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Google AI becomes sentient; heat wave; January 6; $5 million car sex; 'Florida man' returns
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Published Monday, June 13, 2022 @ 4:29 PM EDT
Jun 13 2022

Irony

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The Google engineer who thinks the company's AI has come to life. AI ethicists warned Google not to impersonate humans. Now one of Google's own thinks there's a ghost in the machine. The chorus of technologists who believe AI models may not be far off from achieving consciousness is getting bolder.

More: LaMDA: Google's breakthrough conversation technology.

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Over 235 million people set to experience temperatures 90 degrees or hotter this week.

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Barr says Trump was 'detached from reality'. No kidding.

Also: Bill Barr cracks up during January 6 testimony while dismantling Dinesh D'Souza's 'indefensible' big lie documentary 2,000 Mules.

Also: An 'inebriated' Giuliani urged Trump to falsely claim victory on election night. Former Trump attorney Jason Miller testifies that Giuliani who was advising Trump on election night was 'definitely intoxicated.'

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Court: Geico must pay $5.2 million to Missouri woman who got STD from sex in car. An arbitrator's decision in favor of the woman was affirmed by the Jackson County Court, and upheld by three judges with the Missouri Court of Appeals.

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Ohio Gov. DeWine says he'll sign a bill arming teachers after 24 hours of training. The new law dramatically reduces the amount of training a teacher must undergo before they can carry a gun in a school safety zone. Instead of more than 700 hours of training that's currently required, school staff who want to be armed would get training that "shall not exceed" 24 hours, House Bill 99 states.

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Diseases suppressed during Covid are coming back in new and peculiar ways. Health experts say Covid-19 restrictions could have reduced exposure and lowered immunity to infectious diseases, making society more vulnerable to new outbreaks.

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Texas police want Uvalde bodycam footage suppressed because it could expose law enforcement 'weakness'. Too late, fellas.

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The forthcoming bipartisan agreement could be the first new gun control laws enacted in decades. But it focuses primarily on mental health and school security interventions, rather than meaningfully restricting access to firearms.

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The end of the Millennial lifestyle subsidy. Start-ups are starting to want to make profits.

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A Florida man was bitten by an alligator after apparently mistaking it for a dog in the middle of the night.

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Miscellany:

Birthdays:

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On this date in:

  • 1854 - Anthony Faas patented the first US accordion, having made improvements to both the keyboard, and to enhance the sound.
  • 1966 - The United States Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their Fifth Amendment rights before questioning them (colloquially known as "Mirandizing").
  • 1971 - Vietnam War: The New York Times began publication of the Pentagon Papers.
  • 1983 - Pioneer 10 became the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passed beyond the orbit of Neptune.
  • 1997 - A jury sentenced Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombingOklahoma City bombing.

Today is:

National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day, Random Acts of Light Day, Sewing Machine Day, Weed Your Garden Day, and World Softball Day.

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Comments and observations:

When ovaries are more regulated than assault weapons, that's when you know it's a war on women.
-Andrea Junker

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper likes you.
-Adam Carolla

Lauren Boebert "praying" for President Biden's death at a "Christian" event is just the latest and perhaps most despicable example that this person never should have been handed a microphone by voters.
-Stephen Beschloss

True, "no sitting or former president has ever been put on trial." But so what? Not even Nixon matched Trump's crimes, and Nixon would've been put on trial but for the pardon he got from Ford. Failing to try Trump for his crimes would mean anything goes.
-Laurence Tribe


Categories: Artificial Intelligence, Climate change, Florida Man, Geico, Google, Gun laws, Guns, Heat Wave, January 6


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Facebook's relaxed gun policy, shrinkflation, NASA now looking for UFOs...
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Published Thursday, June 09, 2022 @ 4:36 PM EDT
Jun 09 2022

Leadership

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Facebook's ban on gun sales gives sellers ten strikes before booting them. But someone reports your harmless satirical cartoon, and you're off the platform.

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NASA joins the hunt for UFOs. In an interview with The Washington Post last year, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said he had seen the classified UAP report when he was serving in the Senate. "The hair stood up on the back of my neck,"" he said.

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'Shrinkflation' accelerates globally as manufacturers quietly shrink package sizes. A small box of Kleenex now has 60 tissues; a few months ago, it had 65.

