WORLD NEWS
U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea amid regional tensions!
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and her strike group have arrived in South Korea for joint naval exercises in the wake of a new mutual defense pact between Russia and North Korea.
The warships entered the naval base in the southeastern city of Busan on Saturday morning local time, the South Korean Navy said in a statement. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier is escorted by a pair of Aegis-equipped destroyers, the USS Halsey and USS Daniel Inouye.
The carrier strike group will participate in a new multi-domain, trilateral exercise involving Japan later this summer. The exercise, dubbed the Freedom Edge, was announced by the three nations’ defense chiefs in early June at a regional security conference held in Singapore.
More bird flu discovered in New South Wales, Australia; another 87,000 birds to be culled …
Bird flu has been detected at a second farm in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia.
The High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) strain H7N8 was discovered amid “proactive surveillance” from the government’s biosecurity incident response team.
Another 87,000 birds will be culled in what the government calls a “depopulation process” under the supervision of biosecurity officers.
This comes after it was revealed nearly a quarter of a million birds will be killed after the first case of avian influenza was detected in NSW following confirmation from the CSIRO National Research Laboratory.
Meanwhile, more than one million birds also had to be euthanized in Victoria to halt the spread of bird flu.
At least 20 bodies have been found after a South Korea battery plant fire …
Multiple powerful explosions set a lithium battery factory on fire in South Korea on Monday, killing 22 workers, most of them Chinese nationals, as it burned out of control for nearly six hours, fire officials said.
The blaze ripped through a factory run by primary battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong, an industrial cluster southwest of the capital Seoul. It was eventually largely extinguished.
Eighteen Chinese workers and one Laotian were among the dead. The nationality of the remaining deceased worker was not yet confirmed, fire official Kim Jin-young told reporters, citing information from company officials.
The blaze began after a series of battery cells exploded inside a warehouse with some 35,000 units, Kim said. What had triggered the explosion remains unclear, he said.
Established in 2020, Aricell makes lithium primary batteries for sensors and radio communication devices. It has 48 employees, according to its latest regulatory filing and its Linkedin profile.
Russia terror attack: Synagogues and churches attacked by gunmen in Muslim region …
At least 22 people have been killed in a large coordinated terror attack on two synagogues,
two churches, and a police outpost in a Russian Muslim-majority region.
Six gunmen were killed by the Russian security services, the Kremlin said overnight, following a series of coordinated terror attacks on a Holy day in the country’s southwestern-most Dagestan Republic. The total number of killed and injured has not been published, but it may stretch into the dozens. As well as the slain terrorists claimed, at least 15 police officers were also killed and “several civilians”.
Among the civilian dead is a long-serving Christian Orthodox priest, Father Nikolay, who was killed at his church where he has been priest for 40 years.
Per information from the Russian state, two Synagogues, two Orthodox churches, and a police outpost were attacked on Sunday shortly before evening prayers.
Police were on routine patrol at the Derbent synagogue and private security were also killed, and terrorists set fire to the synagogue. The fire was extinguished by early hours of Monday morning.
Three days of mourning have been declared by Dagestan, one of the constituent Republics of the Russian Federation bordering the Caspian sea on the Caucasus region.
Russian authorities say they have identified the attackers and say they received foreign funding, but have not released specific details, nor officially stated what the motive for the attack may be. Yet the Russian Dagestan Republic is a Muslim majority area and anger in the area over the Israel-Hamas war has seen attacks targeting Jewish people living in the area.
Russia is blaming the U.S. for a deadly Ukraine missile strike on a Crimean beach …
Russian authorities said six people died and over 100 were wounded in Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on Sunday, while the second day of Russia’s aerial bombing of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine killed at least one person.
Among the dead were five people – including two children – who were hit by falling debris from Ukrainian missiles that were shot down over a coastal area in Sevastopol, a port city in Russia-annexed Crimea, said the city’s Moscow-installed governor. Another person died in Russia’s Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, citing the Health Ministry, said 124 people were wounded in Sevastopol. Falling rocket fragments caused a forest fire of over 150 square meters (1,600 square feet) and set a residential building alight, RIA Novosti said, noting that a fifth missile had exploded over the city.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said both Ukraine and the U.S. bore “responsibility for a deliberate missile strike on civilians.” It said that U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles were used in the Ukranian attack.
Razvozhayev declared Monday a day of mourning in Sevastopol, with public events canceled.
Air defenses overnight shot down 33 Ukrainian drones over Russia’s western Bryansk, Smolensk, Lipetsk and Tula regions, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Sunday. No casualties or damage were reported.
In 2015, UN officials established a goal of completely eliminating global hunger by the year 2030. Needless to say, they are failing dramatically. According to the UN, someone is dying from starvation “every few seconds” as the global food crisis continues to accelerate. Unfortunately, experts agree that what we are experiencing right now is just the beginning, because land is being degraded at a staggering pace. As you will see below, 40 percent of the world’s land is already degraded, and it is expected that figure will reach 95 percent by 2050. Here in the western world, we can still use various methods to temporarily improve the quality of our soil, but the head of the UN World Food Program says that in some of the poorest parts of the planet we have already reached a point where there are “zero harvests” left…
Droughts and flooding have become so common in some of the poorest places on Earth that the land can no longer sustain crops, the director of the World Food Programme’s global office has said.
