🦠New research suggests that "excess death" rates during the pandemic were far higher among registered Republican voters in Ohio and Florida.

A paper published Tuesday by the National Bureau of Economic Research compares the relationship between Republican voter registration and dying of COVID, most likely because lower rates of Republicans got vaccines once they became widely available.

Three Yale University researchers selected Ohio and Florida. They looked at “excess deaths,” i.e., the number of deaths in a given period that is more than the expected number. While no single death in that measure can be attributed to a given cause, it’s safe to assume that a spike in excess deaths is mainly attributable to the disease in a deadly global pandemic.

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🔹Herschel Walker, a Republican candidate for the US Senate who has said he opposes abortion with no exceptions, has denied a media report that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009.

Walker, who aims to unseat Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in Georgia, was responding to a report by The Daily Beast on Monday that said the candidate’s then-girlfriend provided a receipt for the procedure, a copy of a check from Walker and a get-well card given to her by the former football star.

The woman, who asked not to be identified by the news outlet, said Walker encouraged her to end the pregnancy, saying that the time was not right for a baby, The Daily Beast reported.

“This is a flat-out lie – and I deny this in the strongest possible terms,” Walker said in a statement late Monday that he would sue the outlet. Matt Fuller, the politics editor for The Daily Beast, tweeted in response, “I can tell you we stand behind every word and feel very solid about the story.”

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⚖️Angelina Jolie declared for the first time what allegedly went down on the infamous 2016 plane flight that led to her divorce from Brad Pitt.

In court papers filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the actress claims "Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face." Jolie alleges her ex-husband "grabbed" her head and "shook her," according to the document obtained by the New York Times. Jolie says in her new filing that the FBI agent who investigated the incident "concluded that the government had probable cause to charge Pitt with a federal crime for his conduct that day."

Jolie and Pitt were together for more than a decade. She filed for divorce and full custody after the incident in 2016.

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▪️Loretta Lynn, country legend and 'Coal Miner's Daughter' singer, dies. "Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home in her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills," Lynn's family said in a statement provided to media channels. They have asked for privacy as they grieve and share that a memorial for Lynn will be announced later.

The legendary country star was born in the remote Appalachian town of Butcher Hollow, Van Lear, Ky., in 1932. The second of eight children (her siblings include fellow country singer Crystal Gayle), Lynn didn't do much singing or songwriting in her youth, but the music was always present.

Lynn, who is survived by four of her six children and her grandchildren, suffered a stroke in May 2017 but continued to tour throughout her recovery. In 2021, she released her 50th studio album, Still Woman Enough, which celebrated women in country music.

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💸 The US’ gross national debt has surpassed $31 trillion for the first time, the Treasury Department said Tuesday, as the country battles high inflation and contends with rising interest rates

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters are ready to announce a significant reduction in oil production at the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna on Wednesday, the Financial Times reports, citing sources.

▪️ According to the publication, Saudi Arabia seeks to raise oil prices in order to "anger the United States and help Russia."

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📹 A teenager who was driving a stolen Maserati early Sunday morning reached a top speed of 123 mph before the car crashed and killed one of his passengers, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

▪️ The teens, who had no driving license, were trying to escape Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies after they stole the unlocked 2016 sports car in St. Petersburg early Sunday, unaware that they were being tracked by a police helicopter above.

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❗️ President Putin approved the ratification of the agreement on the accession of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions into Russia

⚡️The US, the UK and their satellites want not only to drag out the Russian special military operation but also to shift hostilities to Russia, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Wednesday

📹 Russia’s MoD has published footage showing Ka-52 attack reconnaissance helicopter crews in combat.

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❗️ Gazprom says Russia to resume gas deliveries to Italy.

▪️ Transportation of Russian gas through the territory of Austria to Italy is being resumed.

▪️ Gazprom, together with Italian buyers, managed to find a solution on the format of interaction, in light of the regulatory changes that took place in Austria at the end of September.

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❗️ Ukrainian troops fired from air missiles at a penal colony in Gorlovka - mayor

⚡️ Ethiopia government says it accepts African Union invite to peace talks

📹 “There were peaceful people here”: the consequences of a rocket attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a hotel in the city of Alyoshky.

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📌 LIVE UPDATES: Ukraine hits prison facility in DPR with air-launched missile

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⚡️ Ukrainian troops launched a rocket attack on a hotel in the center of Kherson at night; the structure of the damaged building is being dismantled, rescuers say

🧐 Sudanese-British billionaire Mo Ibrahim criticized the West on Monday for obstructing African nations' effort to develop their own hydrocarbon reserves and constantly ignoring the energy poverty problems of the Global South.

❓ What’s behind the Global North's political short-sightedness and who benefits from the controversy?

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