WORLD NEWS
White House Revives Trump-Era Policy, Limits Asylum Eligibility Ahead of Title 42 Expiration
The Biden administration stated on May 10 that it has rolled out a new regulation to coincide with the end of Title 42, under which many people who plan to illegally cross the southern border will be rendered ineligible for asylum.
Under the finalized rule (pdf), which essentially brings back a Trump-era travel policy, illegal immigrants will be disqualified from applying for asylum in the United States if they didn’t first seek protection in countries that they traveled through on their way to the United States, with limited exceptions.
It will take effect as soon as the Title 42 public health order ends on May 11, along with the national emergency declaration over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Italy Looking to Leave China’s ‘Belt and Road’ Global Domination Scheme
The Italian government of Giorgia Meloni is reportedly preparing to leave Communist China’s Belt and Road global domination scheme within the coming months.
In 2019, under the stewardship of then-technocratic Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Italy became the first, and so far only, G7 nation to sign up to Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, which Beijing uses to ensnare nations throughout the world under its boot through debt trap diplomacy tactics.
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
Governor DeSantis Signs Nation’s Toughest Illegal Immigration Bill, Attacks Biden Border Policy
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 10 signed an illegal immigration bill he said was the toughest in the country.
One of its provisions requires companies with more than 25 employees to use the federal E-Verify system to check a job applicant’s eligibility.
At a signing ceremony in Jacksonville, DeSantis blasted the Biden administration’s lack of border enforcement, allowing illegal immigration to surge.
DeSantis said that with the formal ending of the COVID crisis—and the expiration of immigration controls tied to it—illegal immigrants would enter the country at a rate of over 13,000 a day, more than 4.5 million a year.
He tied that to many problems: crime, record rates of drug overdose deaths, and a skyrocketing financial burden to taxpayers forced to fund services such as medical care, education, and law enforcement for illegals.
Your Social Security Checks Could Be Impacted Soon: Here’s Why
Treasury Secretary Janet Warned that if the United States defaults on its obligations amid a congressional impasse over raising the debt ceiling, Social Security payments could be interrupted.
“Treasury finds itself in the position where we’re unable to pay all of the bills that come due that day. And this would be really the first time in the history of America that we would fail to make payments that are due,” Yellen told ABC News earlier in the week. “And, you know, whether it’s defaulting on interest payments that are due on the debt or payments due for Social Security recipients or to Medicare providers, we would simply not have enough cash to meet all of our obligations.”
Recently, Yellen projected that the federal government will hit its debt limit by as early as June 1, coming months after “extraordinary measures” were implemented to stave off defaulting. If the government reaches its debt limit, the federal government wouldn’t be able to pay all of its obligations.
According to data provided by the Social Security Administration, the agency will make some $1 trillion in Social Security payments to about 67 million people, with the majority being retirees. Some 48.6 million recipients are retired, while 7.6 million are disabled, and another 9.8 million are survivors and dependents, the data reveals.
A host of banking and other records made public on May 10 by House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) depict a complex money laundering scheme involving millions of dollars from foreign entities that investigators contend went to President Joe Biden and nearly a dozen members of his family.
In a 36-page memorandum summarizing findings to date of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, investigators described examining thousands of bank records and legal documents depicting nearly two dozen limited liability corporations (LLCs) established by Biden family members to receive payments from private clients, corporations and foreign governments, including China and Romania.
“Biden family members and business associates created a web of over 20 companies—most were limited liability companies formed during Joe Biden’s vice presidency,” the memorandum reads. “Bank records show the Biden family, their business associates, and their companies received over $10 million from foreign nationals’ companies. The Committee has identified payments to Biden family members from foreign companies while Joe Biden served as Vice President and after he left public office.
FBI Fails to Comply With GOP Subpoena for Document Showing Alleged Biden Bribery Scheme
The FBI has failed to comply with a House Oversight and Accountability Committee subpoena for a document that allegedly implicates President Joe Biden in a pay-to-play bribery scheme.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) issued the subpoena to FBI Director Christopher Wray on May 3 after a whistleblower disclosed the existence of the alleged incriminating document—an FD-1023 form, which is typically a report from an informant—to Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) office.
The FBI was given until noon on May 10 to turn over all FD-1023 forms created or modified in June 2020 that contain the word “Biden” to the committee.
