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July 2024
11 | The UK has quietly dropped its opposition to the planned arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and its defence minister Yoav Gallant. |
5 | She's back! Kim Davis together with far-right legal firm Liberty Counsel, has petitioned the SCOTUS to overturn Obergefell v Hodges [marriage equality]. |
10 | Xitter has without notice, started to train its Grok AI tool on everyone's data. |
17 | Pentagon finds $2 billion in Ukraine aid accounting errors. This means more aid can now be sent than expected. |
6 | Texas sues the federal government to stop provision of birth control to teenagers without need for parental consent. |
23 | Michigan is latest to ban criminal defense of "gay panic" and "trans panic". Here's a non-WaPo and therefore non-paywall version |
12 | Gateway Pundit bankruptcy filing dismissed by a judge, ruling that it was filed in bad faith |
24 | Protests in Poland against the country's restrictive abortion law and the government coalition's failure to repeal it due to center-right parties in the coalition. |
17 | Crackdowns on anti-government protests in Bangladesh result in Internet blackout and leave at least 150 dead. |
10 | Iraq bans the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as they strengthen their relations with Turkey. |
20 | VDARE possibly closing due to legal pressure from alleged abuse of nonprofit status |
17 | US Congressional Budget Office: "An increase in immigration over the 2021–2026 period … lower(s) deficits, on net, by $0.9 trillion over the 2024–2034 period." However, "CBO's estimates of the effects of the immigration surge on the federal budget and the economy are very uncertain." They explain immigration can boost revenues by increasing overall economic activity and via immigrants paying taxes. |
22 | Hamas and Fatah agree to form a future government together, in a reconciliation attempt arranged by China between the two major Palestinian factions. |
15 | Kim Cheatle resigns as Secret Service Director following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. |
12 | Thousands flee Jasper National Park due to surging wildfires |
1 | Mattel has launched a visually impaired Barbie. |
23 | After a disastrous election, the Conservatives are now facing a disastrous summer party conference with a number of businesses staying away which is not good for party finances. |
64 | Biden announces he is dropping out of the presidential race, and has endorsed Kamala Harris to replace him. |
11 | The US claims that the ICJ ruling may complicate the peace process between Israel and Palestine. |
46 | UK's Labour reportedly intends to ban conversion therapy. |
14 | Leader of the Vietnamese Communist Party dies. |
23 | A faulty antivirus update distributed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has caused the largest IT outage in history, causing billions in damages in the travel, banking, and healthcare industries with no clear end in sight. The issue specifically affects Windows systems, which need to be brought in order manually. |
24 | Ukraine has decided to stop oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia to Central Europe, which goes through Ukraine. This has sparked outrage from Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó, as it gets much of its oil through this pipeline. |
23 | Teamsters union VP John Palmer announces he will try to replace Sean O'Brien as the union's President, after O'Brien gave a speech at the RNC. |
17 | Massive British doctors' union, the British Medical Association, debates response to the Cass report, and one denied report claimed they may be considering disavowing it. Cass relied heavily on systematic reviews that were published in the BMA union's own BMJ journals, and which have since been criticized for their methodology. |
24 | Israel to begin drafting Haredi Jews into the military on 21 July, amidst war with Gaza. Resistance to the draft could topple Netanyahu's government coalition since it relies on cooperation with Haredi parties. |
27 | UN top court says Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal. |
15 | Five Just Stop Oil campaigners have been sentenced to 4–5 years in prison for blocking the M25 in November 2022, the longest sentences ever given for peaceful protests since the Conservative government put legal restrictions on protests. As the sentencing notes, their decision to block the highway led to multiple people suffering severe medical events and endangered the lives and health of people for who the delays resulted in being unable to receive necessary medical care. |
14 | Sue Mi Terry, wife of Max Boot, has been charged with espionage and working as a foreign agent for South Korea by the DOJ. |
15 | Ex-CNN anchor and Trump fanboy Lou Dobbs has died. |
18 | Key Largo tree cactus becomes first US species extinct due to rising sea levels |
28 | South Korea's supreme court rules that same-sex couples are eligible to receive the same health insurance benefits as heterosexual couples. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed. |
33 | Federal jury finds Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) guilty on all counts in his criminal bribery and obstruction case. |
28 | A Kenyan court has found that the death of acclaimed Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was an assassination possibly sponsored by the Pakistani government, and that he was tortured before his death at the hands of the Kenyan police. |
-10 | Federal judge dismisses classified documents mishandling case against Trump. The judge didn't rule on whether the handling of documents was proper or not. Update: Dismissal will be appealed. |
17 | Pakistani government intends to ban the largest opposition party. |
62 | Assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania; the ex-President/candidate only grazed on ear, but one bystander killed and three injured. The shooter was registered Republican Thomas Matthew Crooks. |
31 | A preserved woolly mammoth genome is reported in Cell and some people want to use it to revive the mammoths. Maybe we can hunt them to extinction a second time. |
27 | The UN projects that the global human population will peak at 10.3 billion in the 2080s and then begin to decrease. Meanwhile, global life expectancy has begun to climb again for the first time since the COVID pandemic. |
36 | Rabies is all but eliminated in every part of the world but Africa and Asia, which still suffer tens of thousands of fatalities. An international vaccination effort now seeks to eliminate cases of this lethal disease in humans by 2030. |
7 | Burkina Faso's military junta has criminalised homosexual acts. |
43 | FBI disrupts an online, AI-driven disinformation campaign backed by the Russian government. It involved around 1,000 X/Twitter accounts and other than the US, "spread disinformation to countries including Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine and Israel." |
25 | The Green Party has made a formal complaint about the BBC’s lack of coverage of the party during its elections coverage and results. |
