Note: This article contains language some readers might find offensive. The city of Alexandra, Virginia, is drawing fire for painting pride flags that include transgender symbols over the crosswalks in historic Old Town Alexandria. The rainbow crosswalks are permanent, City Council member R. Kirk McPike told a local publication, The Zebra. “Last June, in response to resident requests, I brought a memo before [the] Council, which my colleagues supported, asking staff to put together a proposal for permanent Pride street artwork,” McPike told The Zebra. “Staff brought a proposal to us last fall, which [the] Council approved, leading to these beautiful new crosswalks.” He also said in a tweet that the unveiling of the rainbow crosswalks was met with “great media fanfare” and an “exciting drag story time” in which men dressed as women in drag read books and danced for children. In addition to his role on the Alexandria City Council, McPike serves as chief of staff to a California Democratic congressman, Rep. Mark Takano. McPike is married to a man. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. What a great time at the Alexandria Pride Festival! We opened the rainbow crosswalk with great media fanfare, had an exciting drag story time, and dozens of booths offering information and services to the many residents who came by! pic.twitter.com/dykdeAEKPh— R. Kirk McPike (@KirkMcPike) June 1, 2024 Images of the flags prompted strong criticism from users of X, formerly Twitter. “Every day is difficult, but June is incredibly hard if you are a parent trying to save your child from the clutches of the trans cult,” tweeted Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice. Every day is difficult but June is incredibly hard if you are a parent trying to save your child from the clutches of the trans cult. https://t.co/PTAoH6w2cL— Tiffany Justice (@4TiffanyJustice) June 10, 2024 Writer James Lindsay called the gender ideology-promoting crosswalks “a deliberate provocation,” while activist “Billboard Chris,” who advocates against attempted gender-transition procedures for children, argued that the modern era of LGBTQ promotion will “go down in history as the era when humans adopted a sexual deviance and child mutilation cult as the state religion.” Looks like shit https://t.co/avthLEQxQk— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) June 10, 2024 Republican communications adviser Sophie Delquie called the move a “disgrace.” “Historic Old Town, Alexandria painted the trans flag on the crosswalks outside City Hall, *permanently*,” she tweeted. “Historic Old Town was founded in 1749, making it older than Washington DC, Georgetown, and Maryland, and is a landmark to our nation’s history. What a disgrace.” Historic Old Town, Alexandria painted the trans flag on the crosswalks outside City Hall, *permanently*.Historic Old Town was founded in 1749, making it older than Washington DC, Georgetown, and Maryland, and is a landmark to our nation’s history.What a disgrace. https://t.co/PRahDHgPjj— Sophie Louise Delquié (@SophieDelquie) June 10, 2024 The city of Alexandria kicked off its “Alexandria Pride” activities with a “Pride fair” on June 1 and a “drag story hour” inside City Hall. Images of the drag story hour show toddlers examining a book held by what appears to be a drag queen—a man wearing a wig with makeup on. “The City offers residents a variety of events and opportunities to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) Pride Month in June and to recognize LGBTQ+ people and their contributions to Alexandria’s diverse community and the nation,” the city’s website states. “The Alexandria LGBTQ+ Task Force in partnership with the Alexandria Library, Department of Community and Human Services, and many community partners hosts an annual Alexandria Pride fair,” the website continues. “Previous Fairs have provided information about LGBTQ+ inclusive services in Alexandria, free and confidential health testing and vaccines, LGBTQ+ Family Storytime, art and poetry workshops, music, refreshments and LGBTQ+ Pride swag.” The post Alexandria Slammed for Painting ‘Permanent’ Trans ‘Pride Artwork’ Over Crosswalks in Historic Old Town appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week complained that governments have allegedly been left without the necessary tools to “protect people from misinformation.” This “dire” warning came as part of Trudeau’s effort to have the Online Harms Act (Bill C-63) – one of the most controversial of its kind pieces of censorship legislation in Canada of late – pushed across the finish line in the country’s parliament. C-63 has gained notoriety among civil rights and privacy advocates because of some of its provisions around “hate speech,” “hate propaganda,” and “hate crime.” Under the first two, people would be punished before they commit any transgression, but also retroactively. However, in a podcast interview for the New York Times, Trudeau defended C-63 as a solution to the “hate speech” problem, and clearly, a necessary “tool,” since according to this politician, other avenues to battle real or imagined hate speech and crimes resulting from it online have been exhausted. Not one