Remember When Celebrities Loved Haiti to "Own" Donald Trump

Primitive stone tools found in Ukraine have been dated to 1.4 million years ago‚ making them the oldest known human-made artifacts in Europe. Prior to this discovery‚ the continent’s earliest prehistoric utensils were thought to reside in Spain and France‚ yet the newly-dated tools from the east radically alter the story of when and how humans first migrated into the region.Originally discovered in 1974 at a site in Ukraine called Korolevo‚ the sculpted stone items are typical of the so-called Oldowan toolkit‚ which first appeared in East Africa some 2.5 million years ago and represents the most primitive style of human tool-making. For half a century‚ scientists were unable to accurately date the ancient artifacts‚ yet a modern method involving cosmogenic nuclides has finally revealed their staggering age.Cosmogenic nuclides are rare isotopes that form when cosmic rays from distant supernovae collide with elements within the Earth’s crust. By analyzing the ratios of nuclides such as beryllium-10 and aluminum-26‚ the authors of a new study were able to reliably estimate how long ago the Korolevo tools were buried‚ ultimately determining that they are around 1.42 million years old.“Korolevo is now established as the earliest securely dated hominin presence in Europe‚” write the researchers.The knapped artifacts are typical of the Oldowan toolkit.Image credit: Garba et al.‚ Nature 2024Unfortunately‚ no actual human remains were discovered alongside the stone tools‚ so it’s impossible to say for certain which ancient hominid species crafted them. However‚ given that Homo erectus is the only lineage known to have existed outside of Africa 1.4 million years ago‚ researchers suspect that this extinct species is probably responsible.“Our earliest ancestor‚ H. erectus‚ was the first of the hominins to leave Africa about two million years ago and head for the Middle East‚ East Asia‚ and Europe‚” explained study author Roman Garba in a statement. Tracing the path taken by these intrepid prehistoric hominids‚ scientists have previously discovered 1.8-million-year-old Oldowan tools at a site called Dmanisi in Georgia‚ as well as other ancient assemblages in China and Indonesia.In Europe‚ however‚ there is a significant gap between the Dmanisi relics and the next oldest tools‚ which come from Atapuerca in Spain and Vallonnet in France‚ and are around 1.1 to 1.2 million years old. This delay has inspired the hypothesis that humans originally colonized Europe from the southwest before later spreading northwards and eastwards.However‚ Garba has said that “The radiometric dating of the first human presence at the Korolevo site not only fills in a large spatial gap between the Dmanisi site in Georgia and Atapuerca in Spain‚ but also confirms the hypothesis that the first pulse of hominin dispersal into Europe came from the east or southeast.”The findings suggest humans first colonized Europe from the East.Image credit: Garba et al.‚ Nature 2024Korolevo also represents the northernmost appearance of Homo erectus‚ with the date of the tools coinciding with a warm interglacial period that may have facilitated the migration of this species into higher latitudes. According to the study authors‚ these primordial humans probably began their colonization of Europe from this point‚ moving southwards and westwards along the valleys of the Danube River.“Our findings at Korolevo provide the first primary evidence advancing the hypothesis that Europe was colonized from the east‚” they write. “A plausible dispersal scenario is that the Korolevo hominins stem from the Levant via Asia Minor‚ the Danube corridor and the Pannonian Basin.”Noting that the picture they paint here may be a little over-simplistic‚ the researchers say they “recognize that hominin dispersal surely did not unfold as a unidirectional march from A to B… But for now‚ we can say that Korolevo’s occupation at around 1.4 [million years ago] directly challenges the proposal that people moved to higher latitudes only after the widespread colonization of southern Europe by around 1.2 [million years ago].”The study has been published in the journal Nature.

