Book ban lawsuit moves forward as Florida district removes over 1,000 titles

ABC News
New report says nearly 140 school districts are implementing book bans
Duration 2:40  View on Watch

A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit challenging book bans in Escambia County, Florida, can move forward on the same day the county released an updated list of more than 2,800 individual books that have been pulled from shelves for review.

U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II ruled on Wednesday that book publisher Penguin Random House, free expression PEN America, authors, and families of Escambia County had standing to pursue their claims under the First Amendment because those protections are implicated when officials remove books based on ideology or viewpoint. However, they were denied to pursue the claims under the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

"We are gratified that the Judge recognized that books cannot be removed from school library shelves simply because of the views they espouse, and are looking forward to moving forward with this case to protect the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs," Lynn Oberlander of Ballard Spahr, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Escambia County has released a list of 2,812 books -- totaling more than 1,500 titles -- that have been pulled from shelves for "further review" of their compliance under House Bill 1069 which limits discussion of gender and sexual orientation in grade school as of Jan. 10. These books include "The World Book encyclopedia," "100 Women Who Made History: Remarkable Women Who Shaped Our World," "Africa (Cultural Atlas for Young People)" and more.



Students and others attend a rally to protest Florida education policies outside Orlando City Hall, April 21, 2023, in Orlando, Fla.© Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The previously released round-up of books to be reviewed included Merriam-Webster's dictionary and Webster's dictionary and thesaurus.

The lawsuit was brought forward in May 2023 by Penguin Random House, PEN America, authors and families of Escambia County who argue that the school board's removal and restriction of books violates the First Amendment.

The lawsuit claims the county violated the First Amendment rights of the students, authors, and publishers by "removing books 'based on ideological objections to their contents or disagreement with their messages or themes.'"

Several authors whose books have been impacted by book bans across the country, including David Levithan, George M. Johnson and Ashley Hope Pérez, are backing the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges, that in every decision to remove a book, "the removals have disproportionately targeted books by or about people of color and/or LGBTQ people, and have prescribed an orthodoxy of opinion that violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments."MORE: School culture wars push students to form banned book clubs, anti-censorship groups

The Board argued in its motion to dismiss the case that it has not banned any books, rather it "'removed from its own school libraries [books] that the Board had purchased for those libraries with Board funds. It [has] not prohibit[ed] anyone else from owning, possessing, or reading the book[s].'"


The school board claims it "has the ultimate authority to decide what books will be purchased and kept on the shelves of the schools in the district," according to the motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

House Bill 1069 expanded the Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law by critics from prekindergarten through grade 8. It was passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May 2023.

From grades 9 through 12, such content must be "age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

Recent legislation in Florida, including the Parental Rights in Education Bill and the Stop WOKE Act, have led to restrictions and removals of books across the state.

The Stop WOKE Act restricts lessons and training on race and diversity in schools and in the workplace, particularly anything that discusses privilege or oppression based on race. WOKE in the bill stands for "Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees."


Between January 1 and August 31, 2023, the American Library Association recorded 695 attempts to ban library materials and services, affecting 1,915 different book titles. The organization said this marked a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022, which saw the highest number of book challenges since ALA began compiling the data more than 20 years ago.

Most of the book challenges in 2023 were against books written by or about a person of color or a member of the LGBTQ community, according to the ALA.

To comply with HB 1069, Escambia County has subject books in school and classroom libraries to be reviewed by district book review committees and the school board.

In several cases, the books approved for use by the district book review committees have been rejected and removed or restricted by the school board. This includes the titles of "All Boys Aren't Blue," by George M. Johnson, "Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, "Lucky" by Alice Sebold, "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, "Push" by Sapphire, and others.


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks about his new book "The Courage to Be Free" in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, March 5, 2023, in Simi Valley, Calif.© Mario Tama/Getty Images, FILE

Dozens of books that were challenged by community members were requested by one person, an English teacher at a high school in Escambia County. She cites "indoctrination," "sexual content," "violent language," and "LGBTQ content" among her objections in the more than 100 complaints.

"Ensuring that students have access to books on a wide range of topics and that express a diversity of viewpoints is a core function of public education — preparing students to be thoughtful and engaged citizens," said PEN America in a statement on the lawsuit.

Escambia County officials did not immediately respond to ABC News requests for comment.

Here are the corporations who donated over $108 million to election deniers since Jan. 6

Story by Carl Gibson • ALTERNET

PLAINVILLE, GEORGIA - MAY 20: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

© provided by AlterNet

In the wake of the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in which a mob of far-right rioters attempted to violently disrupt Congress' certification of the 2020 Electoral College count, numerous corporations vowed publicly to stop donating to Republicans who supported the rioters' cause.

