R.I.P. Karen Townsend, 1955-2024

Unbelievable: Shooter Was on Secret Service Radar for 3 Hours

A microcontinent has been discovered in the Davis Strait between Canada's southeastern Baffin Island and southwestern Greenland. In a new study, researchers from the UK and Sweden mapped the microcontinent using gravity data, and seismic reflection data to create a plate tectonic reconstruction of the region.Though the geology of the region has been extensively studied beforehand, a few mysteries remained."A prolonged period of rifting and seafloor spreading between Greenland and North America formed the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay oceanic basins, connected by the Davis Strait," the team explains in their paper. "However, disagreement exists regarding the exact plate motions between Greenland and Canada, as well as the tectonic evolution of the Davis Strait, with previous models unable to explain the origin of anomalously thick continental crust within the seaway."While reconstructing the area's past as Greenland separated from Canada, the team found the anomalously thick crust is in fact its own microcontinent; a tectonic block that became detached from a continent, and is surrounded by thinner oceanic crust."The reinterpretation of seismic reflection data offshore West Greenland, along with a newly compiled crustal thickness model, identifies an isolated terrane of relatively thick (19–24 km [12-15 miles]) continental crust that was separated from Greenland during a newly recognised phase of E-W extension along West Greenland’s margin," the team wrote. "We interpret this continental block as an incompletely rifted microcontinent, which we term the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent."The researchers believe that rifting – where tectonic plates split in two – began around 118 million years ago, before continental breakup occurred around 61.27 million years ago in the Labrador Sea. The continents continued to drift apart, before Greenland collided with and joined the North American plate. It was during this time that the new microcontinent was created."As our seismic reflection interpretations indicate an extensional event in the eastern Davis Strait between 58 and 49 Myr, spatially coincident with the zone of thinnest continental crust between the continental fragment and Greenland, we infer this extensional event led to the separation of this fragment from Greenland."The team hopes that the research could help us better understand plate tectonics, and the hazards they can cause to Earth's inhabitants."Overall, this work not only recognises several new first order tectonic features of the Earth, the Pre-UTM and Davis Strait proto-microcontinent, but also points to a strong lithospheric control on plate motion directions," the team concludes. "It is therefore fundamentally important to further study this phenomenon to understand the operation of plate tectonics on our planet."The study is published in Gondwana Research.

You’d think it’d be hard to lose something as large and with as many legs as a giant millipede – but lo and behold, scientists managed to do so with one species for 126 years. Luckily, it’s been found again in Madagascar’s Makira Forest, joined by 20 other lost species ranging from ant-like flower beetles to iridescent fish and even jumping spiders.The giant millipede in question, the long, dark-brown Spirostreptus sculptus, was first described by entomologist Henri de Saussure and naturalist Leo Zehntner back in 1897, having been discovered in Madagascar. Since that time, however, it had never been documented by scientists again – that is, until Re:wild’s Search for Lost Species came along.The project, which has team members from multiple different organizations, seeks to find animals that have been lost to science for over a decade, but aren’t believed to be extinct – the number of which is thought to be at least 4,300.As part of this search, they spent several weeks last year combing Makira Forest, one of Madagascar’s largest protected areas.“Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot and Makira is an underexplored area within the country, so we decided to pilot a new model for lost species searches there,” said Re:wild’s lost species officer Christina Biggs in a statement sent to IFLScience.The search began in September 2023.Image credit: Re:wildAfter setting off with a list of 30 lost species to find, that search proved to be successful, with one of the more unexpected findings being the giant millipede – although it’s suspected that it hadn’t been lost to local communities at all.“I personally was most surprised and pleased by the fact that the giant millipede Spirostreptus sculptus, not uncommon in Makira Forest, appeared to be another lost species known only from the type specimen described in 1897,” said Dmitry Telnov, an entomologist with BINCO.Adding a particularly massive cherry on top of this find, the expedition member also noted: “The longest specimen of this species we observed in Makira was a really gigantic female measuring 27.5 centimeters [10.8 inches] long.”Ok, now I'm starting to see why it was so easy to lose.Image credit: Re:wildAlthough the team was unable to find a number of the species on the lost list, there were plenty that they did rediscover, including two species of ant-like flower beetles that hadn’t been documented since 1958 and a jumping spider, Tomocyrba decollate, that had been lost since first being discovered in 1900.On top of that, the expedition uncovered a never-before-discovered species of zebra spider – quite the find considering they weren’t thought to live in Madagascan rainforests.Having found some adult guarding egg sacs in a cave, Brogan Pett, director of the SpiDiverse working group at BINCO, commented: “[T]hey were quite large spiders and it was remarkable that they had gone unrecognized for so long.”It’s hoped that the team will be able to return to Makira to get a second attempt at finding the species they couldn’t locate this time around – not just for the satisfaction of ticking something off a list, but because of the impact that rediscovering a species, or even finding brand-new ones, can have.“It’s important to continue researching the biodiversity of Makira because although it is one of the largest rainforests in the country we still have relatively little idea which species occur, and there are likely to be many completely undescribed species as well,” said Julie Linchant from the Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar.“Having a better understanding of the biological riches of Makira will enable us to better target our protection efforts.”

