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  2. phkrause

    Zimbabwe

    A ferry capsizes on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, leaving at least 15 people dead and 27 missing HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — An overloaded ferry capsized on Zimbabwe ‘s Lake Kariba on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people and leaving 27 missing, the national disaster management agency said. It said 77 people were rescued and made it to a small island on the lake, with boats now being dispatched to bring the survivors back. https://apnews.com/article/boat-capsizes-kariba-zimbabwe-2fb66e523bc8c1b09cd3e046e98459af?
  3. ✈️ New photos are emerging from President Trump's flight out of Turkey last month, when he reportedly used a catering container to secretly switch planes to dodge an Iranian threat. The smaller plane Trump is said to have boarded, an Air Force C-32A, is seen here behind the Boeing 747 that's been the traditional presidential plane. That plane flew on, with reporters thinking Trump was aboard. Get the latest.
  4. 🤖 AI could help unlock more oil — and emissions Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images AI could help produce more oil and natural gas — but with a climate impact outweighing the tech's benefits for renewable energy, Axios' Amy Harder reports from a new study. 🛢️ The big picture: AI can help oil companies find new resources and extract more from existing fields. At the same time, it can also improve forecasting and operations for renewables. 🌎 What they found: The researchers estimate that AI could add emissions equal to roughly 1% to 5% of the global energy sector's 2024 total. Co-author Holly Alpine tells Axios: "Most assessments of AI's climate impact are framed as a trade-off between data center energy use and the emissions AI might help avoid through renewables and efficiency gains." "What's missing from that calculation entirely is the other side of the same ledger: the emissions enabled from using AI to make fossil fuel production cheaper and more profitable." American Petroleum Institute spokeswoman Andrea Woods tells Axios: "The U.S. oil and natural gas industry is continuing to produce more energy while reducing emissions by investing in better technology, implementing stronger operational practices and supporting science-based policy." Go deeper ... Read the paper ...
  5. Today
  6. Trump’s Tacky Gold Gift Explodes Into ‘Cartoonish Bribe’ Scandal They said it fits a “deeply troubling pattern” of gifts being exchanged for perks. Democrats have ripped a jewelry firm, saying their gift to President Donald Trump could have amounted to a “cartoonish bribe.” Trump was handed a “watch-sized” 18-karat gold ring bejeweled with 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds, and six rubies, completed with the numbers 45 and 47, by the Belgian diamond industry’s primary lobbying organization to honor his two terms in office. The gift, reported by the Associated Press to be worth between $25,000 and $35,000, has rankled Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, who on Monday wrote a strongly worded letter to the president and founder of the Antwerp World Diamond Center, Isidore Mörsel and David Gotlib. In the letter, they drew a link between the gift and the Belgian diamond industry’s subsequent exclusion from a new round of tariffs implemented on European countries. The new round was introduced in July and is the latest workaround in Trump’s bid to levy charges without congressional oversight after the Supreme Court ruled his previous IEEPA project unlawful in February. The new plan sees rates ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent placed on 80 countries. “We write regarding our concerns about the watch-sized, 18-karat gold ring encrusted with 321 diamonds and 75 gemstones that the Antwerp World Diamond Center (AWDC) gifted to President Trump, just weeks before the Administration announced it was exempting European diamonds from its chaotic tariffs,” Warren and Blumenthal said. “We have previously raised concerns about ‘the President’s record of doling out special treatment to CEOs who are able to woo him with flattery, payoffs, or both,’ and the circumstances surrounding the European diamond industry’s exemptions raise troubling new questions about foreign corporate interests potentially buying special favors from President Trump with lavish gifts—or in the case of the gold ring, what appears to be a cartoonish bribe.” In their message, they also laid out how the ring came into U.S. possession, revealing it was passed to the ambassador to Belgium during an America 250 event. “On June 28, 2026, at an America 250 celebration in Brussels, Mr. Mörsel presented U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White with the aforementioned ring for delivery to President Trump. Custom-crafted by Mr. Gotlib, the watch-sized, 18-karat gold ring features 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds, six rubies, two diamond ‘T’ emblems, Superman-style ’45′ and ’47′ logos, the Presidential Seal, and an interior engraving reading: ‘Crafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.’ “Mr. Mörsel explicitly linked the gift to trade issues, stating that AWDC commissioned the ring to “celebrate that enduring relationship” with the Antwerp diamond sector’s “most important trading partner for generations.” According to the U.S. embassy in Brussels, cited by MS Now, a video of Trump was played at the celebration, where he said, “A very special thank you to my friends from Antwerp for the magnificent Freedom 250 ring.” The senators then noted that despite Trump not being able to keep the ring under congressional anti-corruption laws, “presenting a gift of this magnitude could still play directly into President Trump’s well-established affinity for shiny gifts.” The senators from Massachusetts and Connecticut then alleged that the “return on your ‘ostentatious’ gift appears to have been swift and substantial,” because “the administration officially exempted European natural diamonds from the new Section 301 tariffs, restoring the Belgian diamond industry’s zero-percent tariff access to the U.S. market.” They added that it “fits a deeply troubling pattern of corporate executives using flattery and gifts to obtain lucrative exemptions to the administration’s tariff rules.” They then asked AWDC to answer a list of questions about the events that led to the gifting of the ring and warned that their actions could “raise serious legal questions under federal criminal law.” They gave them until August 24 to respond. The White House denied that Trump issued a favorable ruling with Europe because of the gift. “The Trump administration agreed to provide preferential tariff treatment for diamonds as part of our historic trade deal with the European Union that was agreed to last summer. The exemption of diamonds in the Forced Labor Section 301 tariffs reflects how the Administration continues upholding our end of the deal. The only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people,” Spokesman Kush Desai told the Daily Beast. The Daily Beast has contacted the Antwerp World Diamond Center for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-tacky-gold-gift-explodes-into-cartoonish-bribe-scandal/? ps:Pathetic!!!!!
  7. Bad Loser Trump Confesses Sinister Election Power Grab With his declining popularity weighing on GOP candidates heading into the midterms, the president made another ominous threat. Donald Trump has refused to rule out declaring a national security emergency over the 2026 elections, in his latest sinister threat to interfere with November’s midterms. Amid growing GOP fears that Democrats could regain control of Congress, paving the way for the president to be investigated and potentially impeached, Trump has hinted that he could invoke extraordinary powers to meddle in the process. The threat came during a post-midnight interview on right-wing network Real America’s Voice, when host and conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root told Trump he had the “right” to declare a national security emergency if the Senate can’t pass his signature election bill, the SAVE Act. The Act, which remains stalled in the Senate, would impose new identification restrictions on voting and curb mail-in ballots, but critics view it as another attempt at voter suppression. “If they never get the SAVE America Act done, you have the right to declare a national security emergency for elections,” Root told Trump, citing a 1983 Supreme Court ruling that he claimed would make it hard for such a move to be overturned without a two-thirds vote in Congress. “If you do this in the next month, we will get photo ID, proof of citizenship, and a limit to mail-in ballots.” Trump, who still believes the 2020 election was rigged, replied ominously. “Let me just say, stranger things have happened,” the 80-year-old said. “I’ll leave it at that.” The U.S. Constitution makes clear that states administer elections and any attempt to expand federal control would certainly be challenged in the courts. But the exchange, which is not the first time Trump and his allies have mused about invoking an emergency declaration over the polls, nonetheless revived concerns about how far he might be prepared to go to reshape the election. GOP strategists have told the Daily Beast that fears of a Democratic “blue wave” have been particularly potent in recent months as Trump’s declining popularity over issues such as the war and affordability become a drag on candidates heading into November’s midterms. Trump himself acknowledged last week that voters were “angry at Republicans,” but insisted, despite polls showing otherwise, “they’re not angry at me.” “The question is, will they vote because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans,” he told PunchBowl News, acknowledging the impact this could have on turnout. To hold on to power—both this year and at the next presidential election in 2028—Trump has previously made a series of other wild threats, such as canceling midterms altogether or running for an unconstitutional third term. At one point, he even questioned whether he should stay on for a fourth term, even though the U.S. Constitution bans Americans from being elected as president more than twice. In February, a 17-page draft proposal circulated among Trump allies also contemplated invoking a national emergency over alleged foreign interference in American elections and using it to give the federal government sweeping powers over voting. The document envisioned measures such as voter identification requirements and hand-counting of ballots. Trump at the time said he was not considering the proposal, but in his latest interview he goes much further, not ruling it out as he continues to obsess about the SAVE Act. Among other things, the Act would require Americans to prove their citizenship upon registering and to show photo ID to vote in federal elections. But it remains stalled in the U.S. Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. https://www.thedailybeast.com/bad-loser-trump-confesses-sinister-election-power-grab/? ps:Pathetic!!
  8. Gregory Matthews

