Preliminary 3.3 magnitude earthquake jolts South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A relatively rare East Coast earthquake centered just northeast of South Carolina’s capital city jolted large numbers of state residents awake early Monday, rocking the Southern state at a preliminary 3.3 magnitude, authorities said. More than 4,000 people contacted the U.S. Geological Survey to report what they felt. Geological officials noted that, while the events are unsettling, central South Carolina’s loose soil and lack of significant bedrock mean such rumbles are felt significantly.
Ala. outlaws gender-affirming medicines for trans kids
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It’s now a crime in Alabama to administer or prescribe gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to transgender people under age 19, as a new law took effect Sunday without intervention from the courts. Alabama is the first state to enact such a ban. A similar measure in Arkansas to halt the treatments was blocked by a federal judge before it took effect. A federal judge has not yet ruled on a preliminary injunction request to block Alabama from enforcing the law while a court challenge goes forward.
World Bank grants Lebanon $150M food security loan
BEIRUT – The World Bank approved a $150 million soft loan for food security in crisis-hit Lebanon to stabilize bread prices during the coming months, the economy minister said Monday. Amin Salam told reporters the loan has a very low interest rate but did not make the rate public. The loan is intended to provide great relief through stability of bread prices in Lebanon during the country’s historic economic meltdown. More than three-quarters of Lebanon’s 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees, now live in poverty.
Lawyer says alleged Mali extremist was only obeying orders
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – A lawyer for an alleged extremist accused of involvement in crimes including rape and torture in the Malian city of Timbuktu a decade ago rejected the allegations and said Monday that he was just an officer carrying out court orders who could have been killed for disobeying. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court had argued that the defendant, Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, was a “key figure” in a reign of terror after al-qaida-linked rebels overran the Malian desert city in 2012.