AAP FACTCHECK – A former NSW upper house candidate has promoted a longstanding urban myth that microwave ovens are banned in Russia for safety reasons. This is false. The claim can be traced back to at least the 1990s but has no basis in fact. Microwave ovens are freely available to buy from Russian electronics retailers and Russian consumers bought more than two million of the devices in 2023. Russia’s microwave oven market is expected to reach almost three million units by 2029. The claim was made in a Facebook video by David Graham, an activist and social media content creator who goes by the nickname “Guru”. Mr Graham stood as an ungrouped candidate in NSW’s 2023 state election, picking up 31 first preference votes . AAP FactCheck has previously debunked other false claims made by Mr Graham, including baseless theories that Australia stopped printing bank notes in 2018 and that skin cancer didn’t exist before sunscreen. “Guys... you know it’s illegal to have microwaves in your house in Russia,” Mr Graham says in the video (11 minutes, 47 seconds). “Seriously, Putin’s a big nasty guy but ... you’re not allowed to have microwaves. They don’t care about microwaves over here, do they?” It is unclear from the video why Mr Graham believes microwaves are banned in Russia or what he meant by his comment that “they don’t care about microwaves over here”. However, previous discredited theories about Russia banning microwaves have cited health concerns linked to electromagnetic radiation. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency , the non-ionizing radiation used by a microwave does not make food radioactive. Mr Graham did not respond to an AAP FactCheck message asking for the basis of his claim. Similar claims about microwave ovens being banned in Russia date back at least 25 years. In 2017 Snopes traced the origins of the myth back to a 1998 article in the Journal Natural Science, which claimed “the use of any such microwave apparatus was forbidden in 1976 by Soviet state law” (page 43). The journal article does not provide any sources or references for the statement. The author of the article is William P. Kopp from Portland, Oregon, USA. An author biography at the end of the article says Mr Kopp worked at the “Atlantis Rising Educational Center in Portland, Oregon” from 1977 to 1979, where he “gathered all documents known so far concerning the scientific proofs about microwaves’ harmful effects on humans”. “By doing this he got in the way of a powerful lobby and was forced later on to even change his name and to disappear,” the biography says. Mr Kopp’s claim has since been repeated in other publications, including a May 2010 article by US osteopath Dr Joseph Mercola and a 2016 article on a website called Natural News – though both of those articles also claim the microwave ban was later lifted by Russian authorities. A 2023 TechInsider article by Russian-Belorussian journalist Tim Skorenko described the claimed Soviet-era microwave ban as a “legend”. Mr Skorenko wrote that the devices began production in the USSR in the late 1970s, albeit “in very small batches” and “for a lot of money.” The notion that microwave ovens are currently banned in Russia is easily disproved by looking at the websites of electronics retailers in the country. M.Video, a major electronics retailer with stores across Russia, lists hundreds of different types of microwaves for sale online. Rival Russian retailers Wildberries and DNS similarly list numerous microwave ovens for sale. According to a September 6 article in the Russian daily business newspaper Vedemosti, Russians bought more than two million microwaves in the first half of 2024. Russian consumers spent some $US315.4 million ($A504.5 million) on the devices in 2024, according to the German data-gathering platform Statista. It is also clear that many Russians have microwaves in their homes. A YouTube search for the Russian-language phrase which translates as “microwave at home” returns hundreds of videos of Russians reviewing domestic microwave ovens or cooking food in the devices. One of the videos shows food blogger Masha Fom – who has more than one million YouTube subscribers and list her l ocation as “Russia”- attempting to make pizza in a cup using a microwave oven. All information, text and images included on the AAP Websites is for personal use only and may not be re-written, copied, re-sold or re-distributed, framed, linked, shared onto social media or otherwise used whether for compensation of any kind or not, unless you have the prior written permission of AAP. For more information, please refer to our standard terms and conditions .
