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Its influence on better-known ancient civilizations is unknown, but may well have been an important missing piece in our understanding.

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New research has shed light on how our minds make sense of the infinite.

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On Monday, ABC’s World News Tonight anchor David Muir felt compelled to double down on his fake fact check of former President Trump from the September 10 debate by touting a new FBI report claiming “a dramatic drop in violent crime” and contrary to what voters feel. But, as per the great John Lott Jr. of Crime Prevention Research Center, it’s not as simple as the pro-Kamala Harris media want you to believe.     First, Muir heralded the report in the lead-in to the voice-over report from chief Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas: “Next, tonight, one of the issues in this presidential race, violent crime in the U.S. Tonight, the FBI reporting a dramatic drop in violent crime. The latest numbers from 2023 showing murders down more than 11 percent. The FBI says it’s the biggest decline in decades.” Thomas did his part as well in touting the “dramatic” and “stunning” drops “in violent crime” with murders having seen “the biggest drop in decades”, shrinking by 11 percent. After at least conceding the report only dealt with “crimes reported to police” and left out roughly six percent of the population, Thomas played a soundbite of Donald Trump warning of violent crimes like assault and rape to claim things are closer to peachy than doom and glom: But the new FBI numbers show in addition to a dramatic drop in homicides, which are overwhelmingly committed with guns, there’s also been a decrease in rape, down 9.4 percent and aggravated assault down nearly three percent. Decreases also seen in property crime, burglary, and larceny. The only significant category which jumped in 2023 was car theft, which increased by nearly 13 percent but, like other crime categories, is trending down this year, as well.  Thomas closed the quick story by celebrating Harris’s handlers as “embracing the new numbers, saying its confirms the administration’s efforts are working.” He threw those concerned about crime a bone, but it’s safe to say he was making a coded reference to the need for European-style gun control: “[T]he fact remains that the U.S. is far more violent than other major powers and crime remains a significant issue for many voters[.]” Lott had a post breaking down the issues with this wholesale declaration (which, as he noted, is similar to how jobs numbers often are revised up or down) (click “expand”): The newly released FBI data...should be compared to the Bureau of Justice Statistics data, which showed 4.1% increase in reported serious violent crime in 2023 (rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, but even though murder isn’t included, it covers only about 1 percent of reported violent crimes and even less of total violent crimes). USA Today’s headline on the new FBI reported crime data claims “Violent crime dropped for second straight year in 2023, including murder and rape.” There are two errors in their headline. First, that it is the FBI’s measure of reported crime that fell, but that is not the same as all crime nor is it the only measure of reported crime. So they could have written, the FBI’s measure of reported violent crime fell in 2023. The second error is that they are wrong claiming that this was the second straight year, where an adjustment in the data showed a 4.5% increase in 2022. Originally, the FBI said that violent crime had fallen by 2.1% and now they say it increased by 4.5%. Just like the Bureau of Labor Statistics overestimated the number of jobs created. After running through a serious of liberal media headlines, he pointed out that “[n]one of these stories mention that less than two weeks ago the Bureau of Justice Statistic’s National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) showed a 55% increase in serious violent crime (rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) that most closely matches the FBI data since 2020 and a 19% increase since 2019.” And there was also this crucial tidbit: “[W]hile murder fell by 16.2% from 2020 to 2023, it is still above the pre-COVID levels by 9.6%.” To see the relevant ABC transcript from September 23, click “expand.” ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir September 23, 2024 6:42 p.m. Eastern [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: FBI: Violent Crime Drops Across U.S.] DAVID MUIR: Next tonight, one of the issues in this presidential race, violent crime in the U.S. Tonight, the FBI reporting a dramatic drop in violent crime. The latest numbers from 2023 showing murders down more than 11 percent. The FBI says it’s the biggest decline in decades. Here’s Pierre Thomas. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking News; FBI: Violent Crime Drops Across U.S.; Murders Down 11.6%, Largest Decline in Decades] PIERRE THOMAS: Tonight, the FBI recording dramatic declines in violent crime, especially murders, which saw the biggest drop in decades. Murders down in 2023 a stunning 11 percent. AH DATALYTICS CO-FOUNDER JEFF ASHER: We have data back to 1960. We’ve now seen the largest decrease in murder ever recorded. THOMAS: The new numbers, which are actual crimes reported to police, and which cover 94 percent of the American population and all major U.S. cities, come as crime has been hotly debated on the campaign trail. DONALD TRUMP [on 08/20/24]: You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread, you get shot, you get mugged, you get raped, you get — whatever it may be. THOMAS: But the new FBI numbers show in addition to a dramatic drop in homicides, which are overwhelmingly committed with guns, there’s also been a decrease in rape, down 9.4 percent and aggravated assault down nearly three percent. Decreases also seen in property crime, burglary, and larceny. The only significant category which jumped in 2023 was car theft, which increased by nearly 13 percent but, like other crime categories, is trending down this year, as well. The Harris campaign is embracing the new numbers, saying its confirms the administration’s efforts are working, but the fact remains that the U.S. is far more violent than other major powers and crime remains a significant issue for many voters, David. MUIR: Pierre Thomas live in Washington. Pierre, thank you.

