Winkin' Blinken Gives a Nod to Terrorism

One of the last people to live inside an “iron lung” has recently joined TikTok and uses the platform to share fascinating insights into his very unique story. Paul Alexander contracted polio at the age of six in 1952 when an outbreak swept through his hometown of Dallas‚ Texas. Polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus that can spread from person to person. In some cases‚ the pathogen can attack the central nervous system and destroy motor neurons‚ leading to paralysis. The paralysis is typically temporary‚ but around one in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Alexander was one of those unfortunate few and was left unable to move his body from the neck down.While the lungs of paralyzed polio survivors still work fine‚ they can struggle to breathe due to paralysis of their chest muscles and diaphragm. To overcome this problem‚ Alexander was placed in an “iron lung”‚ a machine that works by applying negative pressure on the patient inside. The mechanical respirator helps the patient inhale by pumping out of the machine‚ thereby allowing their chest to expand. As air is pumped back into the machine‚ this makes the patient exhale. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Alexander has remained inside the iron lung for over 70 years. He can temporarily leave the machine’s confines for two or three minutes thanks to a self-learned technique he calls "frog breathing"‚ which involves gulping down mouthfuls of air using his throat muscles to force air into his lungs. However‚ this is not a long-term solution and he spends the overwhelming majority of his day inside the mechanical chamber. It’s thought he’s just one of two people in the US who are reliant on an iron lung. In decades past‚ hundreds upon hundreds of people used these machines. It’s estimated that around 1‚000 iron lungs were in use in the US in 1939.However‚ scientists have since developed less-invasive ventilation systems‚ plus vaccines have done an incredible job at reducing polio rates globally (despite some recent resurgence).  IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.The iron lung hasn’t stopped Alexander from achieving some amazing things. He studied law at the University of Texas and‚ in 1984‚ he passed the bar to become a lawyer. He also spent five years writing an autobiography – Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung – by typing into a computer using a pencil placed in his mouth.In his latest venture‚ Alexander has joined TikTok with the user name @ironlungman. Here‚ he shares his stories and even answers questions from his fans‚ such as how he functions during a power cut. 

The first continents emerged about 3.5 billion years ago‚ but geologists are unclear on the initial formation process. A new explanation attributes their rise to an association of three types of coarse-grained rocks‚ collectively called granitoids‚ that might look very familiar to someone with a recent home renovation.Once the Earth cooled and developed oceans‚ that was almost all it had. Land was restricted to small volcanic islands that have long since eroded away. However‚ we know that pieces of early continents survive in Western Australia‚ northern Canada‚ and Greenland. These gradually expanded to become the modern versions of those places‚ while other continents caught up hundreds of millions – or even billions – of years later.However‚ the process by which the first crust was formed has puzzled geologists‚ particularly regarding whether plate tectonics were involved. Any crust almost four billion years old has seen a lot in the meantime‚ making it hard to identify its individual nature. Even if we could see the rocks fresh‚ the process from the eruption of magma to crystallization was probably complex and hard to trace in reverse.Nevertheless‚ Dr Matthijs Smit and colleagues at the University of British Columbia and claim to have done just that. "We tracked a specific set of trace elements that aren't affected by alteration and pristinely preserve signatures from the original magma‚” Smit said in a statement. The authors consider ratios of these elements‚ some quite rare‚ to be key to resolving what occurred.The original crust was composed of three types of rock; tonalite‚ trondhjemite‚ and granodiorite‚ collectively known as TTG. Previous studies of TTG looked at samples from one or a few locations‚ but Smit and colleagues analyzed materials collected worldwide to find the commonalities and ignore the rest.