Today's News: - The Power Hour

WORLD NEWS

Iranians voted on Friday for a new president following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, choosing from a tightly controlled group of four candidates loyal to the supreme leader at a time of growing public frustration and Western pressure.

The election coincides with escalating regional tension due to war between Israel and Iran’s allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as increased Western pressure on Iran over its fast-advancing nuclear programme.

While the election is unlikely to bring a major shift in the Islamic Republic’s policies, its outcome could influence the succession to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s 85-year-old supreme leader, in power since 1989.

Khamenei called for a high turnout to offset a legitimacy crisis fuelled by public discontent over economic hardship and curbs on political and social freedom.

Argentina’s lower house passes Milei’s economic reform bill …

Argentina’s lower Chamber of Deputies gave final approval to President Javier Milei’s key reform bill, delivering the libertarian president his first big legislative win.

LePen says her faction would block Macron sending French troops to Ukraine if elected!

Populist right leader Marine Le Pen says her party would use the commanding position it is predicted to soon enjoy in the French Parliament to block President Macron from deploying soldiers to the Ukraine War.

French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken openly and repeatedly about his interest in getting directly involved in the Ukraine War, by committing his own troops there. But France is two days from kicking off a week-long, two-round parliamentary election in which the anti-war populists (National Rally, RN) led by Marine Le Pen are polled to come first, and they say they wish to block any such intervention, triggering a mini-constitutional crisis.

While as President, Macron is the chief of the armed forces and has the prerogative to deploy soldiers at will, Le Pen asserts that his position confers no ability to grant funding. Looking to a post-election situation where RN dominated the French Parliament and her party colleague Jordan Bardella is French Prime Minister, Le Pen said they would seek to block deployment by withholding money.

Polling looks good for RN, with aggregate polls placing the party in the early-to-mid 30s. But France has a two-stage election system, which has punished the RN in the past, and these runoffs can be hard to predict.

More than 100 pharma plants shut in India amid quality crackdown

The national drug regulator conducted inspections after cough syrup made in the country was linked to deaths of children

India’s drug regulator has carried out inspections at hundreds of pharmaceutical plants after cough syrup produced in the country and exported worldwide was linked to the deaths of dozens of children.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has conducted “risk-based inspections” at more than 400 pharmaceutical manufacturing units over the past year and a half, agency chief Rajeev Raghuvanshi revealed at an industry event on Thursday. Some 36% of these were closed down, he added.

“These [micro, small and medium enterprises] had to shut down as they realized that they cannot meet the expectations of the regulators,” said Raghuvanshi.

The Indian government is planning to implement several projects that would help the industry to improve the quality of the products, he added.

Major UK High Street banks hit by payment issues

Thousands of UK bank customers have been hit by payment problems affecting some of the biggest High Street lenders.

Banks including HSBC, Nationwide, Barclays and Virgin Money were all affected by issues with a system that operates payments between individuals and firms.

The group overseeing the payments system said the issue causing the problems has now been fixed, and the payment backlog has been cleared.

Many customers had complained on social media, with some saying their salaries had not been paid into their accounts.

Some told the BBC they were still facing payment issues, despite claims that the fault had been resolved.

The timing of the glitches was particularly problematic given the last Friday of the month is when many people are paid.

Many people also have to pay bills around this time.

“My bills are bouncing and I can’t pay for a train ticket I need in the next hour,” said one customer.

Another said customers deserved compensation for the “inconvenience on people’s pay day”.

“We all have bills to pay,” they added.

U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Freight train derails in Chicago suburb prompting temporary evacuations …

A Canadian National Railway freight train derailed in a Chicago suburb yesterday, prompting an evacuation order that was later rescinded by local officials, according to an advisory.

The Village of Matteson announced the evacuation of residents in multiple areas near the derailment near 217th Street and Main “due to a large-scale train event.” It also advised residents to prepare “for a long-term evacuation” and urged them to “take any medication and supplies” they may need with them.

Several hours later, the village, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, about 30 miles south of Chicago, said it lifted the mandatory evacuation order and that “the area is now secure.”