However, a new report from nonpartisan campaign finance research group Open Secrets shows that corporations have been flooding the campaign war chests of Republican election deniers in Congress, with more than $108 million donated since the insurrection.

"Companies pledged to pull back, but we have not seen that play out," Open Secrets investigations manager Anna Massoglia recently told the New York Times.

To come to that amount, Open Secrets tracked donations to the campaigns of the 147 House and Senate Republicans (also known as the "Sedition Caucus") who voted to overturn the 2020 election the same day supporters of former President Donald Trump ransacked the US Capitol, killing five police officers and injuring hundreds more in the process. Researchers then zeroed in on donations that came from approximately 1,400 business political action committees and trade associations.

According to Open Secrets, PACs and trade groups donated roughly $91.4 million to the Sedition Caucus in the three years since the insurrection, and funded leadership PACs affiliated with Sedition Caucus members to the tune of $16.7 million more. Some of the biggest donors include the National Association of Realtors — a trade group for the real estate industry — the American Bankers Association and United Parcel Service. Other major corporate donors to election deniers include military contractors like Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and General Atomics.

Notably, many of these donations came from the very same companies that pledged to stop supporting the Sedition Caucus. As journalist Judd Legum reported in his newsletter Popular Information, household name brands like Airbnb, Amazon, AT&T, Boeing and Pfizer publicly vowed to cut off donations to election deniers in 2021. However, Open Secrets found that all of those companies quietly resumed donations, in addition to other companies that pledged to stop supporting 2020 election conspiracy theorists like Comcast, Deloitte, General Motors, Home Depot, Marathon Petroleum, Raytheon and SpaceX, among others.

"Support for these organizations does not represent an endorsement for all issues that the organization supports," General Motors said of a 2021 donation to the Republican State Leadership Committee, which signed a statement in support of election denialism.

READ MORE: Media's 'performative neutrality' about Jan. 6 helps Trump threaten democracy: columnist

Click here to read Open Secrets' full report.

ITALY
Hundreds of far-right activists give Nazi ROMAN salute at a rally in chilling scenes

Story by Gergana Krasteva • METRO UK

If you thought that this was archival footage from Germany during the Second World War, then you would be wrong; this is present day Italy during Giorgia Meloni’s premiership.

Hundreds of people were filmed giving a fascist salute during a rally in Rome without any police intervention.

A video circulating on social media showed the crowd raising their arms in a Nazi-style salute while chanting in front of the former headquarters of the now defunct neo-fascist Italian Social Movement party (MSI).

The event on Sunday commemorated the killing of three neo-fascist teenagers in the Italian capital in 1978.

Under Italy’s post-war legislation, use of fascist symbolism, including the straight-armed salute, is prohibited.

Known as the Roman salute, the hand gesture has long been considered a symbol of fascisms despite its origins in ancient Roman.


People appear to give the banned fascist salute during a rally in Rome, Italy (Picture: AP)© Provided by Metro

Opposition politicians in Italy demanded that the government explain why police did not stop the rally.

Elly Schlein, a member of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies and secretary of the centre-left Democratic Party, wrote on Facebook: ‘Rome, January 7, 2024. And it feels like 1924.

‘Neo-fascist organizations should be dissolved, according to the Constitution.’

Schlein and others outraged by the use of the fascist-salute noted with irony that last month, when a theater-goer at La Scala’s opera house’s premier shouted ‘Long live anti-fascist Italy’ The man was quickly surrounded by police from Italy’s anti-terrorism squad.

‘If you shout “Long live anti-fascist Italy” in a theater, you get identified; if you go to a neo-fascist gathering with Roman salutes and banner, you don’t,’ said Schlein in a post of the social media platform X.

Then she added: ‘Meloni has nothing to say?’

Bringing up the issue in Parliament, the politician said: ‘It is embarrassing that the silence of Giorgia Meloni is unable to say a word of condemnation about the rally on January 7 in Acca Larentia, she cannot distance herself from her past, of which she is hostage.’

Meloni came to power in 2022 as Italy’s first female prime minister at the head of a coalition, giving the country its most right-wing government since Mussolini’s.


Leaders of the country’s tiny Jewish community also expressed dismay over the fascist salute.

‘It is right to recall the victims of political violence, but in 2024 this cannot happen with hundreds of people who give the Roman salute,’ Ruth Dureghello, who for several years led Rome’s Jewish community, wrote on X.

Mussolini’s anti-Jewish laws helped pave the way for the deportation of Italian Jews during the German occupation of Rome in the latter years of the Second World War.

#METOO

7 years after Weinstein, commission finds cultural shift in Hollywood but less accountability

NEW YORK (AP) — A new survey of the entertainment industry finds that the culture of Hollywood has shifted in the years since the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and the launch of the #MeToo movement, but many still don't trust that sexual harassers will be held accountable.