22 | New Zealand anti-fluoride groups ordered to pay NZ$40,000 in costs after an attempt to prevent a local council reintroducing fluoride is lost. |
31 | Brazilian police indict former president Jair Bolsonaro for embezzling $1.2 million worth of Saudi jewelry. |
38 | "Gay furry hackers" (SiegedSec) claim to have hacked the Heritage Foundation for making Project 2025. Update: Director of the Heritage Foundation's "Oversight Project" contacted one of the hackers and called him a pervert, then said he'll get "pounded in the ass" in prison. Then SiegedSec disbanded. |
21 | How batshit insane are the rich in 2024? Here's a Bloomberg article (archive) on the estate law aspects of cryonically freezing your head and trying to keep all your money in the process. |
28 | The Polish government has introduced a bill to its agenda that would allow same-sex civil partnerships. |
20 | A U.S. study has found lead, arsenic, mercury, nickel, copper, iron, and other toxic metals in tampons. We do not know what 13 brands the study examined. |
29 | Things are getting better with news that the Tate Brothers Andrew and Tristan, are now under investigation by Devon & Cornwall police for tax evasion |
31 | Ed Miliband, the energy security secretary, has lifted the nine-year moratorium on building on-shore wind turbines. |
17 | Russia has executed one of the largest missile strikes on several cities in Ukraine to date. One of them striking a major children’s hospital, causing the deaths of at least 29 people, and a maternity hospital in central Kyiv killing seven. |
18 | Massive floods in Indian subcontinent; monsoon season is too early and heavier than usual. Climate change is to be suspected as a culprit. |
29 | The experiment of a 'four day week' at South Cambridgeshire Council is a significant success - reducing costs and improving service metrics. Even better; due to the early general election, the ideologically-based attacks on it from the Conservative controlled central government are most likely to be at an end. |
23 | Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact amid tensions with China. |
25 | Pope Francis excommunicates a conservative bishop who promoted conspiracy theories and called the Pope a "servant of Satan". |
17 | AI-powered, bullet-dispensing vending machines. Because 'Murica. |
8 | Matteo Salvini has formally renamed one of Italy’s major airports as Silvio Berlusconi Milan Malpensa airport. Personality cult? |
13 | Putin: the Taliban are "our allies in the fight against terrorism". |
36 | Keir Starmer officially takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. |
30 | After the SCOTUS ruling granting Trump partial immunity, AOC has released plans indicating she intends to impeach Supreme Court justices. UPDATE: Articles of impeachment have officially been filed against Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. |
20 | It has been revealed that one of the biggest backers of George Galloway is none other than Tristan Tate, brother of Andrew Tate. |
23 | Transcripts from 2006 in the Jeffrey Epstein case were released on 1 July and show what prosecutors knew before cutting a deal with him. |
9 | Ecotricity founder and chief executive Dale Vince is suing Paul Staines of Guido Fawkes for libel, after the website's owner accused Vince of supporting Hamas during a radio interview. |
2 | Supreme Court asked if Trump had immunity from the law as President. They said he is immune, but this only applies to official acts. Decision is 6-3 on ideological lines. |
June 2024
23 | Toronto's 2SLGBTIQA+ Pride parade along city's main street, Yonge Street, was stopped midway and cancelled by Pro-Palestinian protesters. |
22 | In what is considered a normatively homophobic country, Poland has just opened its first LGBT+ museum, QueerMuzeum in Warsaw. |
9 | Another SCOTUS case: the court sides with January 6 Capitol rioters by narrowing how obstruction charges can be applied. One "defection" both ways: Ketanji Brown Jackson sided with the conservative justices and Amy Coney Barrett with the liberals. Remaining major cases to be decided this term: Trump's "presidential immunity" case and two cases on social media regulation. |
6 | Supreme Court allows cities to criminalize homeless people sleeping in public places, even when there's no space remaining in nearby homeless shelters. The court ruled this ban doesn't count as "cruel and unusual punishment". |
-16 | Supreme Court overturns 40-year precedent that allowed federal agencies to interpret unclear laws to regulate "the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections". The court argued the precedent incorrectly took interpretive power from judges and gave it to agency experts. |
13 | In an action sure to help Oklahoma maintain its rock-bottom (49 out of 50) education rank, superintendent Ryan Walters orders Oklahoma school districts to teach from the Bible in grades 5 to 12. Part of Walters' justification was his contentious belief that the Bible had "substantial influence on our nation’s founders and the foundational principles of our Constitution." |
8 | The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to strip the Securities and Exchange Commission of its ability to punish instances of fraud by imposing civil penalties through administrative proceedings. The ruling will also likely impact agencies that use similar enforcement mechanisms, such as those overseeing workplace safety. |
14 | West Virginia couple criminally charged for using their adopted black children as modern slaves. |
15 | The US Supreme Court for now blocks enforcement of an Environmental Protection Agency rule against air pollution. |
1 | North Korea has agreed to send its soldiers to assist the Russians in the frontline in Ukraine from next month. |
20 | Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug crimes by a US Court. |
36 | Soldiers storm Bolivian presidential palace in apparent coup attempt Update: the coup quickly failed. |
26 | In a 6-3 ruling (and a blow to attornies general in Louisiana and Mississippi along with the fake news site Gateway Pundit), the Supreme Court threw out claims that the Biden administration unlawfully coerced social media companies into removing contentious content. According to the majority ruling, the plaintiffs both lacked standing and also failed to demonstrate how the government's communications with social media platforms violated the First Amendment. |
33 | Israel's Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the IDF must begin drafting Ultra-Orthodox men, who have previously been exempt. The ruling came on the basis that the draft exemptions represented "invalid selective enforcement, which represents a serious violation of the rule of law." |
36 | Tommy Robinson has been arrested in Canada for being an illegal immigrant there. |
34 | Julian Assange has been freed from Belmarsh in London after reaching a plea deal with the U.S. that'll see him plead guilty to at least some charges and go free. He will now return to Australia. |
