Friday, June 6

Spying

 

Mother Child

 


The Big MIG

 

News Variable

 

Old Tree

 

Sun on Water

 


TimCastIRL

 

Thrivetime

 

Continuing

 


Beautiful

 


Headlines



Trump and Xi had a “very good phone call.” President Trump said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping—the first time since Trump’s inauguration in January—for about 90 minutes yesterday, and agreed to meet in the near future for trade talks. According to Trump, the two addressed the issue of rare earth metals, which China stopped exporting in April in response to Trump’s tariffs, though Beijing’s readout of the phone call did not mention rare earths. Trump said the call focused on trade and did not delve into matters concerning Iran, Ukraine, or Russia. A day before the call, Trump posted on social media that he liked Xi but that the Chinese leader was “EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!”

Procter & Gamble is cutting 15% of its nonmanufacturing workforce. The company that makes half the products at your local CVS or Walgreens announced it’s eliminating 7,000 roles as part of a restructuring. P&G said the cuts aren’t a cost-cutting measure, though earlier this year the company admitted it was considering cutting costs after it reported a decline in sales and lowered its annual outlook due to consumer uncertainty. As part of the restructuring, P&G reportedly plans to exit some product categories.

Nintendo Switch 2 consoles are selling like hot cakes. If you’re reading this, that means you’re not playing your new Switch 2, which would put you in the minority in many friend groups. The highly anticipated handheld console officially launched yesterday, selling out instantly at Walmart and other stores for consumers who weren’t lucky enough to snag a preorder. Nintendo said it expects to sell 15 million devices by March 2026, though analysts believe the Japanese video game giant is undershooting estimates. It has sold more than 152 million units of the original Switch, which was released in 2017.—AE






The Big THINK


The price of Christianity’s “broken bargain” with democracy

Waking Up

 


Robert Reich






Musk vs. Trump
A Big Beautiful Brawl




Friends,

I’m trying not to be too delighted about the new reality TV show starring Elon and Donald, but the dialogue is truly extraordinary (I’m quoting them verbatim but putting their volley in what appears to be its intended order).

ELON (February 7, 2025): “I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man.”

ELON (June 3, 2025, four days after leaving the Trump regime): “[Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill is a] disgusting abomination” and “shame on those who voted for it” and “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people”

DONALD (June 5, 2025): “You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk. Even with a black eye. I said, do you want a little makeup? He said, no, I don’t think so. Which is interesting, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will any more.”


At A Glance


The states with the most international college students.

A quest to figure out why hailstones are growing.

Gamers race to buy (and destroy) the new Nintendo Switch 2.

How game theory can explain the measles outbreak.

Uber wants to help your grandparents.

How NASA has prepared for death in space.

Humans can (sort of) spontaneously combust.

You can buy the original Hermès Birkin bag.

Clickbait: Die-hard soccer fans spent 27 hours in a toilet stall.

Healthy & High-protein Meal Prep | 100G+ Protein Per Day | Weight Loss F...

Quick Clips

 











In The NEWS


Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> The 2025 Tribeca Film Festival kicks off in New York City; includes 118 feature films from filmmakers across 36 countries (More) | Will Ferrell to adapt his 2020 film "Eurovision" into a Broadway musical (More)

> Edmund White, pioneering novelist and essayist known for chronicling gay life in America, dies at age 85 (More)

> American Coco Gauff, 21, reaches her third French Open semifinal; see latest women's bracket (More) | ... and see latest men's bracket and schedule (More)


Science & Technology
> Male mice can grow ovaries in the womb if their mothers have iron deficiency; marks the first time dietary minerals have been linked to sexual development in offspring (More)

> Astronomers discover the smallest star orbited by a giant planet found to date; roughly 241 light-years from Earth, the pair contradict current planet formation theory (More)

> AI-assisted analysis allows estimates of individual manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls; a number may be older than believed, dating to 2,000-2,400 years ago (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.0%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.3%) as steel and aluminum tariff hikes kick in and latest data show slowdown in US private-sector job growth (More) | Private payrolls increase by 37,000 in May, the lowest monthly job total since March 2023 (More)

