned that a failure could even impact towns there, according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. “RESIDENTS BELOW THE LAKE LURE DAM NEED TO EVACUATE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY! Lake Lure in North Carolina as seen from Chimney Rock National Park. It also received $16.5 million for the project in 2022 from the state of North Carolina.

Persons: Helene, Rob Mathis, “, ” Mathis, Kristin Coulter, Mathis, ” Coulter, Olivia Stewman, ” Stewman, Hurricane Helene, Jared Klein, ” Klein Organizations: Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Duke Energy, Tennessee Emergency Management, “, ” United States Geological, North Carolina Department of Environmental, Emergency Management, Facebook, National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Association of, Officials, NBC News Locations: North Carolina, Tennessee, Cocke County, Waterville, Newport , Tennessee, Newport, ”, South Carolina, Rutherford, Asheville, Lake Lure, Lure, Southern Appalachia, Hurricane, Lake, U.S, Nebraska

☆ Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff there's no plan for him to receive a 'giant equity stake' in company
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

At an all-hands meeting Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied that there are plans for him to receive a “giant equity stake” in the company, calling that information “just not true,” according to a person who was in attendance. Regarding his potentially attaining an equity stake, Altman said, “There are no current plans here,” the person said. OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor told CNBC in a statement that while the board has talked about the matter, no specific figures are on the table. OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO, said she would be leaving after 6½ years. Days later, Altman was back at the company and Murati moved from interim CEO back to the role of CTO.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Sarah Friar, Bret Taylor, Sam, ” Taylor, Mira Murati, Bob McGrew, Barret Zoph, “, ” Altman, ” Murati, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, John Schulman, Anthropic, it’s, Murati Organizations: CNBC, Italian Tech, Microsoft, Tiger Global Locations: Turin, Italy

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday rejected independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s attempt to appear on New York’s general election ballot. Kennedy, who has dropped his own presidential campaign and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump, is fighting to appear on ballots in certain states over Democratic opposition. Kennedy’s lawyers said a state court was wrong in concluding that he could not appear on the ballot because of a dispute over his place of residence. Kennedy lives in California but had included a New York address as his residence when circulating a petition to appear on the ballot. After losing in state court, Kennedy filed an emergency application in federal court, but lost at both the district court and appeals court levels before turning to the Supreme Court.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden Organizations: Democratic, Supreme Locations: New York, California, York

Following a summer of star-studded events in Cannes, Venice and Toronto, the 62nd annual New York Film Festival opens at Lincoln Center on Friday for 17 days of lit-up silver screens and sparkling red carpets. “For these positions, we tend to look for films that are among the most anticipated of the year,” he said. A24“There are many ways to think about queerness, and there are many ways to account for it in a program. “What’s been interesting for me is to think of, in what ways can a film be queer? “Films do not come from nowhere; they’re made by people who live in the same world as us,” he said.

Persons: Pedro Almodóvar’s, Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, Luca Guadagnino’s “, ”, Daniel Craig, Drew Starkey, ” Dennis Lim, NYFF, ” Daniel Craig, Lim, ’, “, Moore, Craig, Guadagnino, he’s, ” Lim, Sigrid Nunez’s, Pedro, William S, Burroughs, ” Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez, Shanna Besson, who’s, Jacques Audiard, Alain Guiraudie, Guiraudie’s, Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Truong Minh, R.J, Cutler, David, “ Elton John, Yashaddai Owens, James Baldwin, “ Jimmy, Jackie ”, “ Spencer, Pablo Larraín, “ Maria, Angelina Jolie, Maria Callas, Nam, they’re Organizations: New York Film, Lincoln Center, NBC, Swinton, ”, Epifanía, “ Locations: Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Italian, NYFF, Mexico, “, Chilean, ”

