Trump nominee for UN ambassador, Kelly Knight Craft, confirmed over Democrats’ objections…
July 31, 2019
The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee for United Nations ambassador on Wednesday, sending Kelly Knight Craft to fill the high-profile diplomatic post that’s been vacant for seven months. Craft’s confirmation, by a 56-to-34 vote, marks a victory not just for Trump but also for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who pressed the president to tap her for the job.
Fourth U.S. City Bans Facial Recognition, Citing Threats to Free Speech and Civil Rights…
July 31, 2019
On Tuesday, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts moved one step closer to prohibiting local government from using facial recognition. Three other cities in the country have already instituted such bans over concerns that the technology is biased and violates basic human rights.
In December of last year, the Cambridge City Council passed the Surveillance Technology Ordinance which requires the council’s approval prior to the acquisition or deployment of certain surveillance tech, which included facial recognition software. The order was passed on Tuesday by the council and will next be sent to the Public Safety Committee, Mayor Marc McGovern and Councillor Sumbul Siddiqui both confirmed to Gizmodo in an email. This marks one step closer to banning the city’s use of the tech altogether...
Jeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNA…
July 31, 2019
Interviews with more than a dozen of his acquaintances, as well as public documents, show that he used the same tactics to insinuate himself into an elite scientific community, thus allowing him to pursue his interests in eugenics and other fringe fields like cryonics... Mr. Epstein attracted a glittering array of prominent scientists. They included the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, who discovered the quark; the theoretical physicist and best-selling author Stephen Hawking; the paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould; Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and best-selling author; George M. Church, a molecular engineer who has worked to identify genes that could be altered to create superior humans; and the M.I.T. theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek, a Nobel laureate...
On multiple occasions starting in the early 2000s, Mr. Epstein told scientists and businessmen about his ambitions to use his New Mexico ranch as a base where women would be inseminated with his sperm and would give birth to his babies, according to two award-winning scientists and an adviser to large companies and wealthy individuals, all of whom Mr. Epstein told about it.
Chinese scientists have developed HIV vaccine that they plan to test on 160 human volunteers…
July 31, 2019
Chinese scientists had long been working on HIV vaccine, ever since its first trial back in 2007, confirms reports. Vaccine called DNA-rTV is being developed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDCP), in Beijing, and is based around the replication of the DNA of HIV to trigger immunisation from the virus. This also marks the second time when any such vaccine for a disease reached the second-phase human trial and is based on the one that’s used to prevent smallpox. According to the scientist at CCDCP, Shao Yiming, this vaccine would boost the body’s immunity and will work towards cutting down the effect of virus on the body...
The woman who started Trumps tweet storm about Baltimore says contractors are starting to clean up…
July 31, 2019
Breaking News- A private contractor is currently at the location most of the videos were filmed with trucks & men in protective gear removing large debris. Company from Reisterstown, Maryland. Residents have yet to hear from city.
And, I've always wanted to say "Breaking News"
— Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) July 31, 2019
5 people injured following house explosion in Washington County…
July 31, 2019
The people who lived in the home smelled gas and were able to get out of the home before the explosion. Channel 11's Cara Sapida has confirmed that five people, including at least two first responders, were taken to the hospital for what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries. Neighbors, including the American legion, told Channel 11 they had windows blown out. There are reports from people who felt the explosion as far as five miles away.
Jeffrey Epstein could face sex trafficking trial next June
July 31, 2019
The lawyer, Martin Weinberg, said Epstein and his legal team needed more time to review evidence, expected to total more than 1 million pages.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said he would tentatively set aside time for a trial beginning June 8, but revisit the issue later. He said he normally allowed defendants more time to prepare if they wished. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said a trial is expected to last four to six weeks.Judge in Chicago has denied Jussie Smollett’s Attorneys motion to dismiss. The Special Prosecutor will Continue…
July 31, 2019
Attorney Tina Glandian appeared in front of Judge Michael Toomin on behalf of Smollett to overturn the judge's own decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how the actor's case was handled, but it didn't work. That special prosecutor who hasn't been selected by the judge yet could recharge Smollett...
Fed Cuts Rates For First Time In 11 Years…
July 31, 2019
Just over eight months since Fed Chair Powell panicked and pivoted as global stocks (and bond yields) tumbled, the flip-flop is complete as The Fed has cut rates (by 25bps) for the first time since Dec 2008 (and cut the IOER to 2.1% from 2.35%). Additionally, the Fed ends the normalization of the balance sheet two months ahead of schedule.
Only six U.S. Air Force B-1 heavy bombers ready for combat…
July 31, 2019
“The B-1 fleet is in the midst of an intensive slate of maintenance work and upgrades,” said Rounds during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing for Gen. John Hyten, the US Strategic Command chief who is under consideration to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In response, Hyten implored lawmakers to provide B-1 maintenance funding to reverse the fleet’s problems.
“We were just beating the heck out of them, deploying them, deploying them,” Hyten said. “We had to pull back a little and get after fixing those issues. The depots can do that if they have stable funding.”...
Earth just got blasted with the highest-energy photons ever recorded. The gamma rays, which clocked in at well over 100 tera-electronvolts (10 times what LHC can produce) seem to originate from a pulsar lurking in the heart of the Crab Nebula…
July 31, 2019
To put how much energy that is into context, according to a term glossary by CERN, it's like cramming the energy of a squadron of mosquitoes into a single photon.
[An eV is a] unit of energy or mass used in particle physics. One eV is extremely small, and units of a million electronvolts, MeV, or thousand million electronvolts, GeV, are more common. The latest generation of particle accelerators reaches up to several million million electronvolts, TeV. One TeV is about the energy of motion of a flying mosquito.
That may not sound that impressive, but that's a ton of energy to cram into a single particle of light.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg faces another local problem, FBI conducting investigation at Housing Authority in South Bend…
July 31, 2019
ABC57 has learned about three different properties raided by the FBI in connection to an investigation into the South Bend Housing Authority. Agents simultaneously raided the Housing Authority offices on Alonzo Watson Drive, a home owned by the agency at 1910 Thornhill Drive and another home in the 3600 block of Woldhaven Drive around 9:00am Wednesday. The Department of Justice has confirmed there is federal law enforcement activity in South Bend but would not go into specifics about the investigation.
A spokesperson for Mayor Pete Buttigieg sent the following statement: "Earlier today the Mayor’s Office became aware through local media reports of today’s law enforcement action at the Housing Authority. While the Housing Authority is not part of the City administration, the Mayor is concerned and will be closely following the situation."
Four Dem Presidential Candidates Introduce Bill to Ban Death Penalty…
July 31, 2019
Senator Cory Booker, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the legislation to ban federal capital punishment, which is co-sponsored by rival presidential candidates Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, and other Senate Democrats. The bill is a response to Attorney General William Barr’s order Thursday that the executions be scheduled for five death-row inmates convicted of murdering, torturing, and raping children and the elderly.
It’s Sentient: Meet the classified artificial brain being developed by US intelligence programs. “The NRO has not said much about Sentient publicly because it is a classified program”…
July 31, 2019
Chirag Parikh, director of the NGA’s Office of Sciences and Methodologies... paused and shifted in his seat. “What’s the next question?” he asked, smiling. But he continued talking, describing how “geospatial intelligence” no longer simply means pictures from satellites. It means anything with a timestamp and a location stamp, and the attempt to integrate all that sundry data. Then, Parikh actually answered this question: When would that translate to near-instantaneous understanding and strategy development? “If not now,” he said, “very soon.”
SENTIENT IS (OR AT LEAST AIMS TO BE) AN OMNIVOROUS ANALYSIS TOOL
Parkih didn’t mention any particular programs that might help enable this kind of autonomous, real-time interpretation. But an initiative called Sentient has relevant capabilities. A product of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Sentient is (or at least aims to be) an omnivorous analysis tool, capable of devouring data of all sorts, making sense of the past and present, anticipating the future, and pointing satellites toward what it determines will be the most interesting parts of that future. That, ideally, makes things simpler downstream for human analysts at other organizations, like the NGA, with which the satellite-centric NRO partners...Coke, Pepsi abandon the plastics lobby…
July 31, 2019
The association took positions that “were not fully consistent with our commitments and goals,” Coca-Cola said in a statement last week, noting that it withdrew from the group earlier this year. Pepsi said it had joined the association to learn about innovation as it works to “achieve a circular economy for plastics.”
“We do not participate in the policy advocacy work of the association or its subsidiaries, and our membership will conclude at the end of this year,” Pepsi said.
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Cutting ties with the Plastic Industry Association is a sign that “companies understand that they cannot publicly say they want to end plastic pollution, while financially supporting an association that lobbies for our continued reliance on throwaway plastics,” said Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director John Hocevar in a statement...Navy fighter jet crashes in California desert; condition of pilot unknown…
'It Looked Like a Bomb.' - 7 People injured...
July 31, 2019
A F/A-18E Super Hornet jet from the U.S. Navy has crashed Wednesday in the California desert near Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, according to a tweet from the U.S. Naval Air Forces. Officials said they are unaware of any injuries at this time. The tweet also said "search-and-rescue efforts are underway." The accident occurred during a routine training exercise at 9:50 a.m. local time.
HHS Announces New Action Plan to Lay Foundation for Safe Importation of Certain Prescription Drugs…
July 31, 2019
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are publishing a Safe Importation Action Plan - PDF* that outlines two potential pathways that would lay the foundation for the safe importation of certain drugs originally intended for foreign markets.
Lowering drug prices for many Americans - including our great seniors! At my direction, @HHSGov @SecAzar just released a Safe Importation Action Plan. Our Governors will be very happy too! @GovRonDeSantis @GovofCO https://t.co/VIxmZWgYM2
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2019
Fire burning at ExxonMobil plant in Baytown…
July 31, 2019
A fire is burning at the ExxonMobil Olefins Plant off Highway 146 at Spur 330 in Baytown. According to a company spokesperson, six people have suffered non-life threatening injuries. A shelter-in-place has been issued for residents who live west of the plant and south of 330. The shelter-in-place has been issued out of an abundance of caution.
Alleged 9/11 Mastermind Ready to spill the beans on Saudi Arabia’s involvement…
July 31, 2019
...terror mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed ready to spill the beans as part of a victims' lawsuit seeking damages from the kingdom as a state sponsor... A letter filed in the US District Court in Manhattan disclosed an offer to spare Mohammed the death penalty in exchange for his willingness to be deposed by the victims, who are seeking billions of dollars in damage from the kingdom... Bruce Fein, former US associate deputy attorney general, explained of the high stakes that, "If the plaintiffs win in this case, it could be hundreds of billions of dollars." He added, "You have over 3,000 plaintiffs, compensatory plus punitive damages and a jury very hostile to Saudi Arabia, it could virtually bankrupt Saudi Arabia. All their assets in the US and elsewhere could be seized."...
‘Five Eyes’ nations discuss backdoor access to WhatsApp…
July 31, 2019
The meeting of the “Five Eyes” nations – the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – was hosted by new home secretary, Priti Patel, in an effort to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism and child abuse.
[...]
The meetings, however, were held in private with no agenda being made public, making it difficult to conclude exactly what had been discussed by the ministers, officials and intelligence agencies from the countries involved...