Musk tweets link to an unfounded conspiracy theory
Elon Musk tweeted a link to an unfounded rumor about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, just days after Musk’s purchase of Twitter fueled concerns that the social media platform would no longer seek to limit misinformation and hate speech. Musk’s tweet, which he later deleted, linked to an article by a fringe website, the Santa Monica Observer, which has previously asserted that Hillary Clinton died on Sept. 11 and was replaced with a body double. In this case, the article recycled a baseless claim that the personal life of Paul Pelosi, the speaker’s husband, somehow played a role in an intruder’s attack last week in the couple’s San Francisco home. There’s no evidence to support that claim.
Legal abortions fell around 6% in two months after end of Roe
In the first two months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, legal abortions nationwide declined by more than 10,000, a drop of about 6%, according to a nationwide count of abortions since the decision. Thirteen states banned or severely restricted abortion during those months, and legal abortions in those states fell to close to zero, according to detailed estimates made by a consortium of academics and abortion providers. Nine more states added major abortion restrictions, and legal abortions in those fell by one-third. In states with bans and restrictions, there were about 22,000 fewer abortions in July and August, compared with the baseline of April.
Men exonerated in Malcolm X killing to receive $36 million
The city of New York will settle lawsuits filed on behalf of two men who were exonerated last year for the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X. Their lawyer, David Shanies, confirmed Sunday the city has agreed to pay $26 million for the wrongful convictions which led to both men spending decades behind bars. The state will pay $10 million. The move comes nearly a year after a Manhattan judge dismissed the convictions of Muhammad Aziz, now 84, and the late Khalil Islam. Prosecutors said new evidence of witness intimidation and suppression of exculpatory evidence had undermined the decades-old case against the men.
Russia urged to rejoin grain deal as hunger warnings mount
World leaders Sunday urged Russia to reconsider its suspension of an agreement that allowed the export of grain trapped by the war in Ukrainian ports, warning that Moscow’s decision could unleash dire consequences on a hungry planet. In the short term, experts said Sunday, Russia’s action could prompt a rise in global grain prices when markets open Monday. That would be particularly painful for countries whose governments lack the means to subsidize basic foodstuffs. The suspension threatens to stall more than 9.5 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs, according to the United Nations office that oversees the agreement.
100 Somalis killed car explosions in Mogadishu
A twin car explosion that leveled buildings and burned up dozens of cars tore through a bustling area of Somali’s capital of Mogadishu on Saturday, killing at least 100 and wounding nearly 300 others, the country’s president said Sunday. It was the most devastating act of terrorism to hit the country in five years. The attack highlighted the challenges facing Somali leaders: The government is under persistent threat from the terrorist group al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility for the blasts, and is trying to address rising energy and food costs and a looming famine.
Lula defeats Bolsonaro to again become Brazil’s president
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has done it again: Twenty years after first winning the Brazilian presidency, the leftist defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro Sunday in an extremely tight election that marks an about-face for the country after four years of far-right politics. With more than 99% of the votes tallied in the runoff vote, da Silva had 50.9% and Bolsonaro 49.1%, and the election authority said da Silva’s victory was a mathematical certainty. It is a stunning reversal for da Silva, 77, whose 2018 imprisonment over a corruption scandal sidelined him from the 2018 election that brought Bolsonaro, a defender of conservative social values, to power.
Suspension bridge collapse kills at least 132 in India
Over 130 people have died after a century-old pedestrian bridge collapsed into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat on Sunday evening. State minister Harsh Sanghvi said that 132 people have died so far and that many were admitted to hospitals. Local media reports said over a hundred people plunged into the Machchu river when the pedestrian bridge in the state’s Morbi district collapsed. The colonial-era suspension bridge had reopened four days ago after renovation. Officials said the bridge gave way because it could not handle the number of people on it. The Hindu festival season had drawn hundreds of people to the recently opened tourist attraction.
By wire sources
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