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Explanation: This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies. The dark band of dust that obscures the mid-section of the Sombrero Galaxy in optical light actually glows brightly in infrared light. The featured image, digitally sharpened, shows the infrared glow, recently recorded by the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope, superposed in false-color on an existing image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in visible light. The Sombrero Galaxy, also known as...

Cops are searching for a vandal who scrawled anti-Semitic graffiti on a scrolling message board outside an Upper East Side synagogue. The suspect, who has not been identified, walked up to the Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun Synagogue at 125 East 85th Street at about 7 p.m. Saturday, took out a marker and graffitied a display screen attached to the house of worship, the NYPD said. Police described him as a man with a slim build and short black hair who is around 25 years-old. He wore a white tank top, camo shorts and white sneakers, and ran off on East 85th...

A group of about ten self-driving taxis became stuck in the San Francisco neighborhood of North Beach on Friday evening, causing a traffic jam just one day after regulators voted to allow driverless taxi companies virtual free rein in the city.

Russia has warned that military intervention in Niger would lead to a "protracted confrontation" after regional bloc Ecowas said it would assemble a standby force.Such an intervention would destabilise the Sahel region as a whole, the Russian foreign ministry said.Russia does not formally back the coup.But the US, which backs efforts to restore deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum, says its Wagner mercenary group is taking advantage of the instability.On Friday coup supporters, some waving Russian flags, protested at a French military base near the capital NIamey, some chanting "down with France, down with Ecowas".Both France and the US operate military bases...

On Aug. 2, 2023, Anne Graham Lotz (daughter of Billy Graham) wrote: “If I believe what He (Jesus) said about sin, salvation, forgiveness, the love of God the Father, eternal life, His own identity, and all the other big truths (John 3:16–17; 5:17–21; 11:25–26.), then it stands to reason that what He said about His return is equally true. Jesus is coming! The glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, is imminent! (Titus 2:13). Ann’s statement is right on target, but it triggers questions in my mind: If Christians believe the Bible is the Word of God,...

Does anyone remember the epic threads a few years ago about evolution? I forget the main poster but the subject would swell to a thousand or two in short order. In addition to being an interesting subject the science involved was all over the place. What I could follow. Most was over my head, but the passion was something to behold. I also enjoyed the 'rational' evolution folk countering the 'emotional' Christian side of the subject with a batch of desperate fakery. The Piltdown Man probably the most famous.

I’ve just experienced another attack on social media. The harassment on X, as Twitter now calls itself, usually lasts around 36 hours, and while most of the nasties are trolls and bots, I can’t pretend that the hundreds of comments don’t have an effect. I’m a priest, progressive, outspoken. No point in complaining. But a disturbing new aspect of these bombardments are the repeated and constant false accusations of pedophilia – not a libellous dribble, but a flood. It’s not really about me of course, and I’m in good company. Last month in Belleville, Ont., when Justin Trudeau was swarmed...

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the United States needed to “very much acknowledge” climate change was upon us. Anchor Jake Tapper said, “Experts warn that extreme disasters such as this one are only becoming more common because climate change is fueling stronger storms, hotter temperatures, more widespread droughts. Earlier this week, President Biden incorrectly claimed he had already declared a climate emergency, which would give him additional powers to combat the climate crisis. Given what you’re seeing on the ground, do you want President Biden to actually declare a climate emergency?”

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has instructed major web browser company’s to begin blocking websites deemed “undesirable” by the globalist elites.The WEF-controlled nation of France is the first nation to issue a legal directive to web browser company’s to block all websites listed on a blacklist compiled by the Macron regime.Calling the plan “well-intentioned yet dangerous,” Mozilla warns that Young Global Leader Emmanuel Macron is plowing ahead with plans to force web browsers like Firefox “to create a dystopian technical capability” allowing the globalist elite to regulate what people see online.“Article 6 (para II and III) of the SREN Bill...

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby claimed state abortion laws were hurting military retentionNational Security Council spokesman John Kirby launched an impassioned defense of abortion funding for service members and their families on Monday, pounding the podium of the White House press briefing room as he called military access to abortion a "foundational, sacred obligation."The instance occurred when Kirby was asked by a reporter during the daily White House press briefing, what about the Pentagon's controversial policy for it to use taxpayer funds to reimburse the cost of travel and care related to abortions was "critical to military readiness.""Our policies,...

