WORLD NEWS
Three warships from Russia’s Baltic Fleet dock in Cuba, purpose of visit unknown
The arrival of the vessels comes just weeks after another squadron of Russian warships, including a powerful nuclear-powered submarine, visited Cuba as part of military exercises in mid-June.
Three warships from Russia’s Baltic Fleet have arrived in Cuban waters, Moscow’s second such maritime voyage in as many months in a reflection of deepening ties between Moscow and Havana.
The naval group, consisting of a training ship, patrol frigate and refuelling tanker, are expected to remain docked in port in Havana until August 30.
The arrival of the vessels comes just weeks after another squadron of Russian warships, including a powerful nuclear-powered submarine, visited Cuba as part of military exercises in mid-June.
Israel launches drones at Lebanon as fears of escalation spike
The strike follows a bloody weekend rocket attack on the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, blamed by Israel on Hezbollah.
Israeli drone attacks have reportedly killed two people in southern Lebanon as conflict spirals between the bordering states.
The Israeli attack was the first lethal action following a rocket attack on Saturday that Israel says killed 12 children and youths in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The strike has increased concern that the war in Gaza threatens to escalate into a regional conflict.
France Points Finger at Ultra-Left Anarchists for Major Olympics Rail Sabotage
After days of speculation over who may have been responsible for the crippling sabotage against French railways around Paris on the day of the Olympics opening ceremony last week the government is making clear it believed the “ultra-left” may be responsible, but has stopped short of naming a group or organisation yet.
A suspected “ultra-left” activist was arrested at a railway facility on Sunday, as France gets its rail network back up and running after a massive act of sabotage was sprung in the hours leading up to the Olympics opening ceremony. Hundreds of thousands of travellers, either intended to get into Paris to enjoy the festivities or to leave the city as the holiday season continues to get underway were severely delayed or stranded after a coordinated attack at several sites surrounding Paris saw fibre optic cables carrying the data to control points and signals were cut and burnt.
Puberty blockers ban imposed by Tory government is lawful, high court rules
Judge rejects challenges to emergency legislation introduced under previous health secretary
A ban on prescribing puberty blockers to children with gender dysphoria in England, Scotland and Wales was lawful, a high court judge has ruled.
The Conservative government issued an emergency order on 29 May temporarily outlawing the supply of puberty blockers pursuant to an overseas prescription, in the wake of the review by Dr Hilary Cass into gender medicine.
The review criticised the lack of evidence surrounding the benefits and the risks associated with puberty blockers and the legislation was designed to ensure they could only be obtained as part of an authorised clinical trial.
The advocacy group TransActual and a young person who cannot be named challenged the decision, claiming it lacked rigour and was motivated by the personal views of the health secretary at the time, Victoria Atkins.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Biden calls for term limits, enforceable ethics rules for Supreme Court justices
President Biden, in an op-ed Monday, said “no one” including “a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States” is above the law, as he called for term limits and an enforceable ethics code for Supreme Court justices in what would be sweeping changes to the high court and the way it operates.
“I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers,” Biden wrote in the op-ed in The Washington Post. “What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.”
US Congress forms task force to probe Trump shooting
The panel will investigate security failures leading up to the attempted assassination of the Republican presidential candidate
US lawmakers have authorized the formation of a bipartisan task force to probe the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, according to an announcement posted on the US Congress website late on Wednesday.
The Republican presidential candidate came within inches of losing his life when a gunman opened fire just minutes into his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. His would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to position himself on a roof with a clear shot to where Trump was addressing his supporters. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear. One attendee was killed and two others were injured. The shooter was subsequently killed by Secret Service agents, but the incident sparked public outrage and widespread calls for accountability.
According to the resolution on the Congress website, both Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of creating the task force to investigate the Trump shooting. House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote that “protecting the safety and security of our nation’s leaders is a responsibility that transcends party lines.”
Kamala campaign admits misleading voters on Trump, Project 2025
A campaign official for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris acknowledged Wednesday that the vice president is deliberately misleading voters about Project 2025.
CNN first reported the stunning admission as part of a fact-check article accusing Harris of making false claims about Project 2025 and former President Donald Trump’s stance on Social Security. CNN’s Daniel Dale revealed:
A Harris campaign official said the campaign has “made a deliberate decision to brand all of Trump’s policies” as “Project 2025,” since they believe “it has stuck with voters.”