Martin Frick told the BBC that some of the most deprived areas had now reached a tipping point of having “zero” harvests left, as extreme weather was pushing already degraded land beyond use.
He said that as a result, parts of Africa, the Middle East and Latin America were now dependent on humanitarian aid.
Sadly, it won’t be too long before most of the land in wealthier nations is degraded too.
According to an article that was posted by the BBC last week, it is being projected that “95% of the world’s land could become degraded by 2050″…
The Global Environment Facility estimates that 95% of the world’s land could become degraded by 2050. The UN says that 40% is already degraded.
When soil degrades, the organic matter that binds it together dies off. This means that it is less able to support plant life – reducing crop yields – and absorb carbon from the atmosphere.
So what happens when 95 percent of all global land is degraded?
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Supreme Court rejects Texas and New Mexico’s deal on Rio Grande water …
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a motion from Texas and New Mexico to enter a settlement over water rights to the Rio Grande river.
In a 5–4 decision, the Supremes ruled that a lower court judge erred in his recommendations on how Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado should share water from the 1,900-mile-long river. The high court found that the federal government still had claims about New Mexico’s water use that the settlement would not resolve, and federal government attorneys lodged objections to the agreement.
In an opinion for the majority, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the federal government has the right to be part of the agreement under a 1939 agreement on how to share the river’s resources.
A proposed settlement between the two states would recognize several measurements to ensure New Mexico delivers water resources that are owed to Texas. New Mexico, meanwhile, agreed to drop its challenges against Texas in exchange for clarifying how water will be accounted for as it flows downstream. The agreement also outlined transfers if not enough, or too much, water ended up in Texas.
Texas Lt. Gov. vows to pass a bill requiring the 10 Commandments placed in public schools!
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, vowed to re-introduce legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in the state’s public schools after a prior failed effort in Texas and success in Louisiana, which just became the first state in the country to adopt such a mandate.
“Texas WOULD have been and SHOULD have been the first state in the nation to put the 10 Commandments back in our schools,” Mr. Patrick wrote in a post on X.
Mr. Patrick noted that the Texas Senate passed a bill to that effect (SB 1515) in the last session, but in the House, the measure was never brought to the floor for a vote.
SB 1515 would have required the Ten Commandments to be displayed in each classroom in Texas public elementary and public schools, much like legislation that several days ago became law in Louisiana, making it the first state in the union to mandate the display of the religiously and culturally significant text at all public schools and colleges.
While the measure sailed through the Texas Senate on party-line votes and received a vote of approval from a House committee once it was sent to the lower chamber, it was among dozens of bills that didn’t get a floor vote before a deadline. The bill was opposed by Democrats, who said it would be offensive to non-Christians and would blur the line between church and state.
Louisiana Governor signs bill authorizing surgical castration for child sex offenders!
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has signed into law a bill that would allow state judges to sentence those convicted of sex crimes against victims under the age of 13 to undergo surgical castration.
Senate Bill 371, sponsored by state Sen. Regina Ashford Barrow, is expected to take effect on Aug. 1 following the Republican governor’s signature on June 18.
The law allows Louisiana judges to punish offenders aged 17 and older with surgical castration if they are convicted of aggravated sex crimes against a victim under the age of 13.
The Department of Public Safety and Corrections will oversee the procedure, but it will not be performed if “not medically appropriate,” according to the bill.
Under the law, a court-appointed medical expert will need to determine whether the offender is “an appropriate candidate” for surgical castration within 60 days from the imposition of sentence.
“In all cases involving an offender sentenced to a period of incarceration or confinement in institution, the procedure shall be performed not later than one week prior to the offender’s release from the institution,” the
legislation reads.
If an offender “fails to appear” as required by court order for surgical castration, the offender may be charged and sentenced to three to five years in prison without the “benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence,” according to the new law.
Senators against mull over proposal to require women to register for military draft!
Lawmakers are again considering changes to the U.S. military draft, including a provision to begin requiring women to register with the Selective Service System.
The proposed changes to the draft come about as the Democrat- controlled Senate and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are each advancing their proposals for the fiscal year 2025 version of an annual defense budget bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s proposal for the NDAA includes a provision to amend the Military Selective Service Act—the 1948 law overseeing the modern U.S. military draft system—to require women to register their names for potential use in the draft should the conscription practice resume.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned the underlying motives behind the push to include
women, given the U.S. military has been an all-volunteer force for the past half-century.
While some lawmakers have expressed opposition to expanding the draft registration requirement to women, others argued that a requirement shouldn’t exist for men either.
“I have been opposed to the draft just in general,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told The Epoch Times on Thursday. He was joined in that view by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).
“We have an all-volunteer military, and I think it’s time to acknowledge that we don’t need to draft anybody,” Ms. Lummis said. “So I just think the better approach right now is either to leave things as they are—not draft women but not draft men either.”
CBP says 25% decline in illegal immigrants since the asylum restriction order was enacted!
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have reported a 25 percent reduction in apprehensions of illegal immigrants between ports of entry along the U.S.–Mexico border in the two weeks since the Biden administration imposed a cap on asylum eligibility.
According to preliminary data, the new restrictions on asylum eligibility have resulted in a decrease in daily encounters between border agents and illegal immigrants. That said, CBP officials advocated more resources to enforce immigration law, safeguard national security, and disrupt criminal networks.
