The latest study proposes three candidates for the start of the Anthropocene, but argues that the 1950s was the most likely beginning point.

"Seeing the line at REDSHIFT 13 is INSANE, everyone," one of the authors explained.

Wednesday’s PBS News Hour provided the latest piece of transgender propaganda to air on supposedly objective and balanced public television, brought by reporter Laura Barron-Lopez, the show’s most biased reporter. With apparently nothing going on at the White House these days ("Where's Joe?" would be a decent story to run), the show’s White House correspondent has more time to spend on her obsession with Texas teens suffering from gender dysphoria, framing controversial stories of possibly irreversible medical interventions with a soft, celebratory focus. Anchor Geoff Bennett: The political battles over the rights of transgender Americans have led to difficult decisions for a number of families, especially those living in states with restrictions on transition-related medical care for minors. Laura Barron-Lopez has the story of one family's journey to access that care. Laura Barron-Lopez: Fourteen-year-old Rhyan and his single mom Mia have waited over a year for this day. They're getting ready for a doctor's appointment. But that appointment is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than 600 miles from their home here in Austin, Texas. It is a journey they are making because Rhyan is trans. She prodded the teenager. Barron-Lopez: This is something that you didn't just decide one day. You felt this for a long time?’ Rhyan: Yes. I was really young. I was -- like, I was 6, and I knew for sure that I was not a girl. Rhyan was put on puberty blockers and is now on testosterone, as if hormone replacement therapy will magically transform her female DNA into male DNA. Barron-Lopez respected pronouns, basic biology not so much. Barron-Lopez: Rhyan saw doctors and therapists for years before starting medication around the age of 10 to temporarily pause the effects of puberty. A few years later, he began testosterone treatments, which can lead to things like hair growth and a deeper voice. All those steps fall within guidelines for gender-affirming care, which is supported by major U.S. medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. The institutional credibility of the dishonest liberal hacks of AAP has been on a well-deserved decline since it recommended masking up toddlers, requiring student athletes to compete in masks, and disappeared its own previous insistence that seeing faces is critical for early childhood development. Barron-Lopez seriously soft-pedaled the global discrediting of transgender-related procedures and surgeries for minor children, and rejected concerns for child well-being as a cynical Republican tactic. Barron-Lopez: But around the globe, medical experts and government health officials haven't been in complete agreement. Gender-affirming medical care for minors has come under increased scrutiny....Lies spread by former President Donald Trump and others in his party about things like surgeries on minors have helped fuel a wave of state legislation…. After Mia talked of her terror of seeing “experts get disregarded and dismissed” and “facts and evidence” ignored (like basic biology?), the reporter set the 14-year-old up to condemn Texas Republicans who passed the sensible legislation. PBS cynically used Rhyan to advance a transgender agenda, as if 14-year-olds always know what’s best for themselves (except for tattoos or ear piercings, which the AAP seems more hesitant about recommending to adolescents). No scientific debate was offered regarding the wisdom of gender transitioning for teenagers, no discussion of the side-effects of puberty blockers. “Reporter” Barron-Lopez did no reporting, merely laid out her protagonists’ journey as a hero’s quest against implacable opposition. Barron-Lopez: And there are new obstacles. Texas' attorney general has tried to access medical records of trans patients getting care out of state. Trans Texans can no longer change their gender on birth certificates or driver's licenses…. The horror! She found a touching mother and daughter/son testosterone prescription (aka hormone replacement therapy) moment, with the mother saying she was crying "happy tears." Barron-Lopez: They went to a pharmacy nearby to fill the prescription. Barron-Lopez, who works for a taxpayer-supported news outlet congressionally mandated to provide balance in coverage of “controversial” subjects, rounded off her feel-good story: “A moment of relief amid near-constant struggle.” This gender-identity propaganda was brought to you in part by A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 9/25/24 7:33:44 p.m. (ET) Geoff Bennett: The political battles over the rights of transgender Americans have led to difficult decisions for a number of families, especially those living in states with restrictions on transition-related medical care for minors. Laura Barron-Lopez has the story of one family's journey to access that care. Rhyan, 14 Years Old: When are we leaving? Mia, Mother: Twenty minutes, 20, 10 minutes. Laura Barron-Lopez: Fourteen-year-old Rhyan (ph) and his single mom, Mia (ph), have waited over a year for this day. They're getting ready for a doctor's appointment. Mia: Yes. Can you put that away? Laura Barron-Lopez: But that appointment