For the last several years‚ cosmologists and astronomers have been facing a major tension in our understanding of the cosmos. The expansion rate of the universe continues to be two different numbers depending on how we try and measure it. The cosmic microwave background – first free light in the universe – gives a value. Measurements of galaxies receding from us give another. These were taken by Hubble and one suggestion was a possible error somewhere. Follow-up observations are instead saying no.Combining observations from Hubble with observations from JWST has strengthened the measurement of the expansion rate (also known as the Hubble constant) in the more local universe. And the value is definitely different from the one from the ancient universe. It seems that the fault is not in our stars but in our models.“With measurement errors negated‚ what remains is the real and exciting possibility that we have misunderstood the Universe‚” lead author and Nobel Laureate Adam Riess‚ a physicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore‚ said in a statement. To measure the distance of objects in the universe‚ there are a few methods. One uses Type Ia supernovae. These explosions have always roughly the same luminosity because they are created when a white dwarf steals enough material to catastrophically collapse and go boom. Since there is a single threshold for that limit‚ the light produced is always the same.Knowing how luminous they are and measuring the brightness we get here – so how much they dimmed – we can work out the distance. Another class of objects for which this trick works are Cepheids variables. Astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt realized that their pulsation was linked to their intrinsic luminosity so we can work out the distance in a similar manner.Type Ia supernovae are expected to happen once per century in a galaxy so‚ while bright‚ they are not that common. Cepheid variables are more common but one of the concerns with Hubble was that their light might be confused with other stars or affected by dust.JWST can see through the dust and its keener eye can precisely spot the specific star without confusion. Its observations included five host galaxies of eight Type Ia supernovae containing a total of 1‚000 Cepheids – so having two independent methods. The observations stretched out to 130 million light-years from us.This data shows that errors in the observations of the Cepheids do not contribute to the Hubble tension. The discrepancy is not caused by bad measurements. “We’ve now spanned the whole range of what Hubble observed‚ and we can rule out a measurement error as the cause of the Hubble Tension with very high confidence‚” Riess added.The Euclid mission‚ launched last year‚ and some upcoming observatories might provide better insights into the tension just by the sheer volume of their observations. They may also help us realize how the current understanding of the universe‚ which has so far shown remarkable predictive ability‚ needs to be changed to make sense of what we see out there.A paper discussing the results is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Think of a lion; think of a gorilla; think of an otter. In your head‚ are the males bigger than the females? Well‚ a new study is set to challenge over 100 years of bias in this area of research. By looking at over 400 mammal species‚ the team found some surprising results – in most cases‚ the males of the species are not bigger than the females.Sexual dimorphism is the term used when males and females of the same species look visibly quite different. It can be as simple as different colors or fancy feathers for display‚ but in some species‚ it can also come with horns and an increased size of the male‚ especially in species where males compete with other males for access to females. Back in the 1970s‚ mammologist Katherine Ralls found that there were many species in which there was little sexual size dimorphism (SSD)‚ especially within the larger groups of mammals. However‚ her research was overlooked and overpowered by the idea that the males of most mammalian orders are bigger than the females.Previous studies have used arbitrary cut-offs for size measurements‚ or been held back by data availability in judging whether mammalian orders have true SSD‚ write the authors. Furthermore these studies have rarely included rodents or bats in the datasets‚ instead focusing on primates and large carnivore species including seals. Fortunately‚ in this new study the team was able to use large datasets across a wide range of mammalian taxa‚ and sample each order and family according to how many species are in each.                          The final dataset for the researchers included data on body mass for 429 different mammalian species. Their results show that 38.7 percent of mammalian species have males and females of the same size (sexually monomorphic)‚ while 45.1 percent of species have males that are bigger than the females‚ and 16.2 percent have females larger than the males. Examples of the most extreme size difference occur in the peninsular tube-nosed bat (Murina peninsularis) where the females are 1.4 time heavier than the males‚ and in the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) where the male had a mass 3.2 times that of the females. Almost half of bat species‚ like this yellow-winged bat‚ have larger females than males.Image credit: Severine HexHowever‚ as Ralls thought‚ most of the dimorphisms did not show in such an extreme way. The team found that half the species in the rodents (the order with the largest number of species in this research) were the same size across males and females‚ while in the bat order Chiroptera the girls tended to be larger than the boys. Overall‚ the researchers found that their results did not fit the persistent narrative that most mammal species have larger males than females. In fact‚ species being the same size across males and females occurred almost as often as larger males. Where sexual dimorphism does occur‚ the males do tend to be larger‚ but not necessarily to an extreme degree.They suggest that the idea that males are larger than females has persisted for so long because a lot of early zoology work was based on male competition for mates. The team also suggest that their results could change again as more data is collected‚ and suggest more work be carried out in female biology across a wide range of mammalian species. The study is published in Nature Communications. 