A pro-Palestinian mob targeted another synagogue in Los Angeles; Newsom and mayor silent
Several dozen pro-Palestinian activists targeted an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the heart of the Pico-Robertson yesterday, blocking the entrance to an event promoting real estate investment in Israel.
According to the Forward, a left-wing Jewish publication, the protest targeted the synagogue in part because of an event within the Jewish community promoting Israeli real estate, whether for emigration, vacation, or investment.
There has been a worldwide surge among Jews in applications to emigrate to Israel — to make aliyah, or “ascent,” as it is described within the community — after October 7th in solidarity with Israel and in reaction to local antisemitism.
Sundar marked was the second time pro-Palestinian activists have targeted a synagogue in L.A. in the past several days. On Friday, protesters targeted another synagogue and school in the Valley Village area, for unknown reasons.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats, responded late Sunday night to the protest at a Los Angeles synagogue at midday after Breitbart News published a report about their silence, calling the attacks “appalling” and “unacceptable”.
Supremes agree to take up state ban on child sex-change procedures
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider Tennessee’s ban on child sex change procedures.
The case, United States v. Skrmetti, considers whether a Tennessee law that bans medical procedures intended to enable “minor[s] to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex ” — such as cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and surgical procedures — violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Department of Justice argued that laws like Tennessee’s are “creating profound uncertainty for transgender adolescents and their families around the Nation—and inflicting particularly acute harms.”
“[T]his Court’s intervention is urgently needed because Tennessee’s law is part of a wave of similar bans preventing transgender adolescents from obtaining medical care that they, their parents, and their doctors have all concluded is necessary,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in its petition to the Supreme Court. “Although such care has been provided to adolescents for decades, in the last three years eighteen other States have adopted categorical bans like Tennessee’s.”
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
U.S. Secret Service investigates card skimming fraud in Florida!
The United States Secret Service (USSS) exposed multiple instances of card skimming fraud as part of an outreach program in Florida, preventing over a million dollars in potential losses.
In skimming hacks, devices are illegally installed inside or on ATMs, fuel pumps, or point-of-sale (POS) terminals which capture data from inserted cards. Devices can also record PIN entries made by cardholders. The stolen data is then used to create fake payment cards that enable fraudsters to withdraw money from the victim’s accounts and make unauthorized purchases.
On June 20th, the Secret Service together with multiple state and local law enforcement partners from Florida “visited more than 472 businesses to inspect for, and remove, illegal skimming devices from ATMs, gas pumps, and point- of-sale terminals. In total, 13 skimming devices were recovered during the operation preventing an estimated potential loss of $1.3 million,” said a June 21 USSS press release.
IRS to reject billions of dollars of pandemic-era tax credit claims!
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to deny billions of dollars worth of improper claims for COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits, it announced on June 20.
The agency said in a press release that the planned rejections follow a detailed review that confirmed “widespread concerns about a large number of improper claims,” and provided new insight into what it defined as “risky” ERC activity.
During the review process, IRS agents analyzed more than 1 million Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims representing more than $86 billion.
“We will now use this information to deny billions of dollars in clearly improper claims and begin additional work to issue payments to help taxpayers without any red flags on their claims,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said.
However, the program—which is available only to employers, and not individual taxpayers—quickly became a magnet for fraud and the number of fake ERC applications soared, despite the risk of penalties.
According to the IRS, aggressive marketing and promotions last year led to many people being “misled” into filing for the ERC.
Tens of thousands of those high- risk claims will be denied in the weeks ahead, according to the agency, which noted that the high- risk group “includes filings with warning signals that clearly fall outside the guidelines established by Congress.”
567,000 portable chargers sold at Costco recalled after reports of fires … made in China!
Around 567,000 portable chargers sold at Costco have been recalled after reports that they can overheat while charging, posing fire risks, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The Michigan-based myCharge recalled its HUB All-In-One 10,000mAh portable chargers with model numbers AO10FK-A, AO10FK-B, and AO10FK-C, according to a notice posted on the commission’s website.
The recalled items, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Costco stores nationwide and online from January 2022 through November 2023 for about $40.
“The portable chargers are black and include two attached cables for charging portable electronic devices, and retractable wall prongs to recharge the power bank,” the notice reads.
The commission said there have been 120 reports involving the portable chargers overheating. This includes five incidents, two of which were residential fires, that caused about $165,000 in reported property damage.
It added that Costco received “115 returns of the portable chargers mentioning melting, expanding, smoking, fire, burning, exploding, or sparking.”
HEALTH
FDA has approved the first non-tobacco-flavored eCigarette from NJoy!
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday gave the green light for NJOY LLC to bring its four menthol-flavored e-cigarette products to market in the United States.
“Based upon our rigorous scientific review, in this instance, the strength of evidence of benefits to adult smokers from completely switching to a less harmful product was sufficient to outweigh the risks to youth,” said Matthew Farrelly, director of the Office of Science in the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.
The approved products include the NJOY Ace Pod Menthol 2.4%, NJOY Ace Pod Menthol 5%, NJOY Daily Menthol 4.5%, and NJOY Daily Menthol 6%.
The Ace products are prefilled, non-refillable e-cigarette vape fluid carriers, called pods, that are to be used with already authorized Ace vaping devices, while the Daily products are prefilled, non-refillable disposable e-cigarettes.
NJOY is an e-cigarette company based out of Scottsdale, Arizona, and was one of the first companies to sell e-cigarettes in the United States.
