US President Joe Biden on Sunday said deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad should be "held accountable" but called the nation's political upheaval a "historic opportunity" for Syrians to rebuild their country. In the first full US reaction to Assad's overthrow by an Islamist-led coalition of rebel factions, Biden also warned that Washington will "remain vigilant" against the emergence of terrorist groups, announcing that US forces had just conducted fresh strikes against militants from the Islamic State organization. "The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice," Biden said, speaking from the White House. "It's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria." Asked by reporters what should happen to the deposed president, who reportedly has fled to Moscow, Biden said that "Assad should be held accountable." Biden -- set to step down in January and make way for Republican Donald Trump's return to power -- said Washington will assist Syrians in rebuilding. "We will engage with all Syrian groups, including within the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward independent, sovereign" Syria "with a new constitution," he said. However, Biden cautioned that hardline Islamist groups within the victorious rebel alliance will be under scrutiny. "Some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human right abuses," Biden said. The United States had "taken note" of recent statements by rebels suggesting they had since moderated, he said, but cautioned: "We will assess not just their words, but their actions." Biden said Washington is "clear eyed" that the Islamic State extremist group, often known as ISIS, "will try to take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish" itself in Syria. "We will not let that happen," he said, adding that on Sunday alone, US forces had conducted strikes against ISIS inside Syria. The US military said the strikes were conducted by warplanes against Islamic State operatives and camps. Strikes were carried out against "over 75 targets using multiple US Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s," the US Central Command said on social media. Earlier, Biden met with his national security team at the White House to discuss the crisis. Assad's reported departure comes less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group challenged more than five decades of Assad family rule with a lightning rebel offensive that broke long-frozen frontlines in Syria's civil war. They announced Sunday they had taken the capital Damascus and that Assad had fled, prompting celebrations nationwide and a ransacking of Assad's luxurious home. A Kremlin source told Russian news agencies that the deposed leader was now in Moscow, along with his family. The US military has around 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of the international coalition established in 2014 to help combat the Islamic State jihadist group. It has regularly struck targets in the country including those linked to Iranian-backed militias. Tehran was a major backer of Assad's government. Biden also confirmed US authorities believe the American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria in 2012, still lives. "We believe he's alive," Biden said, but the US has yet "to identify where he is." bur-sms/mlmQueens Bike Accident Lawyer Keetick L. Sanchez Discusses New York Bicycle Accident LawsZhang Anda hits 147 as Judd Trump and Neil Robertson fume at ‘unplayable’ table
The Seahawks made one move involving their 53-man roster Tuesday, claiming safety AJ Finley off waivers from the Chargers. Defensive lineman Myles Adams was waived to make room. The 6-foot, 188-pound Finley, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2023 out of Ole Miss, has played in 22 games the past two seasons, including 10 this year. He has seen most of his time on special teams and has 13 tackles in his career. Adams has been on and off the 53-man roster and practice squad since the 2020 season and has played in 25 games, three this year with three tackles. The Seahawks could look to re-sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. The Seahawks also released cornerback Faion Hicks and running back Brittain Brown off the practice squad and signed cornerback Ryan Cooper and receiver Cornell Powell to take their place. Cooper, a rookie, played at Oregon State and was most recently on the Ravens’ practice squad. Powell, from Clemson, was a fifth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2021 and has appeared in three NFL games
