jgo
jgo's JournalWill Georgia Republicans try to get rid of Fani Willis before she can bring Trump to trial?
Source: dailykos
The Georgia Legislature just passed legislation to create a so- called “Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission,” which would make it easier to remove District Attorneys from office. It is reported that Gov. Kemp has indicated that he will sign the legislation into law.
This will make it far easier to get a recall election to remove Willis from office, even if she has already indicted Trump, which may happen any day. If DA Willis is recalled and removed from office a newly elected Republican District Attorney would have the discretion to discontinue the prosecution of Trump, before a criminal trial is conducted.
Any future indictment of Trump will likely include other co-defendants some of which may be the same Georgia Republican Legislators who enacted this new law.
On its face, this new law appears to be a corrupt attempt by the Republicans who control the State Legislature, and Governorship in Georgia to save Trump and themselves from criminal prosecution.
Read more: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/6/2156653/-Will-Georgia-try-to-get-rid-of-Fani-Willis-before-she-can-bring-Trump-to-trial
This is the only article I could find not behind a paywall.
Jan. 6 defendants apparently disappear on eve of trial, court records show
Source: ABC News
Two people charged in a coordinated attack on police officers during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol now appear to be on the lam and a judge issued warrants for their arrest just as one of them was set to go on trial this week, court records show.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols unsealed bench warrants last week for Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson, both of Florida, who along with three others are accused of a series of assaults on law enforcement outside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
After his arrest, Hutchinson was ordered to remain on home detention while Olivia Pollock was ordered to have a GPS monitor on her ankle.
FBI officials in Lakeland, Florida told the Associated Press that both Olivia Pollock and Hutchinson are believed to have tampered with and removed their ankle monitors before they vanished.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/jan-6-defendants-apparently-disappear-eve-trial-court/story?id=97670591
Georgia nuclear plant begins splitting atoms for first time
Source: Associated Press
A nuclear power plant in Georgia has begun splitting atoms in one of its two new reactors, Georgia Power said Monday, a key step toward reaching commercial operation at the first new nuclear reactors built from scratch in decades in the United States.
The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said operators reached self-sustaining nuclear fission inside the reactor at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta. That makes the intense heat that will be used to produce steam and spin turbines to generate electricity.
A third and a fourth reactor were approved for construction at Vogtle by the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2009, and the third reactor was supposed to start generating power in 2016. The company now says Unit 3 could begin commercial operation in May or June.
Unit 4 is projected to begin commercial operation sometime between this November and March 2024.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/georgia-power-nuclear-reactor-electricity-voglte-startup-305145dc46cc1752c2d9371fa70aea35
Meat, dairy and rice production will bust 1.5C climate target, shows study
Source: The Guardian
Emissions from the food system alone will drive the world past 1.5C of global heating, unless high-methane foods are tackled.
Climate-heating emissions from food production, dominated by meat, dairy and rice, will by themselves break the key international target of 1.5C if left unchecked, a detailed study has shown.
The analysis estimated that if today’s level of food emissions continued, they would result in at least 0.7C of global heating by the end of the century, on top of the 1C rise already seen. This means emissions from food alone, ignoring the huge impact of fossil fuels, would push the world past the 1.5C limit.
The study showed that 75% of this food-related heating was driven by foods that are high sources of methane, ie those coming from ruminant livestock such as cattle, and rice paddy fields. However, the scientists said the temperature rise could be cut by 55% by cutting meat consumption in rich countries to medically recommended levels, reducing emissions from livestock and their manure, and using renewable energy in the food system.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/06/meat-dairy-rice-high-methane-food-production-bust-climate-target-study
Estonia's Kallas in first place in parliamentary election
Source: Reuters
The Reform party of Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas secured first place in Sunday's parliamentary election, a result that should ensure Tallinn remains one of Europe's most staunchly pro-Kyiv governments.
If Kallas, 45, succeeds in crafting a functioning coalition, it would cement the Baltic nation's pro-European direction.
Estonia, a western neighbour of Russia with a population of 1.3 million, would also stay on course to adopt more green energy and continue to accept refugees from Ukraine.
