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The White House did its best to fend off questions about how much Joe Biden knew about his son's business affairs on Friday, amid fresh evidence that the two may have been in cahoots. Once again officials insisted that they stuck by their line that Biden was not involved in Hunter Biden's dealings. But as reporters repeatedly asked about a newly revealed WhatsApp message, in which Hunter said he was with his father as he pursued a Chinese contact to make good on a deal, officials stonewalled. First came National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. 'I am not going to...

Russia’s FSB security service has opened a criminal case for armed mutiny against Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin after the mercenary chief accused the Russian military of targeting his forces and vowed to “destroy” his rivals, in an unprecedented escalation of infighting among Russia’s elite. The FSB said that Prigozhin’s statements “had no basis” adding that it had launched a criminal inquiry. The FSB later added that Prigozhin’s statements and actions constituted “calls for the start of an armed civil conflict on the territory of the Russian Federation.” The security service urged Wagner fighters “not to make irreparable mistakes, to stop any...

Obama: Kenya My Country - Tussker My Beer! The Other "Big One" Operating Behind The Throne in the Oval Office That No One Will Talk About

The contretemps, two and a half years ago, over First Lady Jill Biden’s problematic degree and her too-earnest desire to be addressed as “Doctor” opened discussion about a problem in higher education that didn’t go quite far enough. Just what is this “EdD,” and why is this chit so important to so many people—but only the people who clutch it tightly, even as they behave as if, at any moment, they may be found out? It is impolite and sometimes impolitic to point out the clear and documented deficiencies of advanced degrees in “higher education,” of the people who teach...

Siemens Energy announced Thursday that it will be undergoing a technical review after it was found that up to 30% of its wind turbines could have faulty components, according to statements made by the company. Siemens Energy, an international energy company that seeks to “decarbonize global energy systems,” announced that it is withdrawing its profit guidance for the year after subsidiary Siemens Gamesa found that there was a “substantial increase in failure rates of wind turbine components.” The company believes that between 15% and 30% of its installed fleets are suffering from component failures, Jochen Eickholt, CEO of Siemens Gamesa,...

Former President Barack Obama called out what he perceived as a double standard in media coverage of the tragedy of the OceanGate Titan submersible versus the migrant boat that sank off the coast of Greece last week. In an interview with CNN host Christiane Amanpour in Athens, Greece Thursday night, the 44th president railed against "inequality" in our "democracy" and claimed the fact that news of the missing OceanGate sub dominated the news cycle, while the sinking of a migrant boat in the Mediterranean Sea did not, is an example of this "inequality." Obama noted that "democracy is not going...

A Hillary Clinton campaigner has received backlash online after claiming that parents who support admission tests and gifted programs are part of the 'far right.' Amanda Litman made the comments last week while reacting to the results of a New York City parent council election that saw candidates endorsed by Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education (PLACE) win a majority of seats. PLACE supports academic screenings policies like the Specialized High School Admissions Test, or SHSAT, as well as expanding accelerated curriculum options and gifted and talented programs, which critics say leads to segregation. The group also opposes lottery-based...

Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the FBI during a press conference on Friday amid Republican frustration over the agency stonewalling their requests for information related to Hunter Biden. “I certainly understand that some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department as components and its employees by claiming that we do not treat like cases alike,” he said, adding, “This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy and essential to the safety of the American people. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Garland stated: You’ve all heard me say many times that...

So, I very seldom drink coca cola (or even soda) anymore but my two brothers drink it alot. Anyway, they mentioned the other day that the coca cola is going flat a lot sooner than it used to. Well, I just cracked one open and drank half of it then let it sit for about 30 minutes before deciding to finish it off. Yep, absolutely flat. Never before has coca cola gotten flat this quick. I swear it seems like they've cut back on the carbonation. Anyone else that drinks coca cola notice this?

Two whistleblowers told Congress that IRS investigators recommended charging Hunter Biden with attempted tax evasion and other felonies, which are far more serious crimes than what the president’s son has agreed to plead guilty to, according to transcripts of their private interviews with lawmakers. The IRS whistleblowers said the recommendation called for Hunter Biden to be charged with tax evasion and filing a false tax return – both felonies – for 2014, 2018 and 2019. The IRS also recommended that prosecutors charge him with failing to pay taxes on time, a misdemeanor, for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, according...

Authorities in Vietnam said Friday they will prosecute 84 people accused of being involved in deadly attacks on two commune offices in central Dak Lak province and ordered them held in pre-trial detention. It isn’t clear who was behind the June 11 attacks, which left nine people dead, or what motivated them. On Friday, the Ministry of Public Security said it had confirmed that “organizations and individuals from overseas” had been involved, without getting more specific. “Materials and evidence collected by security forces show that the incident took place with the support and guidance of several organizations and individuals from...