However, according to Comer, the FBI declined to comply with the committee’s order.
“It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the committee,” Comer said in a statement. “We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record, but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both.
The former acting director of the CIA who drafted the infamous Hunter Biden laptop letter wanted to give Joe Biden’s campaign a “talking point” to use in a debate against then-President Donald Trump, according to emails released on May 10.
“Trying to give the campaign, particularly during the debate on Thursday, a talking point to push back on Trump on this issue,” Michael Morell, a former top official at the spy agency, wrote in one of the emails on Oct. 19, 2020.
Morell was writing to John Brennan, another former CIA director, to ask if Brennan would add his name to the letter.
“Add my name to the list. Good initiative. Thanks for asking me to sign on,” Brennan replied.
The letter, which was prepared after the New York Post published the first story on files from the computer once owned by Joe Biden’s son, stated that the files had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” Politico, which first reported on the letter, titled the article “Hunter Biden story is Russian disinfo, dozens of former intel officials say,” and Brennan was among the signatories to claim disinformation in public outside of the letter.
CNN Calls Tucker Carlson ‘Right-Wing Extremist’ After Former Host Announces New Show on Twitter
CNN called Tucker Carlson a “right-wing extremist” in a report about the former Fox News show host announcing Tuesday he would bring his show to Twitter to promote free speech.
The CNN report said: “Right-wing extremist Tucker Carlson announced Tuesday that he will relaunch his program on Twitter, which he praised as the only remaining large free-speech platform in the world after Fox News fired him late last month.”
Elon Musk Responds to Tucker Carlson Rumors
Twitter CEO Elon Musk on May 9 responded to claims that he came to a deal with Tucker Carlson as the former Fox News host released a viral video saying he’ll be bringing his top-rated show to Twitter.
According to Musk, Carlson will be subject to the same rules as every other user of the platform. And “anything misleading” will be addressed with the platform’s Community Notes feature, he said.
Musk wrote on Twitter in response to Carlson’s video: “I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules [and] rewards of all content creators.
“Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content. I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform.”
There were reports this week that Carlson spoke with Musk about a possible deal to bring his show to Twitter. In the video, Carlson didn’t address those claims, and he didn’t address rumors about his exit from Fox News two weeks ago.
“Starting soon, we’ll be bringing a new version of the show to Twitter,” Carlson said in the video uploaded on May 9.
Frank Gaffney Says Fox News ‘Willing to Pay Handsomely’ to Keep Tucker Carlson Off the Air
Fox News may be willing to keep paying Carlson millions of dollars to keep him under contract despite taking him off the air, at least according to foreign policy analyst and political commentator Frank Gaffney.
“It seems as though Tucker is still under some constraints from Fox, at least as best I can tell for the moment,” Gaffney told NTD News.
Gaffney said the end of the Carlson-Fox News relationship is most significant because his primetime show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was “arguably the most important platform that conservatives have had, certainly in the past few years. And it comes at a moment when that’s deeply injurious to the effort to wage the war of ideas.”
Gaffney, the executive chairman of the Washington D.C.-based Center for Security Policy, said he didn’t always agree with Carlson’s views, but “the fact that he brought that platform to bear and gave large numbers of thoughtful, informed individuals an opportunity to communicate far beyond the normal reaches of the conservative movement, losing that is a body blow.”
Trump Hijacks CNN, Steamrolls Kaitlan Collins in New Hampshire Townhall: ‘You Are a Nasty Person’
Former President Donald Trump steamrolled CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during Wednesday’s Townhall event in New Hampshire, dismissing her politically biased and outdated questions, effectively reducing her role as the moderator by speaking directly to the audience about the “gotcha” topics a visibly irritated Collins continually posed throughout the night.
The highly anticipated townhall event, teased by Trump, boded well for the former president, despite Collins’s attempt to begin the event with a series of contentious topics and arguably outdated leftist narratives — from the 2020 election results to January 6 to accusations in the E. Jean Carroll case. Notably, Trump received a standing ovation at his introduction.
ANALYSIS: How Trump Turned the Tables on Manhattan DA’s Indictment
‘He’s managed to turn a vulnerability into a strength and that’s something we’ve seen him do over and over again.’