Before the order was lifted, according to the village’s announcement, people who live one mile south of Main Street were told to evacuate, while areas a
mile west of Main Street and a quarter-mile east of Main Street were told to evacuate. Officials told local media that hazmat crews were on the scene of the derailment, suggesting it may have been carrying a type of hazardous material.

Metra Electric trains from Chicago to University Park were affected for several hours.

Judge awards over $1-million to 2 U.S. citizen children detained at border crossing!

Two American children who were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents while trying to cross the U.S.–Mexico border to go to school will be awarded more than $1 million in compensation, a federal judge in California has ruled.

According to the lawsuit—filed by their parents on their behalf—the two children lived with their parents and siblings in Tijuana, Mexico, and had been on their way to school in San Ysidro when the incident occurred.

According to the lawsuit, both children were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens; however, their mother, Thelma, is a Mexican citizen who possesses a valid U.S. Border Crossing card, and their father doesn’t have the legal status or a visa to enter the United States.

The two children showed their valid U.S. passport cards to agents when attempting to cross the border into the United States via the pedestrian border crossing in March 2019, the complaint states.

The mother of the two children wasn’t contacted when they were detained, according to the lawsuit.

After the children were released by border agents, they suffered mental stress, grief, anxiety, humiliation, and emotional distress, lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit.

In his ruling, Judge Curiel concluded that the United States’ conduct was “extreme and outrageous” and that it had violated the rights of the two children.

The judge also noted that one of the CBP officers who interviewed the daughter in private did so without a witness or a recording of the incident, violating CBP policy. This led to a “false confession,” he said.

U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allows emergency abortions in Idaho; lawsuit result …

The Supreme Court yesterday decided to dismiss Idaho’s appeal against a lower court ruling that granted an exception to its strict abortion law for abortions deemed to be medical emergencies.

The decision allows emergency abortions to proceed in Idaho, while a challenge to the state’s abortion law moves through the lower courts.

The release of the judicial opinion came after the court’s website staff inadvertently published a version of the document on June 26 and then took it down.

The Supreme Court’s new opinion is unsigned and marked “per curiam,” which means “for the court,” but does not identify the opinion’s author. The opinion also states that the decision to grant the petition and hear the case was “improvidently granted,” which means the justices decided that they had made a mistake in agreeing to hear the case.

The opinion itself consists of a single sentence and does not provide reasons why it was issued.

U.S. Supreme Court limits SEC’s enforcement powers!

The Supreme Court ruled against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) use of in- house administrative courts, holding that defendants who face civil penalties must receive a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution.

The case, SEC v. Jarkesy, was one of several challenging the administrative state’s power in the 2023–2024 term. The agency penalized Mr. Jarkesy for violating securities fraud law. He challenged the courts for their lack of juries and for allegedly not receiving proper authorization from Congress.

Written by Justice Gorsuch, the opinion heavily criticized the SEC’s in-house tribunals, comparing them to British colonial officials and arguing they stripped defendants of due process.

“Going in … the odds were stacked against Mr. Jarkesy,” Justice Gorsuch wrote.

U.S. Supreme Court blocks Purdue Pharma bankruptcy settlement over opioid damage!

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement that would have shielded its wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits over their role in the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic.

The 5-4 decision reversed a lower court’s ruling that had upheld the plan to give Purdue’s owners immunity in exchange for paying up to $6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits accusing the company of unlawful misleading marketing of OxyContin, a powerful pain medication introduced in 1996.

The ruling represented a victory for President Joe Biden’s administration, which had challenged the settlement as an abuse of bankruptcy protections meant for debtors in financial distress, not people like the Sacklers who have not filed for bankruptcy.

Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the ruling, which was joined by fellow conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, as well as liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Pete Arredondo, former Uvalde, TX school police chief and one officer indicted!

The former Uvalde schools police chief was indicted over his role in the slow police response to the 2022 massacre at a Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the local sheriff said Thursday.

Pete Arredondo was indicted by a grand jury on 10 counts of felony child endangerment/abandonment and briefly booked into the county jail before he was released on bond, Uvalde Sheriff Ruben Nolasco told The Associated Press in a text message Thursday night.

