How effective is Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug?

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According to a jury sentenced Donald Trump from 34 charges of falsifying business documents to cover up a politically damaging relationship, he responded with Warning to viewers his press conference after the decision: “If they can do that to me, they can do that to anyone.”

This statement concurrently invokes the perfect of an independent judiciary and attempts to delegitimize it.

As a scholar of political communicationI study how rhetoric strengthens or undermines democratic institutions and might prepare an audience to expect or accept violence. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the legal arguments made during Trump's trial, Trump's attempts to prevail within the court of public opinion proceed his campaign to discredit democratic institutions and threaten anyone who stands in his way.

Demagogy is a political communication used as a weapon, which, as communication scientists Jennifer Mercieca explains“undermines both democratic decision-making and democracy itself.” Demagogues use rhetoric to dominate an electorate quite than persuade it. One of their key characteristics is that they evade responsibility for his or her claims and scapegoat anyone who’s disloyal to the demagogue.

Demagogic communication includes a number of of the terms defined by scholars Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt as “Key indicators of authoritarian behavior.” These include rejection or weak commitment to democratic rules and norms, denial of the legitimacy of political opponents, tolerance or promotion of violence, and willingness to limit civil rights and freedom of the press.

After Trump's conviction for a serious crime, Trump and his Republican allies delegitimized democratic institutions with their demagogic rhetoric and fueled threats of violence.

“Designed to distract”

When Trump declared, “If they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone,” he was in fact right. Ideally, that's how laws work. They should apply equally to an bizarre citizen and a former president.

Trump’s case is phenomenal given his status as a former president, and the legal theory utilized by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been called “novel.” Nevertheless, within the legal and national security publication Just Security, Siven Watt and Norman L. Eisen document a long history of prosecutors pursuing politicians who violate laws to support political campaigns in the same way.

Trump's social media posts aimed to distract from these facts by undermining the independence and trustworthiness of the judiciary and scapegoating anyone who will not be a Trump supporter, including President Joe Biden, Court officialsImmigrants and even a Fox News host who’s seen as not being sufficiently supportive.

As the jury deliberated, Trump set the stage and described the proceedings as “Biden witch hunt,” The “Use the justice system as a weapon!” And “Election interference.” Later claims that the news blackout imposed by Judge Juan Merchan was “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” and called members of the “Justice Department and the White House” “criminals and monsters who are destroying our country.”

Immediately after the jury announced its verdict, Trump stepped up his delegitimization of the American legal system. claim “The real verdict will be made by the people on November 5,” adding: “Our whole country is being manipulated right now.”

Stirring up fear

A very necessary aspect of Trump's response to the ruling is that in his comments he combines the delegitimization of democratic institutions with personal attacks – name-calling – and scapegoating strategies. This strategy is textbook demagoguery.

The day after the decision, Trump began his 33 minutes public comments with an apparent non sequitur that leads from the case to non-public attacks, to immigration and back to non-public attacks again:

“If they can do that to me, they can do that to anyone. They're bad people. In many cases, I think they're sick people. When you look at what's happening in our country, where millions of people are pouring into the country from all over the world – not just from South America, from Africa, from Asia, from the Middle East – and they're coming from prisons and detention centers and they're coming from mental institutions and asylums. They're coming into our country from all over the world. And we have a president and a group of fascists who won't do anything about it. Because they could, right now, today. They could stop it, but he's not. They're destroying our country.”

Voters are being made to consider that the federal government – ​​made up of “sick people” and “fascists” – is targeting them just as much because it is targeting immigrants.

Although Trump's confused approach makes his rhetoric sound disjointed – even chaotic – it’s fastidiously designed to stoke fear and create an environment more amenable to an anti-democratic ruler. Trump's snappy 2016 campaign promise was: “I alone can fix it”, and his newer, alleged “joke” that he was “Dictator for a day”, are a terrible Trump’s comments about his fellow residentslike this statement from late 2023: “The threat from external forces is way less ominous, dangerous and serious than the threat from inside. Our threat comes from inside.”

The strategy could be less effective if Trump were the just one implementing it. But following a well-known pattern The Republicans reliably repeated his formulation.

The Associated Press reported “The intensity of the outcry was remarkable. It pushed aside the usual reticence that lawmakers and politicians have shown in the past when it comes to anticipating criticism of judges and juries.”

The guard summarized the answers of the Republicans: “A shameful day in American history. A sham show trial. A sham court. A veritable witch hunt. Befitting a banana republic. That is how senior Republicans who once claimed the mantle of the party of law and order reacted to the news that Donald Trump is the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.”

