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G-7 joins EU, caps Russian oil at $60 a barrel
The Group of Seven and Australia have joined the European Union, agreeing to set a price cap of $60 a barrel on Russian oil. It is a crucial step as Western sanctions aim to reorder global oil markets to prevent a price spike and keep President Vladimir Putin from funding his war in Ukraine. Countries need to set the discounted prices other countries will pay by Monday, when the European Union’s embargo on seaborne Russian oil and a ban on insurance for those supplies kicks in. The price cap is designed to prevent a sudden loss of Russian oil to the rest of the world, which could lead to another spike in energy prices.
Democrats move to make South Carolina, not Iowa, first-voting state
Democrats voted to make Iowa the leading state on the presidential nominating calendar starting in 2024, replacing South Carolina. President Joe Biden believes the dramatic shakeup he supports will better reflect the diversity of the party’s electorate. The Democratic National Committee’s rulemaking arm moved Friday to remove Iowa from a position it had held for five years after a tech meltdown sparked chaos and undermined the state’s 2020 caucus results. The move still needs to be approved by the full DNC in a vote early next year, but will almost certainly follow the lead of the rulemaking committee.
Macron heads to New Orleans French Quarter to meet Musk
French President Emmanuel Macron visited the US state of Louisiana, which has the closest historical and cultural ties to France. Macron met with political leaders on Friday and strolled through New Orleans’ historic French Quarter. He stopped next to a street brass band, nodding and clapping as they played “When the Saints March.” Macron also said he met with billionaire Elon Musk for a “clear and honest discussion” about Twitter, days after a senior EU official warned the company must do more to protect users. It was the first visit by a French president to Louisiana since Valéry Giscard d’Estaing visited Lafayette and New Orleans in 1976.
Jury begins deliberations in Harvey Weinstein rape trial
A jury has begun deliberating on Harvey Weinstein’s trial in Los Angeles. Jurors will have to decide on two counts of rape and five other counts of sexual assault after hearing more than four weeks of evidence in the trial of the 70-year-old former movie mogul. Weinstein has served 23 years in New York and could be sentenced to more than 60 years in California if convicted on all counts. He pleaded not guilty and denies engaging in any non-consensual sexual activity. Jurors had just a few hours to deliberate on Friday afternoon before the weekend break.
Infowars host Alex Jones files for personal bankruptcy
Infowars host Alex Jones has filed for personal bankruptcy protection in Texas. Jones cited debts, including nearly $1.5 billion in debt he was ordered to pay to families suing him over his conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook school massacre. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday in Houston. The filing lists debts owed to creditors of $1 billion to $10 billion and assets of $1 million to $10 million. Jones acknowledged the document in his Infowars broadcast. He said the bankruptcy case would prove he was broke, and asked viewers to shop on his website to help keep the show on air.
Amazon has lost 10% of its vegetation in nearly four years
The Amazon region has lost 10 percent of its vegetation in nearly four decades, according to a new report. That’s an area roughly the size of the state of Texas, and from 1985 to 2021, deforestation exploded from 190,000 square miles to 482,000 square miles, and the region suffered unprecedented damage. The loss of vegetation was detailed in a report released Friday by the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information, or Raisg, a coalition of civil society organizations in countries in the region.
Snowden Receives Russian Passport, Oath of Naturalization
Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who escaped prosecution after revealing a top-secret surveillance program, has received a Russian passport and sworn citizenship, Russian news agencies say. The lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, was quoted as saying that Snowden received his passport and was sworn in on Thursday, about three months after Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him citizenship. months later. Friday’s report did not specify whether Snowden had renounced his U.S. citizenship. The United States revoked his passport in 2013, leaving Snowden stranded at Moscow airport for weeks after arriving from Hong Kong, with the aim of traveling to Ecuador. Russia eventually granted him permanent residency. He married American Lindsay Mills in 2017 and the couple have two children.
Nevada toads involved in geothermal power struggle are on the verge of extinction
A small Nevada toad at the center of a legal dispute over a geothermal project was officially declared endangered last spring after U.S. wildlife officials temporarily listed it as a rarely used emergency. The Dixie Valley toad is at risk of extinction, largely because of the approval and commencement of a geothermal development about 100 miles east of Reno, the Fish and Wildlife Service said in formal rules released Friday. Other threats to the quarter-sized amphibian include groundwater pumping, agriculture, climate change, disease and predation by bullfrogs. The provisional listing in April marked the second such emergency action by the agency in 20 years.
via wired source
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