Today’s Top 5:
The International Atomic Energy Agency has approved a plan by Japan to release more than a million tons of treated nuclear waste water from the destroyed Fukushima power plant into the ocean, despite vehement international opposition.
In a report released Tuesday, the IAEA said it has concluded after a two-year assessment that the plan is “consistent with relevant international safety standards” and that while societal, political and environmental concerns have been raised, the discharged water “will have negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”
The National Archives has concluded its review of the classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, with 99% of the records having been made publicly available, the White House said Friday.
“This action reflects [President Biden’s] instruction that all information related to President Kennedy’s assassination should be released except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday urged President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster in response to the toxic train derailment that occurred in East Palestine in February.
The incident resulted in the release of hazardous chemicals from several rail cars operated by Norfolk Southern and raised health concerns among local residents. DeWine emphasized the need for federal assistance to address the aftermath of the disaster.
A federal judge has made a historic ruling by partially granting an injunction that blocks various Biden administration officials and government agencies such as the Justice Department and the FBI from working with big tech firms to censor posts on social media.
The injunction came in response to a censorship-by-proxy lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who have accused Biden administration officials and various government agencies of pressuring social media companies to suspend accounts or take down posts.
Half of China’s currency reserves are “hidden,” a situation that may add risks to the global economy down the road, former Treasury Department official Brad Setser wrote.
While the country’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange reported $3.12 trillion in foreign assets last December, Setser estimates that foreign exchange reserves actually sit at around $6 trillion.
“China is so big that how it manages its economy and currency matters enormously to the world,” he wrote in The China Project. “Yet over time the way it manages its currency and its foreign exchange reserves has become much less transparent – creating new kinds of risks for the global economy.”
WORLD NEWS
Putin, Xi Speak in First Summit Since Wagner Mercenary Uprising in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi shared the same stage on Tuesday, speaking at a virtual summit of a Shanghai-headquartered regional security organization in the wake of an aborted Wagner mutiny that had political implications for both nations.
Both leaders spoke about the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional power bloc led by China and Russia that is aimed at countering perceived Western influence in Central Asia.
The Russian president praised the group’s support to the Kremlin during the short-lived revolt last month.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries who expressed support for the actions of the Russian leadership to protect the constitutional order life and safety of citizens,” Putin told the videoconference from the Kremlin. “We highly appreciate it.”
French Media Reports Vigilante Gang Zip-Tying Rioters And Handing Them to Police
The existence of a masked gang of young men tying up rioters in one town is discussed in French language publications, but the mayor insists no such thing exists and tells locals to call the police if they witness unrest.
Saudi Arabia and Russia Push Oil Prices Up with Deeper Production Cuts
Saudi Arabia and Russia, both members of the OPEC+ oil cartel and the two largest oil exporters in the world, announced deeper production cuts on Monday to push worldwide market prices higher. The cuts added up to a 1.5-percent reduction in the global supply of oil.
Saudi Arabia unilaterally reduced its production by one million barrels per day (bpd) in June, a move that generated much controversy at the June 4 meeting of OPEC+ when it was announced.
U.N. Seeks Options for Global Intervention, Governance over Artificial Intelligence
A U.N. meeting titled “AI for Good Global Summit” begins in Geneva on Thursday seeking ways to advise the globalist organization on “governance issues” alongside efforts to control the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and human augmentation.
Some 3,000 experts from companies like Microsoft and Amazon as well as academics and NGO representatives are expected to take part alongside 40 U.N. sister agencies, all co-convened by the Government of Switzerland.
US Ambassador to Russia Meets Jailed Wall Street Journal Reporter Gershkovich
The United States ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was able to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for the second time in Moscow on July 3, the State Department announced.
“Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr. Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances,” a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times following Monday’s visit.
Tracy was last able to visit Gershkovich on April 17.
“U.S. Embassy officials will continue to provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access,” the statement continued.
“Mr. Gershkovich is wrongfully detained and the charges against him are baseless. We call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him.”
Monday’s meeting marks Tracy’s second with the journalist since he was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on espionage charges in March.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Supreme Court Won’t Disturb Ruling Recognizing Gender Dysphoria Under Disability Law
Over the objections of two conservative justices, the Supreme Court decided last week not to take up a case about whether individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The June 30 decision to deny the petition for certiorari, or review, in Kincaid v. Williams (court file 22-633), is important because it is being interpreted as a victory for the transgender rights movement.
The order came the same day the court issued the last of 58 opinions in cases argued in the term that began in October 2022. Its new term begins with oral arguments on the first Monday in October.
