Nessie Found? New Hunt for Loch Ness Monster’s DNA

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. . .Researchers in Scotland have been secretly sweeping the lake for DNA traces, suggesting that if the elusive “Nessie” is real, it will have DNA that has spread throughout the storied body of water.

Scientists can use this genetic material, known as eDNA, to track elusive beasts. And now researchers are turning that powerful method on Loch Ness to create the most comprehensive biodiversity catalog of its residents yet. . .

Researchers have used to the technique to help determine the presence of invasive bullfrogs in France and the movements of invasive Asian Carp in the Great Lakes. It’s even been used to monitor fish migrations around New York.

The Loch Ness researchers hope to create a similar catalogue while surveying the lake’s DNA. The researchers have been collecting samples since April, Michael Greshko writes for National Geographic and they’ll start extracting the DNA this month. But the team doesn’t expect to release its findings until January.

Meanwhile, video of what appears to be a similar “plesiosaur-type” creature in the deep, dark waters of Kanas Lake in China. See the eerie images of the 30-foot-long beast in Xinjiang province and decide for yourself. (Read more from “New Hunt for Loch Ness Monster’s DNA” HERE)

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This Country Isn’t Having Enough Babies, but Abortion Is Legal Anyway

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By The Daily Caller. Ireland isn’t having enough kids to ensure it will be able to replace its population in the long run, but the nation voted in May to legalize abortion anyway.

Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported that Irish women are having an average of 1.8 children altogether. That number sits below 2.1 children per woman, which is the number of children Irish women would need to have in order to replace the population.

Women had 62,053 babies in 2017, marking a 1,844-decrease in babies born from 2016, according to the Independent.

Where Ireland’s birth rate used to sit at 16.1 per every thousand women aged 15 to 49 in 2007, that rate has fallen to 12.9 per thousand of child-bearing age women. The average age of women having their first child has risen to 31 years old. The marriage rate has also fallen 0.2 percent since 2016.

Despite the falling population, the Irish electorate voted 66.4 percent to 33.6 percent to repeal the Eight Amendment, results showed on May 26. The vote came after swaths of Irish, many of whom had traveled across international waters to return home in order to cast their ballots, headed to the booths May 25 to affirm or reject their commitment to protecting life. (Read more from “This Country Isn’t Having Enough Babies, but Abortion Is Legal Anyway” HERE)

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Judge Agrees to Halt Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Law in Iowa

By NBC News. Attorneys for the state and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said during a court hearing that they agreed to prevent the law from taking effect on July 1 after discussions with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood Federation of American and the Emma Goldman Clinic.

The advocacy groups argue the law is unconstitutional and have filed a lawsuit to block the law, which bans most abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected. An attorney representing the state said the goal now is to quickly get the case before a judge so the state can argue the law is constitutional.

Judge Michael Huppert said he would formally issue a temporary injunction later in the day.

Reynolds signed the law May 2, two days after lawmakers approved it. If the law is eventually allowed to take effect, the fetal heartbeat requirement would ban abortions around the sixth week of pregnancy — a time when, abortion-rights groups say, many women don’t even know they’re pregnant. (Read more from “Judge Agrees to Halt Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Law in Iowa” HERE)

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North Korea Summit Is Back On

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By WND. After announcing last week that the planned historic summit with North Korean’s Kim Jong Un had been canceled because of the dictator’s “tremendous anger and open hostility,” President Trump said Friday after meeting with a top North Korean aide that the summit will take place June 12 in Singapore as originally planned. . .

Trump said his meeting Friday in the Oval Office with Kim Yong Chol, Kim Jong Un’s top aide, was a “great start,” confirming the official gave him a personal letter from the North Korean dictator.

Trump said a meeting that was intended to be only about “the delivery of a letter,” which he said he had not read yet, turned out to be an extended conversation with the “second most powerful man in North Korea” that led to restoration of the summit.

“We talked about a lot of things,” Trump said. “We really did. But the big deal will be on June 12.” . . .

One week ago, Trump, whose stated objective is denuclearization of the rogue regime, sent a letter to Kim Jong Un declaring the meeting had been canceled and lamenting the world and North Korea had missed a “great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity.” (Read more from “North Korea Summit Is Back On” HERE)

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Why North Korea’s ‘Special Delivery’ Letter Was so Warmly Received in the Oval Office

By NBC News. Even before President Donald Trump had read the letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday, it was “special delivery.”