Two extremist groups financed by billionaire George Soros have been named in the emerging scandal involving federal law enforcement colluding with financial institutions to spy on Americans’ private transactions. Part of this Orwellian collusion involved federal law enforcement circulating documents to private financial institutions to jawbone them into giving up sensitive customer data‚ without them necessarily having to be suspected of committing any crimes. One of the scariest examples involved federal law enforcement passing around a 2020 “hate groups” blacklist to financial institutions that included “conservative” and faith-based organizations‚ according to The Washington Times. The circulated list was drafted in a report by none other than the anti-free speech Soros-funded‚ U.K.-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the Soros and taxpayer-funded Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Soros funneled at least $3‚149‚863 into ISD’s coffers between 2017 and 2022‚ while Soros gave GDI $150‚000 in 2022 alone. GDI — revealed as a leftist and government-backed effort to silence conservative viewpoints by intimidating advertisers — had three members on its board that were tied to Soros‚ including Soros’ Open Society Initiative for Europe division director Finn Heinrich.  The 2020 “hate groups” ISD/GDI list circulated by federal law enforcement specifically targeted groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom‚ Family Research Council‚ Liberty Counsel‚ Pacific Justice Institute and Federation for American Immigration Reform. The House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released a 36-page interim report on March 6‚ revealing a “mass” government spying effort. “This financial surveillance was not predicated on any specific evidence of particularized criminal conduct and‚ even worse‚ it keyed on terms and specific transactions that concerned core political and religious expression protected by the Constitution.” Old Glory Bank Chief Strategy Officer Eric Ohlhausen ripped this grotesque field of government collusion in a press release. “‘In America‚ we should never investigate people and track their financial transactions based on values‚ beliefs or politics. A fundamental tenet of American liberty is to forbid illegal search and seizure‚” Ohlhausen said. “‘If any financial institution assisted the Government in violating the Constitutional rights of their customers‚ those banks should immediately come forward and disclose what they did.’” In response to other revelations of government "snooping" through private transactions uncovered in February‚ Old Glory Bank released its Banking Bill of Rights to reaffirm its commitment to rebut efforts at wanton government infringement into banking customers' privacy. The "Rights" are listed as follows: "Freedom of Association: the right to bank without the risk of cancellation because of your faith‚ industry‚ or beliefs. Freedom of Financial Privacy: the right to banking privacy‚ shielded from improper government snooping. Freedom From Censorship: the right to access online payment apps without the threat of cancellation by big tech censors. Freedom of Lifestyle: the right to banking services without restrictions imposed by a 'social credit score.' Freedom of American Values: the right to bank with institutions that respect and support your American values." Ohlhausen told MRC Free Speech America in an exclusive interview that this backchanneling collusion was similar to what was revealed in The Twitter Files. “We’re seeing something very similar‚ which is government looking to private enterprise to perform actions that the government is not lawfully allowed to pursue. In this case it’s privacy infringement.” Ohlhausen said he hoped that these revelations “make banks going forward less willing to participate now that they’ve been exposed for” cooperating with potentially unlawful government overreach. Ohlhausen concluded that attorneys must be “drooling over an opportunity to pursue this on behalf of aggrieved customers.” He suspected that if one were to investigate the financial institutions’ terms of service‚ “I can’t imagine that it would allow for voluntary sharing of personal transactions data with law enforcement with no legitimate suspicion of bad behavior.”  The endgame‚ said Ohlhausen‚ is emphasized by the federal government’s recent pattern of dystopian behavior‚ such as the FBI putting “boisterous” parents “at school board meetings” on domestic terror watchlists. The financial sector collusion element is more evidence pointing to an effort to create a “broad-based aggregation of individuals to target.” Ohlhausen slammed the banks who “voluntarily” cooperated with the gross federal law enforcement overreach‚ and noted that there was “nothing suggested that I’ve seen that they were legally compelled to honor these requests. And in fact‚ they seem to be doing whatever they could to be helpful in the process.” Ohlhausen also dissected the financial institutions’ behavior as being comparable to the shenanigans Big Tech and other leftist companies like Disney and Bud Light employed against their users and customers respectively: I’m reminded of Twitter and media outlets complying with the suppression of news — a great example being the Hunter Biden laptop story in the weeks leading up to the previous presidential election. Why did those organizations agree to suppress news — completely going against what their mission should be? I’m also reminded of the Disneys and Anheuser-Busches of the world. What motivates them to shun their customers and behave in ways that perhaps seemingly insert ideology into their business practices? The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) was specifically  behind the circulation of the ISD/GDI document‚ according to the House report. The ISD/GDI document‚ the House Judiciary Committee noted in its report‚ “draws a false equivalency between certain conservative civil society groups and the American Nazi Party and the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan‚ suggesting FinCEN views them equally.” If that wasn’t terrifying enough‚ federal law enforcement specifically sent the ISD/GDI document to banks “likely responsible for providing financial services to many of the listed ‘hate groups‚’ without regard for the chilling effect it would have on protected speech and its potential to be weaponized against the groups by financial institutions‚” the committee continued in its report. The collaboration between the federal government and ISD specifically is also well-documented. The State Department was exposed in February 2023 for having awarded grant money to the ISD on the premise of advancing the so-called “development of promising and innovative technologies against disinformation and propaganda” in the UK specifically and Europe more generally.  