to balk at speaking out of both sides of his mouth, Trudeau at one point essentially admits that the more control governments have (and the bill is all about control, critics say, regardless of how its sponsors try to sugarcoat it) the more likely they are to abuse it. He nevertheless goes on to declare that new legislative methods of “protecting people from misinformation” are needed and, in line with this, talk up C-63 as some sort of balanced approach to the problem. But it’s difficult to see that “balance” in C-63, which is currently debated in the House of Commons. If it becomes law, it will allow the authorities to keep people under house arrest should they decide these people could somewhere down the line commit “hate crime or hate propaganda” – a chilling application of the concept of “pre-crime.” These persons could also be banned from accessing the internet. The bill seeks to not only produce a new law but also amend the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act, and one of the provisions is no less than life in prison for those found to have committed a hate crime offense along with another criminal act. As for hate speech, people whose statements run afoul of C-63 would face fines equivalent to some $51,000. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Trudeau Pushes Online Censorship Bill To “Protect” People From “Misinformation” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Elena, a passionate traveler, uploaded a captivating video in 2015 that has since amassed over 10 million views. This viral sensation captures a heartwarming yet frustrating scene of an elephant calf trying to navigate a small puddle of water while crossing a road. The video, filmed in an unspecified location featuring African elephants, showcases the... The post Baby elephant unable to cross stream gets helping hand from herd appeared first on Animal Channel.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis noted how the left threatens Americans' safety through Soros-backed prosecutors after nationally syndicated radio host Mark Levin brought up the left’s war on the middle class. During an appearance on the June 9 edition of Fox News’s Life Liberty and Levin, DeSantis tore into President Joe Biden and Soros-backed prosecutors such as former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren and former Osceola County State Attorney Monique Worrell. “A lot of these big city mayors and prosecutors deserve a lot of the blame for the crime, but Biden is right in there with them on wanting to put people back on the street. He supports eliminating cash bail. He supports all these Soros-funded prosecutors across the country,” DeSantis said. The governor went on to mention that he removed Warren and Worrell, adding, “They are gone because they put their ideology and their political agenda over their duty to enforce the law, and that put people in their jurisdictions at risk. So we are not standing for that in the state of Florida. Biden wants to facilitate that all across this country.” On June 6, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Worrell’s appeal of her suspension, after DeSantis ousted her from office for “neglect of duty” and “incompetence.” Specifically, DeSantis made the case that she had failed to observe mandatory minimums for serious offenses. The governor stated that Worrell “has authorized or allowed practices or policies that have systematically permitted violent offenders, drug traffickers, serious-juvenile offenders, and pedophiles to evade incarceration, when otherwise warranted under Florida law.” Worrell also signed a pledge not to enforce any laws protecting children from genital mutilation and chemical castration. Warren, the other Soros-backed DA suspended by DeSantis, signed both this pledge and a similar one pledging not to enforce laws protecting babies from abortion.  George Soros admitted in an op-ed to supporting what he calls “prosecutors who support reform.”  The Capital Research Center documented thirty of these radical leftist public officials, including infamous names like Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and former St. Louis District Attorney Kimberly Gardner, who Soros has supported through donations to political action committees and funded trips and conferences. Levin mentioned Worrell’s recent defeat in court, before lauding DeSantis for taking action:  “This is what I mean: Conservatives need to take risks. I don’t mean reckless risks. They need to follow their principles and take them through action. And this is one of the things you've been doing as governor over, and over, and over again. It's not enough for conservatives to whine and complain and wring their hands, when we are in positions of power, we actually have to do things and if people look at your experience and your success as governor, this is what it’s about. It’s, ‘I promise this, these are my principles, I’m implementing it, and we’ll duke it out if we’re sued.’”  Conservatives are under attack! Contact ABC News (818) 460-7477, CBS News (212) 975-3247 and NBC News (212) 664-6192 and demand they report Soros’ connections to radical district attorneys throughout the country.

