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Explanation: It was one of the most energetic particles ever known to strike the Earth -- but where did it come from? Dubbed Amaterasu after the Shinto sun goddess, this particle, as do all cosmic rays that strike the Earth's atmosphere, caused an air shower of electrons, protons, and other elementary particles to spray down onto the Earth below. In the featured illustration, a cosmic ray air shower is pictured striking the Telescope Array in Utah, USA, which recorded the Amaterasu event in 2021 May. Cosmic ray air showers are common enough that you likely have been in a particle...

Luke 10:21-24 Friends, today in the Gospel, we hear Jesus in intimate conversation with his Father. The passage invites us into very deep mysteries. Jesus addresses his Father and thereby reveals his own deepest identity within the Holy Trinity. He says, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”It is important to keep in mind that this is not simply a good and holy man addressing God, but rather the very Son of God addressing his Father. We...

Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) pushed back on remarks that she was not "cute" or "attractive enough" to ignore her constituents, claiming the comment reminded her of former President Donald Trump. Omar claimed the rhetoric, which was used by her Democratic primary challenger, Don Samuels, earlier this month, was unbecoming of someone seeking elected office.

After narrowly securing both the state House and Senate, Virginia Democrats are looking to codify the “right” to abortion in the state Constitution. Virginia Democrats pre-filed the proposal to be offered on January 10, 2024, after their election victories on Nov. 7. The language of the proposal would establish a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom.” It reads: That every individual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom. This right to make and effectuate one’s own decisions about all matters related to one’s pregnancy shall not be denied, burdened, or infringed upon, unless justified by a compelling state interest and achieved...

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett calls Texas and Florida “deplorable states”

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., announcedTuesday that he will not seek re-election, once again expanding the coming congressional exodus. McHenry said he will finish out the remainder of his term. The Republican is a close ally of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and served as interim-speaker in the time between McCarthy's ouster and the election of Speaker Mike Johnson. "This is not a decision I come to lightly, but I believe there is a season for everything and—for me—this season has come to an end," McHenry said in a statement. "P

fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2023/12/three-measures-of-us-credit-card-debt/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20outstanding%20credit%20card,for%20consumer%20spending%20going%20forward. From a disposable income standpoint the Fed data agrees that the consumer is better able to service their debt now than they ever have. That peaked during the stimmie checks but that gap has closed from -25% to -5% in the past 2 years. Which is not a promising trend. Adjusting for inflation the debt is equal to pre Covid but 20% higher than post GFC.

Headlines blaring warnings about how a second Trump presidency could slip toward dictatorship on Monday prompted a stiff pushback from allies of the ex-president, who is topping GOP primary polls just weeks before the Iowa caucuses.The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The New York Times each published stories referencing a “Trump dictatorship” in recent days, arguing a new Trump presidency posed a threat to democracy. The Times wrote a second Trump term likely would be more radical than his first.“All of these articles calling Trump a dictator are about one thing: legitimizing illegal and violent conduct as we get closer...

Job openings tumbled in October to their lowest in 2½ years, a sign the historically tight labor market could be loosening. Employment openings totaled a seasonally adjusted 8.73 million for the month, a decline of 617,000, or 6.6%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The number was well below the 9.4 million estimate from Dow Jones and the lowest since March 2021. The decline in vacancies brought the ratio of openings to available workers down to 1.3 to 1, a level that only a few months ago was around 2 to 1 and is nearly inline with the pre-pandemic level of...

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine canceled plans on Tuesday to make a direct, last-ditch appeal to senators for tens of billions more in emergency military aid for his nation, a day before a critical Senate vote that was expected to show growing opposition in Congress for continuing to fund the war effort. Mr. Zelensky had planned to speak to senators in a classified briefing via confidential video call, arranged at the behest of Biden administration officials. His remarks were orchestrated as part of an urgent effort by Democrats and the White House to wear down Republican resistance to a bill...

Hertz is slowing down plans to include more electric cars in its fleet. The firm said EVs have higher repair costs and have depreciated significantly. Hertz said it would buy 100,000 Teslas in 2021. Embracing electric cars is proving much more complicated than Hertz anticipated. The car-rental giant is hitting the brakes on a wide-ranging plan to integrate more electric vehicles into its fleet as it runs into challenges, such as high repair costs and depreciation. Hertz isn't giving up on EVs entirely, but it's starting to take a more measured approach. "Our in-fleeting of EVs will be slower than...