The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers today to be on the lookout for a new scam mailing that tries to mislead people into believing they are owed a refund.
The new scheme involves a mailing coming in a cardboard envelope from a delivery service. The enclosed letter includes the IRS masthead and wording that the notice is “in relation to your unclaimed refund.”
Like many scams, the letter includes contact information and a phone number that do not belong to the IRS. But it also seeks a variety of sensitive personal information from taxpayers – including detailed pictures of driver’s licenses – that can be used to by identity thieves to try obtaining a tax refund and other sensitive financial information.
“This is just the latest in the long string of attempts by identity thieves posing as the IRS in hopes of tricking people into providing valuable personal information to steal identities and money, including tax refunds,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “These scams can come in through email, text or even in special mailings. People should be careful to watch out for red flags that clearly mark these as IRS scams.”
Ex-US Treasury Secretary Issues Warning on New IRS Tax Proposal
The former Treasury secretary under the Reagan administration warned that Americans should remain “skeptical” about Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposals, including a pilot program that would allow taxpayers to file their taxes directly with the federal agency, rather than using a service like TurboTax or H&R Block.
“The effort would trust bureaucrats to become America’s tax preparers and filers. Rather than easing Americans’ headaches over filing their taxes, this new government-run method would only worsen their filing woes,” former Treasury Secretary Bay Buchanan wrote in an opinion article. “Without knowing the details of the Direct File proposal, taxpayers should be skeptical given how the IRS and Treasury Department started the initiative without having the proper authority from their elected representatives.”
CBP Defends Footage of Border Patrol Agent Cutting Razor Wire to Let in Illegal Border Crossers
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) defended video footage of a U.S. Border Patrol agent cutting open a section of razor wire for an illegal immigrant family, saying that it was a necessary action to apprehend them.
On Friday, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin shared a Twitter post showing the unidentified Border Patrol agent taking wire cutters to a spiraling line of razor wire and then pulling the wire aside to allow at least a dozen illegal immigrants to walk through.
In his Twitter post caption, Melugin reported that the razor wire fence was laid out on private property by the Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas DPS) with the permission of the property owner. Texas DPS officials and National Guard troops from a variety of states have been spreading razor wire and manning sections of the Texas border in an effort to physically block illegal border crossings as part of an effort known as Operation Lone Star.
“This is the first time [Texas DPS officials] know of this happening, and that it’s being looked into for potential destruction of [Texas] property,” Melugin said in his Twitter post. “The federal government’s position is that once migrants are on U.S. soil, under U.S. law, they need to be processed, and cannot be repelled or turned away. Texas is taking a much different approach, and has been physically blocking migrants under orders from [Gov. Greg Abbott.]”
Ex-Pfizer Employee Faces Insider-Trading Charges on COVID-19 Drug Trial
The Department of Justice has accused a former Pfizer employee and his friend and business partner in participating in an insider-trading scheme based on confidential information about the results of clinical trials of a medicine used to treat COVID-19.
Prosecutors in New York have accused 44-year-old Amit Dagar, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, of buying call options in Pfizer stock after learning that the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid performed favorably a day before the drug trial results were made public.
Dagar, a former senior statistical program lead for the Paxlovid drug trial, also allegedly tipped off a friend, Atul Bhiwapurkar, who also purchased short-dated Pfizer stock options, all before the trial results were announced.
Judge Blocks Florida Law that Bans Foreign Nationals from Registering Voters
A federal judge has blocked two provisions of a Florida law that bans foreign nationals from registering voters and makes it a third-degree felony for those collecting voter information to retain a voter’s information for purposes unrelated to voter registration.
IN-DEPTH: The 11 Senate Seats Most Likely to Flip in 2024
There will be 34 U.S. Senate seats on ballots across the nation in November 2024, including 20 held by Democrats, three by independents, and 11 by Republicans.
Of the 20 seats now held by incumbent Democrats, at least eight are in states defined as “competitive” in initial assessments by elections ratings services such as Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections, with three Senate Democrats in states won by former President Donald Trump in 2020: West Virginia, Montana, and Ohio.
Of the 11 U.S. Senate seats held by GOP incumbents, all are in states rated as securely red, although Texas, where Sen. Ted Cruz is seeking a third term, is regarded by Inside Elections as a “battleground Republican” state where a Democrat is expected to be competitive. In addition, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), if he chooses to run, could face a stiff primary challenge.
The three independent Senate incumbents all caucus with the Democrats with two—Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont—heavily favored to be reelected (although Sanders hasn’t formally said he will run in 2024).
