7 ways men live without working in America

You've heard people bemoaning this "labor participation rate," which is simply the number of working-age men (usually counted as ages 16 to 64) not working or not looking for work, as a percentage of the overall labor force. It's true that the pandemic, which of course produced a number of factors that made working more difficult never mind dangerous, pushed the labor participation rate to a record low. In fact, the participation rate for men peaked at 87.4% in October 1949 and has been dropping steadily ever since.

Sarah Palin Says She’s Not Vaccinated Because She Believes ‘In Science’

Evidence is emerging that people get better protection by being fully vaccinated compared with having had COVID-19,” the CDC adds, citing a study showing “unvaccinated people who already had COVID-19 are more than 2 times as likely than fully vaccinated people to get COVID-19 again. In certain circumstances, per the CDC, people who have contracted COVID-19 should not receive the shot for a set period of time ― such as if they are still infectious or have been treated with monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma. See the full guidelines on the CDC website.

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  Sarah Palin Says ‘I Believe in Science’ but Admits She’s Still Unvaccinated

  The Wrap
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  This Vaccine Is Most Likely to Keep You Out of the Hospital, CDC Study Says

  Best Life

‘In so much pain’: Political activist Laura Loomer, who wished for COVID, now has it

Outspoken anti vaxxer and alt-right agitator Laura Loomer is feeling the effects of COVID-19. The 28-year-old Barry University alum announced she had contracted the virus on conservative social media platform Gettr Wednesday. “Yesterday I was feeling ill,” wrote Loomer, a onetime Republican nominee to represent Florida's 21st congressional district in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections.

St. Louis woman after eviction: 'I have no idea' what to do

The knock on the door that Kristen Bigogno has long dreaded finally arrived Friday — two St. Louis deputies came to evict her, joined by a couple of other men there to change the locks on the apartment. The eviction was months in the making, yet it felt sudden to Bigogno. The judgment against her was last winter, but thanks to a national moratorium, she got a reprieve that ended with a Supreme Court ruling last month.

An Alabama couple who trashed vaccines on their YouTube channel died from COVID-19 within 3 weeks of each other

An Alabama couple who opposed COVID-19 vaccines on YouTube died from the disease, AL.com reported. In a video, Dusty and Tristan Graham said the vaccine was "technically not" a vaccine. The couple's channel had 10,000 subscribers before it was removed from YouTube, Social Blade said.

At bond hearing, Alex Murdaugh’s privilege was on full display

For decades, the Murdaugh family operated in that rarefied world of wealth and privilege that few of us will ever experience. So on Thursday, when Alex Murdaugh, shackled and wearing a jail jumpsuit, came before a Hampton County judge charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and falsifying a police report, observers couldn't help but comment on his downfall, his fall from grace or whatever other cliche seemed to fit the moment. Certainly his attire was a drastic change from the black tuxedo he's seen wearing in a frequently shared Facebook photo or the suits and ties he wore as an attorney, but even in his short court appearance it was clear that, despite the jumpsu...

Illegal marijuana farms take West's water in 'blatant theft'

Jack Dwyer pursued a dream of getting back to the land by moving in 1972 to an idyllic, tree-studded parcel in Oregon with a creek running through it. From dusty towns to forests in the U.S. West, illegal marijuana growers are taking water in uncontrolled amounts when there often isn't enough to go around for even licensed users. Conflicts about water have long existed, but illegal marijuana farms — which proliferate despite legalization in many Western states — are adding strain during a severe drought.

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  Illegal marijuana farms take West's scarce water

  The Independent
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  Illegal marijuana farms are using up too much water in the Western U.S.

  MarketWatch

Even Steve Bannon Looks Skeptical About Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Latest Claim

In her first year as a member of the House, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has said a lot of outrageous things. Greene, who has said she believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory but not in the effectiveness of vaccines, was being interviewed on Bannon's “Real America's Voice” podcast when she told the former Trump White House strategist: “I have been the most effective member of Congress this session.” Greene, however, has been unable to do much congressional work since February, when she was stripped of her committee assignments because of her support for racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, and for advocating the execution prominent Democrats.

