Pope Francis: Say ‘Special Prayer’ for Benedict, He Is ‘Very Ill’: ROME — Pope Francis called on the faithful Wednesday to offer prayers for his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, who he said is “very ill.” “I would like to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who is supporting the Church in silence,” the pontiff told the faithful gathered in the Vatican for his weekly general audience. “Remember him — he is very ill — asking the Lord to console him and to sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end,” Francis added. US troops’ fingerprints, eye scans sold on eBay: Military devices with biometric data on thousands of people, including Americans, are being sold to the highest bidder on eBay, putting troops and their helpers at risk and raising questions about why the data isn’t better protected. U.S. troops used the handheld “biometric capture” devices to collect fingerprints, iris scans, and other data that could identify people in foreign countries. Now, some of those devices are being put up for public auction, complete with biometric data collected on the battlefield, the New York Times reported. . . . . fears that the Taliban could use them to hunt collaborators after the U.S. withdrawal. “It was disturbing that they didn’t even try to protect the data,” Matthias Marx, one of the hackers, said of the U.S. military. “They didn’t care about the risk, or they ignored the risk.” https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/12/troops-fingerprints-iris-scans-sold-on-ebay/ Three Power Substations Attacked In Washington State On Christmas Day: ABC News: 3 power stations got vandalized in Washington State on Christmas Day. The Tacoma substation attacks follow "deliberate attacks" on two power substations in North Carolina early this month. Duke Energy personnel found bullet holes in transformers. We've asked the question of who is intentionally sabotaging the US power grid. In the first eight months of the year, there were 106 attacks on the electrical grid, the highest number ever recorded in a single year. Angry Tesla Owners Share Videos of Their Cars Failing to Work in the Cold: The Daily Mail reports that numerous Tesla owners have reported being unable to access their vehicles due to frozen door handles during a severe winter storm in Canada and the United States. Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist from Ontario, experienced this issue firsthand on December 23 when temperatures reached a low of 5º F and her car’s door latch failed to function. Modestino’s situation gained significant attention on social media, as a video she posted of her struggle with the frozen door handle has garnered over 10.1 million views on Twitter. In the tweet accompanying the video, Modestino quipped, “Bet ya didn’t think of ice in the Tesla design.” Modestino’s viral tweet sparked a response from both Tesla critics and supporters. Some offered their support and suggestions on how to open the frozen door, including using the car’s accompanying app to remotely unlatch it. Others took the opportunity to criticize Tesla, with one person writing, “You shouldn’t need to use Twitter to learn how to use your expensive car.” Breitbart News recently reported on a Tesla owner named Domenick Nati, a radio host in Virginia, that went viral after posting a video showing his Tesla Model S unable to charge in the cold weather. It was reportedly around 19°F – or -7°C – at the time of the video recording. Tesla’s electronic door handles have been subject to criticism and safety concerns for years. In May, Breitbart News reported on a Canadian man who was forced to kick out the window of his Tesla to escape it after a battery fire rendered the electronic door handle inoperable. Buffalo Blizzard Death Toll Continues to Climb as Residents Criticize Response: In a statement made on Tuesday, Buffalo-based restaurant owner, Carl Anderson Jr., said he found the looting which is happening in the aftermath of the Blizzard of 2022 “heart-breaking and disgusting” and called out the lack of responsiveness to the criminal activity by the Buffalo Police Department (BPD). “It’s amazing how badly Buffalo and Erie County bungled this storm. I have clients’ stores getting looted in Buffalo because they essentially told the whole county that police wouldn’t be out patrolling,” Buffalo-based insurance salesman Mike Sperrazza said.
“I called the police station on Bailey Avenue next door to me and 911 directly. For whatever reasons, no one showed up and the criminal activity continued throughout the night,” Andersen said in a Facebook post published on Tuesday.