The third independent, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, elected in 2018 as a Democrat before leaving the party in December 2022, hasn’t announced her 2024 intentions.
If she seeks reelection, the 2024 Arizona U.S. Senate election could be a tight three-way race. A strong field of Democrat and Republican hopefuls are already tossing their hats into primary races in this purple state.
Based solely on those numbers, Republicans might have confidence heading into the 2024 elections that they can gain control of the chamber that’s now led by Democrats 51–49.
2ND AMENDMENT
NRA Sues Biden Admin Over ‘Unlawful’ ATF Final Rule on Pistol Stabilizing Brace
The National Rifle Association (NRA) on Monday intervened in a legal challenge against the pistol brace rule implemented by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
The rule, which went into effect on June 1, is designed to regulate pistols with stabilizing braces, which make it easier to shoot a handgun with one hand.
The NRA seeks to intervene in the Texas lawsuit in order to protect its members and defend their freedom from the regulation known as the “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces.’”
Watch: Missouri Republican Advocates for 2A with Fourth of July Flamethrower Vid
Rep. Eric Burlison’s (R-MO) affinity for flamethrowing resurfaced for the Fourth of July after the Missouri Republican and vocal Second Amendment advocate first made an impression during his campaign last year for using the fire-breathing device.
Burlison shared the new video to his social media, which showed the lawmaker rolling into the scene on a four-wheeler, praising American independence, shooting an AR-15, and torching a hotdog with the flamethrower.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Challenges mount for US manufacturing, construction and services
The ISM manufacturing index indicates that the sector is in recession, with few signs of a turn any time soon. Construction is doing better, but higher interest rates will bite. With the impact of student loan repayments presenting major challenges for the sector, services will be the area to watch
US manufacturing recession deepens
The June US ISM manufacturing index has come in at 46.0, below the 47.1 consensus and weaker than the 46.9 reading from May. This is the worst reading since May 2020 and is the eighth consecutive sub-50 reading (the border between growth and contraction). The key sub-components such as new orders, production, employment and customer inventories are also all in contraction territory. In fact, nothing is growing. The one bit of good news is that this is also the case for prices paid, which dropped to 41.8 – the lowest seen since December. This suggests producer price inflation should soon drop below 1% year-on-year.
All of the important barometers (orders, production, employment, prices paid) are also below their 6M averages, so there is no sign of a turn coming yet. The weak Chinese PMI –whose trend typically leads the US ISMs by around three months – confirms this. As the chart below shows, the ISM (manufacturing and services) reports have historically been superb lead indicators for GDP growth – and it doesn’t look pretty.
CBDCs: Expiration Dates, Restrictions On Spending For Social Engineering
The WEF hosted the 14th annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China, also known as Summer Davos. During one of the 30-minute panel discussions on June 28, Cornell University professor Eswar Prasad explained that the global economy is “at the cusp of physical currency essentially disappearing” and that programmable CBDCs and the technology behind these new forms of money could take the international economic landscape toward a dark path or a better place.
Prasad contended that one of the “huge potential gains” for the digitization of money is the programmability of CBDC units and attaching expiry dates. Governments can also utilize central bank money to socially engineer society.
“You could have … a potentially better—or some people might say a darker world—where the government decides that units of central bank money can be used to purchase some things, but not other things that it deems less desirable like, say ammunition, or drugs, or pornography, or something of the sort,” he said. “And that is very powerful in terms of the use of a CBDC, and I think also extremely dangerous to central banks.”
The author of “Gaining Currency” and “The Dollar Trap” purported that CBDCs possess unique characteristics and could be employed “as a conduit for economic policies in a very targeted way, or more broadly for social policies.”
“That could really affect the integrity of central bank money and the integrity and independence of central banks,” Prasad stated. “So, there are wonderful notions of things that can be done with digital money, but again I fear the technology could take us to a better place, but equally has the potential to take us to a pretty dark place.”
Bud Light Boycott Sends Customers Flocking to New Conservative Marketplace
A”woke-free” online marketplace is targeting conservatives amid calls for boycotts of Bud Light, The North Face and other brands over LGBTQ+ items sold for Pride Season.
Over the past several weeks, PublicSq., an online marketplace that promotes businesses with conservative values, called for supporters to use its website to find alternatives to companies that have been embracing transgender people and drag queens. The boycotts have caused some companies to walk back their support, and PublicSq. has seen 30 percent growth in recent weeks.