    The authority of Ellen White...

    This tlhread begank anl la dlisclussion as to the aluthority of EGW. I has gon koff in the direction okf t he Trinity. Tok get back to her authority: Yes, she had authority. We a re endebted to her for teh guidance that she gave thils Church (SDA) in manly ways. She gave lmuch advlice as tko ministry and direction. We would not be what we are today if it had not been for her guidance. * She is not and was never intended to be the ullltimate, absolule authority as to doctrine and belief. * Thea Bible, under the gulidance of the HOly Spirit is the ultimate,l absolute authority as to doctrine, not EGW. * In additionl,it can not be said that every word she wrote waws given to her by God. Her writings clearly show lthat she was often endebted to the writings of other authors of her day.
  9. Gregory Matthews

    The authority of Ellen White...

    Yes God can not sin. Yes, humanity can sin. Yes, Jesus was fully God. Yes, Jesus was fully human. Seventh-day Adventists have never agreed on what it meant for Jesus to be fully human. They have always disagreed as to what it meant for Jesus to be both God and human. .
  10. He cannot die,either. Jesus wasn't only God. He was God manifest in the flesh, the physical flesh of fallen humanity. Adam lost eternal life through sin. The man Jesus could have done the same. Doesn't mean that the divinity of Christ could or would have died. Had Jesus sinned, the tomb would not have been empty. The man Jesus would have been dead in there. His divinity would have fled, leaving earth to satan. There are difficulties in Scripture. This isn't one of them.
  11. Gregory Matthews

    The authority of Ellen White...

