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In a heartwarming video that has captured the attention of millions, pandas in China's Chongqing Zoo have been seen sitting and eating like humans. These adorable black and white bears have caused quite a stir on social media, with some viewers questioning whether they are the real deal or simply humans in clever disguises.

NATIONAL COOKIE DAY National Cookie Day on December 4th serves up a sweet treat. Bakers across the country warm up the ovens for holiday baking, and we enjoy giving tins of cookies to friends and family all season long. #NationalCookieDay We can thank the Dutch for more than windmills and tulips. The English word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word koekie, meaning "little cake." Hard cookie-like wafers have existed for as long as baking has been documented. Not surprisingly, they traveled well, too. However, they were usually not sweet enough to be considered cookies by modern-day standards. The origin...

8:27 is the start of the action on a very interesting 33 minute long youTube episode. Paul Allen has created a database which, using AI, documents all youtube video of public figures - at all levels of government - such that you can go to https://citizenportal.ai and ask whatever you want to know about the position of whatever politician you are interested in. The AI transcribes whatever is said at any political meeting which gets to the interned (I forget if it’s only youTube sourced, don’t think so) - and uses the transcription as an index of what is said....

Be careful what you wish for, as the looming rate cut anticipated at the Fed’s March 20th meeting might not bring the desired outcome. History suggests that the first cut often aligns with a market decline, typically indicative of a slowing economy or crisis. Concerns are surfacing, especially in California, where tax receipts have plummeted by 25%, raising questions about an impending recession. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) report indicates a downturn in 2022, supported by the triggering of the Sahm Rule, even though applying it to states sparks controversy.

Britain’s governing Conservatives have decided it is now time to do something about the historic levels of migrants arriving in the country due to their immigration policies, prompting opposition Labour to quip: “who does the Home Secretary think has been in charge for the past 13 years?”. Home Secretary (Interior Minister) James Cleverly announced an emergency package of measures to reduce migrant arrivals to the United Kingdom on Monday afternoon, a move he claimed would cause the largest reduction in migrant arrivals ever. Among the changes planned are reforms to end “abuse” of visas and those arriving for legitimate reasons...

The granddaughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela has demanded that the British Royal Family pay reparations for its role in colonialism in Africa. In an interview on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Ndileka Mandela, said that for “healing” to begin, the Royal Family of the United Kingdom should commit to paying reparations to black people. “If there can be an acknowledgement of what was done to countries to colonise because we are still suffering a great deal from colonisation, in as far as our culture as Black people is concerned,” she said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban demanded on Monday that Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and billions of euros in funding meant for the war-torn country be taken off the agenda at a summit of the bloc’s leaders next week. In a letter to European Council President Charles Michel, who will chair the Dec. 14-15 summit in Brussels, Orban insisted that a “strategic discussion” is needed first about Ukraine’s European future and warned that forcing a decision could destroy EU unity. Decisions on EU’s enlargement and a review of its long-term budget, which includes 50 billion euros ($54.1 billion) in...

The S&P 500 is having an incredible year. The benchmark U.S. stock market index is up 19.7% on the year as bulls test the resistance around 4600. For Stifel’s analysts, known for accurately predicting the rally in the first half of 2023, this rally has largely played out. The analysts upgraded their mid-2024 price target for the S&P 500 to 4650 from 4400 previously.

Increasing the amount of folate through our diet or taking supplements could help to reduce bowel cancer risk. These are the findings of new research. It suggests that increasing the intake of folate—which can be found in leafy greens, such as spinach, cabbage and broccoli—could help to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by up to 7%. In line with previous studies, they found that people consuming higher levels of dietary folate, the odds of developing CRC (including proximal colon, distal colon, and rectal cancer) were reduced by 7% for every 260 micrograms higher consumption of dietary folate, which corresponds...

