[FOX] Gunfire tore through two communities in Trenton, New Jersey, and Chicago less than 15 minutes apart overnight, leaving three people dead and 23 others wounded in two mass shootings as police in both cities search for answers.
Trenton police responded to a neighborhood near 194 Locust Street at about 12:25 a.m. local time Sunday after multiple shots were reported, Trenton Mayor W. Reed Gusciora said in a statement.
First responders found 11 people who had been shot.
Two were pronounced dead, while nine others were taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center. Police have not released their conditions.
The names of those killed have not been confirmed.
Gusciora said officials were still learning about the victims but shared details about one of the people killed, a man who had been trying to turn his life around after leaving prison.
#1
It would be one thing if there were two mass shooting 15 minutes apart in the same city. This headline is why the MSM can't be trusted, the head line is click bait.
[Reuters] Google Maps has changed the name of "Lake Ontario" to "Lake America" for U.S. users to reflect President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the lake, according to a Google statement.
Only American users? Good to know.
Trump announced on Thursday that he was changing the name of the smallest of the five Great Lakes, part of an escalating trade feud with Canada that has prompted the two countries to impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars in goods.
The president's order affects the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which sets the standards for official U.S. maps. It does not have any impact on Canadian naming conventions or how the rest of the world refers to the lake.
"Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see 'Lake America,' those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario,' and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names," Google said in a blog post issued on Saturday.
The White House, Carney's office and Ford's office did not immediately comment on Sunday on Google's decision.
Google Maps made a similar change to the Gulf of Mexico last year, labeling it the "Gulf of America" following Trump's executive order on his first day in office renaming the body of water.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney immediately rejected the lake's name change on Thursday. Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, which shares a long border with Canada, declared that "New York won't be calling it that," while Phil Scott, the Republican governor of neighboring Vermont, called Trump's decision "petty and disappointing" on social media.
The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, on Saturday unveiled a large lakeside sign that reads, "Lake Ontario: Now and Always," in both English and French.
"President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I can tell you, the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario," Ford said.
#6
If everything is America-this or America-that, how are we going to collect tariffs?
Posted by: James the lesser ||
08/31/2026 10:27 Comments ||
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#7
While we're at it let's reopen Ft. Oswego to shoot down Canada Geese.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
08/31/2026 11:06 Comments ||
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#8
No one talks about the obvious downside: the mnemonic "HOMES" will no longer work for remembering the names of the Great Lakes. HAMES just doesn't cut it... tho I guess SHAME will work....
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Rescuers have recovered the bodies and remains of 734 flood victims in Nepal. This was reported on August 30 by The Kathmandu Post, citing the country's authorities.
Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority reported that 2,498 people remain missing, including 589 foreign nationals and 85 security personnel. Another 242 people were injured.
Many of the dead were carried hundreds of kilometers away by the Bhotekosi and Trishuli rivers. Unidentified bodies were sent to 21 hospitals for identification.
The search and rescue operation involved 19,895 military personnel, police officers, and armed police officers. To date, 8,186 people have been rescued. Over the past two days, 279 people have been evacuated from the hydroelectric power station tunnel, and another 227 foreigners were airlifted by helicopter.
Authorities are also delivering food and essential supplies to the affected areas.
The flooding occurred on the morning of August 26 after a powerful mudflow occurred near the Nepal-China border. Due to a rockfall and ice slide, a torrent of water and debris rushed down the Lhende River, inundating the area around the Gyirong border crossing.
So it turns out China was building a hydro electric facility by a glacier and all the construction caused a portion of the glacier to collapse, tumble down, and turn into a mudslide that killed like 2,500 Nepalese people.
#4
^ You had to wonder right from the start if the Chinese were somehow involved.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/31/2026 12:57 Comments ||
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#5
Several causal chains have been proposed. The distance between the dam work in Tibet and the mountain area in Nepal (about 17k' above sea level) that partially collapsed seems to weigh against the 'china dam work' theory. But several more complete investigations will be needed.
Although there are numerous autonomous hydrologic monitoring sites in the vicinity, the time between the partial collapse of the mountain area and the water hitting the border station was under 10 minutes.