Despite the recent indictment by New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former President Donald Trump has managed to turn it into a positive boost fueling his bid to return to the White House in 2024.
As previously reported by The Epoch Times, Bragg filed a 16-page indictment (pdf) of 34 felony charges and a 13-page statement of facts (pdf) against Trump on April 4 for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal damaging information regarding an alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels before and after the 2016 election.
Bragg is the first prosecutor in U.S. history to bring a criminal case against a current or former U.S. president.
From the outset, legal experts and members of the liberal media warned Bragg about pushing a vague charge for a crime that exceeded its statute of limitations. But Bragg went forward anyway.
Dennis Prager believes it’s all part of a plan.
“I would not rule out that this is part of the design by others who have influenced Alvin Bragg,” Prager told The Epoch Times. Yet he also conceded that Bragg “may have decided this completely on his own.”
“He may want to be a star on the left and be the one to bring down Donald Trump,” Prager proposed. “These people hate Donald Trump with a hatred we don’t find rational.”
RFK Jr. Responds to Speculation About Becoming Trump’s Vice President in 2024
Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. responded to speculation that he could become former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate in a statement issued on Wednesday.
While Kennedy has given interviews to Trump-friendly media outlets in recent days, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy tried to distance himself from Trump.
“Just to quell any speculation, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will I join Donald Trump on an electoral ticket. Our positions on certain fundamental issues, our approaches to governance, and our philosophies of leadership could not be further apart,” Kennedy, a prominent critic of childhood vaccines, wrote on Twitter.
He did not elaborate further on how he differs from Trump. But in a Twitter post on Wednesday, Kennedy alleged that the Trump administration sold weapons to Ukraine in 2017, but he also said that his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, also provided billions of dollars to the Ukrainian military “amidst a steady barrage of hostile actions toward Russia.”
New ‘Foreign Malign Influence Center’ To Oversee Disinformation Orgs
Within the federal government, offices dedicated to fighting foreign disinformation are springing up like daisies, from the Pentagon’s new Influence and Perception Management Office to at least four organizations inside the Department of Homeland Security alone, as well as ones inside the FBI and State Department.
To oversee the growing efforts — which arose in response to concerns about the impact of Russian meddling in the 2016 election but have now expanded — the director of national intelligence has created a new office.
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines for the first time mentioned the creation of the Foreign Malign Influence Center, or FMIC. “Congress put into law that we should establish a Foreign Malign Influence Center in the intelligence community; we have stood that up,” Haines said, referring to legislation passed last year. “It encompasses our election threat work, essentially looking at foreign influence and interference in elections, but it also deals with disinformation more generally.”
The FMIC was established on September 23 of last year after Congress approved funding, but its creation was announced publicly only after The Intercept’s inquiry. Because it is situated within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, it enjoys the unique authority to marshal support from all elements of the U.S. intelligence community to monitor and combat foreign influence efforts such as disinformation campaigns.
The FMIC is authorized to counter foreign disinformation targeting not just U.S. elections, but also “the public opinion within the United States” generally, according to the law.
George Santos Pleads Not Guilty To 13 Federal Charges
Republican New York Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges during a Wednesday court appearance.
Santos was charged earlier in the day with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, the Justice Department announced. He was released on a $500,000 bond and will make a second court appearance on June 30.
INVESTIGATION: Florida Activists Secretly Ship Free Sex-Change Kits to Children Around the Country
An Epoch Times investigation discovered a Florida activist group secretly sent hundreds of children transgender sex-change kits across the country.
The “Build-A-Queer” kits contain breast binders, condoms, fake male genitalia called “packers,” tape used to bind and hide male genitalia, and more.
Several of these items can potentially harm children, experts have told The Epoch Times. And some of the group’s actions appear to be illegal, at least according to the laws in some states, including Florida, attorneys said.
Until recently, the group’s giveaways included “Trans Self-Defense Kits” which contained weapons, including knives and tasers. The items were available to children and others who applied online, according to Cielo Sunsarae, director of the Florida group named Queer Trans Project (QTP).
The group’s website has had 90,000 website visits so far this year, Sunsarae told The Epoch Times. QTP’s TikTok account has an online following of 43,000.