A start-up is literally making butter out of thin air. Using a host of biochemical wizardry, the company is developing ways to make fats out of carbon dioxide taken from the air and hydrogen from water, all without the need for animals, plants, or farmland.The brains behind the initiative are called Savor, a company run under the umbrella of Orca Sciences that has received investment from billionaire Bill Gates. By cutting farming out of the equation, the aim is to slash the amount of greenhouse emissions produced by agriculture, which accounts for up to 8.5 percent of global emissions.“The process doesn’t release any greenhouse gases, and it uses no farmland and less than a thousandth of the water that traditional agriculture does,” Gates explained in a blog post about the work.One of Savor’s latest products is butter, which according to Bill, tastes just like the real deal."Most important, it tastes really good – like the real thing, because chemically it is," Gates added. “I couldn’t believe I wasn’t eating real butter,” he said. Fats are simply made out of varying chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. It’s possible to obtain these chemical building blocks from water and air, and then use biochemical processes to rejig them into fats that are molecularly identical to those found in animals and plants. A hot pan melting butter that was created using the newly refined chemical processes.Image credit: Steven Davis / UCIAlong with fashioning fats like the ones in meat, butter, and milk, Savor is also looking to tackle the problem of palm oil, the most widely consumed plant-based fat in the world that has a hefty impact on the natural world.Together with scientists from the University of California – Irvine, Orca Science published a paper in the journal Nature Sustainability last year explaining their vision of how many dietary fats could be artificially synthesized.They showed that farm-grown animal fats create around 1 to 3 grams (0.04 to 0.1 ounces) of carbon dioxide per thousand calories, while they can make the same amount of lab-grown fats with less than a gram of equivalent emissions.“Large-scale synthesis of edible molecules through chemical and biological means without agricultural feedstocks is a very real possibility. Such ‘food without the farm’ could avoid enormous quantities of climate-warming emissions while also safeguarding biodiverse lands that might otherwise be cleared for farms,” Steven Davis, lead study author and professor of Earth system science at UC Irvine, said in a statement. “I like the idea of not depending on photosynthesis for everything we eat,” Davis added. “At whatever scale, synthesizing food will alleviate competition between natural ecosystems and agriculture, thereby avoiding the many environmental costs of farming.”One of the biggest challenges is making the process cost-effective, thereby lowering its potential price and making it more attractive to consumers. However, the researchers have said that scaling up the manufacturing shouldn't be too much of a problem in theory. “The beauty of the fats is that you can synthesize them with processes that don’t involve biology. It’s all chemistry, and because of that, you can operate at higher pressures and temperatures that allow excellent efficiency. You could therefore build big reactors to do this at large scales,” said Professor Davis.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show returned to New York on Tuesday after the security reassessment at their Milwaukee theater changed in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump. However, host Jon Stewart did not take well to NBC’s Lester Holt challenging President Joe Biden if he had done any “soul searching” since Saturday because Biden, according to him, has simply been quoting Trump. After recapping the goings on at the Republican National Convention, Stewart switched topics, “Meanwhile, back at the Batcave, Joe Biden was sitting down with NBC News anchor Lester Holt to answer questions about what he would do to cool our nation's overheated rhetoric.”     Stewart then played a clip of Holt asking Biden, “Have you taken a step back and done a little soul searching on things that you may have said that could incite people who are not balanced?” Biden responded, “How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody? [jump cut] My opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about there will be a bloodbath if he loses. Like, remember the picture of Donald Trump when Nancy Pelosi's husband was hit with a hammer going—talking about—joking about it.” Holt then observed, “This doesn't sound like you are turning down the heat though.” Greatly displeased, Stewart ranted, “He's not turning down the heat, he's telling you what the other guy has been saying. How are you supposed to discuss the temperature and the rhetoric if you are not allowed to mention the rhetoric? It became clear that Biden was ready to turn it down for everybody but Lester Holt.” Stewart’s anger has two problems. First, on bloodbath-gate, Trump was clearly talking about the economy, and it is a phrase that the media themselves have used plenty of times over the years, including just days before Trump’s