The discovery of a rare Neanderthal rock shelter from the period before Homo sapiens arrived in Western Europe has provided some surprising new insights into how these extinct humans lived when they were the only hominids in town. Located in the Spanish Pyrenees, the site contains a wealth of animal bones and stone tools, revealing an extraordinary level of flexibility and adaptability for a species once considered dull and uninspired.Known as Abric Pizarro, the camp is one of the very few Neanderthal spots dated to the marine isotope stage 4 (MIS 4) period, which lasted from around 100,000 to 65,000 years ago. Our own species didn’t make it to the Iberian peninsula until MIS 3, with Neanderthals becoming extinct within a very short time of our arrival.“This is one of the most interesting things about this site, to have this unique information about when Neanderthals were alone and living in harsh conditions and how they thrived before modern humans appeared,” explained study author Dr Sofia Samper Carro in a statement.A typical excavation day at Abric Pizarro.Image credit: Sofia Samper CarroAccording to the researchers, the Pyrenees region had previously been “considered unsuitable for stable and continuous Neanderthal presence during MIS 4 due to millennial-scale climatic shifts, which would have translated into extreme arid conditions with sharp temperature falls.” However, the discoveries at Abric Pizarro paint a very different picture, indicating that the Neanderthals’ ingenuity enabled them to blossom before modern humans came along.For instance, because most MIS 3 Neanderthal sites predominantly contain the bones of larger carnivores like horses and rhinoceros, it had been assumed that the species lacked the ability to hunt smaller creatures. However, much of the faunal assemblage found at Abric Pizarro belongs to small mammals, suggesting that they were capable of adapting their hunting strategies according to the types of prey available in the region at the time.“Our surprising findings at Abric Pizarro show how adaptable Neanderthals were,” said Samper Carro. “The animal bones we have recovered indicate that they were successfully exploiting the surrounding fauna, hunting red deer, horses and bison, but also eating freshwater turtles and rabbits, which imply a degree of planning rarely considered for Neanderthals.”Based on the varied remains found at the site, the authors conclude that the local “Neanderthal groups were adept hunters, with a broad knowledge of the surrounding landscape, which they exploited efficiently.” At the same time, the stone tools recovered from Abric Pizarro display a variety of different knapping techniques, providing yet more evidence for the hominids’ expert ability to utilize the resources in their environment.“They clearly knew what they were doing,” says Samper Carro. “They knew the area and how to survive for a long time.”And while these findings don’t tell us how or why Neanderthals bit the dust so soon after modern humans made their debut, they do at least fill in some of the gaps in the narrative by revealing the health of Neanderthal communities in the period before they encountered us. “Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago,” says Samper Carro. “Suddenly, we modern humans appear in this region of the Pyrenees, and the Neanderthals disappear. But before that, Neanderthals had been living in Europe for almost 300,000 years.”The study is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

ABC in particular has had a track record of not only salivating over whatever the Biden administration spoonfeeds them on a daily basis with pure propaganda pieces, so it wasn’t a shock when they used Tuesday’s Good Morning America and World News Tonight to trumpet President Biden’s visit to Tulane University to hype his Cancer Moonshot initiative. “Now to President Biden's mission to reduce the cancer death rate. And a new initiative from the White House this morning,” proclaimed GMA co-host Robin Roberts. Senior White House correspondent Selina Wang took a break to hype this from her other task of repeatedly denigrating 2024 GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s military service (claiming he never saw “active fighting” in Iraq) in order to defend Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s embellishment of his own military record. Wang came off like someone from state-run media in one of those authoritarian countries:     After sharing the details of the grants and what they’re aimed at helping to research in the fight against cancer, Wang laid it on thick by fawning over how “this issue is very personal” since “[h]e lost his son Beau to cancer in 2015.” “And President Biden, for his legacy, this is very important to him. He has vowed to keep on fighting for this cancer moon shot for the rest of his term,” she concluded. Wang returned for World News Tonight to deliver even more debasing stenography. She was cued up by anchor David Muir