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Pentagon’s Secret Service Trawls Social Media for Mean Tweets About Generals

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

When the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley enters into his scheduled retirement later this year, one of the perks will include a personal security detail to protect him from threats — including “embarrassment.” The U.S. Army Protective Services Battalion, the Pentagon’s little-known Secret Service equivalent, is tasked with safeguarding top military brass. The unit protects current as well as former high-ranking military officers from “assassination, kidnapping, injury or embarrassment,” according to Army records.Protective Services’s mandate has expanded to include monitoring social media for “direct, indirect, and veiled” threats and identifying “negative sentiment” regarding its wards, according to an Army procurement document dated September 1, 2022, and reviewed by The Intercept. The expansion of the Protective Services Battalion’s purview has not been previously reported.The country’s national security machinery has become increasingly focused on s...

Fowler, a fan favorite, takes center stage for the weekend at the US Open

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A fan favorite. An underdog. A comeback story.All those storylines are in play heading into the weekend at the U.S. Open.And, as luck would have it, they are all wrapped up in the same player — Rickie Fowler.One of the sport’s most popular personalities has been emerging from a three-year slump, and now he’s heading into the weekend at Los Angeles Country Club with a one-shot lead and as good a chance as he’s had in a while to capture his first major championship.“This is where I want to be,” Fowler said as he spoke with about a dozen reporters in a media tent usually reserved for players in the hunt. “It’s nice to be back in here.”As much as his round — an eight-birdie, six-bogey, 2-under 68 roller coaster that left him one shot ahead of Wyndham Clark — Fowler was asked about his struggles of the past few years and how he managed to make it through that rough patch without sacrificing his everyman, and everykid, persona.“I feel like I̵...

At least 41 killed in rebel attack on Ugandan school near Congo border

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan authorities recovered the bodies of 41 people, including 38 students, following an attack by suspected rebels on secondary school near the border with Congo, the local mayor said Saturday. The victims included the students, one guard and two members of the local community who were killed outside the school, Mpondwe-Lhubiriha Mayor Selevest Mapoze told The Associated Press. An unknown number of people were abducted by the rebels, who fled across the porous border into Congo after the raid on Friday night. Mapoze said that while some of the students suffered fatal burns when the rebels set fire to a dormitory, others were shot or hacked with machetes.Police said that rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, who have been launching attacks for years from their bases in volatile eastern Congo, carried out the raid on Lhubiriha Secondary School in the border town of Mpondwe.The school, co-ed and privately owned, is located in the Ugandan district of Kasese...

The mayor of Ugandan border town where suspected rebels attacked school says 41 bodies recovered, including 38 students

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The mayor of Ugandan border town where suspected rebels attacked school says 41 bodies recovered, including 38 students.Source

El rey Carlos III cabalgará en su primer desfile oficial por su cumpleaños

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

(CNN) — Carlos III revivirá una tradición real cuando participe a caballo en el primer Trooping the Colour de su reinado, que marca el cumpleaños oficial del soberano británico.Este tradicional espectáculo militar, que se celebra el sábado, es uno de los actos principales de la agenda real y atrae a grandes multitudes al centro de Londres. El verdadero cumpleaños de Carlos es en noviembre y suele celebrarse en privado.El rey se unirá a 1.500 soldados, 300 caballos y cientos de músicos que desfilarán desde el Palacio de Buckingham hasta Horse Guards Parade, en St James’s Park, para asistir a la ceremonia, presenciada por los miembros de la familia real.¿Por qué el rey Carlos III celebra dos cumpleaños? El origen del desfile Trooping the ColourEs la primera vez que un monarca reinante participa en la procesión desde que lo hiciera la reina Isabel II en 1986.Le acompañarán a caballo los coroneles reales, entre ellos el príncipe Guillermo, que es coronel de la Guardia Galesa...

