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High fitness levels attenuate, but do not eliminate, the increased risk for cardiovascular mortality in men with high blood pressure, according to a research letter. Jari A. Laukkanen, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues used data from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease study (2,682 men; ages, 42 to 61 years) to prospectively evaluate the relationship among systolic blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and cardiovascular disease-related mortality. The researchers found that during a median 28.5 years of follow-up, for blood pressure alone, high blood pressure was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.39). For fitness alone, a low...

Former President Donald Trump has raised more than $34 million for his 2024 White House run since the start of the year, buoyed by a big bump in donations since the announcement of criminal charges against him in New York, according to his campaign. His total after the March 30 indictment approached what he took in over the previous three months. Trump’s latest fundraising report due to be filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission will show he raised more than $18.8 million between his main campaign account and a joint fundraising account over the the first three months of...

Americans are drinking less beer after Bud Light, among others, raised their prices. In AB InBev's (BUD) latest quarterly results, the total volume of beer sold decreased by 0.9%. At the same time, total revenue grew 10.2% to $14.67 billion, with price increases a key driver of that. After price increases and "really complicated" weather in the month of December, CEO Michel Doukeris called the Q4 results in the U.S. a "one-off, complicated quarter" in a call with investors. Last quarter, the average price of a 24-pack of 12 oz. beer went up nearly 8%, per NielsenIQ data that was...

This week in a press conference, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that the U.S. economy is doing exceptionally well. "As I mentioned, the United States is doing extremely well economically, with inflation coming down in a strong labor market, and Europe is doing better than was feared at our last meeting." Contrast this to what real Americans think. In a recent IBD/TIPP Poll, over one-half (55%) believe the economy is in a recession, and another 56% (57% in March) think the economy is not improving. We welcome any good news. We always take Yellen's pronouncements with a pinch of salt....

An Orange County man has been sentenced to one year in prison for threatening the ultra-woke Merriam-Webster dictionary online. Jeremy Hanson, 35, was angrily responding to definition changes for words like “girl,” “woman,” and “female.”Prosecutors had argued that Hanson has a history of “threatening communications, nearly all of which were motivated by … biases based upon race, gender, gender identity, and/or sexual orientation.”Hanson also allegedly sent angry messages to the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Land O’ Lakes Inc., Hasbro, a nonbinary rabbi and others.Prosecutors also argued that they wanted to make an example of him and use his...

Frustrated patrons are annoyed that they can only get cheeseburgers, chips and Pepsi at The Olympia Restaurant. A featured patron (Robert Klein) really wants eggs and argues with the staff including Pete (John Belushi). [Season 3, 1978

Who can make sense of Greta Garbo? She was born Swedish and became a movie star at home before she also found cinematic glory in America? But did she become truly American?

Presidential candidate Donald Trump is promising a federal investigation into the risks of crime from the use of “transgender” drugs and hormones and mind-bending psychiatric drugs. “Upon my inauguration, I will direct the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] to convene — and it’s going to happen quickly — to convene an independent outside panel to investigate whether transgender hormone treatments and ideology increase the risk of extreme depression, aggression, and even violence,” Trump told the annual convention of the National Rifle Association. The comments come as Democrats are mobilizing their urban base by blaming guns for the Nashville shooting of...

A randomized trial assessing whether the oral transfer of gut microbiota from mother to baby can safely restore normal microbiota after cesarean section (C-section) has found that over 42% of healthy mothers tested positive for potentially harmful pathogens and were unable to proceed with the transplant. The new research underscores the importance of screening fecal, perineal and vaginal samples to ensure safety of the transplant process. Birth by C-section is associated with an increased risk of many immune-related diseases, suggesting that the lack of maternal microbes in early life may have long-term health consequences for children. Vaginally born infants receive...

A large clinical trial of more than 8,700 patients concluded that the sex of a donor has no effect on the survival of recipients of red blood cell transfusions. "Some observational studies had suggested female donor blood might be linked with a higher risk of death among recipients compared to male donor blood, but our clinical trial found that isn't the case," said Dr. Dean Fergusson. The possible impact of the sex of a blood donor on recipient survival has been an unanswered question in transfusion medicine since 2015, when the American National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute identified it...

