Movies & TV Babylon 5 Rewatch Babylon 5 Rewatch: “A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I” Sinclair and Ivanova investigate an “uninhabited” planet, and Garibaldi grapples with troubling news from Mars… By Keith R.A. DeCandido | Published on August 5, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share “A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I”Written by J. Michael StraczynskiDirected by Janet GreekSeason 1, Episode 18Production episode 120Original air date: July 27, 1994 It was the dawn of the third age… B5 has been getting some strange readings from Epsilon III, the planet they’re in orbit of, so a geological survey team heads out in a shuttle, led by Dr. Tasaki. As it launches, Ivanova expresses concern that they haven’t heard anything from Mars in the latest batch of dispatches from Earth. That will probably be important later. The shuttle has to turn back when an energy discharge from the planet destabilizes them. Tasaki isn’t sure what caused it, but he’s excited to go back and figure it out. A steady stream of energy pulses is coming from the planet now, which Sinclair orders Ivanova to keep an eye on. After Delenn finishes a negotiation with Sinclair and Mollari, she returns to her quarters to find her old teacher and mentor Draal waiting for her. She is delighted to see him, though she is less delighted to learn why Draal is there. He is “going to the sea,” which appears to be a Minbari euphemism for suicide. Draal says he no longer recognizes Minbar and doesn’t want to be part of it anymore. However, he also says he’s not in a rush to get to the sea in question, and intends to spend as much time with Delenn catching up as he can, which placates her somewhat. A breaking news report from ISN reveals that there has been rioting on Mars, with the Free Mars movement getting their hands on heavy weapons. Sinclair then sees the image of an alien asking him for help. Sinclair and Ivanova discuss the Mars situation over breakfast. They figure that Garibaldi—who lived and worked on Mars prior to taking the post on B5—is beside himself. That is, if anything, an understatement, as Garibaldi is a mess, worried about what happened to his ex, Lise Hampton. He can’t get a signal through, so he goes to Winters to ask if she can talk to the secret Psi Corps base on Mars. Winters—who is already nonplussed by the fact that Garibaldi keeps showing up in the elevator when she wants to take it—is not thrilled that Garibaldi even knows about the facility. But she says she’ll talk to them and see what she can do, but no promises. Credit: Warner Bros. Television After being told very explicitly by Ivanova not to go into the atmosphere, Tasaki takes his shuttle into the atmosphere. (Ivanova sent Starfuries to escort them this time, but they aren’t designed to function in an atmosphere.) Sure enough, some missiles fire on the shuttle, which the Starfuries are (barely) able to distract or destroy. The shuttle and Starfuries head back to the station, where Tasaki reports that the missiles were fired from a crevasse that’s about five miles deep, and which wasn’t on the original survey—but which may have been created by the recent seismic activity. Because it may be a first contact situation, Sinclair and Ivanova take another shuttle down to investigate what’s happening on Epsilon III. It was chosen as the site for B5 precisely because it was uninhabited, so they need to investigate. They fly down, avoiding the missiles, and disembark. They need breathing apparatus, and—after finding a corpse—are able to get past a brutal security measure. Eventually, they come across a massive machine whose components are miles long. Winters gets in touch with the Mars Psi Corps base. They’re not happy that Garibaldi knows about the base—and they’re not even sure he really does, just that he suspects and is trying to verify it—but they do check on any mentions of Hampton. However, they can find no mention of her among the people who are accounted for. Garibaldi is confident that she’s okay for no obvious reason except for uncharacteristically cockeyed optimism (or denial). Another bit of seismic shock hits Epsilon III, cutting Sinclair and Ivanova off from the shuttle. However, they find an alien attached to the machine: this is Varn, the same alien Sinclair and Mollari saw images of. He says they’re all in really big trouble. They free him from the machine and he leads them to the shuttle by another route so they can get him to medlab on B5. Credit: Warner Bros. Television As the shuttle takes off, the jump gate opens, and a big-ass ship comes through… To be continued… Nothing’s the same anymore. Proving that he doesn’t understand that he’s on a TV show where stuff like this wouldn’t be mentioned without a plot reason, Sinclair dismisses Ivanova’s concerns about the lack of news from Mars as probably being a glitch. Ivanova is God. This section gets its title from Ivanova’s words to Tasaki after he disobeyed her instruction not to go into the atmosphere of Epsilon