The Hollywood Commission, chaired by Anita Hill, was founded in 2017 to help stop workplace harassment and discrimination in the entertainment industry. On Thursday, it released its second survey, pulled from interviews with more than 5,200 anonymous industry workers, of how behavior and attitudes are changing in Hollywood

“There has been increased awareness of what the problems are, what behaviors are acceptable and what behaviors aren’t acceptable, and what the systems are for confronting those problems,” Hill said in an interview. “Now, people are understanding that this is a systemic problem.”

The study, conducted over 2022 and 2023, follows a similar survey carried out in 2019-2020. It found that 82% of workers are aware of unacceptable behaviors in the workplace, a 6% increase compared to in 2020. Some 74% of workers said they're aware of how to share their concerns about workplace conduct, up 6% from 2020.

Yet just 31% of entertainment workers believe it's likely that a powerful harasser will be held accountable. Among women, that percentage is just 27% and has remained largely unchanged in recent years.

Some 41% of workers who experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct said they chose not to report it because they did not think anything would be done. That's an increase from 33% in 2020. Still, among those who did report concerns, 66% said that, based on their experience, they would encourage others to do the same. That's up from 62% in 2020.

“Accountability has been a problem,” said Hill. “What we're seeing now is that people recognize that those high-profile cases are out there, but they don't see those cases having much of an impact that work their way down through their organizations.”

Reports of workplace misconduct remain high, and haven't changed much in the last four years, according to the survey. Some 64% of women said they experienced situations of sexual harassment, down from 67% in 2020. Among men, the percentage has remained 62%.

Perspective also matters. White cisgender men were much more likely to have a positive outlook on workplace environment (80%) than other respondents (62%).

Hill, who has battled workplace sexual harassment since her 1991 accusations against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, believes increased awareness leads to stronger systems and more trust in them. “Culturally,” she says, “there is movement.”

“This is a problem that has gone on probably since the entertainment industry came into being,” says Hill. “It's not something that's going to turn around overnight. But it will happen in large and small ways if we continue to push for the change.”

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press

U.S. Congressional Republicans unveil 'Plan for Victory in Ukraine'

SURRENDER IS NOT AN OPTION

© RBC-Ukraine (CA)

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have released a document titled "Proposed Plan for Victory in Ukraine," outlining how the United States should assist Ukraine and criticizing President Joe Biden's administration.

The plan was developed by three Republican-led committees in the House of Representatives: the Foreign Affairs Committee led by Michael McCaul, the Armed Services Committee led by Mike Rogers, and the Intelligence Committee led by Mike Turner. Although the document was drafted at the end of the previous year, discussions about it have only recently begun.

The 28-page plan features current dictators on its cover: Vladimir Putin, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Xi Jinping, and Ali Khamenei. The text is divided into five sections: The Threat, Proposed Plan for Victory, Oversight, Burden Sharing, and a Timeline of Biden’s Deadly Delays in Sending Weapons to Ukraine.

According to the document's authors, Russia and an alliance comprising China, Iran, and its "puppets" (referring to groups like HAMAS and Hezbollah) are attempting to undermine U.S. interests worldwide. Republicans argue that their goal is to weaken the U.S. economy, dissolve key alliances, and establish totalitarianism as a global order.

Republicans believe that Biden's mantra of supporting Ukraine "for as long as it takes" is a losing strategy. They want the White House to present a victory plan and provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons for the fight.

According to Republicans, the path to victory for Ukraine includes:

providing critical weapons to Ukraine at the speed of relevance tightening sanctions on the Putin regime transferring frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine.

Congress members emphasize the need for oversight of American aid, acknowledging that checks have not revealed any violations. They also scrutinize the size of U.S. assistance to Ukraine, highlighting that the U.S. lags behind European countries.

Delay in funding

On October 1, the U.S. Congress passed a temporary budget bill, excluding new funding for Ukraine, which was to be considered separately. Following this, President Joe Biden proposed allocating $106 billion to Congress, with the majority ($60 billion) intended for Ukraine aid. The package also included assistance for Israel.

After prolonged debates, the U.S. approved a new temporary budget for the government without aid for Ukraine and Israel. Biden signed the law, averting a shutdown.

Debates are ongoing in the U.S. regarding strengthening the border with Mexico. Republicans demand the passage of immigration legislation, threatening not to support funding for Ukraine.

The White House expects Democrats and Republicans to reach an agreement in January 2024.

'Sabotage' as raging inferno rips through plant producing armour for Putin's troops

Story by Jasper King • METRO UK

A massive fire near Moscow has destroyed a plant that supplies body armour for Vladimir Putin’s troops.

Video footage shows flames engulfing the plant on Entuziastov Avenue, Obukhovo, in the Moscow region this morning, and no casualties have been reported.

