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This year, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower runs April 19th to May 28th, peaking May 5th just before morning twilight. The Eta Aquarids are visible all across the globe but are more pronounced in the Southern Hemisphere sky. It is there that the Eta Aquarids can produce up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour. In the mid-northern latitudes, the count is closer to 10 meteors per hour. There is an opportunity to see a few meteors late evening (post-sunset on May 4th) as this is when “earthgrazers” are best seen. Earthgrazers tend to be fewer in quantity but are...

U.S. officials believe China covered up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak — and how contagious the disease is — to stock up on medical supplies needed to respond to it, intelligence documents show. Chinese leaders “intentionally concealed the severity” of the pandemic from the world in early January, according to a four-page Department of Homeland Security intelligence report dated May 1 and obtained by The Associated Press. The revelation comes as the Trump administration has intensified its criticism of China, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying Sunday that that country was responsible for the spread of disease and...

As a result of the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent economic ramifications, the food agency found an additional 130 million people could be on the brink of starvation by the end of the year. The working poor would be hit the hardest as a result of the decline in tourism and exports, collapse of oil prices and any declines to foreign aid. The resulting death toll could outpace that of the coronavirus with 300,000 people dying due to starvation every day over a three-month period, the agency reported.

Deputies responded to the scene of the shooting near Stoddard Wells Off-Highway Vehicle area near Barstow, about 1:17 a.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. They found a 48-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the upper body, who was flown to a hospital by helicopter for medical treatment. Ismael Tamayo, a 44-year-old LAPD officer and Ontario resident, has since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to sheriff’s officials and county booking records. Sheriff’s officials previously described the suspect as Ishmail Tamayo. The circumstances that led to the shooting are still under investigation, sheriff’s officials said....

About 25 years ago, the Government Naming Committee for State of Israel renamed a large mound on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, which in the past had been known by the name et-Tell, as Bethsaida. The following is why they did so... Still, to solve the problem of the location of Bethsaida, scholars in the 19th century suggested there might be two Bethsaidas: They identified the one mentioned by Josephus with et-Tell and suggested a second Bethsaida existed at some still unidentified location in the Galilee. For the second Bethsaida, Robinson suggested the site of Tabgha, which...

When to claim Social Security is arguably the most important decision you will make regarding the benefits program, which begs the question: Is the most popular age to claim Social Security the best option for you?While popularity shouldn’t matter when it comes to claiming your benefits, it does give a little insight into what others are doing so we can explore some reasons they might choose a particular age to claim Social Security.Many factors go into determining your monthly benefits, and the age you claim will most likely have the greatest impact on how much Social Security income you...

We’ve watched the way colleague Tom Dyson takes the time to reply to reader mail in his Postcards From the Fringe e-letter, calmly answering objections… helpfully providing more details, as requested.Readers seem to appreciate it. Indeed, they prefer it to our unrelenting sarcasm and mockery.So, we’re going to do the same. That is, we’re going to take the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism… and respond forthrightly and constructively.And today, we begin with the most recent kvetch. When it comes to the coronavirus, many readers don’t think we know what we’re talking about.And of course, they’re right. All we know...

Who might be in consideration to become the new nominee — and who would be selected as the vice presidential running mate? Several likely combinations come to mind, starting in many minds with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but one particular, truly out-of-the-box combination stops the discussion in its tracks: Hillary Clinton as the nominee and Barack Obama as her running mate.Now, before everyone rolls their eyes, let that sink in for a moment and do some fairly simple calculations about voters and swing states in your heads. No matter how you add it, subtract it or divide it, that math would spell trouble for...

May 04 2020 Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18 The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, saying, ‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying, “I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its...

The big question now for Biden and Reade is whether the public is satisfied with his denial. Or whether these lingering questions demand a deeper look. The New York Times editorial board is very much in the latter camp. They wrote over the weekend of Biden's denial: "This is a start, but it does not go far enough. Any serious inquiry must include the trove of records from Mr. Biden's Senate career that he donated to the University of Delaware in 2012." Biden has insisted those records have no personnel files and are therefore irrelevant. Does the public agree? Has...