Horrifyingly, some bodies have been recovered over 60 miles from the site of the border station that was destroyed.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/31/2026 19:04 Comments ||
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#6
^ Exactly! NOT a Chinese wet market consequence
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/31/2026 19:18 Comments ||
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[YouTube] This is Orania,South Africa's White Only Town what some consider to be the most controversial town in Southern Africa. Hidden deep within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, this town has sparked debates for decades. And in today’s episode, we’re going to dive into its fascinating, and for some, polarizing story.
[YouTube] Westminster Abbey contains over three thousand graves, including those of thirty kings and queens. Visitors walk across every single one of them, except one. The grave of the Unknown Warrior, an unidentified soldier brought from the battlefields of France in November 1920, is the only tombstone in the Abbey that no one is permitted to step on. This is the story of how a haunted army chaplain, a reluctant king, and a midnight selection in a candlelit chapel created the most visited war grave in the world.
[Reuters] Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday that an energy agreement with the U.S. would remain in force for 25 years, target an increase in crude output to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and preserve the country's sovereignty over its natural resources.
Rodriguez hailed the accord in a late-night address as a "historic" deal that would help revive the economy and boost government revenue, saying it would help shape the country's future.
“This 25-year bilateral project envisages the development of 17 strategic oilfields with a production target of more than 1.5 million barrels per day," Rodriguez said on state broadcaster VTV.
"That figure relates solely to the bilateral agreement between Venezuela and the United States."
Rodriguez added that the agreement's target of 1.5 million bpd was only an initial goal and that the broader plan also included the development of eight greenfield oil blocks as part of a wider expansion of the country's energy sector.
President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans for the U.S. to take partial control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, betting that American companies can help revive the South American nation's battered energy industry while providing a new source of crude to help lower U.S. fuel prices.
Trump provided few details on the agreement, saying only that the U.S. had secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves through a partnership with private business.
Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, but it produces only about 1.25 million bpd - far below its potential - after years of underinvestment, mismanagement and sanctions.
Rodriguez said the agreement could generate about $209 billion in revenue for the Venezuelan state, based on a benchmark oil price of $65 per barrel, though she acknowledged crude prices could fluctuate. She said roughly $19 from each barrel produced and sold under the arrangement would flow directly to Venezuela, providing a significant boost to government revenue.
She said that the country retained “ownership of and sovereignty” over its natural resources, “while leveraging capital, technology and operational expertise to support the recovery of a strategic industry that has been severely affected by sanctions."
Earlier on Saturday, dozens of pro-government groups gathered in downtown Caracas to protest against the U.S. presence in Venezuela.
Rodriguez welcomed the agreement following Trump's announcement, saying it would bolster economic growth and increase government revenue.
Venezuelan officials are preparing to sign agreements next week granting new oil exploration and production rights to several companies, including U.S. firms.
Two sources close to the negotiations said on Friday that Chevron CVX.N was among the companies expected to finalize talks to transition its Venezuelan joint ventures into the country's new energy framework.
[National Review] A heavily indebted debtor is not well-advised to be seen to play games with his creditors, and that was what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was widely perceived to have done a couple weeks ago. Yields on 30-year Treasuries had been trending up for some time and had reached 5.33 percent, their highest level since 2001 (a number worth watching by mortgage borrowers too). And so the Treasury announced (choosing unusual timing given the refunding cycle) that it would be buying longer bonds with short-term maturities. This only had a brief effect on the 30-years. It took a second announcement doubling the size of the proposed buyback to make a somewhat more lasting dent, possibly helped by a slight easing of oil prices. The yield on the 30-years is around 5.19 now. Was the Treasury playing games in order to nudge long-term rates down a little?
(Washington Examiner] Icelandic voters have rejected a referendum that would reopen negotiations to join the European Union, raising the spirits of eurosceptics both on the island and abroad.
Final results reported by national broadcaster RUV show that approximately 52.8% of the public voted against the referendum, conclusively beating the affirmative voters’ 47.2%. Opposition parties immediately took a victory lap over the fact their country would not even sit at the negotiating table with the supranational alliance.
