It's Been Reported

UNRWA Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize, Amid Allegations Workers Took Part In Oct. 7 OSLO, Norway (AFP \| Times of Israel) — A Norwegian politician said Thursday that he has nominated the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, embroiled in a controversy over the alleged involvement of employees in the Hamas-led October 7 terror onslaught against Israel, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Labour MP Asmund Aukrust told the Dagbladet newspaper he had nominated the UN Relief and Works Agency “for its long-term work to provide vital support to Palestine and the region in general.” “This work has been crucial for over 70 years, and even more vital in the last three months,” said the politician who is vice-chairman of Norway’s parliament’s foreign affairs committee. Over a dozen countries, including major donors such as the United States, Germany, Britain and Sweden, have suspended funding to the UN agency over accusations that 12 staff members were involved in the October 7 atrocities, in which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people, most of them civilians massacred amid executions, the burning of bodies, rapes and other brutal atrocities, and kidnapped 253. See full story	Michigan City Ramps Up Security After Op-Ed Dubs It ‘Jihad Capital’ Of America (Fox News) — The city of Dearborn, Michigan is ramping up security after the publication of a controversial Wall Street Journal op-ed dubbed it the "jihad capital" of America. Dearborn is home to the highest concentration of Muslim residents in the United States. The piece, authored by Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, highlights mass support for Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran among city residents. Stalinsky describes protesters in the city shouting "Intifada, intifada," "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," and "America is a terrorist state." The piece also alleges that people were "celebrating" Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left 1,200 dead and hundreds more injured. These celebrations, the author noted, came before Israel retaliated with a ground offensive that has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud on Friday tweeted that city police increased security at places of worship and major infrastructure points as a "direct result" of a WSJ op-ed opinion piece. See full story
Conservative Actress Gina Carano Sues Disney For Wrongful Termination, 'Millions In Lost Income' (Fox News) — Gina Carano, the former actress on the Disney+ Star Wars show "The Mandalorian," sued The Walt Disney Company for "millions in lost income" over alleged wrongful termination and "discriminatory treatment" Tuesday. "A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away, Defendants made it clear that only one orthodoxy in thought, speech, or action was acceptable in their empire, and that those who dared to question or failed to fully comply would not be tolerated," the lawsuit, funded by X Corp. said. Carano allegedly made waves for "refusing to support movements and ideologies with which she did not agree" including Black Lives Matter, COVID lockdowns and transgender pronouns. The final straw for both Lucasfilm and Disney came when Carano drew criticism for a post on social media in which she compared today's political divide to the events in Nazi Germany and conservatives to the Jewish people. The post included an image of a Jewish woman who was beaten and bloodied in a brutal campaign of anti-Jewish violence in Lwów when it was part of German-occupied territory. See full story	Republican Lawmaker Who Helped Save Mayorkas From Impeachment Will Step Down (Fox News) — Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher announced Saturday that he will not seek re-election to his post in the House. "Eight years ago, when I first ran for Congress, I promised to treat my time in office as a high-intensity deployment. Through my bipartisan work on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, chairing the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and chairing the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, we’ve accomplished more on this deployment than I could have ever imagined," Gallagher said in a statement. "But the Framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives," the congressman continued. "Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old. And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election." Earlier this week, Gallagher was one of just three Republican House members to vote against the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, joining with all House Democrats and preventing the measure from going forward. See full story