Lance Terry scored a game-high 22 points, helping lead Georgia Tech to a 92-49 rout of visiting Alabama A&M on Saturday in Atlanta. Javian McCollum added 18 points, while Jaeden Mustaf chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds, as Georgia Tech (6-7) won its second game in three outings. Baye Ndongo had 10 points for the Yellow Jackets, who shot 54.1 percent (33 of 61) from the field and made 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) on 3-pointers. AC Bryant and Bilal Abdur-Rahman each led the Bulldogs (4-9) with 11 points. Alabama A&M managed to shoot just 20.8 percent (15 of 72) from the field en route to its sixth straight loss. After London Riley's 3-pointer cut the Bulldogs' deficit to 16-15, McCollum's triple began a 12-0 scoring run, extending Georgia Tech's lead to 28-15 with 5:30 remaining in the opening half. Bryant's layup stopped the Yellow Jackets' run, but McCollum scored five straight points to push Georgia Tech's advantage to 15 at the 4:13 mark. The lead expanded to 18 points before Quincy McGriff's layup trimmed the Bulldogs' deficit to 16. Terry's back-to-back triples jump-started a 12-3 run to close the first half with Georgia Tech ahead 50-25. McCollum led all scorers with 18 first-half points, while McGriff led Alabama A&M with seven. Ndongo's dunk to open the second half started a 10-1 Georgia Tech run, stamped with Duncan Powell's triple with 17 minutes left to push the Yellow Jackets' lead to 60-26. After Angok Anyang knocked down a pair of free throws for the Bulldogs, Terry's fourth triple was followed by Naithan George's layup, extending Georgia Tech's lead to 68-35 with 11:49 left. Jaylen Colon and Terry then traded triples, before Georgia Tech's 13-6 spurt was stamped with Ndongo's layup at the 3:33 mark, giving the Yellow Jackets an 84-44 edge. Georgia Tech's dominant day was stamped with baskets from a pair of Yellow Jacket walk-ons, as Emmers Nichols and Marcos San Miguel each tallied their first career points in the closing minutes. --Field Level Media
One suspects that there are those whose favourite sporting indulgence is to launch little social media grenades before standing back to admire their handiwork. A million impressions! 700,000 likes! Once the currency of the geeky in-your-folks’-basement-keyboard-warrior, it has become a more mainstream means of satisfaction to a certain demographic. It would be remiss, though, to suggest the age group appeals to those who are barely of legal age to drink. Last week Roger Mitchell, the former SPL chief – the one who recommended that the league knock back a Sky Sports broadcasting deal in 2002 – detonated one of those social media bombs with a tweet about women’s football that promptly blew up. As England internationalist Lucy Bronze suggested that 99.9% of women’s players will have to work when they finish playing rather than live off their earnings, Mitchell was very keen to offer his thoughts. ‘The entitlement of women’s football is totally off the scale,’ he wrote. ‘They arrived yesterday. They have no real audience. And yet...World class male players of the 80s didn’t get “for life” wages. Stars in the 60s needed a testimonial to maybe buy a pub and work another 35 years.’ The point that Bronze was making, and entirely lost here, was that the position of women’s football is a million miles off of its male equivalent. Her observation was simply this; it is unlikely that any current player in the England team will have any financial worries when the time comes to hang up their boots. Indeed, there will be bang-average Championship and League One players in England who need never dirty their hands when they finish playing. This is not entitlement to discuss this. This is a question and not exclusive to sport, stained deep within the culture of our time, about creating genuine pathways to equality. If no-one talks about it and puzzles over how to offer means of correcting it, how can it ever change? Pointing out the differentials is not entitlement. And the reason why women’s football ‘arrived yesterday?’ Well, that’s an easy one. It was banned. It was not allowed. Growth was prohibited when the game was shut down with no oxygen to move and morph the way the men’s game did. Historically the women’s game attracted significant numbers at times before facilities were removed. It is impossible to know how things would have played out had those decisions by the old gatekeepers not been taken. But these are the new gatekeepers of the women’s game. The ones who have an opinion – and there is nothing quite so entrenched as a middle-aged man with an opinion – who has decided that the world must hear it. As Mitchell’s tweet attracted significant traction – surprise, surprise – the patronising rhetoric which followed offered some wry amusement. “There is a very large portion of the fan base of the male game who has deep resentment for how the female game has been 'forced' upon them. “I’d pay attention to that.” Quite what we are all paying deep attention to is an interesting question. Who is forcing the women’s game on anyone? Watch if you will, turn off if you will. Go to a game or consider it not for you. Both choices are fine. But it is here and it has a right to be here. It also has a right to wish to grow and market itself properly and attract commercial entities which will facilitate that. It has a right for players and chief execs and coaches to ask the questions about how it becomes more professional and how it attracts a bigger audience. AND ANOTHER THING Brian Graham has made it clear that he would be keen to be considered for the Scotland job following the exit of Pedro Martinez Losa. Graham currently juggles the duel demands of Partick Thistle striker for Kris Doolan’s side along with managing the women’s side. Twice