Smackdown on CO: Unanimous SCOTUS Rules States Cannot DQ Trump on 14A; RNC: 'Pure Election Interference'

Georgia House Passes Bill Allowing Police to Arrest Suspected Illegal Aliens

Palestinian Authority Still Paying for Acts of Terror

After decades of dwindling‚ nuclear energy could be making a big comeback in the US. Last week‚ the House passed through bipartisan legislation that aims to bolster nuclear energy with a sweeping 365-36 vote. The measure‚ the Atomic Energy Advancement Act‚ will essentially make it easier to build nuclear power plants by speeding up environmental reviews and reducing license fees that applicants have to pay before setting up advanced nuclear reactors.It’s unclear how the legalization will progress from here since the Senate has its own nuclear energy bill. However‚ per The Hill‚ both bills have bipartisan support and there are efforts to reconcile the two pieces of legislation.Either way‚ it’s looking very likely that the US nuclear industry will be given a boost very shortly. “We have worked very hard‚ and most agree that a robust and growing nuclear industry is critical for reducing emissions‚ providing reliable‚ affordable‚ clean energy to Americans‚” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).“Nuclear energy can help us build durable economic and strategic relationships around the world‚ especially as the influence of China and Russia in this industry grows‚” she added.  Nuclear power: pros and consNuclear energy has received a bad rap in recent decades‚ but many lawmakers‚ scientists‚ and even environmentalists are starting to see the mammoth benefits it could offer. Much of its nasty reputation stems from the handful of disasters involving nuclear meltdowns‚ such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. As catastrophic as the incidents were‚ nuclear is actually one of the safest energy sources. Compared to the millions of people who die from air pollution from fossil fuels every year‚ the number of people who have been killed in nuclear accidents is very small. There is also the problem of nuclear waste‚ which is highly radioactive and will remain so for several thousand years. However‚ healthy nuclear power plants release less radioactive material than any other major energy source. It’s little-known‚ but oil extraction and coal-mining leak significant amounts of radiation into the environment that would otherwise be contained. Nuclear power plants can produce a huge amount of low-cost‚ reliable energy. They also emit relatively low greenhouse gas emissions‚ meaning they could prove to be crucial in efforts to achieve the target of zero emissions and stave off the worst of the climate crisis.Globally‚ nuclear energy is on the upThe recent nuclear legalization pushes in the US are broadly in line with the trends being followed by other economic powerhouses.Globally‚ around 10 percent of our electricity comes from nuclear. Although some countries like Germany have recently ditched their nuclear power plants‚ nuclear power generation is on the rise worldwide. Much of this increasing activity is occurring in Asia where nuclear power plants are booming in number. As of January 2023‚ 10 out of the 15 largest nuclear power plants in the world based on capacity were based in Asia‚ most notably in South Korea and China.