comments. Biden himself has also used the phrase. Second, Stewart is being hypocritical. Earlier in the show, he reacted to a clip of Sen. Ron Johnson calling for unity on CNN, declaring, “I, for one, look forward to hearing his unifying remarks on the convention floor.” He then played a clip of Johnson declaring in his speech that, “Today's Democrat agenda, their policies are a clear and present danger to America.” After an extended pause, Stewart opined, “I'm sorry, I guess he's what's known as "unity in the streets, divisive in the sheets." But to be fair, to be fair, and I want to be fair in this new environment, Senator Johnson did not mean to stoke anger. His teleprompter did.” That last bit refers to Johnson claiming that a wrong version of his speech was loaded into the teleprompter, but if it is fair for Biden to call Trump dangerous, why is it not fair for Johnson to call Democrats dangerous?   Here is a transcript for the July 16 show: Comedy Central The Daily Show 7/16/2024 11:04 PM ET JON STEWART: I, for one, look forward to hearing his unifying remarks on the convention floor. RON JOHNSON: Today's Democrat agenda, their policies are a clear and present danger to America.  STEWART: I'm sorry, I guess he's what's known as "Unity in the streets, divisive in the sheets." But to be fair, to be fair, and I want to be fair in this new environment, Senator Johnson did not mean to stoke anger. His teleprompter did. ... 11:11 PM ET STEWART:  Meanwhile, back at the Batcave, Joe Biden was sitting down with NBC News anchor Lester Holt to answer questions about what he would do to cool our nation's overheated rhetoric. LESTER HOLT: Have you taken a step back and done a little soul searching on things that you may have said that could incite people who are not balanced? [jump cut] JOE BIDEN: How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody? [jump cut] My opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about there will be a bloodbath if he loses. Like, remember the picture of Donald Trump when Nancy Pelosi's husband was hit with a hammer going — talking about — joking about it. HOLT: This doesn't sound like you are turning down the heat though. STEWART: He's not turning down the heat, he's telling you what the other guy has been saying. How are you supposed to discuss the temperature and the rhetoric if you are not allowed to mention the rhetoric? It became clear that Biden was ready to turn it down for everybody but Lester Holt.

A Missouri man once entrusted with protecting and serving his community as a firefighter has now effectively admitted that public trust was misplaced after he pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing a wallet from the victim of a deadly car crash.The circumstances surrounding the crash are both heartbreaking and infuriating. Around 1:30 in the morning on Feb. 26, 2023, Cedric Dixon, then 34, blew a red light and struck a Chevy Tahoe carrying eight passengers — all of whom were under the age of 21 — in St. Louis. The force of the impact sent the Tahoe over a guardrail before it crashed upside down on the street below.He had just celebrated his 18th birthday, and his wallet contained $200 worth of gift cards and nearly $700 in cash as well as credit and debit cards.Four young people — 20-year-old Corntrail McKinley, 19-year-old Anthony Robinson, 19-year-old Richard Boyd, and 18-year-old Bryanna Johnson — died as a result of the crash, and four others were injured.One of the injured was Seven Robinson-Laney. He suffered broken bones, a concussion, and a back injury. While he awaited transport to a hospital, a first responder who he assumed was a police officer approached him.The first responder asked for Robinson-Laney's wallet on the pretense of checking for identification. The young man produced his wallet and handed it over. The official returned Robinson-Laney's ID almost immediately but slipped the wallet into his jacket, bodycam video later showed.About two weeks later, when Robinson-Laney recovered enough to begin thinking clearly, he recalled that he never got his wallet back. He had just celebrated his 18th birthday, and his wallet contained $200 in gift cards and nearly $700 in cash as well as credit and debit cards.Robinson-Laney reported the incident to police, who later identified the individual who interacted with Robinson-Laney: Arnold Britt, a former wide receiver for the University of Missouri who had spent the last nine years working as a firefighter in St. Louis.Britt initially claimed he mistook the debit card as his wife's since it had been issued by the same bank. He then used the debit card to make about $120 in purchases. Whether he ever offered an explanation for the missing cash and gift cards is unclear.The fire department placed Britt on administrative leave, but then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner — one of several district attorneys affiliated with George Soros — declined to prosecute him, so Britt was allowed to return to his duties. However, since Britt made the debit card purchases in St. Louis County rather than the city, County Prosecutor Christopher King eventually charged him in connection with those transactions.On Monday, Britt, now 