Hurricane Helene killed at least 22 people and left millions without power across the Southeast before weakening on its way north Friday morning, officials said. Hurricane-felled trees caused two deaths in Anderson County, South Carolina, officials said. Debris left by Hurricane Helene in Cedar Key, Fla., on Friday. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP - Getty ImagesMeanwhile, more than 4.3 million people are experiencing power outages in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility data. At 11 a.m., the storm was 30 miles southwest of Bryson City, North Carolina, moving northward with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Persons: Helene, Floridians, Jamie Cruse, “ We’re, ”, “, Bruce Rector, NBC’s, Megan Varner, Brian Kemp, Ron DeSantis, Roy Cooper, Hurricane, Miguel J, Rodriguez Carrillo, Ana Gibbs, Ronda Bell, Mike Stewart, Joe Biden, Deanne Criswell Organizations: National Hurricane Center, NBC, ” Clearwater, Georgia Gov, Florida Gov, Gov, North Carolina, Highway Patrol, AFP, Getty, Florida, & Light Company, Duke Energy Florida, Duke Energy, Federal Emergency Management Locations: Big Bend, Florida’s, Perry , Florida, Clearwater, Gulf Coast, Atlanta, Georgia, Pinellas County , Florida, Florida, Dixie County, North Carolina, Catawba County, Charlotte, Anderson County , South Carolina, Cedar Key, Fla, South Carolina , Georgia, Virginia, Valdosta, Ga, Carolinas, Charleston, Wilmington, Raleigh, Norfolk, Bryson City , North Carolina, Georgia , Florida , Alabama, South Carolina

Ohio Sen. JD Vance is set to participate in a town hall in Pennsylvania on Saturday with evangelical religious leader Lance Wallnau, who said after this month's presidential debate that Vice President Kamala Harris used "witchcraft." Wallnau has warned that Harris is being guided by demonic forces and has used “the spirit of Jezebel” to deceive followers. “She can look presidential,” Wallnau said on an online talk program this month, referring to Harris' debate performance. Lance Wallnau said Vice President Kamala Harris employed "witchcraft" following this month's debate. He has hosted Wallnau on his podcast, endorsed Wallnau’s voter mobilization efforts and has personally invoked the Seven Mountains Mandate.

Persons: Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Lance Wallnau, Kamala Harris, Wallnau, Donald Trump, —, King Cyrus —, God, Charlie Kirk —, Harris, ”, ” Wallnau, “, Vance, Carlos Bernate, NBC News Kirk, Kirk, Charlie, ” Vance, Ryan Visconti, Visconti, ’ Organizations: Trump, Washington , D.C, U.S . Capitol, NBC News, Republican National Convention, Wallnau Locations: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, America, Washington ,, Mesa , Arizona

☆ The politics of tariffs are complicated. A Democrat just introduced a bill to make Trump's proposals law.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

What’s more surprising, however, is that one House Democratic just introduced a bill to codify Trump’s 10% across-the-board tariffs, revealing how the long-dormant trade policy splits both parties. But they largely fell out of favor during the late 20th century as the U.S. led a global free trade revolution. Despite Harris and other attacks on Trump's tariffs, the Biden-Harris administration decided to keep some of the tariffs Trump imposed during his first term on Chinese steel and aluminum and even increase the fees on strategic sectors like electric vehicles and semiconductors. Still, Biden and Harris have consistently criticized across-the-board tariffs as “indiscriminate” instruments that risk “undermining our alliances,” arguing targeted sanctions do not carry the inflationary risks of wider spread one. Most say the data is clear that freer trade leads to greater economic growth and they say Trump's across-the-board tariffs would raise inflation and could cost jobs.

Persons: Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, ” Trump, Jared Golden, Trump, ”, “, ” Harris, He’s, Sen, Rand Paul, Harris, Still, Biden, Golden, ” Golden Organizations: GOP, Democratic, MSNBC, Trump, Biden Locations: LINCOLNVILLE, Maine, Athens, U.S, American, Ky, Golden's

U.S. officials have privately said that Trump's campaign was the victim of the attack. Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Brandon Bell / Getty ImagesUnsolicited emails that included the stolen material from Trump’s campaign were then sent to associates of his Democratic political rival. The hack against the Trump campaign is just the latest example of an increasingly brazen approach by Iran that includes alleged murder plots against dissidents and defectors on American soil and an assassination threat against former President Trump, U.S. officials and analysts say. For more than two months, hackers who stole the documents have tried to persuade the American media to write about or publish the files they stole. “I’m just not a believer of the news media as an arm of the government, doing its work combating foreign influence.