    Yes, God can not sin.
  12. Yesterday
  13. phkrause

    Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

    👋 Good morning! We're looking to hire someone to join our newsletter team. Could that someone be you? Will share more tomorrow. In today's edition: Born in the 2000s, the shortstop who never makes an error, Sports on the Street, how the WNBA markets itself through a culture war, The World In Photos, Clippers sign a 7-foot-5 giant, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🎾 THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT WANNA FEEL OLD? American Ben Shelton celebrates his Round of 16 victory at the Canadian Open. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) History will be made today at the Canadian Open, where the men's quarterfinals are made up entirely of players born in the 2000s — a first for any ATP Masters 1000 event. The quarterfinalists: Brandon Nakashima, who just turned 25 this month, is the oldest man in the field. Rafael Jódar, who doesn't turn 20 until next month, is the youngest. 🇺🇸 Brandon Nakashima (born in 2001) 🇺🇸 Ben Shelton (2002) 🇮🇹 Luciano Darderi (2002) 🇪🇸 Daniel Mérida (2004) 🇫🇷 Arthur Fils (2004) 🇺🇸 Learner Tien (2005) 🇨🇿 Jakub Menšík (2005) 🇪🇸 Rafael Jódar (2006) See them in action: Rain postponed Monday's matches in Montreal, meaning all four quarterfinals will be played today on Tennis Channel. The action begins with No. 28 Nakashima vs. No. 19 Darderi (12:30pm ET), followed by No. 20 Jódar vs. No. 18 Fils (2pm), No. 13 Menšík vs. No. 5 Shelton (6pm) and Mérida vs. No. 12 Tien (7:10pm).   ⚾️ STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS: MLB EDITION (Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) 111 games A's youngster Jacob Wilson completed his 111th consecutive game without an error on Sunday, the longest such streak by a shortstop in MLB history. The previous record was set in 2002 by Orioles SS Mike Bordick, who went 110 games (and 544 chances) without an error. Wilson has had "just" 331 chances during his streak. Long way to go: While Wilson extended his streak to 112 on Monday, he's still got a ways to go before catching the all-time record by a position player. Outfielder Robbie Grossman went 440 games without an error from 2018 to 2022 with the Twins, A's and Tigers. 56 triples Diamondbacks star Corbin Carroll hit his 56th triple on Saturday, passing Starling Marte and Mike Trout for the most among active players. Marte and Trout have both played well over 1,500 career games; Carroll has played just 604. It's actually stunning. The gap is a chasm: Carroll has nearly twice as many triples this season (13) as anyone else (four players with 7), and his 56 triples since debuting in 2022 are 21 more than second place. Aside from Jacob Misiorowski's fastball, there may be no MLB player more dominant in a single skill than Carroll's ability to hit a triple. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) 222 home runs Kyle Schwarber has hit 222 home runs since joining the Phillies in 2022, the second-most by any player in his first five seasons with a team in MLB history. Only Babe Ruth had more (235 with the Yankees from 1920-24), and Schwarber still has 42 games left to catch him. Zoom out: Schwarber's 375 career HR are the 19th-most through any player's first 12 seasons, and with a strong finish this summer he could crack the top 10 of that list. And that's despite three of his seasons being significantly shortened by injury, COVID and a late rookie call-up. He is, quite simply, a generational masher. 12th team Craig Kimbrel has signed with the Royals, marking his third team this season and 12th of his career — a number matched by only six other players in MLB history. Starting pitchers Rich Hill and Edwin Jackson hold the record (14 teams), followed by RHP Octavio Dotel (13), 1B/OF Matt Stairs (12), LHP Ron Villone (12) and RHP Mike Morgan (12). Kimbrel's journey: The nine-time All-Star played his first five seasons in Atlanta, followed by one with the Padres and three with the Red Sox. Since 2019, he's played for the Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, Phillies, Orioles, Braves again, Astros, Mets, Rays and now Royals.   📈 TICKER TALK SPORTS ON THE STREET (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) The following story first appeared in Yahoo Sports Biz, our new sports business newsletter authored by Dylan Dittrich. Sign up here to receive tomorrow's edition. Over 1,500 companies scheduled their quarterly earnings releases for last week. Among that sea of results were sports and sports-adjacent businesses with no shortage of interesting nuggets to share. Here are the tidbits that caught our eye. 🏈 Brace for sports betting ads during football season. "We anticipate football season being quite the arms race this year. You're going to have prediction markets that are targeting customers for the first football season ever. … We already assumed it was going to be a very aggressive and irrational marketing spend, advertising, and new customer acquisition approach this football season." — Penn Entertainment (PENN) CEO Jay Snowden Bet on it: Fans should be prepared for an onslaught of marketing during the upcoming NFL and college football seasons. Competition is fierce as prediction market upstarts seek market share and legacy sportsbooks try to defend their own, while also marketing their prediction-market products in states where traditional betting remains illegal. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) ⛳️ The U.S. golf business marches ahead. "The National Golf Foundation carves up the country into eight regions. Every region is up year to date, which is unusual because, typically, you've got an outlier weather pattern that's going to affect one region over another. … The other piece I'd add is they track public and private access. Public play, which is about 75% or so of total rounds in the U.S., is up at a greater rate than private play." — Acushnet Holdings (GOLF) CEO David Maher Hitting fairways: Both Acushnet and Callaway cited the sport's structural health in their comments, highlighting the game's ability to weather economic volatility and grow, even in the more affordable segments of the market. (Carl Recine/Getty Images) 📺 Nothing drives ad revenue quite like sports. "Advertising revenue during the quarter was notably strong, increasing 78%, with growth fueled by continued strength of Tubi, healthy advertising trends across the broader Fox portfolio, and our broadcast of the first stages of the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup. At a time when audiences are increasingly fragmented, the World Cup demonstrated the unique power of Fox to deliver live premium sports that bring people together at scale." — Fox Corporation (FOX) CEO Lachlan Murdoch Unparalleled scale: The World Cup was the primary driver behind an $838 million lift in Q4 advertising revenues for Fox, and that doesn't include the full benefit of games that fell in July, rather than June. The results further illustrate the immense commercial power of premier live sports rights, and the battle for future tournaments could be ruthless.* *The commercial power of premier live sports rights is just as conspicuous in their absence. Unlike Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery's advertising revenues fell 22% in Q2, or $492 million, with the loss of NBA rights negatively impacting year-over-year growth by 20%.   🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Long Beach, California — Teams offer their athletes food while they compete during the Women's Open Water 10K on Day 1 of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images) 🇫🇷 Paris, France — Ukraine's Nelli Chukanivska dives into the Seine River during the Women's 20m High Dive event at the European Aquatics Championships, where she took gold. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Birmingham, England — Stephen Mackenzie does his best sand wedge impression during the Men's Long Jump qualifier at the European Athletics Championships. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) 🇨🇳 Beijing, China — Noah Norrie of the Philippines practices ahead of the 2026 IWWF World Cable Wakeboard & Wakeskate Championships.   📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Cassandra Negley: The WNBA is more popular than ever. But how does a league market itself through a culture war? Marketing strictly toward already established sports fans is no longer the path toward growth for any league, the 30-year-old WNBA included. Yet, opening that many doors creates the unintended consequence of ushering in unwelcome company. As droves of new fans step in, so, too, do people and groups unwilling to learn about the league's history or choosing to chase their own agendas. (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 Nick Bromberg: Here's what's new for the 2026 college football season Every college football season brings tweaks and changes and 2026 is no different. Here's what's new ahead of the upcoming campaign, and yes, the playoff format has once again been altered. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) ⚾️ Jake Mintz: MLB free-agent rankings: The best of what's available in an underwhelming class Last winter, nine players signed contracts worth more than $100 million. This winter, new Dodger Tarik Skubal might be the only one. And that has absolutely nothing to do with the upcoming labor fiasco; these players just aren't that good.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, AUG. 11 Kelsey Mitchell (0) surrounded by her teammates during a game last month. (Bobby Goddin/Getty Images) 🏀 Liberty at Fever Indiana hosts New York tonight (7:30pm ET, ESPN) in the third matchup of the season between the two title contenders, with the Fever (20-12) and Liberty (20-13) splitting the first two. Scoring machine: Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell is averaging a career-high 24.2 points per game this season, second only to A'ja Wilson (26.3), and she's scored 20+ points in 16 straight games, the longest single-season streak in WNBA history. More to watch: 🎾 Canadian Open: Quarterfinals (12:30pm, Tennis) ... In addition to the men's quarters detailed above, we've got No. 4 Coco Gauff vs. No. 12 Belinda Bencic (7pm) and No. 2 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 11 Naomi Osaka (8:10pm). ⚾️ MLB: Mariners at Yankees (7:05pm, TBS) … New York (66-52) holds the first wild card. Seattle (56-63) has lost four straight to fall 4 games back of the third wild card. ⚽️ Leagues Cup: Group Stage (7:30pm, Apple) … The third and final matchday of the group phase kicks off with six games between MLS and Liga MX clubs.   🏀 BASKETBALL GIANTS TRIVIA TIME (Sam Hodde/NBAE via Getty Images) The Clippers have signed 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp, making him the tallest active player in the NBA. Question: Who are the tallest players in NBA history? Hint: They were both 7-foot-7. Answer at the bottom.   🏈 NEW FEATURES 29 DAYS OF FANTASY It's Yahoo Fantasy Football's 29th year. To celebrate, we're dropping a brand-new fantasy feature every single day for 29 days straight. That's 29 days, 29 features, all built to help you dominate your league. First up: Custom Recipes. Leagues that want to venture away from standard scoring can now easily select from a menu of custom scoring options curated by celebrities, creators and Yahoo Fantasy experts. Commissioners can apply Custom Recipes to their existing league (in "Scoring Settings") or when creating a new league.   Trivia answer: Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol (pictured below) Bol and Bogues, dynamic duo. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
  14. phkrause