ISD became notorious for its February 2023 hissy fit over X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk daring to engage with “right-wing” Twitter accounts that it had already blacklisted. ISD’s blacklist included satire site The Babylon Bee‚ Psychologist Jordan Peterson‚ Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton‚ Libs of TikTok and social media influencer Ian Miles Cheong. ISD even labeled left-wing journalist Glenn Greenwald as a “right-wing account.” The fact that ISD is even remotely connected to the government’s efforts to spy on citizens’ transactions should terrify every American. Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency‚ clarity on so-called hate speech and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored‚ contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form‚ and help us hold Big Tech accountable.    

Prior to Sunday’s Oscars‚ actor Robert De Niro traveled over to HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher to warn that if Trump wins in November‚ then Trump will “come looking for me.” Later‚ on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC‚ De Niro claimed Trump is simultaneously “so [bleep] stupid” and a “[bleep] moron.” Maher led De Niro with a somber question‚ “Why is Trump winning? I mean‚ the poll‚ the New York Times poll this week‚ came out‚ and maybe this will change with the State of the Union Address‚ but Trump was beating him rather soundly‚ it was quite a warning light‚ 48 to 43‚ also winning way more among women‚ women‚ than he had before‚ winning outright Latinos‚ what do you attribute that to?”     Despite trying to portray himself as a tough guy‚ De Niro could only sheepishly answer‚ “I don't know‚ I just don't want to feel the way I did and many of us don't after the election in 2016 where we couldn't believe that it happened.” He then tried to get into the head of a Trump supporter‚ “The guy is a total monster and anybody -- I don't understand it. I guess they get behind the kind of logic‚ they want to fuck with people‚ screw them because they're unhappy about something. He's such a mean‚ nasty‚ hateful person. I’d never play him as an actor because I can't see any good in him‚ nothing‚ nothing at all‚ nothing redeemable in him.” De Niro also warned that a Trump win will have specific negative consequences for him and Maher personally‚ “If he wins the election‚ you won't be on this show anymore‚ he'll come looking for me. They’ll be things that happened that none of us can imagine. That's what happens in that kind of a dictatorship which is what he says‚ let's believe him‚ take him at his word.” On Monday‚ Kimmel showed De Niro some old Trump social media posts about him and wondered‚ “Now‚ in all fairness to the former president‚ is that true? Do you have to use a teleprompter when speaking about President Trump? Or are you able to just kind of riff on your thoughts on him?” Providing the audience with the cathartic experience he was brought on to provide‚ De Niro‚ “Yeah. I -- he's so [bleep] stupid.” After several seconds of raucous cheering from the audience and heavy laughter from Kimmel‚ De Niro continued‚ “I mean‚ look at the lame‚ inane things that he's said. He's so stupid‚ he can't even say anything clever. He’s a [bleep] moron! But he’s a scary one and in all seriousness‚ and we know it here‚ people have to get out and vote and vote and vote and vote.” The late night shows aren’t necessarily places to go for a good laugh‚ rather they are method of escapism for liberals who want other liberals to make them feel better. Here is a transcript for the March 8 and 11 shows: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher 3/8/2024 10:14 PM ET BILL MAHER: So‚ why is Trump winning? I mean‚ the poll‚ the New York Times poll this week‚ came out‚ and maybe this will change with the State of the Union Address‚ but Trump was beating him rather soundly‚ it was quite a warning light‚ 48 to 43‚ also winning way more among women‚ women‚ than he had before‚ winning outright Latinos‚ what do you attribute that to?  ROBERT DE NIRO: I don't know‚ I just don't want to feel the way I did and many of us don't after the election in 2016 where we couldn't believe that it happened. The guy is a total monster and anybody -- I don't understand it. I guess they get behind the kind of logic‚ they want to fuck with people‚ screw them because they're unhappy about something. He's such a mean‚ nasty‚ hateful person. I’d never play him as an actor because I can't see any good in him‚ nothing‚ nothing at all‚ nothing redeemable in him. And we have-- whoever the people who are who want to vote for him and they look like intelligent people around there‚ for some reason‚ it can't be‚ it cannot be. If he wins the election‚ you won't be on this show anymore‚ he'll come looking for me. They’ll be things that happened that none of us can imagine. That's what happens in that kind of a dictatorship which is what he says‚ let's believe him‚ take him at his word.  *** ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live! 3/12/2024 12:21 AM ET JIMMY KIMMEL: Now‚ in all fairness to the former president‚ is that true? Do you have to use a teleprompter when speaking about President Trump? Or are you able to just kind of riff on your thoughts on him?  ROBERT DE NIRO: Yeah. I -- he's so [bleep] stupid. I mean‚ look at the lame‚ inane things that he's said. He's so stupid‚ he can't even say anything clever. He’s a [bleep] moron! But he’s a scary one and in all seriousness‚ and we know it here‚ people have to get out and vote and vote and vote and vote. 

