Social issues

A collection of 1336 posts

Musk Directs Expletive to Fleeing Advertisers

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who also owns X (formerly Twitter), has reportedly used an expletive to blow off advertisers who've left X over an alleged increase in antisemitic content on the social media platform....

Science & technology

Russia's Supreme Court Bans 'LGBT Movement' as 'Extremist'

Russia's Supreme Court designated what it characterized as the 'international LGBT public movement' as extremist on Thursday, immediately outlawing its activities within Russian borders, as the Kremlin ramps up its rhetoric about traditional values and the alleged 'degrading' influence from the W...

Social issues

Sandra Day O'Connor, First Female SCOTUS Justice, Dies at 93

Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the US Supreme Court, has died in Phoenix after having suffered complications of advanced dementia and a respiratory illness. She retired from the court in 2006 after serving for nearly 25 years....

Politics

Chris Christie Says He Would Not Sign a Six-Week Abortion Ban

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Tuesday that he would not sign a six-week abortion ban into law if he were elected president in 2024....

Politics

Henry Kissinger Dies Aged 100

Dr. Henry Kissinger, the renowned but divisive diplomat at the heart of US foreign policy for decades, died at the age of 100 at his Connecticut home on Wednesday, a statement from his consultancy firm confirmed....

Politics

New Zealand's Central Bank Defends Māori Language Use

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Governor Adrian Orr has defended the use of the Māori language within the bank's official communications amid an attempt by the country's new coalition government to reduce the use of indigenous language in favor of English within the public sector....

Social issues

EU Court: Members Can Prohibit Headscarf, Other Symbols in Public Offices

The European Union’s top court ruled on Tuesday that member states can prohibit public employees from wearing overt signs of their religious beliefs. The ruling is most pertinent to the use of Islamic headscarves, which has long been a divisive issue in Europe....

Social issues

CIA Warns Staff About Social Media Use After Official Shares Pro-Palestine Post

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Tuesday sent out an internal email to employees cautioning them against making political statements on social media. This came after a report in the Financial Times made known that a high-ranking CIA official posted a pro-Palestine image on Facebook in ...

Military

Australia to Ban Single-Use Vape Imports From 2024

Australia is set ban the import of all single-use disposable vapes — effective Jan. 1, 2024 — health minister Mark Butler has announced, citing what he described as a 'new generation of nicotine dependency' in the country....

Health

Vermont: Shooter of Students of Palestinian Descent Pleads Not Guilty

Jason J. Eaton, the man accused of shooting and wounding three college students of Palestinian descent, Monday pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempted murder.

Crime & justice

Report: Pentagon Boosting Arsenal of AI-Powered Autonomous Vehicles

After testing out small, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered autonomous surveillance drones in special mission operations and the war in Ukraine, the Pentagon is reportedly seeking to field multiple thousands of AI-enabled autonomous vehicles by 2026 to stay on par with the PRC....

Military

Portland, Ore. Teachers' Strike Ends

More than 40K Portland students Monday returned to classes after the end of the city’s first-ever teachers’ strike, which started Nov. 1....

Social issues

New Zealand to Reverse Generational Smoking Ban

New Zealand's newly-formed coalition government has revealed that it intends to reverse legislation introduced under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to ban cigarette sales in 2024 to individuals born after 2008....

Health

Idaho Seeks SCOTUS Stay to Enforce Abortion Law

Lawyers from the Alliance Defending Freedom, who are representing the state of Idaho, requested Monday that the US Supreme Court grant an emergency stay allowing the state to enforce its Defense of Life Act, which forbids abortion at all stages of pregnancy with exceptions for the life of the mot...

Social issues

Tens of Thousands Participate in London's March Against Antisemitism

Tens of thousands participated in London’s first large-scale demonstration against antisemitism on Sunday since Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7....

Social issues

Officials: Chauvin Expected to Survive Prison Stabbing

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison on Saturday confirmed that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin received hospital treatment after he was attacked and stabbed on Friday by another inmate at Tucson’s Federal Corrections Institution in Arizona....

Crime & justice

Rainbow Bridge Crash Victims Identified as Grand Island Couple

Niagara Falls Police have identified the two victims who died in the Rainbow Bridge crash at the US-Canada border on Wednesday as Grand Island couple Kurt and Monica Villani, both 53.

Social issues

Russia Adds Meta Spokesperson to Criminal Wanted List

Russia's state-run TASS news agency stated on Sunday that the Ministry of Interior has put Andy Stone, the spokesman for Facebook owner Meta, on the federal wanted list under an undisclosed article of the Russian Criminal Code....

Social issues

Three Students of Palestinian Descent Shot, Injured in Vermont

Three 20-year-old college students of Palestinian descent — one of whom is a legal resident and two are US citizens — were shot in the street near the University of Vermont in Burlington on Saturday evening while visiting one of the student's family for Thanksgiving. Police said the attacker,...

Crime & justice

Mexico: Three Kidnapped Journalists Freed

Mexican authorities announced Sunday that three journalists who were recently kidnapped in the southern state of Guerrero had been freed without being harmed by their captors....

Crime & justice

12 Missing After Cargo Ship Sinks Off Greece Coast

A rescue operation is underway to save 12 crew members of a cargo ship — reportedly transporting 6K tons of salt from Alexandria to Istanbul — that capsized in rough waves off Greece's coast early on Sunday....

Social issues

Kashmir Journalist Freed After Nearly 2 Years

Indian authorities on Thursday released the founder and editor of news portal The Kashmir Walla, Fahad Shah, who was arrested in February 2022 on terrorism charges for allegedly publishing 'anti-national content.'...

Social issues

Venice to Trial Entry Fee, Visitor Cap

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has announced that the Italian city will test daily visitor limits and entrance fees starting next spring to regulate the flow of tourists during its busiest tourist season....

Social issues

China to Allow Visa-Free Travel to Citizens From 6 Countries

China's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Spain will be exempt from visas for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, or transiting for up to 15 days from Dec. 1 until Nov. 30 next year....

Social issues

Wave of Sexual Assault Allegations Filed as New York Law Expires

A wave of high-profile sexual misconduct allegations poured in over the last few days just as a New York law that opened up a one-year window to report sexual abuse, regardless of the statute of limitations, was set to expire....

Crime & justice