The Uvalde Leader-News and the San Antonio Express-News reported that former school officer Adrian Gonzales also was indicted on multiple similar charges. The Uvalde Leader-News reported that District Attorney Christina Mitchell confirmed the indictment.

The indictments make Arredondo, who was the on-site commander during the attack, and Gonzales the first officers to face criminal charges in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. A scathing report by Texas lawmakers that examined the police response described Gonzales as one of the first officers to enter the building after the shooting began.

The indictments were kept under seal until the men were in custody. It was unclear when Arredondo’s indictment would be publicly released.

Arredondo lost his job three months after the shooting. Several officers involved were eventually fired, and separate investigations by the Department of Justice and state lawmakers faulted law enforcement with botching their response to the massacre.

Old news … and we mean OLD NEWS! Let’s get ready to mumble!!!

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump presented competing visions and narratives on a range of issues in the first presidential debate hosted by CNN on June 28.

While the debate was at times punctuated by ad-hominems and tentative responses, the two presumptive nominees also debated key policies, from immigration to abortion, seeking to sway undecided voters in a race that polls show has been incredibly tight.

Analysis: Biden’s incoherent debate performance heightens fears over his age

Before Thursday evening, many Americans had expressed concerns about Joe Biden’s age and fitness for office. To say that this debate did not put those concerns to rest may be one of the greatest understatements of the year.

The president came into the debate with a low bar to clear, and he stumbled. He was flat. He was rambling. He was unclear.

About midway through the debate, the Biden campaign said that the president was battling a cold – an attempt to explain his raspy voice. That may be so, but it also sounded like an excuse.

For 90 minutes, more often than not, he was on the ropes. Particularly early in the evening, some of his answers were nonsensical. After losing his train of thought he ended one answer by saying, “We finally beat Medicare” – an odd reference to the government-run healthcare programme for the elderly.

Mr Biden’s own former communications director Kate Bedingfield was on CNN immediately after the debate, and she was clear: “There’s no two ways about it, that was not a good debate for Joe Biden.”

She said his biggest issue was to prove he had the energy and the stamina, and he didn’t do that.

Democrats scramble to limit damage after Biden’s wobbly debate showing …

President Joe Biden’s allies scrambled on Friday to contain the fallout from his faltering performance at the first 2024 U.S. presidential debate after he struggled to stem a barrage of attacks and false claims from his Republican rival Donald Trump.

The Biden campaign had hoped that a strong debate would quell concerns among voters that the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent is too old to serve a second four-year term.

Instead, a hoarse-sounding Biden stumbled over his words at times, especially in the early stages of the debate.

One Biden donor, who asked for anonymity to speak freely about the president, called his performance “disqualifying” and predicted that some Democrats would revisit calls for Biden to step aside in favor of another candidate ahead of the party’s national convention in August.

Panicking Democrats exchanged messages wondering whether Biden would consider stepping down.

U.S. Presidential Debate: Some undecided voters see disastrous Biden night!

A group of U.S. voters who were unable to choose between Joe Biden and Donald Trump before Thursday’s presidential debate delivered their verdicts after the contest and it was almost universally bad news for Biden.

Of the 13 “undecideds” who spoke to Reuters, 10 described the 81-year-old Democratic president’s performance against Republican candidate Trump collectively as feeble, befuddled, embarrassing and difficult to watch.

Gina Gannon, 65, a retiree in the battleground state of Georgia, voted for Trump in 2016 before ditching him for Biden in 2020.

“Joe Biden looked very weak and confused right from the start. It concerns me that our global enemies see Joe Biden in this manner. I was shocked and dismayed. I hate to see our president acting that way on TV and in front of the world,” Gannon said.

She added: “I am absolutely voting for Donald Trump now.”

Biden surrogates left CNN spin room; abandoned, Trump team there answering questions!

No surrogates for President Joe Biden appeared to be in the CNN spin room immediately

following the presidential debate, prompting confusion from the press.

“Dozens” of reporters were left waiting with only people from former President Donald Trump’s camp, Daily Caller correspondent Henry Rodgers posted on X, citing MSNBC coverage.

While the Democrats’ team was seemingly absent, “endless Trump surrogates are on the spin room floor speaking to press,” Rodgers noted.