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Did the assault weapons ban of 1994 bring down mass shootings? The risk of a person in the U.S. dying in a mass shooting was 70% lower during the period in which the assault weapons ban was active. The proportion of overall gun homicides resulting from mass shootings was also down.

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New York City is a lot safer than small-town America. Rising homicide rates don't tell the whole story. When you dig deeper into data on deaths, you'll find the more urban your surroundings, the less danger you face.

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NASA's James Webb telescope was hit by a micrometeroid. The event was significant enough for NASA to pick up a "marginally detectable effect in the data," but not enough to affect the telescope's performance.

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Oops. Microsoft has accidentally released Windows 11 for unsupported PCs. If you managed to install Windows 11 on an unsupported PC and were expecting only Release Preview updates for Windows 10, you should be able to rollback the unexpected upgrade in the settings section of Windows 11.

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Google Maps now helps you find fresh air. Just as wildfire season begins.

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Michigan GOP candidate Kelley charged for Capitol riot role. Ryan Kelley, one of five Republican candidates for Michigan governor and an ardent defender of former President Donald Trump, was charged with misdemeanors Thursday for his role in the 2021 postelection riot at the U.S. Capitol.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration upgrades Tesla Autopilot safety probe, step before possible recall. The auto safety agency in August opened a preliminary evaluation to assess the performance of the system in 765,000 vehicles after a series of crashes in which Tesla vehicles struck stopped emergency vehicles.

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Vladimir Putin mysteriously postpones marathon TV phone-in for first time in 18 years. Vladimir Putin has postponed his annual TV Q&A session amid rumours over his health and in the wake of his invasion of Ukraine that is widely perceived to have been a military failure.

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Kremlin Receives Almost 42,000 Complaints on Missing Ukraine Soldiers. The Russian government has not released any official figures on its Ukraine death toll since March 25, when it said that 1,351 men had died during the conflict.

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An experimental cancer drug had a 100% success rate. A tiny group of people with rectal cancer just experienced something of a scientific miracle: their cancer simply vanished after an experimental treatment.

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Miscellany:

Birthdays:

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On this date in:

  • 68 - Roman emperor Nero committed suicide, after quoting Vergil's Aeneid, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
  • 1856 - Five hundred Mormons left Iowa City, Iowa for the Mormon Trail.
  • 1934 - first appearance of Donald Duck in the cartoon, "The Wise Little Hen".
  • 1954 - Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashed out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, "You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" (Video)
  • 1958 - "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley hit #1 in the U.S. (Video)
  • 1959 - The USS George Washington was launched, the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. (Video)
  • 1973 - Secretariat (March 30, 1970 - October 4, 1989) won the U.S. Triple Crown. He still holds the fastest speed records in all three races.
  • 1980 - Comedian Richard Pryor suffered burns from freebasing cocaine. (NSFW Video)
  • 1989 - "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" premiered in USA. This was the one directed by Shatner. The less said the better.

Today is:

Donald Duck Day, National Earl Day, National Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Day, World APS Day, and Writers' Rights Day.

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Comments and observations:

Ultra-conservative theocratic men running everything is called Sharia Law over there and Scalia Law over here.
-John Fugelsang

I hear people say that Republicans are afraid of Donald Trump - no, they're not. They are him, they are sticking with the guy who gives them permission to be their worst selves.
-Mary Trump

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Friends and patients of the late Lawrence J. Nelson, MD... A memorial will be held Sunday, June 12 at noon at the George Irvin Green Funeral Home, 3511 Main Street, Munhall.


Categories: Crime, Drugs, Economics, Facebook, Google, Guns, James Webb Telescope, Mass shootings, Microsoft, NASA, Ryan Kelley, Shrinkflation, Tesla, UAPs, UFOs, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Windows


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Guns, heat waves, oral biome, duck sauce, Great Salt Lake, inflation, recession, iPhones
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Published Wednesday, June 08, 2022 @ 2:30 PM EDT
Jun 08 2022

Cease fire

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Matthew McConaughey's full White House press briefing statement on gun violence. (Video)

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A timeline of failed attempts to address U.S. gun violence.

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FTC to probe CVS Caremark, Express Scipts and other pharmacy benefit managers. These businesses, the biggest of which are run by companies that also operate health insurers, have been criticized by doctors and patients over their formularies and other concerns about drug access.

