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Leave it to a company that collects more than 150 million plate reads per month to bring public surveillance to our front door. Rekor Systems “Open ALPR program” will allow homeowners to turn their video doorbells into license plate readers. A Rekor Systems press release revealed their plans to turn 22 million smart homes into neighborhood license plate reader networks. “Research firm Berg Insight reports that 63 million American homes will qualify as “smart” by as early as 2022. With the launch of our downloadable and cloud-based products, anyone can access affordable license plate reading in minutes — as well...

The CEO of a company behind the app that failed Monday night as it was being used to report results in the Iowa Democratic Caucuses says his team feels "terrible" for contributing to the chaos. As officials in Iowa continued recording caucus results Wednesday morning, Shadow, Inc., CEO Gerard Niemira told Bloomberg News that he was "really disappointed" in the app's performance on Monday night. “I’m really disappointed that some of our technology created an issue that made the caucus difficult,” he said, adding: "We feel really terrible about that.” “The app was sound and good,” he continued. “All the...

Cambridge University Students' Union has said that having military personnel at their freshers' fair is 'alarming' for attendees and could 'affect' their mental health. Students voted in favour of banning societies from bringing firearms to the annual fairs after union welfare and rights officer Stella Swain suggested those with mental health issues could find their presence 'triggering'. The motion said that the presence of military personnel carrying firearms at the fair indicate 'implicit approval of their use, despite the links between military and firearms and violence on an international scale'.

Americans want health care to be less expensive. We also want our health care to be the most innovative in the world. The key to simultaneously achieving both of these goals is good public policy. Back in September, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) introduced H.R. 3, also known as the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019, into the House of Representatives with 105 co-sponsors, all Democrats. The House is set to vote on the bill this week. H.R. 3 would adopt international reference pricing for the Medicare program in an effort to lower drug costs....

WASHINGTON — The Republican-led U.S. Senate is expected to acquit President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the end of his impeachment trial on charges that he abused his power in dealings with Ukraine and obstructed efforts to uncover the alleged misconduct. Here is a summary of the reasons that Trump's Republicans, who control 53 seats in the 100-seat chamber, say he should not be removed from office: * Trump did nothing wrong * Trump's actions were wrong, but not impeachable * Removal of Trump would upset voters * Not enough evidence * Let the voters decide

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, one of the first questions that comes to mind may be, "What is stage 4 lung cancer life expectancy?" While cancers that are stage 4 have the reputation of being "bad," you may wonder what this really means. Those who suddenly learn they have stage 4 lung cancer are not alone. Roughly 40 percent of people with lung cancer are diagnosed when their cancer is already stage 4, which means that the cancer has metastasized (spread) throughout the body.1 For example, tumors may be present in...

National Public Radio (NPR) continues to reinforce the years-old case for why its taxpayer-funding should be pulled by hiring a partisan to head up the entire organization. The new president and CEO of NPR, John Lansing, contributed $500 each to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Aug. 17, 2019, and Kentucky challenger for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY), senate seat Amy McGrath (D) Aug. 15, 2019, according to Federal Election Commission records. The records suggest he made his contributions just less than a month before NPR announced his appointment to head up the government-funded news organization Sept. 5, raising questions about conflicts of...

Cases of syphilis in Britain are at their highest since the Second World War, a report has revealed. Figures show there were more than 7,000 cases of syphilis in 2018, the worst figure since 1945 when almost 20,000 people were diagnosed. Overall, there were nearly half a million cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2018, a rise of five per cent from the previous year. That means one person is being diagnosed with an STI every 70 seconds.

Screen adaptations of Jane Austen novels come in myriad forms, Emma more than most. Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Beckinsale and Romola Garai have all played Austen's least lovable heroine, a meddling matchmaker who in her creator's words 'had lived nearly 21 years in the world with very little to distress or vex her'. The rest of us can sometimes get both distressed and vexed by the sheer number of Austen adaptations. Back in the days when BBC seemed to stand for Bosoms, Bonnets and Carriages, hardly a year went by without another one rolling up, in a coach and four. Maybe...

