Georgia Tech researchers developed a new iron chloride cathode that could slash lithium-ion battery costs and revolutionize electric vehicles and energy storage. A research team from multiple institutions, led by Hailong Chen of Georgia Tech, has developed a new, cost-effective cathode with the potential to significantly enhance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs…
Read More
Georgia Tech’s New Cathode Technology Could Revolutionize Electric Vehicles and Energy Storage
Who will succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah’s next leader?
Nasrallah was Hezbollah’s leader since 1992. His killing leaves a major void in the group’s leadership that will be difficult to fill.
Beirut, Lebanon – The killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah leaves a vacuum inside a movement that has already had much of its leadership decapitated as a result of months of Israeli assassinations.
But Nasrallah’s death on Friday evening, during a massive Israeli attack on southern Beirut, marks the passing of not just a figurehead, but the man who embodied the Lebanese Shia movement in the eyes of its supporters and the wider region.
Nasrallah became secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1992 while he was in his 30s, and he led the movement for the majority of its existence. Finding a replacement of a similar stature will be difficult for Hezbollah, as it looks ahead to continued Israeli attacks and even a possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon.
There are, however, two leading figures thought to be in contention to be Nasrallah’s successor: Hashem Safieddine and Naim Qassem. Here’s what you need to know about them.
Hashem Safieddine
The head of Hezbollah’s executive council and a cousin of Nasrallah, Safieddine is widely thought to be in pole position to become the movement’s next secretary-general.
Born in 1964 in the southern village of Deir Qanoun en-Nahr, near Tyre, Safieddine studied theology together with Nasrallah in the two main centres of Shia religious learning, the Iraqi city of Najaf and Qom, in Iran. Both joined Hezbollah in the organisation’s early days.
Safieddine comes from a respected Shia family that has produced religious scholars and Lebanese parliamentarians, while his brother Abdullah serves as Hezbollah’s representative to Iran. Safieddine has his own close ties to Iran; his son, Redha, is married to the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, the top Iranian general killed in a US strike in 2020.
As well as his role in leading the executive council, Safieddine is also an important member of the group’s Shura Council, and the head of its Jihadi Council. That importance has made him an enemy to Hezbollah’s foreign adversaries. The United States and Saudi Arabia have designated Safieddine a terrorist and frozen his assets.
Naim Qassem
The 71-year-old is Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, and has often been referred to as the movement’s “number two”.
He was born in the Nabatieh governorate’s Kfar Kila, a southern Lebanese village that has suffered through many Israeli attacks, especially since last October.
Qassem has a long history in Shia political activism. In the 1970s, he joined the late Imam Musa al-Sadr’s Movement of the Dispossessed, which eventually became part of the Amal Movement, a Shia group in Lebanon. He later left Amal and went on to help found Hezbollah in the early 1980s, becoming one of the group’s foundational religious scholars.
One of Qassem’s religious mentors was the widely respected Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, and Qassem himself has taught religious classes for decades in Beirut.
The secretive nature of a group like Hezbollah means not all his roles in the organisation are public knowledge. At one point, however, he oversaw part of Hezbollah’s educational network and has also been involved in overseeing the group’s parliamentary activities.
Qassem was elected deputy secretary-general in 1991, under then-Secretary-General Abbas al-Musawi, who was also assassinated by Israel.
He has played an important public-facing role in Hezbollah over the years, and is also a member of the group’s Shura Council.
He famously published a book called, Hezbollah, the Story from Within, in 2005, which was translated into several languages.
Donald Trump Closing Gap on Kamala Harris in Top Election Forecast
Donald Trump is rapidly closing the gap on Kamala Harris in one of the most closely watched election forecasts.
As the 2024 presidential race tightens, new data shows Trump’s chances of winning in November are at their highest since August 11, with FiveThirtyEight’s election simulator showing that he has a 47 percent chance of winning. It gives Harris a 53 percent chance, down from a high of 64 percent on September 18.
Since Harris took over as the Democratic candidate at the end of July, after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign, polls have looked largely positive for the vice president, with national surveys showing her leading Trump by as much as 7 points.
Harris’ lead marked a reversal of fortunes for Trump, who was previously leading Biden in the polls. FiveThirtyEight’s election simulator shows that Harris has been predicted to win against Trump since August 8, just over two weeks after Biden dropped out. Recent polls, however, suggest the gap between Trump and Harris is starting to close.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Newsweek contacted the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment via email.
The most recent ActiVote poll, conducted October 3-8, showed Trump was in the lead nationally by 1.2 points. In ActiVote’s poll from September, Harris led Trump by 5.4 points. Both polls surveyed 1,000 likely voters and had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points. The October survey was the first national poll to give Trump a lead since September 22.