III with his shuttle: “I’d like you to take the time to learn the Babylon 5 mantra: ‘Ivanova is always right. I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova’s recommendations. Ivanova is God. And if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out.’” The household god of frustration. Garibaldi was dating Hampton on Mars, but when he got the offer to take the gig on B5, it led to an argument because she didn’t want to leave Mars. If you value your lives, be somewhere else. Like far too many old people, Draal doesn’t like the way Minbar is going, because it’s not like it used to be, and these kids today don’t got no respect, and in my day Minbar was Minbar, dammit! In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic… Mollari sees Garibaldi being all despondent crying into his water in the Zocalo, so he cheers him up with the story of an exotic dancer he saw perform whom he shortly thereafter married. Mollari also is apparently completely bumfuzzled by the human song known as “The Hokey Pokey,” as he is having tremendous trouble determining how, exactly, that’s what it’s all about… Credit: Warner Bros. Television Though it take a thousand years, we will be free. While G’Kar does not appear in the episode, his nonexistent ears were likely burning at Mollari complaining about how difficult he is to negotiate with and how inevitable the Centauri-Narn hatred is and shall remain. The Corps is mother, the Corps is father. Psi Corps has a sooper-seekrit base on Mars because of course they do. Garibaldi knows about it, because of course he does. No sex, please, we’re EarthForce. Garibaldi obviously carries a big ol’ torch for Hampton. Welcome aboard. Louis Turenne debuts the recurring role of Draal. He will continue in the role for Part II, but afterward, starting in season two’s “The Long, Twilight Struggle,” the role will be played by John Schuck. Turenne will return in the third season’s “Convictions” in another recurring role (one without heavy prosthetics), that of Brother Theo. Curt Lowens plays Varn, who will also return for Part II. Jim Ishida plays Tasaki Trivial matters. This is B5’s first two-parter, in part inspired by the strong sales of the VHS tapes of the two-hour pilot in Europe and Japan, and so they were encouraged to do another episode that could be similarly sold. Two future recurring characters are first referenced in this episode: Garibaldi’s ex, Lise Hampton, who will appear in Part II, and Delenn’s fellow Grey Councillor (and fellow former student of Draal’s) Rarthenn, who will appear in “War Without End.” This is the only mention of Mollari’s other wife, who would appear to predate the three arranged-marriage wives he mentioned back in “The War Prayer.” The notion of Free Mars getting their hands on heavy weapons was first mentioned in “Eyes.” The echoes of all of our conversations. “It’s a Russian thing. When we’re about to do something stupid, we like to catalogue the full extent of our stupidity for future reference.” —Ivanova to Sinclair as they go on their mission. Credit: Warner Bros. Television The name of the place is Babylon 5. “And so here we are: victims of mathematics.” It’s really hard to judge this episode on its own, for much the same reason why it’s hard to judge most any first part of a two-part episode: it’s all setup. More to the point, it feels like it’s two separate episodes mushed together unconvincingly in order to make the two-parter that Warner Bros. could then sell as a two-hour VHS tape. This is not helped by a particularly weak cliffhanger. Rather than end on Sinclair and Ivanova finding Varn, they instead end on Sinclair and Ivanova having already rescued Varn and heading back to B5, thus draining any possibility of suspense. And the actual cliffhanger is Garibaldi saying “What the hell?” as a ship comes through the jump gate—a ridiculously commonplace occurrence. Still, there’s some fun stuff here. While Garibaldi’s worry-about-his-ex storyline is kinda meh, the scene where Mollari cheers him up is beautifully played by Peter Jurasik and Jerry Doyle, with the added punchline of Mollari wandering off and sticking Garibaldi with the bill. That punchline, by the way, is funnier than Mollari’s attempted dissection of “The Hokey Pokey,” which didn’t tickle my fancy as much as it might have others, though you can totally see how someone unfamiliar with humans would be completely confused by it. Hell, I’ve been hearing it all my life, and I’m fairly certain I’m human, and I’m completely confused by it… Mira Furlan beautifully plays Delenn’s affection for Draal, while Louis Turrene has a quiet dignity as Draal. And I adore Jim Ishida’s Tasaki and wish we’d seen him again, as his enthusiasm for science is adorable and infectious. Plus, we’ve got the “Ivanova is God” speech. Honestly, the whole episode is worth it for that… Next week: “A Voice in the Wilderness, Part II.”[end-mark] The post <i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “A Voice in the Wilderness, Part I” appeared first on Reactor.

