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An artist's impression of a fluffy planet orbiting a red dwarf star. (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine/M. Zamani) If exoplanet research is to be believed, the Milky Way galaxy could be like some sort of fantastical candy-land. First, there was the discovery of exoplanets with the density of cotton candy. Now, astronomers say they've discovered a world that is comparable to the density of marshmallow. It is, they say, the fluffiest exoplanet discovered to date orbiting a red dwarf star. This is important. It means that worlds with significant gas envelopes can be found closely orbiting the small, tempestuous dwarf stars, which...

Russian forces have been moving thousands of civilians in the occupied southern Ukrainian region of Kherson over the Dnipro River and deeper into Russian-occupied territory this week. The evacuations, announced by the region’s Kremlin-installed governor Vladimir Saldo, followed warnings from Moscow that Kyiv’s southern counteroffensive meant the regional capital, Kherson, could be recaptured. But Kyiv has condemned the evacuation, describing it as an attempt to forcibly deport Ukrainian citizens and settle them in Russia, tactics that Ukrainian officials say the Kremlin has been employing since the war in Ukraine began. Three days into Moscow’s evacuations, we explain the current situation...

A terrible thing is happening to America’s seniors. While overall poverty rates in the United States are falling, they are rising for Americans over age 65. That’s according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, which says the share of older people living below the poverty line rose to 10.3% in 2021, up from 8.9% in 2020. The increase means that an additional 1 million older adults have fallen below the poverty threshold, bringing the total number of seniors in that unfortunate category to nearly 6 million, according to an analysis by the National Council on Aging (NCOA). “We are...

Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is within striking distance of Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), according to a recent poll. If the election were held today, Illinoisans would create a virtual tie between Pritzker and Bailey. Forty-seven percent of likely general election voters would pick the incumbent Democrat, while 44 percent would choose Bailey. Given the poll’s four percent margin of error, this makes the race a toss-up.

This image of GPS tracking of multiple wolves in six different packs around Voyageurs National Park was created in the framework of the Voyageurs Wolf Project. It is an excellent illustration of how much wolf packs in general avoid each other’s range. .... As beautifully demonstrated by the animation, wolf packs generally avoid being around each other unless they are fighting for food that may be in short supply. When that occurs, they may engage in battles with other packs in order to continue have their claim on a given location as well as the food found within it. Wolves...

A Miami-Dade judge on Friday dismissed charges against a local man who had been caught up in voter fraud allegations... Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled that the Office of Statewide Prosecutor had exceeded its statutory power.... The dismissal is a rebuke to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the arrests of up to 20 people by the governor's Office of Election Crimes and Security, which was created by state lawmakers to help root out voter fraud.

In America today, we have a two-party system: the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. The Evil Party sets the agenda and pursues its aims relentlessly and ruthlessly; the Stupid Party registers a polite token opposition and then fully agrees to whatever the Evil Party wants, occasionally only arguing that it can implement the Evil Party’s program more effectively than the Evil Party itself. We saw this play out yet again Wednesday, when Stupid Party House Leader Kevin McCarthy (S-California) downplayed any talk of impeaching Old Joe Biden or any of his cronies if the Stupids retake the House in...

It is wrong to think that Mongol-Tatars invaded Russia as a single state, because the state actually formed as a response to the invasion, to resist and overthrow it. It was Peter the Great who formally ended Russia’s tributes to the Khans. Knyaz’ Yaroslav II of Vladimir was poisoned by Güyük Khan’s wife. At the age of 67, Knyaz’ Mikhail of Chernigov was executed in the capital of the Golden Horde (Mongol khaganate) for refusing to worship Mongol idols. Knyaz’ Mikhail of Tver had his heart ripped out in the same capital, the chronicle says. The Russian population was forced...

There’s this crazy thing called “energy independence” — ever heard of it?I’m no political consultant, but maybe I could be? We’re just three weeks out from the midterms, and Democrat “strategies” could not be more misplaced. Portland’s streets are strewn with drug addicts, every bum in Manhattan could be an out-on-bail psychopath with a knife, Trump rallies draw larger crowds than the Commander-in-Thief’s inauguration, and the eggs I like are $7 — but Joe is promising full-term abortions, Kamala’s laughing, Beto wants to take our guns (again), and Mayor Pete is presumably still on maternity leave. During times of intense...

Today in history, on October 21, 1094, a small force of Christian knights destroyed a massive Muslim horde in Spain, where the Jihad and Reconquista had been raging. Some years earlier, the Almoravids, a North African group committed to jihadist teaching and led by the emir Yusuf bin Tashfin, began to pour into Spain to aid their Islamic counterparts, the Moors, who had suffered several significant defeats to the Christians in recent years. In 1086, the Muslims and Christians clashed at Sagrajas. The Christians were annihilated; their king barely managed to escape with a dagger stuck in his thigh. Afterwards,...