    Middle East War

    What is Iran’s pressure point? Any hopes of a breakthrough between the US and Iran appear increasingly distant, with both sides now demanding compensation before the Strait of Hormuz can reopen. President Trump added a new condition to the talks on Monday, saying Iran should pay for past misdeeds, after Tehran said US compensation was required to reopen the vital waterway. The standoff comes as Trump has made it clear that inflicting economic pain on Iran is part of Washington’s strategy. The president said Sunday that the US is “only semi-negotiating” with Iran and is watching as the country struggles with soaring inflation and dwindling funds that could eventually force Tehran’s hand. + Explainer: Trump’s Iran strategy depends on economic pain + Live updates: Hopes for imminent Strait of Hormuz deal fade
  15. phkrause

    Earthquakes/Tsunamis

    Crews race to find Colombia quake survivors Residents and rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake struck Cali, Colombia, on Monday. (Santiago Saldarriaga/AP) Rescue efforts are underway after a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia Monday morning, collapsing buildings and sending people rushing from homes, workplaces and schools. At least 132 people have been killed and 570 injured, including 60 deaths in the western city of Pereira, according to local officials. And the toll is expected to rise as crews continue to dig through the rubble. The government has declared a national disaster, deploying soldiers and rescue teams throughout devastated communities in search of survivors. + Live updates: What we know so far + Video: Scenes of chaos after catastrophic earthquake hits (1:10) + A closer look: Visualizing the earthquake in maps and charts
  16. Key races to watch today A slate of primary elections today will offer another test of the Democratic Party’s ideological direction, with consequential races across the upper Midwest. In Wisconsin, 37-year-old democratic socialist Francesca Hong is favored to win the Democratic nomination for governor — offering an early look at how a swing state electorate might respond to the party’s shift leftward this fall. Minnesota also has a moderate-versus-progressive clash shaping up today between Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan for the Democratic Senate nomination. And in South Carolina, Trump’s endorsement power is again on the ballot as he backs Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, for a full term against a crowded field of Republican rivals. + Read more: What to watch in today’s primaries + Q&A: Have questions about the primaries? Ask CNN’s John King
  17. Trump’s vaccine order explained President Donald Trump signs an executive order about vaccines on Monday. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that recommends US children receive fewer vaccinations spread out over a longer period of time, despite little scientific evidence supporting such changes. While the Trump administration says the shift is meant to give families more flexibility in deciding when to vaccinate their kids, many doctors say the president’s approach could instead create greater uncertainty and confusion. For now, though, as millions of children head back to school, not much will change. Health experts say any shifts to the shots available or the CDC’s recommended schedule could take months or years — if they happen at all. The order will now likely be challenged in court. At stake is how far Trump’s power can reach in reshaping vaccine policy, particularly when his approach is at odds with established scientific guidance. + Read more: What Trump’s order means for vaccinations this fall + Video: Erin Burnett debunks Trump’s claim that childhood vaccine is ‘size of a bottle of soda’ (2:19) + Fact check: Trump makes numerous false and misleading claims about vaccines and autism
  18. Trump Melts Down as His Suck-Up Pal Faces Humiliating Crisis FIFA boss Gianni Infantino is facing intense calls to resign over his wild plans to sell the World Cup. President Donald Trump has come out swinging for his under-fire FIFA shill, Gianni Infantino. The Swiss soccer administrator finds himself in a sticky spot after it was revealed that he spearheaded a move to sell off a hefty chunk of the rights to the organization’s competitions, including the World Cup, the crown jewel of FIFA, soccer’s world governing body. The idea, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise, was revealed by the Times of London about a week after the World Cup final. It was immediately, and ferociously, panned by the football world, including regional associations under FIFA. The blowback to the idea has been so intense that it has been scrapped and Infantino, 56, looks to be clinging onto power, with not many allies rushing to his aid. However, perhaps because of his jaw-dropping charm offensive on Trump—for whom he created the FIFA Peace Prize last year—he still has one powerful backer. “FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” the 80-year-old wrote on Truth Social on Monday evening, breaking his silence on the matter and throwing his weight behind his friend. “He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again!” Infatino earns $6 million a year in his position and, as The Times put it, the job—along with flying on a private jet and hanging out with celebrities and world leaders—has “become his sole identity.” He would have got a $30 million salary if his plan went through, according to reports. It comes after Infantino received yet another blow from the soccer world when the presidents and general secretaries of European governing body UEFA, North & Central American and Caribbean governing body CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) called for his resignation in an open letter on Monday. “Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding—or demanding—power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it,” the letter read. “When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.” The blowback started when UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, threatened to pull all European nations from FIFA competitions. Soon after, CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, joined its European counterparts in boycotting; then the Asian federations said it “stood with” the other two. UEFA, fellow FIFA administrators and even the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham, publicly heaped scorn on Infantino. But he is clinging on. On Saturday, the organization hit back, crying foul over a “concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President.” That came after reporting turned personal. The Daily Telegraph in London reported last week that married Infantino had an affair with a junior employee while he was the general secretary of UEFA, and his alleged lover was paid “a six-figure sum” when she left the organization. Infantino does have some support, with CONMEBOL (South America) and CAF (Africa) on his side. Mexico has broken ranks with its administration, CONCACAF, to back him, too. But now he has perhaps his most powerful backer yet. Trump has a vested interest in the Enterprise. Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is the president’s son-in-law, was slated to invest in the enterprise through his company, Thrive Eternal. Infantino spent months leading up to the World Cup lavishing Trump with shiny gold gifts and furnishing him with compliments. He also created a Peace Prize and awarded it to the president, opened a FIFA office in Trump Tower in New York, and allowed the Club World Cup trophy to be displayed in the Oval Office. He also laughed along during Trump’s inauguration speech as the president threatened World Cup co-hosts Canada and Mexico. Last week, Infantino appeared to borrow directly from Trump’s rhetorical playbook, describing critics of the World Cup’s organization as being “so consumed by hate and criticism.” Infantino, who was first elected in 2016 and ran unopposed in 2019 and 2023, reportedly scrambled to the Trump administration when his plan unraveled. The New York Post reported last week that he had repeatedly tried and failed to reach Trump by phone after the deal collapsed, and instead scheduled a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-melts-down-as-his-suck-up-pal-faces-humiliating-crisis/? ps:How pathetic are these people?????
