Narco-sub with $27m of 'scorpion' cocaine seized in Colombia

Source: BBC

A semi-submersible carrying almost 800kg of cocaine, including parcels stamped with a scorpion symbol, has been intercepted by the Colombian Navy.

The 15m-long (50ft) "narco-sub", the first to be detected this year, was seized in Colombian waters.
The navy estimated the haul was worth $27m (£21m) and said the sub was believed to be on its way to the US or Europe.
Three people who were on board the craft have been arrested.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68059754?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=BBCNews%2Fmagazine%2FWorld

AI could flag patients' dangerous alcohol use before surgery

AI could flag patients' dangerous alcohol use before surgery Misusing alcohol around a surgery is associated with higher infection rates, longer hospital stays and other surgical complications.

Alcohol can cause risky surgical complications for patients who drink in the days leading up to a procedure, but signs of dangerous alcohol use aren't always obvious on a patient's chart.

The study, published in the journal Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, used a natural language processing model to assess the medical records of 53,811 patients who underwent surgery between 2012 and 2019.

Patients' electronic medical records contain diagnostic codes, but they can also include information such as notes, test results or billing data that may hint at risky alcohol use.

To pick up on contextual clues, the researchers programmed a natural language processing model to identify both diagnostic codes and other indicators of risky alcohol use, such as drinks per week exceeding recommended thresholds or a history of medical issues associated with alcohol misuse.

Misusing alcohol around a surgery is associated with higher infection rates, longer hospital stays and other surgical complications.

Among the patients studied, 4.8 percent had charts that included a diagnosis code related to alcohol use.

https://news.yahoo.com/ai-could-flag-patients-dangerous-055945845.html

As Trump Treats Trials Like Rallies, Judges Study How to Rein Him In

Two weeks ago, a New York judge, Arthur Engoron, permitted Trump to personally deliver a closing argument in his civil fraud trial as long as he stuck to the facts and avoided a courtroom "Campaign speech." Trump bulldozed through the restrictions, repeated his familiar claim of a "Political witch hunt" and assailed the judge to his face.

What has made Trump's appearances challenging is that he may be making the calculation that disobeying a judge or perhaps even losing a legal argument could be politically advantageous.

In Carroll's defamation trial, Trump seemed almost to be goading Kaplan into throwing him out of the courtroom.

After his two recent confrontations with the judges, Trump held news conferences in front of cheering supporters in the lobby of his building at 40 Wall St. Standing before a row of American flags, he repeated his themes of personal persecution.

Kaplan already ruled Trump and his lawyers may not contest the jury's finding in May that Trump sexually abused Carroll or that his statements about her were defamatory.

If Trump is again disruptive or even removed from the courtroom, the trial should be able to continue, said Michael B. Mukasey, who was a Manhattan federal judge for nearly two decades.

One condition Engoron set appeared to be effective: He told Trump that if he attacked the judge's staff members - violating a gag order - he would be removed from the courtroom and fined at least $50,000.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-treats-trials-rallies-judges-152616094.html

In Michigan, the state Republican Party had $93,000 in its bank accounts as of July 2023. A recent draft report shared b

Several state Republican parties are reportedly going bankrupt and struggling to raise funds while being weakened by infighting, in a year when some of these states could be crucial for the election of America's next president.

In Arizona and Michigan, two states where the GOP presidential candidate will likely have to win a majority of suburban voters to get back in the White House, the state Republican parties are running critically short on money. In Arizona, the state GOP has just $14,800 left in the bank at the end of August, as reported by the Arizona Mirror.

In Michigan, the state Republican Party had $93,000 in its bank accounts as of July 2023. A recent draft report shared by insiders with MLive in early December said that the party was on "the brink of bankruptcy."

According to the report drafted by an attorney hired by GOP activist Warren Carpenter: "In only a matter of a few months, the party is essentially non-functional and, worse yet, the party and others associated with the party are now facing potential civil and criminal consequences for breaking laws."

https://www.newsweek.com/multiple-state-republican-parties-going-broke-1858680

Man goes on tractor crashing spree in Nebraska parking lot

Bronxville, N.Y., police sergeant kills wife, children in suspected murder-suicide

Source: UPI

- A sergeant with the Bronxville Police Department in New York is believed to have killed his wife and two sons before shooting himself dead in a suspected murder-suicide, police said.

Watson Morgan, 49, had failed to appear for his evening shift on Friday so his colleagues called the Clarkstown Police Department where he lived in New City to perform a wellness check, the Bronxville Police Department said in a statement

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/12/31/bronxville-police-murder-suicide/9561704033432/

Scary': House explosion in Michigan kills 4, hurts 2, shakes residents miles away

Source: ABC News

At least four people were killed and two others were critically injured when a house in a rural area of Michigan exploded and sent debris a mile away, authorities said.

The blast unfolded around 4 p.m. Saturday in Whitmore Lake near Northfield Township, about 14 miles north of Ann Arbor, and completely leveled a home, leaving just its foundation surrounded by splintered wood and other blast debris, Lt. David Powell of the Northfield Township Police Department said.

Six people were inside the home when the explosion occurred, Powell said. The names of those who perished have not been released, pending notification of their relatives.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/house-explosion-michigan-kills-4-hurts-2/story?id=106017250

Climate Activists Block Amsterdam Highway in Protest Against ING

Source: Reuters

Climate activists blocked a major highway in Amsterdam on Saturday to demand an immediate end to the financing of fossil fuel projects by the country's largest bank, ING.

Hundreds of activists walked onto the A10 highway to the south of the city at about noon (1100 GMT), police said, after road authorities had shut the road down to avoid casualties.

Organised by the Extinction Rebellion group, the protest took place at the site of the former headquarters of ING, which the climate activists said is the main financer of fossil fuel projects in the Netherlands.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-12-30/climate-activists-block-amsterdam-highway-in-protest-against-ing

'Almost Naked' Moscow party triggers conservative backlash

Source: AFP

A celebrity-studded "Almost Naked" party in Moscow's famed Mutabor nightclub has drawn outrage from Russia's political establishment, which has become increasingly po-faced since the assault on Ukraine.

Footage showing Russian VIPs in lingerie and raunchy costumes led to the arrest of a rapper for wearing nothing but a strategically-placed sock, and calls for boycotts and investigations.

The scandal shows the shrinking space for anything deviating from conservative patriotism in Russia since its deadly assault in Ukraine almost two years ago.

Amid the backlash, organiser Anastasia Ivleeva published a tearful apology video.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/almost-naked-moscow-party-triggers-conservative-backlash/ar-AA1m9GmJ

Michigan sheriff Dar Leaf offers 'militia course

Michigan Sheriff Dar Leaf is offering a “militia course” to residents, according to a Friday Facebook post.

The constitutionalist sheriff posted a graphic for enrollment to “learn a militiaman’s duty” for “potential jurors, homeschoolers, ladies & gentlemen.”

The post shared few other details, but included an email associated with the website of Brent Allan Winters, a Terre Haute, Indiana attorney.

Read more at https://www.themidwesterner.news/2023/12/michigan-sheriff-dar-leaf-offers-militia-course/