And another day of guilty pleas, trials, the D conspiracy candidate, shutting Univ. diversity offices in TX, Google searches questioning sexuality, gender equality, sweltering heat, toxic dust, gas stoves, and egg freezing comes to a close:
“Hm. Hunter Biden is going to plead guilty to tax and gun charges. Oh well. Do the crime, do the time. Now back to the man who confessed on national television to violating the Espionage Act and obstructing justice in what constituted a massive threat to our national security...” — Kurt Eichenwald
Hunter Biden will plead guilty in a deal that likely averts time behind bars in a tax and gun case. Hunter Biden, 53, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement made public Tuesday. The agreement will also avert prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as he adheres to conditions agreed to in court.
Trump classified documents trial will begin in mid-August, judge says. The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 14 and run for two weeks, the order says. Cannon will preside over the trial at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida. The start date could be delayed, however, by motions from Trump's legal team and the complexities of the process surrounding the Classified Information Procedures Act, among other things.
Trump adviser faces possible disbarment over his efforts to overturn 2020 election. Attorney John Eastman, the architect of a legal strategy aimed at keeping former President Donald Trump in power, concocted a baseless theory and made false claims of fraud in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election, a prosecutor said Tuesday in arguing that Eastman be disbarred.
The conspiracy candidate: What RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine crusade could look like in the White House. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a conspiracy theorist running for president as a Democrat. Experts fear his anti-vaccine activism threatens public health in America. -- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a Republican disguised as a Democrat. He is not to be trusted. He’s in this solely to split the Democratic vote. Don’t let him.
Prisons Consider Java Coding Books More Dangerous Than Mein Kampf. Incarcerated people in Ohio have an easier time getting their hands on the book that founded Nazism than computer coding literature due to a series of bizarre, unequally enforced policies restricting access to certain reading materials. Nonprofits and authors speaking with The Marshall Project say the state’s confusing and overly broad screening process leads to unnecessary bans of innocuous books that could enrich or educate incarcerated people while allowing texts like Mein Kampf…Those include restrictions on the computer coding guides, A Smarter Way to Learn Java Script and Effective Java. The justification for the bans? Apparently, these coding guides pose “a threat to the rehabilitation of inmates” or guards.
Texas Gov. Abbott signs law shutting diversity offices at public universities. All state-funded colleges and universities in Texas will have to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices under a measure signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott…Under the Texas law, signed by Abbott on Wednesday, any public college or university that does not certify it is in compliance with the measure would not be able to spend state funds allocated to it. It also mandates that state officials every two years through 2029 conduct studies to gauge the impact of the law on students broken down by race. It will look at the rates of application, acceptance, matriculations, retention and graduation, along with grade point averages. The law does not explain the reasoning for conducting these studies.
Judge strikes down Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions. U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.
Google searches questioning sexuality and gender up 1,300% since 2004, analysis shows. Utah emerged as the state with the highest search volume for the phrases “Am I gay,” “Am I lesbian” and “Am I trans” since last May, according to the report…Oklahoma had the highest search volume for the phrase “How to come out” over the past year, followed by West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky. Oklahoma, West Virginia, Mississippi and Louisiana were in the lowest LGBTQ equality category in the 2022 State Equality Index published by the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ group. Kentucky was in the second-lowest of the four categories measuring equality.
US falls significantly in global ranking for gender equality: Report. The U.S. ranking for gender equality worldwide fell significantly over the past year due to a widening gap in political empowerment and health outcomes between men and women, according to a study released on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum. The report, which assesses equity between men and women on indexes ranging from economic participation to physical well-being, ranked the U.S. 43rd out of 146 countries studied, ranking directly beneath Colombia and above Luxembourg. Last year, the U.S. ranked 27th.
Social media star Andrew Tate charged with rape and human trafficking in Romania. Andrew Tate, a social media personality known for expressing misogynistic views online, was charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, prosecutors said Tuesday. Prosecutors also filed charges against Tate’s brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women in a court in Bucharest, Romania’s capital, the nation’s anti-organized crime agency said. In a statement, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism alleged the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as the United States and Britain.
Sweltering heat tests Texas’ power grid and patience as thousands in South still without electricity. Texas’ power grid operator asked residents Tuesday to voluntarily cut back on electricity due to anticipated record demand on the system as a heat wave kept large swaths of the state and southern U.S. in triple-digit temperatures.
As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified. In a week when parts of the state are getting triple-digit temperatures and weather officials urge Texans to stay cool and hydrated, Gov. Greg Abbott gave final approval to a law that will eliminate local rules mandating water breaks for construction workers. House Bill 2127 was passed by the Texas Legislature during this year’s regular legislative session. Abbott signed it Tuesday. It will go into effect on Sept. 1…The law will nullify ordinances enacted by Austin in 2010 and Dallas in 2015 that established 10-minute breaks every four hours so that construction workers can drink water and protect themselves from the sun. It also prevents other cities from passing such rules in the future. San Antonio has been considering a similar ordinance.
Himalayan glaciers could lose 80% of their volume if global warming isn’t controlled, study finds. Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t sharply reduced, according to a report.
Salt Lake City’s efforts to fight pollution face a new challenge: Toxic dust. Declining water levels exposed much of the Great Salt Lake's bed and created conditions for storms of dust laden with toxic metals that now threaten 2 million people.
UN members adopt first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the high seas. Members of the United Nations adopted the first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the high seas on Monday, with the U.N.’s chief hailing the historic agreement as giving the ocean “a fighting chance.”…Oceans produce most of the oxygen we breathe and absorb carbon dioxide, which makes them increasingly critical in reducing carbon emissions that fuel global warming. Yet, currently only 1% of the vast ocean areas are protected.
Supreme Court turns away veterans who seek disability benefits over 1966 hydrogen bomb accident. The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal on behalf of some U.S. veterans who want disability benefits because they were exposed to radiation while responding to a Cold War-era hydrogen bomb accident in Spain.
Gas stoves emit benzene levels above secondhand smoke, US study finds. Using a gas stove can raise indoor concentrations of benzene, a cancer-linked chemical, to above what’s found in secondhand smoking or even beyond levels found next to oil and gas facilities, a new study has found. The research, which measured benzene levels in 87 homes in California and Colorado, found that gas and propane stoves frequently emitted benzene at rates well above healthy benchmarks set by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Egg freezing rises as more women look to preserve fertility. Record numbers of women are freezing their eggs in the hope of having a family later in life, according to a new report.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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