Biden's administration previously came down hard on pro-life activistsPresident Biden's Justice Department offered what critics are calling a sweetheart plea deal to a vandal who admitted to defacing a Catholic church with profane graffiti, destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary, assaulting a church worker, and resisting arrest. A plea agreement reviewed by Fox News Digital shows that the DOJ recommends zero jail time for the perp, Maeve Nota, a 31-year-old transgender individual who vandalized the St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue, Washington, following Roe v. Wade's overturning last June. Nota sharply contrasts with the Biden administration's earlier approach of...

Former President Donald Trump holds a substantial lead in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, holding almost twice the support as his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in FiveThirtyEight's national polling average before next year's presidential primaries.Trump received just less than half of the national vote on average, followed by DeSantis with about one-in-four voters:Trump: 49.3%DeSantis: 26.2%Former Vice President Mike Pence: 5.8%Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley: 4.3%FiveThirtyEight notes that although the first primaries start in about nine months, "According to our research, national primary polls conducted the year before the election are reasonably predictive of the eventual...

Praying daily since 2015: AMERICA Prayer Vigil … And this is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us.—1 John 5:14 Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is suing two federal agencies for failing to respond to Freedom of Information requests filed over a year ago. The FOIA requests relate to a Biden administration program that allegedly used taxpayer money to purchase crack pipes for drug addicts, she said. In February 2022, Florida sent FOIA requests to the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asking for records about the use of federal grant funds being used to promote drug use through safe smoking kits, some of which reportedly included crack pipes and other drug-related paraphernalia. Over...

[H/T Grey_whiskers]Mar 26, 2023

Anheuser-Busch's handling of backlash to its Bud Light brand partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been branded a historically-bad marketing gaffe by a leading expert. In a Bloomberg Opinion column on Saturday, advertising and brands expert Ben Schott called the Bud Light imbroglio 'a marketing case study for the ages' in 'how not to handle brand collaborations in a dangerously polarized space.' Schott ranked the incident alongside infamous brand 'gaffes' in history, such as the chairman of Barilla pasta's 2013 declaration that he 'would never do a commercial with a homosexual family'. And in 2006, the CEO of Abercrombie...

Update from Ukraine | Wagners cut on the north of Bakhmut | Prygozhyn wants to stop the assault https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-2I63rmC0E Update from Ukraine | New Battle begins. Ukraine lost Civilian Plane | Wagners are forced to leave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDi4QF_yBII ****NEW SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: Invasion Day 416 – Summary April 15, 2023 Jerome News The summary of the situation of Russian re-invasion to Ukraine covering the last 48 hours, as of 2023 – 22:00 (Kyiv time). *** Appreciate the viewer controlled magnification tool on each Front map site!

[Catholic Caucus] Irish Catholics pray for Biden’s conversion at Marian apparition site, spread blessed salt after his visit'There was an eerie absence of crowds' at the Knock shrine during and after the pro-abortion U.S. president's visit.KNOCK, Ireland (LifeSiteNews) — A group of Irish Catholics prayed a Rosary of reparation today outside the Marian apparition site of Knock, County Mayo as U.S. President Joe Biden was given a special tour of the shrine.Praying for his conversion from behind a security fence, the group then spread blessed salt throughout the shrine after President Biden’s departure.Organizer Rory O’Beirn told LifeSiteNews that there were...

The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under a state law that exempts religious officials from having to report child sex abuse if they learn of the crime during a confessional setting. The ruling was issued April 7 but not released to the public until Tuesday. A lawsuit filed by child sex abuse victims accuses the church, widely known as the Mormon church, two of its bishops, and other church members of conspiracy and negligence in not reporting church member Paul Adams for...

Some energy experts are raising a red flag that Illinois’ transition to clean energy may prompt reliability issues. With more coal and gas plants going offline under Illinois' Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, some lawmakers are concerned of possible brownouts. During a recent Senate Energy Committee hearing, Brian Thiry, external affairs director with Reliability First Corporation, said retirements of old power sources are outpacing new power sources coming online. “As we shrink these margins, it is a reliability risk, so it is just something we need to consider. It is a risk that we are seeing and it's a risk...