China

He can go hang out with his pal Navarro who is crying like a baby and trying to get early release.

This is fine...

Schools in One Virginia County to Reinstate Confederate Names After a meeting that lasted for hours, the Shenandoah County school board voted early Friday morning to restore the names of three Confederate officers to schools in the district. With the vote, the district appears to be the first in the country to return Confederate names to schools that had removed them after the summer of 2020, according to researchers at the Montgomery, Ala.-based Equal Justice Initiative. The vote rolled back a decision made four years ago, when the killing of George Floyd prompted nationwide demands for a racial reckoning. At a virtual meeting in July 2020, the summer of pandemic and protests, the board voted 5-1 to drop the names of two schools — Ashby-Lee Elementary and Stonewall Jackson High — that it deemed incompatible with a recently passed resolution condemning racism. The schools were renamed the next year as Honey Run and Mountain View. But a fury had been unleashed in the rural county in the mountains of Virginia. People crowded into school board meetings, denouncing the naming process as secretive and rushed, and voicing deeper resentments about cultural changes they saw as being foisted upon them. After a re-vote ended in a tie in 2022, the name changes stood. But opponents swore that Stonewall Jackson would be revived. And on Friday, he was. Click on the link for the full article

Navarro must really not be enjoying his time in jail, he's filed twice with the Supreme Court (and been denied twice) and now he's filing an emergency motion for early release: 'Scared silly': Imprisoned Trump advisor Peter Navarro files emergency motion for release Trump's former trade advisor Peter Navarro, who was recently convicted of contempt, is seeking an "emergency" release from his imprisonment. Navarro, who has also accused CNN of homicide, filed the Hail Mary release attempt Thursday, according to reports. CBS Correspondent Scott MacFarlane flagged the filing on social media. "Former Trump advisor Peter Navarro files emergency motion to get his prison sentenced reduced (for release)," according to the reporter. "Defense argues: 'Dr. Navarro’s term of imprisonment has been marred by the same political turmoil that gave rise to his prosecution.'" It continues: "He has been denied the opportunity to speak both with the press as well as a with Member of Congress. Indeed, when the Director of the Bureau of Prisons was asked about why a sitting Member of Congress could not speak to Dr. Navarro, he was informed that Dr. Navarro is, 'too notorious' to be interviewed." "Navarro is imprisoned at the federal facility in Miami. His emergency motion references Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) multiple times," MacFarlane wrote. "His projected release date is July 17." Click on the link for the full article

Transgender Activists Flood Utah Tip Line With Hoax Reports To Block Bathroom Law Enforcement Transgender activists have flooded a Utah tip line created to alert state officials to possible violations of a new bathroom law with thousands of hoax reports in an effort to shield trans residents and their allies from any legitimate complaints that could lead to an investigation. The onslaught has led the state official tasked by law with managing the tip line, Utah Auditor John Dougall, to bemoan getting stuck with the cumbersome task of filtering through fake complaints while also facing backlash for enforcing a law he had no role in passing. “No auditor goes into auditing so they can be the bathroom monitors,” Dougall said Tuesday. “I think there were much better ways for the Legislature to go about addressing their concerns, rather than this ham-handed approach.” In the week since it launched, the online tip line already has received more than 10,000 submissions, none of which seem legitimate, he said. The form asks people to report public school employees who knowingly allow someone to use a facility designated for the opposite sex. Utah residents and visitors are required by law to use bathrooms and changing rooms in government-owned buildings that correspond with their birth sex. As of last Wednesday, schools and agencies found not enforcing the new restrictions can be fined up to $10,000 per day for each violation. Although their advocacy efforts failed to stop Republican lawmakers in many states from passing restrictions for trans people, the community has found success in interfering with the often ill-conceived enforcement plans attached to those laws. Click on the link for the full article

Ukraine Breaks New Ground With Drone Strikes on Russian Oil Hubs A drone struck an oil refinery in Russia's republic of Bashkortostan, nearly 1,000 miles from the border with Ukraine, the most far-reaching drone attack on a Russian target in the war so far. Sources in Ukraine's Security Service told news outlet Ukrainska Pravda it was behind the attack on Russia's Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refinery on Thursday morning. It marked the first drone strike on the republic during Russia's attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. "According to the source of Ukrainska Pravda, it was a [Security Service] drone that established a record by traveling 1,500 kilometers (930 miles)," the publication reported. Click on the link for the full article

