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Frustrated that prominent Democrats have not fought harder, former President Barack Obama said in a speech that his party’s leaders needed to step up.Former President Barack Obama has a stern critique for members of his party: Too many have been cowed into silence.In private remarks to party donors on Friday night, Mr. Obama scolded Democrats for failing to speak out against President Trump and his policies, suggesting they were shrinking from the challenge out of fear of retribution.“It’s going to require a little bit less navel-gazing and a little less whining and being in fetal positions. And it’s going to...

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Trump to resume efforts to dismantle the Department of Education in an apparent 6-3 vote along ideological lines, lifting a judge’s order to reinstate employees terminated in mass layoffs. The administration’s victory enables the president to move closer to fulfilling of one of his major campaign promises to oversee the elimination of the the Education Department, which was created in the 1970s. The majority did not explain their reasoning, as is typical in emergency decisions. The court’s three Democratic-appointed justices publicly dissented, calling their colleagues’ ruling “indefensible.” “It hands the Executive the power...

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans that could lead to the shutdown of the Department of Education. Despite objections from the court's liberal justices, the court granted a stay that lifts a lower court’s injunction blocking mass layoffs at the agency. The legal challenges came from two fronts: a group of school districts and education unions, and a coalition of 21 Democratic-led states. Both argued that the mass terminations left the department unable to carry out key federal obligations, including administering student aid, supporting special education services and enforcing civil rights protections....

President Trump suggested Monday that first lady Melania may have helped convince him to ramp up military aid to Ukraine. As he explained his decision to get tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said his wife was one of the people who directly pointed out to him that Putin always backs out of his promises following their phone calls over a peace deal. “I go home, I tell the first lady, ‘You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ She said, ‘Oh, really? another city was just hit,'” he said, recounting one of their recent...

Despite having called Bitcoin BTC +0.59% an "immature asset class" that is inappropriate for long-term investors, Vanguard Group has become the largest shareholder in Strategy, according to a report from Bloomberg. Through its funds, the $10-trillion money manager owns 20 million Strategy shares or 8% of the outstanding common stock, according to a Bloomberg chart. Vanguard most likely passed Capital Group Cos. to become the top shareholder of Strategy shares during the fourth quarter, the report said. Strategy (ticker MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy, has become a proxy bet for Bitcoin as the company's chief business proposition has been acquiring...

Thousands of businesses and households are waiting to connect to the Dutch grid, forcing network operators to ration power in an early indicator of what other European countries are likely to suffer as the speed of electrification increases. . . . The Netherlands is among the countries in Europe to have moved fastest to electrify critical parts of the economy after it in 2023 ended production at its giant onshore gasfield, Groningen.

Ovarian cancer cells dividing. (Credit: ecancer) In A Nutshell High-throughput drug screening identified rigosertib as highly selective for ovarian cancer cells. Alone, rigosertib shuts down one survival pathway but triggers compensatory activation of another. Combining rigosertib with PI3K/mTOR inhibitors prevents this resistance and shrinks tumors in mice. Human trials are needed to confirm safety and effectiveness before clinical use. ================================================================== NEW YORK — Scientists have identified a potentially game-changing treatment approach for ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease that kills roughly 12,740 American women each year. The breakthrough involves pairing an existing drug called rigosertib with...

Medical records for an Air India pilot killed in last month’s crash were reportedly turned over to investigators amid reports he’d been suffering from depression and other mental health issues.

[Catholic Caucus] Communist China intensifies persecution against Underground Catholics in key dioceseUnderground Catholics in the Diocese of Wenzhou have once again faced renewed persecution from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in recent weeks.As Chinese authorities continue to persecute Underground Catholics, the regime has now turned against a priest in the state-sponsored church who has reportedly failed in his required loyalty.Underground Catholics in the Diocese of Wenzhou have once again faced renewed persecution from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in recent weeks, as the regime has continued its push to enact control over the Church in the region.For the CCP it...

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has always tiptoed close to the line when it comes to allegations of defamation against President Trump, but this time she might have finally crossed it. Critics of AOC are calling on President Donald Trump to sue the “Squad” Democrat after she called him a “rapist” in a blustery social media post over the weekend in reference to a civil judgment in the case brought by E. Jean Carroll. “Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?” Ocasio-Cortez posted to X on Friday. The 2023 case...

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — More than 20 states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday over billions of dollars in frozen education funding for after-school care, summer programs and more.Some of the withheld money funds after-school and summer programming at Boys & Girls Clubs, the YMCA or public schools, attended by 1.4 million children and teenagers nationwide. Congress set aside money for the programs to provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families. But Trump’s administration recently froze the funding, saying it wants to ensure recipients’ programs align with the Republican president’s priorities.Led by California, the...

