'I don't get a good feel for her'

'Continue bussing migrants'

'Still work there to do for the Democrats'

Jethro Tull was formed in 1967 in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, stands as a seminal progressive rock band known for its distinctive melding of rock, folk, and classical music elements. Led by the charismatic Ian Anderson, whose flute playing became a defining characteristic of the band, Jethro Tull released numerous albums that have achieved critical and commercial success worldwide. The band’s discography includes iconic albums such as Aqualung (1971) and Thick as a Brick (1972), which have made significant impacts on the rock genre. Over the years, Jethro Tull has seen various lineup changes, each bringing a unique contribution to its The post Complete List Of Jethro Tull Band Members appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

A partnership between United Airlines and a fashion company diverted 900 pounds of trash from landfills in the form of expired life jackets. According to unified aviation safety regulations, the life jackets under your seat have to be switched out every 8 to 10 years, and while it’s obviously a great thing that they never […] The post United Airlines Worker Resolves How to Turn Thousands of Expired Life Jackets into Backpacks and Bags appeared first on Good News Network.

Excerpts Young Adult Read an Excerpt From Alexandra Bracken’s The Mirror of Beasts Arthurian legend bleeds into contemporary action, and scars of the past are torn open in this sequel to Skin in the Bone. By Alexandra Bracken | Published on July 24, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from The Mirror of Beasts by Alexandra Bracken, a young adult fantasy novel publishing with from Knopf Books for Young Readers on July 30th. With the dream of Avalon in ruins, Tamsin and her friends are all that stands in the way of Lord Death’s plans to unleash the horrors of Anwnn on the world of the living. As the Wild Hunt carves a bloody path across continents, Tamsin is mustering allies, tracking down powerful artifacts, and traversing into new otherlands in search of a way to stop him.Legend tells of a “Mirror of Beasts,” powerful enough to trap even Lord Death in its accursed glass, but the mirror is not all that it seems. Tamsin must confront her own darkest secrets if she hopes to tap the mirror’s strength to defeat her enemies. From the author: In this scene, Tamsin and her friends find themselves the captives of three deliciously wicked sorceresses, and they’re forced to confront the painful consequences of the events at the end of the first book. Even more surprising to Tamsin, however, is who comes to save them. I had so much fun with this scene (Sorry, Tamsin!) and loved planting some seeds here that grow into dark blooms later in the book. “Marvelous,” one said, and I recognized the voice belonging to Acacia. “You’re finally awake.” Her face was like white velvet beneath the braided crown of her pale hair, and the flawlessness of her beauty set her apart as something other, something to fear, because it could only be a lure. And her eyes… they were spiteful as they assessed us, before turning to her companion. “I told you it wouldn’t be much longer, Hestia.” Hestia revealed herself to be the wiry one with tan skin and a slightly pinched expression as she declared, “Best to start with the one that doesn’t have magic.” The cuffs around my wrists fell away, and in a rare moment of composure, I scrambled back on clumsy limbs, colliding with a soft form behind me—Neve. “How quickly courage flees when their master is not there to protect them,” the nameless one said. Her pale blue eyes were rimmed with heavy plum liner the same shade as her knotted hair. “M-Master?” I croaked. “Hang on, what are you talking about?” “Listen,” Neve began, sounding entirely too reasonable for the situation we were in. “There’s clearly been some sort of misunderstanding—” A hot band of pressure locked around my waist and yanked me back toward the stone bars of our cell. I bit my tongue painfully, blood exploding in my mouth as Acacia spun her hands in a mocking show of reeling me in. The small spike slipped from my fingers as I tried in vain to drive my heels down to fight the pull of magic. Buy the Book The Mirror of Beasts Alexandra Bracken Buy Book The Mirror of Beasts Alexandra Bracken Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget “Stop this!” Olwen pulled against her manacles. “We’re not your enemies!” “Is that so?” Acacia flicked her wrist, and I was flung like a doll up against the bars. Stars burst behind my eyes as my temple collided with the rock. Magic shoved at me from behind, and my ribs screamed in protest. “Release her!” Caitriona roared. “Please!” Olwen begged. “We were coming to find the Council of Sistren, to warn you about Lord Death!” “Warn us?” Plum Hair grated out. “Warn us of what, precisely? That resisting his demand was futile? As if slaughtering five of our sistren weren’t message enough!” “We were—we—” Each word I spoke only increased the pressure from behind. I wondered, fleetingly, how much force my body could withstand before it was crushed against the stone bars. Caitriona let out a noise of pure rage, trying to rip her hands from the restraints. “You led him directly to Stellamaris last night—admit it!” Acacia snarled. Despite the pain ratcheting through my body, my mind latched onto that name. The Sorceress Stellamaris lived on the outskirts of Boston. Cabell and I had done a recovery job for her, retrieving her mother’s ring from another sorceress’s tomb. She had been—pleasant wasn’t the right word, and neither was harmless. She had been… uncomplicated to deal with. The storm. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that the city experienced a freak blizzard the same night she was killed. “We ought to rip every last detail about their master from their minds,” Plum Hair said. “Surely the Council won’t punish us if we get what they’re after?” “What are you talking about?” Neve asked, beyond agitated. “Unmakers of worlds,” Hestia sneered. “The four servants of Death, maidens of winter—the others may dress you up in pretty names, but we know what you are. We know the rot in your hearts.” “We do not serve Death!” Caitriona raged. “We are his sworn enemies!” At that, all three women laughed riotously. And through the pain, through terror, all I could imagine was kicking them into the nearest curse sigil. “I’m one of you!” Neve cried. “I’m a sorceress! They’re—they’re priestesses of Avalon! We tried to stop Lord Death, not help him!” The last of the air left my lungs as the force of Acacia’s magic drove harder against my back, threatening to snap my ribs, my spine. My vision darkened at the edges as I struggled to draw in even a shallow breath. “Your fork-tongued lies mean nothing to us,” Hestia said. “There wasn’t a soul alive in Avalon when your master compelled you to destroy it.” “We were trying to save the isle,” Olwen said, pleading. “We thought the ritual would purify it—it was a mistake!” She began to hum, a shaky, desperate sound, to summon a spell. Neve joined her, her voice breaking with her sobbing breath. The sorceresses only laughed, the flickering lantern light deepening the harsh lines of their faces. “Singing spells? How quaint,” Acacia said. “Your cell is warded against the use of magic. Try it again and you’ll certainly be carrying your friend home in pieces.” “It was a mistake! All of it!” Neve swore in desperation. “More lies,” Plum Hair sang. She glanced toward Acacia, enjoying the show. “Tell us what your master is after,” Acacia demanded. “And why he wants it by the winter solstice.” “We don’t know what you’re talking about!” Caitriona thundered. “They must truly hate their friend to wish her dead,” Hestia said. “I don’t know about you, sistren, but I would be all too glad to avenge the mortals who perished at Glastonbury. The ones slaughtered as you unmade the boundary and brought hell raining down upon this world.” The agony finally overcame me like a tide, ripping through the last bit of strength I had. I cried out, hot tears streaking my face. My limbs, my skin, strained against the stone, stretching painfully, threatening to tear. “Stop!” Blue-white light erupted through the cell with Neve’s shattering cry, incinerating the darkness with its unbridled intensity. The sorceresses stumbled back, flinging their arms over their faces to shield their eyes. The light produced no heat, but it radiated a dizzying pressure with each shuddering breath Neve took. “You said you blocked their magic!” Hestia shrieked. “I did!” Acacia shrieked back. The pressure crushing me against the bars released and I hit the ground hard, gasping. My fingers clawed at the rough stone as I tried to steady my galloping heart. “Tamsin?” Olwen called out. “Are you all right?” I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t speak just yet. As the light retreated, it cast the cell back into a deeper darkness. I blinked against the spots floating in my vision, and even then, I wondered if I was imagining it—the way the magic seemed to linger on Neve’s skin like a dusting of stars before it winked out entirely. My breath was stilted, burning in my aching chest. At the sound of the sorceresses’ steps shuffling forward, I curled down into myself, my entire body bracing for more pain. “What… are you?” Acacia ground out. The three sorceresses were unharmed, but their hair was flying loose, their long robes and gowns askew, as if they’d barely come through a windstorm. “I told you,” Neve said, the pleading note back in her voice. She pulled against her restraints, trying to sit up. “I’m one of you.” “That was not the Mother’s magic,” Hestia said, breathless. “That was not our magic.” “It must be his,” came the third. “Death magic. The power of Annwn.” “No!” Neve said, pleading. “It’s not! I—it’s—” Hestia turned her back to us, lowering her voice to a mere whisper. For the first time, she sounded uncertain as she spoke to the others. “Do we kill her?” I rolled onto my stomach, fear roiling in my gut. Caitriona slammed her back against the stone bars, as if she could break them with sheer will. “Try it,” she warned, the words brimming with lethal promise. “What is that dull old saying? It’s better to beg forgiveness than seek permission?” Ice shot through my veins as Acacia’s gaze fixed on Neve. “I think it best we kill them all.” Then, through the veil of terror descending over the vault, came the knock. It wasn’t a timid sound