60 Boxers were removed and surrendered from a home in Merrimac, Massachusetts due to an animal hoarding situation on Tuesday, June 11.

Survival Cooking After The Collapse of Society

Basic First Aid Skills for Preparedness

Calendula & Comfrey.

WaPo Makes Up Story About Trump Wanting a Draft

A 21-year-old man has received a week-long jail sentence, a hefty fine, and a two-year ban from Yellowstone National Park after trespassing near the notoriously explosive Steamboat Geyser.The incident took place on April 19 this year; Viktor Pyshniuk, of Washington, was spotted and then photographed by an on-duty park employee crossing over the fence on the boardwalk near the geyser and walking up the hill within roughly 4.6 to 6.1 meters (15 to 20 feet) of it.A law enforcement officer was subsequently dispatched, to whom Pyshniuk said he’d only left the boardwalk to take photos. The officer pointed out the multiple signs posted in the area that state that it’s illegal to leave the boardwalk. If someone were to miss the signs, you’d think the 1-meter (3-foot) fence surrounding the pathway would also be a fairly big hint.Pyshniuk, seen as the distant figure on the upper left, was caught in the act.Image credit: NPS PhotoThat, and anyone who knows anything about Steamboat Geyser would also know it’s not a sensible idea to get that close to it. It’s illegal to leave the boardwalk in this area for a very good reason – the geyser is widely considered to be the most dangerous in the world.Steamboat Geyser also happens to be the tallest active geyser on the planet, and its major eruptions – which are unpredictable – have been known to shoot hot water more than 91 meters (300 feet) in the air, followed by a steam phase that can last for days and be seen from afar. Its eruptions can even leave cars in the parking lot covered with debris.Not only that, but as the officer explained to Pyshniuk, there’s also a possibility of there being a weak ground layer in the area. In other words, everything about the area should scream “straying from the path isn’t safe”.“Trespassing in closed, thermal areas of Yellowstone National Park is dangerous and harms the natural resource,” said Acting United States Attorney Eric Heimann in a statement. “In cases like this one where we have strong evidence showing a person has willfully disregarded signs and entered a closed, thermal area, federal prosecutors will seek significant penalties, including jail time.”And that’s exactly what was handed to Pyshniuk by Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick on June 4. He was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and $50 in fees, as well as being placed on two years of unsupervised release and a two-year ban from Yellowstone. On top of that, Pyshniuk was sentenced to seven days in jail. The judge explained that other people may have witnessed his actions and copied them, thinking it was fine to do the same thing; the sentence was given to act as a deterrent to both Pyshniuk and those people.This incident is far from the first time that people have illegally strayed from the path at Yellowstone – even celebrities have been caught doing it. 