proclaiming in a tease of a “major move tonight by President Biden” then a lead in emphasizing “his very personal mission to cut cancer deaths in the U.S. in half within 25 years.” “Tonight, President Biden awarding $150 million in research funds as part of his Cancer Moonshot — an initiative that’s deeply personal, and one he hopes will be a lasting part of his legacy,” Wang began, as though it were penned by the Biden press office. After a Biden soundbite, she again invoked Beau and highlighted Biden’s desire to decrease cancer death rates in half by 2047. This story on ABC's 'World News Tonight' about Joe Biden is the kind of stenography Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin could only dream of pic.twitter.com/Udw47pXt1O — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 13, 2024 “The President traveling to New Orleans with the First Lady today, announcing funding for eight research groups across the country, all working to help surgeons more precisely remove tumors from those with cancer,” she added. The segment was mercifully brought to an end after another Biden soundbite and Wang with this nauseating close: In the final months of his presidency, Biden is prioritizing issues that are near and dear to his heart. That also includes lowering costs for Americans. That will be the focus of his event with Vice President Harris later this week, their first event together since Biden dropped out of this race.  Tuesday’s CBS Evening News also promoted the Cancer Moonshot, but at least they had the decency to cut it down to a 36-second news brief (click “expand”): GARRETT: President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited New Orleans today promoting the so-called Cancer Moonshot program following the death of his son, Beau, from cancer. The President announced $150 million of new cancer researching funding for eight research teams across the country, including one from Tulane University, where this event was held. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We believe anything is possible in America. [SCREEN WIPE] There’s nothing — nothing — we — beyond our capacity when we work together. GARRETT: The President has set a goal of cutting American cancer deaths in half by the year 2047.  To see the relevant transcripts from August 13, click here (for ABC’s Good Morning America), here (for ABC’s World News Tonight), and here (for CBS).

The Trump = Hitler analogy is getting old. We've been in desperate need of some fresh material! How jejune.  Unsurprisingly, Trump-loathing journalist David Frum appeared on CNN This Morning today to supply it.  Frum dug up, and approvingly quoted, this line from Republican consultant Mike Murphy -- or to be completely up to date, "Republican Voters Against Trump" consultant Mike Murphy.  "Asking Donald Trump to talk about policy, it's like teaching Charles Manson to foxtrot. He can manage a step or two, but then he's going to put a pencil in your eye, because he's Charles Manson. And Donald Trump is Donald Trump." Frum went on to call Trump an "insult comic" who "knows how to abuse and denigrate and humiliate and demean." The irony was apparently lost on Frum that whereas he trashed Trump for denigrating people, he himself had just analogized Trump to Charles Manson—the personification of pure evil. Maybe Frum could serve as the warm-up act for Trump's next insult-comic appearance. CNN host Kasie Hunt quoted from Frum's latest diatribe in The Atlantic, where he mocked Trump's "Kamala's a dummy" spin: "For all his jibes at her intellect, Harris is managing the mystery appeal effectively." This is what Frummy calls avoiding the press? "Managing the mystery appeal?" If Frum wanted to employ an analogy to suggest that Trump can't resist his worst impulses, he might have used the fable of The Scorpion and the Frog. But Frum couldn't resist going for the real-life mass murderer comparison. Note: While praising JD Vance for staying more on message than Trump, Kasie Hunt claimed that Vance had criticized Tim Walz "for leaving the military after 24 years to run for Congress." Wrong. Vance criticized Vance for lying about serving in a war zone and leaving the military knowing that his unit was soon to be deployed to Iraq.  Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 8/14/24 6:00 am EDT KASIE HUNT: Trump vice presential pick JD Vance has criticized Walz for leaving the military after 24 years to run for Congress. Vance replying on social media, quote, Hi Tim. I thank you for your service, but you shouldn't have lied about it. You shouldn't have said you went to war when you didn't, nor should you have said you didn't know your unit was going to Iraq. Happy to discuss more in a debate. Vance does seem to be a bit more on message than the top of the ticket that he's running on. In an interview with Univision, Donald Trump continuing his personal attacks against Kamala Harris. DONALD TRUMP: We're going to get rid of inflation. Inflation has hurt the Hispanic population so badly, but it's hurt everybody. She's never going to do anything about inflation. She has no idea. She doesn't even know what it means, the word means.  