Law enforcement in Russia is investigating whether the inferno was caused by an act of sabotage or arson.

The fire has destroyed 86,000 feet of a warehouse and a workshop.

Workers were evacuated from the plant just as it took hold and more than 100 firefighters tried to save the key production line.

It has been sanctioned by Ukraine for its production of polymer products as well as body armour, helmets, protective shoes and other items.

The destruction of strategic facilities is now a regular occurrence since the war in Ukraine started in 2022.

Ukraine struck a Russian gunpowder plant and missile factory in a suspected kamikaze drone attack in November 2023.



The massive fire broke out at a production facility in Obukhovo in the Moscow region (Picture: Emergency Ministry/east2west news)© Provided by Metro



Russian authorities are investigating whether the inferno was an act of sabotage or arson (Picture: Social media/east2west news)© Provided by Metro

Footage showed an explosion and massive fire at the gunpowder plant in Tambov region.

Locals heard an explosion before the giant blaze at the facility which supplies ammunition to the Russian army.

Russia also accused Ukraine of carrying out ‘an act of nuclear terrorism’ after a power plant was targeted in a drone attack in October 2023.

A Ukrainian drone reportedly hit a nuclear waste storage facility at a site in Kursk, western Russia.

The Russian foreign ministry said the strike risked causing ‘a full-scale nuclear catastrophe’ that would have ‘affected many countries’.

And last month a train containing munitions from North Korea was blown up by Ukrainian special forces operating deep behind enemy lines.

The oil train went up in flames after explosives were detonated inside a nine-mile-long tunnel in Siberia- the longest in Russia.

Successive explosions are then said to have happened on a bridge in Russia’s far east.

Election-denying N.C. governor candidate has secret ties to Ginni Thomas

Story by Travis Gettys  •  RAW STORY

Mark Robinson speaks during a press conference in Raleigh on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. - Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer/TNS© provided by RawStory

North Carolina's election-denying lieutenant governor met privately with Ginni Thomas, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, shortly before declaring that President Joe Biden "stole the election."

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, now the frontrunner in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary, took part in a private meeting with Thomas weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to a copy of his official schedule produced through a Freedom of Information Act request by The Daily Beast.

It's not clear what the pair discussed in their March 30, 2021, meeting or who else participated, but the lieutenant governor's calendar note indicates that he met with Thomas and the Frontliners for Liberty group that she runs.

Frontliners for Liberty initially started out as a Facebook group that described itself as a "liberty-focused, action-oriented group of state leaders representing grassroots armies," but it eventually transformed into a nexus for right-wing activists trying to keep Donald Trump in power – even after the vanquished ex-president left office.

ALSO READ: Birtherism is back. But these top GOPers are tired of Trump’s citizenship conspiracies.

The House Select Committee investigated Thomas' group as part of its sprawling Jan. 6 probe and found that Trump attorney John Eastman spoke to the group in December 2020 at her invitation about “state legislative actions that can reverse the media-called election for Joe Biden," according to a meeting agenda obtained through a court order.

Related video: Former judge: ‘Clarence Thomas will recuse himself when Ginni flies’ (MSNBC)  Duration 3:06   View on Watch

Thomas emailed dozens of state legislators in both Arizona and Wisconsin in November and December 2020 urging them to set aside Biden's election win and choose their own electors for Trump, according to communications obtained by watchdog groups and media organizations.

The Frontliners group continued their efforts to undermine Biden's election win for at least two months after his inauguration, including a gathering three weeks before Thomas' meeting with Robinson that featured a speech by conservative pundit C.L. Bryant.

“There is a robbery that is going on in this country right now,” Bryant said, according to a Washington Post report on the March 6, 2021, meeting. “In fact, I say it to you and I’ll say it loud and clear, and I’m not ashamed to say it. I won’t bite my tongue. I do believe that Donald John Trump is the only legitimate president.”

Governor hopeful quoted Hitler and downplayed the Holocaust in unearthed posts: report

Sky Palma
October 25, 2023 

(Anthony Crider/Flickr)

Lieutenant governor of North Carolina and a leading Republican candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, quoted Hitler and downplayed the Holocaust in an unearthed Facebook post, according to a new report.

Robinson has a long history of regurgitating antisemitic conspiracy theories and downplaying of the Holocaust, according to Jewish Insider. But at a press conference two weeks ago, he denied that he is antisemitic.

Robinson said his past social media posts had been dealt with and he had "moved past" them.

But he has been hit with new accusations that, in a Facebook post, he quoted Hitler and suggested the horror of the Holocaust wasn't as bad as the abuses of communism. He also compared the removal of Confederate statues to anti-Jewish pogroms in 1930s Europe, the Jewish Insider reported.

“We often speak of the 'appeasement’ of Hitler. But the biggest ‘appeasement’ of ALL TIME is how we turned a blind eye to the clear and present danger of MARXISM,” Robinson said in a post from 2019.

