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The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
Obese inmates are smuggling fentanyl into jails thanks to new policy
Washingtons’ obsession with “protecting” inmates has turned jails into fentanyl free-for-alls, where smuggled drugs hidden in body fat are leading to overdoses and near-death emergencies. Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders just exposed the absurd consequences of Washington’s new body scanner regulations, and it’s a perfect case study in how “compassion” gets people killed.
Last week, an obese inmate at Thurston County Jail smuggled fentanyl hidden in body fat folds. Once the drugs made their way in, a different inmate consumed the drugs and overdosed. Life-saving efforts from jail staff prevented the overdose from being fatal.
It shouldn’t be this easy for an obese inmate to allegedly smuggle drugs into jail. But we’re here because of foolish policy decisions dictating the radiation levels of body scanners used prior to entry into jails.
This disaster traces back to a 2022 bill that prioritized banning “dehumanizing” strip searches over jail security. The law required prisons to adopt body scanners but then handed rulemaking to the Department of Health, which cooked up WAC 246-230-040’s unworkable dose limits. As a result, the scanners are so weak they can’t distinguish drugs from body fat.
The new rules under WAC 246-230-040, implemented in January 2025, force scanners to use laughably low radiation levels to appease activists screaming about ‘ALARA’ (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principles.
#USA #Drugs #FindTruth
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Mollie Hemingway delivers masterclass explainer on the ‘government-funded’ war on free speech
Americans’ constitutionally protected right to free speech “has been under worse attack in the last decade than at any other point in our nation’s history,” Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway told lawmakers during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing.
“The tentacles of the censorship-industrial complex are choking out freedom of expression, debate, and the right to criticize powerful institutions such as corporate media and the government,” Hemingway said.
“Non-profit think tanks such as the Aspen Institute post so-called ‘disinformation’ seminars to groom journalists to publish pro-censorship propaganda and to suppress important stories, such as the Hunter Biden laptop bombshell,” Hemingway said.
As described by Hemingway, censorship tools employed by groups such as GDI and NewsGuard “routinely rate leftwing news outlets, that are no threat to the permanent bureaucracy, higher than those that challenge prevailing orthodoxies.”
As noted by Hemingway, The Federalist is no stranger to being a target of the expansive censorship-industrial complex.
#USA #FreeSpeech #Hemingway #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Japanese carmakers face catastrophic profit hit from Trump's auto tariffs
As the fallout from Trump’s tariff plans comes into relief, a harsh truth is emerging for the automotive industry: there are lots of losers and not many winners. But foreign automakers, those without US facilities, will be hit especially hard.
From South Korea’s Hyundai to Germany’s Volkswagen, and to a lesser extent America’s own General Motors, many of the world’s most prominent carmakers will soon face higher costs from Trump’s new levies on auto imports and key components. That's because about 46% of all new cars sold in the US are imported.
Japan historically has been the biggest global auto maker, now producing 1.3 million of the 16 million annual car sales. For Japan, autos account for >30% of Japan’s exports to the US.
According to Goldman analyst Kota Yuzawa, Japanese cars sales volumes will decline as a result of price hikes made by each company in order to offset the negative impact of tariffs. In that scenario the profit hit will be anywhere between 6% for Toyota to 59% for Mazda.
In another, far more draconian scenario, Japanese automakers are unable or simply refuse to hike prices to offset volume declines. The consequences are catastrophic and result in the following hit to operating profits: Toyota -¥570 bn, Honda -¥350 bn, Nissan -¥130 bn, and Mazda -¥60 bn. The implied impact on Goldman's FY3/26 operating profit forecasts would be as follows: Toyota -11%, Honda -23%, Nissan -66%, and Mazda -34%.
#USA #Japan #Cars #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
These attacks on Teslas are psychotic
Over the past few weeks, anti-Trump activists have been attacking Tesla vehicles and dealerships in protest against Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who is now heading up Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Much of the mainstream media, their loathing of Trump still burning strong, have portrayed the Tesla attackers sympathetically. They have denied, as NBC did the other week, any evidence of the ‘coordinated vandalism of Teslas’. This is despite the existence of a group called Tesla Takedown, which is calling for ‘biggest day of action’ yet on 29 March, including ‘500 demonstrations at all 278 Tesla showrooms as well as Supercharger stations’. Elsewhere, one liberal newspaper characterised the attacks as a righteous expression of ‘popular anger’ against a tech billionaire.