Monday’s episode of CBS Mornings included a segment on declining interest in electric vehicles. CBS admitted the complications, with correspondent Ben Tracy citing customers’ desire not to feel “forced” in their car purchases. Co-host Tony Dokoupil began with a survey from AAA which “says 63 percent of potential car buyers surveyed are unlikely, they say, to purchase an EV for their next vehicle.” Instead, as Tracy discovered in his interview with Ford production manager Courtney Reeves, customers were far more interested in hybrid cars. Ford saw a 30 percent increase in hybrid sales, just in the past year: [Hybrids] hit the sweet spot for consumers who want to save on fuel costs or lower their emissions but don't yet want a fully electric vehicle because of concerns including price, range anxiety, and evolving battery technology.     In his interview with Tracy, Andrew Frick, the president of Ford Blue, called hybrid cars the “bridge from gas to electric,” explaining that “customers obviously [want] to make the right choices for themselves” and Ford “want[s] to cater to our customers.” Tracy re-aired part of a 2022 interview with General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who wanted to “lead in EV’s, full stop,” with the company resolving to end all gas vehicle sales by 2035.  Eric Tingwall, an editor at MotorTrend, told Tracy he was not impressed with these goals, asserting that “any automaker that made an announcement saying they would be all EV by 2030 or 2035 has to be seriously rethinking that right now.” Tracy supported this by reporting that “Automakers, including Ford and GM, have postponed certain EV models and battery plants, calling into question President Biden's goal of 50 percent of new car sales being electric by 2030.” But last Wednesday, Barra was interviewed by NBC’s Tom Costello, who complained that EV progress was impaired by red states and by former President Donald Trump’s criticism, suggesting that a second Trump presidency would promote further trouble for the industry. Barra seemed apprehensive of the Biden administration’s EV goals, stating “We’re gonna give customers a choice,” even though General Motors was previously determined to accomplish their “all-EV” goal: TOM COSTELLO: But EV’s are more popular in blue states than red. Former President Trump has criticized EV’s.  Are you concerned that if President Trump becomes president again he could undermine the progress of EV’s? MARY BARRA: We’ve worked with the Trump administration. We’ve worked with the Biden administration. But the plan we're in, the strategy that we're executing is one that we think is right for the long term. COSTELLO: Bottom line, GM is still putting the gas pedal down or the accelerator down on EV’s? BARRA: Absolutely. We’re gonna give customers a choice. Returning to Monday, CBS closed the segment with further commentary on the unpredictability of automotive’s future. “It's like a luxury really when you think about your car note, and insurance, and the gas,” Jericka Duncan observed while Dokoupil voiced concerns about the duration of the “long-term,” but still optimistically declared, “We’ll get there.”  The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CBS Mornings 6/10/2024 07:30:13 AM EST TONY DOKOUPIL: And for "Climate Watch" today we are looking at cars. What type of car would you consider for your next vehicle? Are you sticking with gas, taking a chance on electric, or maybe something in between?  Well, the Biden administration wants you to drive cleaner, they say, but electric vehicle sales, not growing as fast as they hoped. In fact, AAA says 63 percent of potential car buyers surveyed are unlikely, they say, to purchase an EV for their next vehicle. So, Ben Tracy went to Detroit to find out what people might be interested in buying instead. [Cuts to video] BEN TRACY: At this Ford plant in Dearborn, Michigan, they make the best-selling vehicle in the country–the F-150 pickup truck. COURTNEY REEVES: Every 53 seconds we have a truck come off this assembly line. TRACY: Courtney Reeves is a production manager. She says on this day, one out of every seven trucks rolling off the line is a hybrid.  TRACY: And what was that like a year ago? REEVES: A year ago it was one out of ten. TRACY: One out of ten.  