There is no doubt that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is now the leading Democratic presidential candidate. That's not because his ideas are overwhelmingly popular -- a majority of Americans approve of capitalism, while less than 1 in 5 like socialism; few Americans are on board with total nationalization of health care, even if many like the idea of universal health care; most Americans do not approve of Sanders' anti-American ideology with regard to foreign policy. But nobody in the Democratic Party can stop Bernie. There's a reason for this: The Democratic Party has fed off the energy of Sanders' ideology...

From the moment President Trump confidently strode through the House chamber on the eve of his Senate impeachment acquittal and after an Iowa caucuses debacle for Democrats, it was clear this State of the Union address would be one for the history books. It did not disappoint. The president Tuesday night confronted his House Democratic accusers by never acknowledging that he’d ever been accused at all, let alone compared for weeks to a king and dictator by the impeachment managers. He delivered a self-congratulatory and triumphant address, promising to continue the priorities he credits for leading the “great American comeback,”...

President Trump went on the offensive against socialism and left-wing policies during a defiant third State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night — drawing groans from Democrats in attendance and prompting a furious House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to rip up her copy of Trump’s speech as soon as it concluded in a stunning scene. Pelosi mumbling and sneering smiles throughout President Trump’s powerful address were bad enough, but her decision to tear into shreds her copy of Trump’s speech and drop it like a dead fish was shameful beyond measure. Throughout the evening, Pelosi was seen fidgeting,...

We've had a request for another Red Sovine tune, and have selected I Wanted You For A Lifetime (1949). THE WESTERNER https://thewesterner.blogspot.com/

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio has stepped down from his position as the longtime coach of the Spartans program. Dantonio made the surprising announcement on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before National Signing Day takes over the college football world and just two weeks after receiving a longevity bonus from the university. Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel will serve as the team's interim coach. The decision to step down comes at an interesting time. Dantonio is the subject of a lawsuit filed against the school by former Spartans staffer Curtis Blackwell, who is seeking more than $5...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Music in The Bible) Psalm 108 Psalm 108[a] A song. A psalm of David. 1 My heart, O God, is steadfast;     I will sing and make music with all my soul. 2 Awake, harp and lyre!     I will awaken the dawn. 3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;     I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;     your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;     let your glory be over all the earth. 6 Save us and help us with your right...

San Fran Nan is in full-fledged dementia now. – Honestly, how else do we explain this octogenarian sitting behind the President of the United States of America, making weird faces and otherwise behaving like a teenage mean girl in the high school cafeteria throughout the speech? And then, to top her wretched performance off, throwing a tantrum and tearing up the copy of the speech the President had handed her at the end? But then again, Pelosi is just an exemplar of her entire caucus, especially all those ridiculous Democrat women in their idiotic white suits. How does any group...

Shadow, a branch of the glossy digital strategy startup, was a mess from the start. _____________________________________________________________________ Acronym, as the groupÂ’s founder and CEO Tara McGowan has told seemingly any reporter who would listen in the last year, was supposed to shake up Democratic politics. Faced with Republican opponents that now actually know how to campaign on social media, the non-profit digital strategy organization intended to offer an effective Democratic countermeasure, guided by digitally savvy hands of the Obama 2012 and Clinton 2016 campaigns. After the disastrous Iowa Caucus on Monday, itÂ’s hard to imagine that anyone is buying this story...

Penguin Random House and Barnes & Noble collaborated to redesign the covers of twelve classic young adult novels with 'Diverse Editions' to display during Black History Month, which is recognized in February. But as the books were debuted on Monday, the public's response wasn't positive. Many suggested that it would have been more proactive to promote books written by authors from diverse backgrounds. Social media was abuzz with readers voicing their concerns over the way two of the literary community's largest entities chose to approach diversity. The books that were given new covers featuring characters of color were Alice in...

President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of the Union, touting the burgeoning U.S. economy in a key moment just months away from the November election. “Three years ago, we launched the great American comeback. tonight, I stand before you to share the incredible results,” Trump said. “In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny” and the United States is “moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back,” he added. Trump, speaking to both the...

Left-wing Hollywood celebrities mocked President Donald Trump and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh during the State of the Union address, using social media to hurl insults and even to make fun of Limbaugh’s recent lung cancer diagnosis. Stars including Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Wanda Sykes, and Adam Goldberg spent Tuesday evening glued to their Twitter accounts, making snide remarks as President Trump presented his annual report on the state of the nation to a joint session of Congress.