“The spin room is full of Trump surrogates,” said Axios reporter Alex Thompson. “No one from Biden’s camp we can see.”

He added that “reporters keep asking each other if they have seen any of them.”
“Biden surrogates have abandoned the spin room,” said conservative radio host Erick Erickson.

When Biden’s surrogates — which included California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) — finally arrived, they were completely swarmed by the press.

Newsom balked at a reporter who asked if he would “urge the president to reconsider” running for re- election after his gaffe-filled debate.

“Absolutely not, I have his back 100 percent… I would never turn my back,” the far-left governor said.

Warnock interjected, claiming that Biden had passed “historic” legislation.

Donna Brazile: Democrat party has “work to do” after Biden debate performance …

Democrat strategist Donna Brazile admitted that the Democratic Party has “work to do” after President Joe Biden’s performance at the presidential debate but said he would be the party’s presidential nominee.

Brazile responded to a post on X from CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers saying that Biden is not “going anywhere” and all the people responding negatively to his performance at the debate need to “let go” of their pearls.

“Biden ain’t going nowhere,” Sellers wrote. “It’s June. Let go of your pearls and dry your bed. He lost a debate. Bad. But it’s June. You’re not replacing him. So leave your random combinations in your chats.”

Sellers continued to say that people like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) would not be nominated over Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Stop it. Organize. Vote,” Sellers continued. “We are winning every swing state senate race and gubernatorial race (NC). Relax. Choice is Trump, Biden or couch. I choose Joe.”

In response, Brazile wrote, “Say it. We got work to do. Biden will be our nominee.”
Biden’s performance in the presidential debate on Thursday against former President Donald Trump

was sharply criticized by many who suggested Biden be replaced and that a “new nominee” is needed.

People such as Edward Luce, the associate editor of the Financial Times, said, “Democrats need a new nominee,” while people like Kate Bedingfield, the former communications director for Biden, said Biden’s debate performance had been “disappointing.”

Former Democratic Party presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, also wrote that Biden needs to be swapped out, noting that he was “a different guy” from when he had debated him in 2020.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Walgreens to close up to 700 underperforming U.S. stores!

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O) said on Thursday it plans to close about 650 to 700 underperforming stores in the U.S., having cut its profit forecast for fiscal 2024 as weak consumer spending hurt retail operations.

It also plans to shut up to 650 Boots stores in the UK and expects to record related pre- tax charges of between $3.8 billion and $4.1 billion, according to a regulatory filing.

The drugstore operator’s CEO Tim Wentworth, who came on board last October, had set in motion a complete overhaul at Walgreens through store closures, the removal of multiple mid-level executives and a $1 billion cost-cutting plan.

“They brought in new CEO Tim Wentworth and he has a good history on the healthcare services side”, but investors are focused on his next steps, said Wagner, whose firm owns 241,583 Walgreens shares through a unit.

Walgreens will also simplify its U.S. healthcare portfolio that includes primary care provider VillageMD. Wentworth told the Wall Street Journal the company will no longer be VillageMD’s majority owner. It will, however, continue investing in its Boots UK and Shields pharmacy businesses. As of May 31, Walgreens had closed 581 stores in the UK and 673 stores in the U.S., according to a regulatory filing.

Newsom signs budge act; declares fiscal emergency in California!

With the state facing a significant budget deficit, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Legislature’s budget act into law June 26 and issued a proclamation of a fiscal emergency—thus allowing the state to tap reserves to help cover the shortfall.

“I have determined that estimated resources are inadequate to fund General Fund expenditures for the current or ensuing fiscal year, which constitutes a budget emergency,” Mr. Newsom said in the emergency declaration.

The 2024–25 budget act, Assembly Bill 107, lays the groundwork for the fiscal year, which starts July 1. As per state law, the budget plan is balanced, with lawmakers agreeing to a combination of reductions, deferrals, delays, and borrowing.

The governor pointed to a steep drop in capital gains taxes as the reason for the state’s deficit—which now amounts to $46.8 billion.

He said all tax revenues failed to meet expenditures by “tens of billions of dollars” for this and the upcoming fiscal year.

Backlog of identity theft cases at the IRS is leaving many without refunds!

