I used to enjoy watching horror movies. They were a lighthearted thrill‚ something ironic and far-fetched‚ a casual little fear simulator for the overly cozy and safe last (wo)man. I had a constantly updated list of favorites and wasn't rattled by gore‚ sadism‚ or edgy themes. It was fun. After having children‚ this pastime has vanished. And it's not because I worry my children will catch a glimpse of some mentally scarring chainsaw massacre. I'm just over it. Every time I stumble upon a horror movie‚ there's something newly sickening about it. It's not that the tomato sauce or the jiggly latex monstrosities are gross — it has finally‚ deeply occurred to me that these are movies about death.Adding disquieting layers of humanity to some sorority sister who is inexplicably showering alone during a killing spree is not an effect of parenthood I expected. With motherhood‚ I've acquired the world's most questionable superpower‚ a fuzzy‚ persistent rumination on the finitude of life‚ with a twist of cosmic horror. Even though it sounds painfully corny‚ and I cringe as I write this‚ every person hacked to death in a slasher is‚ at the very least‚ someone's child. Adding disquieting layers of humanity to some sorority sister who is inexplicably showering alone during a killing spree is not an effect of parenthood I expected. But it's there now. When she gets gleefully hacked to pieces‚ death — real death‚ not just its fun Hollywood simulacrum — is suddenly there‚ too. Even beyond the horror genre‚ I would love a *child is getting hurt* warning on the odd drama or thriller. Yes‚ one of those dreaded trigger warnings would be nice. I can't afford to add to my burden of terrors. I now think about death quite enough‚ thank you very much.Treating life with light-heartedness was much easier when all I had in custody was my own and I was young and healthy and preoccupied with the small amusements and anxieties that filled up the day. My own life was instinctively eternal and felt somewhat flimsy. My children's lives — my perfect‚ vulnerable‚ helpless‚ careless‚ and relentlessly suicidal (in the case of my toddler) children's lives — are another matter. Far more precious and substantial than my own life has ever been to me and in my questionable custody‚ their lives are my biggest blessing and my starkest responsibility. In "Warriors and Worriers‚" Joyce Benenson posits that children are a unique source of worry‚ a new‚ unprecedented burden of negative emotion for the mother. This level of negative emotion was beneficial when danger was much more prevalent in our environment. It kept women and their offspring alive. In the long history of our species‚ feeling bad is the evolutionary price of love. The counterweight for every precious gift your children give you is the looming worry it could be taken away tomorrow. Every video of miraculous first steps‚ wobbly puddle jumps‚ and adorably mispronounced words is torture in waiting if any one of the 1001 terrible things you've been worrying about happens (not to mention the other million other things it hasn't yet occurred to you to worry about.)I'm generally not a worrier; even now‚ as a mother‚ I'm relatively carefree compared to most. I'm even less of a worrier than my husband‚ but we worry differently. I'm in charge of wake-up-in-a-cold-sweat type worries‚ like the non-specific worry that our luck will run out based on some eldritch calculation that ticks away in my subconscious. He‚ much more reasonably‚ thinks about things like drowning and traffic.My reality is that I have two perfect children. I can spend the vast majority of my time with them. I am healthy‚ and so is my husband. We are lucky beyond belief‚ almost suspiciously lucky. In my mind‚ our many blessings sometimes feel like a spring that's gradually loading. I've had my share of personal and familial tragedies‚ but because these burdens are not officially on the ledger of my young family‚ it doesn't feel like it counts. We started with a blank canvas; so far‚ it's been only goodness and light. In the back of my mind‚ the spring is loading. I do worry at least a bit about specifics: accidents‚ predators‚ abductions‚ disease‚ and the like. But my primary anxiety is about a more essential quality of this world. This is not a kind place; it is an indifferent place‚ and it is often filled with casual indignities and cruelty. Kindness is definitely out there‚ and I'll teach my children to cultivate it in themselves and their environment‚ but you can't really bet on it. I hope my children will be spared‚ but I know they won't. They‚ too‚ will be taunted in school‚ lured into vices‚ and they will have to wrestle the demons that are seeded into all of us. And even though I'll try to help them‚ they may not win some of these battles.These are absolutely normal things‚ but they are heartbreaking in a totally new way when you have children. It's easier to make your peace with the tragedy of life when it's just your suffering you're risking. I've learned that the thought that your child will inevitably suffer‚ even if you can't predict precisely how‚ is and will be a constant companion. The sum of all remote probabilities of disaster always appears to be greater than 100%. I will experience (more) devastating events‚ and they will experience them as well. It is what it is. But‚ in the meantime‚ please don't remind me. Alex Kuschata is a writer‚ cultural critic‚ and podcast host from Transylvania‚ Romania. This piece was originally published on her Substack.

