US election offices increase security measures amid ongoing threats

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Arizona official notes that hardened tactics, including active shooter drills, offer ‘sad commentary’ on country

Elections offices in the US have hardened their security measures this year, anticipating potential violence based on experience since 2020 and during an ongoing rise in threats and harassment focused on election workers.

Many offices have now trained their workers on de-escalation tactics. They’ve run drills for active shooters or other disturbances. They have a process for flagging the threats that could be criminal and seeking law enforcement help when needed.

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Smog Will Shut Schools in Pakistan’s 2nd-Largest City for a Week – The New York Times

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  1. Smog Will Shut Schools in Pakistan’s 2nd-Largest City for a Week  The New York Times
  2. Pakistan province calls for ‘climate diplomacy’ with India as record smog chokes major city  CNN
  3. Lahore air pollution hits historic high, forcing school closures  NBC News
  4. This Is The World's Most Polluted City, 6 Times Worse Than Delhi  NDTV
  5. Pakistan shuts primary schools for a week in Lahore due to dangerous air quality  The Associated Press
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Eight go on trial over beheading of teacher Samuel Paty in Paris

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History teacher stabbed and decapitated near his school in a Paris suburb in 2020 in case that shocked France

Eight people have gone on trial in Paris for their alleged role in events leading to the beheading of the history teacher Samuel Paty in 2020, a case that horrified France and heightened fears of terrorist attacks on schools.

Paty, 47, was stabbed and then decapitated near his secondary school in the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, by Abdoullakh Anzorov, a radicalised 18-year-old who arrived in France aged six with his Chechen parents and had been granted asylum.

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First Thing: Trump election subversion efforts better organized than in 2020, experts warn

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From seeding doubt about voter fraud to using legal means, the efforts stand in contrast to last election’s more haphazard efforts. Plus, authorities seize massive amounts of fentanyl in California

Good morning.

Experts are preparing for Donald Trump to stage an aggressive attempt to challenge the election results if he appears to be losing Tuesday’s vote, warning that such efforts will be far more organized than his attempt at overturning the result following the 2020 race.

Just how close could the vote be? Analysts are predicting the closest election since 2000, when George W Bush won by 537 votes, and warning of the threat of civil unrest and political violence.

Where will Trump and Harris be on the final day of campaigning? Harris will be in three cities in Pennsylvania; Trump will make appearances in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

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French parents whose children took own lives sue TikTok over harmful content

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Lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders

Seven French families have filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the platform of exposing their adolescent children to harmful content that led to two of them taking their own lives at 15, their lawyer said.

The lawsuit alleges TikTok’s algorithm exposed the seven teenagers to videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, lawyer Laure Boutron-Marmion told broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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WATCH: IAF eliminates Hezbollah Radwan anti-tank missile system cmdr. Riad Rida Ghazzawi in Lebanon – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. WATCH: IAF eliminates Hezbollah Radwan anti-tank missile system cmdr. Riad Rida Ghazzawi in Lebanon  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Middle East crisis live: Leaks from Netanyahu’s office may have compromised peace deal, Israeli court finds  The Guardian
  3. IDF Strikes Hezbollah Targets Near Damascus; 70 Rockets Fired at Israel From Lebanon  Haaretz
  4. IDF raises alert level anticipating Iran strike  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Israel says Hezbollah commander and jihadist killed  Yahoo! Voices
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Johnson’s Brexit left ‘wholly negative legacy’ across Ireland, says new SDLP leader

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Claire Hanna lambasts arrogance of former PM and ‘stinking status quo’ in Stormont that has stifled ambition

Boris Johnson left a “wholly negative legacy” for the island of Ireland but difficulties in Northern Ireland also stem from a “stinking status quo” that has stifled ambition and drive for change, the new leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party has said.

Weeks after taking over from Colum Eastwood, Claire Hanna, spoke about her plans to revive the SDLP, pull Northern Ireland out of past mindsets and fight for new partnerships with Dublin on health and other public services.

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Burberry shares rise after reports Moncler is considering bid

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Head of LVMH, an investor in Italy’s Moncler, reportedly keen to get deal done with British luxury brand

Shares in Burberry have risen by more than 7% after reports suggested Italian rival Moncler may be considering a bid for the British luxury fashion brand.

