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Today we saw some important testimony in the Michael Sussmann case. First, Rodney Joffe, an FBI confidential human source, went around his FBI handler to relay dubious Alfa Bank information to a friend at the FBI. Second, there were indications that Joffe previously worked on Russia cyber security matters. This leads us to ask whether Joffe was in some way involved in the Trump/Russia investigation. More on that below. The testimony of retired FBI Agent Tom Grasso. Grasso, a witness for Sussmann, was a Special Agent with the FBI whose “primary responsibility involved investigating cyber crimes.” He was part of...

Fatphobia is the single most toxic form of bigotry after racism, sexism, and discrimination against neurodivergent BIPOC trans sex workers with HIV. While fatphobes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors fatphobia is most commonly observed in Toxically Masculine, Patriarchal, White, Cishet, Assigned Male at Birth (TMPWCHAMAB) individuals–otherwise known as the conservative man. Fatphobia harms one hundred percent of fat people while fat shaming leads to severe mental and emotional health problems including poor self-esteem, fear of wearing revealing clothing in public, preoccupation with weight loss, and even reluctance to eat high calorie, fattening foods. Myths about fatness are rampant...

Jussie Smollett will make his post-scandal directorial debut on BET+ with the upcoming film B-Boy Blues. It will be the first project for the 39-year-old actor since being found guilty in December 2021 of charges stemming from a fake hate crime against himself. Mona Scott-Young, 55, and her Monami Entertainment has joined the film as a producer and was a key figure in the BET+ deal, according to an article on Wednesday by Variety. Smollett was sentenced in March to 150 days in county jail after being convicted on felony charges over the January 2019 hate crime hoax. He served...

Breastfeeding duration is associated with improved cognitive scores at ages 5 through 14, even after controlling for socioeconomic position and maternal cognitive ability, according to a new study. Previous studies have found an association between breastfeeding and standardized intelligence test scores; however, a causal relationship is still debated. Improved cognitive outcomes could potentially be explained by other characteristics—such as socioeconomics and maternal intelligence—of the women who breastfeed their babies. The unadjusted associations found that longer breastfeeding durations were associated with higher verbal and spatial cognitive scores at all ages up to ages 14 and 11, respectively. After taking the differences...

For God's sake, Mister President, don't turn this tragedy into cheap political capital. ... After that, it became a political stump speech: "When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?" he demanded. "When in God's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?" Ten times he named God in a seven-minute speech. In seven of those, he called on God's name in what could easily be taken as an epithet...

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Then was Jesus led up of the...

Texas gubernatorial hopeful Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke (D) took the opportunity to inject himself during Governor Greg Abbott’s Wednesday press conference covering the Robb Elementary mass shooting in Uvalde. Beto appears to wait until the governor’s remarks are complete before he stands in front of the stage to interrupt Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s presentation. Patrick attempts to shut down the Democratic Party candidate for Governor, saying, “Excuse me, you’re out of line and an embarrassment.” O’Rourke continued to talk over the Lt. Governor to address Governor Abbott. “You’re doing nothing,” the failed presidential and senatorial candidate said. Uvalde Mayor Don...

The Pope called for more gun control in the United States after the horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, and a Cardinal in Chicago agreed. Pope Francis spoke about the shooting from St. Peter's Square at the Vatican during his weekly general audience. "I am praying for the children and adults who were killed, and for their families. It is time to say enough to the indiscriminate trafficking of arms," Francis said Wednesday. "Let us all make a commitment, so that tragedies like this cannot happen again," he added. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago,...

— Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman’s rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, witnesses said Wednesday, as investigators worked to track the massacre that lasted upwards of 40 minutes and ended when the 18-year-old shooter was killed by a Border Patrol team. “Go in there! Go in there!” nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house, across the street from Robb Elementary School in the close-knit town of Uvalde. Carranza said the officers did not...

KILLEEN, Texas -- Fort Hood likely will be renamed Fort Cavazos after a blue-ribbon commission recommended that the Confederate-named Army base receive a new name along with eight other military bases nationwide.The Naming Commission, which was created by Congress and is responsible for recommending new names or removal of names and symbols that commemorate Confederate figures within the Department of Defense, called for Fort Hood to be named after Gen. Richard Cavazos, a native Texan and the Army's first Hispanic four-star general.The Army's largest active-duty armored post, with about 40,000 soldiers, was named after Gen. John Bell Hood, who led...

