An Idaho health department is barred from offering covid shots
(NYTimes) — An Idaho health department is no longer offering COVID-19 shots after its board voted last month to restrict the department from doing so, an unusual step driven largely by misinformation about the side effects and safety of the shots. The ban will make it harder for some people to access COVID vaccines in a six-county region in southwestern Idaho that covers over 300,000 residents. But doctors and public health officials also worry that the move will have a far broader effect, by giving credence to false claims about the vaccines and fueling further efforts across the nation to stop people from getting vaccinated.
Los Angeles faces a ‘particularly dangerous situation’ for wildfire weather
(NYTimes) — An intense Santa Ana wind event, California’s second this week, is expected to bring “extremely critical” fire weather and put much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties in a “particularly dangerous situation” for risky wildfire weather through Friday, forecasters said. The weather pattern has prompted various warnings in Northern and Southern California for high winds that could damage trees and lead to power outages, dangerous weather conditions that could help fires burn out of control, and sea conditions that could capsize boats. Although several windstorms have affected the state in recent weeks, the current system is among the strongest yet, said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Los Angeles.
Contractor who defrauded Navy of millions and fled gets 15 years in prison
(NYTimes) — A Malaysian ship-supply contractor who bribed U.S. Navy officials to secure tens of millions of dollars in military contracts and fled the country after pleading guilty was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, federal prosecutors said. Leonard Glenn Francis, 60, gave dozens of Navy officials and defense contractors cash and luxury items as well as the services of prostitutes to secure contracts for his business, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, according to his 2015 plea agreement. Francis, who was also known as Fat Leonard, fled to Mexico and Cuba in 2022. He was arrested in Venezuela and brought back to the United States in December 2023.
Giuliani moved possessions from NY apartment as creditors closed in
(NYTimes) — On Halloween morning, lawyers for two former Georgia election workers walked into Rudy Giuliani’s New York apartment. They were there to get an estimate on what it would cost to move the former mayor’s belongings. Not much, it turned out. Giuliani had taken his most valuable possessions elsewhere, further delaying an effort by the two workers to collect on the $148 million judgment imposed on him for defaming them after the 2020 election. In response to Giuliani’s delays in turning over his assets by the previously imposed deadline of Oct. 29, Judge Lewis J. Liman of U.S. District Court in Manhattan scheduled an in-person hearing for Thursday and is requiring that Giuliani be present.
Meta permits its AI models to be used for US military purposes
(NYTimes) — Meta will allow U.S. government agencies and contractors working on national security to use its artificial intelligence models for military purposes, the company said Monday, in a shift from its policy that prohibited the use of its technology for such efforts. Meta said that it would make its AI models, called Llama, available to federal agencies and that it was working with defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen as well as defense-focused tech companies. Meta’s move is an exception to its “acceptable use policy,” which forbade the use of the company’s AI software for “military, warfare, nuclear industries,” among other purposes.
Boeing union approves new contract, ending costly strike
(NYTimes) — Members of Boeing’s largest union approved a new contract late Monday, ending a weekslong strike that was one of the country’s most financially damaging work stoppages in decades. The contract was endorsed by 59% of those voting, according to the union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union said its members, who had voted down two previous contract offers from Boeing, could return to work as soon as Wednesday but must be back by Nov. 12. The new contract will raise wages more than 43% cumulatively over the next four years. The first proposal would have raised wages just over 27%.
China confronts Europe over climate-based trade restrictions
(NYTimes) — Next week’s talks over the world’s response to climate change got more complicated with an eleventh-hour move by China on Tuesday. Writing on behalf of a group of large, industrializing countries, including India, Brazil and South Africa, the Chinese delegation to this year’s United Nations-sponsored climate summit, which starts next week in Azerbaijan, lodged a request that the meeting’s agenda include discussion of “unilateral restrictive trade measures.” The move is directed at the European Union, which, by next year, is planning to implement two laws that would impose fees on the import of goods that have high climate costs, whether through carbon emissions or deforestation.
Cryptocurrency markets, promoted by Trump, brace for election volatility
For months, cryptocurrency investors have been eagerly awaiting the presidential election, convinced that a victory for former President Donald Trump would be good for bitcoin. On the campaign trail, Trump has promoted himself as a crypto believer, raising hopes that a Republican victory could send the prices of digital currencies soaring. Bitcoin surged to $73,000 late last month. Over the past week, bitcoin’s price fell 7% to roughly $68,000, as the odds in the crypto-powered betting market shifted to give Trump a narrower lead over Vice President Kamala Harris. Many crypto investors are hoping the price could rebound this week.
What Musk told his 203M X followers on election day
(NYTimes) — On Election Day, Elon Musk used his X account to encourage his 203 million followers to vote for Donald Trump. He also used it to stoke fears about election interference. Musk, one of Trump’s most vocal and wealthy supporters, has thrown the weight of his social media company and his wallet behind the former president. He’s given almost $120 million to the Trump campaign and posted incessantly about Trump in recent weeks. On Tuesday, he posted, “Men are voting in record numbers,” and predicted a “massive sea change” in Trump’s favor as a result.
Israeli strikes target Syria for a second day in a row
(NYTimes) — The Israeli military on Tuesday said its air force had struck targets in Syria for the second day in a row, attacks it said were aimed at cutting off the flow of weapons and intelligence between Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese group, and its sponsor, Iran. The announcement was the third time in a week that Israel made the rare admission of attacking inside Syria. The strike Tuesday targeted “weapons storage facilities used by Hezbollah’s munitions unit” in al-Qusayr in Syria, near the Lebanese border, according to a statement from the Israeli military. The military has said that Hezbollah’s munitions unit recently expanded its activities into Syria.
Mexico’s top court dismisses proposal to invalidate contentious judicial overhaul
(NYTimes) — Mexico’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a proposal that would have struck down core parts of a recent overhaul of the country’s courts system, effectively ending any contest against a redesign of the judiciary in which nearly all judges must now be elected instead of appointed. The dismissal hands a victory to the governing Morena party, which quickly won legislative approval in September for one of the most drastic redesigns of the judiciary in any major country in recent years. The court’s decision to dismiss the proposal was unanimous after failing to secure the eight votes needed to pass it.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.