Since entering the presidential race Sunday, Harris and her campaign have repeatedly tried to link Project 2025 to Trump, despite the former president’s pushback.
A few hours before CNN published its fact-check story Wednesday, Trump called links to Project 2025 “merely disinformation put out by the Radical Left Democrat Thugs. Do not believe them!”
Launched by The Heritage Foundation two years ago, Project 2025 has grown to a coalition of 110 conservative organizations developing a transition plan for the next presidential administration. Its work is nonpartisan and available to whomever occupies the White House in January 2025.
CNN’s report is the first public admission from Democrats or the Harris campaign that their strategy is to deliberately mislead voters about Trump.
Their attacks on Project 2025 escalated following President Joe Biden’s widely panned June 27 debate performance. In response, several liberal media outlets have published fact-check articles disputing Biden’s claims—and now those of Harris.
Civil Unrest Is The Next Most Predictable Crisis For America Now
For the past six months I’ve been writing about the clear uptick in civil war rhetoric within the establishment media in the US, and we all know that the coming presidential election is the reason for it. The bottom line is that no matter who ends up in the White House in 2025 there will be mass violence, but most of this violence will be reserved for the possibility of Donald Trump’s return.
Set aside the recent attempted assassination (and how the Secret Service made it possible) for a moment and let’s consider the common leftist response to it – Around 30% of Democrats believe the attack was “staged” (virtually impossible given the circumstances and evidence). The rest are enraged that the shooter missed. No event has exposed the political left for what they truly are more than the near-murder of Donald Trump. We are dealing with bloodthirsty mental deficients that will do anything to win.
The “false left/right paradigm” is dead, at least when it comes to average American citizens. The political left is not just an innocent subset of the population being led astray by false leadership – They are a big part of the problem. They are willing participants in the destruction of the west. Globalists would get nowhere on economic centralization, the DEI agenda, the trans agenda, carbon taxation, anti-2A legislation, open borders, etc. without help from a large portion of leftists.
Local SWAT Covering Trump Rally Drops Secret Service Bombshell Live On ABC [VIDEOS]
An officer from the local SWAT team assigned to former President Donald Trump’s rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, revealed a critical lapse in communication with the U.S. Secret Service prior to the shooting incident.
Jason Woods, the lead sharpshooter for the Beaver County SWAT team, told ABC News, “We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived. That never happened.”
Woods explained that this lack of coordination likely contributed to the critical failure in planning, which resulted in 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks wounding Trump, killing spectator Corey Compartore, and injuring two others before being shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
New Video Appears to Show Possible Second Shooter in Window Below Would-Be Trump Assassin
This is probably nothing. There’s likely a reasonable explanation for what appears to be a suppressed rifle shot coming from a window in the building where Thomas Michael Crooks attempted to assassinate President Donald. J. Trump.
But until that reasonable explanation presents itself, we’ll consider the possibility it’s a muzzle flash and suppressed report. The shot was taken just a few seconds after the initial eight rounds fired by Crooks.
U.S. city’s ban on home Bible studies reaches climax
‘His neighbors could have 100 people over every week to watch ‘Lord of the Rings,’ and there would be no violation’
A California city that had banned home Bible studies, and threatened one resident with zoning violation prosecutions, has decided to back down.
Officials there also say they are reworking their present city ban on renting any public facility for “any” religious event.
The news about the developments in the City of Manhattan Beach, California, comes from the American Center for Law and Justice, which has worked on the situation there.
The legal team announced this week that the city “has reversed course and provided assurances that it will not interfere with residents’ in-home gatherings and Bible studies simply because they are religious.”
The ACLJ joined the dispute after a resident was issued a notice of an alleged zoning violation for holding a gathering in his home for a religious meeting on a Sunday.
“In early 2024, our client (a resident of the City of Manhattan Beach) began gathering in the privacy of his own home with fellow Christians to watch church on TV and fellowship together. In April 2024, our client received a notice from the City of Manhattan Code Enforcement notifying him of an alleged zoning violation: establishing a new religious assembly use without a permit,” the ACLJ explained.
