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California Highway Patrol responded early Thursday to a car on fire, but this was no typical vehicle blaze. When officers arrived around 5:30 a.m. at the scene, on eastbound Interstate 80 near Farad, they found a man who had started a fire on the hood of his car. Allen Ray Houck, 32, of Rio Linda, told officers there were bears in the area and that he’d set the fire in order to scare them away, authorities said. “He was just talking about bears. Bears, bears bears,” said Officer Carlos Perez. “(Officers) noticed objective signs of intoxication. Eventually he was placed...

People with diabetes account for a staggering 40 percent of those who have died from COVID-19 in the US, according to the American Diabetes Association ... the risk of hospitalization and death related to COVID being six to 12 times higher for people with diabetes ... Alarmingly, the ADA has also said that cases of type 2 diabetes have almost doubled in children since the pandemic.

Antivirus pioneer and tech outlaw John McAfee blew his $100 million fortune on 'bizarre' mansions and really was broke when he died in a Spanish prison, according to an author who collaborated with him. Soon before his death on June 23, McAfee claimed in a tweet that he had no hidden cash and was worth 'nothing' -- though he had ample reason to conceal his wealth, with the US government seeking to seize his assets on charges of tax evasion. In addition to the feds, the question of McAfee's estate is also of interest to his family, including his widow...

Portland Police – what’s left of them – report that eight people were shot overnight in a mass shooting in downtown Portland. Portland Police reported that one of the victims had life-threatening injuries. No one died in the shooting. No arrests have been made. The latest incident is just another example of the “skyrocketing” number of shootings seen by the anti-police city. The latest shooting took place near where months of riots have taken place in 2020 and 2021.

Toyota tops many automotive lists. Even if one of the brand’s vehicles doesn’t take the number-one spot, the Japanese automaker often boasts the most well-reviewed vehicles. And now, Toyota has done it again, this time by beating General Motors in U.S. sales.

The abject failure of Califonia’s energy policies is becoming more apparent every day. The Golden State has taken the lead in shutting down reliable coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants and jumping feet first into a grid powered largely by unreliable wind and solar. California is also seeking to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles in the state by 2035, even though this would require Californians to be even more reliant upon an unreliable power grid. An overreliance on wind and solar has resulted in a grid that is so unreliable that the California grid operator,...

Researchers have identified a high-level presence of antibiotic resistance genes in urban surface water samples in Bangladesh and made an urgent call for immediate measures to halt the spread of the "superbugs." “The rivers and lakes of Dhaka are surrounded by highly-populated slums in which human waste is directly released into the water. The presence of human gut bacteria links to high levels of antibiotic resistance genes, suggesting that such contamination is driving the presence of these ‘superbugs’ in surface water,” a University of Birmingham statement issued on Friday quoted the research paper’s lead author Willem van Schaik as saying....

Twelve quick thoughts on Pope Francis dropping his long-expected bomb on the traditional latin Mass 1) In his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis says St. John Paul II’s indults were only meant to heal the breach with Archbishop Lefebvre, not to have the traditional latin Mass as a continuing reality in the Church (my paraphrase). He quotes Pope Benedict XVI on “allowing” the TLM, which seems to buttress the point of traditionalist writer Peter Kwasnieski’s criticism of even Benedict’s outreach in Summorum Pontificum.2) He calls the Novus Ordo “one of the key measures” of Vatican II. The Novus...

Always Woka-Cola: It’s the Real Thing (video)

Eric Greitens was last among major Republican candidates for Senate in second quarter fundraising, underscoring fears that the disgraced former governor will make Democrats competitive for the seat if he secures the nomination. Greitens’ campaign brought in about $449,000, well behind Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the fundraising frontrunner with $1.3 million. The latest campaign finance filing shows that major Missouri Republican donors continue to view him as toxic after he resigned in 2018 amid multiple scandals, including allegations of violent sexual abuse and blackmail.

