WORLD NEWS
Putin Blusters Before National Elections: Promises He’s Ready to Nuke West Over Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin again threatened the West with nuclear war if it becomes more involved in his invasion of Ukraine, but moderates remarks by saying while he is ready to strike, he believes the United States will exercise “restraint”. Putin faces re-election this week for a fifth term in office — a vote Western observers say isn’t fair and free and is essentially a rubber-stamping exercise — and gave a pre-election interview to Russian television where he once again made remarks on the potential for nuclear war over Ukraine. Broadcast Wednesday morning, the interview saw Putin assert his country was absolutely ready to use its nuclear arsenal but said he did not see the world “rushing to it” yet.
Warning Russian military doctrine absolutely called for nuclear retaliation if the Russian government, the nation’s sovereignty or independence were threatened, Putin told the broadcaster that “we are ready for this… from the military, technical viewpoint, we are prepared”.
Making reference to comments by France’s Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of NATO states deploying troops to Ukraine — a position he has doubled down on despite outrage from fellow alliance leaders about the danger of such remarks — Putin said: “the nations that say they have no red lines regarding Russia should realize that Russia won ́t have any red lines regarding them either.”
Again making a clear reference to Western boots on the ground in Ukraine, Putin quipped he hadn’t used battlefield tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine yet because there hadn’t been the need so far.
Yet the Russian President, who is likely to ‘win’ another six years in power this week moderated the war talk by saying he wouldn’t feel obliged to launch nuclear weapons if Western states would just do as he tells them. He expects NATO states to keep their troops out of Ukraine, he said, and even that he was ready to enter negotiations with the West on the future of the country he invaded but only if those talks were based on what he called realities.
Putin Blusters Before National Elections: Promises He’s Ready to Nuke West Over Ukraine
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has fallen below 40% in a new poll, with just over two months to go before the country’s next general election on May 29.
That raises the possibility that there could be change at the national level for the first time since 1994, if the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) can put together a rival coalition to dislodge the ANC from power. The poll, by the non-partisan Brenthurst Foundation, was conducted in late February among 1,506 registered voters in South Africa. It has a margin of error of 3% at the 95% confidence level.
It shows that the ANC has fallen from 44% of the vote in November 2022 to 39% today. The DA, meanwhile, has risen from 23% to 27% in the same period. (The ANC won 57.5% in the 2019 general election, while the DA won 20.8%.)
A new party, known as the MK Party, named after the ANC’s former guerrilla army, has surged into third place at 13%.
The radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, a racist and communist party that favors forcible redistribution of land, fell to 10%, meaning that the ANC could not preserve its majority simply by forming a coalition with the radicals.
That is what happened in Cape Town in the 2006 municipal elections: the DA won a plurality of the vote and assembled a coalition of smaller parties to oust the ANC — the first time the opposition had won in post-apartheid South Africa.
The ANC has typically over-performed its polls on Election Day, appealing to voters who remember its role in toppling the apartheid regime. But chronic electricity and water shortages, crime, and corruption have worn voters’ patience.
Argentina’s Inflation Slows Down After 3 Months of Milei ‘Shock Therapy’
The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) announced on Tuesday that Argentina registered a 13.2 percent inflation rate in February, marking the second month in a row where inflation has slowed down as a result of President Javier Milei’s austerity policies.
Upon taking office in December, Milei applied a series of “shock therapy” measures to avoid a total economic collapse in Argentina after nearly two decades of socialist governments left the country teetering on the brink of hyperinflation. Milei began by undoing as many of the hundreds of socialist regulations as possible and has turned his attention towards the near-depleted foreign reserves and a convoluted currency control system.
The 13.2-percent inflation rate recorded in INDEC’s extensive February report is lower than the 15 percent analysts were forecasting hours before the announcement, and much lower than January’s 20.6 percent and December’s 25.5 percent.
Milei asserted that, had he lifted Argentina’s currency restrictions immediately upon taking office, there would have been a “100 percent chance” of a bank run, which is why he preferred to avoid that risk.
“We are committed to exterminating inflation and we are doing it. If you look at the numbers for March, despite a rebound, inflation is in the order of 7 or 8 percent,” he continued.
