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Entertainment

Demi Lovato Suffered 3 Strokes and a Heart Attack After Overdose

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Demi Lovato has revealed some shocking details about her 2018 near-fatal overdose, saying for the first time that she suffered three strokes and a heart attack.

The 28-year-old “Confident” singer made her comments in an upcoming four-part documentary about her life, titled Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, which is set to premiere on YouTube on March 23. A trailer was made public on Wednesday, Feb. 17, and also contains an excerpt of Lovato’s new song by the same name.

In July 2018, the pop star was found unconscious at her home in Los Angeles after an overdose, months after relapsing. Lovato, who battled drug and alcohol addiction in years past, spent almost two weeks in a hospital before undergoing treatment at a rehab facility and sober living facility for months. 

“I had three strokes,” she said in the documentary’s trailer. “I had a heart attack. My doctors said that I had five to 10 more minutes.”

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US

One contractor killed and one US service member injured in rocket attack in Iraq

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“Initial reports that Indirect Fire landed on Coalition Forces in Erbil tonight. There was 1 civilian contractor killed, 5 civilian contractors injured and 1 US service member injured. More information to follow,” Marotto wrote on Twitter.

According to initial reports, four of the five injured contractors are American citizens, a defense official told CNN.

The nationality of the contractor killed was not disclosed though the defense official said initial reports suggest they were not American.

Earlier a statement from the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government said several rockets had been launched toward the city.

The regional government called for locals to stay home as authorities investigated the incident. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The US is currently gathering intelligence to try to determine where the rockets were launched from, the defense official said.

Video from the scene showed at least one of the rockets landed on a busy urban street, sending a cloud of sparks and smoke into the air.

Erbil, which is located in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and hosts US troops, is expected to be one of several cities Pope Francis visits in early March in a historic trip to Iraq.

The last rocket attack on US troops in Erbil was in September last year, when three rockets struck the US base in the area, while three more landed nearby. No US personnel were injured in that attack, and there were no reports of damage. Suspicion immediately fell on Iranian-backed militias, since the rockets were fired from an area under the control of a predominantly Shia paramilitary force, Hashad al Shabbi, according to the to the Interior Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

That attack came one day after the Trump administration had told Iraqi leaders that it would close the US embassy in Baghdad if Iranian-backed militias kept targeting US personnel in the country. The threat followed the decision to withdraw thousands of US troops from Iraq in September, bringing the total number from 5,200 troops to approximately 3,000. The number was further reduced to 2,500 shortly before President Joe Biden took office. The acting secretary of defense at the time, Christopher Miller, had said the drawdown was in response to the “increased capabilities of the Iraqi security forces

CNN’s Taylor Barnes contributed to this report.



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US

Pelosi announces plans for ‘9/11-type commission’ to investigate Capitol attack

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“To protect our security, our security, our security, our next step will be to establish an outside, independent 9/11-type Commission to ‘investigate and report on the facts and causes relating to the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex,'” Pelosi wrote.

Pelosi has previously called for the formation of such a commission and said she believes there is a need for it.

A commission of this nature would be established by a statute, passed by both chambers and signed into law by the President. The commission members would not be elected leaders and would be outside the government.

In a separate letter to House Democrats earlier this month, Pelosi wrote that it is “clear that we will need to establish a 9/11-type Commission to examine and report upon the facts, causes and security relating to the terrorist mob attack on January 6.”

The deadly attack prompted House Democrats to move swiftly to impeach former President Donald Trump in January. The Senate impeachment trial of the former President concluded over the weekend, and ended in Trump’s acquittal on a single charge of incitement of insurrection.

Efforts to shore up security at the Capitol and shed light on what led to its breach by a violent, pro-Trump mob on January 6 are still ongoing, however.

In mid-January, Pelosi announced that retired Lt. General Russel Honoré will lead a review of the “security infrastructure” of Capitol Hill in the wake of the attack.

“For the past few weeks, General Honoré has been assessing our security needs by reviewing what happened on January 6 and how we must ensure that it does not happen again,” Pelosi wrote in her letter on Monday.

“He has been working with Committees of Jurisdiction and will continue to make proposals. It is clear from his findings and from the impeachment trial that we must get to the truth of how this happened,” she said.

Earlier this month, Pelosi told reporters as she left a news conference that a 9/11-style commission to investigate the insurrection would look “different” than the one formed following the September 11, 2001, terror attack — and would have a greater emphasis on diversity.

“Different from 9/11. What were there, nine people? All white, one woman. It will look different,” she said at the time.

Although Pelosi complimented the 9/11 commission, she said that now “it’s a different world.”

Asked then about who she had in mind to serve on the commission, Pelosi confirmed that members would not be serving on it, saying, “It’s an outside commission.”