The snubbing of Florida State University’s football team from the college football playoff on Sunday has gone political, with Donald Trump saying disgruntled fans should blame Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the team being left out of the final four. In a post to Truth Social, the former president said FSU was “treated very badly” by the playoff’s selection committee, which voted to allow two one-loss teams—the University of Texas and University of Alabama—in over the undefeated FSU. “(FSU) become the first Power Five team to be left out of the College Football Playoffs,” Trump wrote, omitting that FSU is...

No, renters, you are not imagining those grey hairs springing up on your head – your living situation is actually making you older, faster. A landmark study out of the University of Adelaide and University of Essex has found that living in a private rental property accelerates the biological ageing process by more than two weeks every year. The research found renting had worse effects on biological age than being unemployed (adding 1.4 weeks per year), obesity (adding 1 week per year), or being a former smoker (adding about 1.1 weeks). University of Adelaide Professor of Housing Research Emma Baker...

This is one way to make the naughty list. A killjoy Texas “pastor” stood outside an elementary school dressed as the Grinch holding up a sign stating “Santa is Fake. Jesus is Real,” in an attempt to steal the holiday joy from the kids inside. David Harold Grisham posed as the beloved Dr. Seuss character in front of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School in Amarillo, Texas earlier this week professing his belief towards the children and the parents he views as telling a lie The un-jolly man claimed he was assaulted outside the school while the “police showed up in...

The leftist Atlantic actually victim-blamed Americans for the crushing high prices they’re experiencing. In the same breath, the outlet billed President Joe Biden’s ridiculously bad economy as the cat’s pajamas. If “everyone is miserable,” how could things be “going great”? CBS News reported based on analysis by the Joint Economic Committee Republicans that Americans need an extra $11,400 today “just to afford the basics.” CNBC also recently analyzed that the increases in consumer expenditures constitute “doom spending” as a coping mechanism to deal with the increasingly insurmountable high cost of living, even if it is detrimental to them. But Lowrey...

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating after a homeowner shot and killed a home invasion suspect. Officers were first called to a home in the 11400 block of Swinton Avenue in Granada Hills around 5 a.m. Saturday morning on calls of a “hot prowl,” or a burglary in progress when the homeowner is present, law enforcement officials said. “The officers’ preliminary investigation determined that approximately three to four armed males in their 20s entered the home with the intent to burglarize the location,” LAPD said on X, formerly Twitter, just after 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. “A suspect pointed a...

Call her Sheila. She doesn’t want her name used because of court testimony she has given as a state social worker which helped put men who abused their families in jail. She’s retired now, but still a rescuer by nature. On a recent afternoon she went back to Madonna Manor, the Catholic orphanage in a Spanish colonial revival building, now shuttered, several miles across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. “A reverent place,” she sighed, “but it’s also a crime scene.” She gazed at the wooden plank covering a window. Raccoons now nested in rooms that were once the dormitory...

Turkey warned Israel not to assassinate any Hamas leaders or officials on Turkish soil and stated that there will be "serious consequences"...

During the visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Kyiv, he was informed that Ukraine needs 17 million shells, as well as 350-400 billion dollars of forces and resources in order to de-occupy the entire territory of the country, reports Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper. "Calculations of the [Ukrainian] General Staff show that 350-400 billion dollars of forces and resources are needed to fulfill the task of liberating the entire territory of Ukraine. Some of the planning ideas were presented to Austin by the General Staff during his visit to Kyiv in November.

... But still. This is Beijing we’re talking about – where Han Feizi has gotten into his share of street altercations, shoved his way through nonexistent queues, hocked loogies with abandon and raised his voice in government offices. He has even been party to a bloody brawl with steel rebar and cinder block fragments used as weapons – don’t ask. Han Feizi suddenly felt too old to be doing this again. One night, as Han Feizi was hardening himself for Beijing’s rough and tumble, he clicked on an Atlantic article by David Brooks. It was a handwringing piece on the...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then...

UNCOVERED: Hidden Secrets of Pompeii (Full Episode)Lost Treasures of Rome | 44:24National Geographic | 22.3M subscribers | 94,604 views | November 30, 2023