Many of us are concerned about how aging could impact our brains‚ and a lot of time and effort has gone into research that could help slow cognitive decline. A new twin study is the latest to address this question‚ finding that a simple fiber supplement was enough to improve memory performance in as little as 12 weeks.  “We are excited to see these changes in just 12 weeks. This holds huge promise for enhancing brain health and memory in our ageing population‚” said first author Dr Mary Ni Lochlainn‚ from the Department of Twin Research at King’s College London‚ in a statement.King’s College London is home to the UK’s largest adult twin registry‚ TwinsUK. It has been running for over 30 years and has contributed to research on many topics‚ from why some people are more tasty to mosquitoes to how genetics influence COVID-19 symptoms. This latest study involved 36 pairs of twins aged over 60. In a double-blind trial‚ each pair was randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or a fiber supplement‚ which they took every day for 12 weeks.The supplement consisted of two inexpensive and readily available sources of plant fiber: inulin and fructooligosaccharide (FOS). These substances are considered prebiotics‚ foods that nourish the “good” bacteria that live in the human gut.   These bacteria and other microbes‚ collectively known as the gut microbiome‚ have previously been linked to cognitive health and diseases like Alzheimer’s‚ so the researchers were keen to find out whether taking a prebiotic supplement could help support better brain function in older people.In tandem with this‚ both the placebo and treatment groups took a protein supplement and did some resistance training to see whether the extra fiber boost would have any impact on their muscles. The participants were monitored remotely‚ speaking to the researchers via video call and submitting questionnaires and cognitive test results online. The advantage of this is that it removes the need for travel and hospital visits‚ expanding the range of these kinds of studies to more remote locations or isolated populations.As expected‚ those taking the fiber supplement saw an increase in the number of beneficial bacteria in their gut microbiomes‚ particularly Bifidobacterium species. There was no significant difference in muscle strength between the groups at the end of the study‚ suggesting the prebiotic didn’t offer an improvement over protein and exercise alone. The authors suggested that the dose may have been too low to see a benefit. The cognitive test results were more promising‚ though. The fiber supplement group scored better across several tests of memory‚ reaction time‚ and processing speed. This included significantly better scores in the Paired Associates Learning test‚ which can be used as an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease. “These plant fibres‚ which are cheap and available over-the counter‚ could benefit a wide group of people in these cash-strapped times. They are safe and acceptable too‚” said senior author Professor Claire Steves. “Our next task is to see whether these effects are sustained over longer periods and in larger groups of people.”A number of studies in recent years have drawn this link between what’s happening in our guts and what’s happening in our brains. It’s often termed the “gut-brain axis”. By furthering our understanding of this cryptic pathway‚ the team hopes to find ways to improve the quality of life for our aging population. Dr Ni Lochlainn said‚ “Unlocking the secrets of the gut-brain axis could offer new approaches for living more healthily for longer.”The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. 

A mighty Saharan Sand Dune has been found to have a 13‚000-year-old base‚ but most of its current height grew within the last 1‚000 years. The information transforms the way geologists think about star dunes‚ the tallest class category of sand dunes. Since star dunes are found not only in the deserts of Africa‚ Asia‚ and North America‚ but on Mars and Titan too‚ the work could have wide applications. It also explains why geological searches seldom find signs of them in the past.When people who’ve never been to one imagine deserts‚ star dunes – named for the way their arms stretch outward when seen from above – might be what comes to mind. Although they cover only a small proportion of the world’s deserts‚ they are photogenic enough to get filmed a lot when directors want to convey morale-sapping treks. Some in China are 300 meters (1‚000 feet) high‚ possibly the largest sand dunes on Earth.To form something that big has been thought to take a long time‚ but ancient records of deserts preserved as rocks don’t reveal clues to star dunes’ past‚ aside from a Triassic example‚ when dinosaurs were young. Professor Geoff Duller of Aberystwyth University and Professor Charlie Bristow of Birkbeck University went to the Moroccan star dune Lala Lallia to seek answers.Meaning “highest sacred point” in Berber‚ Lala Lallia is 100 meters (330 feet) high and around 700 meters (2‚300 feet wide) and located in part of southeastern Morocco that film crews flock to when they want a forbidding-looking desert.“Using ground penetrating radar to look inside this star dune has allowed us to show how these immense dunes form‚ and to develop a new model so geologists know better what to look for in the rock record to identify these amazing desert features‚” Bristow in a statement. The team also used luminescence dating‚ which reveals the last time certain minerals were exposed to sunlight.These approaches revealed a dune that got started during the Younger Dryas event‚ when the Earth briefly plunged back into an ice age after having spent thousands of years digging its way out.During the Younger Dryas‚ northerly winds produced Lala Lallia’s 30-meter (100-foot) high base. The dune then stopped growing for at least 8‚000 of the next 12‚000 years. During this time evidence of fulgurites‚ plants‚ and pottery shards accumulated on the east side of the dune. This indicates the climate was wet enough that vegetation could stabilize dunes in the area‚ filling in a gap in our knowledge of the climate of the area at the time.When growth resumed it was initially slow‚ but in the last 900 years Lala Lallia added some 70 meters to its height and migrated rapidly (by the standards of geology) west. The arms that are the distinctive feature of star dunes are mostly younger than the main body‚ in one case just 15 years old.Using this data the team were able to piece together the dominant wind direction in the area at different times since shortly after the last Ice Age.The pair were as interested in what their findings could tell them about other dunes‚ and their apparent absences‚ as this specific example.“This research is really the case of the missing sand dune – it had been a mystery why we could not see them in the geological record. It’s only because of new technology that we can now start to uncover their secrets‚” Duller said. “These findings will probably surprise a lot of people as we can see how quickly this enormous dune formed‚ and that it is moving across the desert at about 50 cm [20 inches] a year.”The authors think ancient star dunes that have turned to rock have been misclassified as having once been linear or barchanoid dunes‚ which look different when at the surface‚ but probably quite similar once buried. They think their work will help differentiate the sedimentary structures star dunes become from the remnants of their counterparts‚ hopefully reconciling their absence in the record.The study is published open access in Scientific Reports.