It's Not Just Taylor Swift 'Nudes': Millions Of Teen Girls Victimized As Classmates Turn Them Into Deepfake Porn (NY Post) — “Imagine a girl waking up and finding an explicit photo or video that looks like her but it isn’t her,” Dorota Mani told The Post. That’s what happened to Mani’s 14-year-old daughter, Francesca, who discovered in October that classmates at Westfield High School, in Union County, New Jersey, had been circulating a photo that appeared to depict her in the nude. But the photo wasn’t real. It was generated by boys in her class using artificial intelligence “deepfake” technology. All the perpetrator needed was to take an innocent photo of Francesca from her social media and use one of dozens of apps or websites, to turn it into a fake nude. This week the ease with which vile pornographic “deepfakes” can be created exploded into public view as a nude image of Taylor Swift flooded social media. See full story	Miffed Musk Relocates Neuralink From Delaware After Tesla Pay Package Ruling (UPI) — Neuralink Corp. founder and investor Elon Musk is relocating the tech company from Delaware to Nevada after losing a $55.8 billion Tesla pay package that a Delaware judge recently nixed. Musk notified Neuralink shareholders of the change from Delaware to Nevada, which the Nevada Secretary of State finalized Thursday, according to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. "Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware," he posted on X. "I recommend incorporating in Nevada or Texas if you prefer shareholders to decide matters," Musk said in another post. The billionaire also said he intends to have Tesla shareholders vote on his proposal to move Tesla to Texas from Delaware. Tesla is headquartered in Austin but was incorporated in Delaware in 2003. See full story
New Species Of Jurassic Pterosaur Discovered On The Isle Of Skye (Univ of Bristol) — A new species of pterosaur from specimens found on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, has been announced by scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Bristol, University of Leicester, and University of Liverpool. The new pterosaur is part of the Darwinoptera clade of pterosaurs. Its discovery shows that the clade was considerably more diverse than previously thought, and persisted for more than 25 million years, from the late Early Jurassic to the latest Jurassic. During this period species within the clade spread worldwide. The discovery underpins a new and more complex model for the early evolution of pterosaurs. The study "A new pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Skye, Scotland and the early diversification of flying reptiles" is published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. See full story
Bodies Keep Turning Up In The Same Texas Lake Over And Over Again, Police Say (Fox News) — A body was found Monday in a Texas lake, the same site where other deceased individuals have been discovered in recent months, authorities said. A 911 caller saw a body in Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Austin-Travis County EMS said. The unidentified person was declared dead around 1:52 p.m., Fox Austin reported. Several other bodies have been discovered in the lake in recent months. At least five people have been found dead at the lake, which is a portion of the Colorado River running through downtown Austin, since last year. In June 2023, authorities downplayed speculation that a serial killer may be behind the deaths. See full story	Honda Recalls 750,000 Vehicles Due To Airbag Seat Sensor Problem (Ars Technica) — Honda is recalling more than 750,000 vehicles manufactured between 2020 and 2022. Honda says that a weight sensor, which is meant to disable the passenger airbags if the seat is occupied by a child or child seat, might not work properly, allowing the airbags to deploy during a crash. Exposure to humidity can cause a capacitor in the sensor to crack and leak, making it inoperable. The problem has been traced to a change in the base material for the sensor's printed circuit board – Honda's tier 1 supplier made the change when a natural disaster disrupted production at the tier 2 supplier that normally provided the base material. The changed circuit board was not properly verified and "could allow additional strain to the printed circuit board that can lead to a capacitor cracking and an internal short circuit." See full story
Fast Foodies Are Getting Fed Up With Price Hikes At The Drive-Thru (NBC News) — Look no further than the fast-food drive-thru for evidence of inflation fatigue. Food companies have been passing along higher labor and ingredient costs to consumers long after inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. Diners are getting fed up, eating less fast food and griping on social media that their go-to cheap meals aren’t so cheap anymore. Sales show it. McDonald’s reported underwhelming results in the fourth quarter, and Yum Brands showed weaker-than-expected growth in its top brands, which include KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Fast-food executives are taking note. McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts Monday that consumers are becoming more discriminating with their dollars, and he promised the company would focus more on affordability this year. See full story	Doctor's Diamond Ring Assumed Lost In A Pair Of Scrubs Is Found 100 Miles Away: 'A Little Miracle' (Fox News) — An anesthesiologist who accidentally sent her diamond ring through the wash is rejoicing after her treasured piece of jewelry turned up at another hospital. Dr. Radhika Ramasamy, a consultant anesthesiologist at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust in the U.K., put her diamond ring in her scrubs pocket in mid-December while she was doing an anesthetic procedure. "I meant to put the ring back on afterward but ended up doing another procedure and forgot about it," Ramasamy told the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which reported the story on Feb. 8. She didn't realize until the next day that the ring was gone, the doctor said. And by "then it was the weekend, so I didn’t report it to my facilities team 'til the Monday," she said, adding that she "never expected to get it back" as she thought it would be destroyed by the washing machines, the foundation reported. See full story