“Wealth In Your Wallet”: New Prepper Bar Disrupts Gold and Silver Industry

She offers to replace Joey Chestnut In Nathan's hot dog eating contest.

One Founding Father thought we were celebrating on the wrong day, but that hasn’t stopped Americans from pulling out all the stops on July 4.

In a historic vote, the Southern Baptist Convention rejected a formal ban on women serving as pastors. This year’s Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis is centering around the role of women in the church, including a vote on formally banning churches with female pastors. In an unexpected turn of events, members voted against the formal ban which would have strengthened the ability to enforce rules against female pastors. Nearly 10,000 church members have gathered for...

Republican Texas Rep. Troy Nehls ripped former House Speaker and Fox News board member Paul Ryan on Tuesday over his comments made about former President Donald Trump. Nehls released a statement to CNN’s Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju on Tuesday in response to a comment from Ryan made earlier in the day during a Fox News interview. In a social post on X (formerly known as Twitter), posted by Raju, the Texas Republican lawmaker slammed Ryan and advocated that he...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Hamas for refusing a UN-backed cease-fire proposal, saying the terror group could have halted the war in Gaza with a single word. Speaking from Qatar on Wednesday, Blinken pointed out that the current proposal is nearly identical to the one Hamas itself proposed last month, accusing the terrorists of prolonging the war just to insert more demands that undermine the ongoing peace talks. “It was a deal that Israel accepted and the world was...

Hamas proposed "numerous changes" in its response to a ceasefire proposal to end the Gaza war including some unworkable changes, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, but he insisted Washington and mediators will press ahead to bridge gaps between the Palestinian militant group and Israel. Hamas formally responded on Tuesday to a U.S. ceasefire proposal outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden on May 31 that envisages a ceasefire and phased release of Israeli hostages in Gaza...

Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Wednesday that Hamas has not accepted the U.S.-backed proposal for a hostage and ceasefire deal and presented "numerous changes" that go beyond its previous positions. Why it matters: The U.S. and international mediators see the proposal as the best chance to end eight months of war. About 120 hostages are still being held by Hamas in Gaza and more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in the war in Gaza, according to local health...