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World

State Department revokes Houthis’ terror designation despite attack on Saudi airport

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday announced he is removing Yemen’s Houthi rebels from the U.S.’s list of foreign terrorist organizations next week, despite a recent attack on Saudi Arabia.

The Iran-aligned rebel group hit a Saudi airport with a drone strike in retaliation for the country’s involvement in Yemen’s six-year civil war, which has resulted in the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Saudi Arabia backed the Yemen government in 2015, propagating a proxy war between the Arab nation and Iran.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO REMOVE TERRORIST DESIGNATION FOR YEMEN’S HOUTHI MILITIA

Blinken’s decision is a reversal of an 11th-hour order by Donald Trump, enacted the day before he left office on Jan. 19 in an attempt to cut off any support or weapons funding to the Iran-backed group – but which humanitarian organizations said could worsen the crisis in Yemen.

“This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen,” Blinken said Friday. “We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel.”

But the State Department’s top official condemned the recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian civilians and said Houthi leaders Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim will remain under sanction restrictions by the U.S. and the United Nations.

Blinken said U.S. security officials are “clear-eyed” about aggressive Houthi actions, which have included “taking control of large areas of Yemen by force, attacking U.S. partners in the Gulf, [and] kidnapping and torturing citizens of the United States,” along with other malign activities, like diverting humanitarian aid.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the U.S. decision to revoke the terrorist designation, calling it “a gift to the Iranians,” and said it “will allow the Houthis to continue to foment terror around the world.”

THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS REMAIN STRANDED IN YEMEN AMID GROWING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

But while Blinken promised to continue to support U.S. allies in the Gulf, Biden has said he would be ending all military aid for Saudi Arabia.

“This war has to end, and to underscore our commitment we are ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arm sales,” Biden said in an address from the State Department in early February.

The United Nations has estimated some 24 million people — 80 percent of Yemen’s population — are in need of humanitarian assistance.

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Blinken said the U.S. acknowledges that Houthi aggression continues to “prolong this conflict and exact serious humanitarian costs.” But added the U.S. and the United Nations hold the “strong belief that there is no military solution to this conflict.”

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World

Lancaster County accused of plan to attack government officials in Washington, D.C.

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Pennsylvania State Police say a Lancaster County attorney who was upset over election results loaded his vehicle with weapons and ammunition and tried to drive to Washington, D.C., to attack government officials.Kenelm Shirk III, an Ephrata lawyer and former Akron Borough solicitor, is charged with making terroristic threats.State police said Shirk, 71, was on his way to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21 with the intent to kill unnamed political leaders when he was arrested at a convenience store on Interstate 81 in Franklin County.Troopers said they searched his vehicle and found an assault rifle, two handguns and a large quantity of ammunition.Shirk lives in Cornwall Borough in Lebanon County. Cornwall police alerted state police to be on the lookout for Shirk after getting a tip that he had left his home after threatening to kill his wife and government officials. According to charging documents, Shirk said he would be “suicide by cop” if he met police along the way to Washington.

Pennsylvania State Police say a Lancaster County attorney who was upset over election results loaded his vehicle with weapons and ammunition and tried to drive to Washington, D.C., to attack government officials.

Kenelm Shirk III, an Ephrata lawyer and former Akron Borough solicitor, is charged with making terroristic threats.

State police said Shirk, 71, was on his way to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21 with the intent to kill unnamed political leaders when he was arrested at a convenience store on Interstate 81 in Franklin County.

Troopers said they searched his vehicle and found an assault rifle, two handguns and a large quantity of ammunition.

Shirk lives in Cornwall Borough in Lebanon County. Cornwall police alerted state police to be on the lookout for Shirk after getting a tip that he had left his home after threatening to kill his wife and government officials. According to charging documents, Shirk said he would be “suicide by cop” if he met police along the way to Washington.

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Business

Reddit traders switch sights to silver after equities attack

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Retail traders have targeted the silver market following their successful attack against short-sellers of games retailer GameStop.

The world’s largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, the iShares Silver Trust, recorded almost $1bn in inflows on Friday, according to data from BlackRock, the fund’s sponsor. The jolt of new investments came after a user in Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum urged people to buy shares and options to put a squeeze on banks.

Prices for silver rose by 6 per cent to $28.61/troy ounce in early Asia trading on Monday. That followed a 6 per cent jump last week and a rally in shares in miners of the precious metal, with New York-listed First Majestic rising by 29 per cent. “It’s a fools’ errand, it’s financial anarchy; somebody is going to get hurt,” said Ross Norman, a veteran precious metals trader.

Last week the user TheHappyHawaiian said buying shares in the ETF would “force physical delivery of silver” into the fund’s vaults, thereby causing a “short squeeze” on the market, pushing up the silver price.