Back-to-school season is here, and with the recent examples of race-based classroom activities and sexually charged curriculum in schools nationwide, parents are right to wonder what their students will be taught this fall. A recent commentary by an education reporter about his own children revealed that last year his sixth grader had no homework, spelling tests, handwriting exercises, or times tables. “I’m concerned that my list [of topics and tools left out] is symbolic of the broader American education experience,” Chad Alderman wrote for The 74, the education news site. “Schools need to teach students facts, figures, dates, and other specifics before they can expect kids to think critically about those areas.” A foundation of facts and figures helps students to be creative because we base new ideas on established knowledge—we need material to help us create something else. (To wit, Albert Einstein is credited with saying: “It is the supreme joy of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”) Yet radical racial and sexual content in K-12 schools is curbing creative thinking. In some cases, the books that children are required to read contribute to this phenomenon. For example, in Montgomery County, Maryland, the 2024-2025 English curriculum features kindergarten and first grade books such as “D Is for Drum: A Native American Alphabet” by Michael Shoulders and“Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Tale” by Margaret Read MacDonald. Perhaps such books seem harmless based on the titles, but the foundation of this curriculum, Amplify CKLA, says it is “built on the conviction that equitable instruction is vital to an effective program.” Reviewing this curriculum further, one finds that other materials in the curriculum hint at themes of domestic violence, immigration, emotional distress, and racism. This type of curriculum prioritizes ideology over reading skills, hindering creativity and encouraging intellectual conformity. Unfortunately, creative play in general is down: As Jonathan Haidt explains in his new book “The Anxious Generation,” screen-based activities are up sharply since 2000 (even since 1980) while “socializing outside of the home” and playing outside both have decreased. Students are less likely to meet in person with friends and more likely to interact virtually. This may be tied to the prevalence of technology and the untethering of American society from interpersonal communication and fact-based knowledge. The “action civics” movement in K-12 schools is another example of how school officials are removing facts—names and dates, in particular—from classwork. Instead of learning about the institutions of government and how the different branches work, which is what traditional civics teaches, students are encouraged to become political activists without a firm understanding of the structure of American government. The public schools in the nation’s capital have incorporated an action civics curriculum that contends that “democracy is a verb,” yet the curriculum teaches nothing about the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, the literal foundations of our democratic republic.      What, then, can be done?   States and local education officials should consider policies that empower parents and school boards to work together to choose the types of books children read in schools.  One option: Adopt a classical or “great books” curriculum for public schools that educators may freely choose to adopt. (Most curricular decisions today are mandated by school district offices.) These books not only are foundational in civics but fundamentally shape deep thinkers and profound writers.   Parents also should have more choices for their child’s education. They should continue to advocate school choice and curricula that align with their values and meet their child’s needs. More fundamentally, parents not only should encourage children to go outside but carefully monitor their children’s screen time to foster uninhibited imagination. Families don’t need legislation for this: Haidt, for one, suggests that parents and school communities agree not to allow children to have their own smartphones until a certain age or grade, such as freshman year in high school. It is a sad day when children have lost the capacity to imagine. Policymakers, families, and educators should rebuild and reimagine school curricula to inspire children with a love for the impractical and the desire to create. The post Back to School, and Time to Foster Creativity appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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An incoming rush of gold and copper mines in British Columbia could threaten to undermine some of the last wild salmon rivers left in the world, as well as the Indigenous peoples who have used the waterways for centuries. Dozens of mining companies are seeking permission from the government of British Columbia to develop some of the world’s largest gold mines along the transboundary rivers that flow from Canada into southeastern Alaska, including the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk Rivers.These rivers hold a huge cultural significance to the Southeast Alaska Tribes. They also have an enormous ecological value, serving as the home of five wild Pacific salmon species and acting as a cornerstone for the wider complex ecosystem that includes black bears, brown bears, gray wolves, and other wildlife.To push back against the plans, a consortium of 15 Tribes from the region is requesting a pause on "reckless mining activity" in the region. In a letter to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) argues that the threat of mining upstream violates their rights to culture, physical health and well-being, means of subsistence, and property.Together with Re:wild and Earthjustice, they are calling on the Canadian government to fulfill its duty to consult them on all development decisions impacting their traditional territories.