Extreme Heat and Strong Storms this Saturday

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

Another day of dangerous heat rolls on into our Saturday as storm chances increase.Several disturbances heading southeast into Florida will help stir up the atmosphere over the next few days along with more moisture in place, making the environment for favorable for seeing thunderstorms.This Saturday will not be a washout but there will be more clouds and storms around than sunshine, especially by the afternoon. Therefore, if you have any outdoor plans do them before 11AM because after that point, rounds of thunderstorms will become likely across mainland South Florida. There is also the potential for severe weather, especially in Broward County with the risk for strong winds, small hail and an isolated tornado. Areas that see repeated rounds of heavy rainfall will also be at risk for street flooding.Before the storms begin, the heat will be the main issue, mainly during the morning hours and again during the lulls between storms in the afternoon. Highs will soar into the low to mid...

Chicago White Sox strike out 16 times for 2nd straight game in 3-2 loss — their 3rd 1-run defeat in their last 5 games

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

Andrew Benintendi entered the visiting dugout in the sixth inning Friday, where he momentarily received the silent treatment.The Chicago White Sox left fielder had just circled the bases after hitting his first homer of the season.Teammates eventually all greeted Benintendi with high-fives. Not only was the wait over, but the home run gave the Sox the lead. Briefly.The Seattle Mariners tied it up in the home half of the sixth and went ahead in the seventh on a solo homer by Teoscar Hernández to beat the Sox 3-2 in front of 36,061 at T-Mobile Park.Starter Michael Kopech and reliever Tanner Banks worked out of several jams to keep the game close. But the only scoring for the Sox came via solo homers by Gavin Sheets and Benintendi.“We have six homers in the last two days, solo,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “I like the fact that we’re hitting homers, now we’ve got to find ways to put up crooked numbers. We do that, we’ll be in good shape with the ...

Lucas: Gavin Newsom needs to keep focus on Joe Biden

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

Forget Ron DeSantis.If California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a shadow Democrat candidate for president, wants to debate someone it should be Joe Biden.That is because Newsom would have to get by Joe Biden before he could take on DeSantis if the Florida governor should emerge as the 2024 GOP candidate for president.Former President Donald Trump, despite Biden’s unabated jihad against him, still might have something to say about that.Or, since they are not letting Biden out of the White House to campaign these days — and with good reason  Newsom should at least debate fellow Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and self-help author Marianne Williamson.They, along with Biden, are at least officially announced Democrat candidates for president.Newsom is not, although he acts like he is.Instead of officially challenging Biden, Newsom hovers around waiting for something to happen to him. And, given Biden’s age (80) and his deteriorating mental and physical well-being, something could.Meanwhile, the sl...

On the move? Think tanks offer different views on outmigration in Massachusetts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

Competing narratives have emerged over whether Massachusetts is facing an immediate outmigration crisis, with a flock of tax policy think tanks laying out arguments over the drivers and extent of population loss over the past several years.Outmigration conversations have been around for years, but have taken center stage this year as debate over tax relief heated up on Beacon Hill. Some top legislative Democrats and the progressive tax policy think tank MassBudget and Policy Center have started to push back on what they argue are “overblown” claims of outmigration.Speaking to business leaders Thursday, Senate President Karen Spilka said “a lot of sensational headlines” have run in recent weeks about Massachusetts falling behind other states, either because people are leaving or private investments are fleeing.“That’s not to say that we don’t need to take a hard look at what is happening in our state,” Spilka said to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, according to her remarks as...

Battenfeld: Michelle Wu puts a stop to foolish Boston City Council cuts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:54 GMT

What a huge mistake giving the Boston City Council budget authority.Related ArticlesOpinion Columnists | Boston Mayor Wu rejects City Council budget cuts to Boston Police, Veterans departments Tom Menino would never have stood for this.Now Mayor Michelle Wu is finding out what it’s like for the misguided, far left council to control the purse strings.In an ironic turn, it was the progressive darling Wu who put a stop to the extremist council’s foolishness, rejecting a 14% reduction in veterans’ services and over $30 million in cuts to Boston Police patrols.The geniuses on the council had also tried to cut $4.73 million from the Boston Transportation Department and $3.49 million from the Public Works Department.Yes, that’s right. Cut the budget of the agency that fills potholes. People will love that.Wu also rejected an $802,000 cut to one of the historic gems of the city, the Boston Public Library, and added an additional $700,000 to that department, her office said....