A backlog at the IRS of identity theft cases is growing, hitting 500,000 in April, which is leading to some taxpayers not receiving refunds and others not seeing their cases resolved for years, according to a new report from National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service, led by Ms. Collins, is an independent organization within the IRS that issues two annual reports to Congress, reporting findings and making recommendations on how to fix them.

The average resolution time for the cases was more than 22 months.

Jury Award: NFL must pay $4.7-billion in damages to “Sunday Ticket” subscribers!

A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.

The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.

The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.

The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.

Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.

Farm Bureau report: July 4th cookout cost reaches record high due to inflation!

The average cost for a Fourth of July cookout has increased in 2024 to a “record high,” in part because of higher inflation, according to a survey released on June 27 by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

An Independence Day cookout for 10 people will cost 5 percent more than last year, according to the farmer and rancher group. In 2023, the average cost was $67.73, but in 2024, it will cost an average of $71.22, the group found.

The Farm Bureau’s survey is not the only one indicating that the annual holiday meal is getting more expensive. According to a report by Rabobank released on June 26, the average cost of a cookout for 10 people will top $99, up from $97 last year, with beverages and beef being the most expensive items.

Enrollment Loss, Financial Woes an increasing problem at U.S. colleges …

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, college and university enrollment has decreased by about 1.5 million students, or 7.4 percent, in the past decade.

The main reason is that, with declining birth rates, there won’t be enough students for every school, according to Adam Kissel, visiting fellow in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation.

College and university decision makers across the nation must have known about this population trend 20 years ago, he said, yet too few of those representing private schools had conversations about merging or sharing services to survive.

Ten big banks settle U.S. interest rate swaps rigging litigation …

Ten large banks including Bank of America (BAC.N) , Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) will pay $46 million to settle a long-running antitrust lawsuit accusing them of conspiring to rig the now $465.9 trillion market for interest rate swaps.

Lawyers for investors filed a preliminary settlement to end the eight-year-old nationwide case on Thursday in Manhattan federal court.

The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken, and boosts the value of all settlements in the case to $71 million.

Other settling banks include Barclays (BARC.L) , BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) , Citigroup (C.N) , Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) , Morgan Stanley (MS.N) , NatWest (NWG.L) and UBS (UBSG.S) .

Investors led by the city of Baltimore and pension funds in Chicago, Los Angeles and Michigan accused the banks of trying from 2013 to 2016 to corner swaps trading, in part by boycotting three upstart platforms that offered better prices and let buy-side investors trade with each other.

This allegedly led to “tremendous profits” for the banks because of their role as dealers, primarily in the form of bid/ask spreads, the investors said.

Credit Suisse, now part of UBS, agreed in 2022 to pay $25 million to settle investors’ claims. A different judge dismissed a 12th bank, HSBC (HSBA.L) , as a defendant in 2017.

All of the banks have denied wrongdoing.

HEALTH

DOJ charges nearly 200 people in $2.7-billion health care fraud crackdown!

The Justice Department announced criminal charges against nearly 200 people Thursday in a nationwide crackdown on health care fraud schemes and falls claims totaling $2.7 billion in intended losses.

Doctors, nurse practitioners, and other licensed medical professionals across the U.S. are accused of various schemes, including a $900 million scam in Arizona that targeted terminally ill patients.

In the Arizona case, Alexandra Gehrke, 38, and Jeffrey King, 49, owners of several wound-care companies, were charged with various counts of conspiracy, health care fraud, receiving kickbacks, and money laundering in an alleged scheme to bill hundreds of millions of dollars for expensive amniotic grafts, which are dressings to help heal wounds.

Nurse practitioners were allegedly pressured to apply wound grafts to elderly patients who did not need them, including some who were in hospice care, according to the DOJ. Some of the patients who received the grafts died on the same day or within days, according to the 21- page indictment.

Between November 2022 and May 2024, the pair is accused of submitting more than $900 million in bogus claims to Medicare for grafts that were not medically necessary.

The DOJ said 193 people were charged in a series of separate cases brought over about two weeks in the nationwide healthcare fraud sweep, “involving 2.75 billion in intended losses and $1.6 billion in actual losses.”