By and large, those attacking Teslas seem driven less by any coherent political goal than by a personal hatred of Musk, or by a thirst for vengeance that now seems to be the hallmark of far too many on the liberal left.
No one has to like Elon Musk, let alone agree with his politics. Yet those attacking Teslas don’t just disagree with him, or his role in Donald Trump’s government. They also seem to see Musk as an embodiment of evil, as an existential threat. What we’re seeing play out is not really politics as we once knew it. It’s more like a psychotic episode on a grand scale.
#USA #Trump #Tesla #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Florida child labor laws: Measure would let teens work 8+ hours on school nights
A year after lawmakers relaxed the state’s child labor laws, a divided Florida Senate panel on Tuesday gave initial approval to a measure that would further roll back work restrictions for kids as young as 14.
The proposal, which builds on the 2024 law, sparked heated debate, with critics of the plan saying it would lead to exploitation of children and proponents calling it a “parental rights” issue.
The bill (SB 918) would do away with restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds, who would be able to work more than eight hours a day on school nights and over 30 hours a week while school is in session, without mandated breaks.
In addition, the measure aims to remove restrictions for 14- and 15-year-olds who have graduated from high school, are home-schooled or attend virtual school.
#USA #ChildLabor #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
JD Vance accused of ‘stalking’ Greenland
Despite strongly negative reactions from European leaders, US Vice President JD Vance has moved ahead with his Greenland visit, upping the geopolitical stakes as US Arctic ambitions fuel tensions.
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on March 25 condemned the US for placing “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland, just before Vance announced he would join his wife on an already controversial trip to the island.
Facing backlash from Greenlandic leaders and Danish officials, Vance scaled down his visit, now focusing solely on the US military base at Pituffik instead of engaging with locals.
That came after US President Donald Trump had repeatedly stated his desire for the US to gain control over the island amid European Union moves toward military self-reliance and reiteration that the territorial autonomy of Greenland must be guaranteed.
“This is the closest equivalent to stalking you will see in international diplomacy,” Danish MEP Anders Vistisen told Brussels Signal in a written statement on March 25, condemning the “sense of entitlement” he said he was “seeing from this American administration”.
#USA #Vance #Greenland #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Israel 'on the brink of civil war' as judicial overhaul bill progresses
Several ultra-controversial issues have come to a head in Israel this week, sparking more huge protests outside the country's Knesset and in various locations.
Israel's Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz is warning alongside former Israeli army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Israel is on the brink of civil war.
The mounting crisis was sparked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. "It’s true that there are many security challenges from abroad, but Israel’s security is at risk because of the internal division," Gantz said at the start of the week.
There are moves to also dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara by Netanyahu after a 'no confidence' vote by the cabinet. This has outraged opposition parties and much of the population.
Gantz is pleading for Netanyahu to halt the legislation from progressing. "I’m appealing to you as someone who bears the responsibility of acting on behalf of all citizens of this country," he wrote to in a letter to the prime minister. "Our society is wounded and bleeding, divided in a way we have not seen since October 6 [2023]," Gantz said.
#Israel #Gantz #Netanyahu #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
$77.6 billion - US Federal Reserve loss
In a published report, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) recorded a loss of $77.6 billion through 2024
The Fed recorded a loss for the second year in a row. The main reason was high interest payments due to interest rate hikes to fight inflation
“Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased,”
Trump halts $175 million in UPenn federal funding over transgender athlete participation
The Trump administration has paused $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) pending a Title IX investigation into the university’s inclusion of transgender athletes. The funding suspension stems from potential violations of the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, signed by President Donald Trump on February 5, 2025.
The Department of Education is currently investigating UPenn along with San Jose State University and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for suspected Title IX noncompliance. The outcome of the investigation could impact UPenn’s broader federal funding package, which totaled approximately $1 billion in 2024.
UPenn became a focal point in the national debate over transgender athletes in 2022, when male swimmer Will Thomas identified as female and joined the university’s women’s swim team under the name Lia Thomas.
After joining the women’s division, Thomas dominated competitions and broke multiple women’s NCAA records. Notably, Thomas won the national championship in the 500-yard freestyle and tied Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle, but only Thomas was awarded the trophy for that event.
#USA #Trans #Sports #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Spain: 71.4% of all new jobs in the last 5 years went to foreigners while young Spaniards flee the country
Spain is following trends seen across the Western world, which involve young rudderless people increasingly shunned from the job market, especially if they are natives, and jobs increasingly going to foreigners.