The resident requested a meeting with city officials, which didn’t go well, as they insisted that holding a gathering in his home “for any religious purpose or activity without a permit” was banned.
Large numbers of young women in their twenties and thirties are getting permanently sterilized in order to make absolutely sure that they will never get pregnant. In the old days, it was extremely rare to hear of a young woman getting sterilized during her prime childbearing years, but now it is very common. As you will see below, many U.S. adults no longer consider having children or being married to be very important goals in life. Instead, a lot of them are focusing on other pursuits, and they don’t want unintended pregnancies messing that up. In some cases, young adults are taking things to the extreme by getting permanently sterilized. According to one national study, there was a very sharp increase in the number of tubal sterilizations and vasectomies immediately following the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade…
The national study, published today in a JAMA Health ForumTrusted Source research letter, is the first to evaluate the effects of the historic Dobbs v. Jackson ruling on permanent sterilization measures among young adults.
Looking at data from 113 million people across the United States, policy researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and Boston University found an abrupt nationwide increase in tubal sterilizations and vasectomies among adults ages 18–30.
Tina Peters, who was mercilessly attacked by the Soros-backed Colorado Secretary of State and the state media, recently released a report on the hard drives of the Dominion voting machines used in the Colorado 2020 Election. This report had several findings.
Tina Peters is the Election Clerk from Mesa County Colorado who backed up the voting machines in her county when the corrupt Secretary of State Jena Griswold demanded that all voting machines be altered in a manner that erased election data (which is against the law) after the 2020 election. Ms. Peters was attacked for her actions. The FBI raided her home instead of investigating her claims.
Recently in early February Peters was interrupted at a local restaurant by police and arrested on some garbage charges. What are the chances that Peters is being harassed and attacked because she knew too much?
Ms. Peters recently sent a report to the state of Colorado with the results from an investigation into the Dominion voting machines used in her state in the 2020 Election. The report is damning. It shows that the county’s voting machines were illegally certified and illegally configured in the 2020 Election. The report lists a number of significant issues in the executive summary of the report.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
The Salary Needed To Buy A Home In 50 US Cities In 2024
In 2024, the median salary for the typical American home buyer has risen to $104,339 – up from $88,000 just two years prior.
Despite record-high home prices, housing demand continues to outpace supply, even with mortgage rates at their highest in over a decade. As one bright spot, housing inventory is steadily increasing, with the number of homes for sale up almost 19% in May compared to the previous year. This growth in inventory could help ease the cost of home ownership looking ahead.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Nuefeld, shows the salary needed to buy a home across the 50 largest U.S. metropolitans in 2024, based on data from Home Sweet Home.
Hightest:
| 1 | San Jose | California | $1,840,000 | $463,886.5 |
Lowest:
| 50 | Cleveland | Ohio | $191,900 | $58,402.6 |
Without Gas Car Subsidies, The Cost to Charge EVs Comes to the Equivalent of $17.33 a Gal.
A recent study done by the Texas Public Policy Foundation found that “adding the costs of the subsidies to the true cost of fueling an EV would equate to an EV owner paying, wait for it, $17.33 per equivalent gallon of gasoline.
A Newsmax host interviewed the Sector Analyst of Automotive and Energy Trends, Newsmax columnist and Editor in Chief of the Car Coach, Lauren Fix, and the Director of Life Powered, Jason Isaac. They helped write this study.
Car companies are losing billions of dollars on these vehicles. Companies know about the hidden costs, particularly the electrical generation issues that we’re having. They aren’t pushing back “because they have no choice,” said Lauren Fix. “The billions of dollars in fines or millions of dollars in losses, I guess that’s the choice, and because I worked in the auto industry for over 40 years, I get to sit down sometimes with some executives off the record, and the same subject comes up about electric vehicles. And the same answer comes up all the time. We have no choice.
“If we don’t comply, the EPA’s going to fine us with every other three-letter agency, billions of dollars. We have to comply. So they’re making the product; they’re taking a loss on every single product.
HEALTH
Dietary Selenium (Se), mainly through its incorporation into selenoproteins, plays a vital role in inflammation and immunity. Adequate levels of Se are essential for initiating immunity, but they also regulate excessive immune responses and chronic inflammation. Se deficiency has long been recognized to negatively impact immune cells during activation, differentiation, and proliferation.