And she is, she's forced to go with my policies. You know, I came out a long time ago with no taxes on tips, and two days ago she said no taxes on tips. She doesn't even know what it means. HUNT: Doesn't even know what it means. It's that piece of the approach that many Republicans want, to not want to see Trump take in this reset race that has clearly moved in Kamala Harris's favor. NIKKI HALEY: And the one thing Republicans have to stop doing, quit whining about her. We knew it was going to be her. But the campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes, not what race Kamala Harris is. It's not going to win talking about whether she's dumb. It's not, you can't win on those things. The American people are smart. Treat them like they're smart.  . . .  HUNT: David Frum, you capture it this way in your latest piece in The Atlantic, you say that Trump's campaign, you call it the Trump campaign's please shut up phase. You write this. This is Trump's problem. For all his jibes at her intellect, Harris is managing the mystery appeal effectively, whereas Trump, who endlessly congratulates himself on his MIT professor uncle's brains, is fast arriving at the, will you please shut up phase of his political descent. DAVID FRUM: Mike Murphy, the Republican campaign consultant, a decade ago or nearly a decade ago, said that asking Donald Trump to talk about policy is like teaching Charles Manson to foxtrot. He can manage a step or two, but then he's going to put a pencil in your eye, because he's Charles Manson.  And Donald Trump is Donald Trump. And as you just said a minute ago, I mean, it's astonishing. Of course, he's an insult comic. That's what he is. He doesn't know, he knows less about policy than anybody probably ever run for high office ever.  But what he does know is how to abuse and denigrate and humiliate and demean. That's what he does. If you don't like that, he's not your guy. And if he is your guy, don't pretend he's not like that—because he's like that.

The Regime Media, now fully assimilated into the K-Hive, are doing their level best to help Minnesota Governor Tim Walz make his damaging Stolen Valor scandal go away, now that he’s come out and addressed the issue (sort of). The most egregious instance of peo-Harris sycophancy comes, no surprise here, via ABC Whirled News Tonight. Watch as Senior Campaign Correspondent Rachel Scott tries to cover for Walz by obfuscating the exact nature of the Stolen Valor Scandal, and by saying that his vice presidential opponent, Senator JD Vance, saw no combat, either (click “expand” to view transcript): RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, in his first solo appearance on the campaign trail, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz defending himself against Republican attacks on his 24-year record of military service. TIM WALZ: I'm going to say it again as clearly as I can, I am damn proud of my service to this country. SCOTT: Walz spent 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, while teaching and coaching football, leaving to run for Congress months before his unit deployed to Iraq. In the House, he was the top Democrat on the Veteran Affairs Committee. But since joining the Harris ticket, he has been under relentless attack from Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, who has seized on this moment: WALZ: We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at. SCOTT: Vance accusing Walz of lying about his service. JD VANCE: And he has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not. SCOTT: Today, Walz pushing back at Vance, who served as a Marine in Iraq himself, but didn't see active fighting. SCOTT: And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words -- thank you for your service and sacrifice. The truth is that the scandal isn’t just about that 10-second or so clip about Walz saying he “carried weapons in war”, but about the underlying circumstances of his non-deployment to Iraq.  To wit: Walz saw the warning his unit would deploy, issued a campaign statement saying he’d deploy anyway, accepted a conditional promotion that would’ve obligated deployment, ditched his unit ahead of deployment, and then made continuous statements suggesting or leaving listeners to infer that he deployed.  There are many parallels with Walz’s stolen valor and with the Hunter Biden laptop in terms of how the stories are covered by the media (minus the corporate-government censorship). The underlying details of the scandal are not discussed or covered until the affected party speaks first, and then the coverage is tilted so as to demonize those calling out the bad behavior in question. Viewers are left with the sensation that something bad may have happened but it’s best not to talk about it. Rachel Scott dishonestly does this by suggesting that Vance didn’t see combat either, as though this were in any way relevant to the facts of the scandal or somehow disqualifies him from calling Walz out. It’s not, and it doesn’t.  NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell did some firefighting on this as well, although not as vigorously as Rachel Scott of ABC. The key quote from her report: O’DONNELL: At issue, this 2018 clip posted by the Harris campaign where then-Congressman Walz, who was talking about gun restrictions, said he carried weapons in war. WALZ: And we can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at. O’DONNELL: But Walz was never in combat. Trump running mate and Marine veteran JD Vance called that Walz description “scandalous behavior”. JD VANCE: I'm not criticizing Tim Walz's service. I'm criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain. O’DONNELL: The Harris campaign said last Friday Walz “misspoke” when he said he carried weapons in war. Walz served 24 years in the National Guard. Today Walz did not address any specifics, but criticized the criticism. The 2018 clip is not the whole issue. O’Donnell also throws out the “Vance wasn’t in combat” red herring, but was honest in mentioning that Walz did not address any specifics. He hasn’t, and he probably won’t unless the Regime Media develop a case of sudden-onset intellectual curiosity. CBS’s Robert Costa devoted a few seconds of his roundup to the Walz scandal, choosing instead to focus on the viral Trump-Elon Musk X space and on the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Despite doing about a minute or so of Walz’s speech before AFSCME, PBS didn’t even mention the stolen valor incident. This story isn’t going away, no matter how much the K-Hive media would love to make it so.  Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their evening network newscasts on Tuesday, August 13th, 2024: ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT 8/13/24 6:34 PM DAVID MUIR: In the meantime, we turn now to the race for The White House. Just 84 days now until Election Day. Tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Governor Tim Walz is now responding to attacks from the Trump campaign, defending his 24-year military record. The other major political headline tonight, the conversation between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, after what Trump said about workers who were threatening a strike. Tonight, the UAW is now hitting Trump and Musk with federal labor charges, because of what was said. ABC's Rachel Scott again tonight. RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, in his first solo appearance on the campaign trail, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz defending himself against Republican attacks on his 24-year record of military service. TIM WALZ: I'm going to say it again as clearly as I can, I am damn proud of my service to this country. SCOTT: Walz spent 24 years in the Minnesota National Guard, while teaching and coaching football, leaving to run for Congress months before his unit deployed to Iraq. In the House, he was the top Democrat on the Veteran Affairs Committee. But since joining the Harris ticket, he has been under relentless attack from Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, who has seized on this moment: WALZ: We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at. SCOTT: Vance accusing Walz of lying about his service. JD VANCE: And he has not spent a day in a combat zone. What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage. Do not pretend to be something that you're not. SCOTT: Today, Walz pushing back at Vance, who served as a Marine in Iraq himself, but didn't see active fighting. SCOTT: And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words -- thank you for your service and sacrifice. SCOTT: Walz today addressing the convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, saying Trump and Vance aren't looking out for union workers. WALZ: The only thing those two guys knows about working people is how to work to take advantage of ‘em. That's what they know about it. SCOTT: Seizing on Trump's comments about striking workers in a conversation with billionaire Elon Musk on his social media platform X. Trump praising Musk for not giving in to workers’ demands. DONALD TRUMP: I mean, I look at what you do. You walk in, you say, you want to quit? They go on strike. They- I won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike. And you say, that's okay, you're all gone. You're all gone. So, every one of you is gone. SCOTT: Tonight, the head of the United Auto Workers union out with a blistering statement, insisting "When we say Donald Trump is a scab, this is what we mean. When we say Trump stands against everything our union stands for, this is what we mean." Walz echoing those words. WALZ: He called him a scab, just to be clear. That's not name calling, it's an observation in fact, just to be clear. So… SCOTT: The UAW