“After Bud Light announced what they were doing in this partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, we saw beer searches on our platform skyrocket over 800 percent, so we’ve had a very serious increase in direct searches for the alternatives to the brands that are currently conducting this what we really call displays of progressive activism,” Michael Seifert, founder and CEO of PublicSq., told Newsweek.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Tech giants are letting amateur coders to rip out safeguards from their chatbots
But thousands of AI-generated child abuse images now litter dark web forums
Predators share ‘pedophile guides’ to AI and sell their pornographic material
Meet Your New Gene-Edited Salad
Mustard greens that have been genetically altered to remove their pungent flavor are coming to U.S. grocery stores.
Pairwise, an agricultural biotechnology company, created Conscious Greens Purple Power Baby Greens Blend, the first CRISPR-edited food available to U.S. consumers.
The company used CRISPR—clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats—to edit mustard greens’ DNA, removing a gene that gives them their pungent flavor.
The greens are first being rolled out in restaurants in St. Louis, Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, before heading to U.S. grocery stores—beginning in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2022, researchers with Boston Children’s Hospital revealed that using CRISPR in human cell lines increased the risk of large rearrangements of DNA, which could increase cancer risk.
Because regulators don’t consider gene-edited foods to be genetically modified organisms (GMOs), they don’t have to be labeled.
Why the Bioengineered Salmon Project Got Paused
The construction of AquaBounty’s largest GE salmon farm has been paused
Located in Pioneer, Ohio, the commercial salmon farm is slated to have an annual production capacity of 10,000 metric tons, and the company plans to invest up to $395 million in the project
Salmon were expected to be stocked in late 2024, but construction has been halted due to a steep rise in construction costs
While 75% of costs had already been established, costs for remaining items like piping and concrete have skyrocketed due to inflation
The company is hoping that construction will resume in August 2023, further threatening human health and the environment with GE salmon
SURVEILLANCE STATE
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
White House Report Says Blocking Sunlight Can Prevent Global Warming
The White House published a report which investigated the “possible deployment” of climate change techniques like artificially blocking sunlight.
Solar radiation modification (SRM), also known as solar geoengineering, is aimed at preventing sunlight from accelerating the warming of the planet.
“Greenhouse gasses warm the climate by blocking a portion of outgoing longwave radiation that would otherwise be emitted into space,” states the report (pdf), published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on June 30. “By contrast, SRM cools the climate by reflecting a greater amount of incoming solar (shortwave) radiation back into space. … SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years.”
Deforesting the Amazon for Green Energy Windmills?
The rapid expansion of wind energy has led to increasing demand for windmills and balsa wood to build them
The tropical tree is facing exploitation and being cleared from Amazon forests, causing potentially more environmental problems than the windmills it creates can solve
Wind turbine blades can be up to 328 feet (100 meters) long; each blade requires 150 cubic meters of balsa wood, which is several tons
China is a major consumer of balsa wood, purchasing 85% of Ecuador’s exports in 2020
The Open Democracy video, “A Green Paradox,” documents how the rush for balsa wood to create “green” wind energy has destroyed local indigenous communities and decimated ecosystems
High levels of toxic chemicals in pets living near US manufacturing plant
Pets living near a PFAS manufacturing plant in Fayetteville, North Carolina have concerning levels of the toxic chemicals in their blood, and show evidence of health effects linked to exposure, new research finds.
PFAS were present in all 32 dog and 31 horse blood samples checked, and the findings provide evidence that human and animal exposures to the chemicals impacts their bodies, said Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University researcher and co-author.
“It is just consistent with what we’ve seen over and over again, and it makes the case clear that these are toxic compounds,” he said.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Boil Water Advisory – Safety and Water Use Tips
Most people know about boiling water to make it safe to drink, but sometimes boiling isn’t enough. We’ll share when boiling works to make water safe, when it doesn’t, and what to do during a boil water advisory.
How to Boil Water During an Advisory
You’ll need a pot or kettle and a heat source, such as a stove or a campfire. Here’s how to do it:
- Fill the pot or kettle with water. If the water isn’t clear, pre-filter it with a clean cotton shirt or coffee filter to remove debris.
- Place the pot on the stove, grill or campfire. (Make sure to use a flame resistant pot if heating over an open flame.)
- Turn the heat on high and then wait for the water to come to a rolling boil.
- Once the water is boiling, let it boil for at least one minute to make it safe to drink. At elevations above 6,500 feet, boil for 3 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the water cool before drinking it.
