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A Wild True Crime Story From Across The Pond

A Wild True Crime Story From Across The Pond

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
October 08, 2024

Good Tuesday morning. If you believe in the Loch Ness Monster -- or are at least open to its existence -- you will want to check this out. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

Nobel Prize: U.S. winners
Biden: Africa visit
Musk: Finder’s fee
Google: Android ruling
Cissy Houston: Dies at 91

... and more

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Top Tips

1) 'Stranger than fiction'

A British doctor has admitted to a wild attempted murder scheme.

The news: Prosecutors said Thomas Kwan, 53, posed as a nurse and poisoned his mother's long-term partner in Newcastle. They said he injected the man with a toxic substance -- believed to be a pesticide -- while pretending to give him a Covid-19 booster vaccine.
The motive: Patrick O'Hara, the 72-year-old victim, was said to stand between Kwan and his ability to inherit his mother's estate after she died. Kwan forged documents and license plates and wore an elaborate disguise to pull off the poisoning. Prosecutor Thomas Makepeace said the incident was "stranger than fiction."
Next steps: O'Hara survived, although he spent several weeks in intensive care after developing a flesh-eating disease that led to a partial amputation of his arm. Kwan has refused to divulge what poison was used, which officials said has complicated O'Hara's recovery. Kwan's sentence is pending after his guilty plea.

2) No joke

Hurricane Milton stunningly reached Category 5 status yesterday as it heads toward Florida, which is still reeling from Hurricane Helene.

Latest forecast: The storm -- already the strongest in the world this year -- is expected to grow in size. It should weaken as it heads through the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall tomorrow at Category 3. But it will still be a significant storm given its massive overall size.
The numbers: Tampa could see winds of 120-140 MPH, plus 8-12 inches of rain and storm surges of 10-15 feet. Orlando, Fort Myers and Jacksonville are also expected to experience severe conditions.
Dire warning: Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, has begun mandatory evacuation orders. "If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told CNN. The storm is expected to prompt the state's largest number of mandatory evacuations in years.

3) Erasable Penn

The Republican Party suffered a legal setback in the state that may decide the presidential election.

The news: A GOP lawsuit challenging the ability of Pennsylvania voters to "cure" their mail-in ballots was rejected. The state's Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of the process but said it was too close to Election Day to alter existing policies.
Go deeper: Pennsylvania county election officials can notify voters of mistakes on their mail ballots and allow them to fix issues that would otherwise disqualify the ballots. Republicans were arguing the state legislature never gave local officials the right to do so.
Split decision: The GOP did score a win in Pennsylvania when its high court rejected a voting rights group's challenge against a state requirement that mail-in ballots must bear the correct date to be counted. Republicans have filed over 100 voting-related lawsuits in at least 26 states in the run-up to Nov. 5.
Big picture: Many analysts believe Pennsylvania -- and its 19 Electoral College votes -- will determine the next president. RealClearPolitics' polling average had Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump tied as of last night.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

Two U.S. scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered microRNA and mapped its role in gene regulation (More)
Georgia's Supreme Court temporarily reinstated the state's six-week abortion ban. The high court agreed to hear the state's appeal on a lower court ruling throwing out the ban; the law will remain in place during that process (More)
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson named six new city school board members. The move came after the entire previous seven-person board resigned in protest amid clashes with the mayor over control of the city's schools; Johnson said a seventh appointee is pending (More)

World News

President Joe Biden will visit Angola this weekend. It will be the first trip to Africa by a sitting president since 2015; the country has traditionally been closer to China and Russia than the U.S. and European Union (More)
King Charles will pause chemotherapy treatments to visit Australia and Samoa. He will be outside the United Kingdom for 11 days and resume outpatient care for his undisclosed form of cancer upon his return; the tour comes as debate over Australia becoming a republic grows (More)
Ukraine said it attacked the largest oil facility in Russian-held Crimea. The Ukrainians have emphasized strikes on the Kremlin's energy infrastructure in recent weeks; Russian troops are advancing at their fastest pace in two years, but analysts are unsure whether they can maintain gains (More)

Campaign News

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his super PAC will pay for battleground state voter data. The billionaire, who has endorsed former President Trump, said people will make $47 for each person they refer to an online petition requiring personal information; the payment mechanism was not immediately clear (More)
Vice President Harris was pressed on her economic and immigration policies by 60 Minutes' Bill Whitaker in her most challenging interview as the Democratic nominee. A non-partisan report found,Trump's proposals would raise the national debt $4T more than Harris' plans (More | More)
House Democrats' campaign arm is focusing on Project 2025 in competitive races. Billboards knocking the controversial right-wing policy package will be raised in over two dozen battleground districts after a five-figure investment (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed lower yesterday. The Dow Jones fell almost 400 points while the Nasdaq was down over 200 (Dow -0.94%, Nasdaq -1.18%, S&P 500 -0.96%).
A federal judge ordered Google to overhaul its Android app store and open it to competitors. The injunction comes on the heels of Fortnite maker Epic Games' jury win over the tech giant last year; users must be permitted to download apps and pay third parties for transactions within them (More)
Chevron will sell $6.5B worth of assets in Canada to Canadian National Resources. The oil giant is seeking to raise $10-15B through asset sales by 2028 to focus on other regions and its battle with Exxon over a $53B bid for Hess; the Canadian assets produced 84K barrels of oil equivalent daily last year (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Cissy Houston died at 91 after battling Alzheimer's disease. The mother of the late Whitney Houston was a gospel singer and two-time Grammy Award winner; she was part of the Sweet Inspirations vocal group and performed with Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley and other notable stars (More)
ESPN hired Shams Charania as its new lead NBA reporter. The journalist will replace the recently-retired Adrian Wojnarowski; the veteran mentored Charania early in his career, but the men have reportedly had a falling out (More)
Taylor Swift is the world's wealthiest female musician. The pop star's estate is now valued at $1.6B due to her Eras Tour, according to Forbes Magazine; she edges Rihanna, whose net worth is projected at $1.4B (More)

Quick Hitters

Be Safe: The FDA has upgraded a recent egg recall, warning that potential salmonella risks involved with the product could "cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” Over 4M eggs have been impacted by the recall.
New Idea: Jet lag after traveling can knock a person's internal clock completely out of whack. Scientists believe they have identified a small sliver of a protein that can inform about biological rhythm and, potentially, accomplish much more.
Go Deep: Vegetation is spreading at an incredible rate in a place where it should not be thriving -- icy Antarctica. Experts are alarmed about what that means for climate change.
Take Note: Be mindful of healthy volume levels if you frequently listen to music or other audio. Here are some tips to make sure you are in a safe zone.
Life Hack: Stress is no fun. These eight methods can help you manage everyday anxiety and boost your mood.

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