The user said on the forum that it would be “incredible” to make large banks active in the futures market “pay dearly” for what he alleged were bets that the silver price will fall. The rallying call echoed that of other WallStreetBets users who last week cheered their success in triggering large losses at Melvin Capital and other hedge funds.

The 37.05m increase in the number of shares of the iShares Silver Trust on Friday was the biggest one-day increase since the ETF started trading in April 2006, data from BlackRock show. The ETF is backed by physical silver held in vaults, meaning it needs to purchase the precious metal when it receives new investments.

The attempted “short squeeze” was reminiscent of a similar effort by oil barons William Herbert Hunt and Nelson Bunker Hunt, known as the Hunt brothers, in 1979 and 1980. They bought billions of dollars worth of silver in an attempt to corner the market. They were later sanctioned for market manipulation and went bankrupt after the silver price collapsed in an event dubbed “Silver Thursday.”

In 1998, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway drove silver prices up 90 per cent to a 10-year high after he quietly accumulated a huge position in the silver market.

Analysts said it would be more difficult for retail investors to influence the silver price as opposed to that of a single equity, given the large off-exchange market for the precious metal where banks trade on behalf of clients.

“We are confident that the influence of retail investors on silver will not last all that long,” analysts at Commerzbank said.

Around $6bn worth of silver traded hands in the silver market in November, according to the latest statistics from the London Bullion Market Association. London’s vaults hold around 33,475 tonnes of silver, valued at $23.8bn, they said in January.

Mr Norman said the Reddit forum’s targeting of large banks was misplaced since they used futures contracts to hedge their physical holdings of silver, meaning they were not speculating on the price falling.

“There is a misnomer here that banks are constantly running short positions, but from a price perspective they are neutral, they have a long and a short that cancels each other out,” he said.

Additional reporting by Chris Flood in London.

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World

Somalia’s al-Shabab rebels attack hotel in Mogadishu

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – A hotel in Somalia’s capital has been hit by an explosion and an attack by jihadist rebels, police have confirmed.

A vehicle loaded with explosives crashed into the entrance gate of the Afrik hotel, near Mogadishu’s strategic K-4 junction, on Sunday afternoon, police spokesman Sadiq Adan Ali said.

A number of armed gunmen then quickly invaded the hotel, opening fire on staff and patrons inside, he said. Government forces responded to the attack and gunfire could be heard coming from the hotel. Police rescued many people from the hotel, including its owner and an army general.

At least seven wounded civilians could be seen although police did not immediately give casualty figures.

DOCUMENTARY ALLEGING OPULENT PUTIN PALACE GETS 100M VIEWS

Al-Shabab, Somalia’s homegrown jihadist rebels, claimed responsibility for the attack through their Andalus radio station.

Hundreds of newly trained al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises near Mogadishu, in Somalia, in 2011.
(AP)

“We know, they have changed nothing from their usual tactic, ramming explosives into a building and following up, assaulting with rifles,” said Ali.

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In a separate incident, at least eight children have died and scores of others were wounded when a bomb went off in the Golweyn area, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the coastal town of Merca, some 120 kilometers (74 miles) south of Mogadishu.

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Entertainment

‘Wipeout’ Contestant Died From Heart Attack, After Completing Course

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Exclusive

We’ve learned the cause of death for the ‘Wipeout’ contestant who collapsed shortly after completing the obstacle course, and it underscores the hidden dangers of extreme sport game shows.

The contestant, 38-year-old Michael Paredes, died from a heart attack which was brought on by coronary artery disease … according to the Los Angeles County Coroner.

The autopsy report, obtained by TMZ, notes Paredes was running an obstacle course built over a body of water when he fell down into the depths. He swam to the edge of the water but was unable to pull himself out, and when he was eventually pulled out he was placed in a wheelchair.

Paredes leaned side-to-side in the wheelchair and went into cardiopulmonary arrest. He was resuscitated before being rushed to a hospital, the report says.

The contestant died about 24 hours after being hospitalized. The autopsy reveals extensive blockage in his coronary arteries. The right coronary artery had up to 90% stenosis — narrowing or restriction — and the other coronary arteries had issues as well. An acute case of pneumonia is also mentioned as a secondary factor.

When we broke the story back in November, production sources told us ‘Wipeout’ contestants underwent medical exams before participating … and the autopsy notes Paredes had no reported medical history.

It’s pretty scary to think … the guy may have been walking around with no clue he had serious coronary artery disease … something doctors say is all too common.

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World

Garbage man’s caught-on-video snowman attack gets him fired

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A garbageman in England has been fired after getting caught on camera going kung fu on a family’s sidewalk snowman.

