Top News: (1/16-1/22)
Updated: Mar 5
Here are the top stories for this week all summarized so you can stay informed and save time!
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All sources are at the end of the post.
FBI searched Biden home, found items marked classified:
The access road to President Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Del., is seen from a media van on Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
On Friday, the FBI searched President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware and located additional documents with classified markings. Biden voluntarily allowed the FBI into his home, but the lack of a search warrant only added to the embarrassment to Biden that started with the disclosure on January twelfth that the president’s attorneys had found a “small number” of classified records at a former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington shortly before the midterm elections. Since then, attorneys have gone on to find six classified documents in Biden’s Wilmington home library from his time as vice president. Though Biden continues to maintain that there is nothing to be found, the discoveries have become a political liability as he prepares for his reelection bid. The FBI took six items that contained documents with classified markings during Friday’s thirteen hour search, said Bob Bauer, the president’s personal lawyer. The items spanned Biden’s time in the Senate and the vice presidency, while he said that the notes dated to his time as vice president. The level of classification, and whether the documents removed by the FBI remained classified, is not immediately clear as the Justice Department is still reviewing the records.
Canada's energy jobs transition bill sparks discord in oil heartland:
Pipelines run at the McKay River Suncor oil sands in-situ operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol
Controversy is brewing in Canada's western oil patch over federal government legislation meant to help the fossil fuel labor force transition to green energy. Union and community leaders are warning that the politicization of the Just Transition bill obscures the needs of workers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is expected to table its long-awaited workforce transition bill this spring, ahead of economic changes expected as they pursue ambitious goals to slash climate-warming emissions. The government of Alberta, Canada's main crude-producing province, says the legislation will dismantle the oil and gas industry that makes up 5% of Canada's GDP. Alberta's Conservative Premier Danielle Smith is using the threat of job losses to attack Trudeau and rally her conservative base, although she has been criticized for misinterpreting how many jobs may be at risk. The Trudeau government is trying to soothe concerns about the bill, first promised in 2019. According to Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), if done right the bill could incentivize technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen.
Man Who Broke into a School to Save 20 People in Blizzard Gets Super Bowl Tickets from the Buffalo Bills:
Jay Withney surprised by Buffalo Bills – Released via Twitter
A man who may have saved the lives of 24 people by breaking into a school in Cheektowaga, upstate NY during the ‘worst storm in a generation’ has been given Super Bowl Tickets by his hometown team. Jay Withey, the 27-year-old mechanic and hero, received the reward for his live-saving actions from the Buffalo Bills in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield. He broke a window of Edge Academy on Christmas Eve in order to get 2 dozen people, including several seniors and two dogs, out of hurricane-force winds, snow, and deathly cold temperatures. He borrowed the academy’s snowblower to get people unstuck from the roads and into the school. Once inside, he found granola bars, water, and blankets in the nurses’ office, and gathered apples, juice, and cereal from the kitchen. The group sat out the storm, and before leaving cleaned up every trace of their presence. The school declined to press any charges, nor accept any of Mario’s repeated attempts to pay for the window.
New AI-Powered Farming Robot Trundles About Inspecting 50 Acres of Crops per Day for Pests and Disease:
SentiV robot – credit: Meropy
A new innovative spoke-wheeled robot can act as a long-distance plant nurse that can inspect 50 acres of row crops for disease, pests, or other issues. Planting is a seriously stressful time for farmers, as all the input costs stack up while profit lies far away in the distant months. Furthermore, many things can go wrong between planting and harvest time, whether that’s a sudden outbreak of disease, pests moving into the area or the proliferation of weeds. That’s why a new 33-pound robot called the SentiV moves about on spokes rather than wheels or treads which crush plants and could be ideal for farmers looking to reduce labor costs and hours. Placing the GPS coordinates of the field’s boundaries, the SentiV then uses these boundaries as a guide to map the whole field—up to 50 acres in a day, scanning both the underside and topside of plants with a pair of cameras. Smart algorithms then look for threats, monitor the plants’ growth, and identify signs that the plant might need more or less water or nutrients. The SentiV scouting robot is currently just a prototype, but its designers hope that the high unit cost can be offset with savings on pesticides and fertilizer.
Top News Sources:
FBI searched Biden home, found items marked classified | AP News
Canada's energy jobs transition bill sparks discord in oil heartland | Reuters