The last thing consumers want to hear is an increase in power costs this summer following the news last week of rising threats of rolling blackouts across half of the US. Tight supplies of natural gas, crude, and coal have pushed up residential electricity rates this year. A nationwide weather outlook for this summer forecasts extreme heat — all of this will force households to crank up their air conditions, resulting in oversized power demand that could stress national grids. Bloomberg cites new data from Barclays Plc that says monthly power bills could be 40% more than last year’s. The...

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Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order to reform policing just one day after a teenager fatally shot 21 people at a Texas elementary school. Biden politicized the tragic mass shooting and used it as an excuse to attack the Second Amendment. "The Second Amendment is not absolute. When it was passed, you couldn’t own a cannon…there’s always been limitations,” said Biden.

After being accused of using the food supply as blackmail and a bargaining chip, Russia said Wednesday its military will open up protected sea corridors for international shipping to pass through from seven Ukrainian ports that have thus far been blockaded. According to a defense ministry statement reported by Bloomberg late in the day, “Humanitarian maritime corridors from ports on the Black Sea and Azov Sea, including Odesa, will operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.” Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania recently had a drifting mine nearby. Image: AlamyThe announcement comes two days after the head of the...

The 90-year-old cardinal prayed for 'brothers and sisters who cannot attend the Mass in any form tonight — for they have no freedom now.'HONG KONG (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Joseph Zen told Catholics in his homily during a Mass after his recent arrest that “Martyrdom is normal in our Church.” On Tuesday at a Mass he offered in Hong Kong, Cardinal Zen prayed for the Chinese Catholics in mainland China facing persecution, Catholic News Agency reported. “Martyrdom is normal in our Church,” the 90-year-old Zen said. “We may not have to do that, but we may have to bear some pain...

With a rescript promulgated on Wednesday, Pope Francis grants the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life faculties to allow non-clerics to serve as “major superiors” in religious communities.Pope Francis has authorised the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated and Societies of Apostolic Life to grant dispensations that would allow non-clerics to hold the office of Major Superior in some cases. The Holy Father did so in a rescript promulgated on Wednesday, concerning the possibility of a dispensation from Canon 588 §2 of the Code of Canon Law (CIC), which stipulates that that clerical institutes be governed...

Does anyone know if the Constitution Party of NC qualified for ballot access for November? If so, maybe Madison Cawthorn could run for reelection to Congress with the Constitution Party?

MSNBC’s Joy Reid said Wednesday on her show “The ReidOut” that she believes Republican “ghouls” have a bottomless tolerance for blood and slaughter because they will not pass gun control legislation. Reid said, “Please, please spare me the, don’t politicize these deaths’ BS because these deaths, these record numbers of Americans slaughtered are political. They are happening because of uniquely American politics. They are happening because 327 million Americans are essentially hostages to a morally and financially bankrupt gun lobby and the heartless, gutless politicians that they buy and own. Please stop thinking that there is somebody counting some level...

A 'uterus-shaped' cereal has been launched with the goal of putting conversations about periods on the table. Feminine care brand Intimina developed its raspberry-flavoured 'Period Crunch' to encourage families to discuss menstruation more openly at breakfast. Despite being marketed as womb-shaped, the cereal actually resembles the entire female reproductive system. The wheat-based cereal — a PR stunt which won't actually ever go on sale — is dyed red to mimic the colour of blood. Intimina claims conversations about periods are not 'truly normalised' and it wanted to 'make a statement' about the issue. Although it won't ever be stuck on...

Denver Newsroom, May 19, 2022 / 16:58 pm New South Wales has become the sixth and final Australian state to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. Its legislation forces health care and elder care organizations with religious objections to allow the practice on their premises. “If a civilization is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members, the New South Wales parliament has failed miserably, and has set a dark and dangerous path for all posterity, determining a new and disturbing definition of what it means to be human.” Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney said May 19. “Despite our...