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📉 US life expectancy plunged again

The nation's life expectancy dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021, falling by nearly a year from 2020. In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated American lifespan shortened by nearly three years. The last comparable decrease happened in the early 1940s, during the height of World War II.

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, given death rates at that time. It is “the most fundamental indicator of population health in this country,” said Robert Hummer, a University of North Carolina researcher focused on population health patterns. The last time it was that low was in 1996.

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🪐 NASA’s Webb Takes Its First-Ever Direct Image of Distant World

For the first time, astronomers have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to take a direct image of a planet outside our solar system. The exoplanet is a gas giant, meaning it has no rocky surface and could not be habitable.

The image, as seen through four different light filters, shows how Webb’s powerful infrared gaze can easily capture worlds beyond our solar system, pointing the way to future observations that will reveal more information than ever before.

“This is a transformative moment, not only for Webb but also for astronomy generally,” said Sasha Hinkley, associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. Webb is an international mission led by NASA in collaboration with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

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👮‍♂️ NYPD officer punches a 19 years old girl in the face in viral video

An NYPD officer is under fire after video shows him apparently punching a woman in the face and knocking her to the ground below. The authorities were in search of attempted murder suspect Elvin James, 22, in Harlem, New York, when the woman, 19-year-old Tamani Crum, confronted an officer, as seen in body cam footage shared to Twitter by the NYPD.

"This incident, including the conduct of the detective who used force, is under ongoing review by our Internal Affairs Bureau's Force Group," Keechant L. Sewell, NYPD police commissioner, said in a statement. "All police body-worn camera footage, as well as other video surveillance from the area and witness, statements, are being gathered and reviewed.”

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🗣 Preview of Biden’s Thursday primetime speech

Excerpts released by the White House on Thursday revealed that US President Joe Biden will be discussing threats the nation is facing, and how the mentality behind the ‘Make America Great Again’ movement is “determined” to take the US “backwards,” among other talking points.

“For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not,” Biden’s excerpt reads. “We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us.”

Biden’s primetime speech is expected to begin at 8 p.m. local time.

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‼️ UN Security Council to hold ministerial meeting on Ukraine September 22 - French Envoy ➡️ LIVE UPDATES

The UN Security Council will hold a ministerial meeting on Ukraine on in the morning on September 22, the French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere said on Thursday.

"I will conclude with the crisis on Ukraine on Thursday the 22nd of September in the morning, the French Minister of Europe and foreign affairs will preside over a ministerial meeting of the Security Council on Ukraine with a particular focus that will be placed on impunity and justice," Riviere said.

The ambassador explained that the meeting will touch upon all of the parameters of the Ukraine crisis.

France is presiding with the UN Security Council during the month of September and has signaled being interested in discussing the situation in Ukraine. Upon Russia’s request, the UN Security Council will also hold a meeting on September 6, focusing on the situation in and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

⚡️ Launch of passenger trains between Crimea, Kherson, Zaporozhye postponed - Crimea Head

🗣 Tehran sends ‘constructive' response to US proposals on JCPOA - Foreign Ministry

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Friday that Tehran has sent a "constructive" response to Washington's proposals on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"The text that was sent [by Iran] has a constructive approach aimed at finalising the negotiations," Reuters quoted Kanaani as telling Iranian media.

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‼️ Reports: Ship loaded with Ukrainian grain that ran aground has been refloated

⚖️ Former NYPD officer receives 10 years sentence for Jan. 6 attack

The former New York Police Department officer convicted of assaulting law enforcement during the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Thomas Webster, who is also a Marine Corps veteran, was convicted by a jury in May on multiple charges stemming from his membership in the mob, including assaulting officers and violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

In court documents filed ahead of Thursday's sentencing, the Justice Department argued Webster "spearheaded" a breach against the police line on the Capitol's west front and was responsible for "disgracing a democracy that he once fought honorably to protect and serve."

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"Equality and democracy are under assault," Biden said during a primetime address in Pennsylvania. "Too much of what's happening in our country today is not normal."

"Trump and MAGA Republicans represent the extremism that threatens the very foundation of our Republic … MAGA Republicans don’t respect the Constitution, the rule of law, or the will of the people," he continued.

Biden took the opportunity to underscore that "plain and simple -- there is no place for political violence in America. Period. None." He continued, stating that the US cannot be "pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They are incompatible."

⚡️ Protesters outside Independence Hall, where Biden held his speech, were heard shouting "Let's go, Brandon" amid a chorus of what is believed to be police sirens.

🚨 Biden briefly reacted to a group of hecklers near Independence Hall

* Warning: Video may not be appropriate for all viewers

🚨 BREAKING | Assassination attempt foiled in Argentina after suspect pulls handgun on VP Cristina Kirchner’

Latest details on attempted killing of VP Kirchner

🔷 Suspected gunman identified by local media as a 35-year-old Brazilian man
🔷 Happened when VP was near her home in Recoleta - Buenos Aires
🔷 He tried to discharge his firearm but it did not go off
🔷 Police on scene
🔷 No motive yet

Iran's response to US proposals on JCPOA is ‘not constructive' - US State Dept.

Washington has received Tehran's response to US proposals on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and is studying it, but it is "not constructive," a State Department spokesperson told Sputnik on Friday.

"We can confirm that we have received Iran’s response through the EU. We are studying it and will respond through the EU, but unfortunately it is not constructive," the spokesperson said.

⚡️ Over 2,000 Ukrainian troops taken to hospitals after failed offensive - Snihurivka's Mayor

More than 2,000 wounded Ukrainian soldiers have been taken to hospitals in the city of Mykolaiv after Kiev's failed southern offensive, with city morgues being overwhelmed, Yuri Barbashov, the mayor of Snihurivka in the Mykolaiv region, has told Sputnik.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that the Russian military had repulsed the offensive of the Ukrainian troops in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. The Ukrainian military lost over 560 people, 26 tanks, and two attack aircraft during the attempted offensive, according to the ministry.

"As far as I know, about 400 wounded were taken to the Ministry of Internal Affairs' hospital in Mykolaiv, the same situation is in the emergency care hospital. In total, more than 2,000 wounded were taken to various hospitals and medical facilities of Mykolaiv," Barbashov said, adding that he received the information from sources in Mykolaiv, familiar with the situation in healthcare facilities.

"All the morgues are full. Currently, there are significant problems with donor blood, with clean water, and with the provision of the wounded admitted to Mykolaiv's [hospitals]," Barbashov said.

He said that Ukrainian troops have attempted an attack near Snihurivka as well. However, he said, this attack was a diversion with the main attack occurring "a little to the north."

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💰 Micron launches $15 billion Idaho project

On Thursday, Micron announced that it would invest $15 billion to build a new semiconductor plant in Idaho — just weeks after Congress passed $52 billion in new money to boost domestic chip manufacturing.

Last month, Micron said it would use the act’s new subsidies to invest $40 billion into US-based memory fabs, or fabrication plants, by 2030, creating an estimated 40,000 new jobs. The new Boise plant is expected to create 17,000 new jobs, including 2,000 Micron jobs, over the next eight years.

Micron’s announcement is just the latest in a series of multibillion-dollar plans to jump on the Biden administration’s recently approved CHIPS and Science Act.

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