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1·7 hours agoUPDATE: second death reported https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/62702/20261007/second-death-reported-russia-us-health-officials-closely-monitor-suspected-plague-outbreak.htm
https://www.dw.com/en/russia-who-not-able-to-fully-assess-plague-situation/a-79584532
UPDATE: concern about wether the bacteria strain may be GMO(antibiotic resistant)
https://www.newsweek.com/former-cdc-director-warns-russian-plague-may-have-been-manipulated-12540115
1·2 days agonot tremedously surprising. these locations are kinda sketchy.
not exactly huge headline news, to me.
"investigations into fraud have been widening. Prosecutors have so far charged six people connected to L.A. homeless service providers. LAHSA has said none of its staff are implicated.
When asked if LAHSA’s current or past leadership has been culpable, Essayli recently said, “It is not against federal law to be incompetent, unfortunately.””
"L.A. County pulled roughly $300 million of its annual homelessness funding in July and gave it to its new in-house Department of Homeless Services and Housing.
That leaves the city as LAHSA’s last major funder. The City Council has explored leaving, but hasn’t reached a decision yet. City staff has estimated that building a city homeless services department would take up to two years.
On the campaign trail, Councilmember Nithya Raman has pledged to exit LAHSA within her first year if elected mayor, while incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has said it would take “a couple of years.” "
What’s next
"Carter did not rule Wednesday on federal funding. He scheduled a hearing for Oct. 27 and described it as “our decision-making day on so many matters.”
Before then, local officials representing the L.A. Continuum of Care are expected to select a replacement to take over LAHSA’s federal administrative roles."
1·7 days ago
title: “Sinema’s ex-lover had ‘large’ knife, threatened to ‘take her down’ before arrest at Cheesecake Factory: police” url: “https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/sinemas-ex-lover-had-large-knife-threatened-take-her-down-before-arrest-cheesecake-factory-police” author: “Elias Weiss”
Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-bodyguard, beau re-arrested
Kyrsten Sinema’s ex-bodyguard Matthew Ammel was arrested again in Phoenix after violating pretrial release.
The former bodyguard and ex-boyfriend of one-time Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was arrested again on Sept. 30 after authorities say he violated his pretrial release by dropping off a “large, military-style knife” at a gun store — and threatening to kill judges and police officers.
What we know:
Prosecutors with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed an emergency motion on Wednesday requesting a judge increase the bond for 39-year-old Matthew Ammel to $100,000 cash-only. The filing comes less than two weeks after Ammel’s initial arrest for allegedly causing nearly $200,000 in damage to Sinema’s Cave Creek home, when he was given supervised release.
Now, state attorneys are warning that the U.S. Army veteran poses an escalating danger to the public and to Sinema after threatening to “take her down.”
Matthew Ammel appears in court, center, following his re-arrest for violating pretrial release conditions in a felony domestic violence case involving former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, right.
According to court records, Pretrial Services was alerted by North Carolina authorities on Tuesday that Ammel was actively trying to acquire guns and tactical gear while making threats against a judge. Later that afternoon, Ammel’s court-ordered GPS tracker placed him at a firearm retailer in north Phoenix, where a sheriff’s detective learned Ammel had left a large “hunting-style” knife to be engraved.
State prosecutors said in court documents that police have serious safety concerns due to Ammel’s “erratic” behavior, “highly skilled” military training and efforts to have “military friends” help him assemble a rifle. Court filings say Ammel prepared for violence by discussing funeral arrangements and making threats against the lives of sitting judges, lawyers and police personnel.
The arrest:
Detectives with the Arizona State Gang Task Force helped lure Ammel out of his hotel room on 24th Street and Camelback Road and asked him to walk across the street to The Cheesecake Factory parking lot, where he was taken into custody on Sept. 29 at 9:45 p.m.
Ex-bodyguard accused of trashing former Arizona Senator’s home
The former bodyguard to ex-Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is facing a felony charge after deputies say he caused over $200,000 in damage at her Cave Creek home. FOX 10’s Jacob Luthi reports.
Dig deeper:
Prosecutors now say Ammel also broke a court protective order shortly after his initial release by getting an acquaintance to reach out to Sinema on his behalf. On top of his Arizona charges, Ammel was already serving unsupervised probation for a prior felony case in North Carolina.
The backstory:
The original criminal charge stems from an Aug. 30 incident where deputies say Ammel entered Sinema’s home while she was away, demanding she post a video to X. When Sinema refused, Ammel allegedly destroyed 22 paintings valued at over $123,000 by throwing them into her backyard pool and shattered expensive alcohol bottles and mirrors throughout the house.
Ammel was initially taken into custody on Sept. 17 after he was discharged from a mental health facility; he was charged with felony aggravated criminal damage domestic violence. The criminal cases follow Sinema’s court filing acknowledging an affair with Ammel in response to an “alienation of affection” lawsuit brought against her in North Carolina by Ammel’s wife.
What’s next:
A judge set a $25,000 bond following the knife incident. Ammel will be arraigned on Oct. 7, with a pretrial conference scheduled for Jan. 20, 2027.