he took them into the top six while also taking the to the League Cup final last year. By his own admission, the ceiling has been reached with the women’s team given the current lack of resources available. Erin Cuthbert suggested some months ago that tapping into some traditional Scottish qualities would enhance the national team and it is interesting to see if a homegrown route is pursued for this reason. Leanne Ross should also fancy that she should be in the running for the role. Having assisted Martinez Losa she knows the landscape of the national team while her own body of work would speak for itself. Glasgow City are currently leading the charge for this season’s title having had to regroup and rebuild this summer. Both candidates would offer something to Scotland – although both would also need to get a move on with their pro-license. AND FINALLY The SWPL is on a break for a couple of weeks to allow players to recharge. If the game is to grow and develop then a break makes absolute sense. It doesn’t help to have players who are mentally and physically fatigued – many of whom juggle working commitments with their football – working through a hectic schedule. The men’s game will miss its break this year as it accommodates the growing demands of international and domestic football and there is no question that it has an impact on performance levels. The women’s game will be all the better for a brief break.Berry’s 27 lead Charleston Southern past Columbia International 95-89Ransomware attack on software supplier disrupts operations for Starbucks and other retailers
HYDERABAD Working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K.T. Rama Rao has observed that by unveiling a new model of Telangana Talli statue the Congress government in the State has not only disrespected Telangana but also hurt the sentiments of people associated with the culture and prosperity of the region. Speaking after inaugurating the party office of Medchal-Malkajigiri district and also a Telangana Talli statue on the premises of the new office at Medchal on Monday in the presence of several legislators and party leaders, he compared the unveiling of a statue in the name of Telangana Talli on the Secretariat complex by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy as the killers holding a condolence meeting as it was who spoke against Telangana activists and martyrs during the movement for Statehood. He stated that Mr. Revanth Reddy would go into the history as the first person to change the image of mother. Stating that nobody in the State had asked for change of Telangana Talli, he sought to know whether the image of Bharata Mata or Telangana Talli would change every time a government was changed. Telangana Talli did not mean a person, a system or a party but it was an inspiration to the entire people of the region. By removing ‘Bathukamma’ from Telangana Talli, the Congress government was insulting the culture of Telangana people itself, he said and reiterated that when BRS will return to power it would send the statues of both Telangana Talli and Rajiv Gandhi statue installed in front of the Secretariat to Gandhi Bhavan, the Congress party office here. Medchal district president of BRS and MLC Shambhipur Raju, Quthbullapur MLA K.P. Vivekanand said the people of Greater Hyderabad were with BRS as proved in the last Assembly elections. Published - December 10, 2024 04:50 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telangana / Hyderabad / politics / political parties
NDP will not support Liberal GST holiday bill unless rebate expanded: SinghNew Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS): Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator Rais Shaikh has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging the state government to hold the long-overdue elections to local bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), before March 7, 2025. The letter, also addressed to Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, highlights the prolonged delay in restoring democratic governance to local bodies across Maharashtra. In his letter, Shaikh stressed that the BMC, the largest local government body in Asia, has been functioning without elected representatives since March 7, 2022, when its previous term ended. The current administrator is set to complete three years in office by March 7, 2025. "It is not a matter of pride for Indian democracy that the financial capital of the country has been run for so long without people's representatives," he stated. Shaikh also pointed out that elections to 29 municipal corporations, 228 municipal councils, 29 Nagar Panchayats, 26 Zilla Parishads, and 289 Panchayat Samitis in the state remain pending. He demanded that these elections, including those for the BMC, be conducted without further delay to uphold democratic principles. Following the state Assembly elections, political parties are preparing for local body elections, including those for the BMC, which is the wealthiest civic body in the country. On February 2, it presented a Rs 59,954.75 crore budget for the year 2024-25. However, sources indicate that these elections are unlikely to take place before April due to ongoing Supreme Court cases concerning the number of wards, the number of councillors per ward, and the process for the wards' formation. Elections for all 29 municipal corporations in the state, as well as approximately 280 nagar parishads and nagar panchayats, are still pending. These local bodies are currently being managed by administrators. In some cases, elections for municipal corporations have been delayed for 2 to 3 years. Notably, the BMC has been under the administration of an appointed official for two and a half years, following the expiration of its term in March 2022.