Persons: Donald Trump, Brandon Bell, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, Roger Stone, “, Joe Biden’s, Trump, Matthew Olsen, Olsen, —, Sen, JD Vance, Ken Klippenstein, ” Klippenstein, “ I’m, General Merrick Garland, Kent Nishimura, Robert, ”, Robert persona’s, Konstantin Kalashnikov, Elena Afanasyeva, Tenet Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Getty, Democratic, CIA, Defense Department, United Nations, FBI, National Intelligence, Infrastructure Security Agency, Justice Department, NBC News, department’s National Security Division, Trump, Beijing, U.S, NBC, Department of Justice, Justice, YouTube, RT, Tenet Media Locations: Washington, Savannah , Ga, Iran, Fars, U.S, Russia, China, American, R, Ohio, Tennessee

☆ Bad blood with Republicans drives a decline in Taylor Swift's poll numbers
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Faith Wardwell | Faith Wardwell Is An Intern At Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Republican views of Taylor Swift have taken a nosedive in comparison to last year, a new NBC News poll shows, weeks after the pop singer announced her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. Just 12% of Republicans report positive attitudes toward the singer, down from 28% last year. Among Democrats, 58% view Swift in a positive light, a slight increase from 53% in 2023. About 26% of independents have a positive attitude toward Swift, a drop from 34% in 2023. The significant shift from Republican voters has pushed Swift’s overall favorability rating among registered voters lower than last year, decreasing from 40% in 2023 to 33% this year.

Persons: Taylor Swift, Kamala Harris, Swift, Jeff Horwitt, Democratic pollster, Bill McInturff, Horwitt, Harris, Donald Trump, ” Swift, Lady, ”, Sen, JD Vance, Trump’s, “, Trump, TAYLOR SWIFT, ” Harris Organizations: NBC, Republican, Hart Research Associates, Democratic, NBC News Locations: R, Ohio

Chin-Hong said the variant is a so-called recombinant of two other strains — KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 — meaning that genetic information was exchanged between them to form a third strain, XEC, Chin-Hong said. Is the XEC variant more contagious? Chan School of Public Health, said there’s no evidence yet that the XEC variant is much more transmissible than what’s currently circulating. The variant is closely related to KP.2, the strain targeted by the updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Bright, however, cautioned that clinical data is ultimately needed to determine how well the updated vaccines work against the XEC variant.

Persons: “, ”, Peter Chin, ” XEC, we’re, Rick Bright, Hong, Bill Hanage, ” Hanage, It’s, XEC, Hanage, “ It’s, Marc Johnson, Johnson, There’s, ” Chin, ” Johnson, ” Bright Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, University of California, Biomedical, Research, Development Authority, Department of Health, Human Services, CDC, Harvard, of Public Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Pfizer, Moderna Locations: United States, San Francisco, Europe, Chin, U.S, Chan, Germany, Netherlands, France

☆ Netanyahu lashes out at U.N. as he defends Israel's actions in Gaza and Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Aurora Almendral | Aurora Almendral Is A London-Based Editor With Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defiantly faced an international community from which he has become deeply isolated amid international condemnation of Israel's war in the Gaza Strip and the military's fresh escalations in Lebanon. As the General Assembly president called the room to order, groups of diplomats stood up and walked out of the room, leaving a sparse audience on the delegate floor. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel's ensuing war with Hamas. Earlier this month, the General Assembly passed a historic, if symbolic, resolution with an overwhelming majority, demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories within a year. The resolutions, like all General Assembly resolutions, are nonbinding and were resoundingly ignored by Israel.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, ” Yokonan Landau, ”, “, Israel, Francesca Albanese, António Guterres, Guterres, Netanyahu — Organizations: Israel's, United Nations, Assembly, General, General Assembly, Israel, Hamas, Court of Justice, West Bank, Human Rights, UNRWA Locations: Gaza, Lebanon, New York, Iran, Israel, Midtown Manhattan, Nations, Israel's, U.S, France, Syria, Rafah

Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy for the first time in five years, former President Donald Trump complained about his 2019 impeachment and said if re-elected he would work to end the Russia-Ukraine war with a deal “that’s good for both sides." Trump said the two leaders "have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin." During the July phone call, Trump asked Zelenskyy about opening an investigation into President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. "It was a hoax, just a Democrat hoax, which we won," Trump said of the impeachment effort, with Zelenskyy standing by his side Friday. They last met in person when Trump was president, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in Sept. 2019.