“All of our items are for individuals of all ages,” Sunsarae wrote in a text to The Epoch Times. The group’s website posts no restrictions based on age or a requirement for parental consent.
So far, QTP has mailed 959 kits to recipients in every state except North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Montana, Sunsarae said. The group hopes to double that amount this year.
Most kit recipients are “youth,” said Sunsarae, a biological woman who identifies as a man.
2ND AMENDMENT
Trump on CNN: Focus on Mental Health, Hardening Schools, Not Restricting 2nd Amendment
During his Wednesday town hall on CNN, former President Donald Trump told moderator Kaitlan Collins that the U.S. needs a strong focus on mental health and hardening schools, not gun control.
Collins asked Trump if there were “any new gun restrictions” he would sign into law if he wins in 2024.
Trump responded, “I would do numerous things, for instance, schools, we would very much harden. And also … I believe in teachers. I love teachers. I think they’re incredible and they love the children, not quite like the parents, but in many cases, almost as much. Many of these teachers are soldiers, ex-soldiers, ex-policeman, they are people that really understand weapons.”
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Less Than 60 Percent of Baby Boomers Own Retirement Accounts
Millions of working-age Americans aged between 56 and 64 are edging closer to retirement without having savings stashed away.
Census data for 2020 shows that less than 60 percent (approximately 58.1 percent) of American “baby boomers”—generally defined as those born between 1946 to 1964—owned a retirement account three years ago, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic upended jobs and the global economy.
That means over two-fifths of baby boomers nearing retirement had no retirement savings stored in financial institutions.
The U.S. Census Bureau defined retirement accounts as 401(k), 403(b), 503(b), Thrift Savings Plans, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), Keogh accounts, and defined-benefit and cash balance plans.
The Census data also revealed that just 56.1 percent of “Generation X” members, or those aged between 40 and 55 had a retirement account in 2020, while roughly half of “millennials” ages 24 to 39 had one.
Meanwhile, just 7.7 percent of Americans who fall under the “Generation Z” category, meaning those aged 15 to 23, owned retirement accounts in 2020. However, given their ages, they also have more time to accumulate additional retirement savings.
A separate report (pdf) from the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies found a similar trend, noting that baby boomers have been “susceptible to employment risks, volatility in the financial markets, and increasing inflation—all of which could disrupt their retirement plans” in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IRS Data Confirms California Exodus, State Lost $29.1 Billion Tax Base
Recently released data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reveals the extent of migration out of California, with a significant number of people moving out between 2020–2021 and taking their billions of dollars in income with them.
Approximately 332,000 more taxpayers left the state than entered in the year following the onset of the pandemic, according to IRS data analyzing differences in zip codes on tax filings as compared to the prior year.
According to the data, the state lost $29.1 billion in taxable personal income in 2021 following a loss of $18 billion in 2020.
Businesses are leaving as well, and more are considering a move soon, according to a survey of CEOs conducted by Professor of Economics Jim Doti at Chapman University in collaboration with three University of California campuses: Irvine, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
“As many as 50 percent of CEOs are suggesting they’re planning to leave California,” he said in EpochTV’s Leaving California documentary, citing high taxes, regulations, and housing prices as the motivating factors.
He additionally said it’s not just about a loss of tax revenue.
“The greatest loss to a state is the loss of human capital, not just jobs or businesses,” Doti said. “If graduate students move to Texas and Florida, it will have a negative impact that is magnified because we’re losing our best and brightest.”
Anheuser-Busch Stock Downgraded as It Deals With ‘Bud Light Crisis’
Anheuser-Busch InBev was downgraded on Wednesday by an HSBC analyst who said the firm is now dealing with a “Bud Light crisis” after the company produced a can with the face of a transgender influencer last month, sparking widespread backlash.
Carlos Laboy, with the banking giant, downgraded the company’s stock to “hold,” saying there are “deeper problems than ABI admits” after the social media partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney was announced.
“Is ABI’s leadership getting the brand culture transformation right? It’s mixed,” Laboy wrote Wednesday to analysts, according to reports. “At Ambev, we think the answer is ‘yes’; in the U.S., we think it’s ‘no.’ The way this Bud Light crisis came about a month ago, management’s response to it and the loss of unprecedented volume and brand relevance raises many questions.”