The spike came after the trade journal Miss Tweed reported that Moncler, which also owns Stone Island, was looking at a potential acquisition of Burberry, which has struggled as demand for luxury goods has fallen.

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UK says it voted against UN nuclear war panel because consequences already known

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Foreign Office argues scientific study into modern effects of nuclear war not needed

The UK was one of three countries to vote against creating a UN scientific panel on the effects of nuclear war because, the Foreign Office argued, the “devastating consequences” of such a conflict are already well known without the need for a new study.

The UK, France and Russia were the only countries to vote on Friday night against a UN general assembly committee resolution drafted by Ireland and New Zealand to set up an international scientific inquiry to take a fresh look at the multifaceted impact of nuclear weapons use.

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Moldova’s president wins western praise for election triumph

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Maia Sandu’s victory amid claims of Russian interference boosts EU hopes and deals setback to Kremlin

Europe’s most powerful leaders have congratulated Moldova’s pro-western president, Maia Sandu, after she won a second term, cementing the country’s EU aspirations and dealing a setback to the Kremlin.

With nearly 98% of the vote counted in the second round of the presidential elections on Sunday, Sandu had 54% of the vote, ahead of Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Kremlin-friendly political newcomer, backed by the pro-Russia party of Socialists.

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Is Trump actually a fascist – and why does the answer matter?

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Given the comparisons to Hitler and Mussolini, experts say it’s important to remember that fascism is a process

While Democratic strategists debate whether or not their attack ads labeling Donald Trump a fascist have been effective, experts and academics told the Guardian his campaign and the Republican party he now heads have clear autocratic sympathies and political qualities that are firmly in line with fascism movements historically.

Put together, that makes any Trump victory this week and his return to the White House for a second presidential term a clear threat to US democracy, they added.

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Secretaries of state ask social media companies for moderation plans on election day

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Democratic top elections officials are concerned about inflammatory and AI-generated content

A group of Democratic secretaries of state are calling on social media companies to detail their plans to moderate inflammatory content and artificial intelligence on their platforms during and after election day.

Seven secretaries of state – representing Maine, Rhode Island, Illinois, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and New Mexico – sent the letters to Google, X and Meta on Friday. Secretaries of state typically play some role in overseeing elections in their states.

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Trump donor fined for pollution leads a fight to end methane emission penalties

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Detailed plans from 30 oil and gas producers come amid historic levels of potent planet-heating emissions

A powerful US oil and gas industry lobby group has drawn up detailed plans to kill off penalties for emitting methane, a potent planet-heating gas that’s increasing at the fastest rate in decades, with this effort led by a major donor to Donald Trump whose company has just been fined for methane pollution.

Leaked internal documents from the American Exploration & Production Council (AXPC), a group of 30 oil and gas producers, outline a push to repeal a fee levied on methane emissions should the former US president win this week’s election and Republicans gain control of Congress.

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Bus plunges into Himalayan gorge in north India, killing at least 36 people – Al Jazeera English

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  1. Bus plunges into Himalayan gorge in north India, killing at least 36 people  Al Jazeera English
  2. Uttarakhand: At least 36 dead after bus falls into a gorge  BBC.com
  3. Dozens killed as bus loses control, skids off Himalayan road in India and plunges into deep gorge  CBS News
  4. Dozens Dead as Overcrowded Bus Plunges into Gorge  Newsweek
  5. 36 dead after bus falls into gorge in Uttarakhand's Almora  The Times of India
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Ryanair profits plunge amid lower fares and Boeing delays

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Problems with delivery of 737 aircraft left airline ‘over-crewed and over-costed’, says CEO Michael O’Leary

Ryanair’s profits have dropped by nearly a fifth, as lower peak-season fares met higher costs that the airline blamed partly on problems at Boeing.

Summer fares were down by an average 7% as Ryanair cut prices to keep its planes full, carrying 9% more passengers from April to September this year than last.

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Spain floods: searchers scour car parks and malls amid fears death toll will rise

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Day after king and PM pelted by angry residents, search focuses on areas where people could have been trapped

Hundreds of civil and military emergency workers are searching shopping centres, garages and underground car parks for more victims of floods in the Valencia region that have killed at least 214 people, as public anger mounts over Spanish authorities’ handling of the disaster.

Yellow and amber weather warnings were in place for parts of Valencia and neighbouring Catalonia on Monday, with people in the affected areas advised to stay off the roads and keep away from the coast and rivers.

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