Instead of bringing Kim Jong Un’s number-two unceremoniously through a side door, the White House rolled out the red carpet for Kim Yong Chol, North Korea’s former longtime spy chief. Even though Gen. Kim remains under Treasury Department sanctions, with a record of hostile actions against the United States, he was given the kind of reception usually accorded a top diplomat from a friendly nation.

What does this signify? Clearly, Trump has come a long way from his threats of “fire and fury” and insults against “little rocket man,” to say nothing of his New Year’s tweets comparing his “nuclear button” with Kim Jong Un’s. He needs a show of good relations between the U.S. and North Korea as much as Kim Jong Un does, and immediately announced that the summit between the two men was back on for June 12 in Singapore. (Read more from “Why North Korea’s ‘Special Delivery’ Letter Was so Warmly Received in the Oval Office” HERE)

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Country Bans Islamic Full-Face Veil in Public

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Denmark on Thursday became the latest European country to ban the Islamic full-face veil in public spaces in a move slammed by human rights campaigners as “a violation of women’s rights”.

“Anyone who wears a garment that hides the face in public will be punished with a fine,” says the law, which was passed by 75 votes to 30 in the Danish parliament. . .

Wearing a burqa, which covers a person’s entire face, or the niqab, which only shows the eyes, in public will lead to a fine of 1,000 kroner ($156, 134 euros).

The ban also targets other accessories that hide the face such as balaclavas and false beards. Repeated violations will be fined up to 10,000 kroner. . .

“Some people use (the full-face veil) to promote an ideology which, if successful, would mean many others would lose their right to freedom. It’s a matter of balance,” Martin Henriksen, spokesman for the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, told Ritzau. (Read more from “Country Bans Islamic Full-Face Veil in Public” HERE)

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Russian Journalist and Putin Critic Who Was ‘Shot and Killed’ in Ukraine Turns up Very Much Alive

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A Russian journalist who was “shot and killed” in Ukraine Tuesday turned up very much alive at a press conference Wednesday.

Ukrainian authorities reportedly faked his death in an effort to catch the murderers sent to kill him, Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service, introduced at the press briefing. The operation was apparently a success, according to Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian politician with close ties to security services.

Arkady Babchenko, a Russian journalist and Kremlin critic, was gunned down in his apartment in Kiev, local police revealed Tuesday. His wife reportedly found him bleeding out at their home in the Ukrainian capital, and he died on the way to the hospital. . .

“We know that many people are dying, many journalists are dying, journalists are thrown into prison for doing journalist work. We consider this unacceptable, we believe that this should be the topic for a very tough international reaction that will encourage the Ukrainian authorities to take effective measures to rectify the situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

Babchenko, a renowned reporter who fled Russia last year after receiving threats for his writings critical of the Russian government, is definitely not dead. (Read more from “Russian Journalist and Putin Critic Who Was ‘Shot and Killed’ in Ukraine Turns up Very Much Alive” HERE)

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Terrorist Goes on Rampage Yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’

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By The Washington Post. A man killed two police officers and a bystander Tuesday in the Belgian city of Liege before he was fatally shot in what prosecutors are investigating as a terrorist attack, a prosecutor said.

The attacker, who was not immediately named by Belgian authorities, had been in prison since 2003 and was allowed out Monday on a two-day leave, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens said. The furlough put Belgian officials on the defensive about whether they should have been able to predict that the man was a security risk.

The incident unfolded at midmorning in the center of Liege, the third-largest city in Belgium, when the man came up behind two female police officers and attacked them with a knife, then grabbed one of their handguns and shot both dead, prosecutor Philippe Dulieu said.

Then the attacker shot a 22-year-old man who was sitting in the passenger seat of a nearby parked car. The assailant next walked into a school, where he took a woman hostage and forced a standoff with police during which students were evacuated. The man was subsequently killed in a gun battle with police officers who rushed to the scene, Dulieu said. (Read more from “Gunman Goes on Rampage Yelling ‘Allahu Akbar'” HERE)

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Belgium Terror Attack Leaves Two Cops Dead

By The New York Post. A prison inmate on an extremist watchlist was given a two-day furlough in Belgium — and promptly killed two female cops and a civilian while shouting “Allahu Akbar!’’ during the terror attack, police said Tuesday.

Drug con-turned-extremist Benjamin Herman, 36, walked out of prison near the eastern city of Liège on Monday night as part of the country’s rehabilitation program to help inmates assimilate back into society once they are released, authorities said. . .