is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than 600 miles from their home here in Austin, Texas. It is a journey they are making because Rhyan is trans. This is something that you didn't just decide one day. You felt this for a long time? Rhyan: Yes. I was really young. I was — like, I was 6, and I knew for sure that I was not a girl. Mia: He was always a dude. He was always a little dude. And then, right before he came out, he cut his hair, and looking back on it now, like, cutting all those curls off and everything, like, I can see how his — he was starting to align. And it just in hindsight makes it way more clear than it was at the time. But, yes, he's always been who he's been. Laura Barron-Lopez: Rhyan saw doctors and therapists for years before starting medication around the age of 10 to temporarily pause the effects of puberty. A few years later, he began testosterone treatments, which can lead to things like hair growth and a deeper voice. All those steps fall within guidelines for gender-affirming care, which is supported by major U.S. medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. But around the globe, medical experts and government health officials haven't been in complete agreement. Gender-affirming medical care for minors has come under increased scrutiny. State Sen. Ben Adams (R-ID): If they really feel that their best choice is to mutilate themselves, they better wait until they are an adult. Laura Barron-Lopez: As conservatives, from local lawmakers to the Republican presidential nominee, have used it to mobilize their base. Donald Trump, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house, and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much, go have a good day in school, and your son comes back with a brutal operation? Can you even imagine this? Laura Barron-Lopez: Lies spread by former President Donald Trump and others in his party about things like surgeries on minors have helped fuel a wave of state legislation. In 2021, Arkansas became the first state to ban transition-related medical care for those under 18. Since then, restrictions have passed in 25 more states, home to 40 percent of the nation's trans youth, including Texas. It's law went into effect last September. It revokes the licenses of doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care to minors and requires anyone on treatment to be weaned off. Mia: It was terrifying. Like it was, immobilizing, immobilizing. I pounded the pavement. I knocked on doors. Like, I did my best as, like, a mom and as a constituent to the plea my to plea my case and plead our family's case. I watched experts get disregarded and dismissed. I watched facts and evidence be ignored. And they voted for it anyways. Laura Barron-Lopez: What's your message to those lawmakers who passed that ban? Rhyan: You don't know the people you're affecting. You don't know how much of a, like, impact it has on them, how dangerous it is. Laura Barron-Lopez: As the measure moved through the Texas legislature, Rhyan and Mia were told his doctor couldn't see him anymore. They lost access to his prescriptions and had to stretch the medicine they did have as long as possible. Mia started looking for care in other states. But between the cost of travel, the appointment, and the medicine, they couldn't afford it. Mia: There's no way. I'm already, like, barely, barely scraping by. I don't have — actually, if my car breaks down, I don't have extra funds. And there's days where I have to — like, I had to choose between, like, gas or food. And there's days I went hungry so my kid could eat.   Laura Barron-Lopez: Mia ultimately connected with the Campaign for Southern Equality, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ rights. Its Trans Youth Emergency Project helps families cover the costs of travel for out-of-state treatment.   Mia got Rhyan an appointment at a University of New Mexico clinic in Albuquerque. But she still didn't have enough money to cover the entire cost of the trip. Enter Elevated Access, whose volunteer pilots fly patients living in places with abortion or gender-affirming care bans to out-of-state appointments for free. A pilot we're just calling Clyde to protect his identity volunteered to fly Rhyan and Mia from Austin to Albuquerque in his Cessna. Clyde, Pilot: The biggest surprise for me is how I reacted emotionally to this need. It just seems so political, so ridiculous because it was political. Rhyan: I think it's stupid. We shouldn't have to take a private plane to go to a fully different state for some little vials of medicine, a shot. And I don't think old men should be making laws about something that doesn't affect them at all. Mia: Our pilot, the people that go out of their way to risk it, that are risking their livelihoods or putting themselves at risk for no reason, they're just — they're kind, and they understand what's at stake. And that's the part that — it gets to me. It gets me in my heartstrings. Clyde: And I will see you tomorrow maybe. Mia: Oh, thank you. Oh, yes, for sure. Thank you very much. really appreciate it. Clyde: Rhyan, give you a hug. Rhyan: Thank you. Mia: You're our hero today, for sure. Laura Barron-Lopez: The next morning, Rhyan and Mia arrived for their appointment with Dr. Michele Hutchison, a pediatric endocrinologist. About half her patients are now from Texas. Dr. Michele Hutchison, University of New Mexico Health: I hate that this is happening to my families. Being transgender is hard. Transitioning is hard. And then you're doing all of this in the background of everybody coming at you and telling you that it's wrong. How would you not have anxiety? How would you not have depression? This is — it's just a mountain to overcome. Laura Barron-Lopez: And there are new obstacles. Texas' attorney general has tried to access medical records of trans patients getting care out of state. Trans Texans can no longer change their gender on birth certificates or driver's licenses. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether bans like the one in Texas are constitutional. Donald Trump: Transgender insanity the hell out of our schools. Laura Barron-Lopez: And Mia says that, if Trump is reelected, she will move her family out of the country. Mia: The stakes are high. It is that scary. I want to — yes. No, I wouldn't stay. How — how could I do that in good faith and be a good parent? Laura Barron-Lopez: But, for now, Rhyan's care moves forward. Dr. Hutchison said Rhyan was handling his treatment well, gave him a new testosterone prescription, and scheduled a follow-up appointment for six months. Rhyan: I'm excited. And now we have, like, plans set in place, and like, resources available. I'm happy. Mia: I love you. Yes, today's a good day. I have been emotional all morning. But it's a good day. This is happy tears. I'm just — I'm overwhelmed with gratitude. Laura Barron-Lopez: They went to a pharmacy nearby to fill the prescription. Mia: Thank you very much. Laura Barron-Lopez: A moment of relief amid near-constant struggle. For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez.

One of the biggest concerns Americans have this election season is the economy. The price of everything — groceries, gas, housing, etc. — has skyrocketed since the Biden administration took office. In the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris earlier this month, the economy was the first subject broached, as it’s the issue Americans cite as the most pressing. Now that we’ve heard both candidates’ economic plans, prominent people are weighing in on who they think has the better policies. One of those people is “Shark Tank” legend Kevin O’Leary. In an interview with Fox News’ Sandra Smith, Smith asked, “Who is it? Who’s better for the economy?” - YouTube www.youtube.com “I don’t know yet because I don’t have any details from Harris. She has been all sugar, no protein,” O’Leary said, adding that “it’s become a really big sticking point with investors.” “We have the largest economy on Earth. Over 85% of our jobs are created by the private sector. Business investors, like me, and leaders have to deal with whoever’s in the White House,” he explained. “We need data,” “policy,” and “answers around taxation.” “I’m getting a little critical now because I don’t have any [from Kamala Harris],” he continued. As for Harris’ “idea of taxing unrealized gains,” O’Leary said the following: “The number one export of America is the American dream. This is a 200 year old economy that's based on supporting entrepreneurship. That destroys capital formation; those ideas are beyond non-starters. They're crazy.” Dave Rubin explains Harris’ plan to instill price controls in layman’s terms. “Price controls – that's government control. That is communism. That's why when you walk into a store in a communist country, they have one type of toilet paper,” he says.Want more from Dave Rubin?To enjoy more honest conversations, free speech, and big ideas with Dave Rubin, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The more information we discover about the first assassination attempt against Donald Trump, the more upsetting the situation becomes. “We have a new United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security releasing to us another 134 pages” of a report that reveals the gross security failure that occurred in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on July 13, Blaze Media correspondent and investigative journalist Steve Baker tells Jill Savage of “Blaze News Tonight.” - YouTube www.youtube.com One of the most embarrassing revelations in the report is that the counter drone specialist — “the person that is going to take care of what really and truly most security experts believe is the biggest threat that we have today” — “only had three months of experience and training.” According to the report, the counter drone system was not working the morning of the rally, but the “specialist,” despite the gravity of the situation, “called an 800 number and got text support from the manufacturer of the counter drone system.” It took him hours to finally figure out that he “needed an ethernet cable to make this system work.” Unfortunately, while he was fumbling around trying to get the system up and running, Crooks flew his drone over the rally site and made his observations. “This is an embarrassing failure,” says Baker. To hear more about the report’s findings, watch the clip above. Want more from 'Blaze News Tonight'?