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Can I Get a Witness?  How About 150 of Them?

The special prosecutor for the Fulton County District Attorney's office revealed on Wednesday that the government intends to call over 150 witnesses against Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants.

During the first televised hearing in the election conspiracy case, attorneys for Ken Cheseboro and Sidney Powell argued that their clients should be tried separately. But prosecutor Nathan Wade asserted that separate trials would be a waste of government resources.

"Firstly, we will contend that a trial of these 19 co-defendants will take four months, and that does not include jury selection," Wade told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. "In terms of the number of witnesses, they're in excess of 150 witnesses that the state intends to call. One hundred and fifty witnesses."

If This is How Russia Treats Its Friends ...

Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking ring that coerced its citizens to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its foreign ministry said, adding that Cuban authorities were working to "neutralize and dismantle" the network.

The statement from Cuba's foreign ministry late on Monday gave few details, but noted the trafficking ring was operating both within the Caribbean island nation, thousands of miles from Moscow, and in Russia.

"The Ministry of the Interior... is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine," the Cuban government statement said.

Russians Aren't Nice Guests, Either.

A huge influx of Russians in Phuket is producing a backlash from locals, amid complaints of a booming Russian-only economy that covers everything from hair salons to taxi firms.

More than 400,000 Russians arrived on the Thai tourist island between January and July this year, according to authorities, double the number of visitors before Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Many have secured long stay-visas, buying properties and establishing businesses to escape economic turmoil and the possibility of being conscripted following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Phuket to inaugurate a new consulate to handle the surging number of citizens seeking work and leisure on the island.

The growing Russian presence is bringing rapid change.

Property prices have surged, which, although a boon to Thai owners and realtors, has made it more difficult for renters to find an affordable place on the island.

Russian-only businesses have sprung up, often run through Russian language apps and staffed by people working illegally.

There have also been reports of Russian sex workers operating along the nightlife epicentre of Bangla Road, mainly for Russian clientele.

‘Roubles stay with the Russians’

“We’re affected by these Russians who came to run the whole tourism business,” Prayut Thongmusik, the president of the Phuket van drivers’ club, which represents 200 tourist minibus operators, told Al Jazeera.

“They drive personal vehicles that have not been registered with the Thai transport department as service vehicles, picking up tourists who book them through a Russian app, offering nearly 20 percent cheaper fees than us.”

I Small a Bharat

Controversy has gripped India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government referred to the country as Bharat on official invitations, leaving many wondering whether the name will be changed.

In dinner invitations sent on Tuesday to guests attending this week’s Group of 20 (G20) summit, Droupadi Murmu is referred to as “President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India”.

On the same day, a tweet by a senior spokesman of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Modi was attending a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia as the “prime minister of Bharat”.

Oklahoma Wants to Compete With Flori-Dumb In Teaching Kids Garbage

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, is apparently eager to make a name for himself as the most far-right education official of them all. On Tuesday, he announced that the Oklahoma State Department of Education was entering into a partnership with PragerU Kids. These right-wing indoctrination materials were approved in August for use in Florida classrooms.

Where Florida said the PragerU Kids content could be used as supplemental material, Oklahoma is actively promoting it, describing it as “engaging, educationally sound, and classroom-friendly while being grounded in traditional American values that inspire self-reliance, patriotism, and resiliency while teaching core knowledge in subjects ranging from civics to financial literacy.” (Raise your hand if you don’t think anyone who wrote, edited, or approved that sentence should be involved in educating children.)

Getting My RSV Vaccine Today.  This Shot is Next.

The upcoming COVID-19 booster is expected to be available in the United States as early as next week -- potentially as soon as Sept. 13 -- and is expected to protect against severe disease and death from currently circulating variants.

First, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize or approve the shots, which they have signaled they are likely to do within the next seven days.

Next, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent panel of advisors is set to meet on Sept. 12 to provide a recommendation on who will be eligible for the shots. The CDC director is expected to sign off, with shots to be available soon after.

Getting My RSV Vaccine Today. This is Next.

If you haven't gotten the new pneumonia vaccine Prevnar 20 I would do that also.

I have the previous pneumonia vaccine, but I will have to check this out.