Amid the controversy, Laboy also questioned the company’s management in his note. Last month, Anheuser-Busch confirmed that two executives would be departing the company, including one—Bud Light marketing vice president Alissa Heinerscheid—who gave an interview saying that the brand should ditch its “fratty” branding to become more “inclusive.”
“Why did its U.S. leadership underestimate the risk of pushback given the recent experience of other firms? Is A-B hiring the best people to grow the brands and gauge risk?” Laboy wrote. “If Budweiser and Bud Light are iconic American ideas that have long brought consumers together, why did these marketers fail to invite new consumers without alienating the core base of the firm’s largest brand?”
But Laboy noted that the company’s strength overseas is helping its stock.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
AI Here, AI There, AI Everywhere
Do you remember when drones were first released to the commercial market? There was a lot of talk about the privacy implications of them, and more than one case of where people were flying them over other peoples’ property, looking in peoples’ windows, and more of the like.
Now, drones are firmly entrenched in modern society and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. They’ve not only been incorporated into militaries throughout the world, but they’re now in search and rescue operations, used for photography, security, and more. During Covid, Baltimore PD even wanted to use them to enforce social distancing.
You probably don’t even think about it anymore.
Wendy’s Debuts Google-Powered Chatbot For Drive-Thru
Wendy’s is reportedly developing an artificial intelligence chatbot powered by Google’s natural-language software designed to automate drive-thrus.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with Wendy’s Chief Executive Todd Penegor, who said the fast-food chain’s chatbot would be rolled out in June at a company-owned restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
The Wendy’s drive-thru chatbot “will be very conversational,” Penegor explained. He said, “You won’t know you’re talking to anybody but an employee.”
Wendy’s software engineers have been working with Google to build a large language model to understand words, popular expressions, and phrases in various dialects and accents when a customer orders. It’ll understand acronyms unique to Wendy’s, like “JBC” for a junior bacon cheeseburger.
“Google Cloud’s generative AI technology creates a huge opportunity for us to deliver a truly differentiated, faster, and frictionless experience for our customers, and allows our employees to continue focusing on making great food and building relationships with fans that keep them coming back time and again,” Penegor said in a separate conversation about the chatbot while speaking with Gizmodo.
WSJ said the drive-thru chatbot is programmed to upsell customers by asking if they want to combo the order or increase sizes. Once the order is completed, humans operating the kitchen will (which will one day be replaced by robot chefs) prepare the food before being packaged up and stuffed into a bag for pickup at the window.
Wendy’s Chief Information Officer Kevin Vasconi told WSJ that the chatbot “is probably on average better” than the company’s top customer service reps. He said the chatbot’s goal is to improve service speed and consistency at drive-thrus. About 80% of all food orders are placed at the burger chain’s drive-thrus.
Besides Wendy’s, we have outlined the move by other fast-food restaurants, like McDonald’s, to automate stores and replace humans:
- McDonald’s To Replace More Humans With Drive-Thru AI
- McDonald’s Tests AI-Powered Automated Drive-Thrus At 10 Chicago Restaurants
There’s even been a push by McDonald’s to automate a restaurant entirely:
The proliferation of automation in the fast food industry will only mean a tidal wave of layoffs is coming over this decade. According to market research firm IBISWorld, the US has more than 5 million workers.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
Danger Within: The Government Is Turning America Into a Constitution-Free Zone
“There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”—James Madison
How far would you really go to secure the nation’s borders in the so-called name of national security?
Would you give the government limitless amounts of money? Surround the entire country with concrete walls and barbed wire? Erect a high-tech, virtual wall of AI-powered surveillance cameras and drones that does a better job of imprisoning those within its boundaries than keeping intruders out? Empower border police to trample on the rights of anyone who crosses their path, including legal citizens?
Relinquish some of your freedoms in exchange for the elusive promise of non-porous borders? Submit to a national ID card that allows the government to target individuals and groups as it chooses in order to identify those who do not “belong”? Turn a blind eye to private prisons and detainment camps that profit off the forced labor of its detainees?
Would you turn your backs on every constitutional principle for which our founders fought and died in exchange for empty campaign promises of elusive safety by fast-talking politicians?
This is the devil’s bargain that the U.S. government demands of its people.