HUNTSVILLE — It’s the final week of the regular season and that means Conference Title hopes for several teams will come true and for some, it will end their season. That’s exactly what is happening in Huntsville, Texas, on Friday when Liberty makes its first trip to Huntsville for a showdown with CUSA Title hopes on the line as the Flames can clinch a spot and Sam Houston can make things interesting. Since the Bearkats lost to Jax State, Sam Houston needs a win over Liberty and a Jax State win over Western Kentucky to give Sam Houston the final spot in the CUSA Championship game before getting its bowl game announced. If the Bearkats win, Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler said they would turn into Jax State fans for the final game. But the first step is for the Bearkats to knock off Liberty on the national stage. “Both of us have a lot riding on this game, so that is exciting. If we can get a win, we will sit around and watch somebody else work for a living,” Keeler said. Sam Houston’s offense has been the main culprit of the Bearkats struggles late in the season. The Bearkats have found themselves scoring 34 points since the Bearkats second bye week. Before the first bye week, Sam Houston was scoring 31.9 points per game with Hunter Watson under center. After the Bearkats lost Watson in the Western Kentucky game, things haven’t been the same. Watson hasn’t looked like the same quarterback but has shown glimpses of greatness still. The Bearkats offense scored 10 points in his absence at Florida International. But since his return against Kennesaw State, he hasn’t been as sharp. Watson completed 3 of his 57 attempts and is missing short throws that would open up several other aspects of the game. Since the second bye week after Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston has scraped together 641 yards, with the bulk coming on the ground recently. But with the missing links, the Bearkats have struggled to get things going. “We haven’t been able to run the ball right at people when it’s important and we have to start relying on a passing game,” Keeler said. “To me, either you are throwing the ball to open the run game or you are running the ball to open the pass game. We are struggling right now because neither one of those is working on a regular basis.” Sam Houston needs to see its offense turn back the clock a little bit and become more of a threat with pushing the ball downfield with Qua’Vez Humphreys, Noah Smith and Ife Adeyi. Smith and Adeyi have ridiculous speed for the Bearkats and Humphreys has the size to win the 50/50 balls, but the Bearkats haven’t seen that. Simeon Evans has come along this season and been a key part, but it hasn’t been enough in some cases to get things rolling. “We need to be able to push the ball down the field more and we aren’t doing those things. It’s not the lack of wanting to, it’s the lack of execution,” Keeler said. “I have told the team, it’s not the plays called, it’s the execution. We just aren’t executing.” Liberty entered this year with College Football Playoff hopes after the run the squad had last year. The Flames finished undefeated and played in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon before getting blown out. This year, the Flames started the season hot and won a couple of close games, but things unraveled with back-to-back losses to Kennesaw State and Jax State. Since the Oct. 30 loss to Jax State, Liberty has scored 110 points as quarterback Kaidon Salter has put things on his back. Salter has rushed for 218 yards in the three-game winning streak has been a key part of getting the offense rolling again. “I think the quarterback is taking everything on his shoulders. Before, he would scramble to extend a play, but now he’s been decisive and pulls it and runs. It’s like he realized it was coming to an end and if I take a hit, I take a hit,” Keeler said. “Typically, when you talk to a quarterback you want them to manage the amount of hits. It seems like the quarterback has put this team on his shoulders and he has been very aggressive.” But the Bearkats defense is going to need to keep its head on straight to get past this team. The Bearkats defensive pressure has been led by Chris Murray, Briceon Hayes and Kendrick DuJour with 12 sacks between the three. Murray leads the team with 5.5 sacks to date. Murray has 10.5 tackles for loss. And that is going to be key against this team that can slip past a defensive front that can’t get out to a quick start and give Salter space ahead. “We have to be smart and we can’t have run-bys. Those fly-bys kill you,” Keeler said. “The quarterback can step underneath and there are times where we will try and contain him, but we can’t get greedy. We have to make sure he stays in the pocket. The defense is excited for the challenge.” Win or lose, the Bearkats have already secured bowl eligibility and flipped the season around from last year. The Bearkats could finish the year with an 8-4 record, after their 3-9 finish last year. Getting to six wins was going to be a key part of this season for the Bearkats and now they have an opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong. “If we can get to 9-3, it’s going to show a lot of charter and a lot of hard work, it’s gonna mean a lot,” Keeler said. “The defense has played at a championship level and the offense has. We are all aware we have to get the offense back on track.” Sam Houston and Liberty are slated for kickoff at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. It will be the Bearkats senior day.