Funerals could easily be assumed to be a uniquely human phenomenon‚ but a new study appears to challenge that after researchers observed Asian elephants burying dead calves and loudly mourning for them.Both African and Asian elephants have previously been observed interacting with their dead and displaying grief-like behaviors‚ but the current study aimed to take it a step further by determining whether a calf’s cause of death had any effect on the behavior seen.Between September 2022 and October 2023‚ researchers observed five different cases of calf burial in the north of India’s Bengal region. They detailed the behavior seen in the elephants using photographs and fieldnotes and conducted postmortems on the calves to ascertain the cause of death.The findings revealed an unusual behavior‚ though one that the researchers note shouldn’t be generalized. “We suggest that the carcasses were buried in an abnormal recumbent style irrespective of the reasons for the calf's death‚" the team writes in their paper‚ noting that all had different causes of death‚ none of which involved humans. In every case‚ the herd carried the dead calves by their trunk and/or legs‚ roaming with them until they found the “right” spot – irrigation channels on tea estates‚ far away from humans. There‚ the calves were buried on their backs with their legs up.It’s believed that this is a group effort. “We also observed the efforts of various herd members through their footprints in levelling the soil above/around the carcass – supporting the social-bonds hypothesis […] we also infer that carcass burying was a combined effort from allomothers and herd members of different age groups‚” the authors write.Asian elephants were spotted moving their dead young to burial sites‚ where the calves were placed upside down.Images courtesy of Parveen Kaswan and Akashdeep Roy/West Bengal Forest DepartmentAccording to anecdotal evidence from those working on the tea estates‚ in one case‚ the elephant herd stood around the burial site and made “loud vocalizations”‚ which included trumpeting and roaring.That doesn’t sound entirely dissimilar to what might happen at a human funeral‚ which can feature speeches and songs. The herds didn’t appear to hold a wake though – no awkward small talk over a pint and a lukewarm ham sandwich found here. In every case observed‚ the herd fled the burial site within 40 minutes.And they didn’t return to the site either. The authors explain how previous research has detailed how African elephants visit carcasses of dead members of the herd – but in the cases observed in the current study‚ burial sites appeared to be actively avoided.“A formal interview with the tea garden managers shows that the elephants now use a parallel pathway and completely avoid their previous ‘active’ route.”And who could blame them? We’d be too sad to go back too‚ and we weren’t even there.The study is published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.

In a surprising twist of fate‚ Casey‚ an octopus mother‚ thought she had stumbled upon a safe haven for her offspring within a PVC pipe. Little did she know‚ this was actually a trap set by fishermen aiming to catch her for their next meal. However‚ Casey was not about to give up on her... The post Octopus melts hearts with sweet ‘thank you’ for woman who helped saved her babies appeared first on Animal Channel.