These devilish deals have been foisted upon “we the people” before.
Every decade or so, the government makes the case for expanding its wartime powers and curtailing the citizenry’s freedom—in the war on terrorism, war on drugs, war on communism, war on foreigners, war on extremism, war on dissidents, war on peace activists, war on anti-government speech, etc.—all for the sake of national security, of course, and as expected, the American people fall in line.
Increasingly, the government wants us to buy into the fiction that its war on illegal immigrants is so necessary for national security that we should be grateful when roving bands of border patrol agents, flexing their muscles far beyond the nation’s borders, exercise their right to disregard the Constitution at every turn.
Except these border patrol cops aren’t just disregarding the Constitution.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
‘So Lucky to Be Alive:’ California Man Narrowly Escapes as His Tesla Catches Fire on Highway
A California man says he’s “so lucky to be alive at this moment” after his Tesla electric vehicle began shaking and subsequently caught fire during a highway drive over the weekend.
KCRA reports that a man in California feels lucky to be alive after narrowly avoiding a fiery death when his Tesla electric car started shaking and caught fire during a weekend drive.
Electric vehicle owner hit with $42,000 bill after minor fender bender: ‘Something doesn’t add up’
If you needed another reason to steer clear of electric vehicles, a recent social media post about the cost to repair one particular model might do the trick.
This story concerns the Rivian electric pickup truck, produced by a popular startup company whose customers have been known to wait up to three or four years for delivery of their new vehicle.
The Rivian R1T has a base price of $73,000.
In a recent Facebook post in a Rivian group, Chris Apfelstadt shared his experience with getting his EV repaired after a minor fender-bender.
“In early February, I was rear ended in my R1T,” he wrote in the April 29 post. “No airbags went off and the collision was at a relatively low speed.
“The other driver asked what kind of car I was driving, and my response was ‘the kind that is going to p*** off your insurance company!'”
He hastened to add that he had just been making a joke — or so he thought. “We both laughed, and I told her about the brand,” Apfelstadt said.
After finishing errands, Bishal Malla was driving home when he suddenly felt his Tesla shake. He decided to stop just before getting on Highway 99 south of Modesto, California, out of concern and to look into the matter. At first, he thought he had a flat tire, but to his surprise, he found something much more serious. “The moment that I opened the door, I saw smoke coming from the bottom,” Malla said. The car was soon fully engulfed in a battery fire, as has happened in other high profile incidents involving Elon Musk’s cars.
It’s currently unclear exactly how the fire started. The fire department battalion chief Robert Kasparian told KCRA 3 that fighting electric vehicle fires can be particularly difficult for firefighters. “The issue with the electric vehicles is access to the batteries,” Kasparian explained. “The batteries are what are causing the enormous amount of heat buildup.”
Since 2013, there have been 182 Tesla fire incidents worldwide, with 98 of them taking place in the United States, according to the website Tesla Fire, which is devoted to tracking Tesla vehicle fires.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
11 Best Vegetables for Chickens
Chickens are known for eating most anything, and if they are left on a patch of ground for too long, they will strip it bare. It’s easy to think, then, that they could get tired of processed feed. If you’re looking to spice up your chickens’ diets, look no further!
Below is a list of the top eleven vegetables that are not only healthy and nutritious for your chickens but taste amazing.
HEALTH
Plastic Is Everywhere Now, Including Your Brain
Discarded plastics make up 18.5% of landfills and 90% of all trash entering the world’s oceans. Estimates suggest that by 2050, our oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight. In some ocean waters, plastic already exceeded plankton by a factor of 6-to-1 in 2006
Recent animal research found plastic particles in mice’s brains just two hours after the animals ingested drinking water containing microplastics
Scientists suspect microplastic contamination in our brains may cause cognitive impairment, neurotoxicity and altered neurotransmitter levels, which can contribute to behavioral changes
Similarly, a Chinese study published in January 2022 concluded that inhaled plastic was associated with “obvious neurotoxicity”
The plastics industry sold consumers on the idea that plastic was recyclable and therefore sustainable even though they knew it was financially unfeasible. Consumers were also deceived by the addition of recycling codes on plastic products. The code makes it seem as though all plastic is recyclable, which isn’t true
Many soft contact lenses in US made up of PFAS, research suggests
Testing of 18 popular kinds of contact lenses found extremely high levels of organic fluorine, a marker of ‘forever chemicals’
Many soft contact lenses in the US are largely made up of compounds called fluoropolymers that are by definition PFAS “forever chemicals”, new research suggests.