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We talk about Morse code, named after its inventor, Samuel Morse. However, maybe we should call it Vail code after Alfred Vail, who may be its real inventor. Haven’t heard of him? You aren’t alone. Yet he was behind the first telegraph key and improved other parts of the fledgling telegraph system. The story starts in 1837 when Vail visited his old school, New York University, and attended one of Morse’s early telegraph experiments. His family owned Speedwell Ironworks, and he was an experienced machinist. Sensing an opportunity, he arranged with Morse to take a 25% interest in the technology, and in return, Vail would produce the necessary devices at the Ironworks. Vail split his interest with his brother George. By 1838, a two-mile cable carried a signal from the Speedwell Ironworks. Morse and Vail demonstrated the system to President Van Buren and members of Congress. In 1844, Congress awarded Morse $30,000 to build a line from Washington to Baltimore. That was the same year Morse sent the famous message “What Hath God Wrought?” Who received and responded to that message? Alfred Vail. Telegraphs were first proposed in the late 1700s, using 26 wires, one for each letter of the alphabet. Later improvements by Wheatstone and Cooke reduced the number of wires to five, but that still wasn’t very practical. Samuel Morse, an artist by trade, was convinced he could reduce the number of wires to one. By 1832, he had a crude prototype using a homemade battery and a relatively weak Sturgeon electromagnet. Morse’s original plan for code was based on how semaphore systems worked. Messages would appear in a dictionary, and each message would be assigned a number. The telegraph produced an inked line on a paper strip like a ticker tape. By counting the dips in the line, you could reconstruct the digits and then look up the message in the dictionary. Morse’s partners, Vail and a professor named Gale, didn’t get their names on the patents, and for the most part, the partners didn’t take any credit — Vail’s contract with Morse did specify that Vail’s work would benefit Morse. However, there is evidence that Vail came up with the dot/dash system and did much of the work of converting the hodgepodge prototype into a reliable and manufacturable system. For example, Morse’s telegraph used a pencil to mark paper, while Vail used a steel-pointed pen. The sending key was also Vail’s work, along with other improvements to the receiving apparatus (we’ve seen some nice of this key). As you may have noticed, the length of Morse code characters is inversely proportional to their frequency in English. That is, “E,” a common letter, is much shorter than a “Z,” which is far less common. Supposedly, Vail went to a local newspaper and used the type cases as a guide for letter frequencies. It is worth noting that the code in question isn’t the one we use today. It was “American Morse Code” which was used most often by railroads. The modern International Morse Code is somewhat similar, but several differences exist. The most notable is that dashes are not always the same length. An L is a “long dash,” and a zero is an even longer dash (you occasionally hear this as shorthand on the ham bands if the sender uses a straight key). In addition, some letters use longer than normal spaces. For example, the letters “A” and “B” are exactly like modern code, but the letter “C” is two dots, a double space, and another dot. An “O” is a dot, a double space, and another dot. The gaps and different lengths caused problems with long cables, which led to Friedrich Gerke developing a derivative code in 1848. His code is essentially what we use today and uses a fixed length for dots, dashes, and spaces. There is one exception. The original Gerke code used the long-dash zero. Most of the letters in the International code are the same as the ones in the Gerke code, although when International Morse was codified in 1865, there were a few changes to some letters and numbers. The telegraph was a huge success. By 1854, around 23,000 miles of lines were in operation. Western Union formed in 1851, and by 1866, there was a trans-Atlantic cable. Vail, however, was not a huge success. Morse took on an influential congressman as a partner and cut Vail’s shares in half. That left the Vail brothers with 12.5% of the profits. In 1848, Vail was disillusioned with his $ 900-a-year salary for running the Washington and New Orleans Telegraph Company. He wrote to Morse: He died less than 11 years later, in 1859. Other than researching genealogy, we didn’t find much about what he did in those years. Like most inventions, you can’t just point to one person who made the leap alone. In addition to Vail and his assistant William Baxter, Joseph Henry (the inductor guy) created practical that were essential to the operation of the telegraph. In fact, he demonstrated how an electromagnet could ring a bell at a distance, which is really all you need for a telegraph, so he has some claim, too. Part of the Speedwell Ironworks is now . It might not be a coincidence that the U.S. Army Signal Corps school was located in New Jersey at Camp Alfred Vail in 1919. Camp Alfred Vail would later become Fort Monmouth and was the home to the Signal Corps until the 1970s. These old wired telegraphs made instead of a beep. Of course, wired telegraphs would give way to radio, and telegraphy of all kinds would mostly succumb to digital modes. However, you can still find the occasional .