The passionate attack on the judiciary by Republican Senator and vice presidential candidate Tim Scott was emblematic of the response. He called the decision a “hoax,” a “farce,” and a “totally unjust justice system.” He then addressed Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, directly, saying, “DA Bragg, hear me carefully: You cannot silence the American people. You cannot stop us from voting for change.”

“Hang everyone!”

Instilling fear through personal attacks and scapegoating is commonly a precursor to violence. The attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 followed Trump’s complaints a couple of “rigged” election.

NBC News reported that following Trump's criticism a couple of “rigged” jury trial, social media posts have been circulating that include doxxing, intimidation, and even death threats against Judge Merchan, Bragg, and the jury.

NBC quoted one poster as saying: “We have to identify every juror. Then we'll make them unhappy. Maybe even suicidal.” Reuters quoted Patriots.win user who said: “A million (armed) men must go to Washington and hang them all. That is the only solution” and “Trump should already know that he has an army ready to fight and die for him if he says so. … I will take up arms if he asks me to.”

Not everyone who supports Trump politically is able to “take up arms”, but Video posted on X by Donald Trump Jr. with the slogan “F— JOE BIDEN” shows an arena filled with Fans are waiting for the UFC lightweight championship They chanted “F— Joe Biden” and cheered for Trump as he smiled and raised his fist.

Video of the event was posted on YouTube and spread by right-wing web sites akin to Daily caller And Breitbart.

In her book “Demagogy and democracy”, explains communication scientist Patricia Roberts-Miller: “Demagoguery does not exist in our culture because a demagogue came to power. When demagoguery becomes the normal way of participating in public discourse, it is only a matter of time before a demagogue appears.”

A demagogue has emerged.

While you're driving, you're probably considering more about your destination than concerning the road surface you're driving over. However, constructing roads requires quite a lot of engineering feats, from developing the proper pavement materials to using heavy equipment to put them. The higher they’re built, the longer the roads last and the less construction delays drivers should endure.

I’m an engineer who conducts materials research used on the street area. Scientists in my field are working to develop materials that could make roads stronger and longer lasting.

Road materials

What are roads really made from? The easy answer is that they’re made from typical material Building materials comparable to aggregates – soils and rocks – as well Asphalt binder And Portland cementwhich act like glue and stick every thing together.

Asphalt binder is refined from crude oil. Refineries first extract gasoline, kerosene and oil from crude oil, and what’s left on the bottom becomes asphalt. Portland cement is produced from various ingredients including limestone, sand, clay, silica and aluminum oxide.

Engineers compact the asphalt binder and aggregate mixture at an elevated temperature of about 150 degrees Celsius, which glues the aggregates together to form the ultimate product Asphalt, concrete.

If they use Portland cement as a substitute of asphalt binder to connect the aggregates together, engineers say Cure the cement and aggregate mixture with water a process called hydration.

Hydration binds the cement to the aggregates to provide what’s referred to as the product Portland cement concrete, stronger. This process doesn’t require external heating.

Pavement structure

Asphalt concrete Pavement structure typically consists of three essential layers: the bottom layer, the intermediate layer and the surface layer.

Engineers call the present soil on which the sidewalk runs underground. A brand new layer of unbound earth and stones is placed on the subsoil, whereby the aggregates usually are not glued together. This is known as a subbase or unbound aggregate base.

The base course can consist of either stones packed together without binder or a mix of stone and asphalt binder.

Once the road builders have created the bottom, it’s time to construct the asphalt concrete layers: the bottom layer, the intermediate layer and the surface layer. All of those layers contain the aggregates—the pieces of rock and sand—which are bonded in some strategy to the asphalt binder.

Engineers determine what number of layers to construct and the way thick each layer must be by determining how much traffic will travel over the road. The more traffic, the thicker the surface must be. For example, on interstate highways Depth of layers together could possibly be 20 inches (51 centimeters) or more.

Build a powerful road

The road builders bring the fabric onto the road with one Asphalt paving machine known as a finisher. An operator operates the paver, which takes the fabric from a truck and puts it on the road. Thereafter, Heavy duty wheels Compact it, make it stable and prepare it for vehicles.

To ensure a stable and long-lasting road, engineers first select one of the best surface or location on which to construct the surface. If the subsoil is just too weak, the road can crack and fail – even when one of the best materials are used for the surface.

First, the road builders compact the subsoil with rollers. Once they’ve compacted the subsoil, they place the aggregates directly on the subsoil and compact them. This aggregate carrier on the subsoil forms a stable foundation for the asphalt layers.