‘A little bold and gross’: Oil industry writes executive orders for Trump to sign The U.S. oil industry is drawing up ready-to-sign executive orders for Donald Trump aimed at pushing natural gas exports, cutting drilling costs and increasing offshore oil leases in case he wins a second term, according to energy executives with direct knowledge of the work. The effort stems from the industry’s skepticism that the Trump campaign will be able to focus on energy issues as Election Day draws closer — and worries that the former president is too distracted to prepare a quick reversal of the Biden administration’s green policies. Oil executives also worry that a second Trump administration won’t attract staff skillful enough to roll back President Joe Biden’s regulations or craft new ones favoring the industry, these people added. Six energy industry lawyers and lobbyists interviewed by POLITICO described the effort to craft executive orders and other policy paperwork that they see as more effective than anything a second Trump administration could devise on its own. Those include a quick reversal of Biden’s pause on new natural gas export permits and preparations for wider and cheaper access to federal lands and waters for drilling. Click on the link for the full article

Bump stock ban, electronic firearm sale record bills fail in Pennsylvania House The divisive issue of gun control brought a rally and two failed attempts at passing legislation on Tuesday to the Pennsylvania Capitol. A bill banning bump stocks and similar devices failed in a 101-100 vote in the Pennsylvania House on a near party-line vote that saw one Democrat, Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria County, side with Republicans in keeping the bill short by a single vote needed to pass. The same margin held for a bill that would require firearm dealers to report gun sales electronically. Both pieces of legislation could be brought up for reconsideration. "Look at the FBI crime statistics — actually putting criminals in jail is what works, not creating new crimes. Not by duplicating something that is already covered in federal law," said Rep. Bryan Cutler during the debate over the bump stock bill. Bump stocks are devices that use a gun's recoil to make the act of pulling the trigger of a semi-automatic weapon easier and faster, substantially increasing the rate of fire. The devices were banned by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms under the Trump administration following the Las Vegas music festival shooting in 2018 that left dozens dead. However, that ban is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court that the ATF was not allowed to make the decision to prohibit bump stocks and the measure should have come from Congress. Click on the link for the full article

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So apparently Trump's lawyers again asked for a mistrial (which was denied) and also asked for modification of the gag order so that Trump could respond to Stormy Daniels. That was also denied, as one of the prosecuting attorneys put it: "Let's not pretend that this is going to be some high minded discourse." I think her testimony got under his skin. Good.

Well they haven't killed this whistleblower yet: Boeing whistleblower says plane parts had serious defects Plane bodies made by Boeing's largest supplier regularly left the factory with serious defects, according to a former quality inspector at the firm. Santiago Paredes who worked for Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas, told the BBC he often found up to 200 defects on parts being readied for shipping to Boeing. He was nicknamed "showstopper" for slowing down production when he tried to tackle his concerns, he claimed. Spirit said it "strongly disagree[d]" with the allegations. "We are vigorously defending against his claims," said a spokesperson for Spirit, which remains Boeing's largest supplier. Mr Paredes made the allegations against Spirit in an exclusive interview with the BBC and the American network CBS, in which he described what he said he experienced while working at the firm between 2010 and 2022. He was accustomed to finding "anywhere from 50 to 100, 200" defects on fuselages - the main body of the plane - that were due to be shipped to Boeing, he said. "I was finding a lot of missing fasteners, a lot of bent parts, sometimes even missing parts." Boeing declined to comment. Click on the link for the full article

NWS confirms 11 tornadoes from Tuesday’s storms The National Weather Service out of Wilmington has confirmed multiple tornado touchdowns in several counties around the Miami Valley. Wednesday as of 8:04 p.m., there have been 11confirmed tornados in the Miami Valley that occurred Tuesday. In Warren County, five tornadoes were observed. NWS has also confirmed touchdowns in Clinton, Darke, Auglaize, Mercer and Franklin Counties. NWS in Wilmington reported their first confirmed tornado from Tuesday in southeast Indiana. Click on the link for the full article Meanwhile in Michigan: Watch: Michigan tornado flattens 'every single tree on property' in 45 seconds

Boeing 737 skids off runway in Senegal A Boeing 737-300 aircraft has skidded off a runway in Senegal, injuring at least 10 people, four of them seriously. The incident occurred as Air Senegal flight HC 301 was taking off for the Malian capital Bamako in the early hours of Thursday, Dakar's Blaise Diagne airport said in a statement. The pilot was slightly injured, but most of the 78 passengers on board were not hurt in the incident. Operations were halted at the airport for a few hours but have now resumed. Emergency services at the airport were mobilised to evacuate passengers, the airport's statement said. An inquiry is under way to determine the causes of the incident, which took place at around 0100 GMT. Boeing has not commented on the incident, nor has Transair, the private company from which Air Senegal chartered the plane. Click on the link for the full article