It's back-to-school time (yaaassss!), but that means it's also the time when you have to tackle those super-long, super-specific school supply lists (uggghhhh!). You know what I'm talking about — the 15-plus-items-long list of things your kids need for school.As a bonus, they're often brand-name specific. Seriously. Because Elmer's glue is apparently just that different from generic store brand glue.Based on the venting ( "OMG, everyone is sold out of pre-sharpened Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils!") and cries for help I'm seeing from my fellow parents on social media ("Where did you find three wide-ruled draw-and-write composition books?" — OK, I admit that was my question), a lot of our public school kiddos are being given supply lists quite similar to this one:Sample school supply list created from actual lists I've collected. Some items have been switched between lists to protect the innocent.While many public schools send these lists to parents, in certain states they're "requests" not "requirements" (even when not clearly presented that way) because some states cannot legally require students to provide their own school supplies.Optional or required, however, these school supply lists are important.I know, I know — lots of us parents have many feelings about them, like:We didn't have to buy a specific list of supplies when we were kids (walking uphill both ways, two miles, in the snow).This is public school, not private school! Can't the glue sticks come out of my taxes?This list is so name-brand specific. Are Elmer's glue sticks reallllyyyy that superior to these cheaper, generic ones?Seriously?? So many glue sticks?! Just ... what?And we can all agree that it's not right that public school budgets are regularly slashed and aren't big enough to cover the basic necessities essential for our kids' success. (You know, like pencils.) And in some cases, budgets are misused, and that's not right, either.But as much as parents dread shopping for school supplies, our children's teachers probably dread having to ask.Katie Sluiter, a mom of three and teacher of 13 years, shares in parents' frustrations about supplies — just from a different perspective. "I struggle every single August with having to ask for [supply] donations. I hate it," she says.She'd love to stop asking parents to bring in a combined total of 800 pencils and 1,000 glue sticks and just buy them herself. But as a teacher, she simply cannot afford to do it."I hate that we have two full-time salaried workers in our house. ... I have an advanced degree, and we are still living paycheck to paycheck. It feels shameful to have to ask every. single. year. for donations. Teachers don't want to ask for handouts. We just want to teach.""Teachers don't want to ask for handouts. We just want to teach." — Katie SluiterNicole Johansen, a mom of two who was a teacher for 12 years, echoes Sluiter's sentiments. She cites never ending budget cuts as well as the need to stretch other funds, like PTO-raised money, further and further as the reasons supply lists exist and adds, "It is frustrating knowing that schools should be appropriately allotted funds for supplies — this said from the parent AND teacher standpoint."So most of us are on the same page here. Class supply lists are the pits ... for everyone!The most significant thing to remember, though, is that if your budget allows, it's important to purchase the items on the list.If you're not purchasing the supplies, it's very likely your child's teacher will have to — with his or her own money.Image by Thinkstock.And we've already established that teacher salaries aren't cutting it when it comes to taking care of their families and their students.And maybe it's not so much that teachers have to spend their own paychecks on classroom supplies, but they want to because an overwhelming majority of teachers genuinely care about their students."I wish all parents knew how much teachers love and sacrifice for their students," Johansen said. "Pretty much all teachers I know will be spending for their classroom despite having to cut back the grocery bill for their family.""I wish all parents knew how much teachers love and sacrifice for their students." — Nicole Johansen"No, we don't have to spend all that time and money on our classrooms, but it makes it a quality experience when your children have things like science experiments, books, art supplies, and a comfortable, cozy classroom environment."OK, but seriously, what do they do with all of those glue sticks?!I know I'm not the only one who opened up that list when my daughter was in first grade, choked on my coffee, and exclaimed, "THREE DOZEN GLUE STICKS?! What, are the kids eating them? [Probably. Little kids eat all kinds of gross stuff.] Are the teachers selling them for profit? [I wouldn't blame them. See above about teachers' salaries]."Image by Thinkstock."We glue kids' mouths shut," Sluiter told me when I asked."Totally kidding. They last like 12 seconds ... [and] no matter how vigilant we are in supervising the picking up and putting away of supplies, each time we get the tub of glue sticks out, there are about three to five dead soldiers and lone caps rolling in the bottom of the bin."(I love teachers with senses of humor!)But back to the actual issue. My friend Shannon summed up the class supply list conundrum perfectly, if bluntly:She wants parents who can budget in school supplies without experiencing a financial burden to "quit complaining about some of the items being communal. Vote for politicians who will quit cutting money from schools. I don't remember my parents having to buy 20 glue sticks, but I certainly don't think any more should come out of teachers' pockets."Couldn't have said it better myself.This story originally appeared on 08.11.15.

With Donald Trump threatening to reverse Roe v. Wade upon taking office, the need to defend women's reproductive rights has never been more urgent. As other writers have pointed out, pro-life fanatics have the power of positive connotation on their side and use this advantage to demean the valid arguments of pro-choice advocates.I mean, who would ever claim to be in opposition to life? Only, equating zygotes with adult human beings fails to recognize the science behind conception, as Bill Nye points out in an older video that has recently gained new relevancy.In the video, you can see how frustrated Nye is explaining why abortion rights aren't something we should be debating in the first place. After a brief explanation of how conception occurs, the science educator proves how little our laws have to do with reason or logic."You cannot help but notice — and I'm not the first guy to notice — you have a lot of men of European descent passing these extraordinary laws based on ignorance," he says, adding, "It's just a reflection of a deep scientific lack of understanding and you literally apparently don't know what you're talking about." We can only imagine how frustrated he — along with every other advocate of logic — must be feeling now.While anti-abortion zealots aren't typically eager to consider science or reason, this video could potentially sway those who are on the fence about impeding on women's rights. And while it shouldn't take a white guy to explain why women's rights are human rights, sadly, few people seem to listen when the plea for respect comes from women — despite the fact that these draconian laws only affect them.Still, Nye and other logic-lovers are willing to hear you out, pro-lifers. If the argument truly comes down to protecting children and not depriving women of basic rights, there are several discussions worth having. For instance, instead of focusing on the rights of unborn babies, perhaps we could put our resources into protecting the children that already exist. We take it for granted that real, live children don't enjoy the same human rights that adults do — an archaic way of thinking that time and time again puts kids in harm's way. By actively fueling global warming, we deprive today's children from having any semblance of a dependable future.Now, more than ever, it's imperative that we focus on the facts. By relying on scientific evidence to guide a course of action, we can respect one another's beliefs without infringing on one another's rights. It's really not that hard. Take it from The Science Guy himself: "Be objective about this. We have other problems to solve, everybody."This article originally appeared on 11.23.16