Europe’s world-first AI rules get final approval from lawmakers. Here’s what happens next
European Union lawmakers gave final approval to the 27-nation bloc’s artificial intelligence law yesterday, putting the world-leading rules on track to take effect later this year.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Artificial Intelligence Act, five years after regulations were first proposed. The AI Act is expected to act as a global signpost for other governments grappling with how to regulate the fast-developing technology.
Big tech companies generally have supported the need to regulate AI while lobbying to ensure any rules work in their favor. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman caused a minor stir last year when he suggested the ChatGPT maker could pull out of Europe if it can’t comply with the AI Act — before backtracking to say there were no plans to leave.The riskier an AI application, the more scrutiny it faces. The vast majority of AI systems are expected to be low risk, such as content recommendation systems or spam filters. Companies can choose to follow voluntary requirements and codes of conduct.
High-risk uses of AI, such as in medical devices or critical infrastructure like water or electrical networks, face tougher requirements like using high-quality data and providing clear information to users.
Some AI uses are banned because they’re deemed to pose an unacceptable risk, like social scoring systems that govern how people behave, some types of predictive policing and emotion recognition systems in school and workplaces.
Other banned uses include police scanning faces in public using AI-powered remote “biometric identification” systems, except for serious crimes like kidnapping or terrorism.
The law’s early drafts focused on AI systems carrying out narrowly limited tasks, like scanning resumes and job applications. The astonishing rise of general purpose AI models, exemplified by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, sent EU policymakers scrambling to keep up.
They added provisions for so-called generative AI models, the technology underpinning AI chatbot systems that can produce unique and seemingly lifelike responses, images and more.
Developers of general purpose AI models — from European startups to OpenAI and Google — will have to provide a detailed summary of the text, pictures, video and other data on the internet that is used to train the systems as well as follow EU copyright law.
AI-generated deepfake pictures, video or audio of existing people, places or events must be labeled as artificially manipulated.
There’s extra scrutiny for the biggest and most powerful AI models that pose “systemic risks,” which include OpenAI’s GPT4 — its most advanced system — and Google’s Gemini.
The EU says it’s worried that these powerful AI systems could “cause serious accidents or be misused for far-reaching cyberattacks.” They also fear generative AI could spread “harmful biases” across many applications, affecting many people.
Companies that provide these systems will have to assess and mitigate the risks; report any serious incidents, such as malfunctions that cause someone’s death or serious harm to health or property; put cybersecurity measures in place; and disclose how much energy their models use.
Space One’s Kairos rocket explodes on inaugural flight
Kairos, a small, solid-fuel rocket made by Japan’s Space One, exploded just seconds into its inaugural launch on Wednesday as the firm tried to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite in orbit.
The setback for Space One and the rocket industry in Japan comes as the government and investors ramp up support for the sector amid a national security buildup and skyrocketing demand for commercial satellites.
The 18-meter (59 ft) rocket exploded five seconds after lifting off, leaving behind a large cloud of smoke, a fire, fragments of the rocket and sprays of firefighting water near the launch pad on the tip of mountainous Kii peninsula in western Japan, visible on local media livestreams.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Georgia Judge Dismisses 6 Charges in Trump Election Case
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on March 13 ruled on several demurrers, striking six counts from the 41-count indictment against former President Donald Trump and 14 codefendants.
The demurrers were brought by President Trump, former White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows, and attorneys John Eastman, Ray Smith III, Robert Cheeley, and Rudy Giuliani.
Three of the quashed charges apply to President Trump, throwing out counts related to a phone call he made to the Georgia Secretary of State.
The indictment originally charged 19 defendants, four of whom have since taken plea bargains. All were charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as 40 additional counts.
The ruling comes ahead of an expected decision this week on a motion to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case.
The judge struck charges 2, 5, 6, 23, 28, and 38 from the indictment. These counts are related to soliciting officials to violate oaths of office, including via a phone call President Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The counts alleged the defendants solicited members of the Georgia Senate, Georgia House, Georgia House Speaker, and Mr. Raffensperger to violate oaths of office in trying to certify alternate electors or “influence the certified election returns.”
This leaves only the RICO charge for Mr. Meadows, 10 counts for President Trump, 11 counts for Mr. Giuliani, 10 counts for Mr. Smith, nine counts for Mr. Cheeley, and eight counts for Mr. Eastman.
The judge added that “these pleading deficiencies do not apply to the corresponding acts” listed in the RICO charge as part of an alleged conspiracy, but to stand as separate counts they needed to meet a higher statutory standard.