Hertz Charges Tesla Model 3 Renter $277 Fee for Gas, Won’t Back Down You might understand the shock that Hertz customer Joshua Lee felt when he saw the receipt for his rented Tesla Model 3. After returning the vehicle back to Hertz following a weekend vacation in Los Angeles, Lee noticed he was hit with additional charge of $277.39 on top of his initial reservation price. Why was he charged so much additional money? According to Hertz, that was the cost of refueling the electric Model 3. Unfortunately for Lee, the further he pried the company for information, the more Hertz doubled down, and the more confused he became. When Lee made his reservation—the receipts for which were seen and confirmed by The Drive—he paid for the "Skip the Pump and Save Time" option, which allows customers to bring their rental cars back without refilling the gas tank. So even if he was driving a car that took gasoline, he shouldn't have been charged an additional refueling fee. OK—mistakes happen, and perhaps the person working at the counter accidentally checked the wrong box. However, when Lee submitted a billing question, Hertz doubled down on the refuel charge, despite the Tesla Model 3 not having a fuel tank to refill, and Lee having already paid for the "Skip the Pump" option. You might ask, maybe Hertz was charging Lee for having to top the Model 3's battery upon its return? According to the final receipt, the customer gave the Model 3 back to Hertz with the battery 96% full, the exact same state of charge it was picked up with. And, even if Lee hadn't done that, the maximum fee should've been $35, per Hertz's EV recharging policy: "You can return your EV at any charge level and we’ll recharge it for $35—or just $25 for Gold Plus Rewards Members. Or, return it at the same level as pick-up and pay $0." In other words, even if Hertz determined it necessary to hit Lee with a recharging fee, it shouldn't have been anywhere near $277. Making matters worse, here's how a Hertz customer service administrator responded when Lee submitted a question over email to dispute the extra charge: Let's recap: Not only did Hertz acknowledge that Lee was charged for refueling an electric car, which isn't possible, but it's defended that claim on the basis that the agreed-upon "service was provided." How? Where did the fuel go? And you've got to ask, even though this shouldn't even matter: if we were talking about a gas-powered car, what make and model is knocking back $277 for a full tank? That's more than 46 gallons at LA's peak prices, less whatever markup Hertz would charge of course. Click on the link for the full article

April was the moistest on record, evidence of a long-predicted water vapor humidity feedback. Ben Noll is a meteorologist at the Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand. He is responsible for monitoring the atmosphere's moisture content and discovered a record-setting pattern of increasing moisture. He found that April was the wettest month on record, and March was the wettest month on record. That is not all. For eleven consecutive months, the Earth has experienced unprecedented heat temperatures. Last month, it was 1.58 Celsius warmer than the average, per Copernicus. The ocean, the largest ecosystem on Earth, comprising seventy percent of the planet's surface area, has been the warmest recorded daily for the past thirteen months. Part of that warming can be attributed to El Nino, a natural climate cycle, as well as the greenhouse effect. The issue is that increasing water vapor is due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Click on the link for the full article

WTF is this and what does it have to do with the indictments? It's hilarious BTW.

That would explain a lot.

The independent auditor fo Trump's DJT media has been charged with fraud, and he'll need to find a new auditor: SEC Charges Audit Firm BF Borgers and Its Owner with Massive Fraud Affecting More Than 1,500 SEC Filings The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged audit firm BF Borgers CPA PC and its owner, Benjamin F. Borgers (together, “Respondents”), with deliberate and systemic failures to comply with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) standards in its audits and reviews incorporated in more than 1,500 SEC filings from January 2021 through June 2023. The SEC also charged the Respondents with falsely representing to their clients that the firm’s work would comply with PCAOB standards; fabricating audit documentation to make it appear that the firm’s work did comply with PCAOB standards; and falsely stating in audit reports included in more than 500 public company SEC filings that the firm’s audits complied with PCAOB standards. To settle the SEC’s charges, BF Borgers agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty, and Benjamin Borgers agreed to pay a $2 million civil penalty. Both Respondents also agreed to permanent suspensions from appearing and practicing before the Commission as accountants, effective immediately. Click on the link for the full press release Only the best people.

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Yeah, media in this country does a bad job of reporting the facts, and of asking tough questions. You're right about that. And clickbaity headlines are truly annoying.

The dates proposed by both the defense and the Special Counsel's office were proposed during the March 1st hearing. Two months later, she still can't pick a date. She's in over her head. She's not going to schedule the trial before the election. I'd wager large sums of money on that.