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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether people can sue public officials who block them on social media — a legal question left unresolved in a previous case involving former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. The court took up two separate cases involving much-lower-profile figures: two members of the Poway Unified School District Board of Trustees in southern California and the city manager of Port Huron, Michigan. But the legal dispute is the same: Can blocking someone on social media give rise to a free speech violation under the Constitution’s First Amendment? https://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-takes-legal-spat-165217671.html

The prosecutor leading the investigation of former President Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia said on Monday that she is aiming to announce any indictments by mid-July at the earliest, according to a letter she sent to a top local law enforcement official. In her letter, Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., said that any charges would come during the court term that runs from July 11 to Sept. 1. In January, Ms. Willis said that charging decisions in the investigation were “imminent.” But her timetable has been delayed, in part because a number of witnesses have sought to cooperate as the investigation has neared an end. READ MORE https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/24/us/trump-investigation-georgia.html Archive Link

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Nine European countries are holding a summit Monday aimed at scaling up wind power generation in the North Sea, spurred by the fall-out of the Ukraine war and the push for renewables. Hosted by Belgium in the coastal town of Ostend, the meeting will gather the leaders of EU members France, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen also attending. Norway and Britain will participate, too, though French officials said the UK's energy minister would lead the delegation and not Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who could not make it. READ MORE https://uk.news.yahoo.com/european-summit-aims-scale-wind-075020320.html#:~:text=Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De,%2C by 2050%2C he said.

A group of New York Democrats announced support for federal legislation aimed at regulating lithium-ion battery safety standards after a spate of fires caused by the batteries malfunctioning or overheating. Lithium-ion batteries, found in many popular consumer products like e-scooters and smartphones, have been under scrutiny amid increasing reports of explosive fires triggered by the batteries, which use flammable materials. Support in New York for more safeguards comes after at least seven people were injured when a lithium-ion battery-powered scooter exploded in the Bronx early last month. READ MORE https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/24/us/new-york-lithium-ion-battery-safety-regulations/index.html

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Please stay on topic, which is not about defining the difference between a Buddhist or Nazi Swastika but about the potential victim of a violent hate crime. Jewish student with autism had swastika carved onto his back, mother says

A thread clean up has been made removing a number of posts; Commenting on moderation. Russian Language post Unsubstantiated claims Derogatory comments Off topic trolling Replies to above also removed.

Labour MP Diane Abbott has had the whip suspended following remarks in which she suggested Jewish people do not face racism, but instead suffer prejudice similar to "redheads". Ms Abbott wrote a letter to The Observer newspaper, in response to an article which had the headline: "Racism in Britain is not black and white. It's far more complicated." The Hackney North MP said she was responding to writer Tomiwa Owolade's claims that "Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from 'racism'". https://news.sky.com/story/diane-abbott-accused-of-hateful-antisemitism-after-suggesting-jews-do-not-face-racism-12864141

Only 28 people with “legacy verification” on Twitter signed up for Twitter Blue in the hours after Elon Musk removed their blue checkmarks. Thousands of Twitter users who were bestowed with the once-coveted blue checkmark before Mr Musk implemented the new verification system watched as their ticks vanished on Thursday. But it seems many did not mind the loss, as there was no rush to join Twitter Blue. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/twitter-elon-musk-blue-check-accounts-b2324909.html

The FBI said it is in contact with authorities in Las Vegas after a woman said her Jewish son, who has autism, had a swastika carved onto his back. "We are aware of the incident and are in regular contact with local authorities. If during the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate," the agency said in a statement Saturday. READ MORE https://news.yahoo.com/jewish-student-autism-had-swastika-223558775.html

America’s regions are poles apart when it comes to gun deaths and the cultural and ideological forces that drive them. In reality, the region the Big Apple comprises most of is far and away the safest part of the U.S. mainland when it comes to gun violence, while the regions Florida and Texas belong to have per capita firearm death rates (homicides and suicides) three to four times higher than New York’s. On a regional basis it’s the southern swath of the country — in cities and rural areas alike — where the rate of deadly gun violence is most acute, regions where Republicans have dominated state governments for decades. READ MORE https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/23/surprising-geography-of-gun-violence-00092413

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Off topic troll post and reply removed: Please stay on topic which is, the current climate change that is leading to: Accelerating melt of ice sheets now 'unmistakable'

In mid-January 2021, two men hired by former President Donald Trump’s legal team discussed over text message what to do with data obtained from a breached voting machine in a rural county in Georgia, including whether to use it as part of an attempt to decertify the state’s pending Senate runoff results. The texts, sent two weeks after operatives breached a voting machine in Coffee County, Georgia, reveal for the first time that Trump allies considered using voting data not only to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, but also in an effort to keep a Republican hold on the US Senate.  “Here’s the plan. Let’s keep this close hold,” Jim Penrose, a former NSA official working with Trump lawyer Sidney Powell to access voting machines in Georgia, wrote in a January 19 text to Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, a firm that purports to run audits of voting systems. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/21/politics/trump-georgia-senate-breached-voting-data/index.html

Nowhere is safe from the climate crisis as it drives up temperatures and fuels extreme weather that devastates communities and pushes plant and animal species to the brink. The past eight years were the hottest on record. The growing concentration of planet-heating pollution is sending our world barreling toward irreversible climate tipping points, beyond which some of the most iconic species and ecosystems may no longer be salvageable. Climate change is by no means the only threat many of them face – most are at risk from a slew of other, often human-caused, problems – but its pervasive influence is increasing and adding pressure they can ill-afford. READ MORE https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/04/climate/disappearing-species-lakes-foods-climate-change/

Federal prosecutors have considered charging Hunter Biden with three tax crimes and a charge related to a gun purchase, said two sources familiar with the matter. The possible charges are two misdemeanor counts for failure to file taxes, a single felony count of tax evasion related to a business expense for one year of taxes, and the gun charge, also a potential felony. Two senior law enforcement sources told NBC News about "growing frustration" inside the FBI because investigators finished the bulk of their work on the case about a year ago. https://news.yahoo.com/federal-prosecutors-considered-four-charges-003625301.html

Barry Humphries, the Australian comedian and actor best known for his creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, has died aged 89. In a seven-decade career spanning theatre, television, books and film, Humphries was famed for his absurdist, discomfiting and transgressive humour, poking fun at Australian culture with his cast of personas, some of which would rank among the best-loved comedic creations of all time: Dame Edna Everage, the gaudy, waspish housewife from Moonee Ponds; Sir Les Patterson, the vulgar and boozy Australian cultural attaché; the fundamentally decent and senile Sandy Stone; and archetypal Aussie bloke Barry McKenzie. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/apr/22/barry-humphries-dies-australian-comedian-death-dead-dame-edna-everage-sir-les-patterson

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Tucker Carlson blasted the Biden administration over a controversial plan to allow homebuyers with riskier credit histories to receive mortgage rates lower than those with less risky ones. In doing so, he claimed President Joe Biden’s only job training program for Black people has been to encourage them to sell marijuana. The Fox News host claimed there’s “no data” showing that racism factors into home appraisals despite studies and settled lawsuits indicating otherwise. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/tucker-carlson-claims-biden-has-been-getting-black-people-to-sell-more-weed-in-the-cities/ar-AA1aazOF?ocid=hpmsn

The Texas Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would require the prominent display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, reigniting a debate over the role of religion in schools and parental rights. The measure, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Phil King, states that every public elementary or secondary school must "display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments" starting in September. The Senate passed the bill in a 17-12 vote along party lines. It now heads to the GOP-led House. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ten-commandments-required-public-schools-texas-bill-rcna80936