Selenium, whose name comes from the Greek word for “Selene,” has been a topic of interest as a micronutrient since it was described in 1817. Selenium, the most important micronutrient for humans and animals, must be consumed daily to support the body’s natural metabolism and homeostasis. It should be noted that 25 selenoproteins have been discovered in humans. Selenoproteins have been implicated in many metabolic and functional pathways, such as aging, cancer, or infection. Low blood Se levels were found to be associated with an increased incidence and mortality from various types of cancers.
Selenium is part of glutathione peroxidase, which protects cell components from oxidative damage due to peroxides produced in cellular metabolism. This means that it is an antioxidant, and many mainstream oncologists warn against using it when doing chemotherapy, whose primary purpose is to cause oxidative damage to cancer cells. Yet, they are entirely wrong to steer people away from this vital mineral, which in reality can be considered a standalone form of natural chemotherapy.
Selenite is a promising anti-cancer agent that has been shown to induce apoptosis in malignant mesothelioma cells. Sodium selenite inhibits interleukin-6-mediated androgen receptor activation in prostate cancer cells. Medical scientists who have studied Selenite found that Selenium did not reduce chemotherapeutic agents’ antiproliferative activity in vitro. In addition, Selenite was able to increase the inhibitory activity of docetaxel in A549 lung cancer cells and of 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan in HCT116 and SW620 colon cancer cells, implying Selenite is potentially useful as an adjuvant chemotherapeutic agent. Findings suggest that docetaxel (chemo agent) and sodium selenite combination may be more effective in prostate cancer treatment than docetaxel alone.
Power Mall Products of Interest: Selenium & Amino Acid Complex Re-Natured Tablets®
Novo Nordisk makes absurd new health claims about Wegovy weight loss medication, which is synthesized venom peptides. The controversial pharmaceutical injection supposedly also helps to prevent heart attack, stroke and early death. NOT
The market for the popular weight loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide) is expanding after Novo Nordisk, the Denmark-based pharmaceutical giant that manufactures it, issued new claims that the controversial pharmaceutical injection supposedly also helps to prevent heart attack, stroke and early death.
Conveniently for the company, Wegovy allegedly works against a variety of cardiovascular problems that just so happen to be skyrocketing in society ever since the release of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed military program.
According to Novo Nordisk, taking Wegovy, a drug made from reptilian venom peptides, along with “a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity” can “lower the risk of major cardiovascular events.”
“Adults living with overweight or obesity and known heart disease are at an increased risk for another major cardiovascular event,” the company claims.
Related
European researchers have confirmed that the plasma, urine, and feces of people who test “positive” for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) contain “toxin-like peptides” that are “almost identical” to those found in snake and other animal venom.
Samples of each of these fluids were collected from so-called “covid patients” and tested for composition. The stated purpose behind the research was to identify the mechanism of infection for the Chinese Virus, which is still largely a mystery.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
On December 9, 2023, the European Parliament published a press release, where it stated that it reached a political deal with the Council of the European Union “on a bill to ensure AI in Europe is safe, respects fundamental rights and democracy“. The future bill is supposed to ban “AI systems that manipulate human behavior to circumvent their free will“.
WHY? Because it has been publicly reported that AI convinced a man in Europe to kill himself for the good of the Earth.
SCIENTISTS CREATE ROBOT CONTROLLED BY BLOB OF HUMAN BRAIN CELLS
A team of Chinese researchers has stuck a tiny organoid made from human stem cells into the body of a tiny robot, resulting in a Frankensteinian creation that can learn how to complete certain tasks.
‘Brain-in-a-jar’ biocomputers can now learn to control robots
Living brain cells wired into organoid-on-a-chip biocomputers can now learn to drive robots, thanks to an open-source intelligent interaction system called MetaBOC. This remarkable project aims to re-home human brain cells in artificial bodies.
Biocomputing is one of the most bizarre frontiers in emerging technology, made possible by the fact that our neurons perceive the world and act on it speaking the same language as computers do – electrical signals. Human brain cells, grown in large numbers onto silicon chips, can receive electrical signals from a computer, try to make sense of them, and talk back.