Stephen Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison Friday for his defiance of a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The onetime Trump White House strategist was subpoenaed by the panel in September of last year after he failed to provide either the required documents or testimony as he railed against the committee. Bannon claimed that he was unable to comply with the committee’s subpoena due to executive privilege. However, the panel sought to speak to Bannon about events that occurred well after his short stint in the White House....

Ask any single woman about the ease of dating in today’s world and they will most certainly roll their eyes and groan. As a single woman myself, I can vouch for how tough the dating climate is for every one of us. But unvaccinated, single women now have it that much harder. The reason? The decision as to whether or not they will date vaccinated men is now on the table. And I can tell you first-hand, which has nothing to do with the viability of the candidates, themselves, as rich and interesting prospects, but rather “sex” to put it...

We want an America that’s fun, happy, and free—the country we grew up in and that we crave for our children. Some social media blue checks had a bit of a temper tantrum this week following the release of a New York Times poll that showed overwhelming support for Republicans among Gen X voters. The poll broke down the results by the respondents’ ages, and while the category encompassing Gen X also technically included some younger Baby Boomers, it captured most of the so-called slacker generation. According to the survey, Gen Xers, those born between 1965 and 1980, now prefer...

"First, the claim that CRT and gender ideology are not being taught or promoted in America’s pre-college public schools is grossly misleading. More than nine in ten of our respondents reported some form of school exposure to at least some CRT-related and critical gender concepts, with the average respondent reporting being taught in class or hearing about from an adult at school more than half of the eight concepts we measured. Eight in ten reported being taught in class at least one concept central to CRT and contemporary left-wing racial ideology, with the average respondent reporting being taught two of...

The scientists discovered evidence of water hundreds of kilometers deep. An international research team led by a Goethe University professor analyzes diamond inclusions. The boundary layer between the upper and lower mantles of the Earth is known as the transition zone (TZ). It is located between 410 and 660 kilometers (between 255 and 410 miles) under the surface. The olive-green mineral olivine, commonly known as peridot, which makes up around 70% of the Earth’s upper mantle, changes its crystalline structure at the extreme pressure of up to 23,000 bar in the TZ. At a depth of around 410 kilometers (255...

Steve Bannon was sentenced to 4 months and prison and $6,500 in fines by a DC judge on Friday. The Guardian reported: "Steve Bannon has been sentenced to four months in prison for contempt of Congress. Donald Trump’s former chief strategist will serve four months on each of the two contempt counts for defying a congressional subpoena issued by the January 6 House panel investigating the former president’s efforts to reverse his defeat by Joe Biden. The sentences will be served concurrently, district court judge Carl Nichols ruled. The statutory minimum was one month in prison on each count." He...

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) are headed for a collision next year on spending more money to help Ukraine. McConnell has led Republican support for sending generous military and financial aid to Kyiv, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin could threaten Poland and other European allies if not stopped in Ukraine. McCarthy, who would likely become Speaker if Republicans win control of the House, is putting the brakes on more Ukraine aid, warning this week there won’t be a “blank check” from a GOP majority. McConnell took an unannounced trip to Ukraine...

Bill O’Reilly, host of No Spin News and author of Killing the Legends: The Lethal Danger of Celebrity, said on Friday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow that former President Donald Trump is “addicted” to fame. “Trump is addicted to the spotlight,” O’Reilly stated. “He has to have it, and that’s hurt him, because once you have to get attention at all times, you’re going to make mistakes. For example, this Maggie Haberman, New York Times reporter, he gives her three interviews. He knows she’s going cut his throat. He’s got to know what she’s been...

A shock poll shows Republican Dr. Scott Jensen leading his Democrat opponent Tim Walz in the Minnesota governor’s race. Surveying 1,091 likely general election voters between October 17-19 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent, the Alpha News/Trafalgar Group poll shows that Jensen narrowly leads Walz by less than one point – 46.3 percent to 45.8 percent. Considering that Walz is the incumbent governor, the narrow lead offers a positive indication that voters still on the fence may pull the lever in Jensen’s favor come election day. In the attorney general race, Republican candidate Jim Schultz...

The US State Department says there's ample evidence that Russia is using Iranian drones in Ukraine. The United States has “abundant evidence” that Russia is using Iranian drones to strike Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday.“The United States began warning in July that Iran was planning to transfer UAVs to Russia for use in Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, and we now have abundant evidence that these UAVs are being used to strike Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure,” Price said in a statement.Lately, Russia has been using Iran's Shahed-136 kamikaze drone.Iran didn't always have drones. From where...