If the road builders don't use the proper materials, or don't put them together appropriately, or don't design the pavement structure for the expected traffic, the road can suffer this Cracks, ruts and failure.

Cracks occur either at extremely low temperatures or when heavy trucks and buses are repeatedly driven over on the road. Ruts, i.e. clear impressions within the road surface, occur under heavy trucks or at road intersections, especially in summer heat.

Potholes are a serious road problem that you just've probably seen before. They often occur within the spring after water trapped within the pavement freezes over the winter after which melts within the spring. This melting process weakens the road and makes it more fragile. When vehicles drive over them, potholes can form.

Before the road is built, the materials are tested within the laboratory to make sure they’ll withstand the stresses of traffic and the environment.

Engineers within the lab subject the pavement materials to each freezing and extremely popular temperatures to make sure they’ll withstand every kind of weather. They also expose the paving materials to water to make sure that the materials don’t disintegrate during rain or flooding.

At the Penn State University Highway LaboratoryMy team tests asphalt mixtures to which we now have added so-called modifiers. These include special polymers and fibers that would make the road stronger.

Next time you're out and about, do not forget that it takes loads of engineering and tremendous teamwork smooth road surface You drive on.

“The moment has come for Sudan; “Chaos is our chance to sow the seeds of jihad.” warned Abu Hudhaifa al-Sudani, a senior al-Qaeda leader, in a single Manifesto from October 2022.

His words can have seemed premature on the time, but a 12 months later brutal civil war has now plunged Sudan into chaos through which terrorist groups are thriving. The risk of Al-Qaeda is gaining ground in Sudan is now very real and, in my view, endangers not only the country itself, but in addition regional – and possibly global – security.

In April 2023, In between there have been fightings in Sudan the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, an influence vacuum arises which extremists desperately need to fill.

At the identical time, the Rapid Support Forces – a gaggle that developed under and was once allied with him It was Sudan's former al-Qaeda supporter Omar al-Bashir tightens his grip in strategic areas equivalent to Darfur and southern Khartoum.

As a matter of fact, each the paramilitary group and the armed forces They are accused of recruiting Islamist fighters. fire up fears that the civil war – whatever the winner – can be a base for extremist groups.

As a Defense policy researcher and counterterrorism expertI worry that Sudan is prone to becoming an al-Qaeda stronghold – and a possible base for staging attacks on the United States and its allies. A possible takeover of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan may very well be a mirror image in pre-9/11 Afghanistan, where the Taliban were on top of things facilitated the rise of al-Qaeda.

Al-Qaeda members on the hunt Opportunities to realize what they may not within the Middle East, they already are Pay attention to calls to the top to Sudan.

Decades of turmoil and extremism

Sudan Civil War predates the present fighting by a long time. It ignited in 1989 when al-Bashir seized power and allied the nation with radical Islamist ideologies. He imposed Sharia law and in 1991 protected al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Under al-Bashir's regime, bin Laden arrange training camps and expanded al-Qaeda's financial network. lay the inspiration stone for the terrorist attacks of September eleventh.

Sudan faces international sanctions for its support of terrorism Bin Laden expelled in 1996.

But al-Bashir's sponsorship of the Janjaweed militia group, the architects of the 2003 genocide in Darfur, further cemented his connection to Islamist extremists. Under surveillance, al-Bashir renamed the Janjaweed as Rapid Support Forces in 2013 and appointed former Janjaweed member Mohammed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo as their leader maintain their brutal tactics.

The 2021 coup, orchestrated by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Hemeti of the Rapid Support Forces, soon became one Power struggle between the 2 men, sparking the present conflict in Sudan.

Today, with Hemeti on the helm, the paramilitary group continues its campaign of repression in West Darfur and is collaborating in alleged ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Masalit people.

Meanwhile a Prison attack in April 2023, which the The Sudanese army blames the Rapid Support Forces rebelsfacilitated the escape of al-Bashir's allies, although the previous president stays hospitalized under guard.

Sudan at the middle of jihad

Given the conflicts within the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the West could also be overlooking the crisis in Sudan and the potential it holds for al-Qaeda, a gaggle that has long harbored ambitions to return to Sudan.

Despite his expulsion, bin Laden continued to emphasise the importance of Sudan in his plans for global jihad. This was evident in his 2006 tape And Diary entries through which he described Sudan because the central base of operations.

A 2023 publication by Al-Qaeda key figure Ibrahim al-Qussi titled “Fragments from the History of Al-Qaeda” revealed that bin Laden led an investment $12 million for jihad in Sudan alone, underscoring the region's continued importance to al-Qaeda's goals.