Dangers of DEET and Chemical Insect Repellents
The days are getting longer, the land is brighter, and the weather is inviting us to stay outside. There is no doubt summer is just around the corner. There is just one downside to the camping, BBQ’s, and ball games that fill our summer nights, and that is the mosquito bite.
Not only are mosquito bites sometimes unbearable, they often carry vicious disease and viruses that can be deadly. Nothing puts a damper in summer like malaria and dengue.
However, what if the more serious danger is not the disease the mosquito brings, but rather the products we use to keep them away?
Most insect repellents on the market are loaded with toxic chemicals, including DEET, which is so poisonous that even the Environmental Protection Agency says you should wash it off your skin when you return indoors, avoid breathing it in and not spray it directly on your face
- The chemical DEET can melt plastic or fishing line.
- A pharmacologist at Duke University discovered that prolonged exposure to DEET may impair cell function in parts of your brain. This was demonstrated in the lab by death and behavioral changes in rats with frequent or prolonged DEET use.
- Scientists Vincent Corbel and Bruno Lapied headed a team of researchers from the University of Angersrchers studying the toxicity of DEET. Corbel says: “We’ve found that DEET is not simply a behavior-modifying chemical but also inhibits the activity of a key central nervous system enzyme, acetycholinesterase, in both insects and mammals.”
- Permethrin is another harmful chemical found in many bug sprays. This chemical is a neurotoxin, meaning it can kill brain cells.
- Permethrin is also extremely toxic to bees, cats, and all aquatic life. Not only is it hurting the body, it is also damaging the environment.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has categorized this Permethrin as carcinogenic, capable of causing lung tumors, liver tumors, immune system problems, and chromosomal abnormalities.
If these sprays can kill mosquitoes and melt plastic, it is probably not a good idea to use on your skin. When we use these repellents, the toxic chemicals that are inside them get directly absorbed into our blood through the skin and may be doing more damage to the body than we ever imagined.
Safe chemical free alternative: Bug-X: Peppermint (4 FL OZ)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Cyberattack shuts down car dealership systems across the country!
A cyberattack against software provider CDK Global, which serves thousands of car dealerships across the United States, has been followed by a second cyber incident, leading to outages.
A first cyberattack affected the company earlier this week, the company said. However, a second notice sent to customers from CDK signaled that another cyberattack was carried out on June 19th. The firm added in the notice that its computer systems would be down on June 20th and that it doesn’t know when the systems would be brought back online.
According to the company’s website, CDK Global’s systems are used by more than 15,000 car dealerships across the United States, suggesting that car sales have been disrupted. The software is used by companies to manage sales, customer support, inventory, and other parts of their operations.
U.S. officials have warned that widespread cyberattacks wILL likely become more common in the future, pointing to threats posed mainly by the Chinese Communist Party and affiliated groups.
New details about the hack have surfaced, indicating that a hacking group in Eastern Europe is likely responsible for the cyber incident. The group demands tens of millions of dollars in ransom, as the hack has paralyzed thousands of auto dealerships across the US.
CDK is planning to make the payment, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The hacking group behind the attack is believed to be based in eastern Europe, the person said. In the early days of any ransomware attack, discussions are fluid, and the situation could change.
T-coronae borealis will be giving stargazers a once-in-a-lifetime thermonuclear event!
T Coronae Borealis – otherwise known as the Blaze Star or T CrB – is a binary system situated in the Northern Crown some 3,000 light-years from Earth. The system is comprised of a red giant and a white dwarf – a dead star about the size of Earth. The first recorded sighting of the T CrB nova was in 1217.
Through “relentless gravitational pull,” the white dwarf strips hydrogen from the ancient red giant, which causes a buildup of pressure and heat. Once there is a critical level of pressure on the white dwarf, it triggers a massive thermonuclear explosion.
For T CrB, this explosive event reoccurs approximately every 80 years. The last such explosion happened in 1946. Based on observations of T Coronae Borealis, astronomers believe the Blaze Star is getting ready to explode again. The Blaze Star will remain intact after the explosion as opposed to a supernova which is a final explosion that ends a star’s lifecycle.
Dr. Koji Mukai – a fellow astrophysics researcher at NASA Goddard – admitted, “Recurrent novae are unpredictable and contrarian. When you think there can’t possibly be a reason they follow a certain set pattern, they do – and as soon as you start to rely on them repeating the same pattern, they deviate from it completely. We’ll see how T CrB behaves.”
However, some experts are saying that data is pointing to a possible explosion between now and September 2024.
TESLA set on self-drive crashes into police car at deadly California accident scene …
A Tesla vehicle operating in “self-drive” mode reportedly collided with a police car at the scene of a fatal accident in Fullerton, California, narrowly missing an officer investigating the prior crash.
KTVU reports that the incident has reignited concerns about the safety of autonomous driving systems and the responsibility of drivers using such technology. According to the Fullerton Police Department, the collision took place where officers were managing traffic following a deadly accident.
Despite the police vehicle’s activated emergency lights and several flares placed on the road to alert drivers, a blue Tesla failed to avoid the collision. The police car, which was strategically positioned to block traffic, bore the brunt of the impact. In a fortunate turn of events, the quick-thinking officer managing the scene spotted the approaching Tesla and managed to move to the side of the road, narrowly escaping potential injury or worse.
Upon investigation, the Tesla driver admitted to using Elon Musk’s “self-drive” mode while simultaneously using his cell phone, a clear violation of California law. This admission highlights the ongoing challenge of ensuring driver attentiveness even when advanced driving assistance systems are engaged.
