News of the World

[kyonides]

Well, we should keep in mind that Ukraine has been using Russian weaponry that is kind of dated and that might include old missiles that might have not been properly maintained for years.

Uncounted Votes on Overlooked Memory Card Flips Election in Georgia

An overlooked memory card in Cobb County, Georgia, with uncounted ballots changed the final results of a special election, officials have said.

The county’s Board of Elections and Registration voted to recertify the results of the Nov. 8 Kennesaw City Council special election during a Nov. 18 meeting, according to a statement.
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Madelyn Orochena was originally declared the winner of the special election. However, when additional ballots were located on the memory card, Lynette Burnette was shown as the winner of the race by 31 votes, officials told local media.
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Cobb election officials said that the memory card was located in Kennesaw when workers were preparing for an audit of the election, according to 11Alive. Further details weren’t provided about why the card was overlooked or where it was located.

A recount was conducted on Nov. 20.

Orochena wrote in a Facebook post that she would file a complaint with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

World Cup Kicks Off With Welcome From Qatar’s Ruler

Qatar opened the World Cup on Sunday with a lavish half-hour ceremony.
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Tamim arrived at Al Bayt Stadium flanked by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, to a roaring crowd, and sat alongside other Arab leaders. A show unfolded on the pitch, featuring camels, American actor Morgan Freeman, Jungkook of K-pop boy band BTS, and Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi. Fireworks lit the sky.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and the presidents of Egypt, Turkey, and Algeria, as well as the U.N. Secretary-General, were among the leaders at the stadium, where Ecuador later scored a 2–0 victory over Qatar, the first World Cup host to lose their opening game.

The Muslim Gulf nation is staking its reputation on delivering a smooth tournament and has denied accusations of abuse of workers and discrimination. Governing body FIFA hopes the spotlight will now turn to action on the pitch.

Organizers have also denied allegations of bribery to win the rights to host soccer’s biggest event.
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The soccer tournament, the first held in the Middle East and the most expensive in its history, is a culmination of Qatar’s soft power push, after a 3.5-year boycott by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain that ended in 2021.
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There were signs of other thaws as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose countries’ ties have been strained, shook hands in Qatar.

And for the first time, a direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv to Doha landed in Qatar despite the absence of formal bilateral ties, thanks to a deal brokered by FIFA.

Kevin McCarthy Plans to Oust Ilhan Omar From House Committee for ‘Anti-Semitic’ Comments

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Saturday that when he becomes speaker of the House next year he will remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee because of her remarks that many deemed anti-Semitic.
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Omar, a Muslim immigrant of Somali descent, has been condemned for her remarks on the U.S.–Israel relationship several times in recent years, including by the leadership of her own party.

In 2019, the first-term congresswoman wrote on Twitter that the U.S. support of Israel is “all about the Benjamins.” This prompted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats to issue a joint statement, saying that the comment invoked a long-standing anti-Semitic trope and was “deeply offensive.”

President Donald Trump also weighed in at that time to call for Omar’s expulsion.
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This isn’t the first time McCarthy has said he wants to expel Omar from her committee assignment. In an interview with Breitbart in January, he said he was planning to oust Reps. Omar, Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from their respective committees if Republicans secure a majority in the House after the midterms.
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McCarthy argued that the two Californian Democrats shouldn’t stay on the House Intelligence Committee, either. He pointed to Swalwell’s affair with an alleged Chinese Communist Party spy, and the role Schiff played in promoting the false assertion that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.