A recent study conducted by the University of Virginia School of Medicine, published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, has revealed that out-of-body experiences (OBEs) can significantly enhance empathy and emotional connectedness. Dr. Marina Weiler, a neuroscientist with UVA’s Division of Perceptual Studies and lead author, explained that OBEs can trigger profound psychological transformations, fostering a deeper sense of understanding and compassion. “Empathy is a fundamental aspect of human interaction that allows individuals to connect deeply with others, fostering trust and understanding,” Weiler noted. OBEs, in which a person feels as though they are outside their physical body, can arise from various causes, such as sensory deprivation, hypnosis, or even spontaneously in critical situations. While often linked to religious or supernatural events, Weiler and her colleagues’ research frames these experiences within a scientific context, underscoring their psychological and neurological significance. Central to the study is the concept of “ego dissolution,” a state where one’s sense of individuality weakens, leading to a greater connection with the world. Researchers suggest that OBEs stimulate brain regions like the temporoparietal junction and the default mode network, which may amplify empathy and compassion. “We propose that OBEs might engender these profound changes through the process of ego dissolution,” the researchers stated, noting that these changes can have lasting effects on behavior and how individuals perceive others. The study’s conclusions are bolstered by numerous first-hand accounts. One participant described her OBE as being enveloped in “100% unconditional love,” fundamentally altering her worldview and instilling deep compassion. According to the study, 55% of participants who experienced an OBE reported life-altering changes, while 71% noted long-term benefits. These findings suggest that OBEs could be harnessed to promote empathy and social cohesion. Dr. Weiler and her team believe that understanding the mechanisms behind OBEs could pave the way for therapeutic applications aimed at enhancing empathy, with broad societal implications. Experts argue that studying altered states of consciousness like OBEs may offer valuable insights for fostering empathy in modern society. However, the researchers emphasize that further investigation is necessary to fully grasp the effects of OBEs and the neurobiological processes at play. The post Out-of-body experiences affect empathy levels, research shows appeared first on Anomalien.com.

The Onion, a Chicago-based liberal satire publication that was recently purchased by longtime Democratic donor and Twilio co-founder Jeff Lawson, stooped to a new low Tuesday in a desperate attempt to score points against President Donald Trump. The satire publication made a punchline out of the death of Corey Comperatore — a heroic former firefighter who died trying to save his family from bullets intended for Kamala Harris' political opponent. During the presidential debate, Harris said, "I'm gonna invite you to attend one of Donald Trump's rallies because its a really interesting thing to watch." Harris suggested that those in attendance will notice "people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom." The Onion tweeted, "FACT CHECK[.] Trump: 'People don't leave my rallies.' TRUE: They're carried out in body bags." On July 13, failed assassin and ActBlue donor Thomas Matthew Crooks fired several shots at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 'Pure evil.' Crooks only hit the ear of the man Democrats had characterized as a "clear and present danger." However, his trigger pulls still left one American family without its patriarch. Dr. Jim Sweetland, an emergency department physician, told CBS News that he had attempted to save a man shot at the rally, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head and collapsed between the bleachers. "There was lots of blood," said the doctor. "I looked up to see his family, who witnessed my efforts and resuscitation, and the look on their faces said it all." When the gunshots first rang out, Comperatore, the former fire chief for the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, used his body to shield his wife and daughter. Allyson Comperatore told ABC News last month, "As he was throwing me down, that was when he was shot. He ended up falling onto me. I was like, confused, and I went, 'Dad?' And when I turned is whenever he fell down and that's when I started screaming." Helen Comperatore, the victim's wife, emphasized, "He definitely was a hero. He saved his wife. He saved his child. He was just the best guy." While the Onion's joke at the expense of the late hero and his surviving family members may have privately resonated with leftists, it was met with widespread ridicule online. "Shame on you," tweeted Libs of TikTok. "This is evil." Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck responded, "Delete this. People are grieving you evil ghouls." Starbuck noted in a subsequent message, "Making fun of people who were murdered is absolutely disgusting in every way @theonion. Imagine the family members seeing this while still grieving a senseless murder driven by extremist political hatred against Republicans. Pure evil." "There's a debate between Trump and Kamala tonight and you chose to make fun of a fireman who was shot in the head while sitting next to his family," wrote Colin Rugg, co-founder of Trending Politics. The Onion was acquired by a firm known as Global Tetrahedron earlier this year. Extra to former Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson — an individual who recently was seen partying with the Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson — Axios indicated that the individuals behind Global Tetrahedron are former NBC News reporter Ben Collins, former TikTok executive Leila Brillson, and former Tumblr executive Danielle Strle. Brillson is the Onion's chief marketing officer. Strle is chief product officer. Collins serves as CEO. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The attorney general of Ohio has launched a probe to discover whether he has any legal means of limiting the number of immigrants the federal government relocates to his state.On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, announced in a press release that his office would investigate whether he has any "legal avenues to stop the federal government from sending an unlimited number of migrants to Ohio communities," Springfield in particular.Springfield has recently drawn national attention after up to 15,000 Haitian immigrants moved there and made the city "their new home," the city website says. Other reports put the number closer to 20,000.While the city notes that most of these immigrants enjoy legal "temporary protected status" under the auspices of the federal Immigration Parole Program, some of the city's 60,000 local residents and others in nearby towns have complained about major disruptions to the local economy and threats to public safety as a result of the immigrants. — (@) Yost's press release reiterated some of those complaints: "In addition to straining available resources, locals have complained of migrants causing car crashes, stealing property – including livestock, squatting in homes and killing wildlife for food."Yost called the Biden-Harris administration's plans regarding immigrants "absurd.""Springfield has swollen by more than a third due to migrants," he said in a statement. "How many people can they be expected to take? What are the limits to the federal government’s power? Could the federal government simply funnel into Ohio all the millions of migrants flooding in under the current administration’s watch?"There’s got to be a limiting principle. We’re going to find a way to get this disaster in front of a federal judge."Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted also drew attention to the issue, claiming on X that many of the Haitian immigrants have failed to assimilate and caused spikes in health care costs and in infectious diseases like tuberculosis."It doesn’t need to be done this way; it’s a choice made by the Biden administration," Husted wrote. — (@) Republican Gov. Mike DeWine also expressed frustration. "The federal government does not have a plan to give any support to the communities impacted by surges, and we have absolutely no indication that a plan is coming in the near future," he said Tuesday.Though the state executive Republicans stand in agreement that the massive waves of immigration in their state are a problem, they also reiterated that immigrants in general are not."Many local residents expressed compassion for the Haitian refugees, explaining that they understand that Haiti is a terrible place to live right now and they understood why they would want to come to America," Husted insisted. "But it was also abundantly clear that local officials and citizens have little recourse and need help.""The problem is not migrants; it is way, way too many migrants in a short period of time," Yost claimed.DeWine also said he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program, the AP reported, but wants the federal government to provide more assistance. In the meantime, he has earmarked $2.5 million over the next two years to buttress the county health department and other private health care clinics.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Last Sunday, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was driving his black McLaren 720S to the Hard Rock Stadium in preparation for the team’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars when he was pulled over by Miami-Dade police officers and ticketed for reckless driving as well as driving without a license. According to Hill, he was forcibly removed from his vehicle, forced to the ground, and handcuffed unjustly. He assured everyone that he was “being very cooperative from the get-go.” Immediately following the incident, one of the officers involved in Hill’s detainment was placed on administrative leave. However, the police union’s president, Steadman Stahl, defended the officers’ conduct and issued a statement that read: “Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on the scene, who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground." So what’s the truth? Was Tyreek Hill rightly or wrongly detained? Jason Whitlock analyzes the recently released bodycam footage of the incident. “I'm sitting here in stunned shock and amazement that anyone is defending Tyreek Hill,” he says. “There's video of Tyreek Hill