25 | Brazilian conservatives propose bill that would give harsher maximum criminal penalties to rape victims who have an abortion after week 22 than the maximum penalty given to rapists. A massive protest was staged in response to the bill. |
11 | Keir Starmer says he'll not allow "gender ideology" to be taught at schools. |
32 | Democrats try to repeal the largely-unenforced Comstock Act of 1873 because anti-abortion groups want to use it to ban materials used to perform abortions. |
7 | Last orders! Rumours are going around that Starmer's chief of staff and former pub landlady Sue Gray, wants to see all three bars in the Houses of Parliament closed. The aim is stop Parliament's drinking culture, which includes 'intimidating behaviour'. |
12 | Florida governor DeSantis cuts all funding for arts and culture. Finally, the state will be a dry place. |
36 | Large trial of HIV prevention shots finds them incredibly effective. This treatment involves just two shots a year compared to earlier forms of PrEP that required more frequency (e.g. pills or other PrEP shots). |
24 | NHS whistleblowers allege to Good Law Project (GLP) that NHS management suppressed knowledge of a surge in suicides among transgender youth interfacing with NHS clinics, after restrictions placed on care in 2020. Jolyon Maugham and GLP add this is corroborated by Tavistock documents (see here). Update: Partial corroboration. |
21 | Sotomayor has warned that same-sex marriage is next on the chopping block, after SCOTUS ruled that non-citizen spouses don't have the automatic right to enter the United States. |
37 | The Supreme Court has upheld the law that bans those convicted of domestic violence from owning guns in a 8-1 ruling. Only Clarence Thomas dissented. |
-16 | Nigel Farage: 'Russia was provoked into Ukraine war by the West' |
25 | Four members of one of the richest families in the world, the Hindujas, have been sentenced by a Swiss court for between 4 and 4½ years in jail for exploiting domestic staff. |
21 | Trump Media (DJT) is in share free-fall, and has lost half of its value in the last three weeks. |
28 | Armenia recognizes Palestine |
32 | Namibian high court strikes down two colonial-era laws banning gay sex. |
21 | Low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations may be jeopardizing the recovery of the ozone layer, due to aluminum oxide particles that get released as old satellites fall back to Earth and burn up. |
28 | Senate Democrats launch probe into the business dealings of Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, with foreign governments (including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar). The probe is said to be due to "significant conflicts of interest and potential counterintelligence risks." In 2018, while Kushner worked in the White House, the Saudi Crown Prince reportedly said Kushner was "in his pocket." |
25 | Temperatures reach a record 51°C (124 °F) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This had led to over 500 pilgrims dead over heat related issues as they perform the hajj. Update: The death toll now is at least 1301, with thousands more needing treatment for heat exhaustion. |
31 | Louisiana now requires the Ten Commandments to be posted in classrooms; expect lawsuits immediately. |
13 | Trouble on the horizon? Apple scraps its “Buy Now Pay Later” feature on Apple Wallet and New Zealand BNPL company Laybuy has gone bankrupt. |
54 | Thailand approves equal marriage rights for gay people. |
32 | Nick Fuentes's neo-Nazi rally shut down in Detroit. The venue company says it was shut down "due to fraudulent, knowing misrepresentation of the true nature of the event". The venue added they were "baffled" by the group's location choice, since it's "a performance and arts complex, not a political rally hall." Former KKK leader David Duke was there, and Fuentes's buddy Sneako got punched in the face. Fuentes claims 2,000 of his fans, who are known to roleplay as cartoon toads on the internet, would have attended (only 100 did). |
19 | Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has been convicted for contempt of court over libel against Jamal Hajazi, and faces up to two years in prison. |
23 | Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city, is being forced to turn the lights off and cut sanitations services due to bankruptcy. The city is in heavy debt, with childhood poverty near 50 per cent. |
31 | LessWrong called out for the parade of racialist speakers they've been funding. |
28 | Robert Morris, the founding pastor of Gateway Church and a member of Donald Trump's Evangelical Advisory Board, has admitted that in the 1980s he sexually abused a girl over a period of five years, beginning when she was 12-years-old. Update: He has resigned. |
23 | Police station in Zimbabwe abandoned because of "goblins". CITEZW helpfully clarifies they were lady goblins. |
23 | YouTube is trialling Twitter-like viewer-led “helpful notes” on its platform to prevent disinformation. |
32 | Governor of Maryland to issue 175,000 pardons to people convicted for marijuana possession. |
30 | US designates Nordic neo-Nazi group as terrorists. Founded in Sweden, the "Nordic Resistance Movement" operates in all the Nordic countries. |
23 | The Nation: The integrity of a YouGov/Economist poll that reported some 20% of Americans ages 18-29 are Holocaust deniers has been questioned by Pew Research Center. The very same poll was a WIGO entry in December 2023. Pew did its own survey with better methodology, and found 3% of Americans ages 18-29 are Holocaust deniers — the same as other age brackets. |
18 | Fox News and the Daily Telegraph are spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation way past its due date. It hinges on a BMJ journal's paper that may "insinuate" a connection between COVID vaccines and excess deaths, but establishes no causation and might be better explained by surges in COVID cases. The journal itself came out and rebuffed various media for their reports on the paper. Update: There are now calls to retract the BMJ paper. |
19 | Former President Hollande wants to take a shot at the 2024 election. France ain't THAT desperate, Hollande. |
15 | Former US CDC director predicts a bird flu pandemic is a matter of "when, not if". There's currently no solid evidence of human-to-human transmission potential, but evolution could find a way. |
25 | Poland’s lower chamber, the Sejm, has passed a bill to allow all Poles, including overseas Poles, to vote by post. Currently, only domestic resident elderly and disabled Poles can vote by post. |
28 | A Reuters investigation found that the Pentagon ran an anti-vax campaign to undermine China during the COVID pandemic. Oh, and this WIGO is NOT part of a Chinese campaign to slander America. I swear. |
6 | The US House voted 216-207 to hold US Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for defying a Congressional subpoena regarding an investigation of Joe Biden's mishandling of classified information. Rep. Jordan, a primary advocate for the measure, had himself refused to comply with a Congressional subpoena in relation to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. |
