30-year fixed-rate mortgage has climbed up to 6.82%, per Freddie Mac
It always struck me as strange that they always said, “Don’t have sex and you won’t get pregnant,” when Jesus’ mom didn’t have sex and got pregnant anyway. I never paid much attention after that.
Two individuals plead guilty to participating in insider trading scheme based on SPAC merger with Trump Media & Technology Group
Fun Fact: Several of the hundreds of front companies set up to launder cash for the Medellín/Cali Cartels were actual stock broker & investment firms.
That’s still widespread today (FinCEN is trying to crackdown)
Most offshore crypto exchanges are just money laundering fronts. This is not a new game. The Italian mafia used Vegas casinos. Then many crime orgs moved to online casinos. Then many of those online casino operators launched crypto companies
has started rolling out free premium and premium+ features to more users having 2,500+ and 5,000+ verified followers. X’s ‘complimentary’ Premium push gives people blue checks they didn’t ask for
These Women Came to Antarctica for Science. Then the Predators Emerged
Jane Willenbring was the first to blow the whistle on sexual harassment and assault in Antarctica. Years later, women are still coming forward with tales of horror as a government investigation unfolds.
Leidos, holds a $2.3 billion government contract to manage the workplaces on the ice. One woman alleged that a supervisor had slammed her head into a metal cabinet and then attacked her sexually.
FBI Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels, or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices that access these ports. Carry your own charger and use an electrical outlet instead.
@doctorow
Bottom line: they ran the numbers and figured out their most profitable course of action is to enshittify their flagship product and bribe their “competitors” like Apple and Samsung so that you never try another search engine. Google used to care. They cared because they were worried about competitors and regulators. They cared because their workers *made* them care: Google doesn’t care anymore. They don’t have to. They’re the search company.
#TRUMP
This is the presumptive Republican nominee for president:
Trump: Democrats said please don’t call immigrants animals. I said, no, they’re not humans, they’re animals. Fox works for Putin, and Iran Funds it all.
https://twitter.com/LibertyValkyrie/status/1775912933492396342
Trump calls for mass detention camps and rounding up millions of Latinos, saying it will be larger than a 1950s military operation called “Operation Wetback”
Of all of Trump’s charged crimes, spelled out in 88 felony counts – from plotting to overthrow the government to stealing national security secrets & obstruction of justice along the way – there is one case that most closely parallels Nixon
New: As Elections Loom, Congressional Maps Challenged as Discriminatory Will Remain in Place
Laurence Tribe ⚖️@tribelaw
From Jack Smith’s new filing w/ Judge Cannon: “See, e.g., United States v. Wexler, 31 F.3d 117, 129 (3d Cir. 1994) (“[T]he adoption of a clearly erroneous jury instruction that entails a high probability of failure of a prosecution—a failure the government could not then seek to remedy by appeal or otherwise—constitutes the kind of extraordinary situation in which we are empowered to issue the writ of mandamus.”); In re United States, 397 F.3d 274, 283 (5th Cir. 2005) (courts “have permitted the Government to obtain writs of mandamus when a proposed criminal jury instruction clearly violated the law, risked prejudicing the Government at trial with jeopardy attached, and provided the Government no other avenue of appeal”); United States v. Pabon-Cruz, 391 F.3d 86, 91-92 (2d Cir. 2004) (similar).”
It’s past his jail time…
The people we elected to uphold our Constitution are cowards. Looking at you Garland!!
Donald Trump just posted a series of articles targeting Justice Merchan’s daughter and wife, despite a recent expansion of the gag order barring him from attacking family members of the judge. Trump has now dared Judge Merchan to enforce his recently expanded gag order. I believe the judge has the courage to do just that. But I repeat my suggestion that the gag order be incorporated as a binding condition of Trump’s pretrial release from jail. Judge Merchan should appoint another judge to handle any contempt issues, thereby avoiding Trump’s obvious intent to goad the judge, and then make a recusal motion.
Karl Rove is calling out the Trump’s campaign ‘critical mistakes’ — and telling Biden how to exploit them.
“Donald Trump, who is not the president, is using a minority of Republicans to hand a victory to Russia, and to weaken American power and credibility”: Trump’s NATO hostility and Russia relations trace back to 1987
Liz Cheney: “So strong is the lure of power that men and women who had once seemed reasonable and responsible were suddenly willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump.”