According to numerous reports, RFK Jr. has been caught in “an affair” with New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi. The headlines for every leftist news outlet express utter outrage over the scandal. “Married RFK Jr., 70, Bragged He Had ‘Intimate’ Photos of Reporter Olivia Nuzzi, 31” —The Daily Beast “Reporter Olivia Nuzzi’s relationship with RFK Jr. triggers backlash” —The Washington Post “New York magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi placed on leave after disclosing RFK relationship” —CNN “The Reported RFK Jr.–Olivia Nuzzi 'Relationship' Casts New Scrutiny on All Journalists” —Vanity Fair That’s just a small sampling of the articles out there. Clearly the mainstream media is upset by their relationship, given that Kennedy is a married man and the fact that the relationship compromised journalistic integrity, since Nuzzi was supposed to be acting as an impartial reporter. While much remains to be learned about Kennedy and Nuzzi’s relationship, Liz Wheeler says that “there are red flags in this story.” - YouTube www.youtube.com For example, Kennedy and Nuzzi “did not have physical contact,” which was corroborated by CNN reports that stated that the relationship “was digital in nature.” A spokesman for RFK Jr.’s team also stated that “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview that she requested, which yielded a hit piece.” More may be revealed about the nature of their relationship in time, but as of now, only one thing is clear: The media’s outrage is 100% due to RFK Jr. endorsing Donald Trump and 0% because journalists care about morality or journalistic integrity. “They know that RFK’s endorsement of Trump impacts a specific demographic of voter that Democrats think they own ... women,” says Liz. “So when RFK Jr. endorsed Donald Trump's campaign, Democrats panicked … because this demographic of women that they need to vote for Kamala Harris” is “suddenly at risk of voting for Donald Trump.” “Enter a character assassination against RFK Jr.,” says Liz. The media pretending to care about journalistic integrity is easily debunked. Liz lists three perfect examples. One: “Who's been [Kamala Harris’] best friend for the past decades? The head of ABC News. Yes, the same ABC news that staged that biased debate.” Two: The existence in media of “George Stephanopoulos, who is the fixer for the Clintons” (and Joe Biden’s close friend). Three: Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary of the Biden administration, was in a relationship with and shares an adopted daughter with former CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. And as for the Democrats caring about sexual impropriety, that’s also easily debunked. “While [New York officials] were locking people in their homes during COVID … they were themselves holding drug-fueled sex parties,” says Liz, playing a clip of undercover footage of Dr. Jay Varma, former senior adviser for public health, admitting that during lockdowns he and other top-ranking officials were attending secret parties and engaging in all kinds of debauchery. “I actually was the one who convinced the mayor to make it a [vaccine] mandate,” Varma said in the secret footage. “We went to some like, underground, like, dance party, like underneath a bank in Wall Street, and we were all rolling. We were all taking Molly, and everybody’s high.” In another undercover video, Varma admitted that he and his wife threw a drug-fueled sex party themselves during COVID. “It was fun. We all like, took like, you know, Molly, and it was like eight or nine of us. … Everybody had a blast because everybody was like so pent up,” he said, adding that he enjoyed being “naked with friends.” “Meanwhile, everyday people like you and me and our family members [were] locked down in New York, not allowed to gather, facing vaccine mandates, and not allowed to be with our dying grandmothers in the hospital because people like that were too busy being sexual perverts in a basement bank on Wall Street,” says Liz. There’s also the matter of rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, who has been arrested and charged with a slew of sex crimes. “It's funny to me because the mainstream media” is “pretending to faint onto their couches about this non-story about RFK,” says Liz. “Where's their coverage of Sean Diddy Combs?” “He's been charged by federal authorities for sex crimes and yet the media is barely covering this at all … because a lot of these people have probably been involved at least in a tertiary way,” she says. “That’s why the media doesn’t care about this actual sexual impropriety.” And finally, the best example of all: Kamala Harris and Willie Brown. “You want to talk about disgusting sexual behavior? A 29-year-old having an affair with a 60-year-old married man in order to obtain a political position — you don't think that's disgusting?” asks Liz. To hear more of her commentary, watch the clip above. Want more from Liz Wheeler?To enjoy more of Liz’s based commentary, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.