Two people were stabbed in separate incidents on the New York City subway‚ according to the New York Police Department. One incident was reported at the Franklin Avenue Station in Bedford-Stuyvesant at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday. A 21-year-old woman was stabbed several times in the back. Police said the suspect in that attack was a woman wearing all black who fled from the scene. The victim was transported to Kings County Hospital and is likely to survive. In the second incident‚ a 52-year-old man refused to stop smoking and got into an argument over it‚ according to police. He was stabbed in the back several times during the argument. That incident unfolded on the J train near the Kosciuszko Street station in Brooklyn at about 5 a.m. The victim was transported to the Kings County hospital and is reported to be in stable condition. A suspect was taken into custody in that incident‚ and he was described as a man in his fifties. The New York Daily News reported that crime had risen by 7% this year compared to last year in the same time frame. Assaults had increased by 8% while petty larcenies were up by 13%. In one harrowing incident caught on cellphone video‚ two men got into an altercation that led to one attacking the other and then getting stabbed by his girlfriend. After he realized he had been stabbed‚ he pulled out a gun that led to a scuffle until his gun was wrestled away and he was shot in the head with it. Officials said the shooter would not likely face charges as it appears that he fired in self-defense. The attacker was identified as 36-year-old Dajuan Robinson‚ and the victim was identified as 32-year-old Younece Obuad. In February‚ the NYPD said that a severed human leg had been found on the subway train tracks in the Bronx borough. Police later said that their investigation led them to believe the leg belonged to a man who had been struck by the subway on Feb. 12. The leg had been covered up by snow so that it was not discovered until several days later by an MTA worker. Here's a local news report about the incidents: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The popular fast food chain Chick-fil-A has said that beginning spring 2024‚ it is dropping its "No Antibiotics Ever‚" requirement regarding the chicken it sources for its offerings and is switching to "No Antibiotics Important To Human Medicine.""NAE means no antibiotics of any kind were used in raising the animal. NAIHM restricts the use of those antibiotics that are important to human medicine and commonly used to treat people‚ and allows use of animal antibiotics only if the animal and those around it were to become sick‚" the company explained."As we looked to the future‚ the availability of high-quality chicken that meets our rigid standards became a concern‚" a Chick-fil-A spokesperson noted in a statement‚ according to reports. "This change enables us to not only ensure we can continue to serve high-quality chicken‚ but also chicken that still meets the expectations our customers count on us to deliver."In 2014‚ Chick-fil-A announced its goal to only serve chicken raised without antibiotics and has indicated that it achieved that objective in 2019.The company's "Animal Wellbeing Standards" stipulate that chickens should be "hatched‚ raised and harvested domestically in the US" and "raised with proper nutrition." The standards state that there should be "climate-controlled barns‚ where chickens are cage-free and free to roam.""Chick-fil-A® restaurants in the U.S.‚ Canada and Puerto Rico will transition to chicken raised with No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) starting in the spring of 2024. NAIHM allows for the use of chicken antibiotics if the animal and those around it were to become sick. If the animal does become ill‚ it will be treated with antibiotics not intended for humans. In accordance with FDA requirements‚ all antibiotics must be cleared from the chicken's system before it is considered available for the chicken supply‚" Chick-fil-A says on its website.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk thanked the attorney general of Missouri after he announced a lawsuit against Media Matters for America for its targeting of the advertisers on X‚ the platform formerly known as Twitter. "I am filing suit against Media Matters to force them to turn over documents regarding their solicitation of donations to bully advertisers into pulling out of X‚ the last platform dedicated to free speech in America‚" read a post from AG Andrew Bailey on Monday. Musk previously filed a lawsuit against the liberal media watchdog group‚ accusing it of defamation after it reported that advertisements would appear next to white supremacist messages on the social media platform. Bailey's lawsuit made similar accusations. “My office has reason to believe Media Matters used fraud to solicit donations from Missourians in order to bully advertisers into pulling out of X‚ the last social media platform dedicated to free speech in America‚ so we launched an investigation to get to the bottom of it‚” Bailey wrote in a statement about the lawsuit. "I’m not going to let this activist group stonewall us. If there has been any attempt to defraud Missourians in order to trample on their free speech rights‚ I will root it out and hold bad actors accountable.” Musk expressed his gratitude in a post on X responding to Bailey. "Much appreciated! Media Matters is doing everything it can to undermine the First Amendment‚" Musk wrote. Much appreciated! Media Matters is doing everything it can to undermine the First Amendment. Truly an evil organization. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25‚ 2024 "Truly an evil organization‚" he added. In November‚ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also announced an investigation into the organization's practices. "We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square‚" said Paxton at the time. MMFA's president‚ Angelo Carusone‚ had previously responded to the threat of a lawsuit from Musk. “Far from the free speech advocate he claims to be‚ Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that he even confirmed is accurate‚” he said. “Musk admitted the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified. If he does sue us‚ we will win.” Musk has also publicly lashed out at companies who removed their advertising dollars from his platform over MMFA's accusations. “If somebody’s gonna try to blackmail me with advertising‚ blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself!” Musk said in November. "Go. F***. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is." Here's more about the Media Matters Musk feud: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Business magnate Elon Musk asserted in a post on X that the U.S. will be "toast" if there is not a "red wave." "I voted 100% Dem until a few years ago. Now‚ I think we need a red wave or America is toast‚" Musk wrote. The term "red wave" refers to a dominant performance by Republicans during an election cycle. — (@) Last week‚ Musk suggested that his views are "centrist.""This is a battle to the death with the anti-civilizational woke mind virus‚" Musk wrote. "My positions are centrist‚" he added‚ listing‚ "Secure borders‚" "Safe &; clean cities‚" "Don't bankrupt America with spending‚" "Racism against any race is wrong‚" "No sterilization below age of consent." He then asked‚ "Is this right-wing?"In May 2022‚ Musk tweeted that the Democratic Party had "become the party of division &; hate‚" adding‚ "so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican."The day before the 2022 midterms‚ Musk urged "independent-minded voters" to vote for GOP candidates. "Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties‚ therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress‚ given that the Presidency is Democratic‚" he suggested‚ adding in another post‚ "Hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side‚ so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who's in charge!"Musk has accused President Joe Biden of seeking to establish a "one-party state" through illegal immigration."Biden's strategy is very simple‚" Musk tweeted last month. "Get as many illegals in the country as possible‚" he wrote‚ adding‚ "Legalize them to create a permanent majority – a one-party state. That is why they are encouraging so much illegal immigration. Simple‚ yet effective." — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Attorney General Suing Media Matters for Docs About X

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Kennedy Campaign Fires Back at Nevada SOS‚ DNC After 15‚000 Signatures Invalidated‚ Threatens Lawsuit

The iPhone will get generative AI powers courtesy of iOS 18 this year‚ according to virtually every recent rumor. We've seen an increasing number of reports in recent weeks detailing Apple's unconfirmed plans for adding more AI features to the iPhone. Apple is also releasing more research papers that detail its ongoing work in the field and give credence to reports that say ChatGPT-like experiences could be built into iOS 18. But there's been a change of narrative last week. Apple will not go at deploying AI on the iPhone on its own. That is‚ it won't handle the cloud-based AI features‚ at least initially. We saw several reports claiming that Apple is conducting preliminary talks with OpenAI and Google for possible ChatGPT or Gemini integration in the iPhone. Google seems to be the frontrunner‚ and I already explained why Gemini might be a good match for the iPhone.  Neither party is ready to confirm anything‚ though Apple probably has to decide by June which third-party AI providers would handle parts of the AI features it wants to deploy with iOS 18. Apple will likely demo some of these features during the WWDC 2024 event that will happen during that month.  If a new report from China is accurate‚ Apple may have chosen a partner for the iPhone's upcoming AI features. It's not OpenAI or Google‚ but Baidu. The Chinese company would work with Apple to power AI features for iPhones sold in mainland China. Continue reading... The post Apple’s first GenAI partner for the iPhone could be a big surprise appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Best Fire TV Stick deals for March 2024 Today’s deals: $189 AirPods Pro 2‚ $20 Roku Express‚ $50 Super Mario Bros Wonder‚ LG OLED TVs‚ more Amazon Big Spring Sale: 150+ best deals on Wednesday Today’s deals: Sonos speakers‚ Anker chargers‚ Brother printers‚ Bose headphones‚ TCL smart TVs‚ more

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