U.S.Associated PressAs daughter sought state license, Noem summoned agency head
Just days after a South Dakota agency moved to deny her daughter's application to become a certified real estate appraiser, Gov. Kristi Noem summoned to her office the state employee who ran the agency, the woman's direct supervisor and the state labor secretary. Noem's daughter attended too. Kassidy Peters, then 26, ultimately obtained the certification in November 2020, four months after the meeting at her mother's office.
U.S.Washington ExaminerSelf-proclaimed shaman accused of starting California fire said she was trying to boil bear urine: Police
A California woman professing to be a shaman who was arrested and charged with igniting the wildfire that has thousands of homes under threat claimed the fire was started inadvertently while she was attempting to boil bear urine, authorities said. Alexandra Souverneva, 30, could be sentenced to up to nine years if convicted of starting the Fawn fire, according to officials. The self-proclaimed shaman said she had been hiking to Canada as the blaze approached Shasta County on Wednesday, documents noted.
U.S.USA TODAYA woman on TikTok wasn't afraid to show her death. In the process, she helped others live.
In a TikTok video on August 25th, Kassidy Pierson, who had been using the platform to document her life with terminal cancer, told followers she was hopeful it would be a good day. The video was Pierson's last. On September 9th, Pierson's older sister Kasey Metzger posted from her account telling her more than 200,000 followers that the 27-year-old had died.
U.S.Associated PressR&B superstar R. Kelly convicted in sex trafficking trial
R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex trafficking trial after decades of avoiding criminal responsibility for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children. A jury of seven men and five women found Kelly, 54, guilty of all nine counts, including racketeering, on their second day of deliberations. Kelly, wearing a face mask, remained motionless, eyes downcast as the verdict was read in federal court in Brooklyn.
PoliticsPeopleThe View 's Ana Navarro Fires Back at Donald Trump Jr. After His Obesity Dig: 'Dimwit with No Skill'
Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Samuel Corum/Getty Ana Navarro (left), Donald Trump Jr. Days after Donald Trump Jr. made a public dig about her weight, Ana Navarro fired back at former President Donald Trump's son on Monday's episode of The View. The back-and-forth came after Navarro, 49, and fellow View panelist Sunny Hostin were asked to leave the talk show set on Friday — while live on air — after testing positive for COVID-19. The results were later confirmed to be false positives.
U.S.The New York TimesShe Bought Her Dream Home. Then a 'Sovereign Citizen' Changed the Locks.
The official-looking letters started arriving soon after Shanetta Little bought the cute Tudor house on Ivy Street in Newark, New Jersey. Little was a victim of a ploy known as paper terrorism, a favorite tactic of an extremist group that is one of the fastest growing, according to government experts and watchdog organizations. Known as the Moorish sovereign citizen movement, and loosely based around a theory that Black people are foreign citizens bound only by arcane legal systems, it encourages followers to violate existent laws in the name of empowerment.
U.S.Associated PressNorth Dakota stuntman known as Flying Farmer crashes on jump
The first car jumping attempt in five years by North Dakota's version of Evil Knievel ended in disaster when the car driven my the man known as the Flying Farmer corkscrewed off the ramp and rolled. Authorities said John Smith, 57, was alert after the crash Saturday at a rural gravel pit and that he even tried to pull himself out of the car while talking to rescuers. He was eventually cut out and taken by a medical helicopter to a hospital, according to firefighters.
U.S.INSIDERBrian Laundrie's family called the police after Dog the Bounty Hunter showed up on their property
Brian Laundrie's parents called the police on Dog the Bounty Hunter over the weekend. The North Port Police Department responded to a 911 call from the family on the matter, police said. Brian Laundrie's parents called the police on Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman after he showed up at their Florida home over the weekend, police confirmed to Insider Monday.
U.S.National ReviewTeachers Force-Fed a Slice of ‘Privilege Pie’ at Washington High School
As part of the training, the teachers were instructed to color in a “privilege pie” – a pie chart with several so-called privileges, including being white, cisgender male, Christian, heterosexual, and U.S. born. The more we colored in, the more privileged we were,” the teacher, whose name was not released, told Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit that fights classroom indoctrination and activist-driven agendas in U.S. schools. I was so upset because we have so much to do and I would really prefer to use that time to design effective instruction or communicate with families,” the teacher said, according to a quote released by Parents Defending Education.
