January, 2020

"This Court should swiftly reject the government’s brazen attempt to punish Mr. Flynn for refusing to compose rather than sing."

“It’s nearly impossible to avoid contaminated drinking water from these chemicals”... “Forever chemicals,” also known as perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are resistant to breaking down and may affect far more than the 110 million Americans estimated in the Environmental Working Group's 2018 report based on unpublished U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. Some of the chemicals are known to cause cancer, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems... Some of the highest levels were found in Miami, Philadelphia, New Orleans, northern New Jersey and New York City suburbs.
[...]
The group took tap water samples from 44 places in 31 states and found only Meridian, Miss., which draws its drinking water from wells, had no traceable amounts of the chemicals. Only Seattle and Tuscaloosa, Ala. had less than one part per trillion, which the group recommends.

The Republican attorneys general, in a letter submitted to the Senate Wednesday morning and obtained by Fox News, urged the chamber conducting Trump's trial to "reject" the impeachment articles... The letter accuses House Democrats of impeaching Trump as a politically motivated response to the 2016 election and warned that it poses a threat to the 2020 election as well.

• Robert Epstein, 66, said in July the internet giant's methods 'gave' millions of votes to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election
• In December he announced that his wife, Misti Dawn Vaughn died in a crash
• On Sunday he tweeted that her 'death makes you wonder' after his briefings
• On January 4 he tweeted: 'I AM STILL NOT SUICIDAL. Hear that Google? Hillary?'
• He had earlier dismissed the idea that '#Google or #Hillary had anything to do with Misti's death', but seems to have changed his mind in recent days
• Epstein, a psychology professor, has criticized Google’s operations and ethics
• He testified that Google's algorithm gave 2.6 million votes to Hillary Clinton
• Vaughn's truck spun out of control while out driving in California in December

Senate Republicans forced through a resolution establishing the rules for President Trump’s impeachment trial in the early morning hours Wednesday, rejecting Democrats' demands for additional witnesses and documents at the outset of the proceeding.

Researchers at Cardiff University were analysing blood from a bank in Wales, looking for immune cells that could fight bacteria, when they found an entirely new type of T-cell. That new immune cell carries a never-before-seen receptor which acts like a grappling hook, latching on to most human cancers, while ignoring healthy cells. In laboratory studies, immune cells equipped with the new receptor were shown to kill lung, skin, blood, colon, breast, bone, prostate, ovarian, kidney and cervical cancer.
[...]
The team says human trials on terminally ill patients could begin as early as November if the new treatment passes further laboratory safety testing...

The Trump administration is unveiling new visa restrictions aimed at restricting “birth tourism,” in which women travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children can have a coveted U.S. passport. The State Department plans to publicize the rules Thursday, according to two officials with knowledge of the plans who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The rules would make it more difficult for pregnant women to travel on a tourist visa. In one draft of the regulations, they would have to clear an additional hurdle before obtaining the visa — convincing a consular officer they have another legitimate reason to come to the U.S.

“I’d love to go… and stare in their corrupt faces”

President Trump calls US Democrats “major sleazebags” after saying he "would love to go" along to his impeachment trial and "sit in the front row" at the World Economic Forum in Davoshttps://t.co/BJeQHUro8b pic.twitter.com/TVnn7hvEsm

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 22, 2020

The question is asked at 00:55.

...an associate of Iran’s top general recently killed in an American drone strike in Baghdad, the official IRNA news agency reported...

Party infighting and shrinking support have finally forced Luigi Di Maio to step aside as leader of Five Star...

The complaint argues Gabbard's loyalty because of her military service in the Army National Guard, charges Clinton with hurting Gabbard's presidential bid, and outlines Gabbard's belief Clinton made the comments in retaliation for Gabbard endorsing Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary.

Sources told RealClearInvestigations the staffer with whom Ciaramella was speaking was Sean Misko. Both were Obama administration holdovers working in the Trump White House on foreign policy and national security issues. And both expressed anger over Trump’s new “America First” foreign policy, a sea change from President Obama’s approach to international affairs. “Just days after he was sworn in they were already talking about trying to get rid of him,” said a White House colleague who overheard their conversation.

Internet routers running the Tomato alternative firmware are under active attack by a self-propagating exploit that searches for devices using default credentials. When credentials are found and remote administration has been turned on, the exploit then makes the routers part of a botnet that’s used in a host of online attacks, researchers said on Tuesday...

According to HP’s website, buying into the instant ink system allows you to stop worrying about ever buying ink again. For $4.99 per month, a customer can print up to 100 pages. When the toner is running out of ink, HP will simply ship you more free of charge. It sounds like a good deal, but in practice it can lead to a situation where the consumer is paying a monthly subscription that costs way more than just buying ink as you need it. The catch is that if you stop paying for the subscription, you can no longer print—even if the ink cartridge in your printer is still full. Sullivan said that’s what happened to him. “When I canceled the service I figured I was turning off some kind of renewal service, but never did the thought even cross my mind that the ink that was physically in my printer would stop working,”...

The $394 million unit will launch in 2022, and is built to protect against missiles and other new space technology. Concerns are growing that China and Russia are seeking ways to interfere with, disable or destroy satellites. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the new unit will work closely with its US counterpart, recently launched by President Donald Trump...