The Daily Populous

Friday December 25th, 2020 evening edition

image for LIVE: Three injured in 'intentional' explosion in downtown Nashville; 'no other imminent danger'

The blast was felt across much of Davidson County around 6:30 a.m. Metro police said the explosion has been linked to a vehicle outside 166 Second Avenue N., the location of an AT&T data center downtown.

During a morning press conference, Metro police said they believe the explosion was an "intentional act."

Federal agents say the bureau has not yet determined the motive or if the explosion was in fact intentional.

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said police received a report of a suspicious vehicle outside of the AT&T transmission building and upon investigating the report, officers called the hazardous devices unit.

Metro police said an officer suffered hearing loss from the explosion, but the department is hoping the hearing loss is only temporary.

BREAKING: Nashville fire crews being told to back up ANOTHER two blocks from site of explosion in downtown area.

Police said debris from the blast was found near the old Metro Courthouse and near the downtown pedestrian bridge. »

Leaked Documents Show How China’s Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus

Authored by propublica.org

The orders were among thousands of secret government directives and other documents that were reviewed by The New York Times and ProPublica.

They lay bare in extraordinary detail the systems that helped the Chinese authorities shape online opinion during the pandemic.

China’s curbs on information about the outbreak started in early January, before the novel coronavirus had even been identified definitively, the documents show. »

Korean artificial sun sets the new world record of 20-sec-long operation at 100 million degrees

Authored by phys.org
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It is an achievement to extend the 8 second plasma operation time during the 2019 KSTAR Plasma Campaign by more than 2 times.

In its 2018 experiment, the KSTAR reached the plasma ion temperature of 100 million degrees for the first time (retention time: about 1.5 seconds).

So far, there have been other fusion devices that have briefly managed plasma at temperatures of 100 million degrees or higher. »

The Christmas Book Flood: Iceland’s Literature-Loving Holiday Tradition

Authored by mentalfloss.com
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The holiday season is the Black Friday of the Icelandic publishing world—but it’s not just about one day.

September to November marks Icelandic publishers’ biggest season, and many sell the majority of their yearly stock leading up to Christmas.

But marketing books outside of Yuletime is a relatively budding practice, one that Icelandic presses are still adapting to. »