Secret Service Agent Blocked Trump From Going to Capitol on Jan. 6: Driver
When then-President Donald Trump finished his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, he wanted to go to the U.S. Capitol.
But a Secret Service agent blocked him from going, according to a newly disclosed account.
“The president wanted to go to the Capitol,” the Secret Service agent who was driving the vehicle, told a U.S. House of Representatives panel.
President Trump and Robert Engel, his lead Secret Service agent, entered the SUV around 1:10 p.m. after President Trump concluded his speech, which was delivered on the Ellipse.
“He asked Bob Engel if we could go to the Capitol and why couldn’t we go to the Capitol and was insistent on going to the Capitol,” the driver testified, adding later that the president “was pushing pretty hard to go.”
“Mr. Engel’s response was essentially to tell him that we didn’t have any people at the Capitol, we didn’t have a plan in place, and that we needed to essentially go back to the White House and assess what our options were and wait till we can get a plan in place before we went down there,” the driver added.
President Trump responded by saying he felt it would be fine because he was not concerned about the people at the Capitol, describing them as being his supporters, according to the driver, although the driver could not recall specifically what words the president used.
“Mr. Engel consistently had the same response, that we didn’t have a plan in place, we didn’t have people at the Capitol, and that we needed to go back to the White House and reassess,” the driver said, adding later that whether the crowd at the Capitol was comprised of supporters of President Trump “was immaterial.”
President Trump did not say anything like, “I’m the president, I’ll decide where I get to go or where I’m going,” the driver said, responding to a question from the panel.
The driver took President Trump and Mr. Engel to the White House, which is 1.2 miles from the Ellipse. By 1:25 p.m., President Trump was told about violence at the Capitol, according to a White House employee.
After arriving at the White House, the driver communicated what transpired to other agents and said they should stand by as a decision was made as to whether the president would at some point be taken to the Capitol.
The agents remained with the presidential vehicles until they were told they would not be going to the Capitol, according to the driver. The communication came within 15 minutes after Mr. Engel met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows or Meadows’s deputy, the driver said. “My understanding was that … a decision came out of that meeting,” he said.
POLITICSNEWS TikTok Bill Passes in House With Bipartisan Support
The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to pass bipartisan legislation on the Chinese-owned app TikTok.
Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., introduced the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act on March 5. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
The legislation passed in a 352-65 vote, with the help of 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats. Fi!een Republicans and 50 Democrats voted against the legislation. One lawmaker voted “present.”
“Communist China is America’s largest geopolitical foe and is using technology to actively undermine America’s economy and security,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in an X post. “Apps like TikTok allow the Chinese Communist Party to push harmful content to our youth and engage in malign activities, such as harvesting the location, purchasing habits, contacts, and sensitive data of Americans.”
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., issued a joint statement about the House passing the bill. Warner and Rubio are the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
“We are united in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok – a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans whose parent company ByteDance remains legally required to do the bidding of the Chinese Communist Party,” the senators said in a statement shared on X. “We were encouraged by today’s strong bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, and look forward to working together to get this bill passed through the Senate and signed into law.”
According to a news release from the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, “The bill prevents app store availability or web-hosting services in the U.S. for ByteDance-controlled applications, including TikTok, unless the application severs ties to entities like ByteDance that are subject to the control of a foreign adversary, as defined by Congress in Title 10.”
President Biden Signs Bill Package With Ban on Mask Mandates Tucked Inside
President Joe Biden signed a $460 billion package of spending bills over the weekend to avoid a partial government shutdown, which included Sen. J.D. Vance’s (R-Ohio) legislation banning federal mask mandates from the Department of Transportation.
The law, known as the “Freedom to Breathe Act,” prohibits the Transportation Department from using federal monies to enforce mask mandates on passenger airlines, busses, rail, and any other transportation program funded through fiscal year 2024.
“The era of public health panic is over,” Mr. Vance said in a statement following the bill’s passage. “Tonight, my amendment to prohibit COVID-19 mask mandates by the Department of Transportation—including the FAA—passed the Senate. This is a massive victory for common sense. Mask mandates were an outrageous overstep by the public health establishment. We cannot allow this mistake to be repeated.”