"Knowing that Icelanders are not enthusiastic about EU membership, the government decided to take a rather peculiar approach," said Sigmundur Davíð, former Icelandic prime minister and current leader of the Center Party in parliament.
[Washington Examiner] Icelanders reasserted their desire to remain out of the European Union, voting against a referendum that would have initiated negotiations to join the supranational union.
Iceland’s National Electoral Commission revealed on Sunday that the measure lost by a 52.8% to 47.2% vote, the Associated Press reported. If Icelanders had voted in the affirmative and supported the referendum, there would still have been no guarantee that the country would have joined the European Union. It would have just meant that the country would restart negotiations, but its fate would have been contingent on those discussions and on another referendum to determine whether to join.
"This is a good day," said Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir on Saturday before the vote. "We have now reached the point where this is in the hands of the nation. Either we enter these negotiations, seek a good agreement, and then see what happens, or we put the discussion about the European Union aside, at least for the time being."
#2
I can't wait for the hanky-panky in eastern Germany when they have state elections soon. It'll be nice when the AfD sweeps the establishment vermin (CDU, SPD, Greens) into the dust bin, but what won't be nice will be the corruption from BlackRock Merz and Ursula "Pfizer" von der Leyen.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Gregor Spitzen
[REGNUM] Shortly before the elections to the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leads the polls with an impressive 41%.
Hoping to avert the scenario they fear, German celebrities launched the campaign "True Love of the Fatherland Is..." aimed at opposing the "right-wing extremists," as opponents call the AfD, who are seeking an absolute majority. Among those who have decided to join the project are figures from sports, culture, science, and the economy.
It should be noted that the fear of the AfD coming to power is artificial and is being actively fueled by the systemic media. Against the backdrop of a series of debt and migration crises in Europe, the consequences of which have been largely dealt with by Germany, slogans about abandoning the euro and leaving the Schengen area, recently reiterated by Alternative for Germany leader Alice Weidel, are enjoying widespread support. And this is frightening their opponents.
"If the Alternative for Germany party wins an absolute majority in the state parliament elections on September 6 and nominates a candidate for the post of minister-president, this will have serious social and economic consequences – not only for Saxony-Anhalt, but also far beyond its borders," the association "More Than Divides Us," which launched the campaign, is sounding the alarm.
According to the organizers, in order to prevent the AfD from obtaining an absolute majority, “on September 6, citizens should exercise their right to vote and support any democratic party with their vote, taking responsibility for the future of Saxony-Anhalt.”
Several alliances have already formed in the region warning of the dangers of electing "extremists." For example, the German Trade Union Confederation is supporting the campaign "We are Saxony-Anhalt: Active and Open to the World!"
Furthermore, Campact intends to use a targeted campaign to prevent the formation of a one-party Alternative for Germany government. The initiators of the Tactical Vote 2026 campaign pursue the same goal.
Church representatives have also taken a stand. The Magdeburg Diocese, through its "Conscious Choice" initiative, emphasizes love for one's neighbor and solidarity. Furthermore, an alliance of cultural institutions has launched the "Proud of Diversity" campaign.
The posters disseminated during the protest, featuring counter-propaganda against the AfD, are dominated by apocalyptic predictions that, according to the organizers, could come true if the party wins. For example, in the areas of culture and elderly care.
The campaign's supporters include many well-known figures in the region and throughout Germany, including Germany's most successful actress to date, Sandra Hüller, who starred alongside Ryan Gosling in the film "Project End of the World. "
In addition to Hüller, the protest against the AfD is also being attended by actors Christian Friedel, Anna Schudt, Bill and Tom Kaulitz, Max Simonischek, vice-president of the Magdeburg football club René Bethke, founder of Getec Karl Gerhold, archaeologist Harald Möller, former rector of the University of Magdeburg-Stendal Anne Leckwy and BMW Motorsport team boss Torsten Schubert.
Martin Reichardt, the head of the AfD regional office in Saxony-Anhalt, declared that the reaction of the German elite embodies "talentless leftist court art, steeped in the leftist cultural dross of high society, which is ruining German culture." Nevertheless, the campaign against the AfD continues to gain momentum.