Scientists have just discovered that the drug dimethylfumarate can block blood clotting during infection, offering hope that it could be used to treat a number of conditions, such a life-threatening disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), which can occur in serious infections with bacteria that lead to sepsis or in response to viral infections such as COVID-19. Dr. Tristram Ryan and Professor Luke O'Neill describe how dimethylfumarate and a related experimental drug called 4-OI can stop coagulation by decreasing production of a clotting factor called Tissue Factor. They have shown that the mechanism involves a block in proteins called interferons, which promote...

The average American household is now spending $3,631 on takeout food every year - but there is one area where residents spend far above the national average. People living in the District of Columbia typically spend $6,241 a year on takeout - or $120 a week per household - according to a new study by Betway. Hawaii residents came in second, with the average home forking out $4,647 per year, followed by Maine in third with a typical spend of $4,499, Vermont with $4,443 and New Hampshire with $4,402. Oklahoma is the state where people are spending the least, with...

As men age, some of their cells lose the very thing that makes them biological males—the Y chromosome—and this loss hampers the body's ability to fight cancer, according to research. The study found that loss of the Y chromosome helps cancer cells evade the body's immune system. This common impact of the aging process in men results in aggressive bladder cancer, but somehow also renders the disease more vulnerable—and responsive—to a standard treatment called immune checkpoint inhibitors. In humans, each cell normally has one pair of sex chromosomes; men have one X and one Y chromosome, while women have two...

Two Republican lawmakers have reintroduced legislation in the House to block the SEC's climate disclosure rule proposal. The bill, originally introduced by Reps. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., and Andy Barr, R-Ky., in December, would insert statutory language into both the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to instruct that the SEC only require an issuer to disclose information if it's determined "that such information is important with respect to a voting or investment decision regarding such issuer." "The desire to massively expand the authority, scope, and reach of the Securities and Exchange Commission under Gary Gensler...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s most populous county is suing more than a dozen large fossil fuel companies to recover costs related to extreme weather events linked to climate change. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges the combined carbon pollution the companies emitted was a substantial factor in causing and exacerbating a 2021 heat dome that killed 69 people, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Multnomah County is home to Portland and known nationally for mild weather and rain. The companies named in the lawsuit include Shell, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Koch Industries and ExxonMobil, among others. Multnomah County is...

A study led by researchers has shown that prazosin, a drug used to treat high blood pressure, can prevent posttraumatic headaches. Dr. Murray Raskind explained that few treatment options exist for this type of headache. The FDA approved prazosin to treat hypertension in 1976. It has been widely used "off-label" to treat conditions such as PTSD-associated nightmares and enlarged prostate. Participants took gradually increasing doses of prazosin for five weeks before receiving the maximum dose for 12 weeks. The study showed that the drug was well-tolerated. Before the trial began, study participants had an average of 18 headache days each...

Republican voters see Donald Trump as a more favorable GOP candidate than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential race, and the former president has huge advantages in key demographic groups, according to a poll released Wednesday by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist.Trump has a 76% favorable rating among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, compared with 67% for DeSantis. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., notched 50%.White voters without a college degree, with 85%, say they have a favorable rating of Trump, compared with 60% for DeSantis, while women (81-61), white evangelical Christians (81-60), people with an income of less than $50,000 a year (83-59)...

In a study, researchers revealed that carrying excess belly fat is related to greater inflammation and mortality in COVID-19 patients. "While treating patients with COVID-19, we noticed that obese patients with predominantly abdominal fat tended to experience more severe disease courses and worse outcomes (A, B)," says Tadashi Hosoya. To test this, the researchers used two types of obese mice: ob/ob mice, which are susceptible to putting on abdominal fat, and db/db mice, which put on fat all over. Leptin signaling, which regulates appetite, is impaired in both types of mice, leading them to become obese from overeating. These two...

Explanation: Over 500,000 light years across, NGC 6872 (top right) is a truly enormous barred spiral galaxy, at least 5 times the size of our own very large Milky Way. The appearance of this giant galaxy's distorted and stretched out spiral arms suggests the magnificent wings of a giant bird. Of course its popular moniker is the Condor galaxy. It lies about 200 million light-years distant toward the southern constellation Pavo, the Peacock. Lined with star-forming regions, the distorted spiral arms are due to NGC 6872's gravitational interaction with the nearby smaller galaxy IC 4970, seen just above the giant...