example, on or about June 9, 2023, GUPTA told the CS during a call that the murder of the Victim would change the UC’s life because “we will give more bigger job more, more job every month, every month 2-3 job.”

26. On or about June 12, 2023, on a call with the CS, GUPTA stated that there was a “big target” in Canada. A few days later, on or about June 14, 2023, GUPTA messaged the CS that “we will be needing one good team in Canada also, [t]omorrow I will share you the details.” The following day, on or about June 15, 2023, GUPTA advised the CS by phone that GUPTA was still “waiting [for] the details” about the Canadian target. On or about June 16, 2023, on another call with the CS, GUPTA told the CS that “we are doing their job, brother. We are doing their New York [and] Canada [job],” referring to the individuals directing the targeting plots from India. Nijjar Is Murdered in Canada, and CC-1 and GUPTA Accelerate the Plan to Kill the Victim in New York City

27. On or about June 18, 2023, masked gunmen shot and killed Nijjar, an associate of the Victim and another leader of the Sikh separatist movement, outside a Sikh temple in Canada. Later that evening, CC-1 sent GUPTA a video clip showing Nijjar’s bloody body slumped in his vehicle. GUPTA replied that he wished he had personally conducted the killing and asked CC-1 for permission to “go to the field.” CC-1 responded that “secrecy [is] important,” and “[i]t’s better you do not get involved in action.” Approximately one hour later, CC-1 sent GUPTA the street address of the Victim’s residence in New York City.

28. GUPTA forwarded the video clip showing Nijjar’s bloody body to the CS and the UC minutes after receiving it from CC-1. Soon after, on or about June 19, 2023, GUPTA spoke with the UC by audio call, and GUPTA told the UC that Nijjar “was also the target” but that Nijjar was “#4, #3” on the list, and “not to worry [because] we have so many targets, we have so many targets. But the good news is this, the good news is this: now no need to wait.” Separately, GUPTA

10

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Google has agreed to pay C$100mn a year into a fund to support news organisations in Canada as part of a deal with the government, ending a dispute that led it to threaten to cut links to news from its services.

The pact ends a six-month stand-off following the passage of an online news law designed to funnel some of the cash that Google and Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, make from online advertising to bolster the finances of news organisations. The dispute blew up into the biggest conflict between the internet giants and a national government over news subsidies since Australia became the first country to pass a law on the issue in 2021.

Meta suspended links to news stories in Canada earlier this year in protest at the law, and Google threatened to follow suit when the law goes into effect in mid-December unless the government diluted the impact of the legislation.

The search giant dug its heels in against being forced to pay for news links in its services, which it feared would set a precedent that could be applied to other types of online links. Rather than hurting the news companies, the internet giants have always claimed that their links deliver valuable traffic to news sites, with Google claiming its news links are worth C$250mn a year to Canadian publishers.

However, Canada’s Online News Act was explicitly aimed at bringing what it called greater “fairness” to payment for online news following a huge shift in the online advertising market to Google and Meta. 

Google also objected that the Canadian law would leave it with open-ended financial liability, since it would be forced to negotiate with each publisher individually and would face an arbitration process the company believed would be stacked against it.

In a compromise announced on Wednesday, Pascale St-Onge, minister of Canadian heritage, said that the agreement would “benefit the news sector and allow Google to continue to play an important role in giving Canadians access to reliable news content”. Google’s payments would be made to a collective fund, she added, ending the need to negotiate with each publisher separately.

Canadian officials estimated earlier this year that the act would require Google to pay C$172mn to publishers. It was unclear on Wednesday whether the final regulations under the act, which are due to be released before it goes into force on December 19, would still amount to Google paying for carrying links — something the company has strongly objected to.

Meta indicated that the deal with Google would make no difference to its decision to block news links in Canada. “Unlike search engines, we do not proactively pull news from the internet to place in our users’ feeds and we have long been clear that the only way we can reasonably comply with the Online News Act is by ending news availability for people in Canada,” it said.

CNN
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Another tornado threat will take aim at the southern US on Thursday, less than two weeks after at least a dozen tornadoes hit Louisiana and Mississippi.

This time, the tornado threat will center on Texas as a storm system begins to take shape in the southern Plains.

Severe thunderstorms are expected to rumble to life late Thursday morning across Texas and Oklahoma and track east into portions of Louisiana and Arkansas.

The greatest risk of tornadoes will be primarily in southeastern Texas – including parts of the Houston metro area – from late Thursday morning through mid-afternoon. An enhanced risk, or Level 3 of 5, for severe storms is in place for the area on Thursday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Storms in portions of southwestern Louisiana could also produce a tornado or two Thursday afternoon.

In addition to tornadoes, any severe thunderstorm on Thursday could produce hail, damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph and heavy rainfall.

The severe storm threat will linger into Thursday night in Louisiana as the storm system begins to track generally from the Plains into the Mississippi Valley.

Rain will fall across an expansive part of the Mississippi Valley, Midwest and Southeast as the storm pushes north and eastward Thursday night into Friday.

This rain is desperately-needed in the Lower Mississippi Valley, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, which are battling some of the worst drought in the US.

Louisiana is suffering through its worst drought on record – one which has fed unprecedented wildfires. Exceptional drought – the US Drought Monitor’s highest level – covers almost three-quarters of the state, according to data released last week. Exceptional drought covers more than a third of Mississippi.

One to 3 inches of rain is expected to fall across the Mississippi Valley on Thursday, and an additional 1 to 2 inches could fall Friday in portions of the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

Additional severe thunderstorms are possible, but much less likely, on Friday from Louisiana to Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. A marginal risk level for severe storms, or a Level 1 out of 5, is in place for the area on Friday.

November marks the start of a secondary severe weather season in the South. The clash between cold, Canadian air drilling into the region and lingering warm, moist air over the Gulf of Mexico typically leads to an uptick in damaging thunderstorms from November to December.