ABC This Week co-host Jonathan Karl has written three books attacking Donald Trump‚ but he clearly has nothing in the works on the Biden family influence-peddling business. On his Sunday show‚ he spent five minutes discussing legal troubles for Trump‚ and only one minute at the end demanding his guests agree the House Republicans are getting nowhere in their impeachment inquiry.  When he got the answers he wanted‚ Karl laughed. Once again‚ ABC hid the fact that their Democrat guest was appointed as a federal prosecutor by President Obama‚ but the Trump guest worked for Trump. "To help us make sense of it all‚ we brought in some of our great legal minds‚ Preet Bharara‚ former U.S. Attorney for the state of New York‚ and Sarah Isgur‚ a former attorney under the Trump administration." This time‚ they didn't mention that Isgur now writes for The Dispatch‚ a passionately anti-Trump website.  Karl told his guests they wouldn't have much time to comment on his contention that it  “seems like Republicans are not getting anywhere‚ to say the least‚ in their impeachment efforts." On #ThisWeek‚ @JonKarl dismisses relevance of Hunter Biden‚ “seems like Republicans are not getting anywhere to say the least in their impeachment efforts.” Guests agree. Preet Bharara: “It’s a sideshow. It doesn’t matter‚ it’s a spectacle and I think we should move on.” pic.twitter.com/RpjlXdhNHc — Brent Baker 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) March 3‚ 2024 When you're a Democrat‚ it's natural to say the Republicans aren't getting anywhere‚ but it was a closed hearing‚ so does Jon Karl actually know?  KARL: Very quickly to both of you‚ Hunter Biden was on Capitol Hill testifying behind closed doors didn't take the Fifth Amendment even though he's facing multiple indictments. What's the bottom line on that case? Seems like Republicans are not getting anywhere to say the least in their impeachment efforts. Sarah? ISGUR: They have not found what they need here‚ you know‚ it's sort of like with the Stormy Daniels hush money payment. Partisans on each side want everything they don't like to be illegal. Here we do have evidence of influence peddling‚ but that's not a crime if Joe Biden wasn't president or wasn't vice president when it happened‚ and here you have Hunter Biden looking very confident that what he did might have been slimy‚ but it wasn't illegal‚ and it doesn't implicate his father. Republicans have really yet to find what they need to move forward. BHARARA: It’s a sideshow. It doesn’t matter‚ it’s a spectacle and I think we should move on. [Karl laughs] Back in 2022‚ Jon Karl suggested that suddenly "massive investigations" were a waste of time (as opposed to the Pelosi-Picked Panel on January 6). He complained to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin: “I'm hearing a lot‚ though‚ of talk about investigations‚ investigations into Hunter Biden‚ FBI‚ all things Anthony Fauci‚ Republicans talking about going‚ you know‚ all in if they take control of particularly the House‚” Karl whined. “Is that really what you're campaigning on to have massive investigations?” Most national journalists won't investigate the Bidens‚ and then they tell the Republicans they are pathetic and not getting anywhere when they try to do what the journalists refuse to do. 