- PoliticsCoinDesk
El Salvador Pres. Nayib Bukele: Almost a Third of Salvadorans Are Using the Bitcoin Wallet
Almost a third of Salvadorans, or roughly 2.1 million people, are actively using the El Salvador government-run bitcoin wallet Chivo less than a month after the country adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender, President Nayib Bukele said in a tweet. "The Hash" team discusses the latest on the state of crypto affairs and bitcoin adoption in El Salvador.
U.S.FTW OutdoorsGrizzly bear trail-cam appearance both awesome and terrifying
A trail camera in Canada's Yukon Territory has captured video footage showing a large grizzly bear standing and rubbing its back against a tree. But the eye-catching portion is the aftermath: the bear charging toward the camera in slow motion, its massive head lurching downward with each step as the bruin approaches within feet of the camera. Look at those claws!
PoliticsBusiness InsiderThe former Fox News editor who called Arizona for Biden says the Cyber Ninjas audit was meant to undermine trust in elections
The Fox News editor who parted ways with the right-wing network after calling Arizona for Joe Biden in last year's election weighed in on Sunday on the controversial audit of votes in the state conducted by Cyber Ninjas. On CNN's "Newsroom," the host Jim Acosta asked Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News digital politics editor, about the audit in Arizona's Maricopa County. Supporters of Donald Trump had hyped the audit, claiming it would uncover evidence of a plot to deprive Trump of victory.
U.S.ReutersU.S. successfully flight tests Raytheon hypersonic weapon - Pentagon
The United States has tested an air-breathing hypersonic weapon capable of speeds faster than five times the speed of sound, marking the first successful test of the class of weapon since 2013, the Pentagon said on Monday. The test took place as the United States and its global rivals quicken their pace to build hypersonic weapons - the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms. In July, Russia said it had successfully tested a Tsirkon(Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin has touted as part of a new generation of missile systems without equal in the world.
WorldThe Weather NetworkPowerful Sam stays the course as Category 4 hurricane amid track shift
The Atlantic hurricane season is inching closer to reaching the end of the main 2021 storm name list, with Sam chugging through the ocean as a major Category 4 storm. With an ample amount of warm Atlantic waters at its disposal, Sam is reaping the beneficial atmospheric conditions as it continues to churn in the ocean. On Saturday, the storm crossed the Category 3 threshold, qualifying it as a major hurricane, then hit Category 4 later in the day.
U.S.INSIDERA pioneer ghost town that was submerged underwater for more than 60 years has resurfaced because of a drought
A drought has revealed the foundations of a forgotten town in Utah's Rockport Reservoir. The town was abandoned in the 1950s after the federal government announced plans to construct a dam. Extreme drought has revealed the foundations of a forgotten ghost town at the bottom of Utah's Rockport Reservoir, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
WorldReutersU.S. border agents briefly detain 14 Mexican soldiers in El Paso
Fourteen Mexican soldiers were detained Saturday morning for several hours by U.S. border agents after they crossed into El Paso, Texas, from Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)said. "Just after midnight today CBP officers working at the Bridge of the America's international crossing in El Paso noted two Mexican military vehicles crossing the boundary and entering the U.S.," the CBP told Reuters in an emailed statement. The 14 Mexican soldiers said they did not realize they had entered the United States and U.S. border agents secured their weapons and equipment for "safety and processing," said the CBP, adding that Mexican military leadership was contacted an...
HealthUSA TODAYSome say COVID-19 vaccine is the 'mark of the beast.' Is there a connection to the Bible?