REEVES: Yes. TRACY: So a 30% increase. REEVES: Correct. So the consumer is demanding this product. TRACY: Hybrids, which run on battery power and gasoline, are suddenly hot again. Sales had been falling since 2014 but started to rebound in 2020 and spiked last year. Hybrids now make up nine percent of new car sales compared to about seven percent for electric vehicles. They hit the sweet spot for consumers who want to save on fuel costs or lower their emissions but don't yet want a fully electric vehicle because of concerns including price, range anxiety, and evolving battery technology. So, hybrid is the safe space for the electric curious? ANDREW FRICK: Yeah, hybrid is a very good space right now for the electric curious. (Transition) We actually see hybrid as a bridge from gas to electric. TRACY: Andrew Frick is president of Ford Blue which makes the company’s gas and hybrid vehicles. He says Ford now plans to quadruple hybrid production in the next five years. TRACY: In a new ad campaign, the company is positioning itself as pro-choice. FORD AD: Gas powered, hybrid, or all electric, the power is yours. TRACY: I assume there's customer data that shows people did not want to feel like they were being forced into an electric car. FRICK: Yeah, we see customers obviously wanting to make the right choices for themselves. TRACY: Is it fair to say you're basically going to make whatever car people are willing to buy? FRICK: We want to cater to our customers. TRACY: The Biden administration has used regulations to push automakers to rapidly electrify their vehicles, because in the U.S., transportation is the top source of planet-warming emissions.  Over its lifetime, an EV produces 50 percent less CO2 than a gas-powered vehicle. A hybrid cuts it by 25 percent. So, decarbonizing the American auto fleet would not happen as quickly. MARY BARRA: We want to lead in EV’s, full stop. TRACY: In 2022 we talked to General Motors CEO Mary Barra, as the company said it would stop selling gas-powered vehicles by 2035.  Is this change to all-EV inevitable at this point? BARRA: I think it's inevitable. ERIC TINGWALL: I think any automaker that made an announcement saying they would be all EV by 2030 or 2035 has to be seriously rethinking that right now. TRACY: Eric Tingwall with MotorTrend says EV prices are dropping, and sales are still growing but at a slower pace. Automakers, including Ford and GM, have postponed certain EV models and battery plants, calling into question President Biden's goal of 50 percent of new car sales being electric by 2030.  Does that seem possible at all at this point? TINGWALL: Possible, maybe. Likely, almost certainly not. I think the long-term future is electric. The near-term future is hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, and some gas vehicles, as well. TRACY: Making that road to an all-electric future longer than expected. For CBS Mornings, I'm Ben Tracy in Detroit. [Cuts back to live] JERICKA DUNCAN: Yeah, whether gas or electric, cars are so expensive now. It's like a luxury really when you think about your car note, and insurance, and the gas. NATE BURLESON: Yeah. I like the way it was framed in the report about people curious. E-curious. DOKOUPIL: E-curious. DUNCAN: E-curious, yeah. DOKOUPIL: Hybrid space.  BURLESON: Yeah. DOKOUPIL: The electric is the long-term but then I don’t know how long that long-term is. We'll get there. BURLESON: Hmm. That’s a good point. DUNCAN: All right.  (...)

A woman is dead after a female suspect allegedly stole the car in which the woman was sitting and crashed it into a federal building in Washington, D.C.At around 12:15 p.m., 55-year-old Leslie Marie Gaines was finishing up a physical therapy session at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital near the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. Gaines' daughter was then going to drive her home, but Gaines suddenly experienced blurry vision and problems with her legs.'She didn’t harm nobody. Never had an enemy. You couldn’t find a better person.'First responders determined that Gaines had not suffered a stroke and that her vital signs were normal except for some elevated blood-sugar levels. They offered to take Gaines to the emergency room entrance in an ambulance, but her daughter claimed she could drive her over since it was in the same medical complex.Once the daughter arrived at the emergency room entrance, she exited her vehicle and left it running, ostensibly because Gaines was still sitting inside, awake and alert, her daughter later claimed. The daughter then went into the hospital to find a wheelchair for her mother. After speaking briefly with a nurse, the daughter turned to look outside and discovered with horror that her car — and her mother — were missing. She immediately called 911 to report the apparently stolen vehicle.Just after 1:30 p.m., a Metro Police captain happened to be in the area when he spotted a white SUV speeding and otherwise barreling erratically down 6th Street NW. He then watched as the SUV crashed into the building that houses a local U.S. Attorney's Office.The driver of the SUV, later identified as 22-year-old Kayla Kenisha Brown, allegedly attempted to flee the area on foot, but she was quickly apprehended. Afterward, the captain realized that there was a passenger still inside the crashed vehicle. The woman was later identified as Gaines, and her condition at that point was described as "unconscious" and "unresponsive." The captain attempted to render aid and eventually transported her to George Washington Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.Brown was likewise taken to George Washington Hospital for treatment for possible injuries suffered during the crash, but