“We tried mask mandates once in this country,” Mr. Vance said in a statement last year. “They failed to control the spread of respiratory viruses, violated basic bodily freedom, and set our fellow citizens against one another. This legislation will ensure that no federal bureaucracy, no commercial airline, and no public school can impose the misguided policies of the past. Democrats say they’re not going to bring back mask mandates—we’re going to hold them to their word.”
The Air Marshal Association also backed Mr. Vance’s bill, which it described as “common-sense legislation.”
Rats are high on marijuana evidence at an infested police building, New Orleans chief says
Rats have gotten into confiscated pot at New Orleans’ aging police headquarters, munching the evidence as the building is taken over by mold and cockroaches, said the city’s police chief.
“The rats eating our marijuana, they’re all high,” Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick told New Orleans City Council members.
Kirkpatrick described vermin infestations and decay at the offices that have housed New Orleans police since 1968, saying officers have even found rat droppings on their desks.
The police department did not immediately respond to an emailed request Wednesday for more information on how they discovered marijuana was eaten by rats or whether any cases were impacted.
City officials are taking steps to move the department to a new space. That’s been a priority of the police chief since she took office in October.
The chief said her 910 officers come to work to find air-conditioning and elevators broken. She told council members the conditions are demoralizing to staff and a turnoff to potential recruits coming for interviews.
Harrison said the New Orleans situation isn’t completely shocking since rats are omnivores, and that the rats may experience the same effects from the marijuana as humans, depending on what form it was in.
“From understanding the biology of the rat and how it’s somewhat similar to us, I would think based on the amount or concentration they take in, it would be somewhat similar to what humans experience,” Harrison said.
Rudy Giuliani May Be Forced to Sell His Homes to Pay $148 Million Election Case Judgment
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may be forced to sell his homes in New York and Florida to raise cash for a massive defamation judgment against him as he works his way through bankruptcy proceedings, according to court statements by attorneys.
Mr. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2023, a day after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation while he was a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Giuliani listed liabilities of $100 million to $500 million and assets of as much as $10 million, according to a bankruptcy form that was filed on Dec. 21 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Other creditors listed in Mr. Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing include the New York State Department of Taxation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with Mr. Giuliani’s total liabilities owed to the government totaling nearly $1 million.
In October 2023, the IRS put a federal tax lien of nearly $500,000 on Mr. Giuliani’s Palm Beach condo, which at the time was appraised at around $3 million.
At the time, the IRS said Mr. Giuliani owes them nearly $550,000 in unpaid income taxes for 2021, with his political advisor, Ted Goodman, telling media outlets that Mr. Giuliani had entered into a formal agreement with the IRS to pay off the liability.
Mr. Giuliani, who served as former President Trump’s legal adviser in 2020, has faced other financial troubles.
In September 2023, Mr. Giuliani’s former lawyers sued him over allegations that he failed to pay roughly $1.36 million in legal fees. Mr. Giuliani has said he believes the amount being sought is too much.
Besides financial woes, Mr. Giuliani is also facing disbarment over a lawsuit he filed challenging the 2020 election results.
In July 2023, a District of Columbia disciplinary panel recommended that Mr. Giuliani be disbarred because he allegedly violated two legal ethics rules in what the panel described as a “frivolous” lawsuit.
In particular, the disciplinary panel found that Mr. Giuliani made sweeping claims of voter fraud that failed to adequately support with evidence.
In November 2023, Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers urged the disciplinary board to reject the panel’s recommendation that would strip him of his law license.
RFK Jr. Says He Will Announce VP Pick on March 26
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has selected a running mate and that candidate will be introduced on March 26 in Oakland, California, the independent presidential candidate announced on March 13.
“Because of your support, this is now the most successful independent campaign in decades. Together, we have shown that Americans really are tired of the vitriol and division. Americans are looking for a leader who can ‘Heal The Divide,’ Mr. Kennedy wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“On Tuesday, March 26th, in Oakland, California, I will announce the partner that I’ve chosen to help lead America into a brighter vision of peace, prosperity, and unity. We would be honored for you to join us for this historic announcement.”
Speculation is mounting about the identity of Mr. Kennedy’s running mate.
On March 12, The New York Times reported that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura are among the potential running mates for Mr. Kennedy.
Citing “two people familiar with the discussions,” The Times wrote that Mr. Kennedy had “recently approached” Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Ventura about the role of vice president, “and both have welcomed the overtures.”