The COVID-19 vaccine has been scientifically proved to save lives, but for a select group of people in the religious realm, a more important matter is at stake – eternal salvation. As the delta variant of the coronavirus spreads, many Americans resist COVID-19 vaccines, some citing the uncertainty of long-term side effects, others lacking trust in the medical field. The "mark of the beast" in the New Testament's Book of Revelation signals an allegiance to Satan or those who reject God's memorial of creatorship.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderLiz Cheney flips Trump's insult on him, tweeting: 'I like Republican presidents who win re-election'
Rep. Liz Cheney fired back at Donald Trump after he mocked her connection to George W. Bush. Cheney tweeted "I like Republican presidents who win re-election" alongside a photo of Bush. Bush will host a fundraiser next month for Cheney featuring several prominent Bush-world Republicans.
U.S.Associated PressFlorida man accused of killing girlfriend, attacking deputy
A Florida man was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend after he confessed to his mother and she called police, sheriff's officials said Monday. Jason Robinson was arrested Saturday night after a struggle in which he removed a Polk County Sheriff's stun gun and radio and attempted to choke him, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Two witnesses came to the aid of the deputy and helped secure Robinson in handcuffs, authorities said.
ScienceThe Weather NetworkMajor pattern change offers some very sharp reversals of fortune
The atmosphere just pressed shuffle, and this pattern change playlist is coming to a city near you. SEPTEMBER FIREHOSE, EYEING RECORD RAINFALL Not one but two troughs will steer low-pressure systems towards British Columbia. The first trough sticks around until Tuesday, then a potentially more powerful one migrates in on Wednesday.
U.S.The Daily Beast‘It’s a Nightmare’: Teen Wrestling Champ Gunned Down While Sitting in Her Car
A teen wrestling champion was video-chatting with her sister about Halloween costumes minutes before she was shot and killed while parked in her car outside her Chicago home on Saturday night. Hours later, her family called for justice as gun violence continues to take a devastating toll on the city. Chicago police said that 18-year-old Melissa de la Garza, who had recently graduated high school and was headed to college at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago, was sitting in her car at around 8:30 p.m. when she was shot multiple times in the torso.
WorldReutersChina power crunch spreads, shutting factories and dimming growth outlook
BEIJING (Reuters) - Widening power shortages in China have halted production at numerous factories including many supplying Apple and Tesla, while some shops in the northeast operated by candlelight and malls shut early as the economic toll of the squeeze mounted. China is in the grip of a power crunch as a shortage of coal supplies, toughening emissions standards and strong demand from manufacturers and industry have pushed coal prices to record highs and triggered widespread curbs on usage. Rationing has been implemented during peak hours in many parts of northeastern China since last week, and residents of cities including Changchun said cuts were occurring sooner and lasting for longer, state media reported.
U.S.INSIDERA 25-year-old who had to get a double lung transplant due to COVID-19 said his lungs look like 'chewed up pieces of bubblegum'
A Georgia man had to get a double lung transplant after he got COVID-19 in April. Blake Bargatze had no underlying health issues but was not vaccinated before he fell ill. The 25-year-old told Insider the virus made his lungs look like "chewed up pieces of bubblegum."
ScienceRaleigh News and ObserverFireball that ‘skimmed’ the North Carolina coast Friday was caught on video, NASA says
A fireball that soared over the North Carolina coast Friday was seen blazing through the sky across the state. NASA Meteor Watch said the fireball — which is an “exceptionally bright” meteor — “skimmed the coast of North Carolina” around 7:40 p.m. and became “visible 48 miles above the ocean off Camp Lejeune.” It was one of five fireballs reportedly seen over the United States that night, according to NASA.
WorldReutersKremlin says NATO expansion in Ukraine is a 'red line' for Putin
The Kremlin warned on Monday that any expansion of NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine would cross one of President Vladimir Putin's "red lines", and Belarus said it had agreed to take action with Moscow to counter growing NATO activity. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Moscow ally, accused the United States of setting up training centres in Ukraine which he said amounted to military bases. He said he had discussed the issue with Putin.
“It wouldn’t take much of an annual wealth tax to rescue the retirement system.”
“Privatizing Social Security — or at least letting individuals opt-out so they can escape the sinking ship — would be a huge win.”
“Congress could save hundreds of billions of dollars by modestly paring back the benefit formula for future wealthy retirees.”
“Raising the retirement age reduces the number of beneficiaries, thereby reducing the costs of the program.”
“Social Security as we know it needs to be abolished and replaced with a better system.”