In response to the incident, the Fullerton Police Department issued a statement emphasizing the importance of driver alertness: “Self-driving mode can be convenient, but always remember the importance of staying alert and ready to take over at any moment. While there are no laws against the ‘self-drive’ mode, all rules and laws of the road still apply to the driver while controlling the vehicle.”
This incident is not isolated. There have been numerous reports of accidents involving Tesla vehicles operating in autonomous modes, leading to increased scrutiny from regulators and safety advocates. The NHTSA has opened multiple investigations into Tesla’s Autopilot system in recent years, focusing on its role in crashes involving emergency vehicles.
World first epilepsy device fitted in UK boy’s skull
A boy with severe epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to trial a new device fitted in their skull to control seizures.
The neurostimulator, which sends electrical signals deep into his brain, has reduced Oran Knowlson’s daytime seizures by 80%.
His mother, Justine, told the BBC he was happier and had a “much better quality of life”.
The surgery was carried out in October as part of a trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London when Oran – who is now 13 – was 12.
Oran, from Somerset, has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a treatment-resistant form of epilepsy which he developed at the age of three.
Since then he has suffered several daily seizures ranging from two dozen to hundreds.
When we first spoke to Oran’s mum last autumn, prior to surgery, she explained how Oran’s epilepsy dominated his life: “It has robbed him of all of his childhood.”
She told us Oran had a range of different seizures, including those where he fell to the ground, shook violently, and lost consciousness.
She said at times he would stop breathing and require emergency medication to resuscitate him.
Oran has autism and ADHD, but Justine says his epilepsy is by far the biggest hurdle: “I had a fairly bright three-year-old, and within a few months of his seizures commencing he deteriorated rapidly, and lost a lot of skills.”
Oran is part of the CADET project – a series of trials assessing the safety and effectiveness of deep brain stimulation for severe epilepsy.
The partnership involves Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London, King’s College Hospital and the University of Oxford.
The Picostim neurotransmitter is made by UK company Amber Therapeutics.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Geoengineering Watch’s Dane Wigington posts another warning about the US food supply!
“Scientists Warn of Looming Threat to US Food Supply” (from MSN). “UN food chief: Poorest areas have zero harvests left” (from BBC). The vast majority that have so far refused to take notice of what is occurring in our skies will not be able to ignore the coming empty food shelves. “Reality aversion syndrome” has limits, starvation is among them. Earth’s ozone layer is dangerously damaged, while some media sources are pointing the finger at Elon Musk and his endless parade of rocket launches, what exponentially larger factor in the ozone destruction equation is not being disclosed? Then there is the looming threat of nuclear cataclysm, power plant meltdown and war. Extremely near term existential threats are closing in from every direction, how long do we have if we remain on the current course?
FOOD, PREPPING, GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are going off-grid in anticipation of what is coming!
As our society descends into chaos, vast numbers of people are choosing to pull the plug and walk away. Of course it is nearly impossible to completely escape the ubiquitous madness that is seemingly all around us, but many are finding that an “off grid” lifestyle gives them the best opportunity to insulate themselves as much as possible. When you become less dependent on the system, what happens to the system has less of an impact on you. Unfortunately, it appears that our system is heading into a full-blown meltdown, and a significant portion of the population is feverishly making preparations in anticipation of what is coming.
According to Reuters, it has been estimated that there are now approximately 20 million “preppers” in the United States … there is a subset of that group that has decided that the best way to prepare is to go “off grid”. It is being reported that “more than 250,000 people in the U.S.” have chosen to adopt such a lifestyle.
As energy costs and home prices continue to rise, more Americans are choosing to live off-grid. According to one estimate, more than 250,000 people in the U.S. have an off-grid lifestyle.
While the potential cost savings are certainly attractive, technology and interest in tiny homes, shipping container homes and other energy-efficient housing alternatives are allowing families interested in sustainable lifestyles to move to off-grid living.
If you are thinking of making a similar move, you need to do your research.
Most of us are extremely dependent on the grid, and many find that making a switch to a radically different lifestyle is quite challenging…
Living off the grid means committing to sourcing everything you need to survive and thrive independently: food, shelter, energy and most importantly: water. It’s empowering, until the moment things don’t work. Like when you’re halfway through a delightful hot shower at the end of a January day and the water pump suddenly stops working, sending you into the frozen darkness with a wet headful of shampoo and some tools to address the problem.
For a lot of people, joining a community of others that have adopted an “off grid” lifestyle is very helpful.
For example, about 55 miles south of Salt Lake City hundreds of survivalists are living in a very large community that is completely off the grid…
A community of society-shunning Americans launched a survivalist haven in the Utah desert after finding themselves alienated from the modern world.
Hundreds of people have set themselves up to live off the land under ‘Operation Self-Reliance,’ feeling that getting off-the-grid is the solution to a crumbling culture.
This particular community was originally founded by a 74-year-old man named Philip Gleason, and he is warning that “a variety of apocalyptic scenarios could play out in the coming years”…
Gleason said he fears a variety of apocalyptic scenarios could play out in the coming years, from a power grid failure taking down America’s electricity, to nuclear war and cyber attacks.
‘This is just history repeating itself,’ he cautioned. ‘At the start of any cultural revolution, the people that control their food are the ones that come out on top.’