The officers were identified as Soraya Belkacemi, 53, and Lucile Garcia, 45 — both the wives of fellow law-enforcement officers. (Read more from “Belgium Terror Attack Leaves Two Cops Dead” HERE)

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Trump Jr. Warns Americans After Arrest of Islam-Critic Journalist in UK; Wake up Call Heard Worldwide

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Donald Trump Jr. had a pressing warning for Americans in the wake of an arrest in England of an independent journalist.

UK protesters poured into England’s Downing Street this weekend demanding the release of Tommy Robinson, who was arrested for covering a story on the trial of a child grooming gang. Robinson was transported to jail without a trial and the government banned press coverage of the 35-year old journalist’s status.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Lennon, was arrested Friday while livestreaming a report on the trial of members of an alleged child grooming gang.

The 35-year-old activist and former head of the English Defense League, has long been active against Islam and Islamic migration. Robinson is now serving a prior 13 month suspended sentence for contempt of court after trying to film accused Muslims outside of a court last year. (Read more from “Trump Jr. Warns Americans After Arrest of Islam-Critic Journalist in UK; Wake up Call Heard Worldwide” HERE)

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FBI Is Asking Everyone to Reset Their Internet Routers, Here’s the Crazy Reason Why

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The FBI wants everyone to reset their internet routers to help fend off a malware attack by a Russian hacking group called Sofacy.

Resetting the router may help prevent the hackers from being able to strengthen the malware’s defenses, the agency said through an announcement.

The attack is done through something known as a VPNFilter that targets small office or home office routers, according to the announcement. The malware can collect information, exploit devices and block network traffic. . .

“The size and scope of the infrastructure impacted by VPNFilter malware is significant,” the announcement states. “The malware targets routers produced by several manufacturers and network-attached storage devices by at least one manufacturer. The initial infection vector for this malware is currently unknown.” . . .

“According to the FBI, rebooting your router will destroy the part of the malware that can do nasty things like spy on your activities, while leaving the install package intact. And when that install package phones home to download the nasty part, the FBI will be able to trace that because the US government says it’s seized a critical domain that the Russian hackers were allegedly using,” the website explains. (Read more from “FBI Is Asking Everyone to Reset Their Internet Routers, Here’s the Crazy Reason Why” HERE)

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Hero Climbs Side of Building to Save Child Dangling From 4th Story Balcony

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A Malian man is being hailed as a hero for saving a child in Paris from the balcony of a fourth story apartment.

The four-year-old had been left home alone, when he climbed or fell over the apartment balcony and ended up hanging from the outside of it. Neighbors in the apartment next to him could not reach over far enough to pull the child to safety.

22-year-old Mamoudou Gassama, who was granted French citizenship due to his heroics but who at the time was in the country illegally, saw a crowd gathering in the street below, and realized the danger that the child was in. With speed and agility that has earned him the name “spiderman” on social media, Gassama climbed from one balcony to the next before pulling the child to safety with one arm. . .

Macron personally met with Gassama at Elysee Palace, and awarded him a medal for his courage. Macron also told Gassama that he would be made a naturalized citizen for what he did. Gassama reportedly arrived in France last year, after crossing the Mediterranean and arriving in Italy.

Gassama told Macron that when he saw the child, “I just didn’t have time to think, I ran across the road to go and save him.” He continued, “I just climbed up and thank God, God helped me. The more I climbed the more I had the courage to climb up higher, that’s it.” (Read more from “Hero Climbs Side of Building to Save Child Dangling From 4th Story Balcony” HERE)

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Another U.S. Prisoner Brought Back Home

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U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence says sanctions will remain on Venezuela despite the release of a US prisoner and his wife on Saturday.

Joshua Holt and his Venezuelan wife Thamy arrived in the US accompanied by Senator Bob Corker, who helped negotiate their release. . .

Mr Holt and his wife had been imprisoned in Venezuela for two years on charges of concealing weapons.

“Very glad that Josh Holt is now back home with his family – where he has always belonged,” Mr Pence wrote in a tweet. “Sanctions continue until democracy returns to Venezuela.”

The couple were detained in 2016 at her family’s house in the capital Caracas while waiting for US visas, and accused of hiding weapons. Both were jailed for two years.

(Read more from “Another U.S. Prisoner Brought Back Home” HERE)

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