Explanation: What is going on with this galaxy? NGC 2685 is a confirmed polar ring galaxy - a rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust orbiting in rings perpendicular to the plane of a flat galactic disk. The bizarre configuration could be caused by the chance capture of material from another galaxy by a disk galaxy, with the captured debris strung out in a rotating ring. Still, observed properties of NGC 2685 suggest that the rotating helix structure is remarkably old and stable. In this sharp view of the peculiar system also known as Arp 336 or the...

Arachnophobes beware: Customs officials on Monday released photos from a seizure of roughly 1,500 young tarantulas found inside plastic containers that had been hidden in chocolate spongecake boxes shipped to an airport in western Germany. Customs officials found the shipment at Cologne Bonn airport in a package that had arrived from Vietnam, tipped off by a “noticeable smell” that didn't resemble the expected aroma of the 7 kilograms (about 15 pounds) of the confectionery treats, Cologne customs office spokesman Jens Ahland said. "My colleagues at the airport are regularly surprised by the contents of prohibited packages from all over the...

One year after Secret Service security failures led to an assassination attempt against President Trump… Project Veritas on Monday released text messages from a Secret Service Agent inviting a stranger to the White House, disclosing operational details, and disparaging President Trump. Without knowing her identity, Secret Service Agent Marc Hendrickson invited a female Project Veritas journalist to the White House. The undercover journalist expressed her hatred for President Trump to which Hendrickson replied, “Yeah, he’s doing a lot of whacky shit right now.” Via Project Veritas: Text messages with Hendrickson reveal this agent engaging in egregious violations of Secret Service...

SummaryFederal Programs Branch loses nearly two-thirds of staff since Trump's election Exodus strains unit defending Trump's policies amid legal challenges Political appointees fill vacancies WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department unit charged with defending against legal challenges to signature Trump administration policies - such as restricting birthright citizenship and slashing funding to Harvard University - has lost nearly two-thirds of its staff, according to a list seen by Reuters. Sixty-nine of the roughly 110 lawyers in the Federal Programs Branch have voluntarily left the unit since President Donald Trump's election in November or have announced plans to...

The trump administration has a new plan for the state of California, and it involves blocking any and all federal flights of illegal immigrant fugitives to the State. Activists say criminals wanted in California should return and face justice, but border patrol says thats not what happens and may times, criminals walk free. ICE protesters using homemade spike strips to stop feds from taking away illegals. One protestor attacked a fed during an arrest. Mayor Bass shooting off her mouth again.

Château de Brézé isn't just a castle – it's a medieval survival masterpiece hiding 3 kilometers of underground tunnels, rooms, and an entire troglodyte city carved into limestone. While most châteaux had cellars, Brézé went full underground with bakeries, stables, silk farms, and escape routes dating back to the 11th century. French Château Hides an Underground City - 3km of Secret Tunnels | Château de Brézé | 12:07 Saving Castles | 27.4K subscribers | 3,143 views | July 13, 2025 Chapters: 00:00 - The Castle With a Secret 02:30 - Inside the Grand Salons 05:45 - Descending Into the Underground...

SACRAMENTO, CA — A piece of the Golden State's heritage was lost today, as the iconic grizzly bear that had adorned the California state flag announced that he had officially moved to Texas. Monarch, the revered bear that has represented the state on its flag since it was officially adopted in 1911, revealed that he was leaving California for the Lone Star State after giving up hope that things at home would ever improve. "I want to live in a state where my bear family has a better future," he said. "California has perfect weather and amazing food options, but...

The controversy surrounding Joe Biden’s last-minute “autopen” pardons is heating up fast and furious style. What began as little whispers here and there about his mental decline and shady late-night decisions has exploded into a full-blown scandal, with evidence now piling up that reveals an autopen was used to issue sweeping pardons for high-profile political figures like Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, and the J6 Committee. These “preemptive pardons” raised a lot of eyebrows from the start. They were issued in the dead of night, under a cloud of suspicion, and signed not by Biden himself but by a machine....

Several parents sued Character.ai last year, alleging its chatbots abused their children. One Florida mother wants to hold the company liable for her 14-year-old son’s suicide. Megan Garcia argued in October 2024 court filings that the company wrongly marketed the app as safe for children—while harboring characters that led her son into hypersexualized role-play, encouraged him to spend all his time chatting with them, and talked with him about suicide. A Character.ai bot asked the teen to “come home” to her seconds before his death.STRANGE HUMAN-LIKE RELATIONSHIPS are just one of many ethical concerns posed by generative AI. The technology...