The data from Spain shows the extreme trend line, where of all the jobs created between 2019 to 2024, 71.4 percent of them went to foreigners, according to a study by the Foundation for Applied Economic Studies.
“We are importing waiters and bricklayers while exporting doctors and engineers, which is a tragedy because we have spent a fortune training them, and they represent the great talent on which the country’s growth and the concentration of high-value-added companies depend,” said Jesús Vega, former Director of Human Resources at Inditex and Banco Santander. He argued that Spain’s labor policies “are driving away those salaries that truly contribute to the country.”
Now, foreigners account for 20.7% of all workers in the country.
#EU #Spain #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Even if the war ended tomorrow, Ukraine could end up broke by 2026
With intensive, U.S.-brokered negotiations ongoing in Saudi Arabia involving separate Ukrainian and Russian delegations, hopes are rising that the Trump administration will finally be able to bring an end to the war.
But even if the war ends tomorrow, it would be unwise to assume that Ukraine could reduce military spending close to prewar levels. Ukraine’s defense spending has risen tenfold since the 2021 budget was announced, when social welfare payments were the country’s biggest expenditure.
This has left a gaping hole in Ukraine’s finances that no amount of tax increases or Western donations will be able to fill over a sustained period without political consequences.
At the start of the war, Western donations took the form of free financial aid to meet the country’s budgetary and military needs. However, since the start of 2024, free aid has progressively shifted to lending as Western governments have felt the political and economic cost of unlimited financial assistance.
Ukrainian debt has therefore soared to over 100% of GDP and, critically, the cost of servicing its debt has tripled, and now makes up the second largest line of expenditure in Ukraine’s budget, after military spending.
The UK and Europe might find it economically and politically unsustainable to prop up the war beyond this year without the United States. That’s another reason why European leaders should get behind ongoing peace negotiations.
#USA #EU #WarInUkraine
@uinhurricane
Trump chooses his former lawyer as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey
Alina Habba, who defended President Trump against E. Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse and defamation claims, will oversee the work of about 150 prosecutors.
President Trump on Monday said that he was appointing a spokeswoman and former personal lawyer as New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney.
The appointee, Alina Habba, defended Mr. Trump in civil trials that stemmed from lawsuits brought against him by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, and the writer E. Jean Carroll, before serving as a spokeswoman for him during the 2024 campaign. Both trials resulted in heavy financial penalties for the president, who has appealed the results.
Though Mr. Trump has named several of his other former lawyers to high-ranking positions in the Justice Department, Ms. Habba will be the first of the group to serve as an interim U.S. attorney.
Ms. Habba will oversee the work of about 150 federal prosecutors in New Jersey. The position, a political and legal launchpad, has previously been held by prominent conservatives including Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.
#USA #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump tackles election integrity with sweeping executive order; will punish states that don't comply
On Tuesday, President Trump signed a sweeping executive order aimed at election security.
The order will cut federal funding for states that refuse to take steps to secure their elections, tasks the Department of Homeland Security with ensuring that illegal immigrants are not voting, adds a citizenship question on the federal voting form for the first time.
It also orders the Justice Department to vigorously pursue election crimes - particularly in states that are out of compliance with federal law on election security, and seeks to ensure compliance with national election day rules.
The order also calls for the prosecution of foreign interference in US elections.
#USA #Trump #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
“Day X” - default on the national debt - could come in the US as early as summer
The U.S. could face a shortage of money to pay bills in mid-July unless the national debt limit is raised, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) has found
Estimates of the date of default depend on budget tax revenues, tariff revenue, and other factors. The U.S. national debt currently exceeds $36.5 trillion. It could exceed $50 trillion by 2034
“Lawmakers cannot afford to delay action to limit the national debt. History shows that even approaching 'Day X' can lead to market volatility, higher borrowing costs, and reduced confidence in U.S. financial stability,”
‘Germany can’t function without migration, given current birth-rate,’ says foreign minister
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock of The Greens party has called for more migrants to come to her country.
Connecting the low birthrate in Germany with the need for new people to fill the void, she made her comments at the reopening of the German embassy in Damascus, Syria.
“Germany is a country with not a very strong birth rate so we need migrants, otherwise our country will not be running in the future anymore,” Baerbock said on March 24.