Persons: Volodymr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump, Trump, He’s, Vladimir, Putin, ranted, Zelenskyy, Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, Bill Taylor Organizations: Zelenskyy, Democrat, United Nations General Assembly, Trump Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Ukrainian

New York City Mayor Eric Adams will step into a Manhattan courtroom and into the history books on Friday when he is arraigned on federal corruption and bribery charges that could force him out of office. Adams is the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted on criminal charges in the modern era. “This was a multiyear scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Thursday. Adams' indictment capped two weeks of turmoil in his administration, a period during which Banks, the city’s police commissioner, and the city's top lawyer, have announced their resignations. “You could almost picture them trying to cobble this together and try to tell a story so that they could say, ‘corruption, corruption’ at a press conference,” Spiro said at a Thursday press conference.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, David Banks, ” Adams, ”, ensnared Adams, Damian Williams, Banks, Alexandria Ocasio, Sen, John Liu, New York — Sen, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Kathy Hochul —, “, Adams ’, Alex Spiro, ” Spiro, Edward Caban, James Caban, ” Williams Organizations: York City, New York City, City, New York City Schools, New York Fire Department, Democratic, ” Prosecutors, Turkish, Adams . Police, Authorities, Queens Locations: York, Manhattan, New York City, Brooklyn, Turkish, U.S, Alexandria, Cortez, New York, India, France, China, Hungary, Ghana, Turkey, Istanbul, Washington, Adams

☆ The next chapter in record U.S. book bans? ‘Soft censorship’
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Jillian Eugenios | Jillian Eugenios Is A Senior Producer For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

In observance of Banned Books Week, which started Sunday and runs through Saturday, two new reports were released. Yasmin said she began writing the book in 2019 after thinking about how abortion bans affect teenagers. “So what we’re seeing is this censorship happening before the book is banned because of the draconian ecosystem that we’re living in,” she said. Dr. Seema Yasmin signing copies of her new book, “Unbecoming,” a young-adult novel published by Simon & Schuster. Its release during Banned Books Week was a coincidence, though Johnson acknowledges the book will likely be banned at some point.

Persons: David Shelley, Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, ”, Shelley, Aidan Chambers ’, ” Shelley, Hachette Shelley, “, you’re, George M, Johnson, ” Dr, Seema Yasmin, Seema Yasmin's, ’, ” Yasmin, Simon, Simon & Schuster, Yasmin, Katie Rinderle, Rinderle, can’t, Toni Morrison, ” Johnson, Leah Johnson, Reece T, Williams Leah Johnson, John Green, Judy Blume’s “, they’re, Leah Johnson’s Organizations: Hachette, U.S, PEN America, American Library Association, PEN, ALA, Alamy, Workman Publishing, American Civil Liberties Union, Simon &, ACLU Teachers, Associated Press, NBC News, Harlem Renaissance, Escambia County School District, Loudmouth Locations: Margaret, London, New York City, U.S, Thatcher’s Britain, Florida and Iowa, Dallas County, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Utah, county’s, PEN America, Oklahoma, Indianapolis, Indiana

☆ Top Democrat urges Biden admin to do more to help local election officials fight a flood of disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“Unfortunately, throughout this election cycle we have witnessed an unprecedented rise in targeted election disinformation campaigns,” Warner wrote to Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA). They say some understaffed state and local election agencies are ill-equipped to handle the problem and are uncertain how much they can rely on federal agencies for help. In his letter, Warner said state and local governments are hard-pressed to keep up with the rapid advances in AI-generated information operations. CISA has said previously that the agency has focused on helping educate the public and train state and local election officials about the tactics employed in disinformation campaigns. Instead, for any disinformation originating from within the U.S., it will likely be up to state and local election officials to flag it to voters.

Persons: Biden, NBC News . Sen, Mark Warner of Virginia, —, ” Warner, Jen, “, Sen, Mark Warner, Tom Williams, Donald Trump’s, Warner, CISA, Kamala Harris Organizations: Democratic, NBC News ., Senate Intelligence, Infrastructure Agency, Capitol, Inc, Getty, NBC News, Officials, FBI, Department of Homeland, Warner, National Intelligence Locations: Russia, Iran, China, Florida, U.S

Otis Keys II, 41, The Colony, Texas UPS driver grappling with smaller average paychecks despite a new union contract. When Otis Keys II hit top-level pay for his role at UPS in 2019, he expected to start checking items off his financial bucket list. That’s not what happened, even after the Teamsters union he belongs to negotiated a historic new contract last summer. “There’s a lot of guys that actually had to take a hard layoff and sit home.”Primary source of income: Keys drives full time for UPS. A UPS spokesperson said feeder drivers “are the best compensated in the industry” and “their total pay and benefits package is valued at nearly double our competitors’.”Otis Keys II is a feeder truck driver at UPS.

Persons: Otis Keys, Kamala Harris, —, “, ”, Keys, he’s, Kara Deniz, ” Otis Keys, ” Keys, “ I’m, that’s, ’, “ sneakerholic, “ I’ve, Tesla, Elon Musk, Trump, Trump “, Harris Organizations: NBC, UPS, Teamsters, Fort, Texas, The, Utilities, Dallas, Democratic, Trump, Republican Locations: Colony, Texas, The, Dallas, Fort Worth, U.S, Arlington, New York, America, Tx, “

New U.S. tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese goods take effect Friday as trade tensions intensify between the world’s two largest economies. For example, the U.S. imports almost no Chinese EVs, largely because of an existing 27.5% tariff that is now increasing to 100%. Lithium-ion batteries, however, are a different story, accounting for about $13 billion of the $18 billion in affected Chinese goods. Similarly, the U.S. has been increasing its Chinese imports of natural graphite, another crucial component of EVs. “Cheaper Chinese solars and cheaper Chinese EVs can actually take jobs away from a lot of manufacturers in, say, the West.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Chim Lee, ” Lee, Charles Benoit, “ that’s, Benoit, ”, Biden, Julie Kozack, Lee, it’s Organizations: Economist Intelligence Unit, Biden, China, European, Coalition for, Prosperous, International Monetary Fund, U.S Locations: U.S, Beijing, China, Asia, Southeast Asia, Mexico, Malaysia, Prosperous America

☆ Hurricane Helene's path inland and Kamala Harris goes to Arizona border: Morning Rundown
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Elizabeth Robinson | Elizabeth Robinson Is A Newsletter Editor For Nbc News | Based In Los Angeles. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Hurricane Helene moves through Georgia after making landfall in Florida. Kamala Harris visits the southern border in Arizona. The storm churned ashore about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at about 11:10 p.m. and with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. Life-threatening storm surges, winds and rain remained threats, the National Hurricane Center said. Republicans have labeled Harris a “border czar” and questioned why she hasn’t made enough progress on securing the border in her four years as vice president.

Persons: Helene, Kamala Harris, Florida Hurricane Helene, Harris, ”, hasn’t, Trump, Alan Eugene Miller's, Miller, Adams, Eric Adams, Biden, Donald Trump’s, John Bolton, Newsmax, —, Willy Wonka, — Daysia Tolentino, Elizabeth Robinson Organizations: National Hurricane Center, Patrol, Democratic, Republicans, Border Patrol, New York City, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Netflix, NBC Locations: Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Florida Hurricane, Florida’s Big Bend, Perry , Florida, Tampa, Wheeler County , Georgia, Douglas , Arizona, Alabama, New York

☆ China stocks see best week since 2008 on stimulus impact as most Asia markets rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese markets clocked their best week in almost 16 years as the mainland’s CSI 300 rallied 15.7% this week, buoyed by several economic stimulus measures by the central bank. The last time the index saw a bigger weekly gain was the week ending Nov. 14, 2008. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index recorded a weekly gain of 12.75%, making it the index’s best week since February 1998, according to FactSet data. Tokyo’s headline inflation rate eased to 2.2%, down from August’s 2.6%. A slate of fresh U.S. economic data also supported the market’s gains, with weekly jobless claims falling more than expected, pointing to a steady labor market.