Congressional investigators released a report this week exposing the politicization of the Jan. 6 Select Committee along with its tactical myopia and apparent willingness to suppress critical facts when "legislatively prosecut[ing]" former President Donald Trump. The report released Monday by House Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) indicates that the Jan. 6 committee deleted records; hid multiple transcribed interviews; failed to turn over recordings to Republican lawmakers; suppressed evidence that contradicted Democrats' preferred narrative; and colluded with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis‚ who ultimately launched an election interference trial of Trump in Georgia. The Oversight committee's insights into Cassidy Hutchinson's 2022 testimony and its surrounding context are perhaps best illustrative of the broader problems affecting the Jan. 6 committee's so-called investigation. The "Initial Findings Report" noted that Hutchinson‚ who served as assistant to Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows‚ participated in six transcribed interviews and one highly publicized hearing with the Jan. 6 committee. Apparently‚ in her fourth transcribed interview on June 20‚ 2022‚ Hutchinson managed to provide the committee with something they could sink their teeth into. Hutchinson told the tale of how Trump supposedly got in a scuffle with a Secret Service agent and attempted to commandeer the presidential limousine. Provided with this provocative story‚ the committee scheduled a public hearing eight days later with Hutchinson as the key witness‚ reportedly without even bothering to interview other witnesses who may have provided contradictory testimony. Former U.S. Rep Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) pressed Hutchinson to testify under oath during the public hearing about what happened after Trump was driven away from his speech at the Ellipse on Jan. 6‚ even though Hutchinson wasn't in the Suburban with Trump at the time — all the more evident because she appears to have erroneously said Trump was in "The Beast‚" the presidential limousine‚ when leaving the Ellipse. Hutchinson told the committee about a conversation she allegedly had at the White House with Tony Ornato‚ Trump's former White House deputy chief of staff. "Tony described [Trump] as being irate. The president said something to the effect of‚ 'I'm the f'ing president‚ take me up to the Capitol now‚' to which [Secret Service Agent Bobby Engel] responded‚ 'Sir‚ we have to go back to the West Wing‚'" said Hutchinson. "The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm‚ said‚ 'Sir‚ you need to take your hand off the steering wheel.'" Hutchinson suggested that Trump then lunged toward Engel‚ who she indicated was present for Ornato's later retelling of the event but did not contribute. In the lead-up to the public hearing‚ the report indicated that "the Select Committee did not interview either of the two USSS agents referenced in her testimony‚ nor did the Select Committee interview any other individual implicated in her testimony." The report further noted that the Jan. 6 committee only got around to interviewing the Secret Service agents months later when "it was obvious Republicans would win control of the House." Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)‚ who served as chair of the Jan. 6 committee‚ reportedly admitted to failing to comply with House Rules when refusing to archive transcripts from transcribed interview or depositions of White House and USSS personnel. "Many of these White House and USSS employees were either with President Trump or aware of his actions on January 6‚ yet none of their witness transcripts were archived with the House Clerk or provided to the Subcommittee‚" said the report. "Notably‚ the Select Committee published over 200 transcripts online‚ but did not publish these select transcripts." It turns out that some of these hidden transcripts indicated Hutchinson's "sensational" story was a thing of fiction. Only after Chairman Loudermilk leaned on the White House for several months to provide transcripts of the witness interviews was he able to review them in person. "The testimony of these four White House employees directly contradicts claims made by Cassidy Hutchinson and by the Select Committee in the Final report‚" said the Oversight report. "None of the White House employees corroborated Hutchinson's sensational story." In addition to indicating Hutchinson presented an "entirely different version of events" than what actually took place‚ White House employees reportedly further contradicted the Jan. 6 committee's claim that Trump intended to go the Capitol on Jan. 6. "More than one of the White House employees testified to the exact opposite: that there was never any plan for the President to go to the Capitol on January 6‚" said the report. "The testimony