so much as polite. I thought I’d imagined it until it came again, louder and more insistent. The sorceresses looked to one another. “Were you expecting someone?” Acacia asked the others. “If it’s one of the Council—” the nameless one began. “Well, go and see to it, then,” Acacia said, waving a dismissive hand in her sistren’s direction. “Me?” Hestia complained. “Why do I have to do everything?” There was a third knock. “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” Acacia groused, the skirt of her sapphire-blue dress whirling with her. “If any of them so much as whimper, break every bone in their bodies.” My pulse thundered in my ears as I forced myself to sit up. “Ah-ah,” Hestia tutted. “Stay where you are.” “We didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” Neve whispered. “Then you’re worse than traitors to the Goddess,” Hestia said. “You’re fools.” Moments later, Acacia’s shuffling steps returned, her black cloak flaring out behind her with the force of her fury. Hestia arched a thin brow. “Who was it?” Acacia shoved a rumpled piece of parchment against her chest, then turned to glare at us, indecision passing over her face. Hestia’s eyes widened as she read it. Plum Hair ripped it out of her hands to read it herself, then turned to someone I couldn’t see. “This cannot be real,” Plum Hair murmured. “This is a trick.” “Are you willing to bet on that? Because I’m always up for a friendly wager,” said a voice from behind Acacia. Every inch of my skin prickled with sudden awareness. The shadowed figure stepped out from behind her into the floating lantern’s light. “I wouldn’t stake your life on it, though,” Emrys said. Excerpted from The Mirror of Beasts, copyright © 2024 by Alexandra Bracken. The post Read an Excerpt From Alexandra Bracken’s <i>The Mirror of Beasts</i> appeared first on Reactor.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, offering scant new information on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Wray sat down before the House lawmakers and, in his opening remarks, described the “complex threat environment” that the FBI is facing. He also emphasized the need for the agency to understand what happened at the July 13 Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Crooks, who was killed by authorities, shot at Trump, hitting him in the right ear. Wray promised that the agency will “leave no stone unturned” in its investigation. Lawmakers grilled Wray throughout Wednesday morning and into the afternoon about the incident, but a number of lawmakers also brought up related and unrelated topics, such as gun control; Jan. 6; diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; and Vice President Kamala Harris. Wray revealed that Crooks, using a laptop computer, had Googled “How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?” on July 6, a little more than a week before the July 13 attack on Trump’s life. The FBI director said that Crooks became “very focused” on Trump around that date, though he stressed that the FBI has not yet uncovered Crooks’ motivations for trying to kill the former president. Wray says that Trump's attempted assassin, somewhere around July 6, became "very focused" on Trump and the Butler rally. On July 6, he did a google search on a laptop: "How far away was Oswald from Kennedy?" pic.twitter.com/UcTl8LoOhQ— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) July 24, 2024 Wray also discussed how Crooks’ devices showed that the gunman had looked at other political figures, but he stressed that there is no indication that Crooks had another target. He told lawmakers that federal agents found three “relatively crude” explosive devices in Crooks’ possession—two in his car and one in his house. The FBI director said that Crooks had been flying a drone about 200 yards from the stage where Trump stood and was livestreaming the video about two hours before the Pennsylvania rally began. He did not offer insight into whether Crooks was conspiring with anyone else, citing the ongoing nature of the FBI’s investigation into the attempted assassination. “We’re still in early stages, but we have not seen anything so far that would suggest to us that he acted with others,” Wray said. Director Wray says that the FBI has not uncovered any other particular targets of the Trump shooter: pic.twitter.com/8EYmpkGOx6— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) July 24, 2024 The FBI director blamed “an uptick in threats about judges … including a case we helped investigate involving a threat to a sitting Supreme Court justice” (apparently meaning Justice Brett Kavanaugh) to “a reflection of a broader phenomenon that we’re seeing in this country.” Wray expressed understanding for those who are “again very passionate, I respect that; very angry, I respect that. But there is a right way and wrong way to express yourself when you are angry. And violence and threats of violence just can’t be it.” The FBI chief clarified that someone at the Butler rally saw Crooks on the roof a “handful of minutes” before he began shooting at Trump at about 6:11 p.m. on July 13. According to Wray, it’s unclear whether the person could see that Crooks had a gun. Wray also described how a local police officer saw Crooks in a “prone, shooting