e join in the rejoicing of WNebraska abortion op-ponents that some 55% of voters Nov. 5 bucked a national trend and wrote the Legislature's general 12-week ban into this state's constitution. But let's drop any talk of immediately seeking an even earlier statutory abortion ban, as Initiative 434 allows. The 2025 Legislature must thoroughly ensure that as many life-threatening pregnancy complications as possible are legally covered as "medical emergency" exceptions allowed by Initiative 434 and existing law. The Telegraph first urged this priority on Jan. 29, 2023, while favoring the "fetal heartbeat" ban introduced in 2023 and later modified into the 12-week ban enacted in Legislative Bill 574. We applauded the law's inclusion of the "three exceptions," listed in Initiative 434 as abortions "necessitated by a medical emergency or when the pregnancy results from sexual assault or incest." LB 574 defines "medical emergency" as a condition "which, in reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of the pregnant woman as to necessitate the termination of the pregnancy to avert her death" or creates "a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a bodily function." It lists five situations that cannot be considered "abortions": ■ Removal of ectopic pregnancies. ■ "Removal of the remains of a preborn child who has already died." ■ Acts "to save the life or preserve the health of the preborn child." ■ "The accidental termination of the life of a preborn child." ■ "Assisted reproductive technology," including in vitro fertilization, that costs the life "of a preborn child who is not being carried inside a woman's body." Nebraskans must legally protect "mothers or doctors who act in good faith and in the best interests of both lives," we wrote in 2023. "That may require medical procedures necessary for the mother to recover if her child does not or cannot live to be born." If the law's "protections aren't rock-solid," we added, "keep refining them until they are." State lawmakers must make that their 2025 priority. Pre-election news stories told of Nebraska mothers with troubled pregnancies whose Nebraska doctors didn't believe they could properly treat them without running afoul of the 12-week abortion ban. Those mothers had to go to other states for care. These are pregnant mothers who found their lives, their children's lives or both on the line. Miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births can happen in any pregnancy. So can birth defects, some of which unborn babies cannot survive. High blood pressure can suddenly develop in pregnancy and put mothers in great danger if not dealt with promptly. Surely no Nebraskan could disagree that mothers facing such situations ought to be cared for in our state, with all the compassion and medical skill available in such terrible circumstances. But if abortion foes insist on pushing for an even earlier ban, this priority will be lost in the hyperpolitical din. Neither is this a time for doctors or abortion-rights supporters to withhold cooperation in making the list of life-threatening exceptions as complete and detailed as currently possible. Let's decisively prove that all Nebraskans equally love pregnant mothers and their unborn children when one or both of their lives are at risk. Get local news delivered to your inbox!OTTAWA — Canada has again breached its years-long policy and voted in support of a United Nations motion critical of Israel, based on concerns about the viability of a two-state solution. "The dynamics in the broader region show very clearly that conflict management, as opposed to genuine conflict resolution, is not in fact a sustainable path to peace, security and prosperity," Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told a UN plenary Tuesday. For years, Canada backed Israel in votes at the international body, but the federal Liberals changed that policy a year ago, citing concerns over policies that undermine Ottawa's decades-long policy of advocating for an eventual Palestinian country that would exist in peace alongside Israel. That change also came amid widespread concern from humanitarian groups and legal experts about Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law in its campaign in the Gaza Strip. UN member states passed a motion 157 to 8, with seven abstentions, reaffirming the illegality of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories and condemning the use of force against Palestinian civilians. The motion passed Tuesday also calls for a peace conference, and is similar to motions brought before the UN multiple times. It called out "terror against civilians on all sides" but did not name Hamas or any Palestinian militant group, drawing criticism from Israel advocates. Rae said the motion should have been more balanced, but Ottawa wanted to signal its concern about the viability of a Palestinian state. "We voted in favour of this resolution, like many, many others (did) to signal our firm commitment to the two-state solution," he said. Rae reiterated condemnation of the October 2023 attack by Hamas against Israel, and called for the return of all hostages including the body of Canadian citizen Judih Weinstein Haggai. "All Palestinians deserve to be led by a legitimate and representative government without the participation of a terrorist organization such as Hamas," Rae told the UN plenary. Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong decried today's vote as singling out Israel, writing on the platform X that supporting the motion would "reverse Canada's long-standing position on Israel." He said that a Conservative government would be "ensuring alignment with our closest democratic allies." Tuesday's vote was supported by the U.K., Japan and most European Union states. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says the Liberals had voted against similar motions for almost a decade. "Today's reversal to vote yes instead represents an abandonment of Canada's long-standing, principled foreign policy," the group wrote on X. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain, a prestigious posting for the Republican donor whose contributions this year included $2 million to a Trump-backing super PAC. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening, announced he was selecting Stephens to be the U.S. ambassador to the Court of Saint James. The Senate is required to confirm the choice. “Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said in in his post. Stephens is the chairman, president and CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based financial services firm Stephens Inc., having taken over the firm from his father. Trump has already named many of his nominees for his Cabinet and high-profile diplomatic posts, assembling a roster of staunch loyalists. Over the weekend, Trump announced he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner , father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. During his first term, Trump selected Robert “Woody” Johnson, a contributor to his campaign and the owner of the New York Jets football team, as his representative to the United Kingdom. The Associated Press
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Drones are a constant part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Drones are often small, fast, and cheap. They can give a fighter eyes on the battlefield or deliver death to their enemies. When someone shoots them down, you lose a machine and not a soldier. But they’re hard to shoot down and Russian soldiers are trying everything, including custom buckshot rounds for the AK-74 assault rifle. The DIY AK-74 buckshot started appearing on Russian Telegram channels that document the war earlier this year. The journalists at The Armourer’s Bench have put together a comprehensive look at the phenomenon . Drones are ubiquitous in the war between Russia and Ukraine and both sides recognize their significance. After years of importing the devices from outside, both have ramped up domestic production. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed his country’s domestic production capacities could hit 4 million drones in 2025 . In September, Putin claimed that Russia had ramped up its 2024 production 10 times over 2023 . Defending against the machines is hard, but not impossible. The most effective method is jamming them. Pick the right frequency and the machines will simply drop out of the air. But the average soldier doesn’t have access to that kind of tech on the battlefield. What they do have, most of the time, is a gun. Using a rifle to shoot a drone out of the air is a nightmare. Soldiers have to stand still, take aim, and pray they hit the drone before it hits them. A shotgun is preferred because of the perception that the buckshot, which has a far wider spread than a traditional rifle round, can more easily hit and destroy a drone. But not everyone can get a shotgun on the battlefield. Russian soldiers on the ground in Ukraine have developed a unique workaround: custom buckshot rounds that fit in a standard AK-74 magazine. There are several different ways to make this happen. In a July Telegram video , a Russian soldier showed how to make the custom cartridge. First, they removed the projectile from a standard 5.45x39mm round. Then they poked several ball bearings into a wire insulation sleeve. When the sleeve was filled with seven or so ball bearings, he used a candle to heat up the sleeve and shrink it over the ball bearings. Then he inserted that into the shell casing, ran it over the candle again, and crimped it into place by hand. If this sounds like a bizarre and dangerous tactic, you’re right. The Armourer’s Bench noticed the July video but didn’t see anything else from Russian sources until November when there was a sudden explosion of activity around the technique. Throughout November and early December, the journalists tracked several Telegram channels that shared videos of both techniques for manufacturing the AK-74 buckshot rounds, and ways to improve their effectiveness. There’s even a video that claims to show a soldier shooting a drone from the sky using the rounds, though it looks staged and it’s impossible to