They Are Using Lab-Grown Human Brains Called “Organoids” To Run Computers
A company in Switzerland known as “FinalSpark” has constructed a bizarre hybrid biocomputer that combines lab-grown miniature human brains with conventional electronic circuits…
This approach saves an extraordinary amount of energy compared to normal computers, but there is a big problem. The lab-grown miniature human brains keep wearing out and dying, and so scientists have to keep growing new ones to replace them. Stem cells that are derived from human skin tissue are used to create the 16 spherical brain “organoids” that the system depends upon.
Genetically Enhanced Humans May Be The Future of Space Travel
When considering human settlements on the Moon, Mars and further afield, much attention is given to the travel times, food and radiation risk.
We’ll undoubtedly face a harsh environment in deep space, and some thinkers have been pointing to genome editing as a way to ensure that humans can tolerate the severe conditions as they venture further into the solar system.
In January, I was fortunate to attend a much-anticipated debate between astronomer royal Lord Martin Rees and Mars exploration advocate Dr Robert Zubrin. The event at the British Interplanetary Society took on the topic of whether the exploration of Mars should be human or robotic.
In a recent book called The End of Astronauts, Lord Rees and co-author Donald Goldsmith outline the benefits of exploration of the solar system using robotic spacecraft and vehicles, without the expense and risk of sending humans along for the ride. Dr Zubrin supports human exploration.
Where there was some agreement was over Rees’s advocacy of using gene editing technology to enable humans to overcome the immense challenges of becoming an interplanetary species.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
Echelon is a system used by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) to intercept and process international communications passing via communications satellites. It is one part of a global surveillance systems that is now over 50 years old. Other parts of the same system intercept messages from the Internet, from undersea cables, from radio transmissions, from secret equipment installed inside embassies, or use orbiting satellites to monitor signals anywhere on the earth’s surface.
The system includes stations run by Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to those operated by the United States. Although some Australian and British stations do the same job as America’s Echelon sites, they are not necessarily called “Echelon” stations. But they all form part of the same integrated global network using the same equipment and methods to extract information and intelligence illicitly from millions of messages every day, all over the world.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
On July 16, a meteor spectacularly exploded over Midtown Manhattan at 11:15 a.m.
A meteor soared over the Statue of Liberty before disintegrating about 30 miles above Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning, according to NASA.
The space rock passed through the atmosphere over the Big Apple around 11:15 a.m. — the same time New Yorkers reported seeing a flash of fire streak across the sky and felt the ground lightly shaking beneath their feet.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
This Flower Could Be Defined as Intelligent, Scientists Say
This Flower Could Be Defined as Intelligent, Scientists Say
A weed-like flower, known as the tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), can apparently ‘hear the screams‘ of its neighbors when they are under attack by a hungry herbivore.
Even without a central nervous system, some life on planet Earth can behave in arguably intelligent ways. Plants are not often thought of as cognizant beings, but perhaps that’s our own brain-y bias at play.
In a fascinating and contentious new paper, Andre Kessler, a chemical ecologist at Cornell University, and his doctoral student, Michael Mueller, argue that the behavior of some plants can fit into a certain definition of intelligence.
The two scientists explain that when confronted with a problem, some flora species can act and respond to their environment using a kind of memory, coupled with what are argued to be decision-making abilities.
IKEA’s game-changing grow room: DIY urban farming revolution
KEA has unveiled an exciting innovation that could revolutionize urban farming and promote sustainable living.
The new product, called the Grow Room, is a DIY garden sphere designed to help feed entire neighborhoods.
Created by architects Sine Lindholm and Mads-Ulrik Husumto in IKEA’s Space 10 lab, the Grow Room aims to inspire people to grow their own food in eco-friendly ways.
The blueprints are available for free, making it accessible to communities worldwide.
Cities like Helsinki, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, and Taipei are already planning to construct these spheres, bringing locally grown produce closer to urban dwellers.
2ND AMENDMENT
Gov. Newsom of California wants to SCRAP the Second Amendment by pushing new 28th Amendment
Since he and his party have been unsuccessful in their attempts to scrap the Second Amendment entirely, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a new 28th Amendment this week that would “enshrine fundamental, broadly supported gun safety measures into law.”
In a press release, Newsom claimed that his 28th Amendment plan will “leav[e] the 2nd Amendment unchanged” while “respecting America’s gun-owning tradition,” even though it would impose sweeping new “common sense constitutional protections and gun safety measures that Democrats, Republicans, independent voters and gun owners overwhelmingly support.”
