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President Biden during a Saturday press conference called the impact of the severe storms and tornadoes that swept through multiple states in the Midwest and South Friday night into Saturday morning, killing at least 70 people and destroying livelihoods, “a tragedy.” Speaking from Wilmington, Delaware, he said, “I want folks in all these states to know we're going to get through this. We're going to get through this together and the federal government is not going to walk away."

Hate crimes in Los Angeles increased by 20 percent last year, hitting a 10-year high as racially and sexually motivated crimes jump in cities nationwide. A report from the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations published on Wednesday showed that 635 hate crimes were reported in Los Angeles in 2020, up from 530 in 2019. This marked the largest number of reported hate crimes in the area since 2008. Among racially-motivated hate crimes, Black people, who account for just 9 percent of county residents, were disproportionately targeted, accounting for 42 percent of the incidents reported. Overall, anti-Black hate crimes were...

Fauci claims it's critical to 'get the extra added level of protection' --- Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said that Americans traveling to places with a low COVID-19 vaccination rate should "go the extra mile" and wear a mask even if they are fully vaccinated. NBC's "Meet the Press" anchor Chuck Todd said that Mississippi has the lowest vaccination rate in the United States and asked Fauci whether he would wear a mask if he was traveling there, prompting him to say, "I think there would be a good reason to do that." "I think there would be a good...

Possible Relocation to Ashville, NC. for 30 yo daughter Any thoughts appreciated.

As the day of “Storm Area 51” arrived, a motley group of about 100 “alien-chasers” converged on the back gate of the secret site early Friday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. At least two people were reportedly detained by local sheriff's deputies. “Storm Area 51” became a viral phenomenon after a joke Facebook post in July urged people to crash the military base “to see them aliens.” Conspiracy theories surrounding extraterrestrials have long swirled around Area 51. Originally scheduled for 3 a.m. PDT Friday, “Storm Area 51” garnered global attention, as well as security concerns. The Review-Journal reported that...

An attorney for a former employee of the American Airlines Center in Dallas wants to depose Mavericks owner Mark Cuban regarding allegations of racial discrimination, including an incident involving a noose found at the arena in 2011. Michelle Newsome was fired last year after 13 years with the Arena Operating Company, which manages the American Airlines Center, and she filed a petition Thursday in Dallas County indicating she’s “seeking information regarding Cuban’s knowledge of and/or passive or active encouragement of [or conspiracy regarding] sexual harassment and race discrimination that has been occurring at AAC and adversely affecting employees,” the Dallas...

All data from today’s WUWT (May 8) Sea Ice Page. 1. “Excess” total sea ice area anomaly is now greater than 1.050 million sq km’s. Hmmmn. An “excess” total sea ice area anomaly (which combines both the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice areas together) approaching the size of Hudson Bay. 2. “Excess” Antarctic sea ice area is now 1.67 Million sq km’s … Or 97% the area of the entire Greenland ice cap. (A fact which 97% of government-paid climate scientists in the Obama administration will chose to ignore.) 3. By itself, “Excess” Antarctic sea ice area is now back...

An area collapsed near the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem late Tuesday, reported the Turkish Anadolu news agency. An eyewitness told the agency that the collapse occurred near the Bab as Silsila, on the western part of the mosque. It is the second collapse near the western wall within five years, Cum'a Usayle, an eyewitness, told Anadolu. "The collapse has caused a deep hole there. It is dangerous for the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It poses danger especially for children and women," he said. The report claimed that no security precautions around the area have been taken by Israeli...

Working on some area and latitude calculations for sea ice. many hundreds of on-line references report that the Antarctic continent is 14,000,000 square kilometers: A nice, convenient even round number. That's obviously always been rounded off as one source copies from everybody, or just never measured accurately. Neither seems correct. the NSIRDC tracks sea ice, and they have explicitly written me that their "Antarctic Sea Ice"totals do NOT include the permanent ice shelves around many areas of that continent. Fine, no problem: and it even makes sense: Why should a federal agency track "permanent sea shelves" when they can get...

Palestinian militants barraged Israel with more than 200 rockets on Thursday, killing three people as Israel pressed a punishing campaign of airstrikes on militant targets across the Gaza Strip. Late in the day, Israel signaled a ground operation may be imminent as forces moved toward the border area with Gaza. At least 12 trucks were seen transporting tanks and armored personnel carriers, and a number of buses carrying soldiers arrived. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he had authorized the army to call-up additional reservists for possible action. The army said it was prepared to draft up to 30,000 additional...