Footage shows the orange-uniformed trash worker delivering a half-dozen kicks — including some Bruce Lee-worthy roundhouses — to the 6-foot snowman, decapitating the construction and ultimately reducing it to half its former stature.

The snowman had been built by neighborhood kids in Hereford — a cathedral town near the Welsh border — after a recent blizzard, homeowner Sophie Taylor, 25, told the Herefordtimes.com.

Taylor said her 3-year-old son, Joseph, always waves to the trash haulers each week through the window.

And then “he goes and does that in front of his face,” she complained of the worker, who was fired by his company.

Joseph saw the destruction through the window and was reduced to tears, the mother told the Mirror.

“On Tuesday he came running to me in tears sobbing, ‘The binman has broken my snowman’ and he started doing a kicking motion.”

Meanwhile, the so-called binman has told the Mirror that he’ll build the kid another snowman, if the family wants, but that he is “not sorry.”

“I don’t think I have to say I’m sorry. His family knew it was not going to be there forever,” Callum Woodhouse, 19, told the outlet.

Besides, the snowman had it coming, Woodhouse said, claiming it “was obstructing my path.”

“I decided to kick it because I didn’t think it was going to hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t think that snowmen have feelings,” cracked Woodhouse, who told the Mirror he is an expectant father.

“It was going to melt and snow again. I didn’t think it would make such an impact on a 3-year-old kid.”

Video of the unprovoked snowman assault has gone viral in the UK, spurring intense arguments online over whether the “refuse operative” should have been “sacked” for destroying the snowman “whilst on duty.”

“This obviously has shown his character,” complained @BarbsK5. “Would you employ him?”

“Yes all day long,” responded @BaldEagle877. “He kicked water.”

“Seriously Dumb, but that[‘s] bloody harsh losing his job, especially in these times,” countered @pvarrasso.

“It is a snowman,” noted @petersimpson2. “Get over it.”



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World

Pirates off Nigeria’s coast kidnap 15 sailors in attack on Turkish container ship Mozart

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One sailor, an Azerbaijani citizen, was killed in the raid, while those kidnapped are from Turkey, according to the respective governments and a crew list seen by Reuters.

Accounts from crew, family members and security sources described a sophisticated and well-orchestrated attack, in which armed pirates boarded the ship and breached its protective citadel, possibly with explosives.

Three sailors remain on the Mozart ship, which by Sunday evening was receiving assistance in Gabonese waters off central Africa.

“The ship is in our waters and our sailors are assisting a few nautical miles from Port Gentil,” said Gabon’s presidency spokesman Jessye Ella Ekogha, without providing further detail.

The Liberian-flagged vessel was headed to Cape Town from Lagos when it was attacked in the Gulf of Guinea, 160 kilometers (100 miles) off Sao Tome island on Saturday, maritime reports showed.

The ship’s fourth captain, Furkan Yaren, had been “cruising blindly” toward Gabon with damage to the ship’s controls and only the radar working, according to state-run news agency Anadolu. The pirates beat crew members, and left him with an injured leg while another still aboard the ship had shrapnel wounds, Yaren said.

Turkish media cited Istanbul-based ship owner Boden company as saying the owners and operators of the vessel were abducted at gunpoint. Boden was not immediately available.

Ambrey, a security company, said four armed men boarded the Mozart and entered the citadel — where crew are advised to hide in any attack — from a deck atop the cabin.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s office said on Sunday he was orchestrating officials in the “rescue of kidnapped ship personnel.” Erdogan spoke twice by phone with Yaren, who remained aboard after the attack, his office said.

Edward Yeibo, a Nigerian Navy commander, said he was not aware of the attack and was seeking details. The Lagos naval command office and a spokesman for Nigeria’s maritime regulator were not immediately available.

Game changer

Pirates in the Gulf, which borders more than a dozen countries, kidnapped 130 sailors in 22 incidents last year, accounting for all but five of those seized worldwide, according to an International Maritime Bureau report.

The attack on the Mozart could raise international pressure on Nigeria to do more to protect shippers, which have called for tougher action in recent weeks, analysts said.

“The fact that someone died, the number of people taken and the apparent use of explosives to breach the ship’s citadel means it is a potential game-changer,” said David Johnson, CEO of the UK-based EOS Risk Group.

“It’s clearly quite sophisticated and if pirates have decided to use munitions it’s a big move,” he said. There is “no doubt” those kidnapped will be taken back to Nigeria’s Delta and Turkey will have little hope stopping it, he added.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said the pirates had not made any contact with Ankara.

Seyit Kaya, brother of the ship’s kidnapped 42-year-old captain Mustafa Kaya, a father of two, said in an interview he awaited details from the ship’s owner on any possible ransom.

“Since that area is where many attacks take place, they take cautions against pirates,” said Kaya, who is also a sailor.

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