of the White House employee refutes this claim and leaves no doubt that the Select Committee's claim is false." A White House employee also refuted Hutchinson's claim that Trump said anything about the alleged chant "Hang Mike Pence‚" indicating the former president said nothing at all about the chants. After providing the Jan. 6 committee and the liberal media with tall tales that cast shade on Trump‚ Hutchinson got a book deal with Simon and Schuster‚ guest spots on liberal talk shows‚ and glowing write-ups in publications such as the New York Times. Chairman Loudermilk said in a statement‚ "For nearly two years former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's January 6th Select Committee promoted hearsay and cherry-picked information to promote its political goal — to legislatively prosecute former President Donald Trump." "It was no surprise that the Select Committee's final report focused primarily on former President Donald Trump and his supporters‚ not the security failures and reforms needed to ensure the United States Capitol is safer today than in 2021‚" continued Loudermilk. The Georgia Republican stressed that the "American people deserve the entire truth about what caused the violent breach at the United States Capitol of January 6‚ 2021. It is unfortunate the Select Committee succumbed to their political inclinations and chased false narratives instead of providing the important work of a genuine investigation." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

You may not know Adam McKay’s name‚ but chances are you love his movies and TV shows.“Anchorman.” “Step Brothers.” “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” “Succession.”McKay is one of Hollywood’s most prolific and profitable creators. He’s also obsessed with promoting the climate change agenda on and off screen.The notion that an Oscar-winning filmmaker would help target timeless works of art seems like a juicy story. So far‚ the mainstream media‚ by and large‚ hasn’t connected McKay to attacks his money helped make possible.And he’s taken some radical steps along the way.McKay spent years alongside Will Ferrell‚ pooling their talents for big‚ bawdy comedies. That formula worked for a while‚ but McKay’s inner artiste apparently wanted more.His 2015 dramedy “The Big Short” spun from the best-selling tome of the same name by Michael Lewis. The film found him fusing laughs with social commentary‚ all from a rigorously left-leaning agenda. The film earned McKay a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.Suddenly his days of cracking wise with Ferrell were over. Meet Adam McKay‚ full-time culture warrior.He wrote and directed the hit piece “Vice” (2018)‚ an assault on both Vice President Dick Cheney and Republicans in general‚ before pooling his creative energies to a project more in line with his eco-passions.His 2021 film “Don’t Look Up” gave Netflix a streaming smash. The satirical smart bomb mixed the auteur’s wit with a full-on climate change metaphor. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a scientist trying to convince the president (Meryl Streep) that a comet is hurtling toward the earth.The fictional politicians prove hard to convince.McKay explained his rationale for the film to the New York Times.“I’m under no illusions that one film will be the cure to the climate crisis. ... But if it inspires conversation‚ critical thinking‚ and makes people less tolerant of inaction from their leaders‚ then I’d say we accomplished our goal.”Now‚ he’s going back to the eco-well. Twice.He’s set to produce “Stormbound‚” a documentary close-up of professional storm chasers. The film‚ set for a 2025 release‚ focuses on the alleged impact climate change has on extreme weather events.He’s also in talks to direct a separate climate change feature after dropping plans to make “Average Height‚ Average Build‚” a conventional thriller that was set to star Amy Adams and Robert Pattinson.The new project will reportedly be called “Greenhouse‚” and the subject falls in McKay’s sweet spot. The drama is based on David Wallace-Wells’ book “The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming.” Sam Rockwell and Amy Irving‚ who previously costarred in “Vice‚” may anchor the doom-and-gloom story.McKay is hardly alone in weaponizing Hollywood product to spread the climate change gospel. The subject comes up frequently on screens large and small‚ from references in shows like HBO’s “The Last of Us” to major plot points in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”Recently‚ we learned of a new “tool” that coaxes storytellers to fill their screenplays with climate change alarmism. The Climate Reality Check works like the feminist Bechdel test does‚ analyzing stories to see if they sufficiently address the environment.Journalist John Fund recently reported on how “green billionaires” are trying to cajole screenwriters