Polls in some of the swing states have also looked positive for Trump, with RealClearPolitics’ poll tracker showing that Michigan has flipped in favor of Trump for the first time since July 29, with the former president half a point ahead in the state.
It comes amid newly released polling from Quinnipiac University that showed Trump was 4 points ahead in Michigan in a head-to-head matchup and 3 points ahead with third party candidates included. It also showed that Trump was ahead by 2 points in Wisconsin. Harris has lead both states since the end of July, according to FiveThirtyEight.
The poll put Harris 2 points ahead in Pennsylvania in a head to head matchup, and 3 points ahead when third party candidates were included. It surveyed 1,007 likely voters and had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
In Quinnipiac University’s September 18 poll, Harris held a lead in Pennsylvania, a slight lead in Michigan, and the race was essentially tied in Wisconsin.
“That was then, this is now. The Harris post-debate starburst dims to a glow as Harris enters the last weeks slipping slightly in the Rust Belt,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a press release.
Polling, including the latest Emerson College survey, shows Trump ahead in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. And according to Nate Silver‘s poll tracker as well as FiveThirtyEight’s tracker, he is between 1 and 2 points ahead in each state.
While the gap between Harris and Trump in the polls may be getting smaller, some surveys suggest the Harris campaign is still gaining traction with a month to go until the election.
The latest Cygnal poll, conducted October 2-3, showed Harris leading Trump by 3.3 points, 50.3 percent to his 47 percent. That was up from an August 7 poll, which showed the vice president 0.6 point ahead of Trump, 47.6 percent to his 47 percent, and a September 5 poll, which showed she was 2.1 points ahead, with 49 percent of the vote, while Trump had 46.9 percent.
Another poll, conducted by Morning Consult October 4-6, put Harris 6 points ahead after previous surveys showed her lead was between 2 and 5 points.
According to aggregator FiveThirtyEight’s poll tracker, Harris holds a 2.6 point national lead over Trump. In pollster Nate Silver’s tracker, she is 3 points ahead.
Nonetheless, Harris’ chances depend on winning the swing states, which are very close and are ultimately anybody’s to win.
Harris needs 44 electoral votes from toss-up states to secure victory, while Trump would require 51. If Harris won Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska’s 2nd District, she would reach the electoral threshold needed for a win.
FiveThirtyEight’s forecast predicts Harris will win in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska’s 2nd District with 273 votes, which would give her just enough votes to take her over the line, while Trump will win in Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, which will give him 265 votes overall.
RealClearPolitics’ forecast shows that, with no toss-up states, Harris will win in Nevada, Wisconsin and Nebraska’s 2nd District, while Trump will win in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, giving him an overall win of 296 Electoral College votes to Harris’ 242.
Kimmel Posits That ‘Elderly Con Man, Farting on Stage’ Trump Might Be Trying to Lose on Purpose
Jimmy Kimmel had an interesting theory about some of Donald Trump’s recent, weird campaign decisions. It seems that lately, Trump is spending a lot more time campaigning in places that aren’t essential to winning than he is in swing states, and the ABC host thinks it might be because he’s King Midas, but in reverse.
“Deep down, he knows the only way to reverse this curse is to lose the election,” Kimmel said, adding, “let’s help this poor man do that.”
Trump, Kimmel said during his monologue on Thursday, has “a few interesting tour dates on the calendar. Instead of the expected stops in swing states, Trump is holding rallies in solidly blue states like California, Colorado, Illinois and New York, places where he’s losing by a margin wider than his pants, which seems like it doesn’t seem like a great strategy.”
“Our Electoral College system means there are only about six states that matter, and the polls are showing very tight races in all of those states. So Why is Trump campaigning in California and New York, states he has about as much chance of winning as he has of winning a BETE Award, instead of the swing states? I have a theory,” he continued. “And you have to bear with me on this.”
“Have you heard the story of King Midas,” Kimmel asked. “The guy who everything he touches turns into gold?”
“So King Midas, he thinks this power’s gonna be great, turning everything he touches into gold. But then he can’t smell flowers, can’t eat food, can’t have a drink, and so on. That is Donald Trump,” Kimmel argued. “He believes he can turn anything into gold.”
“In his Aqua-Net muddled brain, he turns little crowds into big crowds, big crowds into huge crowds, he wins every tournament at his golf club, he could stop any war, he’s the smartest and the greatest and the richest. And he became president of the United States, which is not something even he imagined would ever happen, but it’s got this power. The magic narcissist reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, and now, now that he has he’s up there alone,” Kimmel went on.
“He can’t break the spell. It’s too strong. He can’t admit what he really is, which is a sad, elderly con man, farting on stage,” Kimmel declared. “So now he’s sabotaging himself. He’s saying ‘immigrants eat dogs.’ He’ll be a ‘dictator on day one.’ He’s selling God Bless the USA bibles made in China, and he’s campaigning in states he has no hope winning instead of the states he does. He believe he can turn those states into gold? Maybe, but I think it’s more likely that deep down, he knows the only way to reverse this curse is to lose the election.”