After starting 2-0 in its inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, SMU looks to make the month even more special on Sunday, hosting Longwood in Dallas, Texas. The Mustangs seek a seven-game win streak in their final nonconference test before welcoming No. 4 Duke to Dallas on Jan. 4. In recent victories over Alabama State, Virginia, LSU, and Boston College, SMU (10-2) averaged 85.3 points per game, allowed just 66.0 ppg, and climbed to No. 30 in the NET rankings. "We're a different team right now than we were earlier in the season," SMU head coach Andy Enfield said at the beginning of December, his words ringing even truer as the season progresses. "They'd never been under pressure together until recently, so they're starting to learn and figure things out." Longwood (11-3) enters its third consecutive road game, having won five of its last six overall. That includes a major 82-67 win at North Carolina Central on Dec. 20. It was only the sixth nonconference home loss for NCC since 2016, and Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich saw it as a result of his team's growing cohesiveness. "We got great contributions from so many players," Aldrich said. "We have been working to play more and more connected, and this team has really taken positive steps this week." The Mustangs' Matt Cross is among the biggest threats to Longwood's defense, which allows just 66.6 points per game. A 6-foot-7 forward, Cross had 36 points over SMU's last two wins, including a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double against LSU. What Cross does with the ball in his hands is impressive -- he is averaging 13.5 ppg in December -- but it is also what he does off the ball that increases his value. "He's extremely tough," Enfield said after Cross' performance against LSU. "His wall up in transition, where (Corey) Chest came down, was going to dunk the ball, and he stood there and took the contact. ...That's a big-time basketball play." Longwood is paced by Michael Christmas, a veteran forward in his fourth year in the program. A hard-nosed wing who can score at all three levels, Christmas is Longwood's only returner who started at least 30 games on last year's NCAA Tournament team. He is averaging a team-high 11.9 points per game. "(He) loves this university, loves this town and community," Aldrich said of Christmas. "He opted to come back here to really invest in the program." --Field Level Media
NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally gunning down health insurance executive Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, pleaded not guilty on Monday to New York state murder charges that brand him a terrorist. Mangione, 26, was escorted into Judge Gregory Carro's 13th-floor courtroom in the New York state criminal courthouse in lower Manhattan with a court officer on each arm, and a procession of a half dozen officers following him. He was in handcuffs and shackles, and wore a burgundy sweater over a white-collared shirt. Mangione leaned into a microphone and said "not guilty" when Carro asked how he pleaded to the 11-count indictment charging him with murder as an act of terrorism and weapons offenses. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group's UNH.N insurance unit UnitedHealthcare, was shot dead on Dec. 4 outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan where the company was gathering for an investor conference. The brazen killing and ensuing five-day manhunt captivated Americans. While public officials have condemned the killing, some Americans who decry the steep costs of healthcare and insurance companies' power to deny paying for some medical treatments have feted Mangione as a folk hero. Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 9. After deciding last week not to fight extradition, he was transferred to New York, where he was led off a helicopter in lower Manhattan by a large phalanx of police officers and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. That spectacle and other statements by public officials suggest Mangione may not be able to get a fair trial, his lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said at Monday's hearing. "They are treating him like he is some sort of political fodder, some sort of spectacle," Agnifilo said. "He is not a symbol, he is someone who is afforded a right to a fair trial." Several dozen people gathered outside the courthouse in freezing temperatures to express support for Mangione and anger at healthcare companies. One person held a sign with the words "DENY, DEFEND, DEPOSE," a phrase that echoes tactics some accuse insurers of using to avoid paying out claims. Authorities say the words "deny," "delay," and "depose" were found written on shell casings at the crime scene. Kara Hay, a 42-year-old schoolteacher, said she believed it was wrong for Mangione to be charged with terrorism. "Shooting one CEO does not make him a terrorist, and I do not feel terrorized," said Hay, who held a sign reading "innocent until proven guilty." After the 30-minute hearing, officers once again shackled Mangione and led him out of the courtroom. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal lockup in Brooklyn. Carro set Mangione's next court appearance for Feb. 21. Monday's arraignment was the second court appearance in New York for Mangione, who also faces a four-count federal criminal complaint charging him with stalking and killing Thompson. He has not yet been asked to enter a plea in that case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker ordered Mangione detained at a Dec. 19 hearing in Manhattan federal court. The federal charges would make him eligible for the death penalty, should the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan decide to pursue it. The separate federal and state cases will proceed in parallel. The state case is currently expected to go to trial first, federal prosecutors said. At the hearing, Friedman Agnifilo said it was difficult to defend her client in dual state and federal cases. "He is being treated like a human ping-pong ball between these two jurisdictions," Friedman Agnifilo said. She also said the Manhattan District Attorney's office, which brought the charges, has not handed over any evidence to the defense to help prepare for trial, a process known as discovery. A prosecutor responded that the office would begin handing over evidence soon. According to the federal criminal complaint, the police who arrested Mangione found a notebook that contained several handwritten pages that "express hostility towards the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular." A notebook entry dated Oct. 22 allegedly described an intent to "wack" the chief executive of an insurance company at its investor conference.
Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing charged with murder in New York, court records show
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