Astronomers have witnessed a supermassive black hole turning itself on. The object sits at the center of galaxy SDSS1335+0728, which had been unremarkable until December 2019. But then, the brightness of this object began to increase significantly, and researchers believe that they have witnessed the awakening of this giant.Supermassive black holes can be quiet or active. In their active state, they are feeding. Some brief events could be an unfortunate star passing too close – these brightenings last at most a few hundred days. But the supermassive black holes that get to be called active galactic nuclei, or AGNs, are the ones releasing so much light that they are about to outshine their host galaxies for a very long time. And this is what astronomers are seeing here.Black holes are, as the name suggests, black. No light escapes them. The emission comes from the surrounding area. Gas and dust fall into the black hole, and as they do so they heat up under the intense forces present. In the case of SDSS1335+0728, after December 2019 it began to radiate more in infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. And in February 2024, it even began shining in X-rays.     “This behaviour is unprecedented,” lead author Dr Paula Sánchez Sáez, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Germany, said in a statement. “Imagine you’ve been observing a distant galaxy for years, and it always seemed calm and inactive. Suddenly, its [core] starts showing dramatic changes in brightness, unlike any typical events we've seen before.”“The most tangible option to explain this phenomenon is that we are seeing how the [core] of the galaxy is beginning to show (...) activity,” added co-author Lorena Hernández García, from the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics and the University of Valparaíso in Chile. “If so, this would be the first time that we see the activation of a massive black hole in real time.”The team still wants to rule out an unusually long Tidal Disruption Event (TDE), when a black hole eats a star or gas cloud that got too close. But it would have to be much longer than Scary Barbie, which has lasted for over two years. The object, which weighs about one million times as much as the Sun, continues to be monitored, because either an AGN activation or a unique TDE will provide new insights into how black holes grow and evolve.There is a lot that it is not clear about this process, and whether it might happen occasionally to a quiet supermassive black hole like Sagittarius A*, the one at the center of our galaxy. The behavior and properties of SDSS1335+0728 are likely going to provide precious pieces of the puzzle that is supermassive black holes.The study has been accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Pet cats could be an important carrier of infection in a human pandemic of avian flu, a review of 20 years of research data has found. The study, which has been released as a preprint whilst awaiting peer review, suggests that cat owners should remain vigilant for signs of illness in their pets, which could also put themselves, their veterinarians, and any other close contacts at risk.The highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus currently affecting cattle on US dairy farms has already proven itself quite capable of infecting lots of mammal species – approximately 27 at the last count, according to ex-CDC director Robert Redfield. But while infections in dolphins and polar bears are certainly scientifically important, it’s the animals that live alongside humans that are raising the biggest red flags for epidemiologists.Three farm workers are known to have contracted the virus in the US this year after contact with infected cattle. As well as making the jump from birds into cows, the disease has found its way into other farm animals – some unfortunate alpacas in Idaho, and farm cats thought to have succumbed after feasting on raw milk.While you might not necessarily think to put “bird flu” and “alpacas” together in the same sentence, scientists have long been aware that cats are vulnerable to avian flu – but what is the risk for our beloved pets, and for us as owners? Researchers at the University of Maryland combed through 20 years of published data on the spread of bird flu in feline species to try and find out. Mapping the period between 2004 and 2024, the scientists noticed a sharp increase in reports of infections in domestic kitties – rather than wild or zoo-kept cats – starting in 2023. This tracks with the spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 in a number of species that have never previously been impacted by bird flu. Infections have also been reported in house mice, favored prey of house panthers everywhere, and we all know how much free-roaming cats like to chase birds.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that it is unlikely for humans to catch bird flu from cats, but it is possible, “especially if there is prolonged and unprotected exposure to the animal.” Veterinarians, veterinary nurses, and other professionals who work in close contact with potentially infected animals may therefore also be at risk, and the CDC issues guidance about the best use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in these cases.For pet owners, the study’s first author Assistant Professor Kristen Coleman, who researches airborne infectious diseases, had some suggestions for how to help keep your kitty safe. “Don't feed your cat raw meat or raw dairy milk, and limit their unsupervised time outdoors,” the author said in a statement. “Cats prey on wild birds that could be infected, and they could get into raw dairy milk on a farm if it is not securely stored.”There have also been a handful of reports of feline-to-feline transmission of avian flu. This is the big fear for scientists concerned about a human pandemic – the more the virus adapts to mammalian immune systems, the greater the chance it could get a strong foothold in the human population. When cats become ill with bird flu, they often show difficulty breathing or behavioral changes, so be on the lookout for signs like these and seek veterinary advice promptly. H5N1 has also been reported to cause blindness in some cats. Sadly, the mortality rate for the current H5N1 strain in cats has been shown to be high – around 67 percent. All the more reason to keep Felix and Fluffy indoors as much as possible, according to Coleman.“The virus is going to sneak up in more places, just like it did in dairy farms,” she said. “We know cats are being infected, so let's get ahead of it.”The study, which is yet to be validated by peer review, has been posted to the preprint server medRxiv. 

Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) shared that he had signed the “Focus on Florida’s Future Budget” for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The budget includes plans to reduce spending year-over-year and generate a nearly $17 billion surplus.The Sunshine State has been strong on fiscal responsibility with previous surpluses, most recently during the last fiscal year. While most states run small surpluses, this is a solid effort. And Florida stands in stark contrast to California, where a surplus of around $100 billion — due in part to an infusion of federal funds during the COVID-19 pandemic — has turned into a stated $26.7 billion deficit in just three short years. (The Associated Press estimates the Golden State’s budget deficit is closer to $45 billion when including actions the legislature and governor have already passed and signed.)Florida shows that it’s more than money that makes good outcomes — it’s competent and fiscally restrained governing.Outside of the state realm, the federal government has been derelict in its duty to be financially responsible or a good steward of capital.The U.S. federal debt has become unwieldy, at best. Just about every major financial body, including the Treasury, the Fed, the Congressional Budget Office, and the International Monetary Fund, along with financial heavyweights like Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Ken Griffin of Citadel, have criticized America’s fiscal path as unsustainable. Despite deficit spending to GDP remaining around double historic averages, Americans are feeling more personal financial pain.It doesn’t have to be this way. Florida has shown a good model exists for fiscal responsibility.The state does not burden its residents with income taxes and balances that with reined-in spending. Data from KFF shows that Florida spends less per capita than every other state and the District of Columbia, with the exception of Texas.Despite this, the state continues to achieve strong outcomes for residents. For example, in May, U.S. News and World Report ranked Florida as the top state for education. This marked the second consecutive year that Florida earned the top spot in education. According to the Florida Tax Watch group, “The Governor and the Florida Legislature deserve credit for spending the money that has been available in a largely responsible manner. They were able to make significant investments in infrastructure, the environment, education, and teachers, while enacting record tax cuts and maintaining exceptional levels of reserve.”Moreover, the state continues to attract large numbers of residents, largely at the expense of poorly run states.Although net migration wasn’t as high in Florida last year as it was in 2022, when its population growth made Florida the most popular state for Americans to relocate, Florida in 2023 boasted the second largest rate of population growth in the country.Of course, that doesn’t mean that Florida is perfect, either from a governance perspective or a comprehensive cost-of-living perspective. Some of the latter, such as the rising cost and difficulty of obtaining homeowners insurance, has more to do with geography and other industry-specific issues.Yet, still, in contrast with a federal government running massive deficits, a nearly $35 trillion national debt, and interest payments on track to surpass every other category of spending, Florida shows that it’s more than money that makes good outcomes — it’s competent and fiscally restrained governing.