“We have been doing everything we can to engage the Canadian government in this process, giving them the opportunity to disrupt their ongoing colonial legacy, and recognize our sovereign rights,” Rob Sanderson Jr., SEITC vice-president, said in a statement.“We are the guardians of some of the last wild places left in the world not yet exploited by the extractive industry, but without our rights recognized, we cannot do this,” said Sanderson. The SEITC says future mining operations could negatively impact the Unuk River in Alaska.Image credit: Sonia Luokkala/Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary CommissionOne of the biggest potential projects is the Eskay Creek Revitalization Project in British Columbia, an open mine pit that promises to produce approximately 3.7 million tonnes per year of gold and silver-bearing ore.As alluring as it may sound, the legal challenge argues similar mines have severely impacted humans, wildlife, and waterways. It cites a study that looked into the Mount Polley mine disaster in 2014 when a tailings dam failed in British Colombia, exposing the local invertebrates to potentially toxic metals. They point to another study that shows how tailings dams, even if they don’t catastrophically fail, can cause long-lasting changes to the water and sediment chemistry for hundreds of miles.As far as the SEITC and other supporters are concerned, the future of mining on the transboundary rivers depends on whether the government wants to put profits ahead of people and the planet. “Canada’s decision categorically silences those of us who have occupied and stewarded these watersheds for tens of thousands of years, long before the colonial border was established. Canada is putting companies and profit over the rights of its neighbors who are separated only by a colonial border,” added Lee Wagner, SEITC assistant executive director, who is Tsimshian, Haida, and ingít.“Let’s be clear: this is a death sentence for our rights and way of life, the waters on which we depend, and the wildlife with which we share our home,” Wagner said.

When thinking about the multitude of ways in which you could get murked by the creatures of the ocean, the first things that come to mind might be a shark attack, a jellyfish sting, or maybe even a blue-ringed octopus bite. But can you be betrayed by your own immune system instead?“If I’m allergic to seafood, can I still scuba dive?” asked TikTok user toriyokii. “Or is there like fish juice and I’ll go into anaphylactic shock under the ocean?” IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Having racked up 36,000 saves on the platform as of the time of writing, it appears to be a question a lot of people are curious to know the answer to – and a valid curiosity during the time of year when many are jetting off to a summer vacation by the sea.Luckily, you don’t have to worry that you’ve wasted your money on a snorkel and goggles if you’ve got an allergy to seafood, whether that be fish or shellfish.The ocean might be a bit fish juice-y, but it’s unlikely to be concentrated enough that it would cause your immune system to produce a life-threatening response simply by being in the water.“You can swim in the ocean if you have a shellfish allergy,” board-certified allergist Dr John M. James told the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s “Ask the Allergist” Service. “It will not typically cause an allergic reaction. This is because the dilution factor of relevant allergens is so significant. This means that the amount of shellfish allergens in the ocean water is very low.”More typical triggers for an allergic reaction to seafood would be eating it (hopefully you’re not necking raw fish as you swim, although who are we to judge), inhaling vapor from it being cooked, or touching it.The latter can be avoided by suiting up. “If you’re wearing protective gear, you are not likely to have skin contact fish or shellfish to have some type of irritation,” explained board-certified allergist Dr Zachary Rubin in a video responding to the original. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Even if someone’s skin does come into contact with fish or shellfish, Dr James said that reactions are usually “very mild and found on the exposed skin.”In any circumstance, scuba diving with a seafood allergy doesn’t seem to have caused anyone any trouble so far, at least not as far as scientists have found.As Dr Rubin explained: “There are no reported cases in the medical literature, as far as I’m aware, of people scuba diving going into anaphylactic shock because they had a history of a seafood allergy.”That means swim to your heart’s content – but for those with shellfish allergies in particular, don’t turn to cicadas for a post-scuba sesh snack.The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.  