into adding even more climate change alarmism into Hollywood stories.Recent films like “Barbie‚” “Nyad‚” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part I” all passed. Barely.Except McKay doesn’t silo his climate change activism to the big screen.In 2022‚ the director/producer wrote a $4 million check to the Climate Emergency Fund. That group is behind some of the attacks on precious art installations across the globe. The fund funnels money to the eco-activists and their various splinter groups‚ hoping to gain attention for their cause.Art works by Vincent van Gogh‚ Sandro Botticelli‚ Pablo Picasso‚ and Umberto Boccioni have been targeted over the past few years. None have been damaged to date‚ but museum experts warn their fragile states make them vulnerable to future violence.The notion that an Oscar-winning filmmaker would help target timeless works of art seems like a juicy story. So far‚ the mainstream media‚ by and large‚ hasn’t connected McKay to attacks his money helped make possible. Few‚ if any‚ journalists have pressed McKay on the topic.Last year‚ McKay promised to keep on funding similar protests.“I stand with those taking action to defend the climate‚ to wake up the world’s sleeping governments to the terrifying scale of the catastrophe we are now living through.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman sees some glaring issues with President Joe Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. “Israel is a great friend of ours‚” he tells Dave Rubin. “We trust them‚ they’re a good friend‚ we think their morals are in the right place‚ their values in the right place. Do what you got to do to end this and protect your citizens as quickly and decisively as possible.” “Now‚ if Biden had just given that message here and acted upon it‚ I think this war would probably be over by now‚ and the hostages might very well be back‚” he adds. Friedman believes that one of the major issues with Biden’s handling of the war is that he doesn’t realize that Hamas is calibrating their response “based upon America’s reaction.” “That’s why whenever America uses words like‚ ‘You got to have a ceasefire‚’ ‘You’re using indiscriminate force‚’ ‘Your efforts are over the top’ — every time Biden does that he makes it less likely that the hostages will be released. It makes it more expensive for Israel to make a deal‚” Friedman explains. “I don’t think he believes it either‚” Rubin says‚ noting that Biden might just be “placating the base.” Friedman is in agreement. “I don’t think he knows one way or the other. I mean‚ he makes these comments in an ice cream shop holding onto an ice cream cone and says‚ ‘Yeah‚ there’ll be a deal in a couple of days‚’” Friedman says. “As soon as he does that‚” he continues‚ “the Hamas leaders‚ they lick their lips because they say‚ ‘Wow‚ this is great‚ we are now in power to either make Joe Biden look like a liar or like a hero‚ he’s given us this power.’” Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations‚ free speech‚ and big ideas with Dave Rubin‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

A gun-toting male demanded property from a victim who was trying to use a Chicago ATM on Friday morning — but the victim turned out to be a concealed carrier‚ and he fatally shot the would-be robber.What are the details?Chicago police said a 60-year-old man before 5:30 a.m. was at an ATM in the 1500 block of West 82nd Street in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood‚ which is on the South Side of the city‚ when another man on a bike approached‚ displayed a gun‚ and demanded his property‚ WBBM-TV reported.But the victim — a valid concealed carry license and firearm owners identification card holder — pulled out a gun of his own‚ and a shoot-out commenced‚ police told the station. The would-be robber was shot multiple times and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn‚ where he was pronounced dead‚ WBBM reported. Image source: YouTube screenshotThe victim ran to a Marathon gas station at 81st Street and Ashland Avenue after the shoot-out‚ the station said. WBBM's video report noted the victim was shot twice — once in the back and once in the arm.Surveillance video from the gas station shows the victim on the floor of the gas station convenience store looking for help‚ WBBM said. Image source: YouTube screenshotVideo showed a convenience store employee apparently trying to help the victim‚ the station said‚ adding that arriving police officers put the victim into an ambulance. WBBM said the victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center‚ where his condition was stabilized. Two guns were recovered at the scene of the attempted robbery‚ the station said‚ adding that the investigation into the incident was ongoing. Concealed carry holder fatally shoots would-be robber‚ police say youtu.be Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!