Monday, September 23
Sunday, September 22
In The NEWS
FTC sues drug intermediaries for allegedly inflating insulin prices.
The Federal Trade Commission accuses the three largest pharmacy benefit managers—CVS' Caremark Rx, Cigna's Express Scripts, and UnitedHealth's OptumRx—of illegally overcharging for insulin used by diabetes patients. The three PBMs control 80% of all prescriptions filled in the US, deciding which drugs are covered and often setting patient out-of-pocket costs.
Secret Service identifies failures preceding July Trump shooting.
An agency report released Friday concluded communication failures between local and federal law enforcement contributed to missed opportunities in stopping the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in July during a rally outside Pittsburgh. Problems included ineffective radio transmissions between the Secret Service and local police, as well as failure to place a team on the roof where the shooter was perched.
Georgia election board requires November ballots be hand counted.
The state election board ruled 3-2 Friday in requiring local precincts to count ballots by hand and to confirm the figures with the machine counts before certifying the results in the November elections. The new rule could lengthen the time it takes to tally the results in the battleground state (see overview). Separately, early in-person voting kicked off Friday in Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
Researchers reconstruct Earth's climate over 485 million years.
The effort is considered the most rigorous reconstruction of Earth's past climate and offers new insights into the link between carbon dioxide and global temperatures. The findings—based on 150,000 estimates derived from fossil evidence and climate models—show the planet's climate has varied more than previously thought, with the average temperature fluctuating between 52 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit during the Phanerozoic Eon. The Earth's current average temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sri Lankans to vote today for their next president.
More than 17 million eligible voters in the South Asian island nation are poised to vote for their next president for a five-year term. Nearly 40 candidates are running in the race, with top contenders including Marxist-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake and current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is running as an independent. The election comes after Sri Lanka's economy collapsed in 2022, spurring nationwide unrest and prompting the former president to flee the country.
Family
My father, through his example, showed me what hard work was all about and how discipline and determination were both keys to one's success.
My father, did not, however, provide me with the motivation to make more money, even though throughout his career he was constantly changing positions and getting salary increases.
Consequently, I had no desire to relocate up north where I would have, by default, doubled or tripled my salary from what I was earning down south.
Since my dad only worked for the Department of Agriculture for 40 years, I was reluctant to move any farther than from North Carolina to Tennessee. My sister was similar in her actions, but our brother was not as was my daughter, but her son also stayed and worked in North Carolina.
Was it the influence of our parents or just the influence from our different personalities, lifestyles, and culture. Our brother was 8 years younger than me and 12 years younger than our sister. Our brother grew up in a different environment and he was the only one or us to attend a PREP SCHOOL.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with living in the south, but living in the south means:
- lower wages
- lower state and local taxes
- lower cost of living
- less opportunities
Code for Time Travel
Can you imagine going back in time to visit a lost loved one? This heart wrenching desire is what propelled astrophysicist Professor Ron Mallett on a lifelong quest to build a time machine. After years of research, Professor Mallett claims to have finally developed the revolutionary equation for time travel.
The idea of bending time to our will – revisiting the past, altering history, or glimpsing into the future – has been a staple of science fiction for over a century. But could it move from fantasy to reality?
The inspiration: A father’s love and a classic novel
Professor Mallett’s obsession with time travel and its equation has its roots in a shattering childhood experience. When he was just ten years old, his father, a television repairman who fostered his son’s love of science, tragically passed away from a heart attack.
Devastated, the young Mallett sought solace in books. It was H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine that sparked a lifelong fascination.
Wells’ opening lines became his mantra: “Scientific people know very well that Time is only a kind of Space. And why cannot we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?” READ MORE...
Saturday, September 21
Business and Government
What the USA NEEDS
How I vote is MY BUSINESS but my political views, I can share...
I don't think much of people who vote STRAIGHT PARTY TICKET because oftentimes, that is NOT WHAT'S Best for the USA.
I also think it is silly and stupid to switch from one party to the other party every four or eight years because the previous party is not doing a good job.
My POLITICS is very simple:
- I want low taxes
- I want a low cost of living
- I want 2-3% inflation
- I want a balance budget
- I want no national debt
- I want no illegal immigration
- I want a strong military
- I want a strong economy
- I want reasonable healthcare costs
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani becomes first MLB player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases (More) | 2024 WNBA regular season wraps with the playoffs set to begin Sunday (More) |
> "Saturday Night Live" announces lineup of hosts and musical guests for the show's 50th season set to begin Sept. 28 (More)
> Judge dismisses lawsuit against New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan alleging sex trafficking and assault alongside Harvey Weinstein (More)
Science & Technology
> EU regulators give Apple six months to comply with interoperability requirements under the recently passed Digital Markets Act; rule would enable non-Apple devices to easily interact with iPhones and Apple Watches (More)
> Pocket-sized nuclear battery up to 8,000 times more efficient than existing comparable technologies demonstrated by researchers (More)
> Engineers develop "ventilator-on-a-chip" that allows real-time study of ventilator-caused lung injuries at the cellular level (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.7%, Dow +1.3%, Nasdaq +2.5%); S&P 500 and Dow rise to fresh records following the Federal Reserve's larger-than-expected rate cut a day before (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Nike CEO John Donahoe to step down Oct. 13, will be replaced by longtime Nike veteran Elliott Hill, who retired from the brand in 2020 (More) | The Walt Disney Co. to stop using Salesforce-owned Slack after hack exposed company data (More)
> US existing home sales drop 2.5% month-over-month in August, the slowest pace since October 2023; median home price of $416,700 is up 3.1% from a year ago and is highest median price for any August since records going back to 1999 (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Hezbollah and Israel exchange strikes following pager, walkie-talkie explosions that killed at least 37 people; Hezbollah rockets kill two Israelis while Israel says it destroyed dozens of rocket launchers (More) | See war updates (More)
> Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) takes unconventional step to advance stopgap government funding bill in the Senate following defeat in the House (More) | How the federal budget works (More)
> North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) denies CNN report claiming he posted numerous controversial and sexually explicit messages on adult sites, including calling himself a "Black Nazi"; Robinson says he will stay in the race (More)
Rights
- Boys who want to be girls
- Girls who want to be boys
- Males who want to be females
- Females who want to be males
They all have a RIGHT to be whatever it is that they want to be and I will support that right as long as I live...