has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, noting she has walked the picket line with striking workers. And tonight, the union filing federal labor charges against Trump and Musk with the National Labor Relations Board, saying they "advocated for the illegal firing of striking workers." Vice President Kamala Harris has only been in the race for three weeks, and now, she will start to roll out her policy proposals, starting with the economy. Her campaign says she wants to lower costs for middle class families and take on corporate price gouging, all issues she'll certainly address next week at the Democratic National Convention, David. MUIR: Rachel Scott live in Washington. Rachel, thank you. As always, of course, ABC News will cover the Democratic  convention in Chicago next week, beginning Monday in prime time on ABC News Live and, of course, right here on the network. CBS EVENING NEWS CBS EVENING NEWS 8/13/24 6:30 PM MAJOR GARRETT: Donald Trump is working to grab attention back from Kamala Harris. He will hold two campaign stops in battleground states later this week after failing to land any significant rhetorical punches against Harris during a rambling 2-hour interview with Elon Musk. What listeners did get was a 40-minute technical delay and an ear full of talking points from the former president on immigration, foreign dictators, and the economy. Meanwhile, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was on the trail solo for the first time, pushing for union votes while defending his military record. CBS's Robert Costa has new reporting on how Trump allies want him to take on the Harris-Walz ticket. ROBERT COSTA: Former President Donald Trump is now using one of his favorite tools: social media, to pull the political spotlight back his way. And he kicked off the effort with an online chat with billionaire Elon Musk. ELON MUSK I think you should support Donald Trump for president. DONALD TRUMP: Well, I want to thank you. COSTA: The two-hour dialogue with Musk was delayed by technical difficulties. TRUMP: You’ve done an amazing job. You are- you’ve deftinitely got a fertile mind. COSTA: Trump's allies say he recognizes the impact of being on X, especially as he looks to energize his core supporters, who have been following his social postings since he rose to the presidency in 2016. But there is no guarantee an X exchange will provide a political boost. Sources close to the Trump campaign tell CBS News that privately, some aides and donors are increasingly on edge about Trump's ability to adapt to the new dynamic since president Biden exited the race. TRUMP: Biden actually did something that was impossible -- both sides hate him. You know, both sides. That was a hard thing to do, unification. COSTA: And some Trump associates are voicing frustration that more needs to be done to better define Vice President Kamala Harris as a liberal, and sources say some confidantes have urged him to concentrate on policy attacks, not personal ones. Whether that happens remains to be seen, as Trump is ramping up his campaign schedule, with a rally Wednesday in Asheville, North Carolina slated to focus on the economy, before rallying supporters on Saturday in northeastern Pennsylvania, two days before the Democratic National Convention. Harris, meanwhile, is scheduled to unveil her economic agenda this Friday in North Carolina. And today, her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, defended his military record. TIM WALZ: I'm going to say it again as clearly as I can: I am damn proud of my service to this country. COSTA: And there is a new standoff with political implications. The United Auto Worker have filed federal charges against Elon Musk and former President Trump after they spoke about striking workers last night. UAW leader Shawn Fain just told me their remarks were intimidating. The Trump campaign has called the suit a political stunt. Major? GARRETT: Robert, we also have some new details on key speakers, at least initially, announced for the Democratic National Convention. COSTA: President Biden will have his big moment on Monday evening. So will former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, followed Tuesday by former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton will also be in Chicago. Then the big ones, Governor Walz and Vice President Harris. GARRETT: Robert Costa, thanks so very much. NBC NIGHTLY NEWS NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 8/13/24 6:31 PM LESTER HOLT: Good evening and welcome. Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz tonight defending his military service after attacks by his Republican opponent JD Vance over how he described his military duties and his decision to leave the National Guard before his battalion deployed to Iraq. Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance since joining the Harris campaign, didn't directly respond to the allegations but cautioned against denigrating another person's service record. The Minnesota Governor and 24-year Army National Guard veteran telling an audience of union workers that he is proud of his service to the country that includes his time in Congress. Walz today thanking Vance, who served in the Marines, and all veterans for their service and sacrifice. Kelly O'Donnell has the story. KELLY O’DONNELL: Going solo for the first time as Kamala Harris' running mate before public service union workers. Today, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz making his first public response to attacks from the Trump campaign about how Walz talked about his time in the national Guard. TIM WALZ: I'm going to say it again as clearly as I can. I am damn proud of my service to this country. O’DONNELL: At issue, this 2018 clip posted by the Harris campaign where then-Congressman Walz, who was talking about gun restrictions, said he carried weapons in war. WALZ: And we can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at. O’DONNELL: But Walz was never in combat. Trump running mate and Marine veteran JD Vance called that Walz description “scandalous behavior”. JD VANCE: I'm not criticizing Tim Walz's service. I'm criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain. O’DONNELL: The Harris campaign said last Friday Walz “misspoke” when he said he carried weapons in war. Walz served 24 years in the National Guard. Today Walz did not address any specifics, but criticized the criticism. WALZ: And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person's service record. To anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. HOLT: Kelly, you're also tracking new developments regarding potential cyber threats to both campaigns. O’DONNELL: Lester, the FBI says it is investigating attempted hacking of both campaigns. Today the Harris campaign said it was notified by the FBI in July that a foreign actor influence operation targeted their computer systems. But they're not aware of any breaches. On the Trump side, the campaign has said Iran was behind the hacking. Lester. HOLT: All right, Kelly, thanks very much.  

Keen observers have highlighted that buried within CNN's latest hit piece targeting Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) are the seeds of the intended narrative's undoing. A quad of CNN writers penned a Tuesday piece over 2,200 words long titled "Workers allege 'nightmare' conditions at Kentucky startup JD Vance helped fund." Their hit piece begins by highlighting Vance's alleged guiding principle for investing in a company: "A business should not only turn a profit, it should also help American communities." The rest of the article is formulated to suggest that Vance's principle(s) failed him when it came to investing in AppHarvest, an agricultural company that proved neither profitable nor helpful. This carefully constructed and exploitable narrative is, however, undermined by admissions in the CNN article that other publications may seek to gloss over or omit. For instance, the horror stories regarding working conditions at the company are undercut by officials' sources also cited in the piece. This incongruity alone should kneecap the intended narrative, but even more ruinous to the point CNN is trying to make is its own admission that the business hired migrant workers, faced lawsuits, and collapsed long after Vance had moved on. The hit piece has, however, already served its purpose, furnishing leftist blogs and mainstream publications with claims to decontextualize and distort at Vance's expense. The New Republic, for instance, concluded: "With Vance touting his business record as the Republican vice presidential nominee, AppHarvest is another big strike against him and the campaign." Kamala Harris rapid response director Ammar Moussa has also seized on the article, personally assigning blame to Vance. "Wow. This is a devastating deep dive into some of JD Vance's business ventures. Not only did this company go bankrupt, he treated workers horribly, making them work in unbelievable circumstances," wrote Moussa. The Harris campaign has proven itself willing to rewrite history and news headlines for political gain. Although this Orwellian reflex has diminished the need for abettors in the press, the liberal media appears keen to continue producing ammunition for Democrats' various character assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and his running mate. CNN's latest offering hints at an attempt to try something new — to attack the Republican candidate's business acumen. After all, recent accusations of weirdness have largely failed to stick, and, unlike that of Harris' running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D), Vance's military record appears untouchable — although editors at Wikipedia certainly have tried. The company In the wake of the success of his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance was reportedly hired by AOL co-founder Steve Chase in 2017 to help his seed fund Rise of the Rest