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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Anonymous sources are reporting heightened stress in the hallways of the White House. One source close to the Biden family revealed that the supply chain crisis currently gripping our nation has now reached the home of the Commander-In-Chief. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a White House staff member charged with stocking the East Wing with everyday necessities like tissues, toilet paper, young girls, ice cream, and underwear featuring maximum absorbency and a bold, masculine design for a smooth, sleek fit, has been having trouble finding that last item on the list. “When I told the First Lady store...

The microtubule network (green) re-organizes at the muscle lesion and attracts myonuclei. Credit: William Roman, iMM ===================================================================================== Muscle is known to regenerate through a complex process that involves several steps and depends on stem cells. Now, a new study led by researchers at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes (iMM; Portugal) and the University Pompeu Fabra (UPF Barcelona; Spain) and published on October 15, 2021, in the scientific journal Science describes a new mechanism for muscle regeneration after physiological damage relying on the rearrangement of nuclei. This protective mechanism opens the road to a broader understanding of muscle...

Democrats in Florida are a minority and it may only get worse after the GOP-controlled legislature begins its redistricting process later this year. This is going to make it even more difficult for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to keep her iron grip on the U.S. House. Florida House Democratic co-Leader Evan Jenne is already sounding the alarm about the Florida Legislature’s 2022 session, where they will discuss and make moves on redistricting. “A lot of people’s political careers will hang in the balance of what comes out of those redistricting subcommittees and the Legislature as a whole,” Jenne said. “It...

Nearly 1,900 Washington state employees have either quit their jobs or been fired for failing to comply with Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D) coronavirus vaccine mandate. In a statement, the state’s Office of Financial Management said that over 63,000 employees, are in compliance with the mandate as of Tuesday afternoon, which is 92 percent of employees. Of this, 89.4 percent of employees have verified that they are vaccinated, and 3 percent have an accommodation.

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top official on Wednesday exhorted the bloc’s 27 member nations to wean themselves off natural gas not only to speed the transition to clean energy but also to make the bloc a more independent player in the world. On the eve of an EU summit centering on the energy crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told legislators that since the bloc imports 90% of its gas — much of it from strategic rival Russia — “this makes us vulnerable.” As a result she wants the EU to double down on a swift...

Food prices climbed 4.5% last month, the sixth consecutive month of increases, according to the Consumer Price Index for Food. The increase was led by the meat sector, with the “meat” basket of goods up 12.6% from a year ago while the poultry index was 6.1% higher. The September data, generated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, follows a 3% gain in August and 2.6% gain in July. The surge marks the fastest level of growth since March 2009. The rapid increase in food prices has many meat industry analysts worried about the impact on beef demand. The Livestock...

When Washington state representative Jim Walsh went to his office in Olympia on Tuesday, he found himself on the outside looking in. His ID badge, which acts as a keycard for state government buildings, didn’t work. It wasn’t a mistake or technical glitch. The rules committee for the House made an “interim rule” banning entry to anyone who doesn’t present their Covid-19 injection papers, including elected officials. Walsh, who has opposed Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandates, was furious that the governing body he was elected to work in and represent his constituents was not only failing to counter the Governor,...

Severe thunderstorms hit parts of Queensland, Australia on October 18 and 19, 2021, bringing heavy rain, giant hailstones, and tornadoes. The largest hail was reported in Bloomsbury and Yalboroo, north of Mackay in North Queensland on October 19. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Shane Kennedy said they've seen some convincing images of hail up against a tape measure of 16 cm (6.29 inches). The Australian record is around 14 cm (5.5 inches) mark, Kennedy said, adding that it looks like they have a new Australian record for hail.1 Hail that size has a terminal velocity of well over 100...

The Website provides information about current geographical positions of ships as well as other related information, whenever available, such as ships’ details, their destination, estimated time of arrival, photographs, port traffic statistics, weather conditions, points of interest, etc.

A 19-year police veteran in the ICU after receiving the J&J shot on Friday. Fellow officers say they are more fearful than ever over Charlie Baker’s Oct. 17 mandate to be vaccinated or face being fired. “Several state troopers are concerned,” said attorney William Gens, whose Boston law firm was hired to represent a group of state police. “This is a highly disturbing incident.” Gens said the vaccine mandate has left the troopers with no choice but to be a “lab rat” and take the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. A trooper said the sick sergeant is “a gentleman. A...