There are 294,000 tags for #cheesepull on Instagram. Suffice to say, we as a species are hooked. Since we first started curdling cheese from animal milk, our methodology has come a long way from hard lumps of chalky cheddar to the oozy, gooey goodness that populates our explore feeds. So, why does melted cheese taste so much better than the solid stuff?It all comes down to our love of fat. Diet culture might have led our heads to see it as undesirable number one, but the mouthfeel wants what it wants, and that – my friends – is fat.“Researchers at Yale have studied how our central nervous system responds to fatty foods,” said Dr Inna Husain to well+good. “We think due to either evolution or learned behavior, oily calorie-dense foods are what our taste receptors like to hone in to.”When we melt cheese, the fat trapped within its rigid structure of milk proteins gets released, creating that covetable creamy texture. Heat some cheeses too much, however, and you’ll end up with lumps surrounded by pools of fat, so you’ve got to get the heat-to-cheese ratio just right.Not all cheeses will melt the same and that comes down to their constituent parts, chiefly the ratio of lactose to fat and protein. Cheeses with a higher fat content will be smoother and creamier, while different bacteria can alter the flavor. The pH is also a crucial element when deciding the best way to prepare a cheese for melting, and helpfully the American Chemistry Society put together an explainer for how to make the best grilled cheese according to science.Heating cheese doesn’t just free the fats, it also releases amino acids like glutamate that have a delicious umami taste, which you’ll recognize if you’re an MSG (monosodium glutamate) fan – as we all should be. Add to that, the fact that a creamier consistency likely covers the tastebuds more evenly and you’re experiencing a heightened hot cheese experience compared to the cold alternative.The shift in texture all comes down to a protein called casein, which is crucial for the creation of cheese. It’s thought that just about any animal milk with casein in it can become a cheese, raising the feasibility of whale milk cheese which – unashamedly – we asked a real scientist about.

Nothing makes the IFLScience team happier than an unusually colored lobster. From Banana to Bowie, these colorful rare crustaceans give us an extraordinary insight into both the colors its possible for a lobster to be, and the genetic mutations that cause these rare color morphs to happen.The latest lobster to join the gang is a one-in-100-million finding, saved from the dinner plate after being caught by a commercial fishing vessel belonging to the Atlantic Lobster Company off the coast of New Castle in New Hampshire, USA. The owner of the boat took it to the Seacoast Science Centre in Rye. “I think it is definitely the only one I will ever catch, maybe even the only one I will ever see again in my lifetime. I’m over the moon about catching it, and letting it be seen by everyone at the Science Center makes it even better,” Joseph Kramer from the Atlantic Lobster Company, who caught the animal, told Smithsonian Magazine. The male lobster is an extremely rare “cotton candy” color morph. Animals can become all sorts of different colors by flukes of genetic mutations. Albino, leucistic, and melanistic individuals are all due to either over- or underproduction of the pigment melanin. Lobsters have colored carotenoid pigments in hues of red, yellow, and blue, which often make the lobster appear reddish or brown; in these rare cases some of the pigments are expressed too much or not at all, leading to a whole rainbow of lobster coloration. This lobster will now join other funky colored individuals at the center.Image courtesy of the Seacoast Science Center“Lobsters come in a few color descriptions from orange, yellow, red, blues, and cotton candy which is a mixture of pinks and purples on a blue backdrop resembling 'cotton candy,' so this is where the name comes from. There are also split lobsters, for example red on one side and black on the other; as well as calico, another rare coloration where the lobster has a distinctive black and orange mottled color pattern,” said Sam Rutka, an aquarist at the Seacoast Science Center where the lobster now lives, in a statement sent to IFLScience.While the genetic reasons why these colors crop up aren’t fully understood, lobster parent Peaches and her 100 offspring are helping scientists figure out the mystery. “At this point, no one really knows in detail why some lobsters develop these multicolor variations, though we do have some theories,” the University of New England’s Dr Markus Frederich, professor of marine sciences, said in a news release.

