May, 2019

So what is the point of all of this?

“[T]he ultimate objective of this field is the biomimicry of intelligent responsiveness such as tactility, vision, camouflage, contractility and flight where complex natural sensors such as skin, eye and muscle seamlessly adapt to environmental stimuli through exquisitely programmed response sequences.”...

The end goal? Thought-controlled weapons, like swarms of drones that someone sends to the skies with a single thought...

Heavy rain in recent weeks has spurred major flooding in several states. Flooding along the Arkansas River will threaten communities from Tulsa into western Arkansas through at least the holiday weekend, officials said Friday, as water released from an Oklahoma dam combines with additional rain in the forecast.

Sanjay Gupta is safe, but much of the rest of CNN’s Atlanta-based staff that covers health care found out Tuesday they are getting pink slips -- only a few weeks after the network called mass layoffs a "crazy rumor." Specific details were not yet known, but a source told Fox News that “basically the whole division” will lose their jobs.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was reportedly one of the few Obama administration officials who participated in secretive meetings during the early stages of the Obama-era intelligence community’s initial operations regarding suspected Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
That tidbit was contained deep inside a 7,700-plus word Washington Post article published June 23, 2017 in which the newspaper also detailed the highly compartmentalized nature of the original Russia interference investigation and the manner in which other U.S. intelligence agencies were deliberately kept in the dark...

Mexican authorities raided elevated mountain scout sites used by human and narcotic smugglers south of the international boundary, while U.S. Border Patrol Foreign Operations Branch and Special Operations Detachment units provided surveillance from the U.S. side during the operation. U.S. Border Patrol agents also detained and processed smugglers who attempted to flee into United States during the raids.

The nation's economy is "excellent," 22 percent of American voters say in a Quinnipiac University National Poll today, the highest "excellent" rating for the economy. Another 49 percent of voters say the economy is "good." The total 71 percent for "excellent" and "good" is the highest total number for American voter attitudes on the economy in almost 18 years.

State Department spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arms sale... The Arms Export Control Act gives lawmakers 30 days to vote to block an arms sale once Congress is formally notified about it. But law also says the president can waive the review period and have the sale go through immediately if “an emergency exists which requires the proposed sale in the national security interest of the United States.”

Jeremy Gebhart, 16, said he and his friend decided to show their support for President Donald Trump during Littlestown High School's Spirit Week in October.... They were photographed in their hats and one of the photos landed a spot in the yearbook, but there were some changes... The school district provided a statement to WPMT, saying in part: "The mistake was not noticed during the editorial preview process prior to print. We apologize on behalf of the yearbook club. It is not the policy or practice of the district to improperly censor speech."

Republicans passed the permanent ban at the urging of Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, who argued the GOP’s current policy, continually reinstating a two-year ban that has existed since 2011, was insufficient. The new policy, adopted with a 28-12 vote, effectively falls on both chambers of Congress, as any earmarked bills arising in the House of Representative would die in the Senate.

Japan is ready to roll out the newest phase of its charm offensive targeting President Donald Trump as it welcomes him on a state visit tailor-made to his whims and ego. This comes as Japan remains under the threat of potentially devastating U.S. tariffs on autos

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is offering high honors, golf and the chance to present a "Trump Cup" at a sumo wrestling championship.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr.'s order prevents work from beginning on two of the highest-priority, Pentagon-funded wall projects — one spanning 46 miles (74 kilometers) in New Mexico and another covering 5 miles (8 kilometers) in Yuma, Arizona.

While the order applied only to those first-in-line projects, the judge made clear that he felt the challengers were likely to prevail at trial on their argument that the president was wrongly ignoring Congress' wishes by diverting Defense Department money.

The suspected parcel bomb detonated on Victor-Hugo Road in Lyon, south-east France around 1730 eastern Europe time (1130 ET) and is reported to have been a package stuffed with “nails, screws, bolts”. The eight injured, which includes an eight-year-old girl, are reported to have sustained light injuries... The President was joined in his comments by populist political rival Marine Le Pen: “I give my full support to the wounded in an explosion in Lyon, the light will have to be shed on the circumstances of this terrorist attack.”

Of those arrested, more than 26 were convicted criminals or had criminal charges pending, more than 29 had been issued a final order of removal and failed to depart the United States, or had been previously removed from the United States.

The gene therapy, developed by Novartis, treats a rare condition called spinal muscular atrophy, which strikes about 400 babies born in the U.S. each year. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the drug, called Zolgensma, for all children under age 2 who are confirmed by a genetic test to have any of the four types of the disease. The therapy, a one-time infusion that takes about an hour, will be available within two weeks. Novartis said it will let insurers make payments over five years, at $425,000 per year, and will give partial rebates if the drug doesn't work.

Under the law that comes into force Aug. 28, doctors who violate the eight-week cutoff could face five to 15 years in prison. Women who terminate their pregnancies cannot be prosecuted. A legal challenge is expected, although it's unclear when that might occur. The measure includes exceptions for medical emergencies, such as when there is a risk of death or permanent physical injuries to "a major bodily function of the pregnant woman." But the lack of exceptions women who find themselves pregnant after being raped or subject to incest has drawn sharp criticism...

That reorganization would have created a “Moon to Mars Mission Directorate” incorporating parts of the existing Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) and Space Technology Mission Directorate... Bridenstine then announced in an April 8 memo that Sirangelo, a former executive vice president at Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems, had joined the agency as a special assistant with “broad responsibility to work across the Mission Directorates to further develop the agency’s plans for the Exploration Campaign.” Sirangelo was widely seen as the likely choice to lead that new mission directorate. Congress, though, rejected the proposed reorganization...

The landmark Affordable Care Act passed during the Obama administration, otherwise known as Obamacare, extended civil rights protections in healthcare to gender identity and the termination of a pregnancy. The agency’s Office of Civil Rights said it posted a proposed rule to roll back those provisions of the law. “When Congress prohibited sex discrimination, it did so according to the plain meaning of the term, and we are making our regulations conform,” Roger Severino, head of the Office of Civil Rights, said on a call with reporters.