“These elements allowed us to look back through the chemical changes that TTG magmas go through and trace the melt compositions back to their initial state and source‚” Smit added. He suspects the source was probably gabbro‚ a sort of rock formed by the slow cooling of magma rich in magnesium and iron.The process the authors propose would explain the composition of the older parts of the continents that have become their backbones. “All these rocks – and especially their combination – can be explained by the model we present‚" Smit claimed. “Ours is a simple model in which TTGs‚ as well as the younger rocks that TTGs are typically associated with‚ resulted from the slow burial‚ thickening and melting of precursor crust that likely resembled oceanic plateaus. The continental crust was destined to develop the way it did‚ because it kept getting buried further and the rocks at its base had no choice but to melt. In doing so‚ they made the TTGs that proved a winning recipe for continental survival and growth.” Temperatures probably exceeded 1‚600° C (2‚900° F) under all the material above.If the model stands up to scrutiny‚ it will resolve a problem for geologists. Previous models proposed TTGs were formed in the first subduction zones after plate tectonics began. However‚ there is uncertainty on the timing of plate tectonics' origins‚ and some suspicions it is younger than the first continents‚ posing an obvious problem.“There’s always been a ‘chicken-and-egg’ question of which came first – the start of plate tectonics of TTG magmatism to make new continental crust‚” Smit said. “We show that these things may actually not be directly related. The recognition of the type of source rock makes this leap possible and also takes away the need to have other mechanisms‚ such as meteorite impact‚ explain the growth of the first real continents.”TTG crust now only makes up a minority of the Earth – but it‚ and related slightly younger rocks‚ are still a big part of North America in particular. Some people have taken a liking to it.“Funnily enough‚ many people have varieties of this type of rock as a kitchen countertop‚” Dr Smit said. “In a way‚ many people are preparing their dinner on the type of rock that was responsible for making our modern continents.” This may not be a good thing. While granite kitchenware is safe to use‚ the high number of deaths associated with cutting engineered stone has led to investigations that suggest cutting granite to make furnishings can be a health risk too. Sometimes it's best to leave old things in their place.The study is published open access in the journal Nature Communications

Behold the X-ray sky as you have never seen it before. The space telescope eROSITA has been observing the sky for several years and researchers have now published the map of half of the sky. It is the largest map of high-energy sources ever created.The data was collected between December 2019 and June 2020 and it detected over 900‚000 unique sources. Of those‚ 710‚000 sources are supermassive black holes in other galaxies. There are 180‚000 X-rays emitting stars from our own as well as 12‚000 galaxy clusters‚ and many exotic objects emitting high-energy light‚ including the Vela pulsar – brightly visible at the center of this map.“These are mind-blowing numbers for X-ray astronomy‚” Andrea Merloni‚ eROSITA principal investigator and first author of the eROSITA catalogue paper‚ said in a statement. “We’ve detected more sources in six months than the big flagship missions XMM-Newton and Chandra have done in nearly 25 years of operation.”The eROSITA collaboration has so far published 200 papers and with the release of this impressive catalog‚ they have submitted for peer-review 50 more. There are newly discovered filaments between galaxy clusters‚ black holes erupting quasi-periodically‚ and much more. Another very interesting study highlights the discovery of over 1‚000 superclusters of galaxies. The wealth of data and discoveries is truly unprecedented in X-ray astronomy.“The scientific breadth and impact of the survey is quite overwhelming; it’s hard to put into a few words‚” added Mara Salvato‚ who as a spokesperson for the German eROSITA consortium coordinates the efforts of about 250 scientists. “But the papers published by the team will speak for themselves.”“The eROSITA collaboration has done an outstanding job with the data release and at the same time publishing all of these amazing new results‚” said Kirpal Nandra‚ Director at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. “There’s a lot more to come from us‚ and we’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of the world will do with the public data.”An important publication is expected to come in about two weeks. Among the goals of eROSITA is to better constrain cosmological models given the current uncertainties plaguing the leading model. The constraints that will be presented in the coming work are based on the galaxy clusters seen in this catalog.We will certainly look forward to finding out more.