position” on the roof before the gunman turned and faced the officer with his gun “seconds before the shooter took his shots.” The FBI chief said that local police had also seen the shooter with a range finder “in a way that was odd and suspicious” about an hour before Crooks tried to kill Trump. The post FBI Director Testifies Before Congress About Trump Assassination Attempt appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. A constitutional legal group dedicated to freedoms has criticized a Canadian court’s recent decision to drop charges against four individuals who rejected compliance with a COVID border surveillance initiative, arguing it allowed the federal government to dodge accountability for its targeting of individuals who refused to use a vaccine passport. Chris Fleury, a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), expressed mixed feelings about the outcome in a press release. “While it is a personal victory for the clients, they are disappointed at losing the chance to challenge the constitutionality of these unscientific and irrational quarantine mandates,” he stated. Fleury highlighted that this ruling is yet another instance where the government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, avoided responsibility for COVID policies that potentially infringe on the rights enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The controversy involves the City of Mississauga dropping charges against four Canadians at Toronto Pearson International Airport who refused to adhere to the requirements of the ArriveCAN app, which was fraught with scandals and cost almost $60 million, far exceeding its original budget. The app, mandatory from November 2020, was used to monitor the vaccination status of individuals entering Canada and to implement necessary quarantines. Mark Spence, Aaron Grubb, and Evan Kraayenbrink faced charges for their refusal to use the ArriveCAN app and were also directed to quarantine. However, these charges were subsequently dropped as prosecutors deemed pursuing these cases a misuse of public resources and potentially a way to prevent judicial examination of the app’s constitutionality. The escalated cost of the ArriveCAN app, originally estimated at $80,000 and rocketing to $60 million amid technical and privacy issues, led to public outcry and a formal investigation by Canadian Auditor General Karen Hogan in November 2022 after the House of Commons voted for a full audit. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Court Ruling Permits Trudeau Government To Evade Accountability for Vaccine Passport Mandates appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Another Secret Service Fail

ABC, CBS, and NBC displayed strong fan boy and fan girl energy on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with segments salivating over the “boisterous,” “ecstatic,” “energized,” “enthusiastic,” and “raucous” Wisconsin crowd Tuesday afternoon for Vice President Kamala Harris in her first official rally as the likely Democratic presidential nominee that signaled “a whole new race” as she “prosecute[s] the case against” former President Trump. In contrast, some smeared the GOP ticket for labeling basic criticisms of Harris as “personal” “attacks”, including the tag that she’s a DEI candidate and fulfilling the warning leveled in a New York Times op-ed by Hillary Clinton that Harris’s “record and character will be distorted and disparaged by a flood of disinformation and the kind of ugly prejudice we’re already hearing from MAGA mouthpieces.”     Monday’s CBS Evening News began with anchor Norah O’Donnell beaming over Harris triggering “renewed enthusiasm” and “ecstatic Wisconsin Democrats” combining for “a boisterous crowd” that ate up Harris’s “relatively short speech”, which O’Donnell said “pulled no punches, framing the 2024 race as the prosecutor versus the convicted felon.” Senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang trumpeted with pride how it all went down featuring Harris as the candidate with “momentum...fueled by cash” and “powerful endorsements”. Jiang even celebrated Harris’s newfound “brat” moniker (which our own Mary Clare explained to us on Tuesday) (click “expand”): JIANG: One word said it all: Kamala. [HARRIS SOUNDBITE] JIANG: Vice President Harris, a former prosecutor, went right after former President Donald Trump’s criminal record. [HARRIS SOUNDBITES] JIANG: Harris’s momentum is fueled by cash. Her campaign says she’s raised more than $100 million since President Biden dropped out of the race and by powerful endorsements. Today, the top two Democrats in Congress, Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, announced their formal support of Harris. [JEFFRIES SOUNDBITE] (....) JIANG: Without a VP pick, all the attention is on Harris, especially on social media, with new posts popping up on all platforms. Her campaign is leaning in, even changing its profile picture to embrace this one shared by pop star Charli XCX: "Kamala is brat," which has gone viral. [TO SPRAGG] Is it a compliment if Kamala is brat? SARAH SPRAGG: Yes, 100 percent, it is a compliment. JIANG: Wisconsin rallygoer Sarah Spragg says it is less about what brat means, more about how Harris can connect with younger voters, who Biden