Related: 3 Emergency Water Filtration Options to Get the Funky Chunks Out
Power Hour Partner Products available:
- DURAFLO™ WATER FILTER REPLACEMENT
- AQUA PAIL – 1100 GALLON
- AQUANETICS H2O HYDRO WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM
- James McCanney Whole House Water Filters Use promo code POWER at checkout
HEALTH
Omega-3 Supplements May be the Missing Link in Helping You Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure—aka hypertension—is one of the most common health conditions in the United States, and a major risk factor for heart disease. And while genetics do factor into this condition, diet plays an outsized role in your ability to maintain healthy blood pressure levels.
One nutrient that’s been linked time and time again to optimal heart health is omega-3s fatty acids. Studies show that adding more omega-3s (think foods like fatty fish or sea vegetables) into your diet could help lower blood pressure and reduce your risk of developing hypertension and heart disease in the future.
Power Mall Products of Interest:
SUPER KRILL OIL 1000 MG (60 CT)
Struggling With Hair Loss? This Common Vitamin Deficiency Could Be To Blame
Whether we’re talking collagen or vitamin C, there’s no doubt certain supplements can help bolster your beauty and give you a healthy glow.
And while vitamin D is fairly well known for its skin benefits in the beauty realm, many don’t realize that the essential vitamin is critical for hair growth as well.
Power Mall Products of Interest:
CDC OKs New Pfizer, GSK Vaccines Against RSV in Older Adults
Some older adults should receive the new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded, while acknowledging that the risks of the shots may outweigh the benefits for some of the population.
The CDC’s director on June 29 endorsed advice from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, known as ACIP, for the new vaccines, which are manufactured by Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
That means people aged 60 and older can receive one of the vaccines.
COVID RELATED NEWS
UFC Light Heavyweight fighter Anthony “Lionheart” Smith has publicly announced his stance against COVID-19 vaccinations.
Smith’s declaration comes on the heels of a personal tragedy; his mother fell into a coma two weeks after receiving the Pfizer booster shot and sadly never recovered. Moreover, Smith claims he developed a blood clot shortly after his COVID-19 vaccination.
Smith shared his experiences and concerns on Thursday during a conversation with Former UFC middleweight Champion Michael Bisping on ‘Believe You Me.’ They were joined by Themba Gorimbo, who discussed his recent win and life growing up in Africa.
During their conversation, Bisping and Smith delved into the potential health risks associated with COVID-19 vaccines.
It Is Time to Declare Our Independence From the Vaccinators
On July 4, 2023, it will have been 247 years since the Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and signed by delegates of 13 American colonies formally declaring independence from political control by the King of England
One of the most primal human fears is fear of death, and the science experts calling the shots in government health agencies and at the United Nations, especially the World Health Organization, along with their Big Pharma, Big Tech and other Big Money partners, know that
Vaccine products atypically manipulate the immune system by stimulating an acute inflammatory response in the body but, in an unknown number of people, that inflammation does not resolve
If the last three years taught us nothing else, we now know it is time to declare our independence from the Vaccinators and take back individual sovereignty, our right to autonomy, before it is too late
There is really only one way to free ourselves from the Vaccinators and that is to eliminate one-size-fits-all vaccination laws
Health Care Clinics Lost Workers Due to COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: Study
Dozens of health care clinics in Oregon lost workers because of a COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed by the state’s health agency, according to a new study.
About half of clinics that filled out surveys reported losing workers. The majority of those reporting the loss of employees are situated in rural areas.
“Oregon’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate increased health care personnel vaccination rates, yet amplified staffing challenges with disproportionate impacts in rural areas,” Dr. Brigit Hatch, a professor at Oregon Health & Science University, and her co-workers said.
CANCEL CULTURE
YouTube Blacklists Roseanne Barr and Theo Von for Discussing Censorship
A podcast hosted by comedian Theo Von and featuring Roseanne Barr was blacklisted by YouTube after the pair engaged in a sarcastic discussion about the misinformation policies of social media platforms.
YouTube said it had banned the episode because of “hate speech.” Howe
GOOD NEWS
Multi-Instrumental Homeschool Band Goes Viral for Reviving the Classics With Heart-Melting Vocals
A group of young musicians who hail from homeschooling backgrounds have crossed states and blended musical styles to form a unique band with a mission: to keep the classics alive.
ICYMI
Leandro de Niro Rodriguez, Grandson of Robert de Niro, Dies at 19
Report: Substance Testing Positive for Cocaine Found Inside White House
More Stories
Today’s News: April 26, 2024
Today’s News: April 25, 2024
Today’s News: April 24, 2024