Peter Weber
The Week
Austin, TX, United States
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Past articles by Peter:
Mitch McConnell hospitalized after fall at D.C. hotel
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "tripped at a local hotel during a private dinner," spokesman David Popp said in a statement late Wednesday. "He has been admitted to the hospital where he is receiving treatment." Pope did not provide any additional information. McConnell, 81, recently became the longest-serving Senate leader in U.S. history. In August 2019, when he was majority… → Read More
Man accusing CPAC chief Matt Schlapp of unwanted groping steps forward
The longtime Republican political aide who anonymously accused, then sued, American Conservative Union head Matt Schalpp of sexual assault in January has stepped forward. A judge in Alexandria, Virginia, ruled Wednesday that Carlton Huffman, 39, had to use his real name if he want to proceed with his $9.4 million sexual battery and defamation suit against Schlapp and his wife, GOP heavyweight… → Read More
Ukraine's army runs a detailed how-to-surrender hotline for Russian troops who 'want to live'
Russia has a manpower advantage in Ukraine, and at this "crucial juncture in an extraordinarily bloody war, Ukraine's military is focused on one task: removing Russian soldiers from the battlefield," the Los Angeles Times reports. Ukrainian forces are willing to shoot the Russian soldiers sent charging at them in waves of "cannon fodder," but they also want to make it as easy as possible for… → Read More
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee quietly signs bans on drag shows, gender-affirming health care
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed bills Thursday that ban gender-affirming health care for minors and "adult-oriented" performances by "male or female impersonators" in public spaces or events where children may be present. The bills were fast-tracked by the state legislature's Republican supermajority, over objections from medical groups, LGBTQ advocates, and civil libertarians. "Lee signed… → Read More
Who is poisoning Iran's schoolgirls, and why hasn't Iran's government stopped them?
Hundred of schoolgirls have been poisoned since Nov. 30, 2022, at schools in 10 to 15 cities across Iran, and Iran's government finally acknowledged the severity of the situation this week and pledged to investigate. There isn't an official number of students hit with what appears to be a toxic gas, but BBC Persian has established that at least 830 students, most of them schoolgirls, had been… → Read More
Finland is voting to join NATO, but Hungary is joining Turkey as an obstacle
Finland's parliament on Tuesday started debating legislation to finalize the country's bid to join NATO, and lawmakers are expected to approve the bill on Wednesday. After the legislation passes, President Sauli Niinisto will have about three months to sign it, preferably alongside Sweden, and send Finland's instruments of NATO accession to Washington, AFP reports. Finland would then be part of… → Read More
2024 may be the 1st year since 1972 no Texan runs for president
At least one Texan has run in every U.S. presidential race since 1972, but 2024 may well break that 50-year streak, The Associated Press reports. President Biden hasn't decided if he is running for re-election, but the Republican race is wide open and the field may not be until shortly before the first GOP presidential debate in August. But so far, none of the likely Texas GOP candidates — Gov.… → Read More
Southern Baptists expel Saddleback, 4 other churches over women pastors
The Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee expelled six churches from the largest U.S. Protestant Christian denomination, one over its handling of a sex abuse case and the other five for installing women as senior or lead pastors. The most prominent SBC member kicked out Tuesday was California's Saddleback Church, one of the largest Southern Baptist churches. When Saddleback's… → Read More
African Anglican leaders threaten split from Church of England over same-sex union blessing
When the Church of England voted Feb. 9 to allow Anglican clergy to bless same-sex civil unions, there was grumbling in England that the change doesn't go far enough because it still excludes same-sex church weddings. In Africa, the change was a step too far for the Anglican leaders of Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, Religion News Service reports. The leaders of those three African churches, with a… → Read More
Russia has lost more than 1,500 battle tanks in Ukraine war, Dutch war monitor confirms
Russia committed about 3,000 battle tanks to its invasion of Ukraine — and nearly a year later, it has lost about half of them, Dutch open-source intelligence group Oryx said Thursday. Oryx says it has visually verified 1,012 Russian tanks destroyed in Ukraine, another 544 captured by Ukrainian forces, 79 damaged, and 65 abandoned. Counting unconfirmed losses, Russia's tank losses could be… → Read More
Nicaragua unexpectedly frees nearly all political prisoners, sends 222 to exile in the U.S.
Nicaragua's increasingly authoritarian president, Daniel Ortega, abruptly released 222 political prisoners Thursday morning and bused them to the airport, where an airplane chartered by the U.S. government flew them to Washington, D.C. The released dissidents, including several well-known political figures arrested before they could challenge Ortega in stacked 2021 elections, were greeted at… → Read More
How does Microsoft's ChatGPT-fueled Bing work, and can it actually challenge Google?
Microsoft on Tuesday gave a smattering of tech reporters a first look at its new Bing search engine fused with artificially intelligent chatbot technology from ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Thanks to this partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its biggest investors, "searching the web is about to turn into chatting with the web," Geoffrey Fowler explains at The Washington Post. "Instead of… → Read More
The weapons helping Ukraine fight back
From rocket launchers to Leopard 2 tanks, a closer look at the weapons and systems Ukraine has used to keep Russia at bay → Read More
Hundreds killed in powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey, Syria
A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early Monday morning, leaving more than 600 people dead amid collapsed buildings. The earthquake, felt as far away as Egypt, was centered about 20 miles outside of the Turkish provincial capital of Gaziantep, just north of the Syrian border, according other U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was 11 miles deep. >… → Read More
Australia is erasing Britain's monarchy from its paper currency, sidelining King Charles III
Australia's national bank said Thursday that its new $5 bill, which currently features a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II, will not feature King Charles III but rather an image honoring "the culture and history of the First Australians." That means none of Australia's paper (well, polymer) currency will depict Britain's monarchs. "The other side of the $5 banknote will continue to feature… → Read More
Nikki Haley to enter GOP presidential race Feb. 15, giving Trump 1st official rival
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) will formally announce she is running for president at a Feb. 15 event in Charleston, The Post and Courier reported Tuesday night. An email will go out to her supporters on Wednesday, inviting them to the event, The Associated Press reports. Former President Donald Trump is the only official GOP presidential candidate so far, though Haley has forecast… → Read More
Manhattan DA reportedly revives case on Trump's Stormy Daniels hush-money payment
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg began presenting evidence to a grand jury Monday about former President Donald Trump's 2016 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, The New York Times and other news organizations report. Bragg's predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., considered pursuing charges tied to the $130,000 payment in 2018, but decided to focus on potential crimes tied to… → Read More
Israel reportedly behind drone attack on Iranian military-linked warehouse in Isfahan
Israel on Saturday launched three bomb-carrying drones at a warehouse in the Iranian city of Isfahan, targeting some sort of military-linked facility, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Sunday, citing U.S. officials and others familiar with the attack. It isn't clear how much damage the drones inflicted on the site, or what was in the warehouse Israel reportedly targeted.… → Read More
Erdogan suggests Turkey may allow Finland to join NATO, block Sweden
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Sunday that his country may approve Finland's bid join NATO but block neighboring Sweden's, citing recent pro-Kurdish and anti-Islam protests in Stockholm. Erdogan also complained that Sweden has yet to extradite 120 people Turkey accuses supporting the separatist Kurdistan workers' Party (PKK), which he calls "terrorists." "You will extradite… → Read More
Chiefs, Eagles make it to Super Bowl LVII
The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs advanced to Super Bowl LVII with wins in their respective conference title games Sunday. The Eagles will act as home team in the Feb. 12 Super Bowl, held in Glendale Arizona. It will be the first NFL championship game with two Black starting quarterbacks, Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts. Brothers Travis Kelce, Chiefs… → Read More