15 | At a meeting in Italy, the G7 countries agreed to loan $50 billion to Ukraine, which will be paid for by collecting the interest from frozen Russian assets. The US and the European countries disagree on how quickly the money should be sent, with the US position being that it should be sent at once and the Europeans wanting to send it over a number of years. |
20 | A US federal jury has found the fruit corporation Chiquita liable for murders perpetrated by the AUC, a far-right Colombian paramilitary organization, as the company had paid them millions of dollars even after the US government had designated the group as a terrorist organization. The jury awarded $38.3 million to the families of eight victims. |
14 | Bill aims to equate abortion and homicide for both mothers and doctors in Brazil. Current legislation already bans abortions in most cases, with penalties of up to three years in prison for mothers, and up to four years for doctors. |
34 | A judge has deemed Florida's gender-affirming care ban for minors unconstitutional. |
41 | In a blow to Mike Johnson's old fundamentalist legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, as well as associated groups like the American College of Pediatricians (who were co-plaintiffs), the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that these groups lacked legal standing to challenge the FDA's regulation of the abortion inducing drug mifepristone, preserving access to this medication. |
29 | Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has said the country will start to formally leave the Russian-backed military alliance the CSTO. |
5 | Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo has resigned after the far-right Vlaams Belang party prevailed in recent elections. |
31 | A United Nations Inquiry has concluded both Israel and Hamas have committed Crimes against Humanity in the Gaza Strip. |
26 | Pro-Russian and pro-Assad useful idiot Clare Daly has officially lost her MEP seat in the European elections. It is also looking like fellow traveller Mick Wallace may lose his as well. Update: Wallace has lost his seat after the 20th count. |
11 | Experts predict "horrifying" heatwaves that could kill tens of thousands of people, and hospitalize hundreds of thousands more. |
33 | Biden administration to propose a federal rule barring consideration of a person's medical debt in credit reports. |
20 | Hunter Biden found guilty on all three counts in gun case. NPR: "The jury found Hunter Biden guilty on two counts of making false statements about his drug use when he bought the weapon, and one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a drug user or addict." |
18 | The three Trump golf courses in New Jersey could soon have no nineteenth holes, as the state is reviewing the alcohol licenses of the on-site bars in light of his convictions. |
10 | 36-year-old asshole claiming to document "homeless epidemic" shot homeless person on livestream in Spokane, WA |
0 | Inside the brain school: CBC reports on a "brain wave training school", which back in 2014 provided a 7-day program to indigenous children. The training promised to increase IQ and provide trauma relief via the manipulation of brain waves. |
12 | Post publisher draws more scrutiny after newsroom shake-up — The new publisher, William Lewis, wants to create a separate newsroom unit focused on "social media-driven and service journalism" (a euphemism for tabloidism) |
14 | Benny Gantz resigns from Benjamin Netanyahu‘s War Cabinet, saying “Netanyahu is preventing us from approaching true victory, which is the justification for the painful ongoing crisis”. |
14 | Raid on central Gaza kills over 200 Palestinians |
28 | Alex Jones to sell Infowars to pay off 1.5 billion dollar debt to Sandy Hook families. |
11 | Political researcher Jean-Jacques Wondo is one of dozens that has been arrested after the failed coup attempt last month. |
15 | Israel is still using white phosphorous in Lebanon |
9 | Israel is now threatening Lebanon |
-26 | A New Mexican pickup driver who killed a cyclist in a traffic collision, has been let off by local police. Police accepted the reason for the accident due to the sun being in the eyes of the driver leading to no visibility. |
13 | Russian warships going to Cuba. |
25 | Steve Bannon ordered to be in his prison cell by July 1st. |
6 | SpaceX accomplishes first soft splashdown of Starship, Super Heavy Booster on Flight 4 mission |
12 | Missouri’s attorney general is waging war to keep the wrongly convicted locked up. |
29 | The Southern Poverty Law Center has finally designated Genspect and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine as hate groups. |
26 | Study finds that the world is unsurprisingly warming up, with 2023 breaking records. Of last year's heat, 92% was accounted for by human activity. Bad as that is, the study indicated that warming isn't "accelerating", meaning it isn't evident that global tipping points were surpassed. |
26 | Economists warn Trump's plan to tax "virtually all foreign goods" with a universal baseline 10% tariff could spark a global trade war and worsen inflation. A trade conflict with China in particular could take place no matter who is president, however Trump's plan for trade with China may be riskier. Criticism by economists of the proposed universal 10% tariff "has been relatively bipartisan." |
29 | Missouri appeals court sides with a transgender boy who was denied access to boys' bathrooms and locker rooms at school. It was found to be sex discrimination on the basis that he "did not fit their stereotype of what a male should be." The judge who penned the court's decision said: "This is no different than discriminating against a male because he is not tall enough or not muscular enough." |
26 | FBI raids corporate landlord Cortland Management, in connection to a nationwide antitrust inquiry "into an alleged rental price-fixing conspiracy that may have already impacted millions of Americans." A price-setting algorithm (RealPage) was used by corporate landlords representing much of the urban housing market. |
14 | Republicans in the US Senate (except two) block The Right to Contraception Act, which does pretty much what it says on the tin. The vote was 51-39, and required 60 votes to pass. |
23 | A study reflecting on 20 years of evidence about equal marriage rights for gay people finds that not only did it have significant positive effects for married gay couples in a plethora of measures, it also had no detected negative effects on straight couples and somehow even increased the amount of straight marriages too. |
26 | Deborah Birx on bird flu (H5N1): "I'm really concerned because we're making the same mistakes today that we made with COVID. And what do I mean by that? We're not testing to really see how many people have been exposed and got asymptomatically infected." (Birx previously served as US Global AIDS Coordinator and as White House COVID Response Coordinator under Obama and Trump, respectively.) |