Uniparty Republicans and teachers’ unions in Oklahoma recently concocted a new plan to sabotage the fight for educational freedom — silencing the state’s Department of Education. But their efforts failed. Make no mistake, their efforts weren’t about silencing me — they were about silencing parents in the fight for school choice in the Sooner State.Going up against the education cartel and standing up for students, parents, and educational freedom is a great way to find yourself on a political 'wanted' poster.I wish I were exaggerating, but I’m not. RINO Republicans in the Oklahoma legislature recently cut a deal with the union to silence my department. The language in the budget bill said the "Department of Education shall not be encumbered or expanded for the purpose of securing media interviews, public relations, or other public promotional purposes."It would have required my office to fire our communications staffers and barred me from even sending an official email, all because I spoke out against wokeness in Oklahoma’s public schools.This was all because the teachers’ union cartel had finally decided it had enough of our success with taking on its agenda. Union lobbyists convinced enough lawmakers that it was time to stop our efforts by any means necessary. They got tired of losing the information war over our education system, so they put a political bounty out on my head and my department, which resulted in the legislative gag order.From day one, I made it my mission to improve Oklahoma’s school system, and a big part of that was shining a spotlight on what was really going on in our schools, all while making the case for educational freedom. The talented men and women on my team have been wildly successful at doing this, so we got under the union lobbyists' skin. When I entered office, Sooner State parents were completely fed up with the way our public schools were being run. They were tired of seeing politicians, bureaucrats, and union bosses prioritize putting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” over real education. They were tired of finding out about pornographic materials in school libraries. They were tired of curricula being dominated with radical progressive ideologies like critical race theory that denigrate the country they love and the founding principles and values that make it great. That is why I ran for superintendent of education in 2023. With a clear mandate from the voters, my team went to work exposing what was wrong, expanding educational freedom through K-12 scholarships and charter school expansion. And, yes, we were unashamed to communicate these successes to the public. And, as it turns out, going up against the education cartel and standing up for students, parents, and educational freedom is a great way to find yourself on a political “wanted” poster. Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Friday used his line-item veto to strip this targeted language from the budget bill. But if he had signed it into law, my communications staffers would have been immediately unemployed, and the voters who gave me this job would no longer have had a voice for parents and students. And that’s really the biggest problem here. Speech is a critical part of representative government, at least in a real and functioning one that derives its mandate from the consent of the governed. The thing about a republic is that all citizens are equal, as created by God. No man has a right to impose his will upon another without consent. So, we communicate with one another. We campaign and make speeches. Yes, we write op-eds, and we do interviews with the media to get our message out there. That’s how we persuade our fellow citizens that our position helps advance the public good. While some may write off this part of the job as merely “political,” it is essential to maintaining healthy public debate and keeping up the connection between hardworking citizens and the public officials to whom they entrust the responsibility of government. It naturally follows that to muzzle duly-elected public officials from doing that part of the job is to rob them of their voice in the process in a big way. If this attempt to silence parents can happen in one of the most conservative states in America, it can happen anywhere. When you refuse to settle for the status quo and the lousy “this is how we always have done it” attitude, people will put a target on your back. They don't like change, even if it’s a good change. I’m going to keep fighting for students and parents regardless of what a bunch of union bosses and RINO Republicans in Oklahoma City say or try to do. We have come much too far to be turned back and stopped now, and the stakes are far too high.