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Dr. Robert Redfield, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has in recent years demonstrated his relative immunity to group-think, particularly the strain that infected the medical establishment during the pandemic. For rejecting the zoonotic origins narrative curated by Anthony Fauci and accepted by prominent personalities in the American medical community, the conservative Christian virologist and HIV researcher received death threats. These, however, did not secure his silence, and Redfield's theories about the virus, its lab origin, and the outbreak timeline have since been recognized widely as the best explanations. The esteemed virologist appears to have found another narrative to quash, arguing that contrary to claims made by so-called health experts, President Donald Trump stands a good chance of making America healthy again with the help of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "President Trump has pledged, if elected, to establish a panel of top experts working with Kennedy to investigate what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic health problems and childhood diseases," Redfield noted in a Tuesday op-ed. "He specifically mentioned autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, and infertility. In 2019, when we took steps to take on the chronic disease epidemic, we also focused on creating earlier interventions in diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and more." Over 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition. Highlighting Kennedy's commitment to begin lifting the chronic disease burden dramatically inside two years, Redfield wrote, "I believe him. And I think President Trump will empower him. I support their noble effort to heal our children." Redfield stressed that America has "become a sick nation," noting that: chronic disease accounts for over 75% of the country's $4.5 trillion in annual heath care expenditure; over 40% of school-aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic health condition; and childhood obesity has skyrocketed from the mid-1960s from around 4% to 20% this year. Redfield indicated that highly processed foods are largely to blame for childhood obesity, which 15 million youths aged 2-19 years suffer from. A massive peer-reviewed study published in the BMJ, the British Medical Association's esteemed journal, found evidence earlier this year indicating "direct associations between greater exposure to ultra-processed foods and higher risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease related mortality, common mental disorder outcomes, overweight and obesity, and type 2 diabetes." Ultra-processed foods exposure was consistently associated with 32 adverse health outcomes, including all-cause mortality; cancer-related deaths; cardiovascular disease-related deaths; heart disease-related deaths; breast cancer; central nervous system tumors; chronic lymphocytic leukemia; colorectal cancer; pancreatic cancer; prostate cancer; adverse sleep-related outcomes; anxiety; common mental disorder outcomes; depression; asthma; wheezing; Crohn's disease; ulcerative colitis; obesity; hypertension; and type 2 diabetes. 'Private industry uses its political influence to control decision-making at regulatory agencies.' Redfield noted that highly processed foods are part of a much bigger problem that also includes pesticides, which he indicated are "proven risk factors for neurodevelopmental outcomes in kids, causing maladies like ADHD." The Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology published a study from the Environmental Working Group earlier this year revealing that among the pesticides the vast majority of Americans have been exposed to is chlormequat, a toxic agricultural chemical linked in animal studies to disrupted fetal growth, damage to the reproductive system, delayed puberty, and reduced fertility. The EWG researchers said food samples purchased from 2022 and 2023 "show detectable levels of chlormequat in all but two of 25 conventional oat-based products." Quaker Oats and Cheerios were allegedly among the affected cereals. Redfield underscored that a major problem that Kennedy would have to tackle in concert with a future Trump administration is the "increased special interest and corporate influences on our federal agencies." "Across a century-plus of cozy courtship, the federal regulators have nearly married the regulated, especially in health care. Today, private industry uses its political influence to control decision-making at regulatory agencies, law enforcement entities, and legislatures," said the virologist. Redfield said Kennedy was right in accusing the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the CDC of agency capture: All three of the principal health agencies suffer from agency capture. A large portion of the FDA's budget is provided by pharmaceutical companies. NIH is cozy with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies and its scientists are allowed to collect royalties on drugs NIH licenses to pharma. And as the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), I know the agency can be influenced by special interest groups. While these three agencies are apparently among the worst offenders, Redfield suggested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is similarly a "captive of industry." "To cure our children, we must reevaluate our food choices and the underlying practices of the agricultural sector. We must prioritize wholesome and nutritious food," wrote Redfield. This is made all the more difficult by deceptive marketing claims. Blaze