Kallas said the election left her party in a strong position to form a coalition government that would keep up calling for pressure on Russia.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/estonia-goes-polls-test-pro-kyiv-government-2023-03-05/
IAEA, Iran Agree to Boost Inspections
Source: VOA
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Saturday upon his return from a trip to Iran that Tehran has agreed to restore ‘certain accesses’ at its nuclear sites and allow more inspections.
Iran has been stalling on agreements that would allow the IAEA to investigate facilities where particles of uranium have been detected. Iran has also agreed to the reinstallation of cameras and other monitoring equipment that had been removed from the sites.
The IAEA and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued a joint statement Saturday saying the “high-level meetings” during Grossi’s two-day visit “addressed the importance of taking steps in order to facilitate enhanced cooperation, to expedite as appropriate the resolution of outstanding safeguards issues.”
Read more: https://www.voanews.com/a/iaea-iran-agree-to-boost-inspections-/6990535.html
High seas treaty: agreement to protect international waters finally reached at UN
Source: The Guardian
It has been almost two decades in the making but on Saturday night in New York, after days of gruelling round-the-clock talks, UN member states finally agreed on a treaty to protect the high seas.
The historic treaty, which will cover almost two-thirds of the ocean that lies outside national boundaries, will provide a legal framework for establishing vast marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect against the loss of wildlife and share out the genetic resources of the high seas. It will establish a conference of the parties (Cop) that will meet periodically and enable member states to be held to account on issues such as governance and biodiversity.
A full day after the deadline for talks had officially passed, the conference president, Rena Lee of Singapore, took to the floor of room 2 of the UN headquarters in New York and announced the treaty had been agreed. The fifth session of the conference would be suspended in order to allow the editing and translating of the text, she said. At a later date, the delegates would meet for half a day to formally adopt the text. She made it clear the text would not be reopened.
The High Ambition Coalition – which includes the EU, US, UK and China – were key players in brokering the deal, building coalitions instead of sowing division and showing willingness to compromise in the final days of talks. The Global South led the way in ensuring the treaty could be put into practice in a fair and equitable way.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/05/high-seas-treaty-agreement-to-protect-international-waters-finally-reached-at-un
'Everyone should be concerned': Antarctic sea ice reaches lowest levels ever recorded
Source: The Guardian
For 44 years, satellites have helped scientists track how much ice is floating on the ocean around Antarctica’s 18,000km coastline.
But across those four decades of satellite observations, there has never been less ice around the continent than there was last week.
In the southern hemisphere summer of 2022, the amount of sea ice dropped to 1.92m sq km on 25 February – an all-time low based on satellite observations that started in 1979.
But by 12 February this year, the 2022 record had already been broken. The ice kept melting, reaching a new record low of 1.79m sq km on 25 February and beating the previous record by 136,000 sq km – an area double the size of Tasmania.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/04/everyone-should-be-concerned-antarctic-sea-ice-reaches-lowest-levels-ever-recorded
France, NGOs pledge 100m to protect world's tropical forests
Source: RFI
President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France and two non-profits would contribute 100 million euros to an "action plan" for preserving the world's tropical forests.
The pledge was announced at the end of the two-day One Forest Summit in Gabon that aimed to assess progress made since last year's COP27 climate conference and renew targets for the preservation and sustainable management of the world's forests.
The funding from France is part of a commitment to kickstart a mechanism that aims to reward countries that are scientifically proven to have protected their forests or restored them.
The Walton Foundation will contribute €20 million and Conservation International €30 million.
Read more: https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20230303-france-ngos-pledge-%E2%82%AC100m-to-protect-world-s-tropical-forests
U.S. Delegation Announced 6 Billion USD in Commitments to Address Threats to Our Ocean, Doubling Las
Source: U.S. Department of State
The eighth Our Ocean Conference – hosted by the Government of Panama – convened governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society to make concrete commitments to protect ocean health and security. The United States made 77 announcements, from 8 agencies and offices, worth nearly USD 6 billion, more than twice as much as the United States pledged at last year’s conference. These announcements spanned the issue areas of the conference, including climate change, sustainable fisheries, sustainable blue economies, marine protected areas, maritime security, and marine pollution.
Read more: https://www.state.gov/u-s-delegation-announced-6-billion-usd-in-commitments-to-address-threats-to-our-ocean-doubling-last-years-pledge-at-eighth-our-ocean-conference/
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