Jim Roberts Profile picture
Full-time student of the news & long-time follower of the Grateful Dead. Publisher/CSO @the74. Priors: Cheddar, Mashable, NYT. Listen to the thunder shout.
Jun 19, 2023 10 tweets 6 min read
Titanic tourist sub goes missing, sparking search; number of passengers is unknown. bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-… Coast Guard reports 5 people were aboard missing submersible that carries tourists to the wreckage of the Titanic, according to @guardian.
*Website of company that runs the tours says this was an 8-day expedition.
*Cost is reported to be $250,000/person.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/j… Image
Apr 14, 2022 9 tweets 4 min read
Russian cruiser Moskva is hit by 2 Ukraine missiles, according to Ukraine southern military command.
*Ukraine says Black Sea attack has caused the Moskva to start sinking.
*Russia denies that the ship was hit, saying it was “seriously damaged" in a fire.
theguardian.com/world/live/202… Russian sailors have evacuated the sticken warship Moskva. The loss of the ship is considered a massive blow to the Russian navy. cnn.com/2022/04/14/eur…
Apr 13, 2022 4 tweets 3 min read
UKRAINE update:
*Russia claims that 1,026 Ukraine soldiers have surrendered in Mariupol; no comment from Kyiv yet.
*Satellite images show big Russian military buildup in the east.
*Biden accuses Putin of committing "genocide.” Macron won’t go that far.
theguardian.com/world/live/202… 20 Bushmaster armorored personnel carriers arrive in Ukraine after being sent from Australia. nytimes.com/live/2022/04/1…
Mar 26, 2022 5 tweets 3 min read
Another Russian general is killed by Ukraine military.
*Lieut. Gen. Yakov Rezantsev was killed in a strike near the southern city of Kherson, according to Ukraine defense ministry.
*He is the 7th Russian general to die as a result of Putin’s invasion.
bbc.com/news/world-eur… Western officials say mutinous Russian troops ran over their own commander with a tank.
*It is unclear whether the colonel had been killed.
theguardian.com/world/2022/mar…
Mar 24, 2022 5 tweets 3 min read
Ukraine from above: Powerful drone footage after a month of war. via @BBCNews bbc.com/news/av/world-… Image Worried Russians Stockpile Medicine As Supplies Run Thin And Prices Rise. rferl.org/a/russia-medic…
Mar 4, 2022 13 tweets 7 min read
UKRAINE day 9:
*Russian forces attack and seize the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
*Western powers condemn Russia for "horrific" and "reckless” act.
*Officials say the site is safe, but attack could’ve been catastrophic.
bbc.com/news/live/worl… Ukraine President Zelensky accuses Russia of “nuclear terror.”

“No country other than Russia has ever fired on nuclear power units. This is the first time in our history, in the history of mankind, the terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror.”

theguardian.com/world/2022/mar…
Mar 3, 2022 11 tweets 6 min read
UKRAINE Day 8:
*UK intel report says Russian advance on Kyiv has been stalled by “staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown and congestion.”
*Despite heavy shelling, Kharkiv, Chernihiv & Mariupol are still in Ukraine hands.
theguardian.com/world/live/202… Satellite images show destruction from Russian attacks in residential areas of Chernihiv and on outskirts of Kyiv. washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/…
Mar 2, 2022 5 tweets 3 min read
From prison, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny calls for mass protests across the planet. Even at risk of arrest.

“Each arrested person must be replaced by two newcomers.” Ukraine says Russia has suffered these battle losses (unverified):

•5,840 troops
•30 aircraft
•31 helicopters
•211 tanks
•862 armoured patrol vehicles
•85 artillery systems
•9 anti-aircraft systems
•40 rocket launchers (captured)