Persons: Hong, PBOC, Shigeru Ishiba, Sanae Takaichi, Korea’s Kospi, Australia’s, ’ Organizations: CSI, People’s Bank of China, Google, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Reuters, Japan’s Nikkei, of Japan, U.S ., Micron Technology, Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Locations: China, Shanghai, Asia, Pacific, Tokyo, August’s, U.S

☆ Pesto the chonky Australian penguin chick captivates Katy Perry and the internet
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Australia — Pesto the huge king penguin chick has drawn hundreds of visitors to an Australian aquarium, and now the bird can count Katy Perry as one of his biggest fans. Chocolate-brown and fluffy, Pesto is a 9-month-old king penguin that weighs 52 pounds, more than twice the combined weight of his parents. Most of Pesto’s weight comes from the brown fuzz that keeps penguin chicks warm through winter. Like all king penguins, Pesto is non-sexually dimorphic, which means he does not have externally visible traits that distinguish him from female penguins. The average parental care for a baby king penguin can span over a year.

Persons: Australia —, Katy Perry, Pesto ”, Michaela Smale, “ We’ve, ” Smale Organizations: Australian Football League, Channel Seven, Melbourne, Reuters Locations: SYDNEY, Australia, U.S, Melbourne

Harris is scheduled to make her first trip to the southern U.S. border in more than three years. “We do have a broken immigration system,” Harris said Wednesday in an interview with MSNBC. In discussing immigration, Harris has increasingly attacked Trump over his efforts to kill a bipartisan border funding deal this year. “She keeps talking about how she supposedly wants to fix the border,” Trump said Thursday at a news conference at Trump Tower. He’s skeptical of Harris’ tougher talk on immigration.

Persons: DOUGLAS, Kamala Harris, Harris, Joe Biden, ” Harris, It’s, Biden, Trump, “, Mike Johnson, didn’t, ”, ” Trump, John Ladd’s, John Ladd, Gabe Gutierrez, “ Trump, ” Miles, “ That’s, ” Danya Acosta Organizations: MSNBC, Border Patrol, NBC News, Republicans, Trump, NBC, Council, Republican Locations: Ariz, U.S, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Arizona, Cochise County, Douglas

This article is part of “Dealing the Dead,” a series investigating the use of unclaimed bodies for medical research. Texas Senate Media ServicesThe Health Science Center did not comment on Parker’s plans for legislation. The Health Science Center suspended its body-donation program, fired the officials who led it and said it would stop accepting unclaimed bodies. The University of North Texas Health Science Center suspended its body-donation program and fired the officials who led it. Dallas County officials have said moving forward they won’t provide unclaimed bodies for research unless survivors choose to do so.

Persons: Sen, Tan Parker, Parker, “, ”, Andy North, Shelby Tauber, Alisa Simmons, Brenda Cloud, Victor Honey, Maddie McGarvey, NBC News Cloud, ” Cloud, ” Terrence Hayes, “ Mr, Honey, Al Sharpton, MSNBC’s, ” Sharpton, Thomas Champney, ” Champney, Eli Shupe, Tarrant, ” Shupe, Louisa Harvey, Michael Coleman, Michael, ” Harvey, Louisa Harvey ., Louisa Harvey Harvey, Harvey, she’s Organizations: NBC News, Republican, NBC, Fort, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Army, Texas, Media Services, Health Science Center, Dallas, Fort Worth National, U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans, Health Science, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, University of Texas Locations: Texas, Dallas, Tarrant, Fort Worth, North Texas, Mississippi, United States, Arlington