Authorities seized more than $230 million in cash, luxury cars, and other assets.

Supreme Court blocks Purdue Pharma opioid bankruptcy settlement

The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy deal that would’ve contributed billions of dollars to pay victims and combat the opioid epidemic in exchange for immunizing the wealthy Sackler family from civil lawsuits.

In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the high court ruled federal law does not permit the Sacklers, who previously controlled Purdue Pharma but did not themselves file for bankruptcy, to be released from liability for contributing up to $6 billion to the settlement.

Never eat these 11 dry cereals (unless you’re a woke mommy trying to kill your kids)!

Cereal was the very first processed food that was designed to make eating easier — not necessarily healthier. After all, cereal requires no preparation or cooking. Cereal made it possible for moms to feed her family and get ready for work herself. But at what cost?

Cereal has been referred to as the biggest success story of the modern food industry. Well-known author and speaker Michael Pollan says this, ” Breakfast cereals in many ways are the archetypal processed food product of modern capitalist food economics.”

Cereal advertising at its best (WORST)

Catchy, fun and oh so alluring, food manufacturers have never skimped on their budget when it comes to cereal ads. As a kid, I can remember choosing my weekly cereal solely on the advertisements.

Millions of dollars are spent annually on advertisements that not only aggressively target children but also convince adults that dry cereals are a healthy and economical food choice. There are contests, online games, celebrity endorsements and catchy jingles to

draw us in. Of course, none of us have time, as the advertisers would like us to think, to prepare real food for our family. Why would we if there is a packaged wonder like dry cereal that can provide all of the nutrients we need to get our day started? If only this were true.

New York University (NYU) nutrition professor Marion Nestle summarizes the problem with so many of today’s boxed breakfast cereals: “Cereal companies have spent fortunes on convincing parents that a kid’s breakfast means cereal, and that sugary cereals are fun, benign, and all kids will eat… No public health agency has anywhere near the education budget equivalent to that spent on a single cereal. Kids should not be eating sugar for breakfast. They should be eating real food.”

What cereal really is

In reality, cereal is merely a smart packaging of some really cheap commodities like sugar and corn mixed with some even cheaper additives like artificial flavors and colors. Don’t be fooled! These highly processed food fakes have no real nutrients. Most are even sprayed with vitamins and minerals, and sometimes fortified with protein.

You may be familiar with attractive claims on cereal boxes stating such as “All Natural,” “Low Fat,” “Essential Vitamins,” “Good Source of Vitamin A” and more. Even these so- called “healthy” cereals are loaded with synthetic and even toxic additives that make them no more fit for a dog’s bowl than your breakfast table.

Here’s the 11 companies or brands that use GMO in their cereal processing or other harmful ingredients, including massive amounts of sugar:

General Mills

Quaker

Kellogg’s

Honey Smacks

Froot Loops

Apple Jacks

Golden Crisps

French Toast Crunch

Reese’s Puffs

Lucky Charms

Rice Krispies

Raisin Bran

JIF Peanut Butter Cereal

Corn Pops

The science behind starting your meals with protein or veggies …

Unlike established dietary advice emphasizing portion control and what to avoid, a study published in Diabetes Care highlighted the importance of timing carbohydrate consumption. Compared to consuming carbohydrates first, postmeal blood sugar levels decreased by up to 36.7 percent when vegetables and protein preceded carbohydrates.

A 2019 study in the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications found that people lost more weight when they focused on meal sequence instead of following standard guidance.

A Diabetes Care study demonstrated that administering whey protein before or with a high-carbohydrate meal significantly reduced blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes patients, comparable to pharmacological therapies like sulfonylureas, a class of oral diabetes medications. The authors suggested that nutritional strategies like these may hold potential for diabetes management.

Starchy carbohydrates are quickly digested and absorbed when consumed alone or first, while proteins undergo initial stomach digestion, delaying subsequent carbohydrate absorption and moderating glucose release into the bloodstream, Nicky Denvir, a UK-based nutritional therapist said.

Consuming vegetables first slowed carbohydrate digestion, requiring less insulin.