21 | Joe Biden has signed an executive order that'll "gain control" of the border and suspend the processing of asylum claims by asylum seekers who came from the U.S.–Mexico border if the daily crossing rate surpasses 2,500. It's the same law Trump used in 2017 to ban immigration from several Muslim-majority countries. The ACLU claims both of these actions are illegal, and intends to sue. |
29 | Wisconsin's Attorney General has filed felony forgery charges against two attorneys and an aide who helped submit paperwork falsely saying that Trump had won the state in the 2020 election. |
30 | US Department of Justice indicts Bill Guan, alleging a "massive money-laundering scheme" involving "at least" $67 million dollars. Guan is chief financial officer for The Epoch Times, a right-wing newspaper that the DOJ says was funded by the money-laundering scheme. |
23 | A French environmental NGO is warning about the growing trend it calls “fast deco”, basically fast fashion for the home, from retailers like Shein and Temu. |
32 | China says its spacecraft has landed on the Moon's far side |
May 2024
25 | Iran uses Swedish gangs to target Israeli and Jewish interests in Sweden. Israel's Mossad first claimed and Sweden's Säpo then confirmed gangs were used as proxies. Säpo names Iran one of the big 3 threat actors Sweden faces alongside Russia and China, noting it previously mainly targeted Iranian dissidents. The Foxtrot gang were apparently the ones to place a grenade at the Israeli embassy in January. |
57 | A first step in finding a cure for diabetes: One person with diabetes has been completely cured and no longer needs daily insulin. |
24 | Some US drugmakers will now significantly cap prices for asthma inhalers, which can be quite expensive compared to costs in other countries. |
34 | A little over a year after his wife's conviction of similar, doomsday author Chad Daybell has been found guilty of the murder of his first wife and his second wife's two children. The couple held extreme fundamentalist Mormon beliefs as well as radical End Times doomsday views, and justified the murders with their shared belief that the victims were "zombies" and "dark spirits". |
101 | Jury reaches verdict for Trump's hush money case in New York. Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts. |
-38 | Families of Uvalde School Shooting victims are suing the publisher of the Call of Duty video game franchise, alleging the games "knowingly exposed the Shooter to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as the solution to his problems, and trained him how to use it." |
21 | Labour MP Jess Phillips has revealed in an open letter to the prime minister that former PM Liz Truss, has planned to be interviewed by Carl Benjamin on the far-right platform Lotus Eaters. |
10 | London's freesheet, the Evening Standard has announced to reduce costs it will go from daily to weekly and cut a number of staff. |
14 | The management board of the Royal Mail, the postal operator for the UK, has agreed to sell the business to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský for £5 billion. |
31 | An Israeli airstrike targets a refugee camp in Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu claims it was a mistake. |
21 | A shady donor's US$273 million donation to a Florida university is canceled and causes a big scandal, a year after he announced, then canceled a US$93 million donation to a South Carolina university. Before that, he promised another big donation to a college in Alabama that never came to pass. |
19 | New Hampshire has passed a bill revoking many previously-established discrimination protections for transgender people. |
20 | The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of “Blues”: If Balaji Srinivasan is any guide, then the Silicon Valley plutocrats are definitely not OK. |
25 | ‘A catastrophe’: Greenpeace blocks planting of ‘lifesaving’ Golden Rice: Thousands of children could die after court backs campaign group over GM crop in Philippines, scientists warn |
15 | Orbán holds up Ukraine arms funding from frozen Russian assets |
14 | Film-maker Morgan Spurlock, who created the film Super Size Me has died aged 53 from complications of cancer. |
19 | Governor of Louisiana signs a law that restricts two medications used to induce abortions as "controlled and dangerous substances". (See: RU-486.) |
34 | Google's new AI-driven search results sometimes spread conspiracy theories, encourage people to eat rocks, or suggest glue as a pizza ingredient. Apparently this is because it will occasionally prioritize sources as trustworthy as The Onion or random Reddit shitposters named "fucksmith". Google insists the feature has undergone "extensive testing" despite this but will continue to improve. |
27 | Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog that was behind all those Doge memes has died in her home in Sakura, Japan, aged 18. |
17 | A row has erupted in Italy, after a teacher in Treviso allowed two Muslim students to be exempted from learning Dante's Divine Comedy. The reason is there is a section in the poem that places the Prophet Muhammed in Hell. |
15 | Baltic concerns over Russian plan to move sea borders. Russia wants to unilaterally change Baltic sea borders, but deleted its draft text about it. Apparently Russia plans to draw a map of the proposal and release a new statement later. This may be a provocation aimed at NATO, which the other countries concerned are members of. |
21 | The British government admits that flights of asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing are unlikely to happen due to the election. |
25 | Inquiry finds the UK's NHS knowingly infected tens of thousands of people with contaminated blood from the 1970s–1990s. This killed about 3,000 people and sickened more, then multiple governments covered it up. |
23 | Maximilian Krah is banned from campaigning for the AfD due to his 'not all members of the SS were bad people' comments. during the European elections. |
33 | Ireland, Norway and Spain have announced they are recognising the State of Palestine. |
30 | New census figures reveal that for the first time, over half of Scots, 51.1% are irreligious. Biggest change are those over-65s, with those saying they are irreligious have more then doubled. |
36 | The Church of Scotland has said in its annual General Assembly that transgender people are made in the image of God, worthy of our respect and love and part of the Church. |
26 | New 9/11 Evidence Points to Deep Saudi Complicity: Two decades of U.S. policy appear to be rooted in a mistaken understanding of what happened that day. |
19 | WikiLeaks founder Assange wins right to appeal against US extradition. |
28 | Peru protesters slam new insurance law that deems transgender people mentally ill |
52 | The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar. |
35 | A helicopter carrying Ebrahim Raisi has crashed amidst massive fog in Iran. Raisi's status is currently unknown. Update: Raisi has been found dead. |
16 | In an excellent example of Foucault's boomerang, an Israeli company is hawking "self-launching" drones to US police departments. |
14 | Lee Hsien Loong has stepped down as Prime Minister of Singapore after nearly 20 years in the position. Lawrence Wong will succeed him. |