St. Louis County had urged the community to share details of anyone not following guidelines in response to the coronavirus pandemic in March After more than 900 submitted tips, 29 businesses were reprimanded Many tipsters reported their own jobs for not following social distancing rules 'I'm worried about someone showing up at my door, showing up at my workplace or me getting fired for doing what is right,' a tipster said Jared Totsch shared the file of complaint emails in a Facebook group and said: 'I released the info in an attempt to discourage such behavior in the future'

A potential treatment for Covid-19 using plasma from recovered patients is to be trialled by doctors at London's Guy's and St Thomas' hospital.The first donations of the plasma have been collected and transfusions will begin in "the coming weeks", the hospital's Biomedical Research Centre said in a statement. It is hoped the potential treatment, known as convalescent plasma, will help patients whose bodies are not producing sufficient antibodies to fight the virus.The hospital says if the trials prove the treatment to be effective, NHS Blood and Transplant will begin a national programme to deliver up to 10,000 units of convalescent...

iPhone and iPad users (Apple) and Android users (Google) are now blocked from using the GunBroker app on smart phones and pads to bid on or buy firearms, and the two tech giants have removed the GunBroker app from their stores. GunBroker discussed this sudden change in the link from 4/27/20 and updated 5/3/20. Both Apple and Google made the anti-gun restriction by saying GunBroker violated their guidelines, specifically, by "facilitating the sale or purchase of firearms." The apps can apparently still be used, for now, to search for and review items for sale, and perhaps also to post items...

Hypocrite New York Times writer Taylor Lorenz wants to shut down other people’s jobs, but not her own. Taylor Lorenz is a writer for the New York Times.On May 2, 2020, she made the following tweet, but deleted it soon afterward, because she could not handle the fact that other people disagreed with her. Fortunately, the Internet Archive saved a copy of her tweet before she deleted it.This is the original link to her (deleted) tweet: https://twitter.com/taylorlorenz/status/1256761280150593537And this is the link to the archived version of her tweet: https://web.archive.org/web/20200503014927/https:/twitter.com/taylorlorenz/status/1256761280150593537This is the text of her tweet:The “open up the economy” people are...

ROUND 2 of the greatest hits of the '50s begins! Due date: Sunday, May 10 @6:00 pm (Eastern) This Round takes the top 6 songs of each year of the '50s per BILLBOARD, along with the best 4 #7s as voted in Round 1, and pairs them in play-off brackets. Round 1: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3838848/posts

As fascism is actually happening in parts of the country, “antifa” is nowhere to be seen, presumably holed away in their parents’ basements, anxiously waiting for the day they can bravely protest a conservative speaking at a college campus

There is an outcry over a video of an NYPD officer taking down a bystander who was watching officers make an arrest for an apparent social distancing violation this weekend. The incident was reported Saturday evening around 5:30 on 9th Street and Avenue D in the East Village. As a couple was being arrested, video shows one of the officers break away from that arrest to walk up to a bystander with his taser drawn -- swearing and telling him to move back. Video showed the plainclothes officer, who was not wearing a protective face mask, slapping 33-year-old Donni Wright...

The protest on Friday in Sacramento urging California’s governor to reopen the state resembled the rallies that have appeared elsewhere in the country, with crowds flocking to the State Capitol, pressing leaders to undo restrictions on businesses and daily life.

This is heartbreaking! "@GovernorVA my son is special needs and lives in a residential facility. We have not seen him in two months due to this hoax. Your order now goes to June 10th, another month without seeing him. He asks us everyday if he did something wrong. Can you answer this?" Remember when the left accused Trump of separating children from their families? Apparently, it doesn't count when the Left does it. Her son's name is Caden Bray. If you're on Twitter, please use the hashtag #CadenBray whenever you have extra space to do so. If you could give...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...