## ‘It’s mindblowing’: US meteorologists face death threats as hurricane conspiracies surge

Authored by theguardian.com

Meteorologists tracking the advance of Hurricane Milton have been targeted by a deluge of conspiracy theories that they were controlling the weather, abuse and even death threats, amid what they say is an unprecedented surge in misinformation as two major hurricanes have hit the US.

A series of falsehoods and threats have swirled in the two weeks since Hurricane Helene tore through six states causing several hundred deaths, followed by Milton crashing into Florida on Wednesday.

“I’ve never seen a storm garner so much misinformation, we have just been putting out fires of wrong information everywhere,” Nickolaou said.

“I have had a bunch of people saying I created and steered the hurricane, there are people assuming we control the weather.

I have had to point out that a hurricane has the energy of 10,000 nuclear bombs and we can’t hope to control that.

But it’s taken a turn to more violent rhetoric, especially with people saying those who created Milton should be killed.”.

“I’m seeing my former colleagues getting threats, I’m getting messages that we are steering hurricanes into red states. »

### Hurricane Milton: Hundreds of pets adopted, fostered after shelter's plea for help went viral

Authored by palmbeachpost.com

WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control issued a plea for help Monday.

They inundated the shelter's phone lines with questions about how to help and arrived at the shelter in droves.

See the list of pets — including dogs, cats, two goats and a horse — awaiting their homecoming on the agency's website. »

### Belarus, following Kazakhstan, has blocked Russia's access to apples • EastFruit

Authored by east-fruit.com

As EastFruit analysts report, following Kazakhstan, which banned the exports of apples from the country, Belarus has also introduced a similar ban recently.

In addition to apples, onions and white cabbage are also restricted from exports.

It seems that the so-called “Eurasian Customs Union” continues to fall apart, and Russia continues to lose opportunities to combat rising inflation. »

### ‘Musician’ Arrested for Using AI Songs and a Bot Army to Scam Spotify for Millions in Royalties

Authored by vice.com

Michael Smith, a 52-year-old from Cornelius, North Carolina, allegedly used AI to automatically generate hundreds of thousands of songs that he then put on streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

He’s accused of using an army of bots to “listen” to the tracks that he created with no effort and likely no musical talent.

That netted him over $10 million in streaming royalties. »

### Canada passes bill to cover birth control and diabetes drugs

Authored by bbc.com

Canada's parliament has passed a bill that that will cover the full cost of contraception and diabetes drugs for Canadians.

A report from parliament's budget watchdog estimates this bill will increase federal spending by C$1.9bn ($1.3bn; £1bn) over the next five years.

The programme will cover 100% of the cost of diabetes and contraception medication for those who do not have drug plan coverage, and out-of-pocket costs for those who do. »

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