News recently highlighted the findings of researchers at Australia's George Institute for Global Health, which analyzed 651 foods marketed for babies and toddlers at 10 supermarket chains in the United States. According to the study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients, 60% of the foods failed to meet international nutritional standards. More than 99% of the baby food analyzed had misleading marketing claims on the labels, in some cases lying about an absence of artificial colors or flavors, and in others lying about an absence of BPA — a lucrative, ubiquitous, and potentially dangerous endocrine disruptor that the FDA still claims is safe. Redfield concluded his piece, writing, "The exorbitant cost of the failing health of our kids, the needless suffering and death, can be ended by a Kennedy Commission on Childhood Chronic Disease — and the vast burden of chronic disease that now demoralizes and bankrupts our nation can disappear. The key is to see the possible, and lead our nation to act." 'We're in a lot of trouble if he has any role.' Kennedy revealed on Aug. 23 that a key factor behind his decision to endorse President Donald Trump was the opportunity to help "Make America Healthy Again" in a future Trump administration. "Don't you want healthy children?" said Kennedy. "And don't you want the chemicals out of our food? And don't you want the regulatory agencies to be free from corporate corruption? And that's what President Trump told me that he wanted." Kennedy and Trump's joint promise of a healthy America did not appeal to everyone in the medical establishment, which makes most of its money treating chronic ailments. Robert Murphy, a professor of infectious disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told The Hill, "From a health perspective this would be nothing short of chaos." "He's proven himself to be a dangerous fanatic who doesn't have a science background and who doesn't believe in science," continued Murphy. "We're in a lot of trouble if he has any role, any leadership position related to many things, but health in particular." W. Ian Lipkin, the director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, told The Hill, "The notion that RFK Jr. would have any say in who's selected [to be part of Trump’s administration] is very worrisome to me and many of my colleagues in public health." "Many of us are old enough to remember what happened before there was a polio vaccine or a measles vaccine ... there were millions of children that were adversely impacted due to the lack of protection from these types of diseases," added Lipkin. In fairness to Redfield, Lipkin may have a chip on his shoulder. After all, unlike Redfield, who appears to likely have been right about the Wuhan lab leak, Lipkin was a prominent zoonotic origins theorist. In fact, he was an author on the "scientifically unsound" "Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2" paper that Fauci used on multiple occasions to suggest to the American public that COVID-19 was not a lab leak but rather an animal virus that jumped to a human. Lipkin joined Kristian Andersen, Edward Holmes, and Robert Garry in concluding, "We do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible." Prominent scientists have since demanded that Nature Medicine retract the paper "due to multiple ethical violations." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Nathan Wade, the Atlanta-area attorney who once attempted to prosecute former President Donald Trump, may now be in some hot water himself after he apparently avoided the service of a congressional subpoena.Last Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) issued a subpoena for Wade to participate in a closed-door interview regarding the Fulton County case against Trump spearheaded by Wade's former lover, District Attorney Fani Willis.Jordan issued the subpoena because he and other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are looking into what Jordan characterized as the 'politically motivated prosecution' of Trump.Though the subpoena demanded that Wade appear before the committee on Thursday, Wade never responded and then went missing, allegedly because he was "trying to avoid service," a Republican lawyer familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner. So Jordan ordered the U.S. Marshals to go find him."Nathan Wade’s evasion of service is extremely unusual and will require the Committee to spend US tax dollars to locate him," Russell Dye, a spokesman for the committee, said in a statement on Wednesday.Wade had not responded to any of the emails associated with the subpoena, and his attorney had declined accepting service, the New York Post reported. Several days ago, Roy Barnes, an attorney representing Willis, insisted the committee that Wade's interview would have to be postponed so that a lawyer from Willis' office could accompany him and "assert any necessary privilege objections." Jordan denied that request."The eleventh-hour intervention from District Attorney Willis does not excuse your failure to appear for your transcribed interview," Jordan informed Wade.The pressure campaign appears to have worked as late Thursday evening, Wade contacted the U.S. Marshals and scheduled an appointment for subpoena service. The Post indicated that he has since been served.Wade's appearance before the committee will be rescheduled