Crook County Health Officials Say He Was Bitten by Sick CatCrook County health officials said Monday they are investigating a probable case of human plague involving a man in his 50s who is being treated at a local hospital. Contacts with the individual have been notified and are receiving preventive antibiotics, officials said. The man reported contact with a sick cat in his neighborhood, they added. Crook County officials did not identify the man, citing patient confidentiality regulations, but a family member contacted NewsChannel 21, which then learned the Prineville-area man remained in critical condition Tuesday at St. Charles Medical...

I am just checking to see how the vaccines have been made available throughout the country. I have seen posts on the site saying that they are in short supply in some areas and other posters are saying there are no problems getting them. I would like it if you could tell us your state and what is the status of the vaccine availablilty in the area. I want to make sure that the vaccines have not been made a political football. That we havent yet turned into an African kleptocratcy.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2009 – The increased troop levels in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province has expanded the security envelope to roughly 80 percent of the people there, the former commander of Task Force Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan said today. Security has taken years to establish, but is allowing development to begin in one of the poorest areas of the country, Dutch army Brig. Gen. T.A. Middendorp told members of the Pentagon press corps during a teleconference from Kandahar, Afghanistan. “If you walk through that province, it is like walking through the Old Testament,” the general said. Uruzgan province is centrally located...

Egyptian police said Sunday evening a bomb detonated outside a historic Cairo mosque in the crowded bazaar area frequented by tourists, wounding at least eight people. Blood stains could be seen in the front courtyard of Hussein mosque, next to the famed Khan el-Khalili bazaar in Islamic Cairo. Riot police had cordoned off the area and sniffer dogs could be seen as worshippers were being evacuated. A security official said police were attempting to defuse a second bomb. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2006 – An 82mm mortar round fired by militia forces from a nearby residential area caused yesterday’s fire at a Baghdad ammunition holding area around 10:40 p.m., officials with Multinational Division Baghdad announced today. The fire ignited tank, artillery and small-arms ammunition at a forward operating base in the central Rasheed district of Baghdad. "Intelligence indicates that civilians aligned with a militia organization were responsible for last night's mortar attack," Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a spokesman for Multinational Division Baghdad, said. At the time of the attack, base personnel went to full alert. Attack aviation and...

LOS ANGELES – Starting Wednesday, seven-digit dialing will be a thing of the past for a broad swath of coastal Los Angeles County. Residents of such posh enclaves as Santa Monica, Malibu and Brentwood will be among the first Californians to be required to dial 11 digits each time they pick up the phone, even if they are calling a next-door neighbor. The change comes as part of the state's first-ever area code overlay, in which future phone numbers within a region receive a new area code while existing numbers keep the old one. It contrasts with the more common...

About 75 illegal immigrants were found Tuesday in the desert about 50 miles west of Phoenix, many suffering from dehydration and exhaustion from triple-digit heat, authorities said. Seven immigrants and three sheriff's deputies were taken to hospitals for treatment, said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Officers used a helicopter, canine units and all-terrain vehicles and conducted foot patrols to search for others believed to be in the area, officials said. "We know they're still out there because there's sounds in the brush," said Lt. Paul Chagolla, a sheriff's department spokesman. "We can hear them. They've hunkered down." Lt. Chuck Siemens,...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, May 16, 2006 – When the 2nd Brigade of the 9th Iraqi Mechanized Division assumed 150 square kilometers of battlespace north of Baghdad yesterday, it was more than just a paperwork shuffle. "From the command and control perspective, they go from reporting to (the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry) to me," 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Commander U.S. Army Col. James Pasquarette said during an interview. "They now report straight into my headquarters, and I report to the 4th (Infantry Division)." But this arrangement is only temporary. In June, the 2nd Brigade's parent unit, the 9th Division, will...

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Following a week of tough talk, a 250-member sheriff's posse that was assembled to catch illegal immigrants made just one arrest in its first desert search early Thursday. The posse — made up of Maricopa County sheriff's deputies and trained volunteers — launched night patrols Wednesday in the desert and along major roads southwest of Phoenix. Deputies attempted to pull over a pickup truck about 12:45 a.m. Thursday, but the truck took off in the desert and its 15 to 20 occupants scattered. Only one person was tracked down, despite night-vision equipment, spotlights and a helicopter. "It...

Iran 'attacks Iraq Kurdish area' Iraq has accused Iranian forces of entering Iraqi territory and shelling Kurdish rebel positions in the north. Iranian troops bombed border areas near the town of Hajj Umran before crossing into Iraq, the defence ministry in Baghdad said on Sunday. It said the Iranians targeted the PKK, a Kurdish group that has waged a 15-year insurgency against Turkey. The PKK is believed to have links with anti-Iranian Kurdish fighters. There are no details on casualties. The Iraqi defence ministry also says Iran launched a similar attack on Kurdish rebel positions in the same area on...