A new reality series called “Flat Earthers” will pay its players cash if they can convince a panel of (actual) experts that the world is flat. Good luck with that. IndieWire can exclusively reveal that the recently launched streaming service The Network is in active production on “Flat Earthers” and will launch all 10 episodes this December. “Flat Earthers” is described as part docuseries, part competition show, and it will follow five families who each genuinely believe the Earth is flat. But rather than just document their exploits, the families will each be given $50,000 worth of resources for research and will ultimately present their findings to a panel of scientists, theologians, and cartographers. If they can convince a majority of the panelists that the Earth is in fact flat, they’ll be awarded a cash prize. The amount of the cash prize was not disclosed. It probably doesn’t even have to be decided upon. There may not be a “winner” of the series — we’ll bet against it! — but the idea is to highlight the growing subset of Americans who believe the Earth is flat. The series aims to shed light on how theories like this gain traction in the U.S. and around the world. Mandela Effect-ers, you may want to sit this one out. “As we continue to deliver audiences free, premium content we are excited to announce this daring and genre breaking docu-series,” Aram Rappaport, creator of The Network, said in a statement. “The Flat Earth phenomenon continues to grow on a global level. ‘Flat Earthers’ will provide a fascinating view into the psyche of the human condition and what drives belief systems worldwide.” The post Reality TV show “Flat Earthers” asks conspiracy theorists to prove their beliefs appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Recently, a Crawford County Sheriff’s deputy in Missouri encountered an especially unusual vehicle on the road. While authorities have stopped some strange vehicles across the United States over the years, this instance stands out as one of the most peculiar. According to a Facebook post by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy noticed an extraordinary contraption cruising along the interstate. Shaped like a flying saucer, this road-going UFO was piloted by two ‘friendly humanoids.’ As it turned out, the duo was en route to Roswell, New Mexico, to participate in a UFO festival. “Well, you never know what will be traveling through Crawford County but this one was a little out of this world,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote. “These friendly humanoids, who have come in peace, are heading west to Roswell, NM for a festival.” “There was a brief conversation about his out of space, correction, out of state registration, but he assured us that he would take care of that issue when he returned to Krypton.” “He was also warned about our strict enforcement of warp speed on the interstate and to keep his phasers on stun only while traveling.” The post Sheriff’s Deputy Stops Unusual ‘UFO’ in Missouri appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Your eco-friendly new car may be subjecting you to a toxic environment — every time you get behind the wheel. A recent study found that the chemicals used as flame retardants in newer cars can cause brain fog, irritability, hormonal imbalance, and a host of other health issues. Even worse, there have been tests that confirm up to 250 other toxic chemicals inside most cars — even the environmentally friendly electric cars. 'Commuting to work shouldn’t come with a cancer risk, and children shouldn’t breathe in chemicals that can harm their brains on their way to school.' That means your brand-new electric car (or most cars under four years old) could be poisoning you every time you take a drive. The study, published May 7 in Environmental Science & Technology, analyzed the cabin air of 101 electric, gas, and hybrid cars across 30 states with a model year between 2015 and 2022. Researchers found that 99% of the cars contained a flame retardant called TCIPP, which is currently under investigation by the U.S. National Toxicology Program as a potential carcinogen. Additionally, most cars also had two more flame retardants considered carcinogenic: TDCIPP and TCEP. “Considering the average driver spends about an hour in the car every day, this is a significant public health issue,” said Rebecca Hoehn, lead researcher and toxicology scientist at Duke University, in a release. “It’s particularly concerning for drivers with longer commutes as well as child passengers, who breathe more air pound for pound than adults.” According to the study, levels of the toxic flame retardants were also higher in the summer as heat increases the release of chemicals from the car materials. The source of the cancer-causing compounds in the cabin air is seat foam, researchers said. Flame retardants have been added to seat foam to meet requirements set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302, which were adopted in the 1970s and have not been updated. “Firefighters are concerned that flame retardants contribute to their very high cancer rates. Filling products with these harmful chemicals does little to prevent fires for most uses and instead makes the blazes smokier and more toxic for victims and especially for first responders,” Patrick Morrison, director of health, safety, and medicine for the International Association of Fire Fighters, said in a news release. “I urge [the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] NHTSA to update their flammability standard to be met without flame retardant chemicals inside vehicles." Researchers insist that these toxic flame retardants serve no real benefit inside vehicles. Lydia Jahl, study author and senior scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute, said people may be able to reduce their exposure to the toxic flame retardants by opening their car windows and parking in the shade or in garages. “But what’s really needed is reducing the amount of flame retardants being added to cars in the first place,” she said. “Commuting to work shouldn’t come with a cancer risk, and children shouldn’t breathe in chemicals that can harm their brains on their way to school.” What about that new car smell? It comes from a mix of chemicals called volatile organic compounds. These compounds come from the materials used in the car’s interior — things like plastics, adhesives, and fabrics. When a car is fresh off the assembly line, these materials release gases, a process known as off-gassing. It’s these gases that create the distinct new car aroma. Some of the VOCs include formaldehyde, toluene, and benzene. While they contribute to that fresh car scent, they’re not exactly great for your health in high concentrations. Studies have shown that these chemicals can cause headaches, dizziness, and even respiratory issues for some people. What’s more, Forbes reported earlier this year that today’s “new car smell” contains carcinogens. According to the cited Beijing study, new SUVs had extra-high concentrations of risky chemicals on hot days. The “good” news is that the concentration of VOCs decreases over time. That strong new car smell will fade as the vehicle ages and as the materials finish off-gassing. In fact, most of the VOCs will significantly drop within a few months. Automakers are aware of the health concerns and are constantly working to reduce the amount of VOCs in new cars. They use lower-emission materials and better ventilation systems to keep the air inside your vehicle cleaner. To reduce this toxic exposure, crack those windows to let your car off-gas some of those toxins and look into non-toxic covers to minimize skin contact with the seats and interior surfaces that contain these flame retardants and other toxic chemicals. People can reduce their exposure to the toxic chemicals by opening their car windows and parking in the shade.