Soluble fibers like psyllium husk help blood sugar regulation by delaying gastric emptying and forming a gel matrix in the small intestine, hindering enzyme access to carbohydrates and slowing glucose release, Ms. Denvir said. Studies have shown significant glucose reductions with 5 to 15 grams (0.2 to 0.5 ounce) of psyllium before carbohydrate-rich meals, she noted.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

U.S. Supreme Court delivers crippling blow to permanent bureaucracy’s power over Americans’ lives!

The Supreme Court handed small fishing companies a victory Friday in their lawsuits against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), overturning a decades-old precedent that expanded the power of the administrative state.

Siding 6-3 with the fishermen, the Supreme Court reversed its 1984 landmark case, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which lower courts relied on to uphold NOAA’s rule forcing companies to doll out $700 per day — around 20% of their revenue — to pay the salaries of federally mandated on- board observers. The principle of Chevron deference, rooted in the landmark case, instructed courts to defer to reasonable agency interpretations of statutes when the language is ambiguous.

“Chevron is overruled,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority ruling. “Courts must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, as the [Administrative Procedure Act] requires.”

Small fishing companies sued NOAA after the agency required businesses to pay for the on-board monitors based on its interpretation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the law governing fishery management. In both Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, lower courts deferred to the agency’s interpretation of the law, citing the Chevron ruling.

Roberts called Chevron a “a judicial invention that required judges to disregard their statutory duties.”

“Perhaps most fundamentally, Chevron’s presumption is misguided because agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities,” Roberts wrote. “Courts do.”

New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) highlighted the burden NOAA’s rule placed on businesses in an amicus brief. The short training sea monitors receive does not equip them for the rough conditions on board, the association argued, creating safety concerns and forcing crews to shoulder the burden.

GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

More speakers are lining up for the Ozark Homesteading Expo in September!

If you’d like to volunteer to participate, you can access the online application here!

COVID RELATED NEWS

CDC says the new COVID-19 variant has the potential to infect some people more easily …

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated on June 26 that a new COVID-19 variant spreading across the United States shows a higher potential to infect certain individuals, although the agency noted that there’s “no evidence” that it causes more severe symptoms.

The recently discovered variant LB.1 “has the potential to infect some people more easily based on a single deletion in a spike protein,” CDC spokesman David Daigle told The Epoch Times on June 26, in response to a question about the LB.1 variants’ severity.

However, he noted that “there is currently no evidence that LB.1 causes more severe disease” and that “most key COVID-19 indicators are showing low levels of activity nationally, therefore the total number of infections this lineage may be causing is likely low.”

CDC advisers unanimously recommend new COVID jabs to nearly all Americans!

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 27 recommended forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines for virtually all Americans.

“CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 this fall and winter whether or not they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine,” the agency said in a statement.

The COVID-19 vaccines now available, which are also broadly recommended, target the XBB.1.5 strain. But observational data indicate they provide short-lived protection against COVID-19 infection and hospitalization.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials, acting on advice from their advisers, recently directed vaccine manufacturers to produce COVID-19 vaccines with updated formulations.

CANCEL CULTURE

Tractor Supply Company issues statement saying it’s disavowing “wokeness”?

Tractor Supply Company issued a statement announcing that it will stop sharing data with the Human Rights Campaign; nix diversity, equity, and inclusion positions; and ditch its carbon emissions goals. The Human Rights Campaign is a pro-LGBT advocacy group.

In the statement, the company listed five points, declaring that it will:

“No longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign”
“Refocus our Team Member Engagement Groups on mentoring, networking and supporting the business,”
“Further focus on rural America priorities including ag education, animal welfare, veteran causes and being a good neighbor and stop sponsoring non-business activities like pride festivals and voting campaign” “Eliminate DEI roles and retire our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment,”

“Withdraw our carbon emission goals and focus on our land and water conservation efforts”

And Tractor Supply’s statement on Thursday appears to indicate that the company, which describes itself as “the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States,” faced public pressure to change course.

John Nolte: CNN slit its own throat during Trump-Biden debate!

What a glorious night. First, like Lonesome Rhoades at the end of “A Face in the Crowd” (1957), and in front of the whole wide world in real-time, Joe Biden was finally exposed for what he really is—an enfeebled old man and victim of elder abuse who should be in Memory Care, not the Oval Office. Second, and again in front of the whole wide world, CNN slit its very own throat.