With the approach of the [date removed to avoid confusion] hurricane season and the strong potential for El Niño to develop during the next few months, the effect that El Niño has on both the Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes seasons is worth exploring. The hurricane impacts of El Niño and its counterpart La Niña are like a see-saw between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, strengthening hurricane activity in one region while weakening it in the other. Simply put, El Niño favors stronger hurricane activity in the central and eastern Pacific basins, and suppresses it in the Atlantic basin (Figure 1)....

Vladimir Putin suffered a humiliating blow on the world stage this week after the Russian ruble crashed yet again, with one Ruble now worth exactly one US cent. One hundred Rubles is now worth just one dollar, as the Russian currency appears on the verge of collapsing. The currency crash is the latest humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin, who has poured billions into his war with Ukraine. The stunning decline of the currency sparked a televised meltdown this week among Kremlin allies. remlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, who is often seen as a mouthpiece for President Putin, demanded an explanation from...

Donald Trump made a grand entrance at Iowa State Fair on Saturday - overshadowing Ron DeSantis and other contenders for the Republican presidential nomination who were trying to counter the power of the former president. Meanwhile, the former president arrived in the grandeur that only Trump can bring. Trump Force One flew low over the fairgrounds for the crowd to see. Secret Service wanded a long line of people waiting to get into Steers & Steins to see the former president. Mobs followed him throughout the fairgrounds, shouting his name. Trump spent only about an hour on the ground in...

A Native American group is threatening to go on the warpath if the NFL’s Washington football team doesn’t readopt its iconic “Redskins” name and punt the “Commanders” moniker it assumed in 2020 in response to coercion from the cancel-culture crowd. On Monday, the Native American Guardian’s Association (NAGA) sent a letter to the new leadership of the team, condemning the “cancel culture” that pressured the previous owner to drop “Redskins.” The group has also posted a petition on Change.org, calling for restoration of “Redskins.” By Thursday, more people (75,000) had signed the petition than can be seated in the team’s...

The co-owner of local newspaper the Marion County Record has died after being 'traumatized' by a police home raid that was green-lighted to seize information on a story that hadn't even been published. Joan Meyer, 98, collapsed and died following the intense stress and grief she felt when her home was raided by the entirety of the Marion Police Department in Kansas.

After the recent coup in Niger, the medium-term implications are undetermined, but the outcome is clear. The coup threatens stability in West Africa, American and French interests in the continent, and advances Chinese opportunities. Africans will suffer and Muslim extremists will continue to gain ground. Niger is unlikely to return to democracy in the short term. Initial hopes expressed by France that the Niger Armed Forces would step in to defuse the coup by the Presidential Guard quickly fizzled when the army sided with the coup. The angry deadline set by leaders of the Economic Community of West African States...

State governments have historically generated revenue to maintain roads, traffic lights, and the like by adding a tax at the pump. Owing to the federal government-prodded transition to electric vehicles (EVs) to combat something called “climate change,” states stand to lose out on this source of revenue as EVs obviously don’t require gasoline to operate. Utah’s novel solution is to charge a “per-mile fee” for EVs with a government GPS tracker attached to monitor movement. Via the Utah Department of Transportation: "Utah roads are maintained using taxes from gasoline sales. As vehicles become more fuel efficient and the number of...

Yes, there is a Dark Side to Federal stimulus! And it isn’t Dark Side of the Moon, but the dark side of who benefits from Federal stimulus. Its all about money. Example? Take Checkable Deposits of the to 1% (blue line) of wealth compared to the bottom 50% of wealth (red line) after The Fed cranked up monetary stimulus to combat the Covid shutdowns. On the wealth side, Covid-related monetary stimulus benefitted the top 1%. But the middle class is expericing a tighening of credit coutesy of Cap’n Crunch (Fed Chair Powell).

Stepping into the van guarded by armed soldiers with five surgeons and nurses, Zheng Zhi didn’t know he was entering into a world that would haunt him for the next quarter of a century. Dr. Zheng, then a resident doctor at one of China’s largest military hospitals, knew little more than they were on a “secret military mission” near a military prison located around the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian. A light blue fabric covered the four sides of the vehicle, shielding it from any curious glances. When the door opened, four burly soldiers carried in a man whose limbs...

Average temperature is 77-78 degrees at this time of year - The heat wave will be followed by two days around 80 degrees, but with very high Pacific Ocean humidity, so, it will feel the same or worse than near 90 degrees with low humidity - Less than 50% of Seattle homes and apartments are air conditioned, so unusual heat is always a BIG deal around here.