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A 'dangerous and deadly heat wave' is on the way, the weather service warns. More than 25 million people are under heat alerts, and more than 50 daily high-temperature records could be broken through the weekend - including in Death Valley, California, one of the hottest places on earth.

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Dentist warns against one habit that leaves 'the baddest, toughest' germs in your mouth. The biggest problem is that people either neglect their mouth or go to the other extreme by disinfecting and sterilizing it to such a degree that they disrupt the balance of the oral microbiome.

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Queens man accused of killing Chinese food delivery worker is obsessed with duck sauce, other condiments, say police. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz previously called Hirsch's demand for duck sauce an "obsessive point of contention." On Tuesday, a police source told the New York Post that his whole refrigerator was discovered to be filled with duck sauce, calling him a "hoarder."

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As the Great Salt Lake dries up, Utah faces 'an environmental nuclear bomb'. Most alarming, the air surrounding Salt Lake City would occasionally turn poisonous. The lake bed contains high levels of arsenic and as more of it becomes exposed, windstorms carry that arsenic into the lungs of nearby residents, who make up three-quarters of Utah's population.

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What is a recession? A really good explanation. (Video) Also, what is inflation? in six minutes (Video).

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iPhones will be required to use USB-C charging by 2024 under EU policy. Provisional EU agreement applies to additional electronics, laptops to follow. Let's hope the policy spreads to the US as well.

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Late night watch: President Biden will visit "Jimmy Kimmel Live" tonight.

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Miscellany:

Birthdays:

On this date in:

Today is:

Best Friends Day, Betty Picnic Day, Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day, Name Your Poison Day, National Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Thomas Paine Day, Upsy Daisy Day, World Brain Tumor Day, and World Oceans Day.

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Comments and observations:

Credit card debt soared by $17.8 billion in April, the second highest amount ever. The highest was March, when it soared by a staggering $25.6 billion. Consumers are completely tapped out. They're using their credit cards to buy food and pay for other essentials.
-Peter Schiff


Categories: Climate change, Dental Care, Drugs, Economics, EU, FTC, Great Salt Lake, Gun laws, Guns, Heat Wave, Inflation, iPhones, Matthew McConaughey, Recession, Weather


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California bees are ruled fish, recalls, gas prices, why your whole family has Covid but you test negative
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Published Monday, June 06, 2022 @ 3:10 PM EDT
Jun 06 2022

Open carry

California bees can legally be fish and have the same protections, a court has ruled. In a lucky loophole for insects, mollusks, and other spineless creatures falling under the umbrella term "invertebrate," the act itself defines a "fish" as "a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals." Expanding the definition of fish to include invertebrates makes them eligible for greater protection from the Fish and Game Commission, wrote the court.

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Trump-Backed Senate Candidate Blames U.S. gun violence on 'black people' in unhinged interview Conservative GOP candidate Blake Masters-who has pushed the White nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory-shared his thoughts on why there’s a gun violence problem in the United States.

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My family got Covid. So why did we test negative? The key to this household mystery may lie in our vaccination status, experts say. Because the virus doesn't replicate as quickly in vaccinated people, they may be less likely to test positive for Covid-19 after coronavirus exposure, because their immune system "keeps the viral load below the level of detection," said Juliet Morrison, a microbiologist at the University of California, Riverside.(New York Times gift article. You're welcome.)

These supplements can be dangerous, says pharmacist. If you see these at your local drug store, just leave them on the shelf.

Tea recalled because of Mexican strawberries tainted with hepatitis A virus. Urban Remedy Organic Revitalizing Tea Tonic Strawberry Hibiscus Rose sold in California, New Mexico, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas, Wyoming, Missouri, Maine, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Utah between May 17 and May 29.

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This House Republican says 'you can't even lie to Congress' if you are a Republican. Ah, good ol' Louie Gohmert.

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Scientists have figured out why childbirth became so complex and dangerous. A study finds that complex human childbirth and cognitive abilities are a result of walking upright.

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Kyle Rittenhouse claims he's going to Texas A&M. The university begs to differ.

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Why US gas prices are at a record, and why they'll stay high for a long time. "Anything goes from June 20 to Labor Day. We could certainly see the national average approach $6."

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The world's biggest four-day work week pilot begins in the UK. The pilot, which will last for six months, involves 3,300 workers spanning 70 companies, ranging from providers of financial services to a fish-and-chip restaurant.

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Older patients who consume alcohol regularly report better quality of life before and after surgery. Older adults (aged 60 or older) who consume potentially unhealthy amounts of alcohol report significantly better mobility, self-care and fewer problems undertaking daily activities after surgery compared to their peers who abstain from alcohol or drink at very low levels.

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Abbott Nutrition restarts baby formula production in reopened Michigan plant. The company said it will restart the production of EleCare, a formula for children who struggle to digest other products, along with other specialty and metabolic formulas. Abbott aims for an initial EleCare product release around June 20 and is working to meet guidelines to resume production of Similac and other formulas.

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Miscellany:

Birthdays:

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On this date in:

Today is:

Atheist Pride Day, Drive-in Movie Day, National "Thank God It's Monday" Day, National Applesauce Cake Day, National Churro Day, National Eyewear Day, National Gardening Exercise Day, National Higher Education Day, National Hunger Awareness Day, National Yo-Yo Day (see Donald F. Duncan Sr., above), and Russian Language Day.

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Comments and observations:

It doesn't matter how rich you get or how much stuff you have.. there's only ever one junk drawer per home.
-Elayne Boosler

The best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to stop electing other bad guys.
-George Takei

If there's a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women, there's a super special place for Amy Coney Barrett.
-Middle Age Riot

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Friends and patients of the late Lawrence J. Nelson, MD... A memorial will be held Sunday, June 12 at noon at the George Irvin Green Funeral Home, 3511 Main Street, Munhall.


Categories: Alcohol, Baby formula, Bees, Blake Masters, Childbirth, Conspiracy Theorists, Covid-19, Donald Trump, Gas Prices, Great Replacement, Guns, Kyle Rittenhouse, Louie Gohmert, Racism, Recalls, Supplements


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Florida high school raffles off rifles, handguns... "It's all about the kids."
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Published Thursday, June 02, 2022 @ 11:13 AM EDT
Jun 02 2022

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Florida high school raffles off rifles, handguns. "It's all about the kids."

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"We're playing with fire": US Covid cases may be 30 times higher than reported. About one in five - 22% - of adult New Yorkers likely had Covid between 23 April and 8 May, according to the preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed or published. That would mean 1.5 million adults in the city had Covid in a single two-week period - far higher than official counts during that time.

Also, Vaccines reduce risk of long Covid by just 15 percent, study finds. While existing vaccines are great for preventing serious cases, they aren't as good at preventing long Covid.

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It's so hard to find workers that employers have essentially stopped firing people.

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About 200 years ago, the world started getting rich. Why?

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US Senator Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience" was delivered on this date in 1950. Senator Smith stood up against Republican Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin and his supporters, who were running roughshod over American democracy. Too bad there are no Republicans like her today.

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To argue against gun control, Lauren Boebert Notes that "We didn't ban planes" after 9/11.

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Could quantum mechanics be responsible for the Mandela effect? While the conventional explanation is that humans are simply bad at (mis)remembering events, some argue that parallel universes could be at play.

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Scientists have established a key biological difference between psychopaths and normal people. A new study has shown that psychopathic people have a bigger striatum area in their brain.

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America's last Howard Johnson's restaurant has closed Open for most of the past 70 years, the restaurant was located in Lake George, New York, a popular summer vacation spot near the Adirondack Mountains.

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'Nose-bleed virus' spread by ticks kills 18 in Iraq and is spreading Formally known as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, it causes rapid and severe internal and external bleeding, including through the nose. It has been detected in 120 people in Iraq since January and at least 18 people have died so far.

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Miscellany:

Birthdays:

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On this date in:

Today is:

  • American Indian Citizenship Day
  • I Love My Dentist Day
  • National Bubba Day
  • National Leave the Office Early Day
  • National Moonshine Day
  • National Rocky Road Day
  • National Rotisserie Chicken Day

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Researchers accidentally discover why male mice are scared of the smell of bananas

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Comments and observations:

The top 396 stupidest quotes from NRA convention-goers after America's latest child massacre

Republicans think it's a good idea to give teachers less money, more students, fewer books, fewer resources, more parents in the classroom, more standardized tests, more scrutiny, more pressure, and a gun.
-Middle Age Riot

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A very powerful video:

Friends and patients of the late Lawrence J. Nelson, MD... A memorial will be held Sunday, June 12 at noon at the George Irvin Green Funeral Home, 3511 Main Street, Munhall.


Categories: Covid-19, Florida, Guns, History, Howard Johnson's, Lauren Boebert, Mandela Effect, Nose-bleed virus, Parallel Universes, Psychopaths, Quantum mechanics, Second Amendment, Unemployment, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Wealth


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Police departments don't actually have a constitutional obligation to protect people.
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Published Wednesday, June 01, 2022 @ 9:23 AM EDT
Jun 01 2022

Richard Scarry

(We pushed the button a bit early today; have some major items to complete around the house that are time critical.)

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The Supreme Court ruling that suggests police in Uvalde won't face major consequences. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that police departments don't actually have a constitutional obligation to protect people.

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After the Texas school shooting, my wife wondered aloud how an 18 year old could afford to buy two assault weapons. Why, with grabagun.com's Shoot Now Pay Later® program! "Now better than ever! Easier approval. $0 Down. Pay no interest for 90 days (on some offers)**. Easy installments up to 36 months. Approvals up to $5,000. No hard credit inquiries for Pre-Approval. Apply and Buy Today!"

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Add shortage of movie popcorn to nation's woes. And not just popcorn. Supply disruptions are also creating shortages of buckets and bags for popcorn, not to mention cups for drinks, trays for nachos and other necessities. This is a major concern for theaters who generate most of their profit from concession-stand sales.

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Supreme Court blocks Texas social media moderation ban. HB 20 - which forbids banning, demonetizing, or downranking Texas users' posts based on "viewpoint" - will be blocked while a lawsuit over its constitutionality proceeds. A lower court had already blocked the law in 2021 before the Fifth Circuit unblocked it this May.

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Florida man searching for frisbees in a gator-infested lake... well, you know.

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It's blue, fuzzy and lives in your belly button, and it actually has an important function... What is this mysterious substance, and why does it gather there?

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LONDON (AP) - In Britain, there are several traditional elements to a royal anniversary: pageants, street parties, the Sex Pistols.

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The doctor prescribed an obesity drug. her insurer called it 'vanity.' Many insurance companies refuse to cover new weight loss drugs that their doctors deem medically necessary. Doctors say obesity is a chronic disease that should be treated as intensively as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or any other chronic illness are. But, they say, that rarely happens.

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Want to raise successful kids? Science says this controversial habit makes them smarter. Researchers said they found that kids who spent more time playing video games than their peers over a two-year period wound up with higher IQs as a result.

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Five warnings to shoppers from ex-Walmart employees

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Miscellany:

Birthdays:

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On this date in:

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June is:

Adopt-A-Cat Month, African-American Music Appreciation Month, Cataract Awareness Month, Children's Awareness Month, Country Cooking Month, Entrepreneurs "Do It Yourself" Marketing Month, Fight the Filthy Fly Month, Fireworks Eye Safety Month, Great Outdoors Month, International Men's Month, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month, Men's Health Month, Myasthenia Gravis Awareness Month, National Accordion Awareness Month, National Aphasia Awareness Month, National Burglary Prevention Month, National Candy Month, National Congenital Cytomegalovirus Awareness Month, National DJ Month, National Dairy Month, National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, National Frozen Yogurt Month, National Homeownership Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Microchipping Month, National Rivers Month, National Rose Month, National Safety Month, National Scleroderma Awareness Month, National Soul Food Month, National Zoo and Aquarium Month, Turkey Lovers' Month, and Vision Research Month.

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Today is:

Dare Day, Dinosaur Day, Don't Give Up The Ship Day, Flip a Coin Day, Global Day of Parents, Global Running Day, Heimlich Maneuver Day, International Children's Day, National Go Barefoot Day, National Hazelnut Cake Day, National Nail Polish Day, National Olive Day, National Pen Pal Day, National Tailors' Day, New Year's Resolution Recommitment Day, Oscar The Grouch Day, Say Something Nice Day, Stand For Children Day, Wear a Dress Day, and World Milk Day.

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Friends and patients of the late Lawrence J. Nelson, MD... A memorial will be held Sunday, June 12 at noon at the George Irvin Green Funeral Home, 3511 Main Street, Munhall.


Categories: Belly Button Lint, Florida, Florida Man, Guns, Medicare, Medicine, Queen Elizabeth, Second Amendment, Sex Pistols, Shortages, Supreme Court, Walmart


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