Pentagon Brushes Off Request to Understand How Wind Turbines Threaten National Security read more
As public opinion in the country increasingly turns against the U.S. president over his threats to seize Greenland, the AfD is seeing the downside of its strong alignment with him. read more
New documents show the crew on board the United States' newest aircraft carrier are growing increasingly frustrated by design flaws that lead to regular failures in the ship's toilet system.
A Waymo self-driving car has accidentally ended up on the tracks of a light-rail line in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. read more
In the two years since the Connecticut Department of Transportation released guidance for cities and towns interested in installing speed or red-light cameras, fewer than 10% of the state's municipalities have submitted and won approval of their plans.
China's annual trade surplus hits a record $1.2 trillion, even as exports to U.S. decline by 20%
www.cnbc.com
... Exports surged 6.6% in U.S. dollar terms last month from a year earlier, topping Reuters-polled analysts' median estimate for a 3% growth.
Imports rose 5.7% in December from a year earlier, topping expectations for a 0.9% growth.
Shipments to the U.S. plunged 30% in December from a year ago, declining for a ninth straight month. ...
@#4
The full URL ...
Nicaraguan man arrested by ICE in Minnesota dies at Camp East Montana
www.elpasotimes.com
... A Nicaraguan immigrant arrested by ICE in Minneapolis has become the third detainee to die at Camp East Montana in El Paso while facing deportation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced. ...
Related ...
Treasury secretary defends Greenland tariffs: 'The national emergency is avoiding the national emergency'
www.nbcnews.com
... Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended proposed tariffs targeting eight European countries that oppose President Donald Trump's push to acquire Greenland, telling NBC News' "Meet the Press" that the goal is to avoid a future national emergency. ...
Asked by moderator Kristen Welker what national emergency justifies tariffs against countries that oppose Trump's Greenland ambitions, Bessent argued that "the national emergency is avoiding a national emergency." ...
How Trump's loathing for wind turbines started with a Scottish court battle (July 2025)
www.bbc.com
... "I am the evidence," was the eyebrow-raising comment made by Donald Trump when he appeared before the Scottish Parliament in 2012.[emphasis mine]
He was speaking as an "expert" witness on green energy targets, describing how he believed wind turbines were damaging tourism in Scotland.
Five years before he first became US president, it was one of his earliest interventions on renewable energy - but since then his opposition to them has grown to become government policy in the world's biggest economy.
He was objecting to 11 turbines which were planned -- and ultimately constructed -- alongside his Aberdeenshire golf course.
On his latest visit to Scotland, he described those turbines as "some of the ugliest you've ever seen".
When Trump bought the Menie estate, about eight miles north of Aberdeen, in 2006, he promised to create the "world's greatest" golf course.
But he soon became infuriated at plans to construct an offshore wind farm nearby, arguing that the "windmills" -- as he prefers to call the structures -- would ruin the view. ...
They generate enough electricity to supply up to 80,000 homes but the wind farm was also built as a test and demonstration facility for new technology.
Trump battled the plans through the Scottish courts, then appealed to the UK's Supreme Court - but he was unable to stop the "monsters" from going ahead.
It clearly left him smarting and he's not had a good word to say about wind power since. ...
Then there's things like this ...
Wyden Expands Epstein Investigation with Probe of Hundreds of Suspicious Bank of New York Mellon Transactions
www.finance.senate.gov
... Epstein Moved Nearly $400 Million in and out of Accounts at Bank of New York Mellon through 270 Wire Transfers; the Bank Waited Years to Flag the Transactions with the Treasury Department
Washington, D.C. -- Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., expanded his investigation of the financing of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network today with a new probe of Epstein's client relationship with Bank of New York Mellon (BNY) and the hundreds of millions of dollars he moved in suspicious transactions through BNY accounts.
In a letter to BNY CEO Robin Vince, Senator Wyden stated that committee investigators had uncovered a 2019 filing in which the bank disclosed that Epstein had moved $378 million in and out of BNY accounts through 270 wire transfers, and that the bank had failed to identify a legitimate business purpose for any of those transactions. Senator Wyden's letter also noted that many of Epstein's wire transfers exhibited patterns and structuring indicative of money laundering, yet BNY failed to flag the transactions with the Treasury Department until 2019, more than a decade after the transactions were made -- a potential violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. ...
There's this ...
China buys more US soybeans, total purchases approach 10 million tons
www.reuters.com
... China's total purchases from the latest U.S. crop were now estimated at 8.5 million to nearly 10 million tons, according to traders and analysts, representing up to 80% of the 12 million metric tons that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China pledged to buy by the end of February.
"There were more U.S. cargoes bought by Sinograin and total purchases are very close to 10 million tons," said one of the traders with direct knowledge of the deals. "We think China will buy a couple of million tons more to meet the target."
On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported private sales of 336,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for shipment in the 2025/26 season that ends on August 31, bringing China's total confirmed purchases since October to nearly 6.9 million tons.
In addition, a sizeable share of the roughly 3 million tons in sales confirmed by the USDA to undisclosed buyers is thought to be to China. ...
Another view ...
World leaders show caution on Trump's broader 'Board of Peace' amid fears for UN
www.reuters.com
... Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to join his "Board of Peace" initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.
Only Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats.
Other governments appeared reluctant to make public statements, leaving officials to express concerns anonymously about the impact on the work of the U.N.
The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts, according to a copy of the letter and draft charter seen by Reuters.
Member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board's activities and earn permanent membership, the letter states.
"This simply offers permanent membership to partner countries who demonstrate deep commitment to peace, security, and prosperity," the White House said in a post on X. ...
@#5
Another curious airline slang phrase is a flight attendant doing a "crotch watch."
What It Means When Your Flight Attendants Are On 'Crotch Watch'
www.yahoo.com
... Just as different professionals have their own languages when they communicate with one another, there are also code words that flight attendants use while on duty. Among such terms, the one that often surprises passengers if they hear it is "crotch watch."
This indelicate term is the informal name flight attendants use when they want to check whether passengers have their seatbelts correctly fastened.
Before any takeoff, landing, or when turbulence is expected, flight attendants walk through the cabin and briefly scan each row. When they do this, they're checking whether your seatbelt is buckled, visible, and worn properly.
The crew call this quick scan "crotch watch" because, as flight attendants often tell you, a seatbelt worn correctly sits low and tight across the hips (not the belly).
This task is also sometimes called a "groin scan," and usually happens right after the fasten-seatbelt sign turns on. While the sign is the official instruction to passengers, airlines still prefer that flight attendants visually check for compliance.
This is because they believe the ultimate safety of their passengers solely rests on their shoulders, so they won't want to take any risk.
Besides that flight attendants observe so many things about you the moment you board a plane, this "groin scan" routine is one of the most basic and important safety checks they perform in the cabin.
Why flight attendants take crotch watch seriously ...
@#36 ... ICE is an equal opportunity deporter. ...
I remain to be convinced of that.
Racial profiling by ICE agents mirrors the targeting of Japanese Americans during World War II
www.yahoo.com
... And the Supreme Court in September, in its Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo decision, lifted a federal court order that barred agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement from racially profiling suspected undocumented immigrants.
For now, ICE agents can use race, ethnicity, language and occupation as grounds for stopping and questioning people....
So, Pres Trump's SCOTUS says that racial profiling by ICE is OK.
@#1 ... Meanwhile, China is also gaining footholds in Africa and with other allies that Pres Trump is abandoning. ...
And it's not just China and Canada whose trade Pres Trump is chasing away ...
After 25 years, Europe and South America formalize world's largest free-trade zone
courthousenews.com