struggled with. SPRAGG: She is authentically herself, and she’s playing with that youthful side. JIANG: As part of that outreach to younger voters, and now that Biden’s age is not a campaign issue, sources say Harris will zoom in on Trump’s age as part of her case against him. He’s 78 years old, and she’s 59. That’s nearly 20 years younger[.] Like the networks did yesterday, the Harris fluff was countered with kicking up dust in the eyes of Republicans. Chief campaign and election correspondent Robert Costa blasted Trump for having “falsely claimed” Harris “wants open borders” (even though she supports decriminalizing illegal border crossings). Costa also kvetched about Trump running mate and Senator JD Vance (R-OH) for the supposed crime of “question[ing] her love of country” and heaping “scorn” on Democrats like Harris, whom he described in a 2021 Fox News appearance as one of the “childless cat ladies...without children” who are “run[ning]...this country” The former conservative reporter also huffed about Harris being called a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) candidate, describing them as “sharp comments”  Tuesday night also saw World News Tonight anchor David Muir fired up about Harris’s “enthusiastic crowd” and chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce proclaimed “Harris remind[ed] voters...is uniquely qualified to prosecute the case against Donald Trump” and “hammer[ed] Trump on abortion.” NBC Nightly News put its chief White House correspondent on the Kamala beat. Peter Alexander told viewers that Harris had “an energized” and “raucous event” in which she “pitch[ed] herself as a former prosecutor, going after her political rival”. Bruce was still on cloud nine during Wednesday’s Good Morning America: Well, I can tell you the energy in that room at that rally was palpable. The crowd was fired up and energized. It was the largest crowd the Democrats have seen in this race so far. And, from the moment Harris stepped onto that stage, it was clear that this is a whole new race. This morning, Kamala Harris is hitting the ground running. Her first campaign rally in battleground Wisconsin, electrifying a crowd of 3,000 supporters. Cuing up a clip of Harris hawking abortion, Bruce described it as “the issues that will determine this race” while putting the economy in separate bucket as “top of mind for so many voters.” Senior White House correspondent Selina Wang played stenographer for the outgoing Biden regime, gushing over how his upcoming Oval Office speech on why he dropped out would be one he’ll deliver “speaking from his heart”. NBC’s Today was dominated by partisan quackery. Co-host Savannah Guthrie insisted Republicans are “sharpening their attacks and getting personal” against Harris and, back again from Tuesday, Alexander touted this “burst of new energy” for Democrats. Alexander delivered more fluff, including fawning over a Hillary Clinton column in The New York Times warning of “disinformation and...ugly prejudice” from Republicans. Alexander implicitly cited the DEI discourse as an example (click “expand”): ALEXANDER: Marking her presidential campaign debut in Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harris walking out to Beyoncé’s hit, Freedom. Harris, now the de facto Democratic nominee, accusing former President Trump of looking to take the country backwards, while comparing herself, a former prosecutor, to Mr. Trump, a convicted criminal. [HARRIS SOUNDBITES] ALEXANDER: The two top Democrats in Congress, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the latest to endorse her candidacy. And, overnight, Hillary Clinton who lost to Mr. Trump in 2016, praising Harris in a New York Times op-ed, writing, “I know she can defeat Donald Trump”, but warning, “Ms. Harris’s record and character will be distorted and disparaged by a flood of disinformation and the kind of ugly prejudice we’re already hearing from MAGA mouthpieces.” And on the Republican side, there is new backlash to some attacking her race. One Republican congressman referring to Harris as a “DEI” — or diversity, equity and inclusion — “Vice President”. CONGRESSMAN TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): 100 percent she was a DEI hire. ALEXANDER: Some other conservative members echoing that language. CONGRESSWOMAN MARRIETT HAGEMAN (R-WY): I think it’s just a failure from top to bottom. I think she was a DEI hire. ALEXANDER: Republican leaders warning against those attacks.  HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): This election is going to be about policies, not personalities. This is not personal with regard to Kamala Harris and her — her ethnicity or her gender have nothing to do with this whatsoever. ALEXANDER: Meanwhile, old video of Mr. Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance is resurfacing, referring to Harris and other prominent Democrats as “the childless left”. JD VANCE [on FNC’s Tucker Carlson Tonight, July 2021]: We’re effectively run in this country via the Democrats and our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made. To see the relevant transcripts from July 23, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC). To see the relevant transcripts from July 24, click here (for ABC) and here (for NBC).