> Amazon to invest $10B in North Carolina to build cloud computing data center and artificial intelligence campus (More) | Reddit sues Anthropic for allegedly using the site's data to train AI models without a proper licensing agreement (More) | OpenAI tops 3 million paying business users, up from 2 million in February (More)

> Federal Reserve lifts asset cap on Wells Fargo, which restricted its size for more than seven years, after the bank showed improvement in its corporate governance and risk management practices (More)


Politics & World Affairs
> White House bars foreign students from attending Harvard University (More) | Department of Education threatens Columbia University's accreditation; says the university violated federal antidiscrimination laws by tolerating harassment of Jewish students (More)

> President Donald Trump's megabill will cut taxes by $3.7T and add $2.4T to the national debt through 2034, new analysis finds; tariffs as of May 13 to reduce primary deficits over the next decade by $2.5T (More) | Read tariffs analysis (More)

> FBI arrests alleged co-conspirator in last month's Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing; latest suspect is accused of sending 180 pounds of bomb-making materials to the lead suspect, who died in the attack (More)


SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Some Simple Beliefs

 

I believe that biological males have a RIGHT to change their bodies trying to be transformed into the female gender, even though they will never become pregnant which is, in my opinion, the ultimate of being a female.


I believe that biological females have a RIGHT to change their bodies trying to be transformed into the male gender, even though they will never be able to get another female pregnant which is, in my opinion, the ultimate of being a male.


However, biological males should not be allowed to play in female sports and biological females should not be allowed to play in male sports.  For me, this is just COMMON SENSE.


I believe that FEMALES have a RIGHT to do whatever they want to do to their bodies whether that be tattoos, piercings, implants, or having an abortion.  However, I do not think that the Federal Government should take the responsibility of paying for it.  State governments in specific situations like young age, incest, rape, to save the mother's life should pay for it, otherwise, it should be the responsibility of the female.


I believe the WEALTHY should be given NO OPPORTUNITIES to shelter their money away from taxes.  Yes, they are more likely to start companies that employ hundreds or thousands of people with the money they saved on paying taxes.  However, these wealthy people would have probably started those companies anyway, regardless of the money saved.  Everyone should pay their share of taxes.


I also believe that many LARGE NON-PROFITS like schools and churches should pay taxes as well.  There is absolutely no need for them to be exempt of taxes with their annual income...  Donations to non-profits can still be a tax deduction.


If the wealthy people paid taxes and the non-profits paid taxes, then the US government would not have to borrow money and could offer more social programs.  


If adults are allowed to smoke as many cigarettes as they want to smoke each day regardless of the potential medical issue, and if people are allowed to eat as much as they want to each day regardless of the medical issues, then ALL STATES should LEGALIZE MARIJUANA.


All three of those issue have medical consequences and yet marijuana in half our states is still illegal as well as with the Federal Government.  So, understand this, 50% of the states have legalized marijuana but to the Federal Government it is still illegal, AND YET THEY DO NOTHING...


How can we enforce one law and then not another?

What kind of message are we sending?

Somewhat Political

 





Geologists have discovered the largest gold, silver, and copper deposit in the last three decades, worth over $337 billion.


Argentina has made headlines with what experts are calling the largest copper, gold, and silver deposit discovered in the past three decades. This monumental find in the Andean highlands has the potential to transform Argentina’s economic landscape and establish the nation as a major player in global metal markets. The discovery represents a significant shift for a country traditionally known for its agricultural prowess.

Massive mineral wealth unearthed in Andean highlands
The joint venture between mining giants BHP and Lundin Mining, operating under the name Vicuña, has uncovered an extraordinary deposit containing over 12 million tons of copper and more than 80 million ounces of gold and silver combined. This discovery, located in Argentina’s San Juan province, marks a watershed moment for the country’s mining industry.


Ten Years After - Good Morning Little School Girl - 8/4/1975 - Winterlan...

Good Morning

 


Thursday, June 5

Good Evening

 


Blue Rose

 

VINCE

 

Forest Creek

 


The Shannon Joy Show

 

Russell Brand

 

Soul