41, pleaded guilty to felony receiving stolen property and misdemeanor fraudulent use of a credit/debit device. Britt's sentencing hearing is scheduled for early September.Though Britt has no prior criminal record, prosecutors reportedly want to deter other public servants from committing similar violations and are pushing for concurrent sentences of five years in prison for the stolen property and one year for the debit card fraud. The fire department has since issued a statement claiming that Britt is "no longer a member."Robinson-Laney didn't appear convinced the incident was just an honest mistake: "Everything he did was, like, this is not his first time doing this. It was just, like, this is what he does.""It's hurtful," he continued. "It wasn't just an accident; it was the deaths of youth. You took from people that could have been dead."Cedric Dixon, the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash that killed four of Robinson-Laney's friends, also was prosecuted. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter, four counts of second-degree assault, and one count of leaving the scene of a crash. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Establishmentarians and other radicals have in recent years wished ill upon President Donald Trump, circulated images glorifying violence against him, and trafficked in the kind of violent and dehumanizing rhetoric that some have suggested set the stage for the deadly attack that took place Saturday in Pennsylvania. Middling comedian Kathy Griffin posed, for instance, for a photograph in 2017 holding up a bloody likeness of a decapitated Trump. When Hurricane Dorian made landfall in 2019, a former Canadian prime minister tweeted, "I'm rooting for a direct hit on Mar a Lago." Geriatric performer Madonna indicated in a 2017 speech at the Women's March in Washington, D.C., that she had been contemplating "blowing up the White House" while Trump occupied it. Author Michael Wolff alleged in his book "The Fall" that billionaire Rupert Murdoch repeatedly wished for Trump's death. While there were ostensibly no real consequences for such ghoulish statements and imagery, a new day has apparently dawned. In the wake of the failed assassination on Trump, radicals have begun to face comeuppances for wishing death upon the president as well as for bemoaning the would-be assassin's failure to murder his intended target. Leftist Oklahoma teacher learns a lesson Chaya Raichik of the popular Libs of TikTok social media account and others have worked ardently in recent days to highlight ghastly post-shooting commentary from public officials, academics, and others whose hatred evidently blinded them to potential consequence. Earlier this week, Raichik shared a photo of Alison Scott, a teacher with Ardmore City Schools in Oklahoma. Scott allegedly wrote, "Wish they had a better scope," in response to a Facebook post that read, "SAY Gent that just SHOT TRUMP'S Ear, I got $500 to put on your books for tryin to save us homie." Past cover photos on what appears to be Scott's Facebook profile indicate she is a BLM-supporting LGBT activist who was supportive of school closures during the pandemic. According to a 2022 Ardmore City Schools profile, Scott worked as a music teacher in the district. On Tuesday, Ardmore City Schools released a statement indicating it was "aware that a district employee made a statement on a social media platform appearing to condone violence against a public figure. The district has begun a thorough and swift investigation into the matter." "Ardmore City Schools strongly condemns acts of physical violence and any words that seek to encourage it, no matter their target," continued the statement. "It is the goal of the Board of Education, together with the district's faculty and staff, to educate students in a safe environment free from violent acts and rhetoric." Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's Republican superintendent of public instruction, noted on X, "This is unacceptable. SDE is investigating. We will not allow teachers to cheer on violence against @realDonaldTrump." Hours later, Walters provided an update: "I have investigated it enough. I will be taking her teaching certificate. She will no longer be teaching in Oklahoma." Counselor consumed by cynicism An elementary school counselor employed by the Yadkin County School District in North Carolina also learned a valuable lesson this week about publicly wishing death on others. 