Scott

Ten people have been killed in several avalanches across the Austrian and Swiss Alps over the weekend. Tourists from New Zealand, China and Germany were among the dead at a number of different ski resorts. Austrian authorities put in place a level four avalanche alert - the second highest - following intense snowfall and wind in the area. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64530672

Throngs of people hang outside the American Pain clinic in Boca Raton, Florida, waiting their turn. Inside, a doctor greets them one by one and prescribes them pain medication, a handgun peeking out from under his white coat. American Pain is a one-stop shop, supplying both prescriptions and painkillers. At the door, a hulking bouncer warns people not to snort their pills in the parking lot. That would attract the kind of attention that the clinic’s owners, twin brothers Chris and Jeff George, are trying to avoid. https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/03/us/american-pain-pill-mill-documentary-cec/index.html

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Iran's supreme leader has pardoned "tens of thousands" of prisoners, including many linked to anti-government protests. State media reports the pardons by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came with conditions. The pardons come on the eve of the anniversary of the Islamic revolution in 1979. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64529927

Pakistan's former president General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, has died aged 79. The former leader - who was president between 2001 and 2008 - died in Dubai after a long illness, a statement from the country's army said. He had survived numerous assassination attempts, and found himself on the front line of the struggle between militant Islamists and the West. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64528348

Also here: Yes, Chinese Spy Balloons Flew Over The U.S. When President Trump Was In Office Too https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/02/04/yes-chinese-spy-balloons-flew-over-the-us-when-president-trump-was-in-office-too/?sh=1efb13193ea3

Three Chinese spy balloons entered the US during the Trump administration, but they were never shot down or publicly disclosed. In reporting the latest of the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, The US Department of Defense said three other of these crafts 'briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.' The revelation startled Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense, and comes as Trump and other Republicans claimed he would have shot down the balloon while calling on Joe Biden to resign over the stalled attack on the craft. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11714657/Three-Chinese-spy-balloons-infiltrated-Trump-administration.html

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Rishi Sunak’s plan to scrap thousands of EU laws by the end of this year risks triggering a full-scale trade war between the UK and Brussels, senior figures in the European Union have warned. Letters from leading EU politicians, seen by the Observer, reveal deep concern that the UK is about to lower standards in areas such as environmental protection and workers’ rights – breaching “level playing field” provisions that were at the heart of the post-Brexit trade and cooperation agreement (TCA). In retaliation, EU leaders in the European Commission, the European parliament and the council of ministers are preparing what they call their own “unilateral rebalancing measures” in secret meetings in Brussels. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/04/sunak-risks-full-scale-trade-war-with-brussels-by-scrapping-eu-laws

Chinese balloon live updates: Balloon shot down, search for debris underway A massive Chinese surveillance balloon that moved across the continental U.S. this week has been shot down. The Pentagon has confirmed the balloon was being used for surveillance, disputing China's claim that it was a civilian aircraft used for meteorological purposes. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the balloon didn't pose a physical or military threat, and once it was detected, the U.S. took steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information. https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/china-spy-balloon/?id=96874279

Eyewitness describes the moment US military shot down spy balloon Travis Huffstetler, a local photographer in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said he witnessed the US military shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon Saturday afternoon. He recalled seeing multiple aircraft flying around the balloon for about 20 to 30 minutes, before he saw what he assumed to be a missile come from an airplane that struck the balloon down.

A life-threatening cold spell began to ease its grip on the northeastern United States on Saturday, but only after a new national windchill record was set in New Hampshire. The record was set at Mount Washington Friday night when it felt like minus 108° F thanks to a temperature of minus 46° F and wind gusts of 127 mph. Wind chill records are not historically tracked as closely as temperature records, but the mark would beat what most meteorologists believe to be the US record (minus 105° F in Alaska). https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/04/weather/winter-storm-northeast-new-england-saturday/index.html

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White officer involved in Tyre Nichols arrest fired Preston Hemphill, the white Memphis Police officer who was one of the first cops to confront Tyre Nichols, was fired from the force, the Memphis Police Department announced Friday evening. Hemphill encountered the 29-year-old during a traffic stop on Jan. 7 and allegedly deployed his Taser during the confrontation. In his own body camera video, Hemphill is seen chasing Nichols down the road, but then turns back to the scene of the initial traffic stop. https://www.yahoo.com/gma/white-officer-involved-tyre-nichols-231700130.html

Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan unloaded the House GOP’s first subpoenas a month into the new majority, demanding records about certain Biden administration decisions regarding threats against school officials during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jordan (R- Ohio) on Friday sent subpoenas to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona — requesting a laundry list of documents by March 1, according to a review of the three subpoenas by POLITICO. The subpoenas, which Jordan formally signed Thursday, are linked to a long-held GOP claim that federal agencies “targeted” parents. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/03/jim-jordan-subpoena-biden-administration-00081179

It's not being reported, of that I am pretty sure.

The number of sacked Twitter staff launching legal action against the company "goes up daily", according to a lawyer representing some of them. Lisa Bloom has told the BBC she has already taken on the cases of about 100 former employees but the number is rising. One of her clients, Amir Shevat, told the BBC that Twitter boss Elon Musk had "failed" in his leadership of the firm. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64512053

Maid's son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took $4M for her death Prosecutors at Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial are asking a judge to allow jurors to hear from the son of the family's housekeeper who says Murdaugh promised to take care of them when she died in a fall, but kept a $4 million settlement for himself. For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man — but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over $4 million from his housekeeper’s relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son to cover up his crimes. Prosecutors asked a judge Friday to consider allowing the son of Murdaugh's longtime housekeeper to tell jurors about how after she died in a fall at Murdaugh's home, he promised her family to take care of them and then stole millions in settlements with his insurers. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/maids-son-tells-judge-alex-murdaugh-4m-death-96880449

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Latest jobs report shows even more growth than you think https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/stock-market-news-today-jobs-2323/index.html

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his trip to China after a Chinese spy balloon flew across the US. A senior State Department official said conditions were not right at this time for what would have been the first high level US-China meeting there in years. A Chinese apology was noted, the official said, but described the balloon as a clear violation of sovereignty and international law. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64516218

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I think the main reason is because of the shrapnel that might land. I know the White House has indicated that shooting it down was on the table. Here's a link about a little that is going on with the balloon: Why would China use a spy balloon when it has satellites? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64508086

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