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snip... Like many animals with unusual color schemes, black squirrels are the result of a genetic detour. Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge University, and the Virginia Museum of Natural History collaborated on a project that tested squirrel DNA. Their findings, which were published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, demonstrated that the black squirrel is the product of interspecies breeding between the common gray squirrel and the fox squirrel. The black squirrel is actually a gray squirrel with a faulty pigment gene carried over from the fox squirrel that turns their fur a darker shade. (Some fox squirrels, which are usually...

U.S.—Stunned meteorologists reported Wednesday that the sea level has risen an astonishing 300 feet overnight, as the sweat from celebrities trying to cover up their sexual harassment scandals rained down “in buckets.” Vast swathes of the United States are now entirely underwater, including major coastal cities and regions, as the investigations into various celebrities and TV personalities continue. “This is a worldwide disaster,” one NBC News anchor (not Matt Lauer) said. “We saw an uptick when Harvey Weinstein’s deviant behavior came to light, but when it became clear the revelations wouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon, celebrities and otherwise powerful...

You already read the headline, but that’s not even the worst part. Yes, Austin City Council is spending a record-high $62.7 million this year to try and solve homelessness, equivalent to giving roughly $28,000 to each homeless person in the city. But the more startling fact is that Austin officials are leading the city down the same dangerous path San Francisco has already journeyed—a path Austinites should be wary not to travel. Before peering down the road toward Austin’s future, let’s look around for a moment at the crisis happening right now in Texas’ capital city. The homeless population is...

Following the deadly shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas that killed 22 people a few weeks ago, Hispanics in the city have flocked to the gun range to take concealed carry classes, Reuters reported. The course is required for Texas residents to obtain a License to Carry (LTC) a concealed firearm. According to Michael McIntyre, general manager of Gun Central, one of the biggest gun stores in El Paso, his classes have see a huge increase since the shooting earlier this month. Normally each of his concealed carry classes have seven people. Now they average 50 people per...

Dr. Cyril Wecht joined Kennedy on FOX Business Network on Wednesday night to discuss Jeffrey autopsy results. Dr. Wecht, who is a doctor and lawyer, told Kennedy a Montreal study found only 2 of 239 hanging death resulted in a broken Hyoid bone — or less than 1% of those killed. Top US inmate and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein suffered broken bones in his neck and a broken Hyoid bone that is more common in strangulation deaths. Wecht added that every prisoner in the MCC on his floor should be questioned about his death. On Thursday Dr. Mark Siegel told...

FULL TITLE: Trump admin argues transgender workers aren't protected by civil rights law in new Supreme Court filing The Trump administration on Friday filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that federal civil rights laws do not protect transgender workers. The filing relates to the case of Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was fired as the funeral director of R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. in Detroit after she told owner Thomas Rost that she planned to transition from male to female and would be representing herself as a woman while at work. In March 2018, the...

House Democrats are reportedly considering retaliatory moves against two top American and Israeli diplomats in response to Israel’s decision to block Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib from entering the country. Senior Democratic members of Congress are considering legislative action against Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, and David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, according to McClatchy. According to the report, the Democrats are discussing a possible vote on a statement of no confidence in Dermer, as well as the opening up of an inspector general investigation into Friedman. Meanwhile, Tlaib’s 90-year-old grandmother, Muftia Tlaib, who...

I'm not clear on this whole grandmother thing with Tlaib. How is "Muftia Tlaib" Rashida's grandmother when Tlaib is her married name? Rashida Tlaib's maiden name was Harbi. Is this a Muslim thing or is she just another fraud?

Trying to figure out the state of the Democratic presidential race? Get in line. Public opinion surveys have varied by the day, particularly in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, where some candidates can point to individual polls to argue they are building momentum. Former Vice President Joe Biden has held a relatively steady lead in national polls, though an Economist-YouGov poll this week found him holding just a 1 point lead over Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). A poll from The Hill-HarrisX found Biden with a healthier 15 point lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who stood...

Portland, Oregon — The serenity of downtown Portland will be tested yet again on Saturday afternoon. Stores began closing Friday night ahead of dueling protests between groups of right-wing extremists and anti-fascist demonstrators. Several extremist groups are expected to show up, but no one has applied for any type of permit. Police learned about the protest from monitoring social media, and from what they read, there is concern for possible violence.

