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I am a professor who just had a prestigious public science lecture at MIT cancelled because of an outrage mob on Twitter. My crime? Arguing for academic evaluations based on academic merit. This is the story of how a cancellation is carried out, why it should worry all of us, and what we can do to stop this dangerous trend. I have been a professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago for the past 10 years. I work on topics ranging from climate change to the possibility of life on extrasolar planets using mathematics,...

Arihant is the most important platform within India’s nuclear triad covering land-air-sea modes. Arihant’s propulsion compartment was damaged after water entered it, according to details available with The Hindu. A naval source said water rushed in as a hatch on the rear side was left open by mistake while it was at harbour. ***** The absence of Arihant from operations came to the political leadership’s attention during the India-China military standoff at Doklam. Whenever such faceoff takes place, countries carry out precautionary advance deployment of submarine assets.

The leader of the project, Riverside’s Juan Pablo Giraldo, said, “Ideally, a single plant would produce enough mRNA to vaccinate a single person,” adding the experiment is being done on spinach and lettuce with both “long-term goals of people growing it in their own gardens” and mass industrial production.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States hit a seven-year high this week according to the latest data from AAA showing the going rate is $3.22 per gallon, a cost not seen since this month in 2014. In some states, the cost per gallon is even higher like in California where the average price is now $4.42. In certain metropolitan areas, gas is more than $5 per gallon. Just one year ago, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded was only $2.18, according to AAA. The current spike in prices to...

The BIGGEST FINANCIAL STORY OF OUR LIFETIME: Government surveillance system

SAN FRANCISCO (NEXSTAR) – A team of investigators calling themselves The Case Breakers say they know the identity of the Zodiac Killer, but law enforcement is refuting their claim. The serial murderer killed five people in Northern California in 1968 and 1969, taunting investigators with with a series of cryptic notes. The Case Breakers, a group of 40-plus members led by retired FBI agents have varied backgrounds in law enforcement, according to their site, and work to solve some of the country’s most notorious cold cases. The Case Breakers have previously attempted to tackle the D.B. Cooper case and the...

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sharply questioned Attorney General Merrick Garland’s deployment of the FBI to intervene in local school board matters in an exchange Tuesday with one of Garland’s deputies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. In a memo the day before, Garland instructed the Justice Department and FBI “to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel,” in what Hawley and other critics view as an attempt to silence parents who actively oppose their school districts’ adoption of critical race theory and other leftist ideas or policies. “Is waiting to express one’s view at a school board...

A new study shows that the number of concealed handgun permits soared in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and has increased over 10% since the end of last year. According to a study conducted by the Crime Prevention Research Center, the number of concealed handgun permits surged to 21.52 million in 2020, a 48% increase since 2016 and a 10.5% increase from the same time last year.

Less than two weeks ago, Senator Rogers announced that this letter had 41 signatures from 15 states, moments after the Arizona audit final presentation. Those numbers have more than doubled. This letter, signed by 31 states calls for nationwide full forensic election audits, decertification where appropriate, and a possible U.S. House session to address the fraudulent election. Rogers tweeted this update on Monday. 92 Legislators from Multiple States Write a Letter to the American People Calling for a 50-State Audit, Decertification Where Appropriate, and Possible Convening of the US House of Representatives 92 Legislators from Multiple States Write a Letter...

Marine Corps officials at Camp Lejeune, N.C. ordered a court-martial for Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a 17-year veteran who released several videos and social media posts sharply criticizing senior U.S. government and military leaders over operations in Afghanistan.He has been charged with six violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice: contempt toward officials; disrespect toward superior commissioned officers; willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer; dereliction in the performance of duties; failure to obey an order or regulation and conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.The charges were referred to a court-martial on Wednesday by Maj. Gen. Julian Alford, who...