18 | LGBT+ think tank ILGA Europe releases its Rainbow Map for 2024. Top five countries are; Malta, Iceland, Belgium, Spain & Denmark. Bottom five are; Russia, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Armenia & Belarus. Ireland came 15th and the UK came 16th out of 49 countries. |
23 | Israeli protesters arrested after attacking Gaza aid trucks |
19 | Swedish government coalition ‘undermined’ by far-right troll farm scandal. After ally Sweden Democrats revealed last week to have been doing it for years, going after even their coalition partners online. |
21 | Pentagon intelligence officer has quit in protest of continued unconditional support of the Israeli war effort |
19 | Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, is in a life threatening condition following an assassination attempt. |
21 | Section 28 part deux? Education secretary Gillian Keegan has said there will be new sex education guidelines on what teachers can say to primary school pupils. Notably mentioned is guidance in relation to trans and non-binary people. |
18 | Mt. Ibu erupts in Indonesia, spewing ash and dark clouds into atmosphere. |
59 | UK toddler has hearing restored in world first gene therapy trial |
37 | A MAGA Floridian has discovered, despite living in the U.S. for over 60 years, he is an illegal immigrant when he tried to collect his Social Security. |
28 | The former prime minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, has been sentenced to one year in prison for attempting to stop the police from investigating former staff members at a university. |
41 | The mayor of Poland's second city Kraków has said he would march with others in the city's equality march [gay pride] next week, the first time the mayor has marched in the city’s equality march. |
33 | In exchange for Speaker Johnson’s help in passing foreign aid for Ukraine, Democrats overwhelmingly vote against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s abrupt motion to vacate his position. |
26 | Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke defects to Labour Party. This is notable because Ms Elphicke was one of the most right-wing MPs in the Commons, making her 'crossing the floor' equivalent to a member of the US Freedom Caucus joining the Democratic Party (so cue the WTF?! comments aimed towards Starmer). |
27 | The Taliban announces that they’ll reinstate public flogging and death by stoning as punishments for women found guilty of adultery. |
15 | Vaxzevria, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been voluntarily withdrawn from sale, because the manufacturers believe there are better vaccines available to cope with the current strains. |
10 | John Swinney will become the next First Minister of Scotland after securing the SNP leadership. |
28 | In a move described by the Foreign Press Association in Israel as "a dark day for democracy", Netanyahu's government has shut down Al Jazeera in Israel, and raided their Jerusalem press office. |
14 | UKGov proposes new law to mandate separate male/female toilets in new buildings excepting private homes. No, it's really about dealing with 'the complaints of elderly and disabled people' and not at all about doubling-down on the 'bathroom wars' shite in the vain hope to shore up a Conservative Party which just got whipped in local elections and is cruising into a huge electoral defeat within six months. |
27 | Javier Milei said in an interview for the BBC, that he accepts that the Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands are under British management. A complete reversal of Argentine policy, which says that the islands are under the sovereignty of Argentina. |
13 | Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife have been charged with bribery, among other crimes. |
15 | Ignoring the recent 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that recognises bans on gender-affirming care are unconstitutional, South Carolina has banned gender-affirming care for minors, among other abhorrent rules. |
24 | The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that state bans on gender-affirming care are unconstitutional. |
18 | Hamas negotiators arrive in Cairo for truce talks. William Burns, the chief of the CIA, is also present. |
29 | Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom sees worst loss in decades as European exports collapse |
24 | Two far-right news websites, Human Events and The Post Millennial, hacked with a message saying Andy Ngo came out as trans and leaking the personal information of the contributors. Many government-affiliated emails were signed up. |
29 | Arizona repeals an 1864 law that bans abortion. The state's Supreme Court previously ruled that the law should have been enforced. |
6 | Oklahoma passes a series of laws. Among other things they ban ranked-choice voting, ban homeless camps on public property, tax-incentivize people to be poll workers, and make the soybean an official state symbol. |
19 | A second Boeing whistleblower has died in a short time span. |
23 | Thousands have shown up to protest as the Georgian parliament has advanced the "foreign influence" bill that'd basically allow Georgia to ban and suppress non-governmental organisations and news sources. |
33 | US accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine |
27 | The MP for Ipswich Tom Hunt, who has voted to introduce voter ID laws for British elections, is scrambling around for help after he has discovered he has no such ID on him. Updated: Boris Johnson, whose government demanded voter ID, has also revealed that he tried to vote without the appropriate voter ID. |
April 2024
33 | Two defections prevented Republicans from overriding Governor Kelly's veto on their bill that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors. |
42 | Welsh politicians are considering criminalising lying by politicians. |
13 | Russia Clones Wikipedia, Censors It, Bans Original |
37 | UN investigators said they found remains of North Korean Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles in Kharkiv, Ukraine. This means that Russia has clearly violated North Korean weapons sanctions. |
22 | First Minister Humza Yousaf will resign. He had been facing a no-confidence motion following the collapse of the SNP-Scottish Green coalition deal. |
25 | Cuba is now suffering a new shortage, a shortage of physical cash. Due to a growing black market and triple digit inflation of the peso, many banks and ATMs are unable to dispense their customers' savings. |
20 | A Briton has been charged for masterminding an arson attack against an Ukrainian-linked target in London for the benefit of the Russian state. It has been said that he was recruited by the Wagner Group to commit arson in the UK. |
-8 | Iraq has criminalised homosexual activity, with a maximum of 15 years in prison as punishment. |
23 | Wagner Group mercenaries are now on the hunt for Joseph Kony. |
56 | The FCC votes to restore net neutrality. |
25 | US military begins construction of a temporary pier to deliver aid to Gaza, including food aid. |
-3 | Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction has been overturned. |