President Trump said Saturday that he was watching "very closely" as Portland, Ore., braces for dueling far-right and antifa protests planned for this weekend. In a tweet, the president wrote that he was still considering declaring antifa, an anti-fascism group, a terrorist organization. "Major consideration is being given to naming ANTIFA an “ORGANIZATION OF TERROR.” Portland is being watched very closely. Hopefully the Mayor will be able to properly do his job!" Trump tweeted. Trump's tweet came as Portland leaders plan a major law enforcement presence ahead of dueling demonstrations expected to take place Saturday. City officials said all of...

What Happened to Jeremy ("Linsanity") Lin?I’m a big fan of Christian athletes. I root for them. I want them to succeed. I want to see better role models in the culture. We can sure use them these days. I’ve always rooted for Tim Tebow, and through all of his trials, tribulations, and injuries, I still believe we haven’t heard the last from him. Which brings me to Jeremy Lin, the basketball player. Basketball was my favorite sport growing up, and I logged thousands of hours. You had to peel me off the court to get me to quit. Jeremy Lin...

In November of 2016, the sharp-eyed Gaia spacecraft spied a supernova that exploded some billion light-years from Earth. Astronomers followed up with more telescopes, and quickly realized that this supernova – dubbed SN2016iet – was an odd one in many ways. For one, the star that caused the supernova seemed to orbit far in the hinterlands of its tiny, previously unknown dwarf galaxy, some 54,000 light-years from its center. Most massive stars are born in denser clusters of stars, and it’s a puzzle how this one came to form so far out. And this star was extremely massive, starting life...

The Senate Finance Committee is probing the Obama administration’s 2015 decision to approve the sale of a U.S. company with insight into “military applications” to the Chinese government and an investment firm run by former Vice President Joe Biden’s youngest son, Hunter Biden. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the committee’s chairman, sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Thursday requesting documents relating to the sale of Henniges, a Michigan-based automotive company, to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and Bohai Harvest RST (BHR). The latter was formed in 2013 by a merger between a subsidiary of the Bank...

Today's Quotefall Puzzle features a quote by George Washington Carver. Click puzzle (or click here) for full size rendition, then use your browser's print command to print puzzle. George Washington Carver was an agriculturist and a leader of the post-Reconstruction movement. Although known for his contribution to the development of peanut butter, Carver's research into agriculture formed the basis of much of the techniques incorporated by modern farms. All hints, along with the answer, are provided in the first reply comment below, using filtered font to prevent accidental spoilers. Please refrain from disclosing the full answer in comments to prevent spoilers.To solve...

Twitter thread on it. Says that 98% of straight men won't date men (fake women who call themselves 'transgenders') and that's somehow a problem. Thought it'd make a good story for the journalists here.

You'd think someone as savvy as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would want to distance herself from the failed stunt of two of her squad members, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The pair of them were up to no good in their announced trip to Israel. Far from going there for the reasons normal people go, they wanted to hang out with terrorist-sympathizers and promote an anti-Israel boycott-divest-sanction campaign. The political nature of the trip was exposed by their refusal to go on a pro-offered bipartisan trip to the country, their acceptance of a different trip hosted by terrorist-linked sponsors,...

Chinese riot police have been seen training with terrifying giant fork devices aimed at controlling rioters by pinning them to the ground. It is believed that some of the crowd control devices are capable of emitting electric shocks in a bid to neutralise any perceived threat. The 8ft poles with U-shaped prongs on the top are being used by both police and armed forces in practice drills as they prepare to enter Hong Kong.

ICE is blasting the Mecklenburg County Sheriff for releasing a rape suspect in Charlotte. ICE re-arrested the suspect In August 2019 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Oscar Pacheco-Leonardo, 33, in Charlotte, NC. Oscar is a Honduran national, and illegally present in the United States. Oscar is accused of raping a child. Oscar was originally arrested by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for First Degree Rape and two counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child on June 14, 2019. ICE issued a detainer June 15 on Oscar, but the detainer was not honored by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden,...

<p>New York City police say they’ve apprehended a man suspected of placing two devices that looked like pressure cookers in a subway station.</p> <p>Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea tweeted Saturday morning that a man seen holding one of the rice cookers in surveillance video was taken into custody.</p>