Democrats are in a tizzy. After spending years shamelessly lying about Joe Biden’s obvious mental decline, they’ve been forced to confront the reality that the emperor has no marbles. So they’re going to switch him out, just like that. So simple; so easy. So ridiculous. The reality of the matter is far more complicated. Even if those actually in charge (what Axios now calls the “Biden oligarchy”) were convinced that they could lose, and even if they wanted to surrender their power and their money, that money can’t just be switched over, not without torpedoing the campaign’s entire media strategy. First, Biden campaign operatives are unconvinced by the media meltdown. They still truly believe they’re the best chance of beating former President Donald Trump in November. “But what about California Gov. Gavin Newsom?!” the pundits might shriek. But the White House is more clear-sighted on the reality of the party’s bind with Kamala Harris. The 2020 search for a competent and senior black woman willing to serve as vice president basically turned up a conspiratorial perennial loser from Georgia and the Californian who called Biden a racist and came in dead last in the party primary. The party would have to pay full price, essentially torpedoing the ad-buy strategy. The party chose the latter, and while the contract might not be signed in blood, it’s sealed with the race politics so central to the modern Democratic Party. Are Democrats “going to deny the nomination to the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected V.P.?” longtime D.C. journalists Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei ask. “Hard to see.” But even the people paid to like Kamala Harris do not like Kamala Harris. And for all the freak-out about the “gently alive corpse,” no one thinks she has a better shot of winning. Second, power (and money). The Bidens are not the Clintons. They haven’t had a quarter-century of trading power for money. There won’t be a long line of million-dollar speaking fees in Joe’s future, the books aren’t selling, the surviving son is facing prison, and stepping down in embarrassment won’t change those realities — even if it is dressed up as “serving his country.” Of course, the family members are far from the only people making money on this operation. Do the gatekeepers who have sneered at Harris for four straight years think she’ll keep them on the payroll? Even in the Fantasy Land scenario, do the campaign ad-buyers think Newsom won’t bring in his own team of loyalists? This brings us to the third problem: money. The campaign can’t simply transfer its money to another candidate. The Federal Elections Commission caps transfers from campaign to campaign at $2,000. Sure, the Biden camp could transfer it to the Democratic National Committee (though not a PAC), but only campaigns are eligible for the lowest unit rates on advertising. The party would have to pay full price, essentially torpedoing the ad-buy strategy. Of course, a new fantasy candidate could raise a bunch of money real fast, but even then there are handicaps. Individual donors can give $3,300 to a candidate in a primary and then another $3,300 for the general, but if there is no primary, that number is stuck mighty low. So could Democrats just leave the Biden campaign in charge of the money and let him spend it on ads for the new candidate? Maybe. But that means whatever white knight (or black or South Asian) they have in mind will have a jilted lover in charge of the piggy bank. And then you run into the problems of coordinated expenditures, which are capped at $32,392,200. Reality is fun stuff. In effect, this strategy would lead to leaning almost entirely on outside groups to hold the line and own the airwaves with no input from the campaign. Not exactly an ideal place to be. Remember: The Democrats made this deal. In fact, they made both of them — back in 2020 when the only serious candidate on stage not calling for open borders and defunding the police was a 78-year-old white guy already fluctuating between hoarse whispers and old-man yelling. So they sprinkled the cupcake with Harris, leaned on the corporate media to sell it to the people, and lived comfortably and warmly for a few years in the little bubble they’d created. Thursday night shook up their snow globe, and in a panic, a whole lot of Democrats have put their hopes in more fantasy. Reality is at the door. Axios: Behind the Curtain: Biden oligarchy will decide fate The Spectator: The Democrats will struggle to throw Joe Biden overboard Glenn Beck: Joe Biden keeps refinancing his home Splinter: Top 5 potential Democratic presidential nominees Blaze News: What replacing Biden might look like (and who's standing in the wings) The Federalist: Can Democrats just dump Biden and move on? It’s not that simple The Transom: You built this hell yourself, Democrats Blaze News: Bill Ackman calls on nation to rally behind Trump; calls Newsom a 'disaster’ Sign up for Bedford’s newsletter Sign up to get Blaze Media senior politics editor Christopher Bedford's newsletter. IN OTHER NEWS The big Friday (and Monday) at the Supreme Court Monday is the last day for the release of Supreme Court rulings. That means we’ll be getting word on the future of Trump’s trials, specifically whether some of the former president’s actions in response to election shenanigans and on Jan. 6, 2021, qualify as official actions, immune from prosecution. Friday was also a big day at the Supreme Court. In the biggest blow against the administrative state in decades, the court struck down the Chevron precedent in a 6-3 vote. If you’re not familiar, the 40-year-old doctrine allowed federal agencies to interpret broad, vague congressional statutes themselves, making them a law unto themselves. It was a terrible precedent, and it’s finally over. But that's not all! The same morning, the court said the feds can’t keep using an old Enron bookkeeping law to throw J6 trespassers in prison for years. The ruling doesn’t set them free, but it gives them a cudgel to appeal in the decidedly liberal D.C. courts. It’s the first big rebuke to the Department of Justice’s extremely aggressive overreach and is good news — but don’t expect it to be the last of this sordid tale. Oh, and cities and towns no longer have to provide free housing to the homeless to enforce public camping rules. This seems basic enough, but California’s Ninth Circuit had long maintained that you can’t police vagrants and drug addicts and the criminally insane on your streets and in your public parks unless you built enough shelters for all of them. This is obviously crazy to normal people, and the Supreme Court agreed. So too did Gavin Newsom, whose national political future will still have to tango with the dystopian disaster the Golden State has become. The Federalist: Supreme Court strikes a blow to the administrative state

