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Central Texas flooding leaves at least 82 dead and 41 still missing. July Fourth flash flooding along the Guadalupe River caused water to rise 20 feet in two hours in some areas, devastating campgrounds on the banks where visitors were gathered for the holiday. Roads were also washed out, endangering travelers. Kerr County, TX, was among the hardest hit, with at least 40 adults and 28 children killed and 10 children and a summer camp counselor still missing as of Sunday night. Yesterday, President Trump signed a major disaster declaration for the county, granting first responders access to more resources. TX Gov. Greg Abbott’s state disaster declaration remains in effect in many counties.

Elon Musk announced the America Party in opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill. Musk launched an X poll asking, “Should we create the America Party?” He framed it as an alternative to “the two-party (some would say uniparty) system,” which he believes propagates government waste. Over 1.2 million respondents participated in the poll, voting 65.4% in favor. The next day, Musk wrote, “You shall have it!” He went on to say that focusing on two or three Senate seats and eight-to-10 House districts with the party would “be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws.” On Sunday afternoon on Truth Social, Trump voiced his disapproval of the move, posting that third parties are only good for “the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS.”

BRICS summit takes place in Rio, with some drama afoot. The annual meeting of emerging economies, which kicked off yesterday, encompasses Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—which gave it its acronym—as well as other recent additions like the UAE and Iran. However, for the first time in a decade, Chinese leader Xi Jinping chose not to attend. The group stands as a counterpoint of sorts to the G7, advocating for a “multipolar world” that moves away from the US dollar as the predominant international trade standard. President Trump essentially issued the group a “hold your horses” memo before it convenes for its second day of discussions today. Late last night on Truth Social, he posted, “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff.”—HVL

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Robert Reich

Now the Second (and Worse) Stage of Trump’s Police State
It’s part of the Big Ugly Bill just signed into law, and it will be evident very soon.




Friends,

Trump’s Big Ugly Bill delivers $170 billion for border and immigration enforcement.

This is on the scale of supplemental budgets passed by the United States when we enter war.

ICE will add 10,000 agents to the 20,000 already on the streets.

Its annual budget for detentions will skyrocket from $3.4 billion in the current fiscal year to $45 billion until the end of the 2029 fiscal year. That’s a 365 percent increase.

Funding for ICE detentions will exceed funding for the entire federal prison system.

When government capacity is built out this way, there’s always political and bureaucratic pressure to utilize such capacity. Supply creates its own demand.

“They pass that bill, we’re gonna have more money than we ever had to do immigration enforcement,” Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said recently, adding, “You think we’re arresting people now? You wait till we get the funding to do what we got to do.”

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At A Glance

Astronaut captures rare "sprite" phenomenon from orbit.

Paris opens River Seine to public swimming for first time in a century.

Study reveals six factors determining what makes someone cool.

Critically endangered leopard species observed in Bangladesh.

Roughly 1,500 bikers show up to accompany bullied teen to prom.

Snake on a plane delays flight in Australia.

Mango dominates states' top-searched ice cream flavors.

Inflatable T. rex race draws 300 participants.

Clickbait: The US will release billions of flies to fight flesh-eating maggots.

Budget Friendly Meal Prep ~ $2 Meals

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In The NEWS

Cosmic Adventures
Explaining space tourism
The billion-dollar space tourism industry offers jaunts—whether for minutes or days—into zero-gravity conditions generally for recreation rather than scientific research (read history). Space tourists can buy a seat—often in the tens of millions of dollars per trip—from a small number of space travel agencies (Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Axiom Space, to name the major players) and experience unparalleled views of the Earth.

Industry leaders offer two tour categories: fast orbital launches high enough above Earth’s atmosphere to maintain stable orbit, and suborbital. Suborbital trips offer tourists a few minutes of weightlessness from just above or below the Karman Line—the generally acknowledged boundary into space at around 62 miles above sea level.

As the International Space Station is expected to be retired by 2030, NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program is currently supporting efforts by Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Starlab Space to launch orbital space stations that can house both astronauts and tourists.

... Read our full explainer on Space Tourism here.

Also, check out...
> The overview effect: How space travel changes you. (More)
> Remembering Pan Am's "First Moon Flights Club." (More)
> The startup selling tours of space via balloon. (More)



The Cubist Visionary
Pablo Picasso, 101
Pablo Picasso was an influential 20th-century Spanish artist recognized as one of the inventors of cubism. Picasso’s innovation, popularity, and massive body of work have made him the top-grossing artist worldwide. Five of his paintings have sold for more than $100M each.