  19. Project 2025 Goon Secretly Installed in Ultra-Sensitive Role Right-winger chosen to make sure Reflecting Pool fiasco doesn’t reflect badly on the president. Donald Trump is planning to put one of his most reliably right-wing goons in charge of any eventual investigation into his botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The 80-year-old president personally oversaw the $16 million project to refurbish the D.C. landmark, only to watch as the waters turned slimy green and the pool lining split. He quickly blamed the damage on vandalism, even though his handpicked D.C. prosecutor couldn’t make any charges stick and passed the blame to Doug Burgum’s Interior Department, which was in charge of the refurb. Now, Trump has nominated Dennis Kirk, a Project 2025 author and former adviser to Tulsi Gabbard, to run the Interior Department’s inspector general office—the watchdog that will oversee any investigation. Kirk, whose contributions to Project 2025 as associate director included a training video and an essay on the consequences of “progressive ideology” in the federal workforce, had senior roles in the Office of Personnel Management during Trump’s first term, The Washington Post reported. In the next administration, President Joe Biden withdrew Kirk’s nomination to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, an executive branch agency that aims “to protect Federal merit systems against partisan political” practices. Earlier in Trump’s second term, Kirk was an adviser to then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Yet at the same time, according the Post, Kirk was working in the office of the intelligence community’s inspector general—drawing criticism from Democrats and ethics groups. Among those attacking Kirk’s nomination to the Interior Department IG job was Rep. Jared Huffman, the House Natural Resources Committee’s highest-ranking Democrat, who called Kirk a “fake and fraudulent watchdog.” “Each and every thing this political puppet does will be in service of Donald Trump,” he said in a statement. He went on: “This man helped write the Project 2025 playbook for seizing control of the federal workforce. Now he sits inside the office charged with rooting out corruption at Interior, the department that manages our national parks, public lands, Tribal programs, and now under Trump, gold-slathered statues and a botched Reflecting Pool renovation. “That same office is weighing serious ethics investigations into senior officials in this administration. It’s no surprise the White House suddenly wants its own man inside the one place that Trump’s cronies still have reason to fear.” In a statement, the Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Aaron Weiss referred to the firing last year of the Interior Department’s previous inspector general, Mark Lee Greenblatt. “Interior’s watchdog was fired, left vacant for eighteen months, and is now hosting one of the architects of Project 2025,” Weiss said. “At least five investigation requests from members of Congress are sitting in that office right now, and its integrity has been compromised. Congress cannot outsource its constitutional oversight duty to an inspector general’s office taken over by the White House.” One investigation request Weiss mentioned concerned reporting from Politico that Interior Department staffers would routinely shred official documents and use disappearing Signal messages. Greenblatt himself was also critical of Kirk’s nomination, telling The Hill that “the chilling effect on whistleblowers is real.” “Who would jeopardize their careers by submitting a complaint about an administration official to an IG who is avowedly aligned with the administration?” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told the Post in a statement that “Kirk has consistently demonstrated loyalty to the rule of law during his long career within government.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the Interior Department for comment. The White House said in a statement, “Dennis Kirk has a long career within government demonstrating a loyalty to the rule of law. We look forward to Mr. Kirk being confirmed as the next Inspector General at Interior.” ps:Isn't that interesting!
  20. Trump Faces Bombshell Probe Over ICE Raids on Troops’ Families Lawmakers demand answers after ICE detained more than 50 spouses and parents of active-duty troops. An investigation into the roundup of American service members’ relatives by Donald Trump’s immigration agents has been launched by scores of lawmakers.The probe comes after the Associated Press found more than 50 spouses and parents of active-duty troops have been swept up in the president’s immigration crackdown. The Daily Beast previously reported on the detentions, which have led to at least six family members being deported. In a letter sent Sunday evening to the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 60 Democrats vowed to establish whether the agencies are teaming up to expel troops’ family members. They warned in the letter, provided to the Associated Press: “These efforts imperil military readiness, weaken service members’ morale, and betray America’s promises to the people who put their lives on the line for our nation.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 77, is spearheading the investigation alongside Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, 80, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, 58, and a group of House Democrats. “Donald Trump is breaking our country’s promises to service members by tearing apart dozens of military families who were promised immigration protections,” Warren said. “That’s just plain cruel, and it’s hurting our military readiness and morale.” Troops’ parents and spouses were shielded from removal for decades under presidents of both parties. The AP found those safeguards have been stripped away as part of Trump’s mass deportation drive. Some service members have had to postpone deployments to care for their children after a spouse was seized. The lawmakers also demanded to know why military recruiters continue to dangle immigration protections as a perk of signing up. “This report is appalling and shows the unbelievable cruelty at the center of the Trump immigration agenda,” said Blumenthal, the senior Democrat on the Senate veterans’ affairs committee. “We will be demanding answers and accountability.” The letter landed days after Trump, 80, created the Military Spouse Commission—chaired by Jennifer Rauchet, wife of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, 46—to improve life for troops’ partners. In an Aug. 6 letter in the Federal Register, the president wrote that military spouses are “intrinsically linked to the good order, readiness, and retention of our military.” The Pentagon told the AP it would “reply directly to the authors of the letter,” while DHS said, “U.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws.” The VA, the White House, and Republican Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Jerry Moran of Kansas, who chair the Senate committees on armed services and veterans’ affairs, did not respond to the AP. Danitza James, president of Repatriate Our Patriots, which supports military families and veterans facing deportation, told the outlet: “They trust our government to take care of their families, and they’re not doing that.” The Daily Beast contacted the White House, DHS, the Pentagon, and the VA for comment. The White House referred us to DHS. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement: “DHS and ICE value the contributions of all those who have served in the U.S. military. U.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws. “Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws. Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement; if you are in the United States illegally, you are subject to enforcement. Programs like Military Parole in Place (MIL-PIP) are NOT automatic—ICE will not ignore the immigration laws of our country.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-faces-bombshell-probe-over-ice-raids-on-troops-families/? ps:Pathetic!!
  21. Gregory Matthews

    Ronald Lawson - SDA Kinship

    In my personal opinion, i believe that one goal of Kinship was to provide spiritual care to a group of people who were not thought to be getting it in Adventism, without asking them to change their sexuality.
  22. phkrause

    Archeology

    Talking Exodus with Alan Millard On Tim Mahoney’s first overseas trip to investigate the Biblical Exodus account in 2002, he interviewed two prestigious scholars at the University of Liverpool, England. In our previous two Thinker Updates we covered the discussion with Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen. Today we feature excerpts from the talk with the former Ranking Professor of Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages, Alan Millard. https://www.patternsofevidence.com/2026/08/06/talking-exodus-with-alan-millard/? Urartu’s Inscribed Bronze Bowls A new study published in the journal Antiquity investigates more than 100 bronze bowls from the ancient kingdom of Urartu (biblical Ararat), which are now held in museums across Armenia, Russia, and elsewhere. The bowls bear royal inscriptions, which the authors analyze for content, engraving method, the paleography of the Urartian script (how it changed over time), and the construction of Urartian royal authority. The scholars offer new insights into a civilization whose writing culture is only partially understood. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/inscriptions/urartus-inscribed-bronze-bowls/?
  23. Gustave

    Ronald Lawson - SDA Kinship

    This group that Nelson was (sort of) credited with starting (the kinship group). What was the real purpose of this group? Was it a group whose goals were to provide better counseling to active homosexuals in an attempt to bring them into a more compliant Christian lifestyle? Or was the groups intention to identify homosexuals to make it easier for them to connect and enjoy homosexual acts? Sort of like the LGBT bumper stickers you see on the back of cars which it appears the primary purpose is to advertise the occupant is friendly to acts of buggery. I honestly don't know about this man but clearly, he appears to have been highly educated and productive in his professional work life.
  24. In an era defined by institutional friction and shifting cultural norms, the bedrock principles of American civic life are facing a quiet, steady erosion. The post Safeguarding the Cornerstone: Why Founders First Freedom Matters Now More Than Ever appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article
  25. Fuming TV Addict Trump, 80, Erupts as His $1.7B Failure Is Exposed The president vowed to take legal action in a deranged name-calling rant. Donald Trump went on a furious rant after a liberal think tank said the president’s costly National Guard deployments in cities did not reduce violent crime. Analysis from the Center for American Progress found that the Trump administration’s crime crackdown in cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., cost American taxpayers more than $1.7 billion but had little effect. A report from CAP published in July suggested that Trump tried to portray his troop-deployment efforts as a success by “exploiting” the fact that violent crime and murder were already declining in the cities his administration targeted with its “extreme interventions.” On Monday, Chandler Hall, the associate director for public safety at CAP, discussed the analysis of whether there “actually was a change in the pre-existing trends” before Trump deployed troops to the cities during an interview on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. “We looked at what were the effects of the National Guard deployments, not just in D.C., but in all cities in which the National Guard were deployed,” Hall said. “What we find is that across multiple cities, multiple data sets, and multiple time windows, we find no effect that violent crime actually did change post the National Guard deployments in any of the cities.” In a rambling Truth Social post of 190 words, Trump lashed out at Hall while also threatening to sue CAP for exposing his unnecessary $1.7 billion crackdown.’ “Chandler Hall, representing, on Television, the foolish Center for American Lack of Progress, stated that adding the National Guard to Cities, including our now Great Again, Washington, D.C., had ‘NO impact on Crime.’ How crazy is that,” Trump posted.“Hall was met with furious dissent. The report is just another Radical Left SCAM, as are the people who fund this gaggle of Lunatics, including George Soros, Bill and Melinda Gates, Google, Apple, Visa, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, WellsFargo, Bank of America, Walmart, Toyota, T-Mobile, and NBC Universal. Foreign support includes the Embassy of Japan, the Korea Foundation, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (Taiwan), and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates,” he continued. “The Dumocrats love it, and are against anything ‘TRUMP.’ These people, and others like them, are so bad for our Country. Their stated course is anything to hate or demean ‘TRUMP.’ The 80-year-old president also threatened that CAP would be “met with a lawsuit,” which is apparently being drawn up now. “I am also strongly considering adding some of the contributors to this Fake Organization. Crime is way down since I took Office, and they know it. Liars, at this level, must be held accountable! President DONALD J. TRUMP.” Trump, who spends an extraordinary amount of time watching cable news television as president, had his meltdown after managing to catch Hall on the relatively obscure Washington Journal program hosted on the C-SPAN television network. Hall’s appearance on the show began at 9:25 a.m. ET on Monday morning, a period in which Trump’s public White House schedule listed him as taking part in “Executive Time.” Analysis from the Daily Beast found that the 80-year-old president was only seen in public three times in Washington, D.C., before 11 a.m. during the entire month of June. On most of these days, Trump’s mornings were taken up with so-called “Executive Time.” Trump’s post was shared alongside a clip of border czar Tom Homan praising the crackdown in D.C. during a Monday appearance on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show. “I’ve lived in D.C. at least 15 years, and I wouldn’t walk the streets of D.C. without a concealed weapon,” Homan said. “President Trump has made Washington D.C. an example for the whole world. Over 16,000 arrests, almost 2,000 firearms taken off the street. Three dozen murder suspects taken off the street.” In his Washington Journal appearance, Hall did state “in the interest of fairness” that the deployment of troops in areas like D.C. did result in a fall in “opportunistic property crime,” such as theft or vandalism. Hall also noted that the nonpartisan D.C.-based think tank Niskanen Center issued a report in June revealing that Trump’s deployment of troops to the capital had no measurable effect on reducing violent crime. Instead, the crackdown was merely a “blunt and expensive” stunt, as the troops’ presence in tourist areas only resulted in a 24-percent reduction in crimes such as theft and vandalism rather than violent crimes. The Daily Beast has contacted the Center for American Progress for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/fuming-trump-80-erupts-as-his-17b-failure-is-exposed/?
  26. Trump scoffs at Iran’s demand for war reparations Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stressed that Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets its conditions. This includes compensation for war damage, a demand President Donald Trump said Tehran’s negotiators hadn’t raised until now. Read more. What to know: Trump responded that he is now demanding “compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts.” The U.S. government has blamed Iran-backed militants for the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Americans over several decades, including more than 600 U.S. troops killed in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump used elaborate ruse to fly out of Turkey following summit because of Iran threat, report says What to watch Tuesday: Primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota showcase Democratic divide Washington grapples with a National Guard deployment extended until 2029 Trump media company announces a massive loss and new turnaround effort Deadline passes for Rep. Max Miller to be replaced on Ohio ballot as he faces domestic abuse claims Ocasio-Cortez says she’s freezing her eggs as she decides her next political moves
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