YOU GO, GIRL: Kamala Harris Sets New Cringe World Record With Pandering BET Awards Video (Watch)

Long March Through Venture Capital: The Democrat Technology Ecosystem

Monday Morning Minute

Apple has started expanding the Vision Pro's reach, with several Asian countries receiving the spatial computer last week. A few European markets are about to get the same treatment, marking the Vision Pro's big push beyond the US. But the spatial computer is far from becoming a best-selling device. The $3,500 starting price is the most obvious roadblock for Apple. Then there's the company's inability to produce millions of units like it can with iPhones and other devices. But Apple isn't going to let up on the Vision Pro anytime soon. It's too important for the company's spatial computing plans, which might involve iPhone-connected AR glasses and, dare I say, a next-gen version of Apple Intelligence. Reports have claimed that Apple is working on a cheaper Vision Pro device that might launch as soon as next year. The device will feature various compromises compared to the Vision Pro so Apple can make the price more palatable. One of them might concern the screen specs. A report from Korea already provides insight into the kind of displays Apple might employ inside the cheaper headset. Continue reading... The post Apple’s next Vision Pro might be cheaper because of this compromise appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Today’s deals: Rare Meta Quest 3 discount, $8 mosquito bite relief, $300 off Narwal Freo X Ultra, more Today’s deals: $714 Apple Watch Ultra 2, $30 Thermacell mosquito repeller, $130 Instant Pot Duo Plus, more Today’s deals: July 4th sales, $19.50 AirTags, best-selling laptops, $300 Shark AI robot vacuum, more Today’s deals: $79 AirPods, $99 Ninja blender, 25% off Google Pixel 8 Pro, Waterdrop RO filters, more

Pope Francis and Catholic Church cardinals on Monday voted to elevate to sainthood an Italian teenager who died of leukemia in 2006.

Hurricane Beryl began pounding the southeast Caribbean on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm after becoming the earliest storm of that strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.