The issue for me is that I do not want to be around any of them.
AND... believe it or not... THAT IS MY RIGHT...
- I don't think biological males should play in female sports.
- I don't think biological females should play in male sports.
- The federal govt should not police these rights
- The church should not police these rights
- It is the responsibility of the STATES and local communities
Friendly But Secretly Disliking You Behaviors
In this article, we’re going to unravel those hidden cues. We’ll explore 8 specific behaviors that people, who act friendly but secretly dislike you, often display.
Don’t worry, this isn’t about creating paranoia, it’s about understanding human behavior better.
Let’s get started.
1) Overly enthusiastic greetings
Have you ever noticed how some people, despite their warm and enthusiastic greetings, leave you with an odd feeling?
This could be one of the first signs. They might be compensating for their lack of genuine affection by going overboard with their greetings and pleasantries.
Sometimes, people who secretly dislike you can be overly enthusiastic or excessively nice when you first meet them. This is done to mask their true feelings and to throw you off the scent.
But don’t take this as a hard rule. Some people are just naturally enthusiastic. The key here is to look for a balance and consistency in their behavior.
If their enthusiasm feels out of place or inconsistent with how they interact with others, it might be a sign that they’re not as friendly towards you as they seem.
This one hits close to home. I remember a colleague of mine who always had a compliment ready. But somehow, those compliments always felt a bit off.
She’d say things like “You’re so brave for wearing that outfit!” or “I could never pull off such a bold hairstyle!”. Initially, I took these as compliments. But over time, I realized they were thinly veiled criticisms.
These ‘compliments’ were her way of expressing her dislike without being overtly rude. They were subtle, backhanded compliments that were intended to undermine rather than uplift.
Friday, September 20
In The NEWS
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> YouTube influencer MrBeast and Amazon sued by five contestants in the upcoming "Beast Games" reality show over alleged unsafe working conditions and sexual harassment (More)
> JD Souther, singer-songwriter known for penning hit songs for artists like the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, dies at age 78 (More)
> Portland selected as home of WNBA's 15th franchise, will begin play in 2026 (More) | Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson breaks WNBA single-season record for rebounds; Wilson also set the record earlier this year for most points in a season (More)
Science & Technology
> Researchers link obesity with fatty buildup around neurons in the brain's appetite control center; substance may be responsible for insulin resistance in diabetic patients (More) | Blood sugar, insulin, and diabetes explained (More, w/video)
> Largest-ever black hole jets observed by astronomers, stretching 23 million light-years in length; structure is equivalent to 140 Milky Ways lined back to back (More, w/video)
Business & Markets
> Boeing temporarily furloughs tens of thousands of employees to cut costs amid ongoing strike from its largest union; affected employees will be furloughed for one out of every four weeks until the walkout ends (More)
> Tupperware Brands files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following recent slump in sales; company intends to continue operations and will launch 30-day bidding process to find a buyer (More) | 23andMe independent board directors resign over CEO's plans to take the genetic testing company private (More)
> Google wins court challenge to overturn $1.7B antitrust fine imposed by the European Union in 2019 related to tech giant's digital advertising business (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> The House votes 220-202, with some Republicans joining Democrats to reject a stopgap government funding bill brought by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4); bill included measure to require proof of citizenship to register to vote (More)
> New analysis shows national, year-over-year drop in overdose drug deaths, in some states by as much as 20% or 30%; marks the first decrease since 2020 (More) | How opioids affect the body (More, w/video)
> Armenian prosecutors accuse Russia of paying six Armenians almost $2,400 each in monthly salaries for military training in preparation for an armed coup (More) | Ukrainian drones hit large missile depot in Russia (More)
2023 Taxes
Every year, my wife and I file for an extension on paying our taxes from April 15 until October 15... there is no restrictions to do this but we do this because some of the tax docs that we need, we do not receive until August each year.
This SIX-MONTH extension allows us to collect another 6 months of interest from our investments. As a result, the interest earned more than covers the taxes owed, so we NEVER reduce our PRINCIPLE, and our finances are always growing.
What baffles me is that our friends, both Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, Capitalists and Socialists, ALL COMPLAIN about having to pay TAXES. AND YET... if you are not a capitalist, a republican, or a conservative, you are voting for candidates who want to INCREASE YOUR TAXES.
This attitude simply makes no sense to me.
Either you want higher taxes or...
You do not want higher taxes...
Now, for the wealthy folks here in the US of A, they don't give a shit about higher taxes, because their money is sheltered and when taxes go up, they only pay the increase on what they claim, not what is sheltered.
It is perfectly legal to do this but what the wealthy people are causing is for the US govt to always have a shortfall in taxes. The middle class pays the burden for the wealthy being able to shelter their money.
CONGRESS WILL NOT CHANGE THIS LAW... mainly because most of Congress is also sheltering their money away from taxes.
AMERICANS ARE TYPICALLY NOT VERY SMART WHEN IT COMES TO PAYING TAXES OR TRYING TO AVOID PAYING TAXES...