Delhi is getting ready for its next big election in 2025, and it’s already making a lot of news. The two most important people from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, are back to asking for people’s votes. They say they’ll only return to their government jobs if voters say they trust them after all the trouble they faced this year. Both leaders had been accused of wrongdoing, and even went to jail for some time. Now they’re free on bail and trying to convince people they’re still “honest leaders.” They want this election to prove their innocence in the eyes of the public. What’s the Fight About? Kejriwal has had a rocky time running Delhi. He’s often argued with the people in charge of Delhi’s government departments, the Lieutenant Governors (LGs), and even some of his own party’s allies. The AAP used to win big elections in Delhi, but this time it’ll be harder. People are unhappy about many things in the city, like: Pollution and toxic air Piles of garbage everywhere Terrible traffic and poor public transport The struggles of poorer workers who don’t get paid enough Even though these are big problems, the election will probably focus on other things like religion, political drama, and law-and-order issues. What’s AAP’s Plan? Kejriwal and his party are trying different ideas to win. For example, Sisodia, who barely won his seat last time, has been moved to a safer area to contest. Meanwhile, AAP has been growing outside Delhi too. They now have a government in Punjab and even won a few seats in Gujarat and Goa. But back in Delhi, this election could be their toughest challenge yet. AAP has a lot to prove, but will the real problems of the city, like clean air, better transport, and fair pay, get enough attention? That’s the big question.ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The roof at the home of the Dallas Cowboys opened without incident and will stay that way for a Monday night meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals. It was to be the first game with the roof open at AT&T Stadium since Oct. 30, 2022, a 49-29 Dallas victory over Chicago. The roof was supposed to be open three weeks ago for Houston's 34-10 victory on another Monday night, but a large piece of metal and other debris fell roughly 300 feet to the field as the retractable roof was opening about three hours before kickoff. The Cowboys decided to close the roof after the incident, and it remained that way for the game. There were no injuries, and the start of the game wasn't delayed. The club said at the time it would investigate the cause with a plan to reopen the roof when it was deemed safe. Wind was cited as a cause for the falling debris. There were gusts of at least 30 mph in the afternoon before the meeting with the Texans. It was sunny with a high in the 70s Monday in the Dallas area, and winds were in the 10 mph range. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
'Like a dishonorable surrender': Columnist shames left for meek response to Trump winNov 25 - The solo monohull 24-hour distance record fell again on Monday during the Vendee Globe as the race’s frontrunners capitalised on near-perfect conditions, repeatedly breaking the mark in a display of endurance and precision. Yoann Richomme, who held the record set five days ago, reclaimed the mark with a blistering 579.86 nautical miles sailed. Richomme led a group of record-breakers that included Thomas Ruyant, Nicolas Lunven, Charlie Dalin, Sebastien Simon and Jeremie Beyou. Sailing in flat seas and steady 17-20 knot winds, the fleet took full advantage of the conditions as they raced to stay within a fast-moving low-pressure system propelling them towards the Southern Ocean. As the top group battles to remain within the narrowing weather system, the pressure mounts. "It is a bit like in life, the rich get richer!” joked Romain Attanasio, currently in 16th place. Leaders Dalin and Ruyant are pulling away, widening the gap from the chasing pack, which now stretches to 273 nautical miles. “We’re not going fast just to break the record but to stay in the best position with this depression. The boat feels like it’s going at Mach 12, and survival comes down to being cautious, staying crouched, and holding on,” Ruyant, in second place, said as he recounted bursts of speed at 32 knots. The relentless pace has left no time for celebrations. “The game right now is staying with this depression,” Attanasio said. “Behind us, it’s soft, and to leeward, we’re unsure, so we avoid stepping out of this system.” However, Attanasio is optimistic about a Plan B — a second depression tracking just behind the fleet. “The Saint Helena high is reforming and will pass quickly in front of us, so we shouldn’t get trapped in the middle,” he said. This safety net offers some reassurance as competitors push their boats and themselves to the limit. The Vendee Globe is a solo, non-stop and unassisted sailing race around the world, starting and finishing in Les Sables-d'Olonne in France. The route spans approximately 24,000 nautical miles, with sailors dealing with harsh and remote conditions in the open seas. Forty skippers representing a record 11 nationalities and including six female competitors set off on the race on Nov. 10. Frenchman Yannick Bestaven won the last edition, finishing in 80 days three hours and 44 minutes. Sign up here. Writing by Ossian Shine, editing by Pritha Sarkar Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab