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  • President Trump on USAID: "It has been run by a bunch of RADICAL LUNATICS and we're getting them out ... (Video at URL)

    02/03/2025 1:33:06 AM PST · by Its All Over Except ... · 26 replies
    X.com ^ | 2/2/2025 | Rapid Response 47
    ... and then we'll make a decision" ...
  • Today’s Cryptogram

    02/03/2025 1:32:01 AM PST · by Apple Pan Dowdy · 14 replies
    OF OL GBTOBCBE FYUF OX FYB NOELF SW U WOAYF, U GITT HUX WOXE YOL SZX KUMFOHITUM UMBU SW LUWBFP OX FYB UMBXU. FYBMB YB HUX MBHTUON YOL LFMBXAFY UXE KSZBM, HUTTBE YOL JIBMBXHOU. UL TSXA UL FYB GITT MBNUOXL BXMUABE UXE MBUHFOCB, FYB NUFUESM OL OX HYUMAB. PBF ZYBX YB WOXEL YOL JIBMBXHOU, YB AUFYBML YOL LFMBXAFY UXE TSLBL YOL WBUM. UF FYOL KSOXF FYB GITT OL FMITP EUXABMSIL, WSM YB YUL FUKKBE OXFS YOL KSZBM. — FUMU GMUHY
  • UK’s Starmer seeks strong trade relations with the US in the wake of Trump’s tariffs

    02/03/2025 1:25:20 AM PST · by RandFan · 16 replies
    AP ^ | Feb 3 | By BRIAN MELLEY
    LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday that he would seek a strong trade relationship with the U.S. after President Donald Trump suggested he would slap Europe with tariffs after he hit America’s biggest trading partners — Canada, Mexico and China — with import taxes. Starmer spoke to reporters while hosting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at his country estate on the eve of a mission to improve relations with the European Union. “In the discussions that I have had with President Trump, that is what we have centered on, a strong trading relationship,” he said. “So it...
  • Livestock auctions could be coming to an end at America’s last big-city stockyard (Oklahoma City)

    02/03/2025 1:22:37 AM PST · by Libloather · 11 replies
    On the edge of a thriving downtown dotted with luxury hotels and trendy restaurants is a more than 100-year-old relic of Oklahoma City’s western heritage: One of the world’s largest cattle stockyards. But maybe not for much longer. The Oklahoma National Stockyards — the last big-city stockyard in the U.S. — is for sale. The $27 million price tag includes 100 acres (40 hectares) of prime property along the Oklahoma River in a growing city of roughly 700,000 residents, where a state-of-the-art NBA arena is set to break ground and a developer is pushing plans for the country’s tallest skyscraper....
  • Canadian fans boo US anthem as tariffs spur 'buy local' pledge

    02/03/2025 1:13:30 AM PST · by RandFan · 60 replies
    BBC ^ | Feb 3 | Nadine Yousif
    A few hours after President Donald Trump announced that he would impose steep tariffs on Canada, hockey fans in the capital Ottawa booed the Star-Spangled Banner during a National Hockey League game against a visiting US team. On Sunday, during a National Basketball Association game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers, it happened again, continuing throughout the song and almost drowning out the 15-year-old singer's arena performance. The vocal displeasure from usually respectful fans is a clear sign of Canadians' deep dismay at Trump's move to hit its nearest ally with punitive taxes, which threaten to spark...
  • Trump and allies make more moves to wrest control of USAID

    02/03/2025 12:06:45 AM PST · by ransomnote · 80 replies
    Washington Post ^ | February 3, 2025 | John Hudson, Ellen Nakashima, Missy Ryan, Mariana Alfaro and Faiz Siddiqui
    The Trump administration and its allies moved to tighten control of the U.S. Agency for International Development over the weekend, signaling an intent to act forcefully to bring the U.S. foreign policy apparatus in line with the president’s “America First” approach to engaging with the world.SNIPVoorhees was put on leave after he did not allow officials from the “Department of Government Efficiency” to access a sensitive compartmented information facility — commonly known as a SCIF — an ultra-secure room where officials and government contractors take extraordinary precautions to review highly classified information, according to three current and former USAID officials.SNIPWhen...
  • State Dept: ‘Atheism grant’ may have been misused

    02/02/2025 11:51:47 PM PST · by ransomnote · 26 replies
    Highland County Press ^ | May 25, 2024 | Susan Crabtree Real Clear Wire via Highland County Press
    House Republicans who have led a nearly two-year investigation into a $500,000 State Department grant to an organization that promotes humanism and secularism are pressing the agency to conduct more diligent oversight after it admitted that the organization may have misused taxpayer funds.Rep. Mike McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who heads the panel’s human rights subcommittee, have accused the State Department of trying to promote atheism overseas under the guise of advancing religious pluralism, a longtime U.S. foreign policy priority. Rep. Brian Mast, a Florida Republican who...
  • Delaware Faces Exodus of Tech Companies [following ruling of Delaware judge that invalidated Elon's Tesla compensation]

    02/02/2025 10:58:52 PM PST · by Ultra Sonic 007 · 36 replies
    Newsweek ^ | February 1st, 2025 | Ewan Palmer
    Delaware is facing a further exodus of tech companies amid reports that Meta and Dropbox are moving out of the state. Newsweek has contacted Meta and Dropbox for comment via email. Why It Matters Delaware has long been considered a business-friendly state due to its corporate tax advantages, and is home to multiple large companies. However, backlash against the First State has intensified after Delaware Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that Tesla CEO Elon Musk's record-breaking $56 billion compensation package was excessive. Musk, who has become increasingly influential in both the political and corporate world, urged companies to pull out of...
  • Delaware judge reaffirms ruling that invalidated massive Tesla pay package for Elon Musk

    02/02/2025 10:55:20 PM PST · by Ultra Sonic 007 · 26 replies
    Associated Press (via WHYY PBS) ^ | December 2nd, 2024 | Randall Chase
    A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Tesla must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick on Monday denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. McCormick also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys, who argued that they were entitled to legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $5 billion. The judge said the attorneys were entitled to a fee award of $345 million. The rulings...
  • Just add water: The $1 bandage that could revolutionize wound healing

    02/02/2025 10:49:27 PM PST · by Red Badger · 24 replies
    Study Finds ^ | February 02, 2025 | Staff
    Photo of a water-powered, electronics-free dressing (WPED) for electrical stimulation of wounds. (Credit: Rajaram Kaveti) In a nutshell * A new water-activated bandage generates healing electrical fields without any electronics, costing just $1 to produce compared to current treatments that can cost up to $20,000 * In testing with diabetic mice, 75% of wounds treated with the electrical bandage healed completely by day 11, versus 0% with standard bandages * The technology allows patients to receive advanced wound treatment at home without visiting clinics or using bulky equipment, potentially improving treatment compliance ========================================================================================= RALEIGH, N.C. — A drop of water...
  • Dozens of Democrat Leaders Lament They Have No ‘Coherent Message’ to Fight Trump

    02/02/2025 10:35:59 PM PST · by Olog-hai · 91 replies
    Breitbart ^ | 2 Feb 2025 | Sean Moran
    Dozens of Democrat leaders are reportedly struggling to find a “coherent message” to fight President Donald Trump. The New York Times reported Sunday that, at private meetings and public events, Democrats “appear leaderless, rudderless, and divided.” […] “We have no coherent message,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) said. “This guy is psychotic, and there’s so much, but everything that underlines it is white supremacy and hate. There needs to be a message that is clear on at least the underlying thing that comes with all of this.” Minnesota Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar said, “Instead, what they see is chaos going up,...
  • NATIONAL CARROT CAKE DAY - February 3

    02/02/2025 10:32:09 PM PST · by Red Badger · 11 replies
    National Day Calendar ^ | February 03, 2025 | Staff
    NATIONAL CARROT CAKE DAY National Carrot Cake Day on February 3rd, celebrates one of America's favorite flavors of cake. In the carrot cake, we get to eat our cake and veggies, too! #NationalCarrotCakeDay Carrot cake closely resembles a quick bread from its preparation to its final consistency. Quick breads mix the wet and dry ingredients separately before combining, and the final product is coarser than a traditional cake. Creamy frosting separates the layers and often complements the spice of the cake. Cinnamon and nutmeg go well with the natural sweetness of carrots. Many bakers add nuts or raisins to their...
  • Musk calls GOP senator [Todd Young] a ‘great ally’ after previously blasting him over Gabbard nomination

    02/02/2025 10:05:08 PM PST · by RandFan · 12 replies
    The Hill ^ | 02/02/25 4:34 PM ET | by Lauren Irwin
    Tech billionaire Elon Musk called GOP Sen. Todd Young (Ind.) a “great ally” after he previously criticized the lawmaker over Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to become director of national intelligence. “Just had an excellent conversation with @SenToddYoung. I stand corrected,” Musk posted to his social media platform X. “Senator Young will be a great ally in restoring power to the people from the vast, unelected bureaucracy.” Musk, who has been tapped to lead President Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” previously slammed Young over his indecision in confirming Gabbard. In a separate post, Musk called Young a “deep state puppet.” Young, who...
  • Paxton weighs Cornyn challenge as Texas GOP rift deepens