As Americans consistently share that they are losing faith in the nation’s institutions, those that have made a new life on Riverbed Ranch have essentially set up their own self-surviving nation state.
Of course it probably wasn’t a great idea for them to share what they are doing with such a large audience, because when things do get really bad large numbers of desperate people may start heading that direction.
Most of the time, families that choose to live an “off grid” lifestyle just do it on their own.
Heather Graesser and her husband once owned a large home near Denver, but now they are much happier living an “off grid” lifestyle…
Ten years ago I was living a typical suburban life on the outskirts of Denver. My husband, Casey, and I were both teachers. We lived in a four-bedroom house with a small yard where our two kids liked to play.
Today our life looks radically different. We live entirely off the grid in a 300-square-foot home that we built from straw bales and cob, a natural building material made from soil, water, and other organic matter. We rely on solar power for electricity and rain collection for water, and we use a drop toilet to create “humanure” — compost made from human waste.
We’ve left the conventional world behind. But along the way we’ve created a much more luxurious and free lifestylethan the one we were living in suburbia.
Good for them.
These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to live a “normal” middle class lifestyle because the cost of housing has become so painful.
In fact, an entirely new category known as “impossibly unaffordable” has been created because home prices have become so expensive in certain cities…
Anyone with half an eye on the housing market over the last two decades will know that in many countries, not least the United States, it’s become much more difficult to buy a home.
But a new report sums up the feeling of many potential home buyers by creating a category that labels some major cities as “impossibly unaffordable.”
The report compared average incomes with average home prices. It found that pandemic-driven demand for homes with outside space, land use policies aimed at limiting urban sprawl, and investors piling into markets had sent prices soaring.
Living “off grid” is often much cheaper than living a conventional lifestyle.
And living “off grid” will also give you a much better chance of shielding yourself from the endless violence that we see all around us.
Emergency Cooking: Tips and Must Haves for cooking food when the power goes out!
General Emergency Cooking Tips
Whichever option you choose for emergency food preparation, keep in mind that fully cooked foods that just need to be reheated will be much easier to “heat and eat” than whole, non-cooked foods.
For instance, canned beans are much easier to use than dried beans, because they don’t require additional water, soaking time or extended cooking time. Include “heat and eat” options in your long term food storage, such as canned foods or freeze dried foods.
Many canned foods are pre-cooked and could be eaten directly from the can without heating. If you have heat and water freeze dried foods are good quick meals. See our Best Freeze Dried Foods article for more information.
Stock Manual Kitchen Tools
Make sure you have people powered tools instead of electric tools for cooking. Electric can openers do not work when the power is out. Get a manual can opener. To be honest, for many kitchen tasks I prefer using hand tools all the time because they are quieter and more compact.
Use the Right Pots and Pans
Make sure you have pots and utensils that can be used with your cooking option of choice. Fires and grills can be much hotter than your average stove burner. (No plastic spatulas, please.)
Long handles and hot pads, oven mittens, fire gloves or at least a folded rag to grab hot handles are a must. Cast iron cookware is a workhorse. A Dutch oven will allow you to bake bread on the stove, on the grill or campfire.
Know How to Use Your Emergency Cooking Option
Practice, practice, practice with your cooking option of choice. At the very least, practice making the quick-to-fix foods that would be emergency fare. If you are truly inexperienced in the kitchen, just practice cooking – any cooking.
“Camp out” once a month to make sure you have all the tools, fuel and other supplies you need. Like any skill, food preparation gets easier the more you do it.
Know How to Cook Without Frills
Practice cooking with only minimal equipment. Go camping, have backyard cookouts – cook a meal on the beach. Anything you can do to mimic cooking without your stove and all your regular “stuff” will make things so much easier if you end up without power.
Repetition builds muscle memory so that even in difficult times, your body will remember when your brain may be distracted. It also reduces stress because you at least know how you will eat.
2ND AMENDMENT
U.S. appeals court rejects lawsuit against federal firearm silencer law …
A federal appeals court recently blocked an attempt by gun owners and the Texas attorney general to allow the approval of a state gun law that deregulates gun silencers in the state. In other words, gun silencers will remain regulated in Texas for the time being.
The Louisiana-based U.S. Appeals Court for the Fifth District on June 21st affirmed a lower court’s decision that dismissed the case for lack of standing, which is a legal term used to describe whether an individual’s complaint can be heard and whether injury can be connected to a defendant’s conduct or a government policy. In the ruling, the court stated that the plaintiffs in the case were unable to establish whether they suffered injury or were going to.
Under federal law, a person who wants to buy a silencer has to first pay a $200 excise tax, get a permit, register the silencer with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, and mark the silencer with a serial number. But in 2021, the Texas Legislature approved a law, later signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, that allowed for silencers made in Texas and that remain in Texas to not be subject to federal laws around the devices, among other loosened restrictions.
CANCEL CULTURE
Texas AG warns schools not to comply with Title IX transgender rules or face legal action!
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued an advisory to Texas schools, warning of potential legal action against any school district that adopts policies and procedures that align with the federal Department of Education (DOE) revised Title IX rules that include provisions allowing female-identifying male students access to female-only spaces like lockers and bathrooms.
Mr. Paxton issued the warning in a June 18 advisory, which said that he is prepared to take legal action against any Texas school district that crafts policies such as allowing men into women’s bathrooms or requiring teachers or students to address others using their preferred pronouns rather than pronouns that match their biological sex.