Lake Tahoe’s water level dropped to a four-year low on Tuesday as gusty winds and the impacts of California’s devastating drought hit the popular tourist destination. After days of high winds increased evaporation rates, water levels fell to the basin’s natural rim for the first time since 2017, the end of the state’s last drought. The lake normally sits above the rim, which allows for water to flow into the Truckee River. Levels will probably continue to drop, receding below the rim this week, sooner than expected. Though the lake’s water levels have fallen to this point several times in...

The Maryland couple accused of trying to sell secrets about US nuclear submarines — using a peanut butter sandwich to hide an SD memory card — were worried about their finances and were furious when Donald Trump was elected, friends and co-workers said. Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe, 42, and his teacher wife, Diana, 45, were indicted in West Virginia on Tuesday on espionage charges. The couple is due back in federal court Wednesday for a detention hearing.

MONDAY, Oct. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A common group of bacteria may be causing deadly pneumonia or anthrax-like disease among metalworkers in the southern United States, health officials report. The bacteria, called Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), naturally occurs in soil and dust. B. cereus can cause food poisoning and anthrax-like disease, but why it singles out welders and other metalworkers is a mystery, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also a puzzle is why it has only been reported in Gulf Coast states. "In the past, long-term exposure to welding and metalworking fumes...

TWENTY-NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME LUKE 12:39-48 Friends, in today’s Gospel, we meet a prudent steward who serves his master wisely. I would like to say something about prudence and wisdom. In the Middle Ages, prudence was called “the queen of the virtues,” because it was the virtue that enabled one to do the right thing in a particular situation. Prudence is a feel for the moral situation, something like the feel that a quarterback has for the playing field. Justice is a wonderful virtue, but without prudence, it is blind and finally useless. One can be as just as...

Seattle firefighters who lost their jobs over the COVID vaccine mandate dropped off their boots, said a prayer with their families, and cooked breakfast for the homeless in Occidental Park on Tuesday. On Monday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan had indicated that the Seattle Fire Department reported 91% of its employees vaccinated against COVID-19, and 6% were allowed a religious or medical exemption. Seattle firefighter Andrew Pittman, who hasn’t been terminated, but doesn’t expect to be accommodated, was among those who left his boots and walked to the park. He told the Dori Monson Show he estimates about 100 firefighters will...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg doesn't appear to be concerned that U.S. supply chain issues likely will continue into 2022. "That's the one thing he is correct about," says Peter St. Onge, research fellow for The Heritage Foundation, a center-right think headquartered in Washington, D.C. "This administration has no plan, boots on the grounds are saying it's getting worse, and Wall Street and companies are warning [the issue could persist into] 2022, possibly even 2023." Buttigieg made his comments to Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union" program, adding that part of what is happening isn't just the supply side:...

Almost overnight, Japan has become a stunning, and somewhat mysterious, coronavirus success story. Daily new COVID-19 cases have plummeted from a mid-August peak of nearly 6,000 in Tokyo, with caseloads in the densely populated capital now routinely below 100, an 11-month low. The bars are packed, the trains are crowded, and the mood is celebratory, despite a general bafflement over what, exactly, is behind the sharp drop.

The discussions are taking place as part of a review of the oil company's five-year spending plan, on which the board is set to vote at the end of this month, the people said. It isn’t clear whether the board will make a final call on the Mozambique or Vietnam projects during the current review, according to the people. As part of the review, Exxon is analyzing the expected carbon emissions from each project and how they would affect the company’s ability to meet pledges to reduce emissions, people familiar with the matter said. The annual projected emissions from the...

At least 14 people were killed and several others were wounded in central Damascus on Wednesday morning in an explosion on a Syrian military bus, Syrian state TV reported. According to additional reports from Syrian and Lebanese outlets, the casualties were Iranian officers. Syrian state TV showed footage of the charred bus, reporting that the blasts occurred while people were heading to work and school. As of yet, according to the reports, no organization has claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred at a main bus-transfer point under the Hafez al-Assad bridge, where vehicles converge and head out to different...

Even if you have never set foot in China, Hikvision’s cameras have likely seen you. By 2017, Hikvision had captured 12 percent of the North American market. Its cameras watched over apartment buildings in New York City, public recreation centers in Philadelphia, and hotels in Los Angeles. Police departments used them to monitor streets in Memphis, Tennessee, and in Lawrence, Massachusetts. London and more than half of Britain’s 20 next-largest cities have deployed them.