47 | Homosexual activity in Dominica is now legal, as they've overturned their anti-sodomy laws. |
22 | US Department of Labor attempts to expand eligibility for overtime pay to millions more workers. |
15 | "Burkina Faso’s military summarily executed more than 220 civilians, including at least 56 children, in two villages in late February, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch." |
22 | The Secret Service are preparing for the possibility of having to protect Trump while he is in jail. |
17 | Mass graves of Palestinians have been found at the Al-Shifa hospital. |
18 | The Gateway Pundit files for bankruptcy. |
11 | Taoiseach Simon Harris has formally apologised in the Dáil to the families and survivors on the government’s handling and response to the Stardust tragedy, a nightclub fire that killed 48 people in 1981. |
10 | An aide of the AfD politician Maximilian Krah has been arrested. Allegedly, he spied on Chinese opposition members and repeatedly passed on secret information from the European parliament to China. Another member of the far-right party, Petr Bystron, is currently being investigated by the Czech secret service for receiving money from the Russian propaganda channel "Voice of Europe". Krah also received "compensations" for "technical expenditures" from the pro-Russian activist Oleg Woloschyn. |
23 | The FTC has voted to ban non-compete clauses. |
23 | Prime Minister Albanese has labelled Musk ‘an arrogant billionaire who thinks he is above the law’ in response for not removing video showing the church stabbing. |
13 | An independent probe has found that Israel hasn't provided any evidence for their bullshit UNRWA allegations. |
13 | Judge throws out Government's case; the accused's crime? To remind jurors at a climate activist trial (with a sign outside the court) that jury nullification is a thing in England & Wales. |
26 | Rolling Stone has revealed that Trump's Save America Super PAC is running out of money, due to Trump's personal legal fees. |
8 | Despite claims that the Biden administration supports Palestinian statehood, leaked cables reveal that the US has been exerting diplomatic pressure on Security Council member states to reject a bid for full Palestinian membership in the UN, contradicting these apparently bullshit claims. Ironic how the US keeps advocating for a two state solution yet keeps rejecting the recognition of one state whilst bootlicking the other. |
13 | In discussing the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, Dmitry Medvedev has proposed reintroducing the death penalty, something that would need a constitutional amendment. While former NRA member and Russian spy, now Duma deputy Maria Butina has proposed extraditing the attackers to Belarus where the death penalty exists. |
31 | The Future of Humanity Institute shuts down. Among other things it claimed to have a goal of reducing existential risks to humanity (earning it funds from Elon Musk among others), and it was associated with the effective altruism movement. |
23 | A man set himself on fire outside the Trump trial. Before doing so he scattered pamphlets about "a 'hellish fascist dystopia' that includes cryptocurrency, climate change, Covid vaccines, Palantir Technologies founder Peter Thiel, artificial intelligence, and 'The Simpsons' cartoon television show." |
33 | Nestlé shareholders reject proposals to change the company's business model to focus on healthier / more nutritious products. Reason; it would possibly cost them some profit. |
17 | Rishi Sunak has plans to strip doctors of their ability to issue sick notes. He claims the U.K. has a "sick note culture" and that benefits have become a "lifestyle choice". No, this is totally not a headline grabbing lash-out at benefit scroungers minus any actual productive help for said people merely to tickle the bellies of Mail and Express readers due to fears of Conservative wipeout in the upcoming general election. |
16 | Israel strikes Iran, possibly at multiple sites. |
21 | Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson introduced separate aid bills for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. This comes with resistance among a few other House Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG), who threatened an attempt to remove Johnson as Speaker due to the standalone Ukraine aid. MTG proposed an amendment to the Israel aid bill, so that it would also fund a "space laser" targeting migrants at the US-Mexico border. |
12 | Republicans in Colorado's state-level Senate block a measure that would have allowed voters to decide via referendum whether child sex abuse victims can be exempted from the statute of limitations — thus allowing them to sue their abusers. The measure required a supermajority and failed by one vote, with Democrats and Republicans all voting party-line. |
19 | Researchers at MIT demonstrate that LLM chatbots can be used to durably persuade some conspiracy theorists to reconsider their beliefs. (Paper here, currently in preprint.) |
26 | Sweden's parliament has passed a law that changes the minimum legal age to change your legal gender from 18 to 16. You also no longer require a gender dysphoria diagnosis. |
22 | SCOTUS just effectively abolished the right to mass protest in three states. |
15 | US House of Representatives delivers articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate. Roll Call suggests he will "almost certainly" not be convicted. Update: The Senate dismissed the articles of impeachment without trial. |
13 | David Cameron, the UK's current foreign minister, says during his visit to Israel: "It's clear the Israelis are making a decision to act", i.e. to retaliate against Iran. The US, UK, and others are likely to impose economic sanctions on Iran in the hopes these "will help persuade Israel to limit the scope of its retaliation." |
22 | Trump on trial in Manhattan for a hush money case. On the second day of the trial, jury selection continued, and many were disqualified because they posted memes mocking Trump online. |
11 | Florida bans city and county governments from mandating heat protections for outdoor laborers beyond state and federal protections. |
15 | Muslim pupil loses High Court challenge to pray at school. The school fought this case on the reason they are strictly secular. However, the headteacher is also the 'Tiger Teacher' who is rigid, authoritarian, treats resistance like a steam-roller does grass and is geared solely towards exams and obedience. |
12 | Eternal ban on purchasing cigarettes for those born on or after 2009 in the UK passed in the Commons. As the opposition Labour Party is also in favour, it is highly unlikely to be scrapped after the upcoming elections (like in New Zealand), making it the first country to potentially have a 'smoke free' generation (unless they take up pipes or cigars). |
11 | 'National Conservatism' conference 'closed' by Brussels police. Cue wails of anguish, 'censorship' and 'thought police' from attendees such as everyone's fave Brits Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman. Closing the thing (if indeed it is closed) could be courting the Streisand effect as reports state attendence was rather low (~250 with a capacity for ~850). A court has now overturned the closure. |