Republicans stand a good chance of erasing the Democrats’ narrow 51-49 Senate majority in November, a hard reality that complicates Harris' transition planning. Members of Harris’ transition team have studied that one — the handoff from Ronald Reagan to George H.W. Harris' team is operating under an unusually compressed timeline and is still building the basic apparatus needed to vet potential hires and staff an administration. Last month, Harris' campaign appointed Yohannes Abraham to run the team that is preparing for a transfer of power. He came to his new role with direct experience, having been executive director of Biden’s transition in 2020.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Kamala Harris, Harris, who’ve, Joe Biden, Biden, undercutting, —, Barack Obama, Robert Gates, George W, Bush's, Gates, ”, It’s, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, They've, Hillary Clinton, Obama, Donald Trump, Yohannes Abraham, Abraham, Trump, “, she’s, Max Stier, There’s, Christine Wormuth, Kathleen Hicks, Michèle Flournoy, Rosa Brooks, ” Brooks, ” Harris, William Burns, Burns, who've, he's, Rohini Kosoglu, Harris ’, Julianne Smith, Phil Gordon, Sens, Chris Murphy, Chris Coons, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Samantha Power, Walz, Pete Buttigieg, Buttigieg, it’s “, Gina Raimondo, Joe ”, ” Raimondo, Raimondo Organizations: Republican, Biden, Senate, NBC, Trump, Pentagon, Democratic, Senate Democrats, Republicans, University of Virginia's, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Partnership for Public Service, Army, CIA, White House, NATO, United Nations, U.S . Agency for International Development, Transportation, Biden's Cabinet, Fox News Locations: Washington, George H.W ., U.S, Indonesia, Connecticut, Delaware, United, Biden's

Ishiba, a straight-talking former defense minister, will take office on Tuesday when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his cabinet ministers resign and Ishiba is elected his successor by members of the LDP-controlled parliament. He is also contending with a complicated security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, where the U.S. has been strengthening ties with Japan and other allies in an effort to counter China’s growing power. After no candidate received a majority in the first round of voting, Ishiba won in a runoff against economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, 63, who would have been Japan’s first female prime minister. This was Ishiba’s fifth time running for party leader. In addition to being a realist, Ishiba is also an idealist who has never been tainted by scandal, Cucek said.

Persons: Shigeru Ishiba, Fumio Kishida, Ishiba, Hiro Komae, Kishida, Kishida “, ” Ishiba, Sanae Takaichi, Takaichi, ”, Michael Cucek, Cucek, ” Cucek, “, Lin Jian, Lin, Arata Yamamoto, Jennifer Jett Organizations: Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, Liberal Democratic Party’s, Getty, Temple University, NATO, U.S, Yasukuni, Foreign Ministry Locations: TOKYO, U.S, Ishiba, Asia, Pacific, Japan, North Korea, Tokyo, AFP, United States, Japanese, Tottori, South Korea, Philippines, Australia, China, Taiwan, Beijing, East Asia, Phuket, Thailand

☆ U.S. Coast Guard watching uptick in Russian, Chinese navy activity near Alaska
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI — The U.S. Coast Guard is watching an “uptick” in Chinese and Russian navy activity around Alaska and the northern Pacific but encounters to date have been very professional, a senior commander said on Friday. “Russian naval vessels, certainly we’ve seen an uptick in their presence in that particular region. And then what we also see is an uptick in PLAN, the PRC Navy, and the Russian navy working together in that region,” he said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. Tiongson said the U.S. Coast Guard had not been asked to provide escort to Philippine vessels, but had been advising and assisting in other ways. “So when I say advise and assist, we provide to the Philippine coast guard and to others is what we would do in this situation.

Persons: Andrew J, Tiongson, ” Tiongson, they’ll, ”, China’s, Thomas Shoal Organizations: The U.S . Coast Guard, U.S . Coast Guard Pacific Area, PRC Navy, U.S, U.S . Coast Guard, China’s Coast Guard Locations: TAIPEI, The U.S, Russian, Alaska, U.S, Japan, Russia, People’s Republic of China, Canada, Philippines, South China, Philippine

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