    02/02/2025 9:52:59 PM PST · by RandFan · 22 replies
    The Hill ^ | 02/02/25 5:00 PM ET | by Jared Gans
    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is weighing a primary challenge to Sen. John Cornyn (R) in what could be the next high-profile proxy battle between the two competing wings of the state’s GOP. Paxton told Fox News in an interview on Monday that he is considering a bid for Cornyn’s Senate seat in 2026 as he speaks with various groups in Texas, saying a decision is likely in the “next couple of months.” If Paxton runs, the primary would likely be one of the most expensive in the country and the toughest election in both men’s careers. It would...
  • With Trump’s Backing Uncertain, Europe Scrambles to Shore Up Its Own Defenses

    02/02/2025 9:38:33 PM PST · by ransomnote · 92 replies
    NYTimes ^ | Feb. 3, 2025 | Jeanna Smialek and Steven Erlanger
    Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago convinced Europe’s leaders that they needed to spend more money on defense. On Monday, leaders from across the European Union and Britain will meet in Brussels to debate a vexing question: how to pay for it.It is a concern made more acute by President Trump’s return to the White House.The United States is the largest military funder of Ukraine’s war effort, but Mr. Trump has suggested he will rapidly withdraw U.S. financial and military support and leave it to the Europeans. He has also insisted that NATO nations ramp up defense outlays...
  • The Remarkably Quiet Death of Tackle Football

    02/02/2025 9:14:21 PM PST · by Red Badger · 78 replies
    Chronicles Magazine ^ | January 31, 2025 | John Ziegler
    Tackle football currently dominates the landscape of our national culture like no sport has done for almost a century. Almost single-handedly, it is keeping the major television networks—otherwise in a death spiral of their own badly broken business model’s making—alive. The Super Bowl is now the last remaining annual non-holiday happening we can legitimately consider a communal event, uniting Americans of virtually all demographics, at least for about five hours. Paradoxically, tackle football, at least in the form we have come to know it, is also vanishing right before our eyes. Remarkably, though we live in a social media era...
  • Greece on high alert as multiple earthquakes shake island of Santorini

    02/02/2025 9:08:07 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 36 replies
    CBS ^ | 02/02/2025
    A series of earthquakes near the Greek island of Santorini have led authorities to shut down schools, dispatch rescue teams with sniffer dogs and send instructions to residents including a request to drain their swimming pools. he strongest earthquake recorded was magnitude 4.6 at 3:55 p.m. Sunday, at a depth of 14 kilometers (9 miles), the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. A few tremors of over magnitude 4 and dozens of magnitude 3 have followed. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Earthquake experts and officials from the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and the fire service have...
  • LIVE ANTI ICE PROTEST IN LA

    02/02/2025 9:05:26 PM PST · by TexasKamaAina · 9 replies
    Smoke 'N Scan ^ | 02/02/2025 | Smoke 'N Scan
    LIVE ANTI ICE PROTESTS
  • Former Dem Candidate Tells WSJ That ‘Twenty Big Cities, Aspen and Martha’s Vineyard’ Are All That’s Left of Democratic Party

    02/02/2025 9:03:23 PM PST · by ransomnote · 40 replies
    Mediaite ^ | January 31, 2025 | Kipp Jones
    Adam Frisch, a Colorado Democrat who lost his House race in November to now-Rep. Jeff Hurd (R-CO), told The Wall Street Journal over the weekend his party is in disarray after their major 2024 election losses.SNIP“The Democratic brand is in the toilet, with a recent Wall Street Journal poll showing 60% of Americans view the party unfavorably while only 36% see it favorably,” Ball wrote. “Democrats lost ground with nearly every demographic group last November, including minorities, women, low-income voters and those without college degrees.”Asked for comment, Frisch replied, “Twenty big cities, Aspen and Martha’s Vineyard — that’s what’s left...
  • Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek

    02/02/2025 9:03:10 PM PST · by SeekAndFind · 8 replies
    Reuters ^ | 02/02/2025 | Eduardo Baptista
    BEIJING, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Chinese tech company Alibaba (9988.HK), opens new tab on Wednesday released a new version of its Qwen 2.5 artificial intelligence model that it claimed surpassed the highly-acclaimed DeepSeek-V3. The unusual timing of the Qwen 2.5-Max's release, on the first day of the Lunar New Year when most Chinese people are off work and with their families, points to the pressure Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's meteoric rise in the past three weeks has placed on not just overseas rivals, but also its domestic competition. "Qwen 2.5-Max outperforms ... almost across the board GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and Llama-3.1-405B,"...