An engineer has learned what happens when you reject code proposed by a random OpenClaw AI agent on GitHub. The rogue AI didn't take it lightly -- it lashed out at the developer, published a blog post, called him "gatekeeper," and blackmailed him to accept the code.
Americans are set to receive some bad news regarding the average $1,000 tax refund increase expected for the 2025 tax year. read more
It still feels like a technological marvel: Waymo's autonomous cars are now transporting passengers across six cities. Alas, this driverless future comes with its own set of problems. These vehicles can be rendered inert if a passenger accidentally leaves the door open. read more
Soon after winning reelection in November 2024, Donald Trump's lawyers told a state judge in Delaware that a lawsuit brought against him by two co-founders of his social media company should be put on hold because a sitting president does not have time to deal with civil litigation. read more
Friedrich Merz has said Germany and its European allies must not shy away from the reality of the new global order read more
Lincoln tops presidential rankings; Trump records most poor' marks: Poll
thehill.com
... Americans overwhelmingly view former President Abraham Lincoln as an "outstanding" leader, while President Trump ranks near the bottom, according to a new poll.
The YouGov survey, released Friday, found that 74 percent of U.S. voters collectively rank Lincoln, known affectionately as Honest Abe, as "outstanding" or "above average." Another 12 percent said he was "average" while 11 percent were unsure. Just 3 percent called the 16th president "below average."
Lincoln was followed by former Presidents John F. Kennedy and George Washington. About 66 percent of respondents ranked Kennedy as "outstanding" or "above average," while 65 percent said the same of the nation's first leader, the poll found.
Less than 4 in 10 respondents, 35 percent, ranked Trump as "outstanding" or "above average." Instead, 54 percent viewed his presidency as "poor" or "below average." Another 9 percent placed him in the "average" category while 2 percent were unsure.
Trump, however, bested former Presidents Biden and Nixon -- who fell at the bottom -- in YouGov's rankings of 20 of the most well-known commanders in chief. ...
@#6 ... People have been selling their plasma for long before Trump. Are the numbers up? ...
Some stats ...
America's Plasma Contribution to the World: 2025
peterjaworski.substack.com
... As of December 31, the U.S. has a plasma center for 276,198 people. But there are significant regional differences.
Top States by Centers
With 186 centers, Texas is home to the most plasma collection centers, followed by Florida with 92 and California with 65. Rounding out the top-5 are Georgia with 55 and Ohio with 54.
The plasma center landscape looks like this: [see article for map] ...
U.S. Plasma Collection Volume
Year --- Liters --- Growth rate
2022 47,400,257
2023 55,405,000 16.9%
2024 57,610,407 4%
2025e 57,610,407 8.41%
2026e 69,325,985 11%
@#8
Related ...
ICE Jailed People Illegally 4,400 Times, Hundreds of Judges Rule: Report
www.newsweek.com
... According to a Reuters review of court records, over 4,000 immigrants were unlawfully detained under the Trump administration over the past few months.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in an email Saturday in response to the report that "President Trump and Secretary Noem are now enforcing the law and arresting illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country, and reversed Biden's catch and release policy." ...
President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. In the past year, immigration enforcement actions have at times swept up U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and advocates have raised concerns about unlawful detentions and other due-process violations. ...
In at least 4,421 cases since early October, more than 400 federal judges have ruled that ICE was illegally detaining people, according to a Reuters review of court records. The administration has been met with a slew of lawsuits over its immigration policies in addition to emergency motions and petitions seeking detainees' release. ...
Another view ...
Noem boasts of Trump administration ensuring we have the right people voting' ahead of midterms
thehill.com
... "I would say that many people believe that it may be one of the most important things that we need to make sure we trust, is reliable, and that when it gets to Election Day, that we've been proactive to make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country through the days that we have, knowing that people can trust it," she said.
A clip of those comments began circulating on social media Saturday morning, drawing swift criticism from Democratic lawmakers and political commentators.
"This is Trump's idea of democracy: leaders get to select their voters instead of the other way around," Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on the social platform X. ...
@#17 ... Is this what MAGA really thinks about Pres Trump? ...
Or, maybe this ...
Delaney & Bonnie - Never Ending Song of Love (1971)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
[Chorus]
I've got a never-endin' love for you (Ee-ha)
From now on that's all I wanna do
From the first time we met I knew
I'd have a never-endin' love for you
I've got a never-endin' love for you
From now on that's all I wanna do
From the first time we met I knew
I'd have a never-endin' love for you
...
@#8
Former Beauty Queen: Contestants Were Forced To Greet Trump Even When Not Fully Dressed (2016)
www.cbsnews.com
... As Miss Arizona, Tasha Dixon, then 18, competed in the Miss USA pageant, which was owned by Donald Trump for 19 years, along with the Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants.
"Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked changing into our bikinis," Dixon recalled. "He just came strolling right in. There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Other girls were naked."
She said she and her fellow contestants were put in an awkward position when "the owner come waltzing in when we were naked or half naked in a very physically vulnerable position and then to have the pressure of the people that worked for him telling us to go fawn all over him, go walk up to him, talk to him, get his attention."
Dixon's account is seemingly supported by the Republican presidential nominee himself in a 2005 broadcast on the "The Howard Stern Show." That audio recording was re-released last weekend.
Here is a sample of what was said on the show on April 11, 2005:
Trump: "I'll go backstage before a show and everyone's getting dressed and ready and everything else. And you know, no men are anywhere. And I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant. And therefore, I'm inspecting it. You know I'm inspecting it. I want to make sure everything is good."
Stern: "You're like a doctor."
Trump: "Is everyone OK? You know they're standing there with no clothes. Is everybody OK? And you see these incredible looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that."
Dixon has strong opinions about what she thought was Trump's motivations. ...
@#23
Here's one of many article I found ...
Monetary Cost of Air Pollution's Health Impacts Dropped from EPA Assessments (January 2026)
healthpolicy-watch.news
...The US EPA, whose path-finding work on air pollution's health impacts helped set standards internationally, will no longer put dollar amounts to the human health toll of the most hazardous air pollutants, PM 2.5 and ozone, in the course of setting new regulations or assessing the health harms of potentially polluting energy projects, the agency signalled on Monday.
The sea change in four decades of policy was included in a new economic assessment of new emissions standards for gas turbines, which fine-tunes and strengthens slightly regulations on nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, but avoids setting explicit limits for emissions of fine particles, PM2.5, widely considered the most health-hazardous air pollutant.
The costs to industry of the updated rule will amount to roughly $22.6 million annually, the assessment states. But it refrains from making any monetary estimate of health costs and benefits, stating:
"The EPA is no longer monetizing benefits from PM2.5 and ozone but will continue to quantify the emissions until the Agency is confident enough in the modeling to properly monetize those impacts." ...
Trump border czar dismisses Democratic demands to reform ICE
www.reuters.com