HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s visit to the FDA Friday was supposed to introduce him as a trusted leader to agency employees. read more
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House's Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department's budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said. The proposal, which was presented to the State Department last week and is still in a highly preliminary phase, is not expected to pass muster with either the department's leadership or Congress, which will ultimately be asked to vote on the entire federal budget in the coming months.
Community celebrations being planned to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary next year are at risk of being significantly scaled back or canceled because of federal funding cuts ... read more
PARIS (AP) -- After his arrest, the boy's mother was stunned to discover that her 12-year-old had been learning how to kill and gorging on videos of decapitation and torture so gruesome they made even case-hardened French court officials look away. The mother told criminal investigators that she'd thought her son had been playing video games and doing homework during the hours he spent in his room. The child's descent into the internet's darkest recesses started innocently enough, with online searches about Islam after an aunt gave him a Quran as a gift, says the boy's lawyer. From there, more searching, automated algorithms that steer users' online experiences and the boy's curiosity ultimately led him to encrypted chats and ultraviolent propaganda pumped out by Islamic State militants and other extremist groups that are worming their way via apps, video gaming and social media into the minds of the very young. read more
Police allege Braeden Phillips, 20, had planned to commit a mass shooting at State College High School in Central Pennsylvania on April 21, one day after the 26th anniversary of the deadly Columbine High School shooting, according to a criminal complaint. Police allege Phillips had compiled a "hit list" and that the shooting would have taken place at around 8:40 a.m. -- a high traffic time for students and staff -- near the school's main staircase. Officials cited in the complaint allege that Phillips planned to place bombs in the school bathrooms.
Boaz:
"Travel agent? Can I get a flight to Hungary?"
Spooky browser of choice: "Trans bars in Budapest."
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[Full disclosure: My Hungarian paternal grandparents luckily emigrated to US in 1917.]
Freddie Prinze first appearance on Carson (paraphrased): "My parents ... one was Hungarian -- a gypsy -- one was Puerto Rican. I'm a Hungarican. People asked how my parents met. They were picking each other's pockets."