Put Down That Chicken Nugget — Microplastics in Junk Food May Be Making You Depressed

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .A collection of four papers — published Tuesday in the journal Brain Medicine — reports a disturbing link between microplastics, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and mental health.

UPFs — which are considered unhealthy because they are high in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium — include soft drinks, chips, chocolate, ice cream, processed meats, many ready-to-eat meals and mass-produced cereals.

Previous research has shown that people who eat UPFs have a substantially higher risk of depression, anxiety and poor sleep — but the role that microplastics might play in that connection has not been fully explored.

UPFs are more susceptible to microplastics than other foods due to their packaging and additives and the equipment used to process them.

As an example, the researchers pointed to chicken nuggets — which reportedly contain 30 times more microplastics per gram than chicken breasts.

“We’re seeing converging evidence that should concern us all,” Dr. Nicholas Fabiano, a psychiatry resident at the University of Ottawa in Canada, said in a statement. (Read more from “Put Down That Chicken Nugget — Microplastics in Junk Food May Be Making You Depressed” HERE)

Once Considered Conspiracy Theory, Weather Control Latest MAHA Battleground

/0 Comments/in , /by

“He who controls the weather will control the world,” former President Lyndon B. Johnson told students at Southwest Texas State University in 1962.

Over six decades later, state lawmakers across America are trying to control the weather in their own backyards.

In late April, Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 56 (SB 56), the Geoengineering and Weather Modification Activities Act. The bill is a blanket ban on any form of weather modification or, as the bill calls it, geoengineering.

The bill, introduced by Republican State Sen. Ileana Garcia, defines these activities as “the injection, release or dispersion by any means of any chemical, chemical compound, substance or any apparatus into the atmosphere for the purpose of affecting the temperature, the weather or the intensity of the sunlight.”

Drawing inspiration from a similar bill Tennessee passed in 2024, Garcia argued that despite a lack of concrete evidence that there has been weather modification in Florida lawmakers are flooded with calls from concerned constituents.

(Read more from “Once Considered Conspiracy Theory, Weather Control Latest MAHA Battleground” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Retired Four-Star Admiral Found Guilty of Bribery After Securing High-Paying Job

/0 Comments/in , /by

DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro notched a significant legal victory Monday after retired four-star Navy Adm. Robert Burke was found guilty of bribery charges related to a scheme to steer government contracts to his future employer.

Burke, who served as the vice chief of naval operations during part of President Trump’s first term, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest and concealing material facts from the US after a five-day trial.

Formerly the Navy’s second-highest-ranking officer, Burke is now the senior-most member of the US military to ever be convicted of a federal crime.

“When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent,” Pirro said in a statement after the verdict. “Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption – be it bribes or illegal contracts – and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold.”

Burke, 63, was indicted in the case investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the FBI’s Washington Field Office last May. (Read more from “Retired Four-Star Admiral Found Guilty of Bribery After Securing High-Paying Job” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Report: $5 Million Settlement Reached in Ashli Babbitt Wrongful Death Lawsuit

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Trump administration will reportedly pay $5 million to settle the wrongful death suit brought by the family of January 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt.

Babbitt was shot and killed by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd when trying to storm a barricade into the House Speaker’s lobby during the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. Her supporters, including President Trump, have claimed she was dealt with excessive force while the police officer maintains that he did his duty to protect then-sitting members of the U.S. Congress. Per the Washington Post:

Babbitt’s family filed the wrongful-death lawsuit in early 2024, seeking $30 million. Lawyers for both sides told a judge this month that they had reached a settlement in principle, reversing the Justice Department’s earlier opposition in the case, which had been set for trial in July 2026.

No final deal had been signed and terms had not been disclosed at the May 2 hearing. Judge Ana C. Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia directed both sides to update the court this Thursday.

Two people briefed on the matter said the Justice Department has agreed in principle to pay just under $5 million to Babbitt’s family. The two people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a pending court matter.

(Read more from “Report: $5 Million Settlement Reached in Ashli Babbitt Wrongful Death Lawsuit” HERE)

Democrat Arrested After Clash with Law Enforcement at ICE Detention

/0 Comments/in , /by

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was charged with assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers during a riot at Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba revealed that McIver was being charged. Noem noted that “no one is above the law.”

The announcements of the charges against McIver come after Reps. McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) showed up at Delaney Hall to “conduct federal oversight” of the facility and allegedly stormed and trespassed. Baraka ended up being arrested for alleged criminal trespass.

“After a thorough review of the video footage of Delaney Hall and a full investigation from HSI, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey had made the determination to charge Congresswoman LaMonica McIver for assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers,” Noem wrote in a post on X. “No one is above the law. If any person, regardless of political party, influence or status, assaults a law enforcement officer as we witnessed Congresswoman McIver do, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“We thank our brave ICE law enforcement officers for their service to this great nation,” Noem added.