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Wells Fargo Abruptly Terminating Customers’ Bank Accounts, Say Attorneys General in 16 States, Demanding Immediate Freeze on Lender’s Alleged Debanking Practices
Republican attorneys general are seeking answers from Wells Fargo over debanking.
Knudsen and 15 other AGs sent a letter to Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf on Wednesday stating their concerns over the bank’s abrupt shuttering of accounts, including the gun dealer. They also seek answers regarding actions the institution plans to take if its clients do not meet its strict environmental policies, such as emission reductions.
In December, Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed the business and personal accounts of Brandon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks, with a vague explanation for why they had done it.
“I’ve been with them for 25 years,” Wexler told The Reload following the move. “I’m a professional fireman. I do everything the right way. It’s messed up.”
According to their letter, the AGs worry Wells Fargo is moving toward “designating gun sellers as a ‘type of business’ that will be denied lending services” and ask the institution to provide documents related to Wexler’s matter.
“As we have said regarding investment firms, insurance and proxy companies, ratings agencies and other powerful commercial institutions — banks should not be in the business of choosing winners and losers based on politics,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, a signatory of the letter, told Fox News Digital. “Nor should they be using their financial muscle to push ideological goals that can ultimately harm our economy, national security or impair citizens’ ability to exercise their constitutional rights and liberties.”
The AGs also fear that Wells Fargo’s environmental initiatives will have severe consequences for its clients. In particular, they take aim at its pro-environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. The ESG movement broadly seeks to advance a green transition and left-wing social priorities through the private sector.
In March 2021, Wells Fargo said it was committed to aligning its activities “to support the goals of the Paris Agreement and to helping transition to a net zero carbon economy.”
In their letter, the AGs fire back at that statement, noting that the “Paris Agreement is not law in the United States” and saying that the commitment “is transparently political” as Wells Fargo “continues to take more and more debanking actions to accomplish its political goals.”
“When you made this statement, Wells Fargo publicly committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including emissions from clients in its financing portfolios,” the AGs wrote. “A few months later, Wells Fargo pushed its commitment even further by joining the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), along with the five other largest banks in the country. Together, these banks are acting as economy-wide economic regulators, carrying out mandates that the Biden Administration has been unable to pass through our country’s democratic processes.”
“As we saw with Operation Chokepoint during the Obama administration, the risk is far too high that banks will collude with government agencies to target anyone and anything that the ruling regime doesn’t like,” Hild said.
The AGs request that Wells Fargo answer those matters within 30 days. They also seek answers on several other issues, including the “certain types of businesses” it will not lend to.
Wells Fargo declined to comment on the letter.
Dollar Tree to close 1,000 stores after ‘botched’ Family Dollar takeover
Dollar Tree will close nearly 1,000 stores and swung to a surprise fourth- quarter loss as the discount retailer took a related $1.07bn goodwill impairment charge. Shares tumbled 15% before the opening bell on Wednesday.
Dollar Tree plans to close about 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of this year and 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores over the next several years.
Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar for more than $8bn almost a decade ago after a bidding war with rival Dollar General, but it has had difficulty absorbing the chain.
“This dramatic cull is the coup de grace in the rather botched acquisition of the Family Dollar chain, which has caused Dollar Tree nothing but hassle since it was completed back in 2015,” wrote Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. “Basically, almost 10 years on, Dollar Tree is still sifting through the mess it inherited and has not been able to completely turn around,” Saunders said.
Saunders said in an emailed statement that nearly 12% of current Family Dollar stores will be closing over the next three years.
For the three months ended 3 February, Dollar Tree lost $1.71bn, or $7.85 a share. A year earlier the Chesapeake, Virginia, company earned $452.2m, or $2.04 a share.
Avoid Moving Scams
How to Find a Reliable and Legitimate Moving Company
- Always check protectyourmove.gov before signing with a moving company. If the name of their interstate authority’s name doesn’t show on the site, they aren’t a legitimate mover. For instance, our local agent’s names won’t pop up on the list because they get their interstate authority through Bekins; Bekins Van Lines shows up on the FMCSA’s list of registered movers in the database.
- Insured moving companies are essential for a worry-free move. Their insurance signifies commitment to quality service and customer satisfaction. Choose insured movers for a secure, stress-free relocation.