bbc.com/news/live/worl…
Dec 23, 2021 6 tweets 3 min read
COVID update:
AstraZeneca vaccine booster works against Omicron, Oxford lab study finds.
reuters.com/business/healt… More positive news:
New #Omicron report from the UK finds the risk of any sort of hospital treatment was 20% to 25% vs. the Delta variant, and 40% to 45% lower when the visit resulted in admission for at least one night.
theguardian.com/world/2021/dec…
Dec 22, 2021 10 tweets 5 min read
COVID update:
New study from South Africa says patients infected with the #omicron variant are 80 percent less likely to require hospitalization than those with other strains.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… French health minister warns of 100,000 COVID cases a day as omicron surge continues. Nation is now reporting about 70,000 new infections daily. bbc.com/news/live/uk-5…
Dec 21, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
COVID update: The Biden administration will send 500 million rapid tests to US households.
*Free of charge.
*Will also set up 20,000 new testing sites nationwide.
nbcnews.com/politics/white… Image Moderna says it’ll begin work in “another week or two” on a omicron-specific booster.
*But it’ll take several months to produce 500 million doses after regulatory approval.
theguardian.com/world/live/202…
Nov 4, 2021 8 tweets 7 min read
At least 7 people who attended the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the Jan. 6 insurrection won public office on Election Day. washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/… CAPITOL RIOT ARREST UPDATE:
*Joshua Portlock of Smyrna TN is charged on multiple counts.
*”Stop the Steal” cowboy hat.
*Accused of using plywood to assault cops.
*On front lines of violent clashes in Capitol entrance.
*Charges: Assault, civil disorder, etc
justice.gov/usao-dc/press-… ImageImageImageImage
Nov 1, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read
"The red flags were everywhere.”

Still reading the @washingtonpost’s terrifically reported examination of the Jan. 6 insurrection. So impressed by the detail, the lack of equivocation…and the embedded footnotes!

washingtonpost.com/politics/inter…
Aug 9, 2021 15 tweets 9 min read
BIG: Dallas school district defies Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban and announces a mask mandate for students, staff and visitors on all school property. nytimes.com/2021/08/09/us/… Dallas School Supt. Michael Hinojosa explains why he’s imposing a broad mask mandate against the dictates of Gov. Abbott:
“…If we can save one student, one teacher, from going through this awful pain, it’ll get them more prepared to learn.”
nytimes.com/2021/08/09/us/…
Aug 9, 2021 7 tweets 4 min read
Federal judge strikes down efforts by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to block Norwegian Cruise Lines from requiring “vaccine passports.” tallahassee.com/story/news/202… ImageImage Only days into the school year, metro Atlanta schools report hundreds of #COVID19 infections among students. wsbtv.com/news/local/cob…
Aug 9, 2021 5 tweets 4 min read
Once-in-50-year heat waves are now happening every decade because of global warning, according to new U.N. climate report. reuters.com/business/envir… Image UN report makes clear that human activity is changing the Earth’s climate in ways that are unprecedented over possibly hundreds of thousands of years. theguardian.com/science/2021/a… Image
Jun 28, 2021 5 tweets 4 min read
#CORONAVIRUS UPDATE:
*Portugal orders unvaccinated tourists to quarantine 14 days.
*Spain requires British tourists to show negative #COVID test or proof of vaccination.
*Greece offers young people €150 as “a gift out of gratitude” for getting 1st dose.
theguardian.com/world/live/202… UK Defense Secretary & top military officials self-isolate after head of armed forces tests positive for #COVID19. theguardian.com/world/2021/jun…
Jun 26, 2021 7 tweets 5 min read
Before and after images reveal the extent of devastation in Surfside FL. nbcnews.com/news/us-news/i… ImageImage Three years ago, an engineer found “major structural damage” and “abundant” cracking of columns and beams at the Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside FL.

Repairs were scheduled to begin soon.

nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/… Image
Jun 24, 2021 4 tweets 3 min read
NEW: #Rudy Giuliani is suspended from practicing law in New York over false statements about Trump election loss. cnbc.com/2021/06/24/rud… Rudy’s lawyer says he’s confident his client "will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession.”

Maybe not.

cnbc.com/2021/06/24/rud…
Jun 24, 2021 6 tweets 5 min read
12-story condo partially collapses in Surfside FL, just north of Miami Beach. Mayor confirms one death, but officials fear more casualties. (Photos via @ap) wsvn.com/news/local/off… @AP Emergency responders rescue boy who survived collapse of apartment building in Surfside FL. via @wsvn. wsvn.com/news/local/off…
Jun 23, 2021 5 tweets 4 min read
CAPITOL RIOT ARREST UPDATED:
*Brian Ivey of Crossville TN enters guilty plea.
*Admits to entering Capitol thru smashed window. "Ivey was aware that he was not authorized to be inside of the Capitol.”
*Sentence TBD.
fox17.com/news/local/mid… ImageImage *Kurt Peterson of Hodgenville KY is charged in the insurrection.
*Shouted: “This is our house. Let us in.”
*Used sticks & fist to smash exterior window.
*Was near the scene where rioter Ashli Babbitt was shot.
*Charges: Obstruction; property damage, etc.
extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/… Image