World News
The Sun – THE US Air Force has deployed 20 missiles which can zap enemy electronics with powerful pulses rendering weapons virtually useless.
They can be launched into enemy airspace at low altitude and emit blasts of high-power microwave energy that immediately disable any devices targeted.
The Counter-Electronics High Power Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) is the brainchild of Boeing’s Phantom Works lab.
They have not been operation until now and could be used to frazzle the military defences of Iran and North Korea, reports DailyMail.com.
News of the state-of-the-art weapons – which are carried into battle by B-2 stealth bombers – comes as a Saudi state newspaper called for the US to launch “surgical strikes” against Iran now.
Mary Lou Robinson, the chief of the High Power Microwave Division of the Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland Air Force Base, told DailyMail.com the missiles are now operational.
They are equipped with an electromagnetic pulse cannon which causes voltage surges in electronic equipment and military vehicles.
However, the unique feature of the system is its ability to penetrate bunkers where facilities are hidden without harming anyone inside.
Two U.S. Warships Enter Persian Gulf Without Incident
USNI News – Two U.S. guided-missile destroyers entered the Persian Gulf on Thursday without incident as the likelihood of an armed confrontation between Iran and the U.S. appears less likely, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.
USS McFaul (DDG-74) and USS Gonzalez (DDG-66) transited the Strait of Hormuz in the late afternoon local time without challenge from Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy (IRGCN), the sectarian military force responsible for Iran’s coastal defense and operations in the Strait of Hormuz, the defense officials confirmed.
U.S. Central Command did not provide additional details on the transit when reached by USNI News.
The transit of the two warships through the strait with no harassment from the IRGCN is a sign that tensions between Washington and Tehran have simmered since last week’s buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East.
Parents who raise children as vegans should be prosecuted, say Belgian doctors
The Telegraph – Doctors in Belgium have called for parents who raise their children as vegans to face prosecution after a number of deaths in schools, nurseries and hospitals.
It is estimated that 3 percent of Belgian children are forced to follow the strict diet, which rules out any animal products, including dairy and eggs.
The Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium published a legal opinion on Thursday, which could influence future court judgments and is the first time a health authority has taken a position on veganism in the country.
The opinion said it was unethical to subject children to the diet because it didn’t include animal proteins and vital amino acids which can help growth and prevent health problems.
The vegan diet could only be made safe for growing children if complemented with medical supervision, regular blood tests and vitamin supplements, which most parents were not qualified to provide.
“We must explain to the parents before compelling them,” said Professor Georges Casimir, who led the commission that wrote the report, “but we can no longer tolerate this endangerment.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
ICE to hire contractor to transport 225,000 migrants to shelters across the US
Fox – The Trump administration is looking to hire a private contractor that will be responsible for transporting approximately 225,000 migrant children and families to shelters across the country over the next five years as they wait for their asylum claims to be processed.
ICE (the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency) is seeking the services of a “highly responsible” contractor that “fully embraces the philosophy” of treating all unaccompanied minors (UACs) and family units (FAMUs) with “dignity and respect,” according to a federal procurement document dated May 13.
The private company will be hired to transport approximately 60,000 people a year. It will work to arrange commercial flights and ground transportation for migrant children up to age 17 as well as adults with children and will provide food, clothing and hygiene products during transit.
Mayors say feds plan to ship thousands of migrants to S. Florida. What do feds say? Zilch
Miami Herald – Broward and Palm Beach County leaders reacted with alarm Thursday after being told that 1,000 migrants will be sent to those counties every month in order to alleviate a surge at the Mexican border.
Broward leaders posted the news online Thursday, saying they were told by the federal government that “hundreds of immigrants will be arriving in Broward County on a weekly basis without designated shelters or funding to house them, feed them, and keep them safe.“
Broward Mayor Mark Bogen told the Herald that the Broward County Sheriff’s Office was given notice by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that 270 migrants will be flown in to Palm Beach and Broward every week starting in two weeks. That’s more than 1,000 a month.
Parents Furious When Teacher Tries to Turn 8-Yr-Old Boy Into a Transgender
Godfather Politics – An Oregon parent is furious after her son’s second-grade teacher tried to turn their boy into a transgender girl.