Rather than using one perspective from a fixed position, cubists portrayed their subject matter from multiple angles at the same time. The name "cubism" was unintentionally coined by a critic who bemoaned that the style reduced everything to cubes.

Throughout his life, Picasso experimented with different tools and media, resulting in many styles and distinct phases across roughly 50,000 works. (See examples of his work.)

... Read our full deep dive on Picasso here.

Also, check out...
> How Picasso's new style challenged the establishment. (More)
> Why Picasso went on trial for the theft of the 'Mona Lisa.' (More)
> Learn to paint like Picasso. (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS

Career Hindsight

 

If I had it to do all over again, I would have stayed in the military after joining in 1969 for twenty years, retiring in 1989.  During those twenty years I would have re-enlisted predicated upon specific technical training or military intelligence.

Then in 1989, I would have looked for other employment in the area of my training, which would not have been a problem them and worked for another twenty years, retiring again in 2009 at the age of Sixty Three.

Early retirement for social security, if my military retirement was not enough.  During those second twenty years I would have saved as much as I could.

Another option, would be to stay in the military starting in 1966, right after high school, probably in the Air Force with a plan to stay there for twenty years and work towards getting an undergraduate then a graduate degree.  

Retire in 1986, and look for a position with a community college, either with one's technical training or college education.  Stay there thirty years, or until 2016, at the age of sixty eight.  

Then draw military retirement, community college retirement, as well as full social security benefits.  Being in the military for twenty years, I would still have access to military health benefits.

HINDSIGHT is a wonderful tool, and it is a shame that you cannot use that gift to benefit yourself.

Somewhat Political

 

Scientists discover rare planet at the edge of the Milky Way using space-time phenomenon predicted by Einstein

An artist's illustration of the Gaia space telescope, which first spotted the microlensing event in 2021.
(Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab; background: ESO/S. Brunier)

Using gravitational microlensing, scientists have discovered a rare, large planet at the edge of the Milky Way. The planet is only the third to be found on the outskirts of our galaxy's dense central bulge.  Astronomers have used a space-time phenomenon first predicted by Albert Einstein to discover a rare planet hiding at the edge of our galaxy.


The exoplanet, dubbed AT2021uey b, is a Jupiter-size gas giant located roughly 3,200 light-years from Earth. Orbiting a small, cool M dwarf star once every 4,170 days, the planet's location is remarkable — it is only the third planet in the entire history of space observation to be discovered so far away from our galaxy's dense center.

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"Young Man Blues" LIVE the Who cover at Isle of Wight

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VINCE

 

 

The Shannon Joy Show

 

On Being Fired

 

The Alex Jones Show

 

Faithful

 

Russell Brand

 

Mountains

 

Lara Logan

 

Coral Snake

 

News Variable

 

Outdoor Cafe

 

TimcastIRL

 

Backyard Pool

 

Morning Brew

What the conflict in Iran means for gas prices this summer

Robert Reich

Sunday thought: A national reckoning
As we slide further into a dysfunctional police state





Friends,

The United States government is no longer able to protect us from real hazards, such as flash floods, because it’s shifting funds to fake hazards, such as a non-existent immigrant crime wave.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been stripped down so much it can barely respond to emergencies, yet it’s funding detention centers such as “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades.

The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, responsible for some of the areas hardest hit by Friday’s flooding, is missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster, and meteorologist.

The Weather Service’s nearby San Antonio office, which covers other areas hit by the floods, is missing a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer who are supposed to work with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate.

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At A Glance

Fifty plays and musicals exploring US history.

The top 10 medieval castles in Ireland.

Why water towers are built that way.

Snapshots from rural life in Cuba during the 1950s.

Why the Federal Reserve is independent.

The ambiguities of using emojis.

The physics of baseball pitches.

A look at the medieval origins of Tarot cards.

Mapping the world's ocean currents.

A defense of advertisements.

Below Minneapolis, a sea of sewage warms a closed-off cave.

The history of figuring out what the cosmos is made of.

The growing season in cities lasts 34 days longer than in rural areas.

What actually is Yoo-Hoo?

What made ancient Rome's Appian Way so great.

The 1-Hour Meal Prep That's Changing My Life

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