A measles outbreak that began in South Carolina at the start of October is showing no signs of slowing ... read more
NASA has officially lost contact with a spacecraft that has been orbiting Mars since 2014.
A sharply divided Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday but signaled borrowing costs are unlikely to drop further in the near term as it awaits clarity on the direction of a job market showing signs of softening, inflation that "remains somewhat elevated" and an economy it sees picking up steam next year.
Humans don't just recognize each other's voices -- our brains also light up for the calls of chimpanzees, hinting at ancient communication roots shared with our closest primate relatives.
On Monday, US District Court Judge Patti Saris vacated a Trump executive order that brought a halt to all offshore wind power development, as well as some projects on land. read more
Another view ...
Never going to be pitch perfect': Trump loyalists see an imperfect messenger
www.politico.com
... The MAGA faithful are thrilled President Donald Trump is back on the road.
But some concede he is an imperfect messenger more apt to voice bullishness on his stewardship of the U.S. economy than he is to acknowledge the financial squeeze voters say they're feeling.
Trump stirred up fresh concerns Tuesday at a Pennsylvania rally that was supposed to focus on easing Americans' anxieties over pocketbook pressures. Instead, he veered off script, at one point urging austerity amid the holiday shopping season by resurfacing a line from earlier this year that American kids should be happy with "two or three" dolls.
The speech demonstrated that Trump's return to the trail is a gamble: It's just as likely to provide Democrats campaign fodder as it is to motivate his MAGA base heading into the midterm elections. And, as Trump plans more rallies in the coming months, his Tuesday performance raises new questions about how the White House can best deploy the president to help ensure Republicans win key congressional and gubernatorial races. ...
@#9 ... Since ICE doesn't recognize any law except their own, PLUS they don't have any sense of honor, nor do they have anything resembling a moral compass, how are these "Restrictions" going to be enforced? ...
A good question.
Perhaps, that is why Pres Trump is using ICE against Americans?
To wit ...
Axios Explains: Inside ICE's superpowers (June 2025)
www.axios.com
... The images of masked, heavily armed immigration agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans -- and led to a simple question: Is all of this legal?
It is -- at least for now.
Why it matters: Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created after the 9/11 attacks, its agents have operated with vastly more enforcement power, less transparency and fewer guardrails than local police.
- - - ICE's rules were designed largely to give the agency broad leeway in helping the FBI identify and arrest domestic terror suspects.
- - - Now the Trump administration is using that power to go after unauthorized immigrants -- potentially millions of them " with a frequency and aggressiveness that has sent ripples through communities nationwide.
Zoom in: Under Trump, critics say, ICE has become the closest thing the U.S. has to a secret police force.
- - - ICE agents aren't required to wear body cameras, can cover their faces, don't have to provide badge numbers or identify themselves, can arrive in unmarked cars and don't need a warrant from a judge to detain someone.
- - - Like those with other federal enforcement agencies, they can ignore rules that govern local police departments, particularly those local agencies with histories of abuse or that operate under court-imposed restrictions on racial profiling.
- - - In some cases, ICE agents can even arrest U.S. citizens " but they aren't supposed to place them in immigration detention units. Even so, a few U.S. citizens have been detained in recent ICE raids because of agents' mistakes or negligence. ...
@#76 ... You know I always thought you people cared about women, you knew of the issues.
You don't even know why Somali's come to the US, you know nothing about the ---- hole it is. ...
The US is a ---- hole?
I'm not yet of that opinion.
... You know I always thought you people cared about women, you knew of the issues. ...
What issues did I know of?
Please be specific.
... It's a North Africa thing. ...
Female ------- mutilation (January 2025)
www.who.int
...
Key facts
More than 230 million girls and women alive today have undergone female ------- mutilation (FGM) in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is practiced. ...
So, not just North Africa, as your current trolling alias asserts.
... Whether he did the same for gloomy voters haunted by high prices is more doubtful. ...
imo, that is the issue here.
Are Pres Trump and his billionaire-populated Cabinet even aware of what Americans are facing?
What is a 'K-shaped' economy, and what's causing the divide? (November 2025)
finance.yahoo.com
... The "K-shaped" economy, widely touted in the financial press, is the latest expression of wealth inequality. The U.S. economy is experiencing a growing gap between the highest earners and the richest corporations, who are spending and expanding their wealth, and the lowest-income households and mom-and-pop companies, who struggle to pay their bills day to day. ...
He cited the Fed's ongoing concerns regarding inflation, employment, rising defaults in subprime credit, layoffs, and a "bifurcated economy."
"If you listen to the earnings calls or the reports of big, public, consumer-facing companies, many, many of them are saying that there's a bifurcated economy there and that consumers at the lower end are struggling and buying less and shifting to lower cost products, but that at the top, people are spending at the higher income and wealth," Powell said.
That, in a nutshell, is the K-shaped economy. ...
@#4 ... While he was awake, Dummkopf Trumpf addressed reporters at the White House, sounding like Al Capone threatening Eliot Ness:
"Colombia is producing a lot of drugs," Dummkopf Trumpf warned. "So he better wise up or he'll be next. He'll be next soon. I hope he's listening, he's going to be next." ...
Related ...
He'll be next': Donald Trump threatens Colombian President Gustavo Petro
www.aljazeera.com
... United States President Donald Trump has renewed his threats against his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, warning that the South American leader could be the next target for his anti-drug campaign.
On Wednesday, at a White House roundtable with business leaders, one reporter asked Trump if he had spoken to Petro. That touched off a fiery response from the Republican leader.
"I haven't really thought too much about him. He's been fairly hostile to the United States," Trump began, before going on the offensive.
"He's going to have himself some big problems if he doesn't wise up," Trump continued.
"Colombia is producing a lot of drugs. They have cocaine factories. They make cocaine, as you know, and they sell it right into the United States. So he better wise up, or he'll be next. He'll be next. I hope he's listening. He's going to be next because we don't like people when they kill people." ...
So, my first question then becomes ...
Why did Pres Trump pardon fmr Honduran Pres Hernandez for his conviction on bringing over 400 tons of cocaine into the United States?
It is a simple question, but I've not yet seen any manner of rationale for that action.
Seizure of oil tanker marks new level of tensions between US and Venezuela
www.theguardian.com
... US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, in a major escalation of Donald Trump's four-month pressure campaign against the South American country's dictator, Nicols Maduro.
Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, posted footage of the seizure on X. The grainy, unclassified 45-second video shows US forces landing on the tanker from a helicopter.
In an accompanying statement, Bondi said the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the US Coast Guard, with support from the Department of Defense, had "executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".
Venezuela's government made no immediate comment on the seizure " but speaking at a rally in Caracas, Maduro urged citizens to act like "warriors" and be ready "to smash the teeth of the North American empire if necessary". ...
Yeah, an escalation.
But why?
... hatemonger ...
I have difficulties disagreeing with that appellation of Mr Kirk.