that was not her first trip to a hospital that day. Several hours earlier, someone from her residence had called 911 and asked for help before the call was disconnected.When officers arrived at the residence, Brown's parents claimed that she had been "acting crazy" for the past three days after meeting up with a man from Instagram. They believe she took "some sort of drug."First responders then evaluated Brown and found she had a heartrate and blood pressure that were both much too high for someone her age. At about 12:40 p.m. that day, they transported her to MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the same medical complex where Gaines' daughter's car was stolen about a half-hour later.Surveillance images from court documents seem to show Brown, wearing a coffee-colored sweatsuit and yellow Crocs, approach Gaines' daughter's car and then drive away in it.Officers initially charged Brown with felony murder, kidnapping, and unarmed carjacking. However, D.C. Superior Court Judge Heide Herrmann dropped the murder and kidnapping charges, claiming that prosecutors had probable cause to support only the unarmed carjacking charge.Prosecutors claimed they will present their case for the kidnapping and murder charges against Brown to a grand jury. Brown's attorney, Sylvia Smith, noted in a hearing on Friday before a different D.C. judge, Judge Renee Raymond, that her client had apparently not taken the car violently as it had been left running. She also argued that Gaines' cause of death still remains unknown at this point and that she may have died before the crash.Raymond ordered Brown to be held without bond, claiming that Brown's "behavior demonstrated … a dangerous series of actions."Meanwhile, Gaines' loved ones are devastated by their sudden loss."She’d give you the clothes off her back, the food out of her kitchen if you need, three daughters that loved her to death," Erica Gaines said of her deceased sister, Leslie Marie. "She didn’t harm nobody. Never had an enemy. "You couldn’t find a better person."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Bailey Anne Kennedy is the "first trans woman" to win the Miss Maryland USA competition, the pageant said. A "transgender female" is a biological male who identifies as female.The pageant added that Kennedy also is the "first Asian-American" to win the title, the first to "capture the crown at age 31," the first "married woman to win the crown in 67 years," and the "first military officer's wife." 'I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up.'Kennedy posted the following message June 2 on Instagram after the win:Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, and it doesn’t mean that you aren’t worthy of these opportunities. The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society.For the longest time, I never had the need to tell anyone. Not because it’s a secret, but it’s none of anyone’s business. To those who matter to me, they don’t care. Those that care about knowing such private & personal details, don’t matter.I can’t wait to start my reign and get back to the USO office and start serving lunches & personally thank our active duty service members like I originally plan to yesterday because that’s what actually matters to me.In an interview with Maryland-based station WDVM-TV — also known as DC News Now — Kennedy said the victory was a "whirlwind because I knew it was bigger than me. I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up.”Kennedy also felt support from the “sisterhood” of women in the competition, WDVM also noted.The new Miss Maryland USA noted to the station the hope that the victory "will open up some doors, open up some hearts for people to see that there are many aspects of [the] LGBT community out there, and I hope I can be a positive contribution to society in making a difference like the USO program like I’m working with.”The Daily Mail said Kennedy "married her military husband less than a year ago" and is now looking to compete for the Miss USA title in August in Los Angeles.Newsweek said conservatives who've spoken out against Kennedy may have forgotten that former President Donald Trump in 2012 overruled a Miss Universe pageant ban of a transgender contestant. Trump at the time owned the Miss Universe Organization, and Miss USA is part of it.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

There have been rumors for a long time about precisely where the Anno series will go next. A fan-favorite destination ripe for speculation has always been the Roman Empire, and finally it’s happening. Anno 117: Pax Romana is sending strategy players back to the second century, and even though there’s not much announced yet there’s still plenty to be excited about. Continue reading Legendary strategy city builder series heads back to the Roman Empire MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best city building games, Best strategy games, Best simulation games

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