The boy’s mother told the media that a teacher at Nellie Muir Elementary in Woodburn began pressuring the boy about “feeling like a girl” and started telling him to read books and watch videos about being transgender.
“He feels different now, he feels confused,” the mother told KPTV-TV. “To hear your son say that … on a couch talking to a therapist, holding back tears — it’s very heartbreaking.”
The parents said that the teacher began making the boy use the girl’s restroom because she thought he seemed uncomfortable using the boy’s room.
White House launches tool to report censorship on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter
The Verge – On Wednesday, the White House launched a new tool for people to use if they feel they’ve been wrongly censored, banned, or suspended on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
“Too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported for unclear ‘violations’ of user policies,” the site reads. “No matter your views, if you suspect political bias caused such an action to be taken against you, share your story with President Trump.”
A Twitter spokesperson responded to the new tool saying, “We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation. We are constantly working to improve our systems and will continue to be transparent in our efforts.”
Facebook, Google, and YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Over the past few months, Republicans have taken aim at social media networks, citing claims that conservatives have been wrongly censored on these platforms. Some committees, like House Energy and Commerce and Senate Judiciary, have even held hearings on the issue where lawmakers questioned officials from companies like Facebook and Twitter over the alleged bias.
Trump pardons Oregon ranchers who sparked 2016 militia standoff
BBC – President Donald Trump has pardoned two Oregon cattle ranchers whose sentence for arson led armed militiamen to seize control of a wildlife refuge in 2016.
Dwight Hammond, 76, and his son Steven Hammond, 49, were convicted in 2012 after a prescribed burn on their land spread to nearby public lands in 2001.
The pair served time in jail, but a judge later ruled that they must serve their full five-year sentence.
The ruling sparked anti-government protests that left one rancher dead.
“The Hammonds are devoted family men, respected contributors to their local community and have widespread support from their neighbours, local law enforcement and farmers and ranchers across the West,” the White House said in statement on Tuesday announcing their full pardon.
“Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency.”
The Hammonds had claimed that the fire was to fend off invasive species, but prosecutors alleged that it was set to cover up evidence of illegal deer poaching and that it posed a grave risk to firefighters.
Federal judge orders parts of Mueller report unredacted, made public
Washington Times – A federal judge has ordered portions of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to be unredacted and made public in the criminal case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the limited order Thursday. Portions of the report relating to Flynn are redacted and would be made public under the order.
It is the first time a federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to make public portions of the report the agency had kept secret.
Chelsea Manning Is Going Back to Jail—Again
Gizmodo – Chelsea Manning, who was released from jail last week after the federal grand jury she was subpoenaed to testify before lapsed, was taken back into custody on Thursday as a recalcitrant witness.
Manning, whose arrest was confirmed by members of her support committee, was detained after refusing to answer questions concerning her past association with WikiLeaks. Julian Assange, the anti-secrecy group’s founder, is facing charges in the United States for conspiracy to commit a computer crime. Manning was first detained in early March and spent 62 days in jail before a temporary release one week ago.
Economy & Business
Trump to shelve tariffs on European and Japanese vehicles for up to six months
RT – US President Donald Trump has decided to delay the promised duties of 25 percent on European and Japanese cars by up to 180 days as Washington tries to clinch an effective trade deal with its partners.
Trump ordered US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to seek agreements to “address the threatened impairment” of national security from auto imports, stressing that the White House may opt to move forward with tariffs during the potential negotiations with Tokyo and Brussels.
Energy & Environment
Revealed: air pollution may be damaging ‘every organ in the body’
Guardian – Air pollution may be damaging every organ and virtually every cell in the human body, according to a comprehensive new global review.
The research shows head-to-toe harm, from heart and lung disease to diabetes and dementia, and from liver problems and bladder cancer to brittle bones and damaged skin. Fertility, foetuses and children are also affected by toxic air, the review found.
The systemic damage is the result of pollutants causing inflammation that then floods through the body and ultrafine particles being carried around the body by the bloodstream.
Air pollution is a “public health emergency”, according to the World Health Organization, with more than 90% of the global population enduring toxic outdoor air. New analysis indicates 8.8m early deaths each year – double earlier estimates – making air pollution a bigger killer than tobacco smoking.