Interestingly, researchers who analyzed the US election campaign found that public statements by celebrities rarely cause voters to immediately reconsider their opinions.
However, they can mobilize like-minded people for political activity. This creates a domino effect, especially among young people who are otherwise little interested in politics. This effect is also significant in Germany, given that in some localities, the AfD accounts for over 50% of voters.
Critics, however, say that public celebrity support not only fails to boost the initiative's popularity but, on the contrary, provides the AfD with a powerful propaganda tool. Similar to how Donald Trump's MAGA movement mocked Hollywood stars who advocated for illegal immigration but refused to shelter migrants in their luxury homes on the California coast—for example, Julia Roberts.
Actors Bill and Tom Kaulitz, now living in Los Angeles, are calling for a vote against the AfD, drawing on their own life experiences. Bill, a member of the LGBT* movement, which is banned in Russia, was harassed by neo-Nazi skinheads in his home village in Saxony-Anhalt in the 1990s. He even wrote a book about it.
However, Bill, with his out-of-touch anti-AfD rhetoric, fell into the same trap as his Hollywood colleagues who opposed MAGA. His grateful compatriots from their historical homeland immediately decided to put him in his place.
"Bill Kaulitz lives in a restored bungalow designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California, USA. I'd be happy if he moved to Saxony-Anhalt, say, Möckern, and got involved in the political struggle there," writes a German reader.
"He lives in a huge villa and doesn't even make his own bed, as he says in his Netflix series. And such a man wants to lecture Germans? That's absolute impudence," another German echoed.
"People who make such statements seem unaware of how arrogant and impudent they are making themselves appear..." is the third opinion from Germany.
"Wow, a bunch of celebrities who own apartments in Prenzlauer Berg (an upscale Berlin neighborhood – Ed.) and Malibu are telling less fortunate East Germans who to vote for, and then they go back to their cozy Hollywood lives," another reader agrees.
"Nothing is more irrelevant than Bill Kaulitz's political opinion," concludes the fifth commentator.
Apparently, critics who warned AfD opponents against excessive celebrity support were right. With their out-of-touch statements, Germany's cultural elite has clearly done voters in the German political mainstream a disservice.
[Reuters] Icelanders voted to stay out of the European Union, referendum results showed on Sunday, as they rejected a government push to reopen membership talks and sided with those who said Iceland's fishing waters were too important to risk.
The Arctic island of 400,000 people has debated whether to join the EU for well over a decade and had initially been expected to narrowly back holding membership talks, but opinion polls this month showed views had changed.
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Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told a press conference that Iceland would focus on strengthening its existing ties with the European Union through the European Economic Area agreement, which it shares with Norway and Liechtenstein.
"A big lesson for me and also for the government is that people are happy with the EEA agreement," she said.
A European Commission spokesperson said it respected the choice of the Icelandic people and noted that Iceland remained a close partner of the European Union.
Frostadottir now plans to call Norway's prime minister, public broadcaster RUV reported.
In Saturday's referendum, 52.8% of ballots cast were against the government's proposal to hold negotiations with Brussels, 47.2% were in favour, and 82.5% of eligible voters took part.
Out of six constituencies, only the two in central Reykjavik had a majority that voted in favour, while the rural areas and the Reykjavik suburbs voted against.
The government had framed membership as a shield against trade wars and Arctic rivalry and presented the referendum as a "now or never" moment. Frostadottir said the "no" would end the debate for as long as her centre-left coalition was in power.
DECADES OF MEMBERSHIP DEBATE
In Brussels, some officials had voiced hopes a vote to join from Iceland could ease scepticism toward EU enlargement and strategically strengthen the bloc when Arctic security is in focus.
"This is a clear setback for Brussels," an EU diplomat told Reuters, adding that the issues of fishing and independence had been decisive.
Iceland, a NATO member state but with no standing army of its own, also debated whether EU accession could boost the country's security when U.S. President Donald Trumphas cast doubt on the U.S. commitment to the military alliance.
