Wednesday, October 9, 2024

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1/ With landfall by Milton, a major Category 3 hurricane, hours away and nearly 7.3 million Floridians facing mandatory evacuation orders, Marjorie Taylor Greene continued to promote her false conspiracy theory that the government can control the weather. The Georgia Republican claimed last week that “they” can control the weather after Hurricane Helene killed more than 230 people, including two dozen people in her state. She added: “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Greene doubled down since her initial claim, posting screenshots of “weather modification project reports” from the NOAA website and citing a post by a conspiracy theorist website as proof that “yes they can control the weather.” She continued: “If your home or business or property is damaged or a loved one is killed by their weather modifications shouldn’t you be eligible for compensation? After all, did they ask you if you agreed to our weather being modified?” Biden called Greene’s conspiracy theory “reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies […] harmful to those who need help the most.” He added that the “claims are getting even more bizarre […] it’s beyond ridiculous. It’s got to stop.” Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez, meanwhile, said Greene and others who think that humans can control the weather need “to have their head examined.” Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast overnight as a major hurricane, and could become one of the most destructive storms on record. Harris urged residents to heed evacuation warnings, saying the storm is expected to be “catastrophic and deadly” and “unlike anything we’ve seen before.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico / CNN / Washington Post / New York Times / The Hill)

2/ The Kremlin confirmed that Trump secretly sent Putin Covid-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic when the machines were in short supply. Trump denied that he sent Covid test equipment to Putin, saying “none of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true” – referring to “War,” Woodward’s new book. “We also sent equipment at the beginning of the pandemic,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a written response. Peskov, however, denied reporting that Trump and Putin have spoken on the telephone “as many as seven” times since Trump left office. The Logan Act prohibits private U.S. citizens from engaging in diplomacy with foreign governments without authorization that are in dispute with the U.S. (Bloomberg / Axios / NBC News / Politico /

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