But the impact of different pollutants on many ailments remains to be established, suggesting well-known heart and lung damage is only “the tip of the iceberg”.
“Air pollution can harm acutely, as well as chronically, potentially affecting every organ in the body,” conclude the scientists from the Forum of International Respiratory Societies in the two review papers, published in the journal Chest. “Ultrafine particles pass through the [lungs], are readily picked up by cells, and carried via the bloodstream to expose virtually all cells in the body.”
Prof Dean Schraufnagel, at the University of Illinois at Chicago and who led the reviews, said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if almost every organ was affected. If something is missing [from the review] it is probably because there was no research yet.”
Is California ready to ban gas-powered cars? Not yet. But they’re thinking about it
USA Today – California without gasoline-burning cars? The idea is starting to be floated.
A top regulator came close Thursday, but ultimately backed away from directly raising the notion of giving the boot to exhaust-belching automobiles, a staple of life in the freeway-happy Golden State for more than a century.
Speaking at an air-quality workshop in San Diego, Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, was expected to toss in the idea of killing off gas-powered cars based on her prepared remarks. They called for her to list ways in which the state can get tougher on pollution.
“That might mean, for example, tougher requirements for low-carbon fuels, looking at tighter health-protective regulations on California refineries, doubling down on our enforcement efforts on mobile and stationary sources — and might lead to an outright ban on internal-combustion engines,” according to the remarks obtained by Bloomberg News.
But when it came to actually delivering the remarks, the direct reference to a gas-engine ban was omitted. In closing the conference, Nichols said if the air can’t be cleaned fast enough, tougher measures like “fees, taxes and bans on certain types of vehicles” might be required. She added, “These are things that most of us don’t think is the right way to go.”
San Francisco area homeless count increases by double digits
AP – A federal count shows the number of homeless people increased by double-digit percentages in three San Francisco Bay Area counties over two years as the region struggled to tackle the growing problem, including 17% in San Francisco and 43% in the county that includes Oakland.
More than 25,000 people were counted as homeless during an overnight tally conducted in San Francisco, Alameda and Silicon Valley’s Santa Clara counties in January. Detailed reports are expected later this year.
“The initial results of this count show we have more to do to provide more shelter, more exits from homelessness, and to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
Middle of country on high alert for potentially deadly severe weather outbreak
Accuweather – An 800,000-square-mile swath of the central United States will be at risk for rounds of severe thunderstorms, including the potential for tornadoes, into early next week.
“Tornado Alley is certainly about to wake up!” AccuWeather Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer said, describing the severe weather outlook as the worst setup he’s seen in years.
Ahead of the main outbreak of severe weather, a narrow band of severe thunderstorms sliced through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio Thursday into Thursday night. There were reports of hail as large as tennis balls just west of Chicago. Flash flooding and winds up to 78 mph were reported in Iowa.
Science & Technology
Natural News – Is your mobile phone carrier illegally selling your GPS location data to bounty hunters without your knowledge or consent? A new report says it’s a strong possibility, as it exposes pretty much every major cellphone carrier as a culprit in a massive privacy breach and surveillance scheme that’s apparently been taking place for years under the radar.
According to Motherboard (VICE), AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are all guilty of violating their customers’ privacy rights, as they’ve been pawning off for profit sensitive location data about their users that was intended to be collected for 911 operators and other emergency services.
These three major carriers reportedly pawned off the precise location data of at least some of their customers to roughly 250 bounty hunters, each of whom paid up to $1,100 a pop to location data companies working with these mobile phone carriers – to the tune of tens of thousands of individual requests – which procured them with this sensitive information.
Health
Sleeping Pills Get Black Box Warning Following Accidental Deaths
Mercola – April 30, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will require sedative-hypnotics — a class of sleep medication used to treat insomnia — to carry a black box warning stating drug side effects may include dangerous behaviors done while sleeping, such as eating, walking, driving or engaging in a range of activities in your sleep that can lead to injury or death.
These potentially dangerous behaviors are more common with eszopiclone (Lunesta), zaleplon (Sonata), and zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, Intermezzo, Zolpimist) than other prescription sleep aids.