(Read more from “Democrat Arrested After Clash with Law Enforcement at ICE Detention” HERE)

Trump: Russia and Ukraine Set to Begin Ceasefire Negotiations

/0 Comments/in , /by

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Ukraine and Russia will begin negotiations toward a ceasefire and suggested that talks could take place at the Vatican.

Trump took to Truth Social after a two-hour conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to share that it “went very well.”

“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump wrote.

“The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” he added.

Trump said that Russia looks to engage in “large-scale trade” with the United States once peace is reached.

(Read more from “Trump: Russia and Ukraine Set to Begin Ceasefire Negotiations” HERE)

Is This Noah’s Ark? Clues Emerge at Mysterious Remote Site

/0 Comments/in , , /by

An independent researcher who has devoted his time to exploring a location near Mount Ararat that is believed by some to be the remains of Noah’s ark is speaking out.

Andrew Jones, who runs Noah’s Ark Scans, a group he described as “a loose organization of individuals interested in pursuing scientific work and promoting [the ark site],” said he became interested in the Genesis flood story when he was a child.

Years later, in college, this intrigue expanded when he visited Turkey and saw the location for himself. . .

JJones said Noah’s Ark Scans works with scientists to explore the Mount Ararat site in an effort to take steps toward discerning whether it truly is the resting place of the massive biblical vessel.

“This last year, we had an Australian soil scientist come out there, and he suggested a soil test that we could do because we noticed, for example, that the grass growing in this boat formation was a different color than right outside the boat object,” he said. “So [he] and the local Turkish geologists designed a test, and they got the samples, and we got some … really interesting results.”

One of the central questions surrounding the ark site is why, if it’s believed to potentially hold these remains, it has taken so long to do discernible and definitive research.

(Read more from “Is This Noah’s Ark? Clues Emerge at Mysterious Remote Site” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

FBI’s Patel and Bongino Shut Down Epstein Conspiracy Theories

/0 Comments/in , /by

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino insisted that disgraced financier and alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in his Manhattan jail cell in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo Sunday.

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August 2019. New York City’s chief medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging. He was set to stand trial on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. His death instantly triggered a wave of conspiracy theories, with many speculating that he was murdered in order to protect the powerful figures who associated with him.

Epstein was a known associate of former President Bill Clinton, former MIT Professor Noam Chomsky, and Prince Andrew. The phrase “Epstein didn’t kill himself” became a viral internet meme in the wake of his death. Patel, however, was adamant that his death was indeed a suicide when questioned by Bartiromo.

“As someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor who’s been in that prison system, who’s been in the Metropolitan Detention Center, who’s been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one, and that’s what that was,” Patel said when questioned about Epstein’s death. He added that those who disagree with him “have a right to their opinion.”

“He killed himself,” Bongino added, “I’ve seen the whole file, he killed himself.” (Read more from “FBI’s Patel and Bongino Shut Down Epstein Conspiracy Theories” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Storms Claim Dozens of Lives Across the South-Central US

/0 Comments/in , /by

More than 20 people have been killed across the south-central United States as horrible storms and tornadoes leave a path of destruction in their wake.

Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, and Illinois are among the states that experienced severe weather events over recent days, with an unknown amount of damage caused and a climbing death toll. Hopefully these victims will fare better than disaster victims under the Biden-Harris administration, who were all but ignored.

In fact, Scripps News reported, “The National Weather Service says baseball-sized hail is possible across parts of Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, parts of Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and Ohio.” The city of Chicago was hit by a huge dust storm.

. . .

Unfortunately, the bad weather is supposed to continue into this week. The St. Louis mayor stated, “I would describe this as one of the worst storms — absolutely. The devastation is truly heartbreaking.”

States are still bracing for more storms Monday, and hopefully the death toll will not continue to climb. (Read more from “Storms Claim Dozens of Lives Across the South-Central US” HERE)

Schumer Bizarrely Claims DOGE May Have Been Partly to Blame for Mexican Ship’s Deadly Brooklyn Bridge Mishap

/0 Comments/in , /by

. . .Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Sunday bizarrely suggested that DOGE cuts to the US Coast Guard could have been partly to blame for a Mexican tall ship’s deadly collision with the Brooklyn Bridge.

“We know there has been meddling by the Trump administration into USCG staffing, and we need to know how this might have impacted the events of last night — from a command, communication and local coordination level,” the embattled Dem said in a press release.

“There are indications that this service [Vehicle Traffic System] may not be fully or adequately functional in light of a hiring freeze,” he said — referring to what he described as the Coast Guard’s “FAA-like traffic control operation.”

“If this were the case, the Brooklyn Bridge accident would be a national harbinger, demanding immediate attention,” the pol said.

But there were no reports of any other ship being involved in any way in Saturday’s tragedy.

Sources have said the Mexican sailing ship Cuauhtemoc struck the bridge because a mechanical failure shut down its steering, leaving it at the mercy of East River currents that pulled the vessel into the historic bridge, killing two navy cadets and injuring at least 17 others. (Read more from “Schumer Bizarrely Claims DOGE May Have Been Partly to Blame for Mexican Ship’s Deadly Brooklyn Bridge Mishap” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr