Interesting Move: Jessie Liu, who failed to prosecute the Awans and McCabe, has been removed from the DOJ and replaced with Barr’s staff attorney…
January 30, 2020
For the Awan case, Jessie Liu supposedly couldn't find anything to prosecute him with, concluding that there was "no evidence" the Awans illegally removed House data from their networks, stole servers, and other sensitive info. As for McCabe - according to WAPO - Jessie has left McCabe in limbo about whether any criminal charges will be brought against him in a straight-forward case. There was also no good explanation as to why she allowed the case to linger for so long. She also seems to be going back to the Treasury department where she was originally prior to being nominated as US attorney in DC.
Virginia Legislature Officially Approves Gun Control…
January 30, 2020
The legislation included universal background checks, red flag laws and a law limiting citizens of the Commonwealth to one firearm purchase a month, according to ABC News... 91 of 95 counties in the Commonwealth have designated themselves sanctuary counties for the 2nd Amendment, and some sheriffs in the state have pledged to not enforce laws they believe violate their citizen’s constitutional rights... The law’s passage will likely spark more protests like the one we saw last Monday in Richmond, where 22,000 people protested proposed gun control laws...
- HB2 - Universal Background Checks
- HB9 - Required to report lost or stolen firearms
- HB421 - localities can make their own laws re: firearms
- HB674 - Red Flag Law
- HB812 - One handgun purchase per month (without exception for CCP holders)
- HB1083 - Leaving a loaded and unsecured firearm around someone younger than 18 = felony
Trump pushes forward conservative transformation of Medicaid
January 30, 2020
The Trump administration took a big step forward Thursday to let states convert a portion of Medicaid funding into block grants, a long-sought conservative overhaul of the safety net health care program that Democrats will wield as a political weapon during the election. The plan is the administration’s boldest step yet to curb Medicaid spending and shrink the program covering about 1 in 5 low-income Americans.
Grubhub is faking which restaurants it actually partners with. The latest in its string of shady practices…
January 30, 2020
The Robots Are Coming. Prepare for Trouble. Artificial intelligence won’t eliminate every retail job, an economist says, but the future could be grim unless we start planning now…
January 30, 2020
The disruptive effects are already here... We need to accept that we cannot stop the coming wave of technological change. But we can moderate its impact on society. We should act with purpose, embracing A.I. as a tool that will enable us to create a better and fairer world...
Citizen Journalist Exposes The Brutal Truth: China Is Losing The Battle In Wuhan…
January 30, 2020
Twitter user @You_Shu_China took the video from the anonymous citizen journalist, who said he's being targeted by local authorities who are trying to silence him... The video has English subtitles (users must remember to click the "cc" button)...
Robotic finger can sweat like a human to cool down. Soft robots just got a little more useful (and creepy)…
January 30, 2020
The scientists developed hollow robotic fingers that could bend and flex to grasp objects... The back of the finger was also drilled with microscopic "pore" holes that wouldn't let water through below 30 Celcius. At temperatures warmer than that, however, the expanding resin opened the pores up to let water in each finger sweat out, aided at even higher temperatures by the contracting resin...
L.A. Archdiocese settles priest abuse case for $1.9 million
January 30, 2020
On Tuesday, attorneys representing Doe, now 47, announced a $1.9-million settlement with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Lovell and the Claretian Missionaries, where Lovell served as a priest. The complaint, filed in September 2018, is the first case settled with a Catholic diocese in the state since the passage of AB 218, a law that expands the time frame for filing child sexual abuse allegations.
Sun’s ‘boiling’ surface revealed in historic high-res images captured by solar telescope…
January 30, 2020
The National Science Foundation telescope, which is on the summit of Haleakala, Maui, is giving scientists new insight into the Sun. “The images show a pattern of turbulent ‘boiling’ plasma that covers the entire Sun,” said the National Science Foundation, in a statement. “The cell-like structures — each about the size of Texas — are the signature of violent motions that transport heat from the inside of the Sun to its surface.”
AP-NORC poll: GOP more fired up for 2020, Democrats anxious…
January 30, 2020
On the verge of the first votes being cast in a primary contest with no clear leader, 66% of Democrats report anxiety about the election, compared with 46% of Republicans. Democrats are also more likely to feel frustration. Republicans, meanwhile, are more likely than Democrats to declare excitement about the race, and the share of enthusiastic Republicans appears to be rising.
A Sanders Sweep?…
January 30, 2020
It's less than a week from of the Iowa caucuses, and Bernie Sanders, born in September 1941, three months before Pearl Harbor, leads the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls by 4 points in Iowa, 10 points in New Hampshire and 5 points in the biggest delegate prize, the Super Tuesday-voting California.
One hastens to add: The Sanders surge, like the Elizabeth Warren warming period from mid-September to mid-November and the Pete Buttigieg bump in December, may not last...
CBS Sees Dems’ ‘Worst Nightmare’ Coming True as Senate Trial Flounders…
January 30, 2020
Jeffrey Epstein jail guards to stand trial in June for allegedly falsifying records…
January 30, 2020
Tova Noel, 31, and Michael Thomas, 41, were on duty the night Epstein died and were responsible for conducting mandatory checks on the 66-year-old financier. Epstein was in jail awaiting trial on multiple rape and sex trafficking charges. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres denied an application from the defendants to put off their trial until October, cementing the trial date for June 22...
🔴 Trump Rally LIVE in Des Moines, IA
January 30, 2020
Researchers transplant lab-grown heart muscle cells into patient. This First-Of-Its-Kind Procedure Could Replace Heart Transplants…
January 30, 2020
The patient who received the transplant suffers from ischemic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which a person’s heart has trouble pumping because its muscles don’t receive enough blood. In severe cases, the condition can require a heart transplant, but the team from Osaka University hopes that the muscle cells on the sheet will secrete a protein that helps regenerate blood vessels, thereby improving the patient’s heart function.
The researchers plan to monitor the patient for the next year, and they hope to conduct the same procedure on nine other people suffering from the same condition within the next three years...
Someone Hacked Dozens Of United Nations Servers…
January 30, 2020
The United Nations was the target of a sophisticated hack in the summer of 2019, according to a confidential internal report obtained by The New Humanitarian. The report claims that the hack affected dozens of UN servers and compromised staff records, health insurance, and commercial contract data. But most workers affected by the hack are only hearing about it now... After viewing the report, Jake Williams, CEO of the cybersecurity firm Rendition Infosec, told the Associated Press he believes the hack was an act of espionage.
FCC commits $20.4 billion to help close the rural digital divide…
January 30, 2020
In the first phase, beginning later this year, the FCC will make up to $16 billion available to areas that are "wholly unserved." It will demand broadband speeds of at least 25 Mbps, and the funding will be made available through reverse-auction, a practice meant to drive competition. An estimated six million rural homes and businesses could be eligible for bidding. Phase two will make the remaining $4.4 billion available to partially served areas, as well as unserved areas that weren't awarded in the first phase.
GOP Senators Confident No New Witnesses, Schumer Concedes Likely Defeat…
January 30, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) conceded on Wednesday that winning the four Republicans they need to allow additional witnesses to testify is “unlikely,” the New York Times revealed... During Tuesday’s Republican caucus meeting, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly used the time to persuade his colleagues to remain united and vote no on additional witnesses. Only two Republican senators — Mitt Romney (Utah) and Susan Collins (Maine) — have indicated they will vote in favor of additional witnesses and documents. McConnell reportedly focused on preventing more defections.
Gallup: Satisfaction With Race Relations Has Jumped 14% Since Trump Took Office…
January 30, 2020
The number of respondents saying they were satisfied with the position of blacks and other minorities in the nation increased from 37% to 46% since January 2017 as well, the poll notes.
WHO declares China coronavirus a global health emergency…
January 30, 2020