Over the past 26 years, there have been 66 documented reports of “complex sleep behaviors” occurring in patients on these drugs, 20 of which were fatal.
Several studies have also found sleeping pills increase your risk of death. In one study, fewer than 18 doses per year increased risk of death by 360%.
Many studies have also shown sleeping pills increase sleep time by mere minutes, typically in the range of five to 30 minutes at the most
Purslane: The Weed With Wholesome Health Benefits
Mercola – Purslane has always been regarded as an unwelcomed guest in the gardening world, but it actually has numerous health benefits that you shouldn’t ignore.
Purslane can actually be called a “superfood” because of the vast assortment of vitamins and minerals that can be extracted from this herb
NaturalNews – For over a decade, Monsanto has been engaged in building and maintapining “hit lists” of journalists, lawmakers and regulators to be taken out if they opposed the evil agenda of GMOs and toxic glyphosate weed killer chemicals that now inundate the world food supply. Any influential person who opposed the Monsanto agenda was subjected to one or more of the following:
- Attempted bribery
- Death threats and intimidation
- Character assassination through well-funded “negative P.R.” campaigns
- Defamation via coordinated Wikipedia attacks, run by Monsanto operatives
- Career destruction, such as getting scientists blacklisted from science journals
- Being doxxed, having their home addresses publicized and their families and co-workers threatened
In other words, Monsanto has been running a “black ops” division for over ten years, spending perhaps $100 million or more on efforts to silence, destroy or assassinate anyone who interfered with the agricultural giant’s market dominance.
Now, the criminal mafia activity that Monsanto has carried out for years is finally being exposed as law enforcement closes in on the crimes of this evil agricultural giant now owned by Bayer, a corporation that appears to be making an effort to “clean house” and end the Monsanto crimes that targeted journalists, lawmakers and regulators with intimidation and bribery campaigns.
Law enforcement preparing criminal charges against Monsanto division operatives
“French prosecutors said on Friday they had opened an inquiry after newspaper Le Monde filed a complaint alleging that Monsanto – acquired by Bayer for $63 billion last year – had kept a file of 200 names, including journalists and lawmakers in hopes of influencing positions on pesticides,” reports Reuters.
Amazon must remove toxic school supplies, kids’ jewelry from marketplace nationwide
NaturalNews – Washington state investigators found that more than 15,000 people bought school supplies and jewelry geared toward young children that contained dangerous levels of lead and cadmium from Amazon in 2017 and 2018.
(Article by Sean Walton republished from TheDailySheeple.com)
Even after Amazon was notified of the illegal children’s products and said it had removed them, investigators found some of the same products again, as well as others that contained the metals at levels well beyond the legal maximum. Both lead and cadmium can cause damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys and other internal organs, and are especially harmful to children.
Under an agreement announced Thursday by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Amazon must require third-party sellers of these products to provide certificates proving their safety and compliance with U.S. and Washington consumer-protection statutes. Manufacturers and importers already must have such certification but ordinarily, they aren’t required to show it to retailers or distributors. Amazon admits no wrongdoing in the agreement.
“As a parent, when I buy products for my kids, I expect them to be safe,” said Ferguson. “All retailers must ensure that their products do not pose a threat to Washington children. If they don’t, they will hear from my office.”
“While so many of us benefit from the convenience of online retailers, the products they sell shouldn’t harm our families or the environment where we live,” said Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon. “This is especially true with products marketed for kids. I appreciate the close collaboration with the Attorney General in supporting the enforcement of the Children’s Safe Product Act, and I’m proud of the long-term difference we at Ecology can make with our product testing efforts.”
The Seattle-based technology and commerce giant will also pay Ferguson’s office $700,000, funding for continued investigations into environmental and product safety issues.
The products, mostly made in China, were sold on Amazon by third-party merchants, an increasingly important part of its retail business. These sellers, who use Amazon’s marketplace and logistics network to reach customers, in 2018 represented 58% of the company’s gross merchandise sales — a fact touted by founder and CEO Jeff Bezos in his annual letter to shareholders last month. Amazon collected nearly $43 billion in commissions and fees from third-party sellers in 2018.
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