In a Friday White House press briefing that perhaps flew under the radar‚ Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich threw down with a flustered Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over the ongoing Biden border crisis‚ including her pointing out the President’s hesitation to act via executive order on the border was curious given his penchant to use the pen on issues like student loans. Heinrich cut right to the case: “Is the administration coming around to the idea that physical border barriers work?” As Heinrich’s colleague Bill Melugin tweeted‚ Jean-Pierre was clearly not ready: “Can you say more? Where is this — what do you mean? Where’s this coming from?” ICYMI -- JACQUI TIME (from Friday): “Is the administration coming around to the idea that physical border barriers work?” KJP: “Can you say more? Where is this — what do you mean? Where’s this coming from?”@JacquiHeinrich: “Well‚ it’s been six weeks since you guys won the… pic.twitter.com/haSAGwJVl7 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 4‚ 2024 Heinrich then explained: “[I]t’s been six weeks since you guys won the Supreme Court case that would have allowed you to remove razor wire at the Texas border that you guys argued was — there’s an emergency‚ immediate need to take down‚ but it’s still up.” Asked why that’s the case‚ a flat-footed Jean-Pierre punted to the Department of Homeland Security‚ insisting “I just don’t have anything for you on that.” The back-and-forth then shifted to executive action and whether he’d move to undo executive orders he signed from early in his administration “that largely loosened immigration policy” (click “expand”): HEINRICH: And the President said at the border yesterday that it’s long past time to act...[T]he President took 94 or so executive actions in his first 100 days that largely loosened immigration policy.  One of those was narrowing who ICE could remove and the administration‚ as of yesterday‚ I believe‚ is now calling on sanctuary cities to cooperate with ICE. So‚ why doesn’t the President act like he said it’s time to do and start undoing some of those policies that he put in place right when he got into office? JEAN-PIERRE: So‚ I think a couple of things. On — since day one‚ the President took action. He did. He put forth a comprehensive immigration policy and he read — he did that because he understood what was happening — right — he understood that the immigration system was broken. He understood that we needed to take action and he did — three years and during those three years‚ Republicans got in the way. Anything — any resources — any additional resources that we asked for‚ they voted down. They didn’t want to move forward with it and so‚ the President tried to do the best that he can with what he was able to get and‚ you know‚ we get to a point at the end of the year where we start negotiating with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate‚ we come up with a piece of — piece of legislation‚ a proposal that is supported by the Department of — pardon me — the Border Patrol — right — union‚ that’s supported by U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I mean‚ we took action. We have taken action over and over and over again‚ and Republicans reject it. HEINRICH: It’s a comprehensive immigration — JEAN-PIERRE: They get in the way — HEINRICH: — overhaul versus narrow action that he could take to secure the border‚ improve the situation that we’re seeing ravaging communities. JEAN-PIERRE: But we — we took action at the end of this — at the end of last year‚ worked with Republicans in the Senate‚ Democrats in the Senate‚ came up with a bipartisan agreement that would actually make a difference. I mean‚ it’s Congress’s job to legislate. It is their job to legislate. Heinrich eventually had enough: “But you were never afraid of legal challenges with things like student loans. I mean‚ you’ve used executive orders when you wanted to.” Jean-Pierre countered Biden has “taken action over the last three years” but “Republicans [are] getting in the way” of making lasting changes. To this‚ Heinrich noted how‚ “in the meantime‚ while [the President’s] shaming people for not acting‚ he is also not acting.” Jean-Pierre lost it‚ declaring “[t]hat is so false” and Republicans need to answer “what’s the problem” with backing Biden’s policies. Okay‚ sure. At the other end of the spectrum‚ The Hill’s Niall Stanage blasted Jean-Pierre’s frequent briefing co-host John Kirby from the left‚ arguing “Israel is starving” Palestinians and‚ in turn‚ America is also starving them by supporting Jews.  Despite the administration’s recent movements to throw Israel under the bus to appease pro-Hamas‚ pro-October 7 Arabs in Michigan‚ Kirby held firm (click “expand”): STANAGE: You’ve laid out now‚ a couple of times‚ the practical challenges that will be part of this airdrop or these airdrops? And I’m kind of curious about that‚ because those are risks that the United States now has to take on for itself‚ conducting those airdrops. The reason that those risks might fall to the United States is because Israel is starving those people. So‚ why are we still so supportive of Israel when it is the one that is creating the problem that the United States now has to try to ameliorate? KIRBY: Israel itself has tried to — to help with the delivery of humanitarian assistance. As I said‚ they tried airdrops themselves just a week or so ago‚ on their own accord.  And we — STANAGE: So‚ why are so many people still starving? KIRBY: We — there — it’s a — it’s a warzone And they — and there’s — there’s nowhere else for them to go. It’s not like in some other con- — conflicts where they can — they can easily flee And — and let’s not forget how this started‚ okay? There’d be no need for airdrops if Hamas hadn’t chosen to break what was a ceasefire in place on the 6th of October‚ so let’s not forget how this — how this started. There is a need. Many people are in desperate need of food‚ water‚ medicine‚ and fuel and the United States was and remains and will continue to be the leading provider of humanitarian assistance to them and we’ll — we take that responsibility seriously. STANAGE: But also remain — continue to be the main supporter of the people who are causing that assistance to be necessary. KIRBY: We also know and recognize that Israel has a right to defend itself against a still-viable threat. Again‚ please‚ if you haven’t done it‚ I encourage you to go online and read the 2017 manifesto of Hamas. I know you’re smiling‚ but you should do it.  Because if you don’t have any — STANAGE: [Inaudible]. KIRBY: Wait‚ let me finish. Let me finish. This is an organization that has military capabilities and has every intent of wiping Israel and the Israeli people off the map. That has to be unacceptable to everybody. Mr. Sinwar chose to start this war. There was a ceasefire in place; he broke it.  And‚ moments later‚ Politico’s Eli Stokols appeared to imply last week’s deadly scene near an aid distribution in Gaza City was due to the U.S. halting funding of the United Nationals Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over some of their workers having ties to Hamas. Kirby correctly dispensed with that narrative‚ seeming to suggest the issues with aid in Gaza has nothing to do with how the international concerns about actions from UNRWA employees. To see the relevant transcript from the March 1 briefing (including a question about Afghanistan)‚ click here.