READ MORE: ‘We are at war’: Anti-trans activists lock arms with North Carolina GOP gubernatorial frontrunner

“It is EXTREMELY distressing that many well-meaning and intelligent people are so focused on long dead Hitler while the living political descendants of Stalin are currently fighting to destroy our REPUBLIC,” he wrote in a separate post days earlier.

Some GOP activists are worried that the discovery of more comments will hurt Robinson's chances of winning the governor race.

"The lieutenant governor, whom polls show as the front-runner, is now facing five Republican primary challengers, including Bill Graham, a wealthy trial lawyer who announced his campaign last week, vowing to spend millions of his own money," Jewish Insider reported. "The winner is expected to face off against a Jewish Democrat, Josh Stein, who is the state’s attorney general. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is term-limited."

Read the full report over at Jewish Insider.



The GOP candidate who believes Beyoncé is 'Satanic' and America is ruled by lizard people
Matthew Chapman
August 22, 2023 9:05AM ET





(AFP)

Far-right North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican frontrunner to become the state's governor, has far more extreme conspiracy theory beliefs than were previously known, the Huffington Post revealed this week.

According to the report, Robinson has pushed a number of bizarre theories on Facebook, including that the music industry is controlled by Satan. He claimed that Beyoncé's songs sound like "Satanic chants" and that, "Her songs sound like they say stuff like 'satan laughs as you rot in hell' if play them backwards. SUPER WEIRD!!!!!"

He also claimed that Jay-Z is a "demonic stooge of Satan" who pledged to lead "as many people as possible" away from Jesus in exchange for fortune and fame," according to the report.

But that isn't even the end of it, Huffington Post reported.

Robinson has also claimed that the 2014 kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by terror group Boko Haram was orchestrated by billionaire philanthropist George Soros — a frequent target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. And he has on multiple occasions backed not just the extremist QAnon movement, which believes that America is controlled by Satanic pedophiles, but also the "New World Order" theory, which claims that the world will be subject to forced depopulation by a secret order of lizard people who are trying to impose the Biblical end times on civilization.

This comes after a number of other extreme beliefs by Robinson have come to light, including a vehement hatred of LGBTQ people, the idea the survivors of the Parkland school shooting sold their souls to the devil for fame, and the belief that children below fifth grade should not be taught science and history.

Republican consultants are reportedly fearful that Robinson could become a serious liability for their efforts to retake the governorship of North Carolina, which has been held by Democrats for two terms under Roy Cooper. Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein is currently the leading candidate for governor on the Democratic side.

Democracy to be put to the test in host of 2024 elections — headlined by U.S.

Story by Chris Iorfida • CBC

Dozens of elections are scheduled to take place across the globe this year, with more possible, including in seven of the world's 10 most populous countries, such as India, Russia, Mexico and Pakistan.

None have more potential to upend the global order than the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5, according to Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group. The think-tank ranks the U.S. political system as the top global risk for 2024.

Bremmer told CBC's Power and Politics this week that in addition to the country's military, diplomatic and economic clout, "Democrats and Republicans not sharing the same basic understanding of facts" heightens the stakes of the vote.

The U.S. is "the one advanced democracy that does not have the ability to assure a legitimate free and fair transfer of power," said Bremmer.

Donald Trump's determination to stay in office and refusal to admit defeat in 2020 by raising unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud, along with the decentralized nature of the U.S. electoral college system, led a violent mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to threaten the certification of Joe Biden's victory.

There are fears of a repeat, with Trump, again a candidate, warning this week of "bedlam in the country" if he is not found immune from prosecution amid the criminal indictments he faces. Meanwhile, in a recent interview, influential Republican House member Elise Stefanik refused to guarantee she would certify a Democratic win in 2024.

Bremmer predicted that Washington, D.C., would be "locked down" to prevent a repeat of Jan. 6, but said the threat of immediate violence if Biden retains power is greater "in red states, in purple states, in states that are heavily contested and have large numbers of loyalists for Trump, many of whom are gunned up."

Just this week, prosecutors and judges overseeing Trump cases have reportedly been subjected to swatting incidents.

If Trump wins, he has promised to govern in a more authoritarian way, stocking agencies with loyalists over career civil servants, while pursuing criminal prosecutions of perceived rivals.

In terms of foreign policy, a shift from Biden back to the Republican Party would likely see the tenor of support from Washington change with respect to the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine — the Eurasia Group's next top two risks for 2024. Support for international alliances like NATO and for immigration and open global trade could also turn — Trump's rhetoric on refugees has been ratcheted up even from his first term, which saw separations of families arriving at the border.

Will keeping tabs on the political mood in the U.S., Canada will cast an eye further south on June 2, in an election involving USMCA trade pact partner Mexico.