Trump has also repeatedly said he wants to acquire Greenland, another Arctic island.
But for some Icelanders, fishing was a sharper focus than security.
The industry is one of Iceland's biggest, making up 15% of gross domestic product in direct and indirect contributions, and some 40% of export revenue, data shows.
[Townhall] Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has launched a five-part series, "How to Win 2026," meant to help Republicans achieve a historic midterm victory.
"I just released five podcasts, modeled on what we did back in the Contract With America," Gingrich said. "And the five podcasts which you can get by going to Gingrich360.net, all indicate how we can win."
Across the five episodes, Gingrich lays out exactly how Republicans can take their winning messages to voters and turn it into victories at the ballot box in November.
The first episode lays out the strategy, pointing out the "two realities" shaping the election: the polls, headlines, and conventional D.C. wisdom and the "deeper political reality of where the American people are actually moving."
[The Hill] Conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson said Friday that President Trump should be removed from office if he is considering using nuclear weapons first, saying even entertaining the possibility should disqualify a president from serving.
Has anyone checked Mr. Carlson for bipolar disorder? This sounds like he is hitting peak mania.
"The second any president actively considers the first use of nuclear weapons, that person should be removed from office immediately, because that’s got to be the red line, destroying all of humanity with a nuclear strike," Carlson said.
Carlson made the comments during a conversation with Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned earlier this year in opposition to the war with Iran.
Carlson, who noted that he strongly opposed both efforts to impeach Trump during his first term, questioned why the same standard would not apply if a president were weighing a nuclear first strike.
"Why isn’t there an attempt to remove him from office, like, immediately?" Carlson said. "Anyone who would even tolerate that kind of talk from any of his subordinates or employees is by definition unfit."
#6
If it were my job to launch a missile strike on CONUS, I would do it from a shipping container on a non-descript freighter off the Eastern seaboard with an EMP warhead. Creating a dramatic media/propaganda event is more important than actually damage.
As for Tucker, I can only assume there is an alien pod under the stairs in some basement with his face on it.
[National Review] Zohran Mamdani ally and NYC DSA leader Gustavo Gordillo says socialism can deliver for the working class. But does his own story undermine the Democratic Socialists of America’s message?
Rich Lowry examines Gordillo’s privileged background, Yale education, union record, family wealth, and claims about capitalism and immigration - and what they reveal about today’s socialist movement.
[The Federalist] A coalition of more than two dozen state attorneys general is asking the Trump administration and Congress to suspend federal grants to a national science organization for its ongoing left-wing climate activism.
In a Thursday letter to several Trump cabinet secretaries and congressional committees, the 25 Republican AGs raised concerns about recent actions by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The academies — which receive taxpayer-funded federal grants —have sought to advance leftist policies in recent years, as the Capital Research Center reported.
One avenue of activism highlighted by the state AGs is the NASEM’s role in the controversial fourth edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, which the nonprofit produced alongside the taxpayer-funded Federal Judicial Center (FJC). While designed to provide objective guidance to federal judges on science-related matters before the bench, the manual was found to contain a "Reference Guide on Climate Science" stacked with references and citations to left-wing climate activists and advocates.
The FJC retracted the controversial chapter following widespread backlash in February. The NASEM, however, continued to post the guide on its website until earlier this month, when it announced that the climate section would be temporarily removed while its team conducts an "independent review" of the "process used to produce the chapter."
[RedState] American taxpayers are sick of blowing trillions of dollars financing the reckless spending of the federal government.
If you want to know why America has an "affordability crisis," we need to start there.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has a fairly simple idea for cutting at least some of the bill: Stop handing federal welfare benefits to people who aren't American citizens.
The Kentucky Republican is pushing the End Welfare for Noncitizens Act, legislation that would bar federal funds from providing TANF, Medicaid, SNAP and other federal benefits to illegal immigrants, refugees and asylees.
"American families are struggling to make ends meet while Washington funds welfare for people who broke our immigration laws to get here," Paul wrote.
"My End Welfare for Non-Citizens Act ends that by cutting off TANF, Medicaid, and SNAP for illegal immigrants, refugees, and asylees."