Map of where a state task force nabbed Sinema’s ex a second time:
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Maricopa County Superior Court records, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and North Carolina civil and criminal court records.
if drugs = party . then yes
i dont share your view.
i suppose you are free to say whatever you want.
thats all there is to discuss.
if i was getting adversarial… i would say your comment is human-slop.
so what if it is, or if its not? who cares(except for AI-haters).
its quite often, alot better than most humams would write.
if its a boring topic? yeah i agree. but you dont run the show
1·12 days agoeveryone who i talked to who did trucking has storys that make it sound like a dirty dangerous industry.
i am curious how the heck you police trucks period. due to sheer volume of drivers and consequence of delays.
yet we cant survive without them. they are vital. and im guessing the system works(for the most part) else someone figured out how to manage it.
.
12·13 days agounrelated criticism:
the website hosting this article is loading 40 third-party scripts.
8·14 days agoi dont know where OP was going with this. but…
the criminalization/coercion of street-homeless to overcrowded sub-standard shelter… basically is a prison( remarkably similar to jail) or concentration camp.
a significant chunk of the residents are ex-cons who recently got released but they dont have money+job for an apartment(if they even want one).
alot of people do. for example dogs and gangs/cliques
i think its great that people are creating a whole bunch of jev-type datasets. the dream is that jev-type models somehow improve (probably to cover more diverse domains and uses).
1·14 days agono
if i had $100 for everytime either: person died, mysterious death, missing person poster/story , threat against my life or other … i would never have to work another day in my life! lol. i’d be hella rich.
my theory: i feel like the first wave of any product is overhyped and has less accountability to deliver.
"Hoverboards (2015) The “self-balancing scooter” became a global sensation almost overnight, with demand skyrocketing across retail and online markets. Because manufacturers rushed to meet this sudden explosion in demand, quality control was ignored. This led to a wave of defective lithium-ion batteries that frequently overheated and caught fire, resulting in massive recalls and bans in several countries.
The Segway (2001) Before its release, the Segway was shrouded in extreme secrecy and hype, with some predicting it would “change the way cities are built.” When it finally launched, the reality didn’t match the excitement; it was too bulky for sidewalks, too slow for roads, and far more expensive than consumers were willing to pay for its actual utility. "
straight off the top of my head… Blu-ray . everyone said it was better. it triggered the need to have “the latest greatest tech” but now… i dont even know how that would have benefited me, personally. it would have been more rational if they had a more tangible benefit… like a smaller disk.
also gameboy. …however i cant think of any criticism aside from costing alot.
despite the credibility of the claim coming from a microsoft director…
it will just be recorded in the history books as an unfortunate injustice.(similar to every other revelation of injustice on wikipedia). its better to make the truth available. …but it just sits there until someone stumbles upon it. then they go “ooh! thats unfortunate!” and then continue on with their day.
related research:
Chinese drug loberamisal extends stroke treatment window from 6 hours to 2 days
“The large-scale multicentre phase 3 trial found that 70 per cent of patients who received loberamisal intravenously within two days of a stroke regained complete functional independence – an increase of 13 percentage points over standard care alone.”
“Wu said Alibaba’s Qwen team plans to train a new model with 5 trillion to 10 trillion parameters , to tackle “more complex, longer-horizon tasks” as it pursues an artificial superintelligence, or one that surpasses human capabilities.”
summary from date-10/7
## Irkutsk laboratory death and public-health response A young female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia, prompting concerns that she may have been exposed to a dangerous pathogen during laboratory work. Early reports said she had told colleagues that she accidentally broke a test tube containing live bacteria while collecting samples, although Russian authorities later said their inspections had found no confirmed laboratory accident involving pathogenic microorganisms. The death triggered an extensive precautionary response. Regional health authorities identified and medically monitored roughly 200 contacts, while some hospital units reportedly limited admissions. A nearby aluminum plant also instructed employees to wear masks amid uncertainty and conflicting reports. Artem Fominikh, director of the Irkutsk Aluminum Plant, urged calm and said that unverified information was circulating. The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute—formally the Irkutsk Antiplague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East—was established in the 1930s to combat plague and later broadened its work to other high-consequence infectious diseases. It plays a public-health role in disease surveillance, laboratory diagnosis, prevention, and research across Siberia and Russia’s Far East, including regions where plague can occur naturally among wild animals and their fleas. At the center of the concern was the possibility of **pneumonic plague**, a severe lung infection caused by the bacterium *Yersinia pestis*. Russian officials did not initially confirm the cause of death, saying laboratory and tissue testing was still underway. The head of neighboring Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, said the worker may have died from plague, while also stressing that there was no recognized plague outbreak in his region. ## Official assessment and containment measures Russian health authorities, including Rospotrebnadzor, said they implemented a full set of preventive measures: identifying contacts, conducting medical observation, testing people who had been exposed, and monitoring the local epidemiological situation. Officials reported that no dangerous infectious pathogens had been detected among the contacts. Later updates indicated that monitoring had been completed for all identified contacts, with no confirmed secondary cases. According to the reported Russian findings: - Some