BIDEN
Biden Takes Aim at SpaceX’s Tax-Free Ride in American Airspace
Paywall https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/04/us/politics/spacex-biden-musk-taxes.html
Factor 2 is little understood but real: The political discourse is no longer about economics – Americans are being fleeced by corporate conglomerates, but we’re taught to never see that as a political issue. The class war is undiscussed. The culture war is now politics. Billionaire-owned politicians & media have removed economics from the political discourse, so few know Biden’s policy.
ACLU Today, we sent a letter to the University of Michigan expressing concern over its proposed ‘Disruptive Activity Policy,’ urging the University to either abandon the proposed policy or substantially re-write it.
HEALTH
Spill-Tracking Data Sources to Help Cover Hazmat Events and Environmental Disasters
Nongeeks will love that the Chemical Incident Tracker presents its data in interactive map form; geeks will love that you can access the underlying data in table form. And the whole thing is nicely searchable.
BIRD FLU IN COWS AND SPREADING TO HUMANS
AVIAN FLU CONJUNCTIVITIS IN HUMANS—Scientists are worried about avian flu infecting humans via the eyes—because we humans have the same sugar-receptor-complexes as birds, which allows eye infections of #H5N1 highly pathogenic #avianflu. Avian flu experts worried about high…
Another risk to dairy farmers is that using high pressure sprayers can aerosolize the avian flu virus in the milk (on the floor) and make the virus in the milk airborne. And dairy workers usually don’t wear masks or googles.
AVIAN FLU CONJUNCTIVITIS IN HUMANS—Scientists are worried about avian flu infecting humans via the eyes—because we humans have the same sugar-receptor-complexes as birds, which allows eye infections of #H5N1 highly pathogenic #avianflu. Avian flu experts worried about high virus levels in cow milk and farmers who milk cows.
➡️Important also not to drink raw milk, or eat cheeses made from raw milk either, CDC warns.
INDIA
Climate Change, Insecurity, and Migration: A Closer Look at India
These areas of opportunity include:
* Leveraging political willpower to strengthen domestic architecture;
* Developing regional and transnational policy making platforms to effectively address the climate-migration-insecurity nexus;
* Building institutional capacity with adequate coordination mechanisms; and
* Ensuring adequate climate finance.
Download the full paper
There is complex interplay between geopolitics, climate change, insecurity, and migration in India, a nation facing significant challenges as it navigates economic development, poverty reduction, and climate action. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, India’s decisions have far-reaching implications not only for its citizens but also for the broader South Asian region.
The Nexus25 project brief examines the current challenges India faces and identifies critical policy gaps in both domestic and foreign policy. It emphasizes the need for leveraging political willpower to strengthen domestic infrastructure, developing regional and transnational policymaking platforms to address the climate-migration-insecurity nexus effectively, building institutional capacity with coordination mechanisms, and ensuring sufficient climate finance.
This analysis underscores the urgent need for comprehensive and coordinated action at various levels of governance to address the multifaceted challenges posed by climate change, insecurity, and migration in India and the broader South and Southeast Asian region. By addressing these challenges proactively and collaboratively, policymakers can work towards creating a more resilient and sustainable future for the region.
As of recent estimates, India’s population has indeed surpassed that of China, making it the most populous nation on the planet. This demographic shift has significant implications for various aspects of governance, development, and global dynamics, including the issues highlighted in the previous analysis regarding the interplay between geopolitics, climate change, insecurity, and migration.
With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, India faces immense pressure to address the needs and aspirations of its citizens while simultaneously grappling with the challenges posed by climate change, insecurity, and migration. The country’s demographic dividend presents both opportunities and challenges, as it can potentially drive economic growth and innovation but also strain resources and infrastructure.
India’s status as the most populous nation underscores the urgency of addressing critical policy gaps and enhancing multilateral governance in the region. The recommendations outlined, such as leveraging political willpower, developing regional policymaking platforms, building institutional capacity, and ensuring adequate climate finance, become even more imperative in the face of India’s demographic reality.
Furthermore, as the most populous nation, India’s actions and policies will have far-reaching implications not only for its own citizens but also for global efforts to address climate change and promote security and stability. Therefore, it is essential for India to adopt proactive and collaborative approaches to tackle the interconnected challenges of climate change, insecurity, and migration, not only for its own well-being but also for the sustainable development of the entire planet.
Maynard S. Clark , MS (Management : Research Administration)
Maynard.Clark [ @ ] GMail.com Google Voice ( 617-615-9672 )