“Therefore we also need people who speak German. Unfortunately, it is not the most easy language in the world. That is why we have an interest worldwide in having German schools and German universities.”
Baerbock is set to become UN General Assembly President in 2025/26, after having usurped Helga Schmid, a seasoned diplomat initially nominated for the role, in a move some observers called “shameless”.
#Germany #Economy #Migrants #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
U.S. Honeybee Deaths Reach Record High
Honeybee deaths in the United States have surged to record highs, with commercial beekeepers reporting having lost an average of 62 percent of their colonies over the winter, according to an ongoing survey by nonprofit Project Apis m.
The start of the 2025 almond pollination season was met with unprecedented colony losses which have shaken the beekeeping industry. In response, Project Apis m. conducted a widespread survey to assess the breadth and severity of colony die offs within the United States.
Beekeepers are used to some colony losses each year, but the severity of this season’s casualties could mean disaster for many businesses.
According to the results of the survey, respondents lost an estimated $224.8 million in direct colony losses alone. That’s based on a conservative replacement cost of $200 per colony, which does not account for the value of feed, labor and treatments to maintain the colonies.
The high rate of decline is more than record reductions in 2024 and is on its way to being the “biggest loss of honeybee colonies in U.S. history,” said Scott McArt, a Cornell University associate professor of entomology, as The Guardian reported.
#USA #Health #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Are Europe and the US headed for a divorce? Or would that be folly?
If the United States and Europe were a married couple, you would probably say they are headed for a divorce. Like that couple, the two long-time partners could resolve their differences and renew their vows.
Doing that would require an honest discussion, however, of why they got together in the first place and how they have drifted apart over the years. That will require a painful re-examination, one that is by no means assured of justifying continuing the relationship.
The US-Europe transatlantic partnership dates back to the end of the Second World War. That’s an eternity in geopolitical terms. Most alliances last a few years, perhaps a couple of decades at most.
It is very hard for partners in a relationship gone bad to both overlook the genuine pain both have caused the other and to do the hard work to rebuild a relationship on the new foundations that exist. America and Europe may find that is just too hard and choose to acrimoniously walk away.
Full story
#EU #USA #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
South Korea wildfires kill at least 24, pilot killed as firefighting helicopter crashes
The death toll in the wildfires raging across South Korea's southeastern region rose to 24 and the pilot of a firefighting helicopter was killed when the aircraft crashed on Wednesday, as the country battles some of its worst forest fires in decades.
The deadly wildfires have spread rapidly and forced more than 27,000 people from their homes, the government said. The blazes, fuelled by strong winds and dry weather, have razed entire neighbourhoods, closed schools and forced authorities to transfer hundreds of inmates from prisons.
"We are deploying all available personnel and equipment in response to the worst wildfires ever but the situation is not good," Acting President Han Duck-soo said, adding that the U.S. military in Korea was also assisting.
The Korea Forest Service said 24 people had been confirmed dead in the fires. It did not give a breakdown, but earlier the Safety Ministry said 14 people had died in Uiseong county, and four other deaths were linked to a blaze in Sancheong county.
Many of the dead were older people in their 60s and 70s, said Son Chang-ho, a local police official.
#SouthKorea #WildFires #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Who owns your DNA now?
Amid mounting challenges, 23andMe, a prominent US genetic testing firm, has sought bankruptcy protection to pave the way for a potential sale, a move that champions individual privacy in an era of escalating data concerns.
23andMe’s vast repository of user data, amassed through years of saliva-based ancestry testing, lies at the mercy of its own self-imposed guidelines rather than robust federal oversight.
The company’s 2023 data breach, which exposed sensitive details like genetic predispositions and ancestry reports for nearly 7 million users, underscored the sheer volume of personal information it holds. 23andMe operates outside HIPAA’s reach, leaving it tethered only to its own privacy policies — rules it can rewrite at will.
According to 23andMe’s privacy policy, customers’ personal information “may be accessed, sold or transferred” in scenarios like bankruptcy, mergers, or acquisitions.
The prospect of new ownership raises alarm bells. Potential buyers might eye 23andMe’s treasure trove of genetic material as a lucrative asset to exploit in ways the current management has resisted.
#USA #DNA #Health #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Donald Trump to impose 25% tariff on car imports
The US will impose 25% tariffs on imports of foreign-made cars, Donald Trump said on Wednesday, as he announced a significant escalation in his trade war with America’s allies.