Merck’s new COVID-19 pill, known as molnupiravir, headed for FDA review for emergency authorization, could potentially carry serious safety issues stemming from the method used to kill the virus, scientists warned, according to a report. The oral antiviral medication integrates into the genetic makeup of the virus, causing a large number of mutations to destroy the virus. However, some laboratory tests indicated the drug’s ability to cause mutations in genetic material of mammalian cells, theoretically causing cancer or birth defects, Barron’s reported.

A second juror on Wednesday was excused from the Theranos trial after the woman expressed religious concerns about Elizabeth Holmes being punished if she's found guilty. Juror No. 4 told U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila that she wanted to speak to him about concerns with her service. She said she was concerned she couldn't continue serving on the case because she's a Buddhist. "If she is found guilty and gets punishment from the government for that I feel guilty for that every day in my life," she told the judge.

Fact checker's cryptic response raises further questions CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale appears to have broken his nearly month-long silence after a Washington Free Beacon investigation exposed his curious absence from public life. "Hahaha a media outlet published an attack article because I went on vacation? Life is very confusing," an individual purporting to be Dale posted on his verified Twitter account. It was the first post from that account since Sept. 17, when Dale (or someone posing as the fact checker) wrote, "I'm gone for a while goodbye everybody," but declined to elaborate.

Sixty-nine percent of Hispanics disapprove of Biden’s handling of immigration, while only 23 percent approve, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday.

More than 260,000 children under age 5 die each year from malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the widespread use of a malaria vaccine among children in Africa and other areas of high malaria transmission — a breakthrough in the long fight against the deadly disease. Malaria is a parasite-caused disease that's been around for thousands of years and is transmitted primarily via mosquito bites. It kills more than 400,000 people around the world each year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260,000 children under age 5 die each year from malaria. The road to an effective malaria...

Democrats spoke out after a closed-door meeting in which they discussed McConnell’s offer to raise the debt ceiling by a "fixed dollar amount" through December. Republicans had blocked efforts to suspend the borrowing limit for weeks, arguing Democrats should address the crisis through the budget reconciliation process. "McConnell caved," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. told reporters after the meeting. "And now we're going to spend our time doing child care, health care, and fighting climate change." "Mitch folded and we have until December to do Build Back Better. And we will," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wrote on Twitter.

An Auburn woman has been charged with setting fire to a historic Montgomery church last week. Xiaoqin Yan, 27, is charged with second-degree arson, according to court records made public Tuesday. Yan was arrested Oct. 4 and remains held in the Montgomery County Detention Center on $30,000 bond. According to charging documents against Yan, she used an “open flame to ignite an ignitable liquid,” causing $25,000 in damage to First Baptist Church on Perry Street. According to court records, Yan is a citizen of China who is in the U.S. on a student visa. Her visa has now been revoked....

Breaking911 (@Breaking911) Tweeted: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul: “I heard so many people say they’re afraid to go get vaccines because they’d have to get on the Subway and they’re afraid of being assaulted in this very city.” https://t.co/HI8SSNxwmI

Get It Off Me Researchers at Caltech have opened the doors to hell and allowed a creepy robot that can walk on two spindly feet and even fly to enter our world. The terrifying biped, called LEONARD (LEgs ONboARD drone), or LEO for short, is basicically the bottom half of a humanoid robot strapped to a flying drone. The researchers’ goal wasn’t to come up with the next mass-marketable invention, but to test new ways of locomotion for robots meant to complete dangerous jobs and explore hard-to-reach places. Did we mention it can skateboard and slackline as well?

A former employee of Palo Alto restaurants Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby has been charged with embezzling more than $200,000, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday. Jennifer Colvin, 40, of Oakland, was the director of human resources, payroll and risk management for Rangoon Ruby Investments, LLC and Burma Ruby Investments, LLC in Palo Alto. She allegedly increased her monthly salary and paid herself bonuses without authorization. The alleged embezzlement occurred between February 2019 and October 2020. The owner of Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby discovered the alleged fraud in November 2020 after noticing accounting discrepancies. Colvin...