#2
It isn't charity if the government taxes you for it. You have to wonder if legitimate charities would receive increasing donations if the government was somehow able to eliminate wasted and fraud and then cut our taxes.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/31/2026 13:31 Comments ||
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#3
Democrats are ok paying criminals but not US CITIZENS in need?
#4
Thank you. I never tire of announcing to all within earshot as I press "NO" to the guilt- trippy donation options on Cali grocery checkout terminals that, "When I am king, this will read, 'Don't you idiots know you already pay taxes for this stuff?' And both buttons will be labeled 'YES.'"
[FOX] President Donald Trump is moving to give ranchers a new way around the powerful meatpacking companies that stand between their cattle and the grocery-store shelf, following backlash in farm country over his decision to allow more foreign beef imports.
Trump said Friday that he was authorizing legal documents to be drafted to give farmers and ranchers "the right to process their own food," casting the move as an effort to break what he called a "nasty monopoly" in the meat industry.
The announcement came after cattle producers and some Republicans pushed back on Trump’s plan to temporarily allow tariff-free imports of up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef, a move intended to ease pressure on consumers facing high prices at the meat counter.
[IsraelTimes] Suspects released under restrictive conditions after police question them on suspicion of conduct that could harm public safety
The Israel Police announced on Sunday that seven people were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of desecrating Christian and Moslem holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The suspects were all released under restrictive conditions after officers questioned them on suspicion of conduct that could harm public safety, the police statement said.
Three of the suspects, all adults, were detained for allegedly vandalizing Moslem gravesites, police said, without specifying when the crime took place.
Footage of the incident published by the police showed the three approaching a tombstone and kicking it several times, before one of them leans down and knocks it over with his hands.
Police said four other suspects were detained "in real time" after allegedly spitting at the Armenian Patriarchate compound.
"The Jerusalem District’s David Precinct police are acting firmly and continuously against the phenomenon of harming religious figures, religious institutions, and cemeteries in the Old City," the statement added.
In footage published by the Israel Police on August 30, 2026, three men can be seen kicking a tombstone in a Moslem cemetery in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Israel Police)
Law enforcement in Israel has been struggling to stop harassment and attacks against Christian clergy and church property in the Old City, including frequent incidents of people, mostly young Orthodox Jews, spitting on the ground in front of clergy and other Christians — an act that may be prosecuted in Israel as a hate crime.
There have also been acts of vandalism against churches and cemeteries, and physical assaults, including actions that bear the hallmark of turban Jewish settler violence familiar from the West Bank.
Earlier this month, six religious Jews — five minors and one adult — were arrested for banging and spitting on the entrance to the St. James Monastery in the Old City’s Armenian Quarter.
The six also threw stones at the wall of the compound, which is the headquarters of the Armenian Church in the region and the home of its top local holy man.
In April, after a series of similar incidents, the Foreign Ministry appointed veteran diplomat George Deek to a newly created role of special envoy to the Christian world.
#6
the police squad in the old city doesn't put up with very much in the way of physical damage
you can walk with your young kids and feel safer than pretty much any city in Europe or the USA
on the other hand, watch what you buy as there is a fair amount of fake, and be prepared for having your credit card numbers stolen if you buy merch with a card
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/31/2026 12:21 Comments ||
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[Townhall] A longstanding conservative goal, especially in local politics, has been to reduce taxes, or even eliminate them outright. In Florida, for example, Gov. Ron DeSantis has spent much of his tenure pushing for property-tax relief and exploring ways to reduce or eventually eliminate the tax burden on homeowners. Now, a new avenue to pursue that goal has emerged.
A proposed $17 billion Google data center could provide a Georgia county with enough new revenue to eliminate a significant portion of residents’ property taxes, offering a clear example of how embracing economic growth and private investment is often the best path for creating the revenue government needs to cut taxes, strengthen local services, and give working families more room to keep what they earn.
