US shooter had written about plans in books: police

A Colorado man who allegedly killed five people this week had self-published novels in which the main character shoots people very similar to his real victims.
#colorado #usshooter

Truck driver's 110-year sentence reduced after US outcry

A truck driver whose 110-year sentence over a deadly crash sparked outrage had his jail term reduced to 10 years on Thursday. More than 4.5 million people, including reality TV star Kim Kardashian, called for a reduction in Rogel Aguilera-Mederos' punishment, which the judge handing it down noted was the result of mandatory sentencing rules in the US state of Colorado.
#truckdriver #jailsentence

US man shoots dead daughter after mistaking her for intruder

A man in Ohio shot dead his own 16-year-old daughter after mistaking her for an intruder breaking into the family home, local police said Thursday.
#us #ohio

Elon Musk on govt on Mars: offers chance to recreate politics that benefit citizens

Elon Musk says human settlement on Mars could be a second chance to build a better government. The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO told podcaster Lex Fridman in a wide-ranging, 2.5-hour interview that putting humans on Mars is an opportunity to "rethink the whole nature of government, as was done in the creation of the United States" in the 18th century.
#elonmusk #mars #us

Brawl erupts in Kenya parliament over political parties bill

A brawl erupted in Kenya's parliament on Wednesday as lawmakers were debating a controversial bill governing political parties ahead of next year's election.
#kenyaparliament

Ethiopia's Tigray taps Muslim past in propaganda push

Rebels from Ethiopia's Tigray region are drawing on early Islamic history in an Arabic-language propaganda push to rally solidarity among Muslims online for their battle against the government.
#ethiopia #tigray

Mark Zuckerberg snapped up more land in Hawaii for $17 million

Mark Zuckerberg has added to his massive Hawaii compound once again.  The tech billionaire and CEO of Facebook parent company Meta purchased 110 more acres (445,145 square meters) of land on the island of Kauai, the Honolulu Star Advertiser's Andrew Gomes first reported. With this latest addition, Zuckerberg's estate, which he nicknamed Ko'olau Ranch, has grown to nearly 1,500 acres (6 million square meters) on Kauai's North Shore.
#markzukeberg #hawaii #metaverse

France faces power cuts as nuclear reactors are halted for maintenance

France risks falling short of electricity in a cold snap and lack of wind next month as an abnormally high number of the country’s nuclear reactors are halted for maintenance, the country’s grid operator said.
#france #maintenance #nuclearreactors

'We lost everything': Brazil floods leave thousands destitute

More than 90 000 people have been displaced, with the floods affecting over half a million victims across some 140 municipalities. Authorities say it has been the heaviest December rainfall in Bahia in 32 years. In some towns, a month's worth of rain fell in a matter of hours.
#brazil #brazilfloods #bahia

Former Australian parliament damaged by protest fire

Australia's former parliament building caught fire during a rights protest Thursday, officials said, with the flames causing limited damage. The blaze occurred when police broke up a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony by a small number of activists at the building's entrance.
#australianparliament