Sajid Javid, the top government official tasked with leading the United Kingdom's coronavirus response, announced Saturday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated. In a video posted to Twitter, the health secretary said he learned of his results from a rapid lateral flow test, generally used for people without coronavirus symptoms, and was awaiting a more accurate PCR test as he isolates at home

Democrats have been claiming that GOP voting bills are the biggest threat to democracy since the Civil War. But in the meantime, the Dems are staging a civil war of their own, and the target is, increasingly . . . Joe Biden! On Tiffany Cross's MSNBC show this morning, a cadre of black liberals tore into Biden, calling him "failing, delusional, and hypocritical" in regard to his efforts to pass federal voting-rights laws and undo the filibuster. At the end, Cross, inevitably, accused fellow Dems, seemingly including Joe Manchin and even Biden, of racism. She said, "Black folks are disproportionately...

French businesses that do not check people for vaccine passports, the so-called “health pass”, could face fines of up to €45,000 and a year in prison under a proposed new French law. President Emmanuel Macron announced the draft law on Monday, extending the health pass requirement to various businesses, including restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, trains, and air travel, from August. Under the new bill, business owners who do not check for a valid health pass could face a fine of up to €45,000 (£38,487/$53,1000) as well as a possible prison sentence of a year, French newspaper Le Figaro reports. Touted...

The set of six bills allows registered voters to request an absentee ballot by letter or email instead of a signed application. Another bill will allow federal write-in ballots, military ballots, special presidential ballots and federal ballots to be postmarked up to Election Day for them to be counted in an election.

WASHINGTON — Three Texas House Democrats have tested positive for COVID-19 from Washington, D.C., according to Texas House Democratic Caucus leadership. They're among nearly 60 lawmakers who fled the state Monday to break quorum in the House, part of an effort to block the passage of a GOP-led elections bill. Most members are staying in the same hotel. One member found out about their positive test result late Friday evening, but they do not have symptoms, caucus officials said. All House lawmakers were alerted and received a rapid test immediately following the member's positive result. Two additional members tested positive...

READER REACTION: “My first inclination is, ‘Really? On the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel?'”From a reader…A couple of thoughts on this great Feast of Our Lady (sigh) …..My first inclination is, “Really?” On the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel? It seems so disrespectful to co-opt her Feast day in this way…….. Yet, I find a certain comfort in it; it’s as if Our Lady has intercepted this document, and is telling us, ‘Don’t worry; I’ll handle this one myself.’Second thought: Mt. Carmel is at the tip of St. Michael’s Sword; is this action a tipping point?...

China Wants a Chip Machine From the Dutch. The U.S. Said No. Biden administration, continuing a Trump policy, seeks to stop ASML from selling China machines crucial to advanced microprocessors. https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-wants-a-chip-machine-from-the-dutch-the-u-s-said-no-11626514513 .

Why is this just happening now? Arizona AG Mark Brnovich’s office has asked Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for potential evidence of illegal voting according to a new report. AZ State Senator Kelly Townsend tweeted it out: From AZ Central: Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office has asked Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for potential evidence of illegal voting — a move that counters her request that he investigate a pressure campaign by former President Donald Trump’s allies to “stop the counting” last year. The attorney general’s email response pointedly notes that Hobbs, a Democrat, hasn’t submitted referrals for double...

Pope Francis, 84, reimposed restrictions today on celebrating the old Latin Mass Pope Benedict XVI had originally relaxed the traditional rules in 2007 Bishops must now approve celebrations of the old Mass, while newly ordained priests have to receive express permission from senior clergymen and Vatican Traditionalist Catholics immediately decried the move as an attack on them Pope Francis cracked down Friday on the spread of the old Latin Mass, reversing one of Pope Benedict XVI's signature decisions in a major challenge to traditionalist Catholics who immediately decried it as an attack on them and the ancient liturgy. Francis, 84,...

Scholar calls the new motu proprio's shocking provisions 'legally shaky' VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis abrogated Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's historic decree on the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) Friday morning, sending seismic shock waves across the Catholic Church. Modernists have protested ad orientem worship"Previous norms, instructions, permissions and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present motu proprio are abrogated," Francis declared in his motu proprio euphemistically titled Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of the Tradition).The new decree, subtitled "On the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970," severely restricts Summorum Pontificum (SP) —...