Claudia Sheinbaum, the mayor of Mexico City, speaks during a press conference in the capital on Jan. 20, 2023, as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador looks on. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images)© Provided by cbc.ca

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador departs after one term, per Mexico's constitution. He has given a greater role to the military in operations traditionally held by police and other entities, as the country combats deadly violence fuelled by the drug trade. He also nationalized the production of energy and resources like lithium.

The Mexican vote will likely result in the country's first female president, as the top two candidates are former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, who is supported by Obrador, and former opposition senator Xochitl Galvez.

More than 50 countries that combined are home to half the planet's population are due to hold national elections in 2024, with huge implications for human rights, economies, international relations and prospects for peace in a volatile world.

Here's a look at some of the other votes.
Impactful Asian votes

A third consecutive win for William Lai's Democratic People's Party in Taiwan on Saturday over the opposition Nationalist Party could test the patience of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Lai, who is currently vice-president, has promised to strengthen the island's defences.

Beijing has renewed its threat to use military force to annex the self-governing island it regards as its territory. Through its Taiwan Affairs Office, China has branded Lai "a hoodlum to the extreme."


Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, right, hopes to be succeeded by Democratic Progressive Party candidate William Lai, left. The pair are seen at a rally Thursday in Taipei City, Taiwan. (Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)© Provided by cbc.ca

Washington provides substantial arms to Taiwan, and President Biden has promised the U.S. would help defend it in the event of an attack.

Pakistan's Feb. 8 parliamentary election is being contested under the eye of the country's powerful military and in a climate where political rivals are frequently prosecuted.


Former prime minister Imran Khan is imprisoned, and election officials blocked him from running, while his rival, three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was allowed on the ballot after his corruption convictions were overturned.

Indonesia President Joko Widodo makes way after a decade in office on Feb. 14, with Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, a right-wing nationalist, competing against Ganjar Pranowo, whose running mate is Widodo's son. While Indonesia is considered Southeast Asia's largest democracy, corruption-tainted politics have been the norm since the end of the country's dictatorship in 1998.



Supporters hold portraits of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Modi is looking to secure a third straight term in office later this year. (Ajit Solanki/The Associated Press)© Provided by cbc.ca

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has strengthened India's position as an economic power through two terms in office, according to his supporters. Critics say assaults on free speech, as well as Hindu nationalist attacks on religious minorities, have grown brazen on his watch.


Despite previous losses, it appears Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party will oppose Modi again in the election, which is due by mid-2024.
Autocrats keep up pretense

In some countries, the balloting will not be free or fair, and questionable at best.

On Monday in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth successive term. The opposition parties boycotted the Bangladesh vote, as many of their politicians have been jailed on charges they say are politically motivated.



Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, shakes hands in Minsk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 23, 2023. Each is expected to maintain a decades-long grip on power in elections this year. (Konstantin Zavrazhin/AFP/Getty Images)© Provided by cbc.ca

The U.S., overwhelmed by migrants arriving at the southern border through Central America, will be monitoring a Feb. 4 vote in El Salvador.

President Nayib Bukele has won widespread support from the public since using emergency powers for an aggressive crackdown on drug gangs. But he has been criticized for intimidation tactics that have evoked the country's ultra-violent political past, such as bringing in troops to the legislative assembly amid a dispute with the opposition in 2020.

A Supreme Court filled by his party's appointees cleared Bukele to run on Feb. 4, despite a constitutional ban on presidents serving two consecutive terms. Bukele is not expected to face serious competition.

Russian President Vladimir Putin faces only token opposition in his bid for a fifth term on March 15. His main rival, Andrei Navalny, is imprisoned.

Putin supporter Alexander Lukashenko is likely to remain the only president Belarus has known in its 30-year history on Feb. 25. Lukashenko's government crushed protests during a disputed 2020 election season, and main rival Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania. She was later sentenced to prison in absentia.
Britain to set date?

Elections in June for the parliament of the 27-nation European Union will be a sign of whether traditional parties can see off populist rivals, many of which are skeptical of military support for Ukraine.

In Britain, which is no longer part of the EU, the ruling Conservatives must call an election by Jan. 28, 2025. The party has held power for 14 years under five prime ministers, including Rishi Sunak, who has hinted at a vote in the second half of 2024.


British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, centre, meets members of the public on Jan. 5 at Altrincham Market in Manchester, England. It is expected Sunak will be stepping up campaign-style events as 2024 proceeds. (Jacob King/The Associated Press)© Provided by cbc.ca

On the campaign trail, Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer will look to highlight the instability of his rivals, as well as the country's lagging economic recovery in comparison to its G7 partners since the outbreak of the pandemic.