- Your moving company is required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to do a visual survey of your household goods. That can be in-person or virtual using your smartphone or tablet. But if the company gives you an estimate without ever having eyes on your belongings, that’s a red flag that they might be a rogue moving company.
- If you’re asked for a deposit before your move date:
- It should be a nominal amount, nothing close to a third or half the cost of the move.
- Make sure you know who you’re paying and that it is the mover.
- Ask your moving consultant about Full (Replacement) Value Protection (FRVP). FRVP is the agreement with your moving company as to how much your household goods are worth. Moving without FRVP coverage means your household goods are only worth 60 cents per pound per item. Yes, FRVP costs more, but it’s worth the peace of mind.
HEALTH
Cellphone Radiation Research Was Halted After Worrisome Findings, Expert Questions Why
Decades of animal research point to serious health risks from cellphone radiation exposure, but examining a possible link stops now.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP), tasked with studying potential toxins, recently announced it would no longer investigate evidence that cellphone radiation can harm animals or people. The move stunned scientists like Devra Davis, a former senior adviser to the assistant secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, who called the abrupt reversal scientifically unjustified.
There’s “no scientific explanation or justification for this sudden reversal,” Ms. Davis told The Epoch Times.
The NTP recently claimed that additional radiofrequency radiation (RFR) studies are not planned, stating the research was “technically challenging and more resource-intensive than expected.”
Ms. Davis criticized this decision, noting that technical challenges are not a reason to avoid studying something that appears to cause cancer in animals. “Everything that we know for sure causes cancer in people will produce it in animals when adequately studied,” she added.
Despite admitting to developing a novel small-scale RFR exposure system in 2019 to clarify earlier findings, the NTP canceled further investigations. This system only studied older 2G and 3G devices, not newer 4G or 5G technologies.
Ms. Davis, a former NTP advisor, said she helped recommend smaller test chambers. The agency takes years to plan studies, so scrapping this project is “beyond my comprehension at this point,” given millions of children’s daily exposure, she noted.
Dangerous Amoeba Linked to Neti Pots and Nasal Rinsing. Here’s What to Know
For years, scientists have known people who use neti pots can become infected with a brain-eating amoeba if they use the wrong kind of water. On Wednesday, researchers linked a second kind of deadly amoeba to nasal rinsing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report that for the first time connects Acanthamoeba infections to neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices.
Officials also renewed their warning that extremely rare, but potentially deadly, consequences can come from flushing nasal passages with common tap water.
“We published this study because we want people to be aware of this risk,” said the CDC’s Dr. Julia Haston.
What are neti pots?
Neti pots are one of the better known tools of nasal rinsing. They look like small teapots with long spouts, and usually are made of ceramic or plastic.
Users fill them with a saline solution, then pour the liquid in one nostril. It comes out the other, draining the nasal passage of allergens and other bothersome contaminants.
Neti pot use in the U.S. has boomed in the last couple of decades, driven in part by the increasing prevalence of allergies and other respiratory diseases, market researchers say.
There also are other methods of rinsing nasal passages, including specially shaped cups and squeezable plastic bottles.
Why you shouldn’t use untreated tap water in neti pots
Tap water in the U.S. is treated to meet safe drinking standards, but low levels of microscopic organisms can still be found in it. It’s usually not a problem when people drink or cook with the water, but it can pose more of a danger when tap water is used for other purposes — like in humidifiers or for nasal irrigation.
More than a decade ago, health officials linked U.S. deaths from a brain-eating amoeba — named Naegleria fowleri — to nasal rinsing. More recently, they started to note nasal rinsing as a common theme in illnesses caused by another microscopic parasite, Acanthamoeba.
Acanthamoeba causes different kinds of illness but is still dangerous, with a 85% fatality rate in reported cases.
Could THIS fermented food be your secret weapon for shedding pounds?
Researchers uncover SURPRISING benefits of kimchi in weight loss
Kimchi, the tangy, fermented cabbage dish infused with spices and marinade, isn’t just a flavorful addition to meals – it’s also a powerful ally in the fight against obesity and weight gain. Beyond cabbage, kimchi often boasts ingredients like onion, garlic, red pepper powder, scallions, and ginger, enhancing both taste and health benefits.
A just-published cross-sectional study conducted from 2004 to 2013 sheds light on kimchi’s remarkable ability to combat obesity, particularly abdominal obesity, among adults in Korea. This extensive study involved 115,726 participants aged 40 to 69 who reported their kimchi consumption levels using detailed questionnaires.