13 | US CDC study finds no link between COVID-19 vaccines and deaths among young people due to heart problems. The analysis looked into death certificates in the state of Oregon, and it also found that of thirty people killed by COVID-19 in the same sample, a majority were unvaccinated. |
20 | 6 dead in Australian knife attack. Police officer manages to kill offender (who was actually armed and a danger to all!) using only 2-3 bullets. UPDATE: The perpetrator has been identified, but not before the usual reactionaries and pro-Putin trolls on social media (particularly Twitter) circulated several false claims attributing the attack to either a Jewish individual or a Muslim. |
30 | Kansas governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a measure to require more reporting from abortion providers, and what she called a "vague" bill making it a crime to coerce someone into having an abortion. The GOP has narrow supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. |
36 | Israel and the United States prepare for a possibly imminent direct military retaliation from Iran, weeks after Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Damascus. (Update: they've done it.) |
26 | Global monthly heat record broken for a tenth consecutive month, "with the past 12 months being 1.58 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels." |
18 | Members of the Swiss far-right SVP have put together a referendum proposal which would effectively end Swiss sanctions on Russia and China, stating that such actions would break the country's strict neutrality. |
36 | Global poverty and inequality have declined dramatically between 1980 and 2019, with both declines accelerating over time. By using a poverty line of $6.85 a day, poverty rates have declined from 60-70% to 50% of the global population. |
47 | O. J. Simpson dies at age 76. |
33 | Sky News has revealed that millionaire hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall, who is the biggest owner of GB News, is quitting as a member of the channel’s executive board. |
41 | Russian troll factories are supplying Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene with talking points against Ukraine. |
38 | The Supreme Court of Arizona has banned abortion in all cases. Gov. Katie Hobbs has denounced the decision. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has has said she won't enforce the law. In fact, this is so bad even Kari Lake denounced the decision. |
7 | It's a newsroom bloodbath in Aotearoa with Newshub, which does the news for TV channel Three and various commercial radio stations, saying it is closing down in July. On the same day, public broadcaster TVNZ said a number of news programmes including Midday, Sunday and Fair Go, are to be cut due to budget issues. |
19 | Chechnya bans all music that's not between 80-116 BPM |
16 | Canada has said it's in talks about joining AUKUS, and it's planning to buy nuclear submarines. |
25 | Ecuadorian police break into the Mexican embassy to arrest former vice president Jorge Glas, who's seeking asylum in Mexico. This is considered a violation of international law. Mexico has ended diplomatic relations with Ecuador over this. |
24 | In New Zealand a "sovereign citizen" is fined for resisting police, having just come from a 21 day jail sentence for contempt of court for disruptive behavior including the usual stuff about not recognizing the authority of the court and similar. |
13 | The Spanish government has said it is following the lead of other countries and introducing plain packaging for cigarettes by the end of the year. |
26 | Bernie Sanders's office in Vermont targeted by arson. Fortunately, no one was injured. |
7 | The courts in the state of Hesse have ordered a chain of human-free digital supermarkets to close on Sundays and public holidays, as they violate Sunday trading laws. |
37 | ‘Severely decreased their sexual intimacy with their husbands’: Indiana appeals court uses Mike Pence’s religious liberty law to block abortion ban |
23 | Björn Höcke has been charged with using a Nazi slogan, again. |
30 | The city of Enid, Oklahoma, has voted out city council commissioner Judd Blevins after it was revealed he was a neo-Nazi who ran a Groyper Twitter account and attended Charlottesville. |
35 | The Israeli army has marked tens of thousands of Gazans as suspects for assassination, using an AI targeting system with little human oversight and a permissive policy for casualties, +972 and Local Call reveal. |
19 | A former Massachusetts city councilor who was charged with possession of child pornography in 2020, has skipped his trial and has been found working for the Russian Army in the War in Ukraine. |
17 | Italian island offers goats up for adoption. |
19 | The Guardian reports that the Conservatives planned to create a “True Blue” app to track party members and allow companies to "geo-market" products to users based on their location. |
32 | The Guardian reports that Truth Social was nearly bankrupt in 2022, but was saved by loans by a Russian-American who was under criminal investigation and a Dominican bank that is used to evade sanctions. |
29 | Amazon is scrapping its “Just Walk Out” feature in its Amazon Go grocery stores, as they revealed that in reality it is just a load of Indian workers watching cameras. |
15 | An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hits the city of Hualien, leaving some buildings to look like the Tower of Pisa. 9 people died and 821 injured and counting. |
15 | The World Central Kitchen has halted its humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip after the IDF struck three of their vehicles, killing seven WCK workers. Bellingcat believes these strikes to have been from low-yield munitions. |
16 | Ukraine lowers military conscription age from 27 to 25. |
20 | Abortion rights and recreational marijuana legalization will be separately put to the test on Florida ballot initiatives this November. The same day, Florida's supreme court has allowed enforcement of the exact 15-week abortion ban which one of said ballot initiatives could overturn. |
25 | Netanyahu has threatened Al Jazeera and other foreign news providers with expulsion by a new security law which will restrict foreign broadcasters. |
26 | 6 killed as Israel strikes Iran embassy annex in Damascus |
-31 | Unraveling Havana Syndrome: New evidence links the GRU's assassination Unit 29155 to mysterious attacks on U.S. officials and their families. A yearlong investigation by The Insider, in collaboration with 60 Minutes and Der Spiegel, has uncovered evidence suggesting that unexplained anomalous health incidents, also known as Havana Syndrome, may have their origin in the use of directed energy weapons wielded by members of Russian GRU Unit 29155. |
38 | Hochdeutsch (hochdeutsch = high German, 'standard' German) has gained another meaning as Germany has formally legalised cannabis. Germans can now possess up to 25g of pot, or have up to three plants at home. |