Testing of 18 popular kinds of contact lenses found extremely high levels of organic fluorine, a marker of PFAS, in each.
“You could consider [the lenses] almost pure PFAS,” said Scott Belcher, a North Carolina State University researcher and scientific adviser on the contact lens testing.
PFAS are a class of about 14,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of consumer products resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and they are linked to cancer, fetal complications, liver disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disorders and other serious health issues.
FDA Approves Gene-Edited Pigs For Human Consumption
A sausage at Washington State University has made history.
WSU received U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization to have gene-edited pigs enter the food chain for human consumption — in this case, as tasty, German-style sausages.
“It’s important for a university to set the precedent by working with federal regulators to get these animals introduced into the food supply,” said Jon Oatley, a professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences in WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “If we don’t go through that process, all of the research we’re doing is for naught because it will never make it out into the public.”
Oatley uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR to improve genetic traits in livestock and is working toward an FDA approval for a line of gene-edited pigs. He undertook the investigational food use authorization process for five gene-edited pigs to demonstrate that food made from the animals is safe to eat and that it is possible for an academic institution to achieve this type of FDA authorization. Gene-editing can make changes in an organism’s DNA that could occur in nature or through selective breeding but would take much longer without a tool like CRISPR.
Jackfruit Packs a Walloping Amount of Nutrition
Good nutrition is foundational to optimal health and jackfruit may be one way to boost your nutrition in cooked foods, raw fruit and added to healthy desserts. One cup has protein, fat, fiber, magnesium, potassium and vitamin C
These nutrients and more provide jackfruit with antioxidant, anticancer and antiaging properties. The fiber content varies depending on the maturity of the fruit; immature fruit have a 2.6% fiber content, while ripe fruit fiber content has approximately 0.8%
Jackfruit has a low glycemic index and helps control high blood sugar. The high fiber content also helps lower the risk of colon cancer, as do high levels of phytonutrients that researchers believe may be one key to treating colon cancer and improving digestive health
Potassium in jackfruit helps balance the sodium-to-potassium ratio, which in turn helps normalize blood pressure and reduces the risk of stroke, heart failure and heart attack; the antioxidants, including vitamin C, help promote wound healing and healthy skin and hair
Jackfruit is a natural source of latex; people who have an allergy to birch, or a sensitivity or allergy to latex should avoid the fruit as they can experience a cross-reaction
COVID RELATED NEWS
Top U.S. “Non-Profit” Hospitals & CEOs Racked Up Huge Pandemic Profits
OpenTheBooks.com auditors investigated America’s healthcare system and found so-called “non-profit” hospitals and their CEOs are getting richer while the American people are getting sicker and poorer.
CANCEL CULTURE
Record Complaints over Netflix Star Calling Royal Family ‘Terribly White’
British broadcaster ITV received a record number of Ofcom complaints in response to Queen Charlotte branding the Royal Family’s appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as “terribly white”.
Adjoa Andoh’s appearance on ITV’s coverage of King Charles III’s Coronation on Saturday during which she described the moment the Royal Family waved to thousands of citizens from the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the first time following the crowing of the King as being “terribly white” received 4,165 complaints from the public.
PET NEWS
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show concluded this year with Buddy Holly the Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen taking home the Best in Show top prize, the first of his breed.
Buddy Holly won the coveted prize after he had claimed the “hound group” and reportedly “charmed judges with his confidence and calm demeanor,” according to CNN.
GOOD NEWS
Man Builds His Dream Home out of 2 Retired Jets for $250,000—Here Is How It Looks
A man who worked in the software development industry for 20 years made his dream a reality by buying a plot of land at an airport and building his ideal home from two retired jet planes. The $250,000 project has taken a decade of perseverance and a firm belief that the fun is in the journey, not the destination.
Captain Joe Axline, 61, lives in Brookshire, Texas. At the age of 50, he got divorced and with few precious possessions but a buoyant savings account to facilitate his dream, he knew the time was right.
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