on account of the delay, the Post said.Jordan issued the subpoena because he and other Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are looking into what Jordan characterized as Willis' "politically motivated prosecution" of Trump.Trump and 18 other defendants have been accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Though pundits insisted the evidence in that case spelled trouble for Trump, the future of the case now remains largely in doubt for two main reasons.First, the former president has challenged the merits of the charges in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling regarding presidential immunity. Three charges against Trump have already been dropped as a result.Furthermore, Wade found himself accused of financially benefitting from the prosecution of Trump after his extramarital affair with Willis came to light earlier this year. Before he was removed from the case because of the apparent conflict of interest, Wade collected $700,000 for his work on the Trump-racketeering case, even though he has no experience prosecuting such cases.Both Wade and Willis testified under oath that their sexual relationship began after Willis hired Wade, though cell phone data and testimony from former associates cast doubt on those assertions.Their affair supposedly ended in the summer of 2023. However, the pair apparently remains in close contact since Wade joined Willis when she arrived on the scene of her daughter's arrest for allegedly driving on a suspended license a few weeks ago.Wade and his wife reached a temporary agreement in their divorce case earlier this year.In February, Willis received a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee regarding her office's expenditures on the Trump case. Willis denied any wrongdoing."Any examination of the records of our grant programs will find that they are highly effective and conducted in cooperation with the Department of Justice and in compliance with all Department of Justice requirements," she said in a statement.Wade's law office did not respond to a previous request for comment from the Examiner.Former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were each sentenced to four months in prison for failing to comply with a House Jan. 6 committee subpoena. Navarro completed his sentence earlier this year. Bannon remains in custody at this time and will be released just days before the 2024 election.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Students within the Springfield City School District are not safe taking school buses to and from campus, a verified employee who has worked for the district for half a decade told Blaze News’ Julio Rosas.Blaze News has chosen to keep the employee anonymous after the district sent an email, which was reviewed by Blaze News, encouraging its staff not to speak to the media.'Our law enforcement, our fire department, everywhere has exhausted its resources because of this influx.'The worker told Rosas, “If you value your safety, don’t come here. It’s not worth it.”The employee stated that the entire town is “suffering” because of the massive influx of Haitian nationals who have arrived in the city in recent years.The flood of new arrivals has led to an increase in non-English-speaking students entering the school system, which, the worker said, has put a strain on the entire district.According to the staff member, the most significant concern facing the school district is maintaining the safe transportation of students to and from its campuses. The Springfield City School District comprises 17 schools from preschool through 12th grade, serving approximately 7,700 students, its website states.“We want to safely take your kids to school,” the employee told Blaze News. “We want to give you that peace of mind.”“Unfortunately, we have no control of what happens outside [the bus],” the worker explained. “We only have control of what happens inside.” Many local residents have raised concerns that the influx of Haitian nationals to Springfield and the surrounding municipalities has led to a substantial increase in traffic accidents — some of them deadly.On the first day of school in August 2023, 11-year-old Aiden Clark was killed after the bus he was riding was struck by an unlicensed Haitian driver. The rollover accident also sent 20 other students to the hospital.The school district employee explained that many individuals in the community are running the buses’ stop signs.“It’s not just Haitians doing it; it’s Springfield people too,” the worker told Blaze News.The employee explained that the community’s resources are “exhausted” due to the influx of new arrivals. According to 2020 Census data, the total population in Springfield was nearly 60,000. However, in recent years, roughly 20,000 Haitian nationals have relocated to the city.“Our law enforcement, our fire department, everywhere has exhausted its resources because of this influx. It’s not just within the school district, but it’s everywhere. It’s really bad,” the worker stated.The employee expressed concerns that the strained resources would result in a slower response time from emergency services if another serious bus accident were to happen.Rosas previously interviewed David Cook, owner and operator of the Plastic Lumber Store in Springfield, who told him that many of the district’s students were scared to get back on the