In West Africa, Senegal is regarded as a bastion of stability in a region that has seen eight military coups since 2020, including last year in Niger and Gabon. With President Macky Sall stepping down, his country's Feb. 25 election is seen as an indicator of Senegal's resilience.

Volcanic 'Superstructure' Forming Under Pacific Ocean Is Larger Than Idaho, Scientists Find

Story by Richard Burkard • 1d

Knewz.com

The old phrase that “they’re not making any more land” isn’t true. Volcanoes can do it, even underwater.

Knewz.com has learned new details about a plateau in the western Pacific Ocean. It doesn’t qualify as “land” by definition, because it’s not on the surface. But it’s a ridge that’s growing in size.


A© Knewz (CA)

Scientists call it the Melanesian Border Plateau. And research being published Monday, January 15, offers to call the source of it “Oceanic Mid-Plate Superstructure.”

“An OMS constitutes a volcanic structure… that was built through multiple pulses of volcanism,” a study in the journalEarth and Planetary Science Letters says.

The plateau “contains at least 25 distinct volcanic structures,” the study based at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas adds. It admits the exact age of the structures is not known, but may have begun about 120 million years ago.

Study leader Dr. Kevin Konrad led a team of researchers in 2013 to collect rock samples from the plateau area, which is east of the Solomon Islands.



The Melanesian Border Plateau sits east of the Solomon Islands. By: MEGA© Knewz (CA)

Konrad told the Live Science website that some samples of the Pacific Ocean can appear like one massive magma event occurred.

But "sometimes when we sample these features in detail, we realize they're actually built over multiple pulses over tens of millions of years and wouldn't have significant environmental impacts,” Konrad said.

Scientists say undersea explosions are important because they could explain how creatures became extinct long ago.

They also can create scientific “hotspots,” where heated material rises from the bottom of the ocean. Scientists believe that’s how the Hawaiian islands were formed.

Konrad and his team believe that’s happening now with the Samoan Islands, after an undersea chain of mountains called a “seamount” somehow eroded and drifted over a hotspot.



A beach in Samoa. Scientists think the island chain is stIll growing due to undersea activity. By: MEGA© Knewz (CA)

The plateau that is Konrad’s focus is huge. By one measurement, its size is larger than Idaho, which is the 14th largest state.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration is researching other hotspots and seamounts in the South Pacific.

"As we sample in more detail, we're going to find more complexity,” Konrad said.

Konrad was involved in a similar study published in October 2018. It focused on whether changes in tectonic plates below the oceans make hotspots and volcanic plumes adjust.

The Science website estimated in April 2023 that more than 19,000 new underwater volcanoes had been found around the world. That was in addition to 24,000 reported in a 2011 census.


The USS San Francisco returns to port in Guam in 2005 after hitting a seamount. By: MEGA© Knewz (CA)

But a study admitted there could be many more, as only one-fourth of the ocean floor has been mapped.

The USS San Francisco submarine collided with one of them in 2005, killing a crew member. Then the USS Connecticut struck one in the South China Sea in 2021.

Hikers discover 72-million-year-old sturgeon skull in Edmonton River Valley

Story by Caley Gibson • 22h

A fragment of a 72-million-year-old sturgeon was discovered in Edmonton's River Valley in February 2023.© Global News

A fragment of a 72-million-year-old sturgeon has been unearthed in Edmonton’s River Valley.

The discovery was made by hikers in Capilano Park in February 2023.

What they thought might be a fragment of dinosaur skin turned out to be a skull belonging to an ancient sturgeon.

Researchers at the University of Alberta believe the fish would have been two metres long when it was alive.

This is the first new species of fossil fish discovered within Edmonton, according to researchers, who have named the species Boreiosturion labyrinthicus. The name references the labyrinth or maze-like patterns on the skull.

Luke Nelson, co-author of a study recently published about the find, said the most interesting thing about the new sturgeon fossil is the distinct patterns on the back of its skull.

“There are three unique patterns, different from anything previously described from the time period,” Nelson said. “This is from a part of the Cretaceous Period from which we didn’t have any North American sturgeon before."

Sturgeons are found in North American freshwater environments and still exist and live in the North Saskatchewan River as a protected species.

The freshwater Horseshoe Canyon Formation, where Capilano Park now lies, took shape roughly 72.2 to 73 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.

U of A researchers say this fossil fills a gap in what is known about the distribution of sturgeons during the end of the Cretaceous Period, before the mass extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs.

The discovery also fills a geographical gap between the fish being found in southern Alberta, Montana and North Dakota, and Alaska and Peace River farther north.

“One really cool thing about this fossil is that it represents an ancestor of something that we have still alive today," Nelson explained. "We still have sturgeons in Edmonton. We have lake sturgeons, which are pretty large species of sturgeons around two metres in length.

“It’s very cool to learn more about the evolutionary history of the species that we still have around today.”

