Scott

Angela Lansbury, the London-born actress who for seven decades brought a commanding, ladylike presence to stage, screen and television — especially over the 12 years she played dauntless mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher on CBS' Murder, She Wrote — has died. She was 96. "The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 a.m. today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday," her family says in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. "In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury," the statement adds. " https://people.com/movies/angela-lansbury-dead-at-96/

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Part of the push to get people vaccinated for influenza is because of the low level of infection during Covid. For those who had influenza prior to Covid or were vaccinated, there is some residual immunity that helps well into the next flu season. Without being vaccinated or infection, a lot of people are going to be left with virtually no influenza-specific immunity cells. That means, we are more easily infected and run the risk of getting sicker. The other factor to remember is that many of us are getting older and running into the time when the immune system is slowing down and not as efficient as it was a few years back.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev attend the 2022 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June. ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- When Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at a ceremony to annex four partially Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine last week, he styled himself as the head of an anti-colonial movement defying Western hegemony. But in the countries of Central Asia that Russia once counted as part of its empire, the holding of what Western governments have termed "sham" referendums on joining Russia in Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya regions has been met either with silence or a proclamation supporting a country's territorial integrity. For Putin, there is a simple reason for this state of affairs -- fear of the sweeping Western-led sanctions that have plunged Russia and its citizens into isolation in the aftermath of Russia's unprovoked invasion. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-annexation-ukraine-central-asia/32065306.html

A police officer in San Antonio, Texas has been fired after shooting a teenager in a McDonald's car park. Police say the officer, James Brennand, arrived at the fast-food joint after receiving a call about a possible disturbance. The officer believed the car the boy was in was a vehicle that had escaped him the night before. The 17-year-old was eating a burger with a friend when the officer opened his door. The boy backed up the car, and struck the officer with the door. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-63209829

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An apparently coordinated denial-of-service attack organized by pro-Russia hackers rendered the websites of some major U.S. airports unreachable early Monday, though officials said flights were not affected. The attacks — in which participants flood targets with junk data — were orchestrated by a shadowy group that calls itself Killnet. On the eve of the attacks the group published a target list on its Telegram channel. While highly visible and aimed at maximum psychological impact, DDoS attacks are mostly a noisy nuisance, different from hacking that involves breaking into networks and can do serious damage. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/airport-websites-hacked-pro-russia-ddos-attack/ http://ropercenter.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/800x600/public/Images/CBS_News_logo8x6.png?h=4c305c5c&itok=01TKY9Ua

An Iranian state broadcaster was allegedly hacked during its nightly news program Saturday, according to the pro-reform IranWire outlet, which shared a clip of the incident. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the 9 p.m. newscast by the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) under Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) was hacked for a few moments by anti-revolutionary elements. The now viral clip of the incident shows IRIB/IRINN airing a segment on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a meeting in the southern city of Bushehr, which was interrupted with a video of a cartoon mask with a beard and heavy brows against a black backdrop. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/09/middleeast/iran-state-broadcaster-hacked-intl-hnk/index.html

The bold way that the GOP — the pro-life party — continues to support Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who allegedly urged an ex-girlfriend to have an abortion and paid for the procedure, is eyebrow-raising to say the least. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told NBC News that he’s “proud to stand with Herschel Walker and make sure Georgians know that he will always fight to protect them from the forces trying to destroy Georgia values and Georgia’s economy, led by Raphael Warnock.” But surely conservative voters must have figured out by now that the GOP has dealt them a dud of a candidate. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/gop-dealt-conservative-georgia-voters-dud-herschel-walker-rcna51495

The former top aide to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows could offer Georgia prosecutors insights about what she witnessed in the West Wing, as well as steps her former boss took specifically when it came to Georgia. Prosecutors have called for Meadows to testify before the special grand jury, but they are still working to secure his testimony. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for late October. Meadows was among the participants on the January 2021 call between Trump and Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, and Meadows also made a surprise visit to a Cobb County location in December 2020, where officials were conducting an absentee ballot signature audit. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/10/politics/cassidy-hutchinson-cooperation-trump-investigation/index.html

I was told by doctor some years back that the flu season in Thailand coincides with the rainy season and so he used to have me get it in May or June. It depended on the availability. He also said that Thailand was a little ahead of the curve because the flu usually was the same strain as what had already gone through the winter surge in Western Countries like the US and Europe. They were able to tweak the vaccines to cover the strain in S.E. Asia. The flu can extend well into the cool season, though.

Just to be clear here's a little about who will benefit: The New York Times reported that the pardons will affect about 6,500 people convicted of simple marijuana possession between 1992 and 2021 under federal law, as well as thousands more under DC code, White House officials said on a call with reporters

SULIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Growing up under a repressive system, Sharo, a 35-year-old university graduate, never thought she would hear words of open rebellion spoken out loud. Now she herself chants slogans like “Death to the Dictator!” with a fury she didn’t know she had, as she joins protests calling for toppling the country’s rulers. Sharo said that after three weeks of protests, triggered by the death of a young woman in the custody of the feared morality police, anger at the authorities is only rising, despite a bloody crackdown that has left dozens dead and hundreds in detention. https://apnews.com/article/iran-health-middle-east-covid-iraq-e390b4d4f825cba822eb1b84f8b4cbe5

The Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Sunday unilaterally cancelled joint military drills between the six nations comprising the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), less than a day before they were due to start on its territory. The Kyrgyz defense ministry did not specify the reason for cancelling the “Indestructible Brotherhood-2022” command and staff exercises, which were set to be held in the country’s windswept eastern highlands Monday to Friday. According to earlier reports, the exercises were set to involve army personnel from CSTO members Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and focus on securing ceasefires. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-asia-kazakhstan-central-tajikistan-8bd4550ca3831c25990165685a92cac6

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color. Biden’s move also covers thousands convicted of the crime in the District of Columbia. He is also calling on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-government-and-politics-2d5e3d9e2cfbbbe3ee114536738894a8

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Dissidents and journalists may have a claim for asylum on the basis of their activities. For those simply evading the draft, they are at risk of being sent back at any time. Much of how countries handle the situation depends on what signals the Russian gov't sends out. If they say anyone returning will not face recriminations, then countries may start returning them once they tire of having a large number of unattached, military age males with a taste for Vodka in their country. However, if Russia makes ominous threats to their safety, then they will be able to apply for asylum. The basis for the claim would be that they will face persecution upon their return.

Countries are under no international obligations to give asylum to people fleeing military service. The UN protocols specifically does not include evading military service. Countries are, of course, free to allow them to stay if they want, but none of them are provided with the designation of UN sanctioned refugees. There are people who are facing conscription and may have other factors that would qualify them for asylum, but not conscription alone.