know what rounds the soldier is firing from his rifle. AK-74s are not meant to fire rounds made from ball bearings and melted plastic. They’re reliable and sturdy rifles, but the balls and whatever’s holding them in the shell casing can leave residue behind in a rifle barrel when fired. That residue might throw off the next shot someone takes or it might cause the weapon to misfire. Homemade buckshot rounds for a rifle are an interesting battlefield innovation that speaks to the fear and desperation drones cause. There are hundreds of videos of FPV drones killing Russian soldiers online. Sometimes they drop grenades on them, other times they simply fly into their lines and explode. In one iconic video, a desperate Russian soldier takes several shots at incoming drones, misses, and throws his whole gun at the deadly machine. The gun struck true, even if the bullets didn’t and the drone exploded. Shotguns are the weapon of choice against drones, but the dark truth is that buckshot mostly doesn’t work . Even with a wide spread, it’s hard to hit a fast-moving target like a drone. The problem is so big that many companies have taken it on. There are several different versions of buckshot loaded with “nets,” the idea being that an even wider spread fired from the end of a shotgun can down an incoming drone. In the U.S., anyone can buy Skynet rounds . Thirty-nine bucks will buy you three custom shotgun rounds that expand into a net when fired. A Russian company is working on a similar shotgun round that’s akin to a bola . The aim is for the string to wrap around the propellers of a drone and knock it out of the air. In the U.S., a defense company backed by a16z is testing a more expensive solution to the problem. ZeroMark’s “ handheld Iron Dome ” seeks to convert a standard rifle into an autonomous machine that does the aiming for a soldier. ZeroMark’s tech consists of a bunch of rotors attached to the stock of a standard rifle and sensors on the barrel. A soldier who sees a drone bearing down on them would simply need to aim vaguely at the drone and let the machines do the rest. ZeroMark is betting a computer is better at tracking a fast-moving target than a human. It’s a more expensive attempt at keeping soldiers safe from drones, but no less ridiculous than stuffing ball bearings into an AK-74.
NEW YORK — Stoli Group USA, the owner of the namesake vodka , has filed for bankruptcy as it struggled to contend with slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack that has snarled its operations and several years of fighting Russia in court. The company in its bankruptcy filing said it is “experiencing financial difficulties” and lists between $50 million and $100 million in liabilities. Stoli vodka and Kentucky Owl bourbon will continue to be available on store shelves while the company navigates the Chapter 11 process, which only pertains to its U.S. business. Until 2022, Stoli was sold as Stolichnaya in the United States, which loosely translates to “capital city” in Russian. The company shortened its title following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and boycotts against Russian-branded vodkas . Stoli Group’s founder, Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler, was exiled from that nation in 2000 because of his opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Intel announced on December 2 that CEO Pat Gelsinger has resigned after a difficult stint at the company. The once-dominant chipmaker’s stock cratered as it missed the AI boom and was surpassed by most of its rivals. The liquor has long been marketed as a Russian vodka, but its production facilities have been in Latvia for several decades. Stoli Group is a unit of Luxembourg-based SPI Group, which owns other spirit and wine brands. “The Stoli Group has been targeted by the Russian Federation since it was formed nearly 25 years ago,” said Stoli Group CEO Chris Caldwell in a statement. “Earlier this year the company and our owner were both named by the Russian state as ‘extremist groups working against Russia’s interests.’” Its ongoing legal battle with the Russia government has forced Stoli to “spend dozens of millions of dollars on this long-term court battle across the globe with the Russian authorities,” according to its court filing. Caldwell also said that Stoli’s global operations has been a “victim of a malicious cyber attack” that has forced the company to operate “entirely manually while the systems are rebuilt.” A slowdown in demand for alcohol has crushed several company’s bottom lines following the pandemic when people were stuck at home and stocked up. Stoli’s filings said that it has seen a “decline and softening of demand for alcohol and spirits products post-Covid and especially beginning in 2023 and continuing into 2024.” Stoli Group USA, maker of Stoli vodka, has filed for bankruptcy due to slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack, and ongoing legal battles with Russia. The-CNN-WireTM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.Disability ministers will ‘champion’ inclusion and accessibility, says Timms