Nelson urged anyone who comes upon something they believe may be a fossil of any kind to contact the U or A or the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

"It could be of very big importance to paleontology as a field," he said. “Our goal as paleontologists is to kind of piece together a larger picture of how the world was back in time.

“With this, we can gain more knowledge about the ecosystem in general. If this was just sitting in someone’s house, that would just not be doing the same amount of purpose. So I think it is really important if you find something you think is cool, call it in.”

Nelson also stressed the importance of preserving the current sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan River.

“They’re some of the largest bony fish we have today and have been around since dinosaurs were walking around on land,” he said. “They almost look like dinosaurs, because they’ve got these massive sizes and enormous scales running down their back that make them look kind of wicked.”

The sturgeon skull is now being housed in the U of A’s laboratory for vertebrate paleontology.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for FOSSIL FISH 

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Cryptozoology Part 2: plawiuk — LiveJournal

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UK

Ex-firefighter explains just how hard it is to extinguish a lithium battery fire

Story by Jasper King • METRO UK

Neil Pedersen served as a firefighter for more than 30 years and retired in 2019 (Picture: Neil Pedersen)© Provided by Metro

An ex-firefighter has spoken out after an electric bus was engulfed in flames in south London this morning.

Neil Pedersen, 55, from Staffordshire, who served as a firefighter for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue for more than 30 years, warned there could be a ‘tsunami’ of electric vehicle fires in the future

The Met Police declared a critical incident after the blaze in Wimbledon, south London, at 7am this morning which TfL will investigate.

It is fires like these that prompted Neil to set up Fire Containers Ltd and the International Road Rescue and Trauma Consultancy (IRRTC) following his retirement in 2019.

Fire Containers Ltd assist emergency responders by designing and developing the world’s first patent Electric Vehicle Containment Unit (EVCU).

This has a built water supply which recirculates water for continual cooling against highly flammable lithium batteries.

His role is now about teaching the next generation of firefighters about the risks associated with electric vehicles and ways around dealing with these fires with the IRRTC.



Neil Pedersen explained why EV fires are so hard to put out for firefighters on the ground (Picture: Neil Pedersen)© Provided by Metro

A critical incident was declared by the Met Police following the blaze (Picture: Shutterstock)© Provided by Metro



The bus was eventually towed off after hours of delays for Londoners (Picture: Alamy Live News)© Provided by Metro
How are lithium battery fires put out?

Neil warned Metro: ‘There could be a tsunami of electric vehicle fires if action is not taken soon.

‘This is because they are basically chemical fires that spread from cell to cell and create a domino effect where water is useless against a blaze.

‘Firefighters have to use 10 to 15 times more water to tackle an EV fire over a petrol or diesel vehicle because of hazardous flammable toxic gasses it gives off from the lithium batteries.

Related video: Dramatic video shows e-bike lithium-ion battery catching fire and exploding, burning down store (FOX News)

‘Water is useless against these toxic gases and turns to steam.

‘What’s more, lithium batteries are on the bottom of electric vehicles and are hard for firefighters to tackle so this is where the EVCU comes in handy.’

But there is a problem because only Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and West Midlands Fire and Rescue have adopted EVCUs according to Neil.

With 20 million electric vehicles expected on the UK’s roads by 2032, up from 1.2 million in 2023, this poses a problem for fire services up and down the country.

The sale of electric vehicles outstripped diesel and petrol car sales in 2023 which Neil says will equate to more fires on the UK’s roads.



The bus burst into flames on a busy street (Picture: Facebook)© Provided by Metro



The area was cordoned off with a 25m metre perimetre (Picture: Shutterstock)© Provided by Metro
What could have caused the electric London fire?

Addressing today’s fire in London, Neil said: ‘It’s most likely that today’s electric vehicle bus fire in London was caused by an electrical fault and may not be linked to the lithium batteries if the fire started at the back of the bus.

‘This is because lithium batteries on electric buses are on the top of the front of the bus rather than the back.


‘But as the sale of electric vehicles continues to increase, fires like these are only going to become more common.

‘On average it takes firefighters four hours to extinguish EV fires and this is because of their lithium batteries and on average costs £1million an hour each time traffic is held up because of a burning vehicle.’
Have electric bus fires happened before?

The Wimbledon bus fire is not the first time an EV fire has caused chaos in London after a Potters Bar bus depot fire in 2019.

And there are safety concerns about a new Edgware EV bus garage proposed in north London.

Neil added: ‘The problem is that millions of electric vehicles are due to be sold with lithium batteries.

‘The way to prevent this is investment in new technologies to replace these highly flammable batteries.

‘Right now toxic gases are highly dangerous to the health and safety of firefighters on the ground as well.

‘These fires are virtually impossible to stop and until then we face an increase and likelihood of more.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.