invest in underserved markets. According to CNN, Vance met with Jonathan Webb, the founder of an Appalachian indoor-agriculture company called AppHarvest. Webb, who had a big idea — "to build an indoor vertical farming hub growing fruits and vegetables, one that was within a day’s drive of most of the US population, and where water and land were abundant" — was reportedly desperate for liquidity, having maxed out his savings and credit. Vance cut a check to invest in the company as did a number of other early investors. While supposedly named to the board of directors that year, there are other indications he did not formally join until 2020. During the time he was involved, Vance reportedly drove millions of dollars in capital to the company while helming his own venture capital firm Narya to ensure the success of the agri-business. The company, which went on to draw investment from other big names, including Martha Stewart and former Impossible Foods CFO David Lee, went public in February 2021 and at one time reportedly saw a total valuation of over $1 billion. Vance left the company's board in April 2021. At the time he noted on X: My ability to be useful now that it's a public company is limited, I'm thinking about a political run, and whatever I do politically, I hate the insane reigning political orthodoxy ... so last month, I started talking with other members of the board about stepping down. The basic thinking was: I'm going to keep speaking my mind, and I’d rather do that unconstrained by the demands of a public board. And I thought the company would be better off too. Despite its promise, the company subsequently hit turbulence, was slapped with multiple lawsuits, and ultimately went belly up. When AppHarvest, starting down over $341 million in debt, declared bankruptcy last year, its chief financial officer said in court documents that the company was effectively tanked "due to lower than expected yield across all crops, higher than expected costs, and tightening of the equity markets and declining stock prices." The accusations CNN reduplicated the 2023 efforts of the leftist climate mag Grist in its hit piece, platforming allegations from a handful of former employees about supposedly demanding quotas and intolerable working conditions, mainly tied to issues with heat in the greenhouse. Anthony Morgan, another former AppHarvest worker, said that conditions and benefits at the 60-acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky, started off nicely, but deteriorated over time. Morgan alleged that the company progressively cut costs along with some benefits, and production quotas were raised, meaning more time in the hot greenhouse. "It was a nightmare that should have never happened," said Morgan. Months after Vance was no longer involved in the company, CNN indicated the company began relying upon migrant labor. These migrant workers were allegedly kept out of sight when politicians and other "bigwigs" toured the facilities. In the wake of AppHarvest's legal difficulties and ultimate collapse, a number of former employees suggested to CNN that Vance and other board members "should have recognized and responded to warning signs that company officials were misleading the public and their own investors." "Making the decision to go to work at AppHarvest, like many of us made, the livelihood just went right down the drain," Morgan said. "I blame all of the original investors." Buried revelations CNN's hit piece contains numerous narrative-killing admissions and statements. For instance, while Vance reportedly remained invested in the company, CNN acknowledged that he "stepped down from AppHarvest's board and launched his political career in 2021." CNN also indicated at the end of the article that "Vance was not named in any of the lawsuits" AppHarvest has been met with. 'This is a devastating deep dive into Kamala's desperation.' Where complaints over intolerable working conditions and benefit cuts are concerned, the article says that state government inspectors visited AppHarvest facilities on at least three occasions but never issued citations. Furthermore, "Inspectors noted that they observed or heard about safety precautions during their visits, such as mandatory heat breaks and drinks offered to employees." A Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet spokesman told CNN that inspections of AppHarvest facilities found no violations of "national guidelines recommended to protect employees from heat-related illnesses, including regular access to fresh drinking water, rest breaks and opportunities to escape high temperatures." A member of AppHarvest's senior management team told CNN in a forwarded statement: The allegations made against AppHarvest do not reflect matters discussed at board meetings during JD's tenure — for obvious reasons. AppHarvest implemented robust heat policies when temperatures rose in the summer, months after JD's departure, continued to cover 100% of employees' health