What do these “common sense constitutional protections and gun safety measures” entail? According to Newsom, they include instituting universal background checks, raising the firearm purchase age to 21, mandating a firearm purchase waiting period and stopping the civilian purchase of so-called “assault weapons.”
Related:
Alarming: California Governor Gavin Newsom Gains Support to Limit the 2nd Amendment
Hold on to your guns, folks, California Governor Gavin Newsom has garnered significant support for his mission to limit the 2nd Amendment. Not only is he actively going after the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), but his recent remarks about civil rights organizations have caused quite a stir. This contentious battle between Newsom and pro-Second Amendment advocates is heating up, and it’s important to delve into the details of this attack on the 2A.
Newsom’s assault on civil liberties and the rights of gun owners has been a focal point of his tenure as governor. However, his recent efforts to tear apart and limit the 2nd Amendment have reached new heights. His disdain for the FPC is evident in his derogatory name-calling, reducing the organization’s mission to merely selling merchandise like t-shirts and hats.
Initially, Newsom’s radical proposal to limit the 2nd Amendment through the addition of his proposed 28th Amendment received little support. Many organizations and politicians shied away from openly endorsing his extreme stance. But, as time passed, the tide began to turn. Newsom’s relentless push to undermine the Second Amendment seems to have struck a chord with several influential figures in California.
The list of individuals supporting Newsom’s anti-Second Amendment campaign is quite alarming. It extends beyond politicians and encompasses various groups. California lawmakers, such as Anthony Portentino, David Min, and Aisha Wahab, are fully on board with Newsom’s agenda. Gun safety advocates, including Shannon Watts and Fred Gutenberg, are also rallying behind him. Surprisingly, even leaders in the medical field, like Dr. Donald Hernandez, president of the California Medical Association, have joined the movement.
Moreover, support for Newsom’s cause is not limited to specific sectors. Statewide leaders, including the lieutenant governor, attorney general, and insurance commissioner, have thrown their weight behind him. Even local leaders, such as mayors and superintendents, are jumping on the bandwagon. It seems that the entirety of California’s political establishment is now united in their goal to severely limit the 2nd Amendment.
COVID RELATED NEWS
The WHO: Building a Permanent Pandemic Market
In the face of a potentially industry-ending slew of patent cliffs,
Big Pharma has begun acquiring biotechnology companies
to stave off collapse.
To get these drugs to market, the industry is pursuing the only solution left
for their dying model:
A full takeover of the WHO to capture the global regulatory system; specifically, of “biologicals”.
The US is starting 2024 in its second-largest COVID surge ever, experts say
The US is starting 2024 in its second-largest COVID surge ever, experts say
With the U.S. in the middle of a COVID surge, it’s time to make sure you’re vaccinated and return to masking, experts say.
The United States is in the middle of a wintertime COVID wave, driven by holiday gatherings, people spending more time inside, waning immunity from low uptake of the new COVID vaccine and a new highly infectious COVID variant, JN.1.
The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released an update on Jan. 5 about the prevalence of JN.1, explaining that the new variant may be “intensifying the spread of COVID-19 this winter.” Test positivity and wastewater data show that viral activity in the U.S. is higher than this time last year, with wastewater data especially rising rapidly the past several weeks. (COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations are still lower than last year, the CDC noted.)
WE USED TO CALL THIS THE FLU…
CANCEL CULTURE
Tech company pulls Olympics advertising after opening ceremony mocks the Last Supper
Display deemed by many to be anti-ChristianThe 2024 Olympic Ceremony opened up the games in Paris, France on Friday night, providing spectators with a taste of French culture and blasphemous art, leading to Christians around the world being offended and at least one sponsor dropping out.
Mississippi-based telecommunications and technology company C Spire posted on X that it had pulled all of its advertising from the Olympics over the ceremony’s mockery of painting created to show a biblical moment crucial to the Christian faith.
“We were shocked by the mockery of the Last Supper during the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics,” the company posted. “C Spire will be pulling our advertising from the Olympics.” The four-hour spectacle was held along the Seine River, featuring global stars like Celine Dion and Lady Gaga, both of whom are considered icons for the queer community.