Sudan's Attraction to Extremists goes beyond his connections to bin Laden. As a strategic bridge between North and sub-Saharan Africa, Sudan is a crucial location for Islamist extremists searching for to expand their influence within the region.

After 2021 US deduction from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power, al-Qaeda reestablished its presence within the country, reopening of coaching camps and madrassas.

However, al-Qaeda had long since developed from a centralized organization in Afghanistan right into a decentralized network with branches worldwide – from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent to sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel region.

Historical ties, recent ambitions

The latest developments underscore al-Qaeda's increased give attention to Sudan and are driven by detailed information Expansion plans the Sudanese al-Qaeda leader Abu Hudhaifa al-Sudani. A former Bin Laden worker with a infamous background In Afghanistan and Iraq, al-Sudani issued one one other call for jihad.

After the outbreak of the civil war in Sudan, al-Sudani's manifesto “Now the Fighting has Come: War Messages to the Mujahideen in Sudan” was published in 2022 prescribes a military strategy of targeted attacks and guerrilla warfare across Sudan, but in addition a vision of a jihad stretching from Dongola within the north of the country to Darfur within the south, with Khartoum as its command center.

Al-Qaeda further expressed its threat in a message marking the twenty second anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the United States. promising“It is only a matter of time before the next attack eclipses the horrors of 9/11.”

This statement, coupled with The group escalates Presence in conflict zones equivalent to Niger and Libya actively positions it to focus on U.S. interests worldwide. Actually a 2022 United Nations report suggested that al-Qaeda was planning high-profile attacks, possibly at sea.

What an extremist takeover would mean

Al-Qaeda's potential in resource-rich Sudan shouldn’t be underestimated. Historically, the group's operations from resource-limited Afghanistan have been devastating; in Sudan, together with his Abundance of oil, gold and fertile landtheir capabilities may very well be greatly increased.

Sudan offers a lucrative basis for the one who has the ability. Forging ties with either side of the civil war would undoubtedly be of enormous financial profit to al-Qaeda if either side prevails, as al-Bashir's rule did a generation before.

And Sudan's access to the Red Sea potentially makes it an excellent greater threat than Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

Capturing a Sudanese stronghold could strengthen al-Qaeda affiliates in Yemen, Somalia and the Sahel, exacerbate regional conflicts and threaten key trade routes within the Red Sea. Interestingly, a United Nations report from July 2022 revealed this The Yemen branch of al-Qaeda had been expanding its maritime capabilities.

The resurgence of al-Qaeda capabilities within the region may lead to increased piracy, militarized blockades and unregulated arms flows, escalating tensions within the region and resulting in greater geopolitical unrest.

But because the United States directs its resources and a spotlight toward wars in Europe and the Middle East and countering China, Sudan has seemingly slipped down its priority list. To make matters worse, US reactions are linked to the conflicting interests of its Gulf allies Support for various factions within the Sudanese civil war.

With scarce resources, overwhelmed by competing threats and bored with a long time within the Middle East, the United States is ill-positioned to counter al-Qaeda's expansion into Sudan.

But as Sudan increasingly becomes a world terror center, the stakes couldn't be higher. Historical examples equivalent to the autumn of Afghanistan to the Taliban and the rise of the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria illustrate the potential costs.

RICHMOND – A former accountant for a Richmond-based paving company is accused of embezzling greater than $800,000 from the corporate, based on prosecutors.

Angela Fae Brown, 53, of Olivehurst, is charged with embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft and tax evasion, the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office said in a news release. She was charged with the crime on Tuesday.

According to prosecutors, between September 2017 and November 2022, Brown participated in an embezzlement scheme that defrauded her employer, Viking Pavers, of greater than $800,000.

“Brown used her accounting skills to exploit financial vulnerabilities in the company and enrich herself illegally for nearly five years,” prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Brown pretended to be the owner of the business and created a fake account with a payment processing service that was linked to her personal checking account.

Brown created lots of of pretend invoices for services and sent them electronically to the fake account she controlled, then paid them using the corporate's funds through the payment processing service, prosecutors said.

This in turn transferred the cash to her personal checking account, based on prosecutors.

“Brown’s status as a trusted employee – and access to various financial controls – enabled her to conceal her embezzlement schemes for a long time,” prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Brown was eventually confronted by a manager. Richmond police, together with financial forensic analysts from the district attorney's office, launched an investigation that culminated in her arrest on April 19.

Prosecutors said Brown is being held on the Martinez Detention Center on $2 million bail.

Check back for updates.