In 1986 Venezuela‚ a peculiar‚ venom-esque goo began seeping from a busy highway connecting the Simón Bolívar International Airport and the capital city of Caracas. As quickly as it appeared‚ the mysterious goo‚ named La Mancha Negra or the black spot‚ began to spread‚ turning the highway into a motorist death trap.The black goo first appeared on a 46-meter (50-yard) patch of asphalt on the highway and continued to grow until it eventually covered roughly 13 kilometers (8 miles)‚ with a thickness of 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in places. Appearing as a black tar-like substance‚ the goo was said to have the consistency of chewing gum. In the first five years of its existence‚ La Mancha Negra reportedly took the lives of 1‚800 people who attempted to traverse the road it engulfed.Despite disappearing briefly and without reason in the 90s‚ La Mancha Negra made its comeback again in 2001‚ as mysterious as ever. But what was this oozing substance‚ and where did it come from? Even now‚ La Mancha Negra remains a mystery‚ and‚ like any good mystery‚ it comes with its own set of conspiracy theories.Where did the goo come from?The discourse around La Mancha Negra is sparse‚ tentative‚ and chock-full of speculation‚ but there are a few fan favorites when it comes to theories surrounding the cause of the ooze.One theory is that it was caused by a bad batch of asphalt‚ which would explain its tar-like appearance. Asphalt contains tar which‚ when heated‚ gets sticky‚ and‚ like tar‚ one of the key features of La Mancha Negra is its reactivity to weather‚ growing when it's hot and rainy‚ and shrinking again when the temperature and humidity drops.Another theory posits that the goo is a result of natural petroleum deposits nearby. The city of Caracas sits near the Orinoco Belt which uses pipelines to transport heavy oil to Caracas and other Venezuelan cities. However‚ Ramanan Krishnamoorti‚ PhD‚ a professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at the University of Houston‚ told Popular Mechanics that “usually such oozing from a reservoir’s subsurface would have to be at a single failure point and not likely to spread over an eight-mile length of the road.” Going on‚ he explains‚ “Also‚ typically heavy oils will settle and not try to ooze out onto the surface.”Reinaldo Gonzalez‚ PhD‚ a lecturer at the University of Houston in the petroleum engineering department who was in Venezuela during the 1986 occurrence also explained his preferred theory in a statement to Popular Mechanics: “The simplest possible explanation that I seem to remember is that the phases of the treated asphalt separated‚ and one of them ‘emerged’ to the surface‚ causing a kind of black and slightly greasy stain on the roads.”In yet another theory‚ claims were made that raw sewage from the nearby slums was to blame‚ speculating that it caused a chemical breakdown of the asphalt as it flowed downhill under the roads. Others think it was the result of burnt rubber from tyres or oil falling from car engines. But the more outlandish‚ and perhaps more entertaining claims‚ are that the goo was created on purpose by people working for‚ or against‚ the Venezuelan government.Government involvementDuring the 1980s‚ when the goo first appeared‚ Venezuela was led by Jaime Lusinchi who saw a short term in office from ’84 to ’89‚ during a brief intermission between Carlos Andres Perez’s two terms. During this period‚ the country dealt with copious scandals in the form of government corruption and embezzlement‚ largely involving money made from Venezuela’s enormous oil reserves.Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world and is colloquially referred to under the derogatory name “petrostate” due to its reliance on these oil and natural gas deposits‚ as well as its periods of widespread corruption. So‚ when the price of oil began to plummet in the 1980s‚ and a tar-like substance began leaking from the capital’s busiest highway‚ people began to get suspicious.A leading theory speculates that the faulty asphalt was a result of mismanaged government funds‚ whereby corners were cut‚ and money was saved by using sub-standard materials in road repairs and maintenance.Similarly‚ there’s speculation that the government and private companies were both making heavy profits by repeatedly botching repairs to the road and elongating clean-up efforts‚ a theory that was flamed by the persistence of the problem and the seemingly sub-par attempts to try to remove it and find out what it was.Some even speculated that the original blob was intentionally created to sabotage Perez and make his government look bad as he left office in 1984. However‚ Perez returned to office again in ’89‚ meaning the goo’s theorized mission was unsuccessful in tar-nishing public opinion of Perez.Additionally‚ a later theory reported on by French news agency Courrier National in 2003 recounts claims made by Caracas mayor Freddy Bernal in 2001‚ when the goo made its second appearance. He reportedly claimed that hired people were throwing bags containing used oil onto the highway under the cover of night in an attempt to tarnish his reputation.Despite reported claims from Bernal that alleged that samples were found to contain 60 percent brake fluid and 40 percent used oil‚ indicating the substance was made intentionally‚ the claims haven’t been substantiated and fail to account for the initial oozing occurrence.The Venezuelan government did‚ however‚ reportedly spend millions trying to investigate the composition of the goo‚ but despite hiring experts from the US‚ Canada‚ and Europe‚ their chemical tests supposedly weren’t able to verify what was in the substance.Where did it go?During the goo’s reign of terror‚ continuous efforts were made to pressure wash it away with water and air and scrape the sticky substance off the road’s surface‚ but all attempts were in vain‚ with the ooze seeming to spread straight back again.Attempts were even made to dry the sludge by dumping pulverized limestone on the road‚ but this only worked to create more issues when the dust from the limestone began affecting the air quality and visibility in the area.Car pileups became common on the busy highway road‚ on which copious red warning signs were erected in an attempt to slow traffic. Local residents and taxi drivers would avoid driving on the highway‚ and the area was closed four nights a week while workers attempted to temporarily restore the road’s surface.But‚ while the goo did increase the rate of car crashes in the area‚ even the total number of deaths caused by La Mancha Negra is speculated. The 1‚800 figure is claimed to have occurred in just the first five years of the sludge’s existence – that’s around one death on the road per day – and no figures have been given about the subsequent deaths after that time. Many reports of the event emphasize the lack of supporting evidence to substantiate these exact figures.Regardless of the exact details of the goo controversy‚ it did cause a very real disruption in the country for many years‚ before making an abrupt and unexplained disappearance in the 90s. It’s still not entirely clear what stopped it‚ but it’s speculated that large mudslides in 1999 that necessitated the building of new roadways could have played a part.However‚ those pesky new roads weren’t about to stop La Mancha Negra‚ as it made its second (and supposedly final) appearance in 2001. Official reports on the current progress of La Mancha Negra seem to have stopped in the early 2000s‚ with all recent accounts citing these older pieces as the most recent sources.For this reason‚ it’s widely speculated that La Mancha Negra finally reached its demise sometime in the late noughties‚ and it doesn’t seem to have returned. How this happened‚ though‚ is still up for debate.

Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi broke the news that the censorship outfit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) allegedly misrepresented itself to the IRS to gain tax-exempt status.  Taibbi exposed the CCDH‚ or the “digital brownshirts” as MRC President Brent Bozell calls the group‚ in a Jan. 31 thread on X. In the thread‚ he detailed how the CCDH falsely claimed to be a charity in the United Kingdom to quickly gain tax-exempt status in the United States. Taibbi wrote that “[i]n March 2021‚ CCDH's new US entity applied for tax-exempt status in the U.S.‚ claiming it was a registered charity in the UK.”  1. UK FILES EXTRA: The Center for Countering Digital Hate‚ the IRS‚ and 501 (c)(3) status pic.twitter.com/HzP4ZDIAPI — Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 31‚ 2024 Taibbi explained that the CCDH had asked for an expedited review‚ quickly received their desired charitable status from the IRS‚ and then proudly bragged about acquiring charitable status.  However‚ according to the work of Taibbi and reporter Paul Holden‚ this success was built on a lie. Taibbi not only writes that the “CCDH is not a registered charity in the UK‚” but also that the UK Charity Commission denied that the CCDH had even applied. [Emphasis added].  Taibbi also noted that although the organization’s role in pushing censorship has been covered by the media‚ many prominent outlets have failed to report on the CCDH’s leftist origins which Taibbi connected to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.  The CCDH has been investigated and subpoenaed by Congress for its role in promoting censorship on social media and in the United States. For example‚ these “digital brownshirts‚” infamously pushed Google to censor crisis pregnancy centers to ensure that fewer women choose life over killing their babies. Taibbi mentioned in his recent thread that the CCDH “appeared often in #TwitterFiles documents‚” and that‚ “[a] typical scenario saw the company receive a query from a media outlet‚ asking why this or that account identified as hateful/bigoted/inaccurate by the CCDH had not yet been banned.” It’s not clear whether donors deserve a tax write-off for giving to this evil and allegedly deceitful organization.  Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand government agencies and Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on so-called hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us at the Media Research Center contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable

New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul suggested looking into deporting the mob of illegal migrants who attacked two New York Police Department officers over the weekend‚ the New York Post reported.Republican politicians are calling for the illegal immigrants involved in the brutal assault to be promptly removed from the country. On Wednesday‚ Hochul was asked by reporters whether she would support deporting the individuals."I think that's actually something that should be looked at‚" Hochul replied. "I mean‚ if someone commits a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and they're not here legally‚ it's definitely worth checking into.""These are law enforcement officers who should never under any circumstances be subjected to physical assault‚" the governor continued. "It's wrong on all accounts‚ and I'm looking to judges and prosecutors to do the right thing."She called the attack on the officers "abhorrent."On Saturday evening‚ a group of men gathered outside a migrant shelter viciously punched and kicked police officers who were attempting to arrest one individual‚ Blaze News previously reported. Surveillance video from the incident in Times Square showed cops wrestling one unruly migrant to the ground while the rest of the mob took turns hitting the officers.The two police officers suffered minor injuries. Five people were arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack. Four of the migrants were charged with assault and released without bail‚ law enforcement sources told the Post. The fifth individual was charged with attempted assault of a police officer.Yorman Reveron‚ 24‚ one of the men accused of assaulting the cops‚ already has two open cases for assault and robbery‚ the news outlet reported.As of Wednesday‚ police are still searching for three suspects. A spokesperson for Hochul told the Post that the governor's office has been in contact with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office regarding the suspects being released without bail. "Under existing state law‚ assaulting a police officer is a bail-eligible crime‚ and district attorneys must hold offenders accountable‚" the spokesperson stated.United States Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis from New York slammed the city's "sanctuary" status."That law that's prohibiting cooperation between NYPD and federal immigration enforcement — it just has to stop‚" Malliotakis stated. "Republicans‚ independents‚ Democrats should at least be able to agree that if you're in this city and you're committing a crime‚ you have given up any opportunity to ever become a part of this citizenry‚ period."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A Delaware judge ruled Tuesday that — contrary to the will of the supermajority of shareholders and the company's board — Tesla CEO Elon Musk was undeserving of the multibillion-dollar compensation package directors awarded him in 2018. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick may have unwittingly set the stage for an accelerated erosion of Delaware's dominance and the rise of a competitive business court network in Texas. After all‚ Musk appears unwilling to continue taking abuse in the Diamond State. A judge's decision A shareholder lawsuit was filed against Musk and Tesla directors several years ago. McCormick characterized the complaint thusly in her Tuesday opinion: "Was the richest person in the world overpaid? The stockholder plaintiff in this derivative lawsuit says so. [Richard Tornetta] claims that that Tesla‚ Inc.'s directors breached their fiduciary duties by awarding Elon Musk a performance-based equity-compensation plan." The 2018 compensation agreement was structured around 12 tranches of stock options‚ whereby Musk would unlock additional options upon the satisfaction of various operation milestones and stock market capitalization goals. The pay plan was valued at up to $55.8 billion. The New York Times suggested at the time it was the "boldest pay plan in corporate history‚" noting that "Musk will be paid only if he reaches a series of jaw-dropping milestones." For Musk to fill his pockets‚ he would first have to see to the enrichment of shareholders‚ raising the market value of Tesla from $50 billion to $650 billion. In theory and in practice‚ everybody wins. Defense attorneys told the Delaware Chancery Court that the pay plan was fairly negotiated by a compensation committee comprising independent members‚ set incredibly ambitious milestones‚ and was even approved by a legally unnecessary shareholder vote‚ reported the Associated Press. The judge‚ nominated by Biden ally and Delaware Gov. John Carney (D)‚ suggested that the task of "proving the fairness of the largest potential compensation plan in the history of public markets" was "too tall an order." McCormick‚ the same judge who fatefully prevented Musk from backing out of the Twitter acquisition deal‚ claimed in her ruling that the South African billionaire "enjoyed thick ties with the directors tasked with negotiating on behalf of Tesla‚ and dominated the process that led to board approval of his compensation plan." "The Compensation Committee and Musk were not on different sides‚" continued the judge. "They did not acknowledge the existence of a conflict. It was a cooperative and collaborative process." McCormick ultimately voided the pay deal. The people's decision Musk did not take the news well‚ posting on X‚ "Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware." Evidently keen not to give McCormick the last word‚ Musk polled his over 170 million followers on X‚ asking: "Should Tesla change its state of incorporation to Texas‚ home of its physical headquarters?" Axios noted that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ratified HB 19 in June 2023‚ establishing business courts in the state to deal with complicated commercial disputes. The courts will open on Sept. 1‚ 2024‚ according to the law firm Sidley Austin LLP. "The creation of these new courts may eventually make Texas an even more attractive location for resolving business disputes‚" said the law firm. Over 1.1 million X users participated in Musk's poll‚ voting overwhelmingly in favor of Tesla changing its state of incorporation to Texas. The final result was 87.1% in favor‚ 12.9% opposed. — (@) Following the landslide vote‚ Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) wrote‚ "Elon‚ it's over. The election desk is declaring a landslide victory for Texas." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted‚ "Hell yes." After various groups and users piled in to celebrate‚ including the Texas Association of Business‚ Elon Musk declared‚ "The public vote is unequivocally in favor of Texas! Tesla will move immediately to hold a shareholder vote to transfer state of incorporation to Texas." Significance Garland Kelley‚ a Texas-based partner at Looper Goodwine PC‚ told Axios that Tesla's reincorporation in the Lone Star State could signal the beginning of "a bit of legal competition" between Democrat-controlled Delaware and Texas. Over 65% of Fortune 500 companies are presently incorporated in Delware. "If you are a new company or an existing company like Tesla and you're unhappy with the legal product that the court in Delaware is producing‚ do you have an alternative?" said Kelley. Kelley suggested further that "the Texas Business Court represents that alternative." Brian Cheffins‚ a professor of corporate law at Cambridge University‚ told Reuters there is no guarantee Musk will not similarly experience hostility in the Lone Star State. "Musk must believe that Texas judges are more 'business friendly' than their Delaware counterparts. ... Musk must be assuming that Texas judges will‚ with the discretion they have to assess executive pay‚ take a more relaxed approach to the issue than Delaware judges‚" said Cheffins. "It is far from clear Texas will do so." The Texas business court will comprise seven judges appointed by Abbott with the advice and consent of the Senate. Judges on the bench must have at least a decade of relevant experience. Reincorporation may also expose Musk to additional lawsuits. Tripadvisor‚ for instance‚ has been sued over its plans to ditch Delaware and reincorporate in Nevada. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Infamous Clinton acolyte John Podesta has been picked by President Biden to fill the role of the international climate change representative for White House.According to reports‚ not only will Podesta take on the position of presidential envoy for climate — formerly held by John Kerry — he will also remain as the senior adviser to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation."We need to keep meeting the gravity of this moment‚ and there is no one better than John Podesta to make sure we do‚" White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told NBC News. "John has — and will continue to be — at the helm of driving the implementation of the most significant climate law in history."Podesta was chief of staff to President Bill Clinton‚ a counselor to President Obama‚ and of course he was also the chairman of Hillary Clinton's failed 2016 presidential campaign.The 75-year-old became a household name when his emails were leaked during the election cycle. Emails revealed troubling realities such as Hillary Clinton admitting she had "both a public and a private position" on policies and that she was given advance knowledge of debate questions by an employee at CNN.Podesta joined the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in both 2022 and 2023 as the White House's senior adviser to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation.The new climate policy representative does not often give public statements and even has an X (Twitter at the time) boycott‚ not having posted on the platform since August 2022. His last post was‚ however‚ to celebrate investments in "clean energy" and "climate.""Breaking my Twitter Boycott to celebrate Senate passage of IRA and its massive investments in clean energy and climate‚" the politician wrote.Podesta replaces former Vice President Kerry‚ who was named by Biden in 2020 to the newly invented role."America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is‚" Kerry said at the time.Kerry has "tirelessly trekked around the world" to fight the climate crisis‚ Chief of Staff Zients said‚ according to the Guardian. The 80-year-old is expected to shift his support toward President Biden's 2024 re-election campaign.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democratic politicians in Washington state recently proposed a measure to prohibit cities from using "hostile architecture" to deter homeless individuals from setting up encampments in public spaces‚ KIRO-TV reported Friday.Senate Bill 6231‚ sponsored by four Democratic state senators‚ was introduced earlier this month and would prohibit "the use of hostile architecture elements for publicly accessible buildings or real property." If passed‚ the city would be banned from installing or constructing design elements meant to "restrict the use of any public space by people experiencing homelessness‚" the legislation stated.The proposed bill defines "hostile architecture" as "any building or structure that is designed or intended to prevent people experiencing homelessness from sitting or lying on the building or structure at street level." It would not ban design elements that prevent skateboarding and rollerblading or restrict vehicle access to specific spaces. The legislation would also not prevent Washington from installing the elements on state land‚ including highways. If passed‚ the bill will take effect in January 2025.Earlier this month‚ the Olympian reported that Washington spent $700‚000 in taxpayer funds‚ according to Kris Abrudan‚ Washington Department of Transportation's communication director‚ to install "hundreds of large boulders at sites of former encampments." Most of the boulders were placed at Sleater Kinney Road and Interstate 5 in Olympia‚ the media outlet stated.Abrudan explained that in all the instances where "more expensive encampment deterrent tools like boulders" were used‚ the areas had experienced challenges for years."Sleater Kinney and Wheeler combined had over 200 people living on state right of way in close proximity to I-5. The risk of re-encampment and associated exponential growth and history of encampments combined with appropriate topography to support boulders ultimately drove the decision for use at these select sites‚" she told the Olympian.State Democratic Senator Liz Lovelett‚ the bill's prime sponsor‚ recently stated that she has "mixed feelings" about using boulders to deter homeless encampments. "Having people locating where they are that close to folks who are driving 80 miles per hour seems kind of inherently unsafe‚" Lovelett told Axios. "But is putting almost a million dollars of boulders there the solution?"She noted that the legislation may need to be changed after architects voiced concerns that the bill did not specifically define which design structures would be banned.Supporters of the proposed measure argued that the state should redirect funds to address the cause of the homelessness crisis.Michelle Thomas with the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance stated‚ "Using public dollars on hostile architecture is a sign to everyone housed or unhoused that our government is not serious about addressing the root causes of homelessness.""Those boulders were explicitly to stop people from lying down‚" Thomas contined. "And it's not to stop you from getting to the freeway. You can climb over those boulders and get onto the freeway."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!