Last week, the Columbia County Economic Development Authority moved forward with plans for a massive $17 billion Google data-center project, one of the largest private investments in the Georgia county’s history. The appeal is straightforward, that the project could generate enough new revenue to reduce residents’ reliance on property taxes, which currently make up roughly 40 percent of the county’s general-fund revenue.
Local officials say Google’s payments could replace a meaningful share of that homeowner-funded revenue and give families long-overdue relief without cutting county services. This November, Columbia County voters will decide the question through a referendum on whether to dedicate revenue from the project to property-tax relief.
[NYP] The number of 9/11 cancer victims has skyrocketed 1,680% over the past decade — fueled by rare variations of the disease, according to new statistics released as the grim 25th anniversary of the attacks nears.
Cancer certifications among Twin Tower survivors, downtown Manhattan residents and workers on and near The Pile have exploded from 3,204 in 2015 to 57,044 this year, reveal figures compiled by the World Trade Center Health Program.
"Sadly, we lose roughly two clients a day and see a new cancer certification every 50 minutes," said lawyer Michael Barasch, whose firm represents thousands of people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program.
For the first time, the number of cancer cases among survivors who resided, worked or attended school near Ground Zero has now surpassed the amount of emergency responders such as firefighters and police who had prolonged exposure, statistics show.
[CNET] First 8 minutes are very cool, especially the landing of the booster on solid ground. Made me think of the Buck Rogers TV show. The Roman space telescope is a couple of steps up from the Hubble.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2026 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[281 views]
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#1
I watched the launch of Apollo 13 on DVD last night. We've come a long way, baby!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2026 0:07 Comments ||
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I had the honor of teaching at Muskingum College in Ohio in the mid 1980's. It's the alma mater of John and Annie Glenn. They attended every commencement. I never met them personally ...wish I had.
#6
I'm sure the telescope is a technological marvel but the recovery of those boosters is about the most impressive display of technology and engineering I have ever seen. It's like a 1950's sci-fi movie only it's real. I also like the on board cameras showing Earth getting farther and farther away and the separations at each stage. Kinda makes you proud to be an American.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/31/2026 13:51 Comments ||
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#7
^^Yup! I meant to say like "Flash Gordon". I don't think Buck Rogers was ever on the tube.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/31/2026 16:30 Comments ||
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[Reuters] NASA began a new mission to probe some of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics and cosmology with the launch on Sunday of the U.S. space agency's new flagship astronomical observatory, a repurposed spy satellite that will capture panoramic views of the cosmos.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a roughly $4 billion project, was carried aloft from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX (SPCX.O) Falcon Heavy rocket through blue skies just after sunrise. Its mission is planned for five years, though NASA said the telescope may have enough fuel for five additional years.
The telescope, which will park itself in orbit beyond the moon, is designed to investigate cosmic enigmas such as dark energy and dark matter, while also testing gravity at vast scales and searching for exoplanets, as planets beyond our solar system are called.
Sunday's launch marked "an endpoint for the engineers, but it's a starting point for the scientists," Julie McEnery, Roman telescope senior project scientist, told reporters at a post-launch news conference. "It feels like I'm on the edge of a precipice, and we're just about to set a foot off into the unknown."
The observatory was originally designed for a spy satellite program under the National Reconnaissance Office, a part of the U.S. intelligence community that manages the most powerful American spy satellites. That program was over budget and terminated, and the NRO in 2012 donated it to NASA, which repurposed it for cosmic exploration.
Roman will travel through space toward an orbital location called Lagrange Point 2 about a million miles (1.6 million km) from Earth.
Mission scientists will spend the next 90 days commissioning it and preparing for its science operations. Roman is expected to beam back its first high-resolution images "before the winter holidays," Roman telescope project manager Jackie Townsend said.
Roman will build on the capabilities of other orbiting observatories such as the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, and the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990.
McEnery has said that Roman possesses broadly the same sensitivity and sharpness of vision as Hubble, but will survey the cosmos more quickly. Roman can survey our entire Milky Way galaxy in a month while Hubble would need a century, according to McEnery.
#1
The NASA techies have to also be worried that Musk has accomplished superior rocket product delivery, engine technology, and recovery / re-use in such a very short time frame.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