insurance premiums until mid-2022, and maintained a workforce dedicated to Appalachia throughout its existence. Critics have blasted CNN for the article and the Harris campaign for distorting the facts further. Abigail Jackson, communications director for Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), responded to Harris rapid response director Ammar Moussa's repost of the article, noting, "JD had nothing to do with it. JD was long gone from the company before any of these awful problems arose and CNN decided to bury that critical piece of info at the bottom of their article." The MAGA War Room account tweeted, "Wow. This is a devastating deep dive into Kamala's desperation. Article literally says none of this happened while JD was a part of the company. Fake news!" Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The controversial Olympic gold medalist who allegedly failed multiple gender tests has named author J.K. Rowling and entrepreneur Elon Musk in their criminal harassment complaint.Imane Khelif did not lose a single round fighting against women in the Olympics, easily winning a gold medal in the women's 66 kg division.However, both the International Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization found that Khelif was biologically a man, while Spain's Olympic boxing coach also stated the fighter was too strong to box other women during a training camp.Following strong international condemnation, Khelif filed a criminal complaint asking that French authorities look into online harassment about the fighter's gender and image.'Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into.'The complaint was made to Paris' online hate speech office and claimed Khelif was a victim of cyber harassment.It has since been revealed that Rowling and Musk were both named in the criminal complaint over "alleged acts of aggravated cyber harassment." Rowling shared an image of Khelif and opponent Angela Carini, saying Khelif had "the smirk of a male [who] knows he's protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he's just punched in the head."Musk, on the other hand, simply shared a statement by former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, who wrote "men don't belong in women's sports," along with a picture of Carini. Musk added "absolutely."Khelif's attorney, Nabil Boudi, told Variety the complaint was filed against no particular person to "ensure that the prosecution has all the latitude to be able to investigate against all people," including anyone who may have written messages under pseudonyms.Additionally, the lawyer said that Donald Trump would be part of the investigation:"Trump tweeted, so whether or not he is named in our lawsuit, he will inevitably be looked into as part of the prosecution," Boudi said.Trump's apparent offense was positing a message from the fight with Carini with the message, "I will keep men out of women's sports!"Boudi continued, "What we're asking is that the prosecution investigates not only these people but whoever it feels necessary. If the case goes to court, they will stand trial."The attorney also reportedly claimed that the lawsuit could "target personalities overseas," citing the French prosecution "possibly [making] requests for mutual legal assistance with other countries."The threat mirrors comments from U.K. law enforcement who said they would "come after" U.S. citizens for what was deemed to be anti-immigrant hate speech. The officials also threatened to attempt to extradite Musk.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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Stonehenge has long been shrouded in mystery, with each new discovery adding another layer to its enigmatic history. Recent research led by Curtin University has unveiled a groundbreaking revelation about the origins of Stonehenge's massive six-ton Altar Stone, one of the monument’s most iconic features. Contrary to the long-held belief that this monolithic block originated from Wales, the new study pinpoints its origins to northeast Scotland, raising profound questions about the capabilities of ancient societies over 4,000 years ago. Published in the journal Nature, the study analyzed the age and chemistry of minerals from fragments of the Altar Stone, explains an Aberystwyth University press release. The findings show a remarkable similarity between the Old Red Sandstone of the Orcadian Basin in northeast Scotland and the Stonehenge Altar Stone. Anthony Clarke from the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group at Curtin University said: “Considering the technological constraints of the Neolithic, our findings raise fascinating questions about how such a massive stone was able to be transported over the vast distance implied. Given major overland barriers en route from north-east Scotland to Salisbury Plain, marine transport is one feasible option.” Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyEuropeAncient PlacesRead Later