'I had a very weak moment.' Raichik and others also highlighted comments from Amanda Brewer. A YCS staff spotlight shared on X earlier this year indicated that Brewer was a counselor at Boonville Elementary School who moonlighted as an exercise instructor. Brewer wrote, "I'm currently sitting on the beach this afternoon, disturbed by the fact, sickened with myself, that I was disappointed the shooter missed when I saw the news." "I have allowed that horrible, HORRIBLE man to make me bitter enough to have such an experience," she wrote. "I clearly need to do some reflecting and some work." YCS district leaders confirmed to WXII-TV Tuesday that they had been made aware of Brewer's comments and that the counselor had resigned. "After being made aware of the comments, YCS officials immediately opened an investigation to address the matter. YCS officials accepted a letter of resignation from Amanda Brewer, effective July 16, 2024," assistant superintended Boomer Kennedy said Tuesday evening. The former counselor told WXII, "I had a very weak moment. I made a statement — but the statement I was trying to make was that the climate of the past four years has pushed me to bitterness and that I recognized it." "I am now taking accountability. I called and resigned, and that's all I can do," added Brewer. A Dallas cop's regrettable two-word response Shortly after the assassination attempt on Trump, which left former fire chief Corey Comperatore dead and others wounded, Sgt. Arturo Martinez of the Dallas Police Department wrote, "Aim better," on social media. According to the Dallas Morning News, the DPD launched an internal affairs review after receiving a complaint regarding Martinez's Saturday post on Instagram. While the officer's attorney Jane Bishkin acknowledged Martinez wrote the post, she suggested he had done so as a private citizen rather than as an officer. The DPD's social media policy states, "Employees are free to express themselves as private citizens on social media sites to the degree that their speech does not impair working relationships of the Department, impede the performance of their duties, impair discipline and harmony among coworkers, or interfere with the regular operation of the Department." DPD Chief Eddie Garcia said in a statement obtained by KXAS-TV, "When I received the notification regarding the comment posted, disappointed would be an understatement. If, in fact, true, the comment made has no place in our society and certainly no place in law enforcement." Martinez has reportedly been placed on leave while the internal affairs unit investigates him. Tenacious D messes up Down Under Blaze News reported Tuesday that Jack Black was canceling his Tenacious D tour after his bandmate Kyle Gass publicly expressed displeasure that the would-be assassin had missed his shot on Trump. During a Tenacious D performance in Sydney, Australia, Jack Black sang "Happy Birthday" to Gass as a birthday cake was presented to him. Prompted to make a wish, Gass said, "Don't miss Trump next time." Black responded with, "Thank you!" Black — who has multiple movies in the works, including a new "Jumanji" flick — took to social media Tuesday to write, "I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form." The actor noted further that he was suspending his Tenacious D tour and putting all future creative plans on hold. Gass, in turn, issued a statement claiming the line he "improvised onstage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous and a terrible mistake." The attempt at damage control does not appear to have been successful so far, granted Gass was dropped by his talent agency. Democratic staffer shown the door Democratic Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the Jan. 6 select committee, has long demonized Trump, painting him both as an insurrectionist and a potential dictator. Earlier this year, Thompson introduced legislation aimed at stripping Trump of his U.S. Secret Service protection. 'That's what your hate speech got you.' It appears Thompson's antagonism toward Trump rubbed off on at least one of his staffers. Jacqueline Marsaw, a case worker and field director for Thompson, wrote shortly after the assassination attempt, "I don't condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don't miss next time ooops that wasn't me talking." Marsaw, who also served as president of her local NAACP, also wrote, "Couldn't happened to a nicer fellow but was it staged," and, "That's what your hate speech got you," reported the Washington Times. Her posts sparked widespread outrage. Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and other Republicans in the state demanded Thompson "immediately fire" Marsaw. Marsaw told the Natchez Democrat, "I acted in the heat of the moment. I wish I had not posted that. I don't want anybody to kill Trump. I don't care for him, and he attacks my (former) boss, but I don't want anyone to kill him or anybody else. I am really sorry." The Democratic staffer's mea culpa was too little, too late. Amid the backlash, Thompson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, "I was made aware of a post made by a staff member and she is no longer in my employment." Extra to losing her job, Marsaw reportedly received a visit from a Secret Service agent, a sheriff, and a sheriff's deputy. "He acted like I was the one who tried to kill Trump," Marsaw told the Natchez Democrat. "He asked me all kinds of questions, like if I had tried to attend a Trump rally or had ever gone to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's home in Florida. Of course, I have not. He asked if I had any explosives in my home or if I had a record of stalking anybody. He walked through the apartment and looked at everything that was on my dresser, wrote down the medications I take." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

This is just wrong.

BINGO! CNN Panelists Did NOT Like Contributor Explaining Life Outside the Lefty Media Bubble