An automotive journalist is sharing his pulse-pounding story of being boxed in and temporarily detained by police in Minnesota after Flock cameras mistakenly flagged the license plate of his vehicle as stolen.
The ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is demanding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement explain why it has purchased commercial spyware capable of covertly taking control of phones as well as collecting messages, photographs, location information and other personal data. read more
It took eight trips in three vehicles over nine hours in sweltering heat before the 800 cow-calf pairs finally had enough water to make it through to the next day -- maybe two. read more
A senior administration official indicated that the US president is losing patience and sees few good options beyond continuing military action against Iran. read more
Analysis: For all the political sound and fury around them, America's tariffs have produced only modest economic effects. read more
Speaking of screwworms...
U.S. lifts ban on cattle imports from Mexico
www.upi.com
... The Department of Agriculture on Friday lifted a ban on cattle imports from Mexico that had been in place to contain the spread of a parasite threatening U.S. livestock.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said Douglas, Ariz., would be the first port of entry to be open on Aug. 24.
All cattle imports from Mexico were halted by the Biden administration in November 2024, when the first cases of the flesh-eating New World screwworm were detected in the south of the country. ...
Trump's former top food official: Cyclospora outbreak 'approaching catastrophic' level
www.politico.com
... President Donald Trump's former top food safety official is calling for an independent review of the federal government's response to a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands of people this summer.
"This one deserves a lot of questions, and it is starting to approach a catastrophic level in terms of how mismanaged it's been on multiple fronts," said Frank Yiannas, who served as the Food and Drug Administration's deputy commissioner for food policy and response during both Trump and former President Joe Biden's administration from 2018 to 2023.
He pointed to the outbreak's magnitude, the widespread consumer confusion and the "lack of strong federal leadership" as well as what he described as uncoordinated messaging from federal authorities. ...
Related ...
Trump's Saudi Nuclear Deal Fiasco May Finally Push Ally to China and Russia
www.newsweek.com
... President Donald Trump's decision to impose a heavy post-deal condition on a landmark agreement that would see the United States support Saudi Arabia in establishing a civilian nuclear program has threatened to tank the deal and push the longtime U.S. partner to explore separate arrangements with China and Russia.
Trump's declaration Thursday that the U.S.-Saudi agreement could only proceed if the Kingdom were to join the Abraham Accords, effectively normalizing ties with Israel, came less than 24 hours after both nations announced the deal.
The new clause, later reinforced by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, is widely viewed as a non-starter within Saudi Arabia, which has consistently held that diplomatic relations with Israel would be explicitly contingent on a roadmap for Palestinian statehood.
"Any normalization must be preceded by recognition of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the Saudi initiative approved by the Arab Summit in Beirut," Mohammed al-Sabban, a former senior adviser to the Saudi minister of energy, told Newsweek. ...
Yeah, speaking of Pink Floyd live....
Back in the day there used to be music released under the name of Screaming Abdabs. From what I understand of Brit slang, screaming abdabs is roughly the same as our American heebie-jeebies.
In any case, there's this live version of Echoes that I found ...
Pink Floyd (Screaming Abdabs) - Echoes
www.youtube.com
@#20 ... The uber-wealthy have purchased our government ...
Along those lines ...
Elon Musk likely broke the law by promising voters $1 million payouts, Wisconsin board says
apnews.com
Next stop, Trump Station? Administration wants to rename New York's Penn Station
apnews.com
... Will President Donald Trump's name grace one of the most famous -- and sometimes maligned -- landmarks in his hometown of New York City?
The Republican administration this week urged leading U.S. Senators to rename Penn Station as it undertakes a projected $8 billion redesign of the dreary, underground Manhattan transit hub that also happens to be the busiest in the western hemisphere. ...
@#6 .. It's meaningless and has no impact. Trump still carries a big stick ...
Oh, I agree that the polls showing Pres Trump's historic disapproval ratings may have little current impact.
Emphasis on "current."
They are not going to affect Pres Trump's big stick.
But the purpose of the polls is more forward-looking than the here and now of "current.".
The polls show that voters may want a change ...
Here's one ...
Fox News Poll: Voters want major change amid economic and political discontent
www.foxnews.com
... Several findings in the latest Fox News Poll show voters are unhappy and want major change, which bodes well for Democrats in November: President Donald Trump's job approval remains near a record low, more Democrats are motivated to vote, Republicans join Democrats and independents in rating the economy negatively, and 4 in 10 voters want "dramatic" or "revolutionary" change. Plus, more view the GOP as tied to elites than the Democratic Party.
Voters say Democrats can better handle income inequality (+22 points), healthcare (+21), inflation (+10), the economy (+9), and foreign policy (+7). Republicans hold the advantage on crime (+7 points), while government spending (Democrats +3) and national security (R +2) are more evenly divided. On immigration, the GOP had an 8-point edge in April. Now, Democrats are preferred by one point. ...
But how all that view change affects the outcome in November is, well, subject to the gerrymandering that Pres Trump has ordered to occur.
@#6 ... You can reject most if not all of what the GOP is doing but still stay far from socialism. ...
While I may not have a disagreement with that comment, I also note what the GOP seems currently to be doing to our Democracy.
For starters, trying to suppress the votes of those who do not usually vote for Republicans.
U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter ID Law (2016)
www.npr.org
...The appeals court noted that the North Carolina Legislature "requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices" -- then, data in hand, "enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionately affected African Americans."[emphasis mine]
The changes to the voting process "target African Americans with almost surgical precision," the circuit court wrote, and "impose cures for problems that did not exist."
The appeals court suggested that the motivation was fundamentally political -- a Republican legislature attempting to secure its power by blocking votes from a population likely to vote for Democrats....
Georgia's GOP House Speaker says vote-by-mail system would be 'devastating to Republicans' (April 2020)
thehill.com
..."... a multitude of reasons why vote by mail in my view is not acceptable," [Georgia state House Speaker David] Ralston went on, before adding "the president said it best, this will be extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia." ...
"The things they had in there were crazy. They had things, levels of voting that if you ever agreed to, you would never have a Republican elected in this country again," Pres Trump said...
More from the article ...