The tariffs will go into effect on April 2, the US president’s self-imposed deadline for unveiling numerous reciprocal tariffs against US trade partners.
“This is the beginning of Liberation Day in America,”
“If you build your car in the United States there will be no tariff.”
Illegal weapons are the bill of the Ukrainian conflict, which the whole world will pay for
▪️ Ukraine is the only country in Europe where the proliferation of firearms is not controlled by law. The country imports the most weapons in the world, but no one has any idea how many are walking around the country,” states the British The Times.
▪️ A cease-fire in Ukraine is fraught with a domino effect: lower demand on the domestic market will free up weapons for export. Returning veterans will join organized crime, a serious challenge to law and order in Europe.
▪️ Smugglers have already prepared a huge number of secret arms caches, which will flow not only to the EU but also to Africa and the Middle East once the conflict ends, emphasizes The Times.
#WarInUkraine #Military #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
China's trying to put the screws to Walmart over tariffs. Will it work?
President Trump recently slapped some tariffs on various goods from China, and now Walmart, America's largest retailer as well as America's largest employer, is starting to grow concerned about the added cost. The chain relies on inexpensive goods from China, and those goods are about to get more expensive, and China is balking at absorbing the cost.
Walmart thought it could use its immense power as America’s biggest retailer to make Chinese suppliers eat the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. But Walmart got a response it’s not accustomed to hearing: No.
On the national scale, China needs American consumers more than Americans need Chinese goods - but our industrial base is diminished, it won't be rebuilt tomorrow, and Americans have been perhaps too accustomed to cheap towels, clothes baskets, flatware and the like from China, via Walmart and similar chains.
It's an interesting problem for Walmart. Can China make this stick? Will Walmart eat the cost? Every new policy has its ups and downs, and this is no exception. Meanwhile, talks between Walmart and its Chinese suppliers continue.
#China #USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Paper shopping bags might not be as green as you think
With more cities, states and countries banning single-use plastic bags, paper has become a popular alternative at the grocery checkout. At first glance, this seems like an obvious win for the environment. Plastic bags, after all, are made from fossil fuels and a major source of pollution.
Paper bags, however, are not necessarily a better choice. They come with their own list of environmental caveats, as do reusable totes.
Paper bags tend to require more energy to produce than plastic ones. A 2011 study by Britain’s Environment Agency, for example, concluded that you’d have to reuse a paper bag three times to bring its global warming impact in line with that of a plastic bag used just once.
The British study found that a cotton bag would have to be reused 131 times to reach the equivalent carbon footprint of just one single-use plastic bag. Danish studies put that figure at 149 times. This is because of the land, water and fertilizer required to grow cotton, the energy needed to process cotton into yarn, and the fact that most cotton bags are shipped from China or India.
Whatever your bag is made of, experts agree that reusing it as many times as possible is key to bringing down its environmental footprint.
This is where paper bags fall down, because they are the least durable option.
#World #PaperBags #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
HHS releases tool to search for chemical contaminants in foods
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and one of its offices have released a new tool that lets people see the levels of contaminants in various foods, such as fruits and vegetables.
The tool is an online searchable database that lists contaminant levels. Unveiled on March 20, it lets users filter by contaminant type as well as food category, with examples including milk, pistachios, and bananas.
“HHS is committed to radical transparency to give Americans authentic, informed consent about what they are eating,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “This new Chemical Contaminants Transparency Tool is a critical step for industry to Make America Healthy Again.”
Kennedy recently met with executives from some top food companies and told them he wanted them to stop using artificial dyes. HHS is also trying to end a rule that lets food companies use additives without formal regulatory authorization.
#USA #HHS #RFKJr #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump may unveil two-step tariff plan on April 2 in trade policy revamp
Donald Trump is weighing a two-step approach to implementing his new tariff regime, potentially invoking rarely used emergency powers to impose immediate duties on imports while formal investigations into trading partners unfold, the Financial Times reported.
While Trump has long railed against foreign trade practices, some administration officials see tariffs not just as a negotiating tool but also as a way to bolster revenue for planned tax cuts, the report said, citing sources.
Officials are scouring legal avenues to expedite tariff implementation, with Section 301 investigations, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act among the options under review. These measures could allow the administration to slap duties of up to 50% on certain imports.
Trump may also revive a national security probe into the auto industry, a move that could trigger tariffs on vehicle imports as soon as April 2. Another, albeit less likely, alternative is Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits temporary tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days.