In April, the Biden administration announced a final rule expanding the decades-old Title IX law that prohibits sex discrimination in schools to now include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” The move sparked a flurry of lawsuits from 15 Republican-led states, including Texas.
The Title IX changes—which Mr. Paxton described in his advisory to Texas schools as “radical” and “unlawful”—gave men who identify as women the right to use female restrooms and locker rooms, and to join female-only organizations, like sports teams. The revised rules also define “harassment” as including someone addressing another using pronouns that conform to their biological sex rather than their chosen gender identity.
The White House is taking heat for statements on the deaths of a mother of five children in
Maryland and a young Texas girl who were allegedly murdered by illegal aliens.
The recent statements, which were short, did not comment on active police investigations regarding the two deaths, Fox News reported over the weekend.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Rachel Morin. We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases. But fundamentally, we believe that people should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty,” the White House’s first statement read.
The second said, “Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of Jocelyn Nungaray. We cannot comment on active law enforcement cases. But fundamentally, anyone found guilty of this type of heinous and shocking crime should be held accountable, to the fullest extent of the law.”
Republicans heavily criticized the statements and used them as an opportunity to blast President Joe Biden’s (D) disastrous border policies, which have hurt citizens.
Among them was Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) who said, “Shameful. Innocent people murdered by illegal immigrants and the @WhiteHouse still REFUSES to accept responsibility.”
Morin’s family recently said they were “deeply touched” that former President Donald Trump called them to offer his condolences after the mother of five was raped and murdered and her body dumped on the side of a trail in Maryland, Breitbart News reported Thursday.
The suspect in Morin’s case, 23-year-old Victor Martinez-Hernandez, who is from El Salvador, was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, two illegal aliens are accused of murdering 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas. Reports say the two men were released into the United States by Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after crossing the southern border, according to Breitbart News.
“Venezuelan nationals 22-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26- year-old Franklin Pena were arrested and charged by the Houston Police Department with murdering Jocelyn Nungaray in the early morning of June 17,” the outlet said.
In a social media post on Friday, Wesley Hunt (R-TX) shared his sadness over the loss of Nungaray.
“I’m the father of two young girls and what happened to Jocelyn Nungaray is heartbreaking and makes my blood boil. The animals who did this deserve to rot in hell. When a nation welcomes illegal mass migration it invites mass murder and we’re witnessing the destruction every single day,” he wrote:
“I hope the American people are watching this, because you MUST vote in November like the lives of your children are at stake, because they are,” Hunt added.
PET NEWS
Flea and tick season is upon us …
Toxic Chemicals Commonly Found in Flea and Tick Products
3 Harmful Ingredients to Avoid in Flea and Tick Products
- Amitraz
Amitraz is a formamidine pesticide, acaricide, and insecticide, and its toxicity has been found mostly in cases in the country of Turkey; however, the USA is starting to see it being used more often both in agricultural products like livestock pest management and products for domesticated pets.
Children are particularly susceptible to amitraz poisoning more so than adults, and it can interfere with normal child development. Children often hug their pets, lay next to them, and crawl around on the floor close to where animals lay, so it is just as important to protect your child from this chemical as it is to protect your pet.
Amitraz is also suspected of disrupting the endocrine system and may be a possible carcinogen even to adults, says the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The state of California has identified this as a developmental toxicant resulting in low birth weights, birth defects, and even problems that rear their ugly head as the child grows.
This has been used on dogs for mange as well as being in some solutions for flea and tick control, so paw licking could possibly be a method of ingestion. More importantly, however, because dogs chew on just about everything, a collar with this chemical could be chewed on, thereby causing toxicity. Even though this is not an approved chemical for cats, some pet owners have treated their cats, exposing them to this toxicity. Zema has some products containing amitraz.
- Pennyroyal
I keep seeing this crop up over and over on the internet as a flea and tick remedy, particularly in shampoos—and while it might be effective, pennyroyal is not safe for cats and dogs.
Pennyroyal is known by many names, including pudding grass, stinking balm, and Mentha pulegium. Pennyroyal oil can cause liver and kidney damage, hemorrhaging of internal organs, coughing up blood, seizures, coma, and death.
Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not evaluated this for purity, safety, or effectiveness, and no regulated manufacturing standards are in place. Blood tests, however, have revealed elevated liver enzymes, anemia, and prolonged clotting times.
It is the active poison “pulegone” in the oil that is toxic to the liver, causing this damage. It is not safe for dogs to ingest (through paw licking), but there has been a case of toxicity with dermal application as well. This is a real no-no for cats who would ingest by bathing all over.
- Pyrethrins (From Mums)
This class of chemicals also includes the pyrethroids family of synthetic pyrethrins, such as permethrin, bifenthrin, and cypermethrin. Derived from chrysanthemum flowers (technically Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium) and being biodegradable, it seemed to have promise, but now pyrethrins are a concern, reports NBC news channel 4 in Southern California. It was hoped to replace the bad organophosphates but instead has caused serious problems.
In one case, a woman saw her dog get sick within hours of topical exposure, and within three months, it was dead. Of course, part of this problem is that there are concentrations anywhere between 40 percent and 85 percent solutions, and really, you don’t have to be fatal to insects in order to get the insect-repellent effect. Additionally, there has been a case of a severe asthma attack by a child after being around an animal treated with pyrethrins.