contacts tested positive for common respiratory infections, including COVID-19 and rhinovirus - No evidence emerged that a dangerous pathogen had spread from the deceased worker to close contacts - Inspections reportedly found no confirmed incident involving pathogenic microorganisms at the institute - Testing of the deceased reportedly did not identify microorganisms associated with her professional work, though the full diagnostic picture was initially still being clarified - Authorities said the regional sanitary and epidemiological situation was stable and under control The World Health Organization said it was aware of reports of a laboratory worker in Irkutsk Oblast dying from severe pneumonia on October 2, 2026. WHO stated that the cause of death had not yet been officially confirmed and that testing was underway. It noted that all known contacts had been identified and monitored, with no symptoms reported among them at that stage. WHO’s initial risk assessment characterized the threat as moderate to low for the immediate Irkutsk area, low for Russia overall, and very low for the broader WHO European Region. WHO also said it was communicating with Russian authorities under Articles 9 and 10 of the International Health Regulations (2005). That process involves verifying the event, reviewing laboratory findings, understanding why contact tracing was undertaken, and assessing whether the incident could have international public-health implications. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control likewise reported no known secondary cases and no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission, while emphasizing that its assessment rested on limited available information. ## Why pneumonic plague caused concern Plague remains rare, but it is taken seriously because of its severity and because its pneumonic form can be transmitted through infectious respiratory droplets during close contact. It is also one of the pathogens long discussed in biodefense planning because it could, in principle, be deliberately aerosolized. There are three principal clinical forms of plague: | Form | Main route or feature | Key concern | |---|---|---| | Bubonic plague | Usually follows the bite of an infected flea | Fever and painful swollen lymph nodes, known as buboes | | Septicemic plague | Bloodstream infection | Can progress rapidly to shock and organ failure | | Pneumonic plague | Infection of the lungs | Can spread between people through close-range respiratory droplets | Pneumonic plague is the least common but most dangerous form. It can arise when someone inhales infectious *Y. pestis* particles, or when untreated bubonic or septicemic plague spreads to the lungs. A person with pneumonic plague may infect close contacts through droplets expelled while coughing. However, ordinary spread requires close and usually sustained exposure; the bacterium is not generally thought to behave like a highly airborne virus that remains broadly suspended throughout indoor spaces for long periods. That distinction matters. A single suspected case—especially one isolated in a medical setting—does not automatically signal a wider outbreak. Rapid identification, isolation, contact tracing, monitoring, and preventive antibiotics for eligible close contacts can sharply reduce the risk of onward transmission. ## Laboratory safety and transparency The case drew particular attention because it involved a worker at a laboratory studying high-risk pathogens. Laboratory-acquired infections are uncommon but possible wherever dangerous microbes are handled. They can result from accidents such as sharps injuries, broken containers, aerosol-generating procedures, failures in protective equipment, or breakdowns in routine biosafety practices. Experts quoted in reporting emphasized that a suspected occupational exposure to plague would normally lead to an immediate risk assessment and, where appropriate, prompt post-exposure antibiotic prophylaxis. The public does not yet have a complete account of the worker’s medical timeline, the material she may have handled, whether an exposure occurred, or what preventive treatment she received. Those questions are important, but they cannot be answered reliably until Russian authorities release final laboratory and investigative results. The episode also illustrates why transparency is central to public confidence. When officials rapidly communicate what is known, what is uncertain, what testing has been done, and whether transmission has occurred, they reduce rumors and help neighboring countries calibrate precautions appropriately. U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, called for greater information-sharing, while Russian officials said control measures were in place and the situation was stable. Several neighboring countries increased preparedness measures. Uzbekistan said it had raised readiness for highly infectious diseases, and Kyrgyzstan announced enhanced quarantine controls at border crossings. Such measures reflect caution rather than proof that international spread occurred. ## Treatment and prevention Plague is treatable with antibiotics, but timing is critical. Untreated pneumonic and septicemic plague can be rapidly fatal, whereas early treatment can substantially improve outcomes. Management may include antibiotics, respiratory and circulatory support for severe illness, isolation of pneumonic cases, and preventive antibiotics for people with significant close exposure. Key public-health measures include: - Immediate clinical assessment of anyone with compatible symptoms and relevant exposure - Isolation and appropriate infection-control precautions for suspected pneumonic plague - Prompt laboratory testing through qualified public-health systems - Identification and monitoring of close contacts - Preventive antibiotics when public-health authorities determine exposure risk warrants them - Clear, evidence-based communication to prevent both complacency and panic For the public, the available information did not support a conclusion that a plague outbreak was occurring in Irkutsk or that there was sustained person-to-person spread. The reported absence of secondary cases, completion of contact monitoring, and lack of dangerous-pathogen findings among contacts were reassuring signs. At the same time, the death of a laboratory worker handling—or potentially handling—dangerous pathogens underscored the continuing importance of rigorous biosafety, biosecurity, transparent investigations, and rapid international notification when a potentially serious infectious event occurs.