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  Watch Steve Bannon’s Epic Side-Eye at Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Claim She’s ‘Most Effective Member of Congress’

  The Wrap
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  Marjorie Taylor Greene calls to shut down the government in wild Steve Bannon interview

  The Independent

Anti-Mask Florida Official Dies of COVID—and Takes GOP Software Secrets With Him

Just a day after testing positive for COVID-19, a Florida Republican official who battled against mask mandates, attacked the vaccine, and railed at CDC officials has died in Tampa. Gregg Prentice, who was 61, led the Hillsborough County Election Integrity Committee—and his sudden death has sent the local GOP scrambling as it no longer has access to essential campaign finance software without his help. In a Sept. 14 letter to the Federal Election Commission, the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee reported it might not be able to file its monthly financial reports as required—because only Prentice knew how to do it.

Study rewrites understanding of modern Japan's genetic ancestry

An analysis of ancient DNA is transforming the understanding of the genetic ancestry of Japan's modern-day population, identifying a crucial contribution from people who arrived about 1,700 years ago and helped revolutionize Japanese culture. Research published on Friday showed that the people of Japan bear genetic signatures from three ancient populations rather than just two as previously thought - a more complex ancestry for the archipelago nation of roughly 125 million. The researchers analyzed genetic information from 17 ancient Japanese people - DNA extracted from the bones of 12 specifically for this study and five done previously - and compared it to genomic data for modern Japanese people.

Trump floated the idea of repainting his private plane to look just like Air Force One 'as a way of taunting' Biden, book says

Trump floated repainting his private plane to look like Air Force One, a new book says. Trump described Air Force One as "his brand," saying, "I don't do the corporate jet thing." Former President Donald Trump floated the idea of repainting his private Boeing 757 plane to resemble Air Force One and fly it around the country "as a way of taunting" President Joe Biden, according to a new book.

NYC restaurant hostess attacked after asking diners for proof of vaccination

Three people were arrested for allegedly assaulting a New York City restaurant hostess on Thursday after she asked a group of diners visiting from Texas to show proof they had been vaccinated before seating them. Cellphone footage obtained by NBC New York shows a brawl involving several people outside Carmine's Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. “It's a shocking and tragic situation when one of our valued employees is assaulted for doing their job - as required by city policies...”

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  Impact of NYC’s Covid-19 vaccination proof mandate for restaurants

  Yahoo Finance Video
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  New York restaurant hostess attacked after asking a group of diners from Texas for proof of vaccination

  The Independent

Aluminum wrap used to protect homes in California wildfires

Martin Diky said he panicked as a huge wildfire started racing down a slope toward his wooden house near Lake Tahoe. The material that can withstand intensive heat for short periods resembles tin foil from the kitchen drawer but is modeled after the tent-like shelters that wildland firefighters use as a last resort to protect themselves when trapped by flames. Diky, who lives most of the time in the San Francisco Bay Area, bought $6,000 worth of wrapping from Firezat Inc. in San Diego, enough to cover his 1,400-square-foot (130-square-meter) second home on the edge of the small California community of Meyers.

Eric Trump Asks Question About His Dad, Gets The Same Stinging Response

Eric Trump received a resounding “no” in response to a question posed via a web address he shared Thursday on Twitter. Former President Donald Trump's son posted the URL doyoumissmeyet.com. It linked to a page featuring an image of his father in front of the American flag.

Scientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning.

The whitest paint in the world has been created in a lab at Purdue University, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning, scientists say. The paint has now made it into the Guinness World Records book as the whitest ever made. “When we started this project about seven years ago, we had saving energy and fighting climate change in mind,” said Xiulin Ruan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, in a statement.