“So let’s help this poor man do that. Let us help our golden King break the spell and go on with his magnificent life.”
As for the farting thing, Kimmel brought that up earlier in the monologue, but during a speech in Detroit on Thursday, an audible noise occurred, and a lot of observers think it was caused by Trump farting.
Watch the full “Jimmy Kimmel Live” monologue below:
Trump trashes Detroit, while delivering a speech in Detroit
When Donald Trump spoke to congressional Republicans in June, the former president apparently thought it’d be a good idea to trash Wisconsin’s largest city. Milwaukee, the GOP candidate told his allies behind closed doors, is a “horrible” city that’s overrun by crime.
Trump’s timing could’ve been better: He slammed Milwaukee just weeks before the city would host the Republican National Convention.
But at least in this instance, the former president trashed the city before arriving there. During Trump’s remarks at the Detroit Economic Club, the GOP nominee was more direct in his insults. The Washington Post reported:
In bashing Vice President Kamala Harris in his remarks to the Detroit Economic Club Thursday, Donald Trump also insulted the city hosting him. “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s the president,” Trump said. “You’re gonna have a mess on your hands.”
“The whole country will be like, you want to know the truth? It’ll be like Detroit. Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president. … We’re not going to let her do that to this country. We’re not gonna let it happen.”
It’s possible that Trump simply forgot during his improvised comments that he was in Detroit while he was disparaging the city. The former president did, after all, recently relish “a great day in Louisiana” after spending the day in Georgia.
It’s also possible that the GOP nominee knew where he was, and he simply didn’t care whether he was insulting his hosts’ hometown or not.
Either way, Mike Duggan, the city’s Democratic mayor, quickly responded online that crime is down in Detroit and the local population is growing for the first time in several decades. “Lots of cities should be like Detroit,” the mayor wrote, “and we did it all without Trump’s help.”
Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s Democratic governor, had a similar message around the same time, writing online, “Detroit is the epitome of ‘grit,’ defined by winners willing to get their hands dirty to build up their city and create their communities — something Donald Trump could never understand. So keep Detroit out of your mouth. And you better believe Detroiters won’t forget this in November.”
This probably isn’t the “let Detroit go bankrupt” line that undermined Mitt Romney’s presidential hopes in Michigan eight years ago, but it’s not that far off, either.
If you’re thinking that local voters will be hearing a lot about Trump’s rhetoric between now and Election Day, you’re not the only one.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
East-West line MRT disruption: F&B operators near Buona Vista station see up to 70% drop in business, Singapore News
[PUBLISHED ONSeptember 29, 2024 5:46 AMBy](/byline/candice-cai) [Candice Cai](/byline/candice-cai) Disruptions to SMRT’s train services on the East-West line for the past five days have impacted not just commuters, but some businesses around the affected stations as well. Lunchtime crowds have visibly thinned at malls and food courts near Buona Vista station, according to Shin Min Daily
Read More
Electricity, internet gaps hinder AI adoption in Africa
Africa’s digital infrastructure gap remains significant with an estimated 900 million people still not connected to the internet. About the same number does not have access to electricity…
Read More
NMRC Secures $228m Mortgage Financing for Nigeria’s Vulnerable Earners, Borrowers
NMRC Secures $228m Mortgage Financing for Nigeria’s Vulnerable Earners, Borrowers The Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc (NMRC) has secured $228 million in affordable mortgage financing for vulnerable earners and borrowers. This was disclosed in a statement on its X page, on Thursday, September 26, 2024. The company revealed that the funding resulted from a partnership […]
The post NMRC Secures $228m Mortgage Financing for Nigeria’s Vulnerable Earners…
Read More
Proper Group — Formerly Utopia Music — ‘Disappointed’ by Swiss Bankruptcy Proceeding: ‘We Are of Course Appealing This Decision’
Proper Group, formerly Utopia Music, appeals against Swiss bankruptcy proceedings over an unpaid invoice. Proper Music Group, the Swiss company formerly known as Utopia Music, has been hit with bankruptcy proceedings in Swiss court after the group failed to attend a court hearing related to a debt of 23,000 Swiss Francs ($27,360…
Read More
Man Utd, Chelsea flops fulfil Turkey prophecy: Top 10 Turkish signings made for the Super Lig
Some players were born to play in Turkey and every summer there are many who fulfil their prophecy. We have ranked the top 10 most Turkish Super Lig signings of the Turkish Super Lig summer transfer window. 10) Ui-jo Hwang to Alanyaspor Having joined Alanyaspor on September 6…
Read More