When Laura Barron-Lopez appears on PBS, the question is: Reporter or Taxpayer-Funded White House Press Secretary?  On Friday’s PBS News Hour, it sounded like Karine Barron-Lopez, touting how Democrats have a new line of personal attack: Branding Republicans as “weird” and “creepy.” The PBS White House correspondent dropped her previous sensitivity to personal attacks and seemed to approve of the new tactic. Anchor Geoff Bennett set things up. "While on the campaign trail, the vice president is trying some new language on for size, like calling her opponent Donald Trump weird." The story opened with the weird inference that Kamala was trying something new: Authenticity.  Laura Barron-Lopez: On a fast-track campaign for the White House, Vice President Harris is trying something new, to call it as she sees it. Kamala Harris: He and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. And, by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird? She didn’t mind that the vice president and her team sounded like bullies lording it over “weirdos” in a 1980s high school comedy. Barron-Lopez: Now, campaign press releases call Trump old and quite weird, and Democrats across the board are leaning into Harris's blunt approach, from possible vice presidential picks commenting on Trump's behavior… Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN): Have you ever seen the guy laugh? If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone. That is weird behavior. Barron-Lopez: … to leaders of the party addressing resurfaced clips of J.D. Vance. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Every day, Vance -- it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic. The reporter brought her own adjective to the party, “creepy," as the taxpayer-funded network played for free a nasty ad mocking cartoonish white conservative Christian men: Barron-Lopez: Branding the Republicans as creepy has caught on fast. In an ad released by a PAC focused on young voters, the conservative playbook Project 2025 is personified as people desperate to control your personal life. ….[Ad airs for 22 seconds] Barron-Lopez: This shift in language is a strategy that could prove effective as Harris rushes to define her opponent in a new way, according to David Karp of George Washington University. David Karpf, George Washington University: The serious messaging around Donald Trump that this is a threat to democracy if we take him both seriously and literally this time, that's important, but it's also a bummer. And what we're seeing here is a way to talk about this that is still on message. It's still on the theme. But there's some joy, there's some mirth, and there's some verve to it. Undisclosed fun fact! Professor Karpf donated $250 to the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020.  This was a total press release, except when PBS offered one 26-second soundbite to a Republican strategist, Joshua Novotney, who said Trump shouldn't bite on the "weird" attacks and focus on the Biden-Harris record. Then the PBS reporter noted accurately that “Donald Trump is no stranger to name-calling,” then validated Harris’s own brand of personal name-calling at the end. Barron-Lopez: Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high," may no longer be Democrats' North Star, but it's a choice that could end up boosting Harris' self-described underdog campaign. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez. Has taking the high road really been the “Democrat’s North Star,” as Barron-Lopez insisted? Does she not recall the nine years of vituperation against Donald Trump and MAGA in general from both Democrats and the press? This "creepy" segment was brought to you in part by Raymond James financial services, and taxpayers like you. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 8/2/24 7:23:51 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: The Democratic National Committee announced today that Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the number of delegates in a virtual roll call to win the party's nomination, which will be made official after voting ends on Monday. While on the campaign trail, the vice president is trying some new language on for size, like calling her opponent Donald Trump weird. Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has more. Laura Barron-Lopez: On a fast-track campaign for the White House, Vice President Harris is trying something new, to call it as she sees it. Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: He and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. And, by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird? Laura Barron-Lopez: It's a notable change from when President Biden was in the race. Joe Biden, President of the United States: Do you really want to go back to the chaos of Donald Trump as president? Audience: No! Laura Barron-Lopez: Much of his language focused on Donald Trump as an existential threat to the country. Joe Biden: It's about your freedom. It's about democracy. Laura Barron-Lopez: Now, campaign press releases call Trump old and quite weird, and Democrats across the board are leaning into Harris' blunt approach, from possible vice presidential picks commenting on Trump's behavior… Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN): Have you ever seen the guy laugh? If he has laughed, it's at someone, not with someone. That is weird behavior. Laura Barron-Lopez: … to leaders of the party addressing resurfaced clips of J.D. Vance. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Every day, Vance — it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic. Laura Barron-Lopez: Branding the Republicans as creepy has caught on fast. [Man in Commercial: That's just the start.] Laura Barron-Lopez: In an ad released by a PAC focused on young voters, the conservative playbook Project 2025 is personified as people desperate to control your personal life. Man: Your genitals are reserved for procreation. Man: If you freeze 12 eggs, you should be required to have 12 babies. Man: Or else you're a serial killer. And I'm definitely not a serial killer. Are you? Laura Barron-Lopez: This shift in language is a strategy that could prove effective as Harris rushes to define her opponent in a new way, according to David Karp of George Washington University. David Karpf, George Washington University: The serious messaging around Donald Trump that this is a threat to democracy if we take him both seriously and literally this time, that's important, but it's also a bummer. And what we're seeing here is a way to talk about this that is still on message. It's still on the theme. But there's some joy, there's some mirth, and there's some verve to it. Laura Barron-Lopez: Since Democrats have changed their tune rhetorically, Republicans have tried to find a response. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Democrats are being dumb and juvenile, while Donald Trump tried to use Harris' words against her in a recent interview with FOX News. Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: You know who's plain weird? She's plain weird. She's a weird person. Look at her past. Laura Barron-Lopez: But for Republican strategist Joshua Novotney, based in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, Donald Trump should stay focused on attacking Harris' record. Joshua Novotney, Republican Strategist: Stay off the personal stuff and talk about how she mismanaged the border crisis, talk about the inflation and the economy. I don't think anyone is sitting there saying we enjoy paying twice as much for our groceries than we did a couple years ago. Those are winning issues here. I would ignore the weird comments and all of that. I think that will backfire on Democrats as being a little too mocking and childish and kind of beneath them. Laura Barron-Lopez: Donald Trump is no stranger to name-calling, recently saying Harris is dumb as a rock, demonizing her on the campaign trail… Donald Trump: She has no clue. She's evil. Laura Barron-Lopez: … and even mocking her biracial heritage. Donald Trump: She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went. She became a Black person. Laura Barron-Lopez: Trump's reactions are another sign the weird attack is landing, Karpf said. David Karpf: Part of the reason we know this is working well isn't just that it's going viral online, but that it has her opponents stuttering in response and saying it's not fair. When you have your opponents reacting in ways that amplify your message and make them uncomfortable, you keep on doing that. Kamala Harris: When we fight, we win! Laura Barron-Lopez: Michelle Obama's, "When they go low, we go high," may no longer be Democrats' North Star, but it's a choice that could end up boosting Harris' self-described underdog campaign. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez.

The top-ranked golfer had a patriotic moment at the Olympics in France, shedding tears during the flag-raising ceremony.World No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, put together a fantastic final round to overtake several players and leapfrog himself into the gold-medal position.Spain's Jon Rahm had a four-shot lead at one point in the final round but was eventually no match for Scheffler who shot a fantastic 62 — his best round of the tournament — to win by one stroke.'Hope he gets a few more wins this year. Just seems like a good guy.'Scheffler was shown breaking down in tears as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played, as it is tradition at the Olympics for the gold-medal winner to have his or her national anthem played while the competition's three medalists stand at the podium."Bringing home gold for the best country in the world," Scheffler wrote on X, where he rarely posts. Other photos posted by Olympic Golf showed Scheffler with tears in his eyes and his hand on his heart as he wore his gold medal for the first time. — (@) Fans everywhere reacted, mostly saying how much Scheffler deserved the win."One of the best years of golf we've seen in a long time. Hope he gets a few more wins this year. Just seems like a good guy," one reaction on X read."Love seeing how much it means to him," another fan said.At -19, Scheffler beat out England's Tommy Fleetwood, who shot -18 for the silver medal, and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama at -17, who took home the bronze.The next closest American was Xander Schauffele, who was tied for ninth.Scheffler was not on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics team, and Schauffele won the gold medal for the United States in Japan.62 to win, #justscottiethings. One of the best years of golf we've seen in a long time. Hope he gets a few more wins this year. Just seems like a good guy— ???????????? (@TrueGameData) August 4, 2024 Schauffele is ranked No. 2 behind Scheffler in the world golf rankings, which showcase exactly how competitive the Olympic tournament was. Not all countries are able to send their best athletes to the games out of fear of injury or interfering with their professional leagues, soccer and baseball being two examples.For golf, however, eight of the top 10 golfers in the world showed up for the Paris tournament.Scheffler shot a 67, 69, and 67 in the first three rounds of the competition, respectively.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!