Texas teen posts images of slain family, then kills self

A South Texas teen who said he killed his family and posted graphic images of their bodies on social media killed himself after officers found him at his home, authorities said Thursday. The Aransas Pass police and San Patricio County sheriff's office say they started investigating after being alerted to the images on social media. They say the teen, identified as 15-year-old William Quince Colburn III, had also threatened to continue the violence at a school.

After school worker cuts biracial girl’s hair, Michigan parent sues for $1 million

Six months after a 7-year-old girl's hair was cut by a school worker without her parent's permission, her father has sued the Michigan school district. Jimmy Hoffmeyer seeks $1 million from Mount Pleasant Public Schools, alleging it violated his biracial daughter's constitutional rights. Two staffers at Ganiard Elementary School were also named in the lawsuit, in which the father makes racial discrimination and ethnic intimidation accusations.

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  Lawsuit seeks $1M after teacher cuts chid's hair

  Yahoo News Video
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  Father files $1M lawsuit after daughter's hair cut by Michigan teacher without permission

  USA TODAY

Biden approval drops to lowest of presidency: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Public approval of U.S. President Joe Biden has dropped to the lowest level of his presidency, with Americans appearing to be increasingly critical of his response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. The national poll, conducted Sept. 15-16, found that 44% of U.S. adults approved of Biden's performance in office, while 50% disapproved and the rest were not sure. While most Americans support the kind of vaccine and mask requirements that Biden has ordered recently to slow the spread of the Delta variant, some Republicans have criticized what they consider to be an overreaction by the White House.

Donald Trump wrote to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to 'decertify' the 2020 election

Donald Trump wrote to Georgia Secretary of State asking him to "decertify" the results of the election. In the letter, Trump repeated unproven claims of widespread election fraud. Donald Trump sent a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to start "decertifying" the 2020 election, on Friday.

Israel reportedly used a remote-controlled gun to assassinate an Iranian scientist

The New York Times sources claim Israel assassinated top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on November 27th, 2020 using a remotely-controlled, AI-assisted machine gun. Israel reportedly mounted the gun on a pickup truck by the side of the road and, when Fakhrizadeh's car approached had a distant operator fire the gun using a satellite link. The attack was precise, sparing Fakhrizadeh's wife, but may not have used facial recognition to assist with aiming as unnamed Iranian officials said.

Wisconsin Launches Probe Into Methane Plume Spotted From Space

The state launched a probe after being contacted by Bloomberg News about a plume of methane detected in southwest Wisconsin by Kayrros SAS, which relied on a Sept. 10 satellite observation from the European Space Agency. “The DNR was made aware of a potential methane plume in Southwest Wisconsin, and commenced investigations immediately,” spokeswoman Molly Meister said in an email Friday. Like many other states, Wisconsin has no methane reporting requirements, and often such releases are never reported or are under-reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

HBO Max Cuts Price in Half for Customers Following HBO’s Amazon Prime Exit

HBO Max is cutting its price in half for new and returning customers in attempt to offset the loss of users who subscribed to HBO through Amazon's Prime Video Channels, following the Sept. 15 end of that deal, WarnerMedia revealed Friday. The promotional offer is good through Sept. 26 and will allow those who take advantage up to six months of ad-free HBO Max at 50% off, so $7.49/month.

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  HBO Max promo offers 50 percent off subscriptions until September 26th

  Engadget
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  HBO Max slashes prices in limited offer as streaming wars heat up

  Reuters

Man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones sentenced to 12 years in prison

A US district court has sentenced a man who unlocked 1.9 million AT&T phones to 12 years in prison. Muhammad Fahd continued the seven-year scheme to defraud the company even after learning of an investigation against him, according to the Department of Justice. At Fahd's sentencing hearing, Judge Robert S. Lasnik said he committed a “terrible cybercrime over an extended period,” with AT&T said to have lost $201.5 million as a result.