speeding past police in an area that appears to be a construction zone. … Tyreek initially rolls down his window, and the cop tells him, ‘I'm pulling you over for speeding,’ while he's still on his motorcycle. Tyreek pulls over, gives the man static, won’t keep his windows rolled down. He did everything to trigger and provoke the cops,” Jason recounts, adding that “Tyreek Hill chose agitation, so he got agitated police officers.” But what really shocks Jason is how the media is treating Tyreek as “the good guy,” when recent history shows how dangerous professional athletes can be on the road — especially NFL players. Jason points to ex-Las Vegas Raider Henry Ruggs, who’s now serving prison time for a drunk-driving incident that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old woman, and to Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice, who was charged with one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury for a hit-and-run incident back in March. Jason thinks that the Tyreek Hill scandal is really about needing “some racial incident to talk about during the election cycle.” According to him, the reaction of the media seems to be: “Let's overlook Tyreek speeding; let's overlook him not complying with what the police said. Let's jump to they pulled him out of the car and he's a multimillion-dollar athlete and he's a celebrity and he's black; therefore the police are all in the wrong, and let's have an entire conversation about police brutality.” “This is the crazy, silly, stupid world we have created,” he condemns. To hear more of Jason’s analysis and watch the bodycam footage of Hill’s conduct, watch the episode above. Want more from Jason Whitlock?To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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With the announcement of the upcoming iPhone 16, several long-time iPhone Pro owners have said on social media that they plan to skip the new Pro models to the regular iPhone 16. Among the reasons are the new A18 chip, which is an improvement over Apple's previous strategy; the improved Ultra Wide camera with macro mode; and last year's 2x optical zoom, thanks to the main 48MP camera. While the new iPhones aren't yet available, some users have turned off two main iPhone Pro features to see if they can handle "downgrading" to a base model. If you're a Pro iPhone owner who wants to try this as well, simply diable the Always-on Display and limit your phone's refresh rate to 60Hz from within the Accessibility settings. Post by @viticci View on Threads Even with these Pro users being optimistic about the switch from an iPhone 15 Pro to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, I'm convinced that they will be upgrading a few weeks later to the new iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max. Here's why. I'll choose the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and if you have a Pro iPhone, you should too Image source: Apple Inc. Over the years, I've used a base-model iPhone as my daily driver several times. However, I have always returned to a Pro model. It happened with the iPhone XR, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14, as I later upgraded to the iPhone XS, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The main reason has always been the camera. Whether you think this isn't that important, not being able to zoom in is painful. And with last year's 5x optical zoom on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I regretted buying the smaller Pro model. Even working from home, I find that one of the benefits of an iPhone Pro Max is the bigger battery life, and Apple seems to have put a great effort into this year's iPhone 16 Pro Max. Image source: Apple Inc. I understand that the new base-model iPhone 16 has trendy colors, and it's almost as good as a Pro version in terms of general performance. However, I really care about the little details: faster USB 3 data transfer speeds, better cameras, improved A18 Pro chip, ProMotion, the more durable titanium frame, and the biggest battery on any iPhone. Fortunately, it won't take long until we discover if there's a shift in customers preferring a base model iPhone 16 instead of the Pro Max, as it feels "too Pro," or if the usual focus on the Pro models will continue. Pre-orders start this Friday, and you can learn more about the new iPhones below. Don't Miss: iPhone 16: Release date, features, A18, price, AI, and more The post Here’s why you shouldn’t downgrade to an iPhone 16 if you have a Pro now appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Today’s deals: $10 off Starbucks coffee, $199 Apple iPad, $16 portable blender, $99 BISSELL Little Green, more Today’s deals: $3.75 smart plugs, $50 off Sonos Ace, $70 Oral-B electric toothbrush, $170 ASUS laptop, more Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2024: Get $375+ free Today’s deals: $100 off Sihoo Doro C300 Pro office chair, Rare Nintendo Switch OLED sale, Anker chargers, more

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were at New York City's Ground Zero on Wednesday to observe the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Elon Musk has responded to Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris, suggesting she matched a demographic of unmarried women supporting the vice president.