Gov. Ron DeSantis is adding financial heft to the backlash from undefeated Florida State’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff. DeSantis announced Tuesday that his 2024-25 budget includes $1 million for “any litigation expenses that may come as a result of this really, really poor decision by the College Football Playoff to exclude an undefeated team” that won a major conference title. The Republican made his remark during a news conference to present his budget. DeSantis said the 13-0 Seminoles “earned a spot” in the playoff but were excluded in a “very, very controversial ruling.” FSU is the first undefeated...

Who says cats can't hit the gym? In a captivating Twitter video, an adorable fat cat breaks stereotypes and shows off its impressive abs workout at the gym. This feline fitness fanatic is determined to shed some pounds and prove that with a little determination, even our furry friends can lead a healthy lifestyle.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently published a pair of papers that, together, provide the most detailed maps to date of how 144 common invasive plants species will react to 2° Celsius of climate change in the eastern U.S., as well as the role that garden centers currently play in seeding future invasions. Together, the papers, published in Diversity and Distributions and BioScience, and the publicly available maps, which track species at the county level, promise to give invasive species managers in the U.S. the tools they need to proactively coordinate their management efforts and adapt now for...

Employers across a range of industries are dropping a job requirement once considered a ticket to a higher paying job and financial security: a college degree. Today's tight labor market has led more companies instead to take a more skills-based approach to hiring, as evidenced on job search sites like Indeed and ZipRecruiter. "Part of it is employers realizing they may be able to do a better job finding the right talent by looking for the skills or competencies someone needs to do the job and not letting a degree get in the way of that," Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, senior director...

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman recently gave a $250,000 donation to a super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Dmitri Mehlhorn, a political adviser to Hoffman, confirmed the contribution to SFA Fund Inc. with The Hill. The New York Times first reported the donation. The hefty donation to the GOP White House hopeful is particularly notable as Hoffman is an open supporter of President Biden, who is running for reelection. Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, co-hosted a campaign fundraiser for Biden in San Francisco back in June.

In late 2020, Colorado voters did something relatively unprecedented in the nation’s history by voting to reintroduce wolves to the state. That process, several years in the works now, will involve transplanting wolves from Oregon — and even though the measure was given the goahead three years ago, some opponents of the measure remain skeptical. That in and of itself isn’t too surprising; you’d think that if people changed their mind on how they’d voted, it would likely happen after wolves returned to Colorado, and that hasn’t happened yet. A recent article at NPR by Kurt Siegler offers a good...

The 2024 Infiniti QX60 will enter the new model year essentially unchanged. Infiniti launched the all-new, second-gen QX60 in 2022 to lock horns with the best of the best in the midsize luxury crossover segment, a virtual battlefield dominated by renowned nameplates like the Mercedes-Benz GLE, BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, Acura MDX, and Genesis GV80. However, the Infiniti QX60 has a lower starting price than its nearest rivals, which buyers will find appealing considering the QX60’s posh three-row cabin, comfortable ride, and generous features list. Plus, the QX60 could tow up to 6,000 lbs. (when properly equipped) and...

[Catholic Caucus] Brazilian priest accused of schism faces canonical proceedingsA Brazilian priest is facing canonical proceedings after his archdiocese said he had made schismatic statements and ignored restrictions on the use of pre-conciliar liturgical rubrics.The Archdiocese of São Paulo announced Nov. 29 that it would open a preliminary investigation into the priest’s alleged schismatic activity, and at the same time, remove Fr. Fábio Fernandes from Our Lady of Sorrows church in the Barra Funda district of the city of São Paulo, where he serves as pastor.A Nov. 23 decree signed by Cardinal Odilo Scherer, the Archbishop of São Paulo, said...

The death toll from a volcano eruption in Indonesia has risen to 22 after nine more bodies were discovered, a search and rescue agency official said Tuesday. Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra spewed an ash tower 9,800 feet — taller than the volcano itself — into the sky on Sunday. Hundreds of rescuers have worked for days to find missing hikers, which numbered 10 on Tuesday before the local rescue agency's announcement that most had been found, bringing the days-long search closer to an end. "Nine of 10 missing victims were found dead this afternoon and at the...