Related:
The artistic director of the LBGT-themed Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony has claimed he did not intend to portray the Last Supper after an apparent parody of the Biblical event drew outrage from Christians across the world.
Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, denied on Sunday that he was not “inspired” by the Last Supper, despite the striking similarities between the Leonardo da Vinci depiction of the Jesus Christ’s Last Supper with his 12 Apostles and the drag queen tableau shown at the opening of the Paris games.
“You will never find in me any desire to mock, or to denigrate anything. I wanted to do a ceremony that repairs, that reconciles, that reaffirms the values of our Republic,” Jolly said in comments reported by Le Figaro.
Barbie unveils 1st blind doll and Black doll with Down syndrome
This is one more very disturbing example of how corporate America is creating a new normal for our children.
In a continued effort to ensure their dolls represent the world’s kids, Barbie has introduced its first ever blind doll.
Blind Barbie
In a partnership with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the newest doll will include accessories such as a white and red cane with an identifiable marshmallow tip, sunglasses, textured and vibrant fabric colors and there will be braille writing on the packaging to help blind and low-vision individuals open the box more easily, according to Barbie.
The doll was designed with an eye gaze “facing slightly up and out to accurately reflect the sometimes-distinct eye gaze of a blind individual.”
Black Barbie with Down syndrome
In addition to Blind Barbie, Black Barbie with Down syndrome was unveiled on Tuesday.
Just as it was counseled back in 2023 with the introduction of its first-ever Down syndrome doll, Barbie once again consulted with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to create its newest addition.
“NDSS is thrilled to introduce a second Barbie doll with Down syndrome. Having this doll launched alongside the new Barbie doll with Blindness marks another important step in expanding representation for the disability community,” said Kandi Pickard, President and CEO, NDSS. “We are proud to partner with Barbie as they grow to reflect our diverse and beautiful world,” said NDSS President & CEO Kandi Pickard.
The newest doll will come with a braided hair texture, pink eyeglasses and clothes with meaningful symbols to represent Down syndrome awareness.
RESTRICT Act: Biden Administration’s Plans to End All Internet Freedom
The S.686 RESTRICT Act is being marketed as a “TikTok ban” but in reality, it is much more extreme. If passed, it could be used to outlaw accessing any website or social media platform, and enact draconian penalties for noncompliance.
A person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of an unlawful act described in subsection (a) shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.
PET NEWS
Owning a pet slows the rate of cognitive decline in older consumers, study finds
While recent studies have shown how owning a pet has benefited consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study has explored the brain health boost pets can bring at any time.
According to researchers from the American Academy of Neurology, owning a pet, especially for five or more years, may slow the rate of cognitive decline in older consumers.
“Prior studies have suggested that the human-animal bond may have health benefits like decreasing blood pressure and stress,” said researcher Dr. Tiffany Braley. “Our results suggest that pet ownership may also be protective against cognitive decline.”
GOOD NEWS
Mushrooms Help Turn Toxic Brownfields into Blooming Meadows
An environmental toxicologist in California is cleaning up areas contaminated with heavy metals or other pollutants using fungi and native plants in a win-win for nature.
Where once toxic soils in industrial lots sat bare or weed-ridden, there are now flowering meadows of plants and mushrooms, frequented by birds and pollinators: and it’s thanks to Danielle Stevenson.
Founder of DIY Fungi, the 37-year-old ecologist from UC Riverside recently spoke with Yale Press about her ongoing work restoring ‘brownfields,’ a term that describes a contaminated environment, abandoned by industrial, extraction, or transportation operations.
Florida Police Officer Saves Dog Trapped In Hot Car
In a heartwarming act of heroism, a police officer in Florida rescued a dog left inside a sweltering car on a scorching summer day.
The Bradenton Police Department shared the story on Facebook, highlighting the compassion of Sgt. Bordin, who saved the dog’s life.
With outside temperatures soaring to an estimated heat index of 98 degrees, the conditions inside the car were dangerously higher. Sgt. Bordin responded to the scene and quickly assessed the dire situation. Hearing the dog’s distressing cries, he knew immediate action was necessary
.”I know buddy – I’m gonna get you out of there,” Sgt. Bordin assured the anxious dog before breaking a window to free her.
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