This superfood can slash obesity rates by double digits
Despite not being everyone’s go-to snack, kimchi is a potent anti-obesity remedy. The study findings revealed that individuals consuming one to three servings of kimchi per day showed a lower prevalence of obesity compared to those consuming less than one serving daily.
Moreover, the study uncovered intriguing insights into the types of kimchi consumed. Men who favored cabbage kimchi (baechu kimchi) experienced a significant 10% reduction in both abdominal and general obesity. Conversely, consumers of radish kimchi (kkakdugi) witnessed an 11% reduction in abdominal obesity for women and an 8% reduction for men compared to non-kimchi eaters.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
SpaceX resets attempt at record-tying Falcon 9 launch after Wednesday night scrub
SpaceX will attempt to tie its rocket-reuse record tonight at 7:04 Eastern Time after a first try on Wednesday ended in a scrub.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites is now scheduled to launch during a window that opens at 7:04 p.m. EDT (2304 GMT) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
It will be the 19th liftoff for this Falcon 9’s first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That will tie a mark set this past December and matched for the first time last month. An initial attempt on Wednesday ended without explanation when the countdown entered an unplanned hold with just 2 minutes remaining.
If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9’s first stage will come back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage will continue hauling the 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed about 65.5 minutes after liftoff.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Electric Power vs. Green Goals
Twenty-three states have adopted goals to move to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. State governments propose to retire coal- and gas-fired power plants and adopt wind and solar systems. But these goals conflict with efforts to promote electric vehicles (EVs), electric appliances, and a new application (AI) that will increase the demand for electric power.
The green energy push seeks to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions to fight human-caused global warming. Leaders tell us that without a complete transformation of electric power, transportation, and home appliances to achieve Net Zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, we are doomed to suffer from increasingly severe climate change impacts.
In 2022, 60 percent of US electric power was generated by coal and natural gas. About 85 percent came from the traditional generators: gas (40%), coal (20%), nuclear (18%), and hydroelectric (6%). After two decades of subsidies, wind and solar provided only about 15 percent of US electricity.
US demand for electricity has not grown since about 2005. But the push to electrify homes and transition to EVs will usher in a new era of rising power demand.
Almost all states striving for Net Zero by 2050 will run into the problem that Michigan faces. Shutting down coal and gas plants while promoting electric vehicles and heat pumps will produce electric power shortages. The only states that may be able to approach carbon-free electricity are Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, where hydroelectric generators produce most of the power.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Family of 5 Hasn’t Been Food Shopping in 4 Years, Still Has Enough Fresh Meals Preserved for a Year
A prepper hasn’t been food shopping in four years yet still has enough fresh meals preserved to feed her family of five for a year.
Natasha Gahagan, 31, had always dreamed of having her own homestead and convinced her husband, Dennis Gahagan, 42, who works in landscaping, to move from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to a 7-acre farm near Milwaukee.
The couple moved with their two children, aged 4 and 2, and Mr. Gahagan’s son, 21, and now grow all their own fruit and vegetables and keep chickens and goats.
Mr. and Ms. Gahagan haven’t been to a supermarket for a big food shop in four years. Ms. Gahagan goes once a year to pick up some basic supplies in bulk such as beans and flour. They preserve a year’s worth of food in their cellar, along with ready-to-go meals that can be heated up in five minutes.
Ms. Gahagan, a homesteader and part-time dental assistant, said, “Living off the land was a dream of mine.
“I loved being outdoors. I had always dreamed of living off the grid. We don’t really go to the grocery store. We try to make it. You appreciate what you have more.”
Ms. Gahagan started by growing what she could in her garden in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. But when the family found a piece of land they could afford, they jumped at the chance and moved out to the countryside in January 2015.
The family has an array of animals living on the farm, including cows, ducks, and even peacocks, but currently have goats, chickens, and geese. The family drinks the goat milk and also uses it to make soap to sell.
“We fell in love with the goats,” Ms. Gahagan said, adding that the family tries to grow something new each year.
“We don’t have a big growing season. We grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, garlic, onion, and mushrooms. We have an orchard and make apples, pears, plums, and mulberries.
“We don’t grow things we won’t eat.”
To preserve their food, they use methods such as canning and freeze-drying and have a cellar in their home fully stocked.