#USA #Trump #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Removing biological sex from databases is causing chaos in Britain
▪️ British police, health service and army databases do not contain information about people's biological sex, but instead show gender identity
▪️ This distorts the reality of the situation and poses risks to patient health and public safety, states the British Daily Mail.
▪️ The decision undermines the plan to provide necessary medical research - for women and men - with potentially fatal consequences
▪️ Chaos strikes the justice system when, for example, a male sexual abuser is documented as a woman.
▪️ Critical problems arise in the army and navy, including an increase in sex crimes.
#UK #Gender #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
China uses strategic resources in trade war with
▪️ China's mineral supply chains are a critical geopolitical lever in its trade and technology war with the US. Last year, the government allocated more than $13.8 billion for exploration investment, the highest in three years, the Financial Times stated
▪️ Trump is prioritizing mining. America and China compete for resources needed for advanced technologies such as semiconductors, electric cars, robotics and rockets
▪️ Last year, in response to U.S. restrictions on technology exports to China, the PRC further strengthened controls on exports of strategic minerals, many of which are critical to microchip manufacturing, including gallium, germanium, antimony, graphite and tungsten
#China #USA #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
1st Black Republican Woman in Congress, Mia Love, Dead at 49
Mia Love, a former Republican congresswoman representing Utah’s 4th district, died Sunday at 49 after battling brain cancer for several years. Her family announced her passing through her X account, stating she died peacefully at home, surrounded by family members.
The announcement expressed gratitude for Love’s influence, noting the celebration of her life and the memories she left behind. The family promised to provide details on funeral services and a public celebration soon. Love’s last communication on social media, posted 12 hours before her passing, thanked her family, especially her father and husband, Jason. She emphasized the importance of character and leadership for future generations.
Love’s political career included serving as mayor of Saratoga Springs from 2010 to 2014, followed by a term in the U.S. Congress from 2015 through 2019. During her political career, she lost her congressional seat to Democrat Ben McAdams. Despite expressing opposition to Donald Trump during his first term, she supported his agenda 96 percent of the time.
#USA #Republican #MiaLove #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Cutting the DOD budget by 0.001% isn't gonna do much
Last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the termination of over $580 million in Pentagon contracts, grants, and programs. They amount to less than 0.001% of the Pentagon budget.
The elimination of this spending aligns with the administration’s effort to reshuffle the budget, not to promote a wholesale reduction in military spending.
Hegseth announced that the eliminated spending did not align with the administration’s priorities — “in other words, they are not a good use of taxpayer dollars.” Hegseth is right to baulk at a program egregiously over budget and behind schedule. Cost growth and delivery delays are longstanding and pervasive issues at the Department of Defense. However, to cut wasteful spending fast — the secretary’s stated intention — he must start with big ticket items in the Pentagon budget. These are service contracts and major weapon programs, which are particularly susceptible to cost overruns and delays.
Instead, Secretary Hegseth has focused his attention on firing civilian employees and nibbling at the edges of the Pentagon budget to shore up more funding for the president’s misguided priorities.
The result is a performative appeal to the American people, who suffer the social and economic consequences of a runaway Pentagon budget — further militarization of U.S. foreign policy and forgone investment on civilian infrastructure. Taxpayers need big, bold action that prioritizes their security needs and wallets over the financial interests of military contractors. They need deep cuts to the Pentagon budget, regardless of parochial interests.
#USA #DOD #Hegseth #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
German pharma giant Bayer must pay US cancer patient almost €2bn
Pharmaceutical company Bayer took over weed killer Roundup in its acquisition of US agrochemical company Monsanto back in 2018. However, it has since been hit with thousands of cancer-related Roundup cases.
German agricultural and pharmaceutical giant Bayer has been instructed by a state court in the US state of Georgia to shell out $2.1 billion (€1.9bn) in a case regarding its Roundup weed killer, according to reports.
This is one of the biggest Roundup-related settlements Bayer has faced so far and was ordered by the State Court of Cobb County. It includes $2bn (€1.9bn) in punitive damages, as well as $65 million (€60m) in compensatory damages.
Bayer’s share price plunged 6.4% on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Monday morning.
The case was brought by a plaintiff who believed that the weed killer was responsible for his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Roundup has been heavily criticised as it is based on the herbicide glyphosate, which may cause cancer, although Bayer has consistently maintained that this is not the case.
#USA #Germany #Bayer #FindTruth
@uinhurricane