God bless America.

What were Jake Tapper and Dana Bash thinking?

I’ll tell you what they were thinking—what they are always thinking: only about themselves. Instead of looking out for their failing network’s survival chances, Tapper—in his Rachel Maddow glasses and Little Lord Fauntleroy suit—and Bash—who always looks like an offended librarian—we’re looking towards history. That’s why the debate was pretty fair and maybe perfectly fair. I didn’t keep track, but it seemed to me Biden was given the last word much more frequently than Trump … but who cares! The more Biden talked, the more he pulled a Lonesome Rhoades…. The more he proved the corporate media liars who had been covering up his condition… The more he got what he had coming to him for being a terrible human being.

By going hard-left; by becoming smug, unappealing hall-monitoring scolds; for attacking Normal People as racists and bigots for being Normal, and, of course, for this…

Russia Collusion Hoax

Hands Up, Don’t Shoot Hoax

Jussie Smollett Hoax

Covington KKKids Hoax

Very Fine People Hoax

Seven-Hour Gap Hoax

Russian Bounties Hoax

Policemen Killed at Mostly Peaceful January 6 Protest Hoax

Rittenhouse Hoax
Eating While Black Hoax
Border Agents Whipping Illegals Hoax

NASCAR Noose Hoax
The Georgia Jim Crow 2.0 Hoax
Trump Assaulted Secret Service Agents and Grabbed Steering Wheel of Beast Hoax

MAGA Assaulted Paul Pelosi Hoax
COVID Lab Leak Theory Is Racist Hoax
Hunter Biden’s Laptop Is Russian Disinformation Hoax
Joe Biden Will Never Ban Gas Stoves Hoax
COVID Deaths are Over-Counted Is a Conspiracy Theory Hoax
Mass Graves of Native Children in Canada Hoax
The Trump Killed All the Fish Hoax
Trump Told People to Drink Bleach Hoax
Hamas Hospital Hoax
If Reelected, Trump Will Execute People Hoax
The 900,000 Kids Hospitalized with Coronavirus Hoax
Dozens of Environmental Hoaxes
The Alfa Bank Hoax
Libs of TikTok Murdered Non-Binary Teen Hoax
The Aaron Rodgers Sandy Hook-Truther Hoax
The ‘Bloodbath’ Hoax
The Don’t Believe Your Lyin’ Eyes Biden Is Fine Hoax\

…CNN alienated everyone in America who’s not hard-left, who doesn’t hate Normal People, and who can’t stand being serially lied to. In other words, CNN checkmated itself into a corner with only an itsy- bitsy base of remaining viewers. And according to the latest figures, that base is fewer than a half- million viewers.

So, who are these viewers who make up CNN’s residual base of support? They’re deranged extremists like Ellen Barkin, John Cusack, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sean Penn. And now we come to my most important point…

CNNLOL’s residual base is not only made up of leftist lunatics, it is made up of leftist lunatics who demand fealty to the cause. Oh, they love-love-love Jake Tapper when he’s spreading the Russia Collusion Hoax, meddling in elections, manufacturing conspiracy theories, and talking about Trump’s penis. But when Jake Tapper puts on his Rachel Maddow glasses and Little Lord Fauntleroy suit and asks Trump a straightforward question, and then allows him to answer, and then doesn’t call him a fat, orange, tiny-handed lying rapist afterward, it’s so-long-send-me-a-postcard-at-MSNBC.

GOOD NEWS

The Supreme Court of Georgia order removal of state judge over misconduct!

The removal of a Georgia Probate Court Judge was ruled appropriate by the state’s supreme court on June 25, officially removing the judge from the bench and barring her from running for office again for seven years.

The decision followed numerous alleged violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct by Douglas County Probate Court Judge Christina Peterson. Douglas County is west of Fulton County in the Atlanta Metro area.

The Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) had charged Judge Peterson with a pattern of judicial misconduct, resulting in the Hearing Panel finding her guilty on 28 of 30 counts, with discipline authorized for 20 of these counts under the Georgia Constitution.