“We could live off it for more than a year. We have 200 pounds of flour stocked up,” she said.
Ms. Gahagan has a freeze dryer filled with meals she’s already prepared—ready for their busy periods in spring and summer.
“I’m preserving for convenience,” she said. “I preserve a lot of things for the summer when we [are] busy.”
Ms. Gahagan strives to be as sustainable as she can, gets her meat from farmers, and relies on the supermarkets as little as possible. When they do go, they stock up on supplies they can’t grow themselves or treats such as maple syrup and bananas.
2ND AMENDMENT
Hunter Biden Trial on Gun Charges Set for June 3
A US federal judge on Wednesday set June 3 as the tentative date for the start of the trial
of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter on charges of illegal gun possession.
District Judge Maryellen Noreika, in a court filing, set aside the weeks of June 3 and June 10 for a jury trial in Wilmington, Delaware, for the 54-year-old Hunter Biden.
In October Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to the gun charges.
He also faces tax evasion charges in California. The judge in that case has said he is aiming for a trial to begin on June 20.
Hunter Biden faces three felony charges stemming from his purchase of a .38-caliber Colt Cobra revolver in 2018 when, by his own admission, he was heavily addicted to drugs.
He is charged with two counts of making false statements for claiming on forms required for the gun purchase that he was not using drugs illegally at the time.
He faces a third charge, based on the same statements, that he illegally possessed the gun — which he had for only 11 days in October 2018.
If convicted, Hunter Biden could in theory face 25 years in prison, though in practice such offenses, if not accompanied by other charges, are seldom punished by jail time.
COVID RELATED NEWS
COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates Discouraged People From Getting Boosters and Other Vaccines
Some U.S. states mandated COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic to increase vaccination numbers. Yet recent research shows these governmental restrictions had unintended negative consequences and no influence on COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
A study in PNAS found that state-level COVID-19 vaccine mandates did not impact vaccine adoption during the weeks before or after the mandates went into effect, suggesting vaccine mandates did not directly affect COVID-19 vaccination.
Additionally, compared to states that banned vaccine mandates through legislation, states that required COVID-19 vaccination experienced lower levels of subsequent boosters and reduced rates of voluntary flu vaccinations.
“The theory of psychological reactance serves as one long standing explanation for why freedom restrictions in the form of governmental mandates cause people to reject the advocated behavior or otherwise have unintended consequences,” the study authors wrote.
The results were the same for flu vaccines. Researchers examined two CDC datasets on state-level flu vaccination rates among children and adults during the 2021–2022 flu season during the same period as the booster analysis.
They found adults in states with COVID-19 vaccine mandates were less likely to report receiving a flu shot than adults in states where mandates were banned. Likewise, children from states with vaccine mandates were less likely to have received a flu vaccine, and the difference was more significant among states with lower COVID-19 vaccination numbers.
The researchers said their findings support concerns expressed by scholars and practitioners that selective vaccine mandates can have harmful or unintended consequences for public health, and other research that found vaccine mandates don’t necessarily reduce the adoption of the required vaccine but do reduce voluntary vaccinations.
The authors of the paper concluded that legislation protecting an individual’s right to choose whether or not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is actually more productive in encouraging related vaccinations.
CANCEL CULTURE
Watch: Transgender Dylan Mulvaney Releases Music Video ‘Days of Girlhood’ — ‘The Patriarchy’s Over!’
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is back with a new music video titled “Days of Girlhood” in which he cavorts in skimpy outfits, luxuriates in a bubble bath, and declares that “the patriarchy’s over!”“Days of Girlhood” is a teen-pop confection in which Mulvaney chronicles his daily life as a “girl.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77rRP_Sk3JI
Dylan Mulvaney recently marked International Women’s Day by appearing in a photo shoot with Lady Gaga. The photo sparked enormous online backlash, prompting Lady Gaga to issue a statement.
“It’s appalling to me [that Dylan’s post] would be met with such vitriol and hatred. When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it ‘backlash,’ I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence,” Gaga wrote.
ICYMI
Long before the term “classical crossover” was invented, Eric Carmen, who has died aged 74, showed everybody how to do it with his 1975 single All By Myself. An international hit that reached No 2 in the US and 12 in the UK, it borrowed the melody from the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor for its verse, and for good measure included a classical-like piano interlude.
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