Author: Clayton Richardson

As Congress continues to delay aid and Volodymyr Zelensky replaces his top commander, military experts debate the possible outcomes. Long before it was reported, at the end of January, that Volodymyr Zelensky had decided to replace his popular Army chief, Valery Zaluzhny, the Ukrainian counter-offensive of 2023 had devolved from attempted maneuvers to mutual recriminations. The arrows pointed in multiple directions: Zelensky seemed to think that his commander-in-chief was being defeatist; Zaluzhny, that his President was refusing to face facts. And there were arguments, too, between Ukraine and its allies. In a two-part investigation in the Washington Post, in early December, U.S. officials…

Political outsider Arevalo, who is slated to assume office on January 14, has faced an onslaught of legal challenges since his surprise second-round election victory in August, including attempts to suspend his political party and stop him from taking power. The 65-year-old’s triumph and his pledge to fight graft are widely seen in Guatemala as alarming to the establishment political elite. On Friday, prosecutor Leonor Morales said investigations have concluded that the election of Arevalo, his vice-president and parliamentarians was “null and void” due to counting “anomalies” in the first round in June. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) responded by saying “the results are validated, formalized…

The Dominican Republic, Belize and Suriname are awardees as Malaria Champions of the Americas, 2023. Also awarded were the Brazilian city of Manaus and Mexican state of Quintana Roo. These countries and cities in the Americas were celebrated during the 2023 Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) Malaria Champions of the Americas prizegiving held on Monday November 6th. It was an event to mark, Malaria Day in the Americas, according to a press release from the Government of St. Lucia. Each winner was praised for their sustained actions toward malaria elimination in the Region. PAHO and its partners recognized this as well…

LOS ANGELES – A San Bernardino County man pleaded guilty today to knowingly selling two fentanyl pills to a 28-year-old man who – hours later – ingested one of the pills and suffered a fatal overdose. Luis Enrique Diaz, 23, of Victorville, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin scheduled a March 7, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Diaz will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Diaz has been in federal custody since April. According…

On July 27, 2023, peak hourly electricity demand in the continental United States reached 741,815 megawatthours (MWh). This peak was the second highest since we began collecting this data in 2016, just under the all-time high of 742,704 MWh recorded on July 20, 2022. Weather is a large driver of electricity demand, especially in summer months when homes and businesses use electricity for air conditioning. Peak hourly electricity demand in the United States typically occurs in either July or August when demand for space cooling is the highest. National peak hourly demand can mask regional grid strains because the continental…

Fitch Ratings – Monterrey – 25 Aug 2023: Fitch Ratings has affirmed Contraparte Central de Valores de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.’s (CCV) Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BBB’ and Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency IDRs at ‘F3’. Fitch has also affirmed CCV’s Long- and Short-Term National Ratings at ‘AAA(mex)’ and ‘F1+(mex)’, respectively. The Rating Outlook for the long-term ratings is Stable. IDRs Driven by Parent Support: CCV’s IDRs and National Ratings are driven by the ability and propensity of its ultimate parent, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV) to provide timely support, if required.…

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Conference realignment, spurred on by the constantly changing and redeveloping nature of college football, has turned into an omnipresent part of the game. Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, UCLA and USC to the Big Ten, then Oregon and Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and Colorado to the Big 12 — the list goes on and on. Most recently, the ACC has stepped into the realignment ring, heavily discussing the potential additions of California and Stanford from the PAC-12, as well as picking up SMU from the American. This endeavor has been going on for weeks. It appeared…

Dr. Passy, Distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps, distinguished guests of the Government, thank you for welcoming me here today! Particularly thank you to the Atlantic Club for inviting me to speak today with you this afternoon, and for all the incredible work you have done these past three decades in advancing the Euro-Atlantic relationship. I had the pleasure of joining Dr. Passy and his team for a recent visit at Sofia Tech Park where an exhibition full of young aspiring scientists connected live with experts from NASA and learned all about space, the final frontier as we say it…

Half of Americans polled widely view China as the biggest threat facing the U.S., a new Pew research center survey revealed. In an open-ended question, Americans were asked to name any country as the greatest threat to the U.S. — 50% named China. This was almost three times more than the share who named Russia (17%), said Pew in its latest survey published on Thursday. While it’s difficult to compare responses from year to year, Pew noted that “Americans have not always seen China as the top threat to the United States.” “When we last asked a question of this…

A federal judge blocks an 118-year-old state law that required minor political party candidates to collect more than 83,000 signatures on paper in order to appear on the ballot. A federal judge in Austin has blocked Texas from enforcing a more than century-old state law that requires third-party candidates to collect petition signatures on paper to qualify for a place on the ballot. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled on Monday that the requirement was unconstitutionally applied to minor political parties and candidates. Major political parties are not required to get signatures. “Texas first adopted that procedure in 1905, and…