Other symptoms for dogs and cats range from mild, including hair loss and drooling, to mid-range issues, such as tremors, seizures, profuse salivation, and hyperexcitability. Cats are particularly at risk because they have less-efficient metabolic pathways and, therefore, can have shock, hypothermia, and even death within a few hours of toxicity if not treated. Etofenprox, d-phenothrin, cyphenothrin, and deltamethrin (or decamethrin) are other names of pyrethrins and pyrethroids to watch when reading your labels. You can read more about pyrethrins in the October 2009 issue of The Veterinary Journal.
Safe chemical free alternative: Houdi’s Herbal Flea & Tick Pet Spray: Peppermint (4 FL OZ)
GOOD NEWS
Mississippi fishermen save 38 dogs on the verge of drowning in a lake; hailed as heroes!
A group of fishermen in Mississippi are being hailed as heroes after saving 38 dogs on the verge of drowning in a lake.
Three fishermen were on a fishing trip in Lake Grenada. Bob Gist – a 61-year-old from Arkansas – went fishing with his friend Brad Carlisle from Tennessee.
Suddenly, the men heard more than three dozen dogs barking.
Gist told Fox News, “Pretty soon we saw some dogs on the horizon in the water.”
Fishing guide, Jordan Chrestman, noticed that the dogs were in the water after chasing a deer into the lake.
Gist later learned that the dogs were part of an annual fox run that takes place in the area.
Gist stated, “We went on fishing for about 10 or 15 more minutes, and Jordan [Chrestman] said, ‘Hey guys, if you don’t mind, we really need to go check on those dogs because they’re way out there in that water.'”
The boat navigated Lake Grenada to get close enough to the dogs.
“We’re just flabbergasted because it’s dogs everywhere,” Gist explained. “They’re all going in different directions because they can no longer see the bank on either side.”
Gist added, “They were on the verge of drowning because now they have been treading water for an hour.”
The fishermen loaded 27 dogs into the boat and took them to shore. Then they went back and rescued 11 more for a total of 38 dogs rescued.
ICYMI
Nevada judge dismisses alternate electors case due to jurisdictional concerns …
A Nevada judge last Friday dismissed the alternate electors’ case against six Republicans who were alleged to have submitted fraudulent certificates to Congress in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus issued a bench ruling on Friday during a hearing at the Clark County District Court that dismissed the case, according to courtroom reporters. The judge said she was not convinced by state prosecutors’ arguments that Clark County was the proper venue to hear the case, appearing to side with defense attorneys who said the signing of the certificates occurred in Douglas County.
“You have literally, in my opinion, a crime that has occurred in another jurisdiction,” Judge Holthus said at the hearing. “It’s so appropriately up north and so appropriately not here.”
CBS reporter is warning Americans to expect “surprises” from Biden at the upcoming debate!
CBS News Senior correspondent Weijia Jiang says that before heading to CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta for the June 27 debate, Biden will spend the next week at Camp David with his closest and most-trusted political advisers, who are planning a “robust preparation. They are going to be mapping out everything they want to get across as they face Donald Trump,” Jiang reported.
When hoofing it doesn’t work … two astronauts still stranded in space at the ISS …
Two NASA astronauts who rode to orbit on Boeing’s Starliner are currently stranded in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after engineers discovered numerous issues with the Boeing spacecraft. Teams on the ground are now racing to assess Starliner’s status.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13th after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended for a third time due to the ongoing issues. The astronauts will now return home no sooner than June 26th, according to NASA. The latest the pair can stay aboard the ISS is July 21st.
And for those Jeopardy fans out there … the USPS will be issuing a new Alex Trebek stamp!
Americans will soon be able to make their trip to the post office a true daily double with an Alex Trebek Forever Stamp.
The stamp is formatted like a “Jeopardy!” clue square, with ““THIS NATURALIZED U.S. CITIZEN HOSTED THE QUIZ SHOW ‘JEOPARDY!’ FOR 37 SEASONS” written on it. The answer, “Who is Alex Trebek?”, is written upside down underneath the prompt.
The late longtime host of classic quiz show “Jeopardy!”, will be honored for his decades of on-air wit and charm as the show celebrates its 60th Diamond Celebration.
The postage will be available at offices across the country starting July 22. The stamps will sell in panes of 20.
71-year-old woman becomes oldest Miss Texas USA pageant contestant …
A 71-year-old beauty pageant contestant has made history as the oldest woman to
participate in the Miss Texas USA competition.
Marissa Teijo joined nearly 100 other ladies over the weekend to compete for the title of Miss Texas, and to go on to represent the state in the August Miss USA pageant, according to the Daily Mail.
Videos shared by the contestant show her working out in the gym to maintain her abs that she proudly shows off for athletic wear sponsorships.
“No shortcuts, train hard, see results,” Teijo wrote on another video of her lifting weights.
Despite her pride and joy found in competing, Teijo has garnered some negative backlash.
“I am 70. This is just silly. She is a walking ad for plastic surgery,” wrote one Facebook commenter.
“It’s Texas. The bar isn’t very high,” said another. Even with the haters, Teijo still has fans of her own.
When competing in El Paso Fashion Week in October 2023, Instagram commenters wrote that she was their “goals.”
The Miss Texas USA pageant was underway in Houston on Friday, with the final results rolling in on Saturday,
This year’s crown went to Aarienna Ware, who was Miss Dallas in 2023. While Teijo didn’t win, she still made history.
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