According to the plea agreement, on Nov. 17, 2021, Lashley traveled to the Family Dollar in Citrus Springs, Florida, where the victim, a Black man, was shopping inside. Lashley followed the victim outside into the parking lot and then attacked him, striking the victim multiple times. Lashley and his co-defendant, Roy Lamar Lashley, directed racial slurs towards the victim before, during and after the attack. The victim sustained injuries to his face and legs, including a laceration to the inside of his mouth.

“The defendant is being held accountable for subjecting a Black man to a brutal and racially-motivated assault,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Convictions like these make clear that the Department of Justice will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who violently assault others because of their race. Racially-motivated hate crimes have no place in our society.”

Source: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime for Racially-Motivated Attack on a Black Man | OPA | Department of Justice

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Study: Influenza A (H6N6) Viruses Isolated from Chickens Replicate in Mice and Human lungs Without Prior Adaptation

I’m not as young, or as physically able, as I used to be.  I realize that conditions I might have tolerated when I was 30 are a lot harder to deal with, now that I’m nearing 70.

You don’t have to live in Hurricane country to be battered by a natural disaster. Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, tsunami’s, blizzards, volcanic eruptions, and even solar storms can strike with little or no warning.

Preparedness is cheap insurance.  A good place to get started is READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Post-Disaster Sequelae

More than 200,000 Russians have entered Kazakhstan since Vladimir Putin announced mobilization on September 21, Kazakh Interior Minister Marat Akhmetzhanov reported on Tuesday. At the same time, he said, many of their stays have been short: between September 21 and October 4, about 147,000 Russians left Kazakhstan.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said that he plans to hold talks with the Russian authorities amid the mass influx of Russians into the country. Akhmetzhanov has vowed that Kazakhstan will not extradite any Russian citizens seeking to evade mobilization unless they appear on the federal wanted list.

Source: Kazakh Interior Ministry says more than 200,000 Russians have entered Kazakhstan — Meduza

On Oct. 3, Elon Musk outlined a four-point proposal for achieving peace in Ukraine. His plan involved concessions to Russia on a scale instantly deemed entirely unacceptable by Kyiv. The Kremlin, on the other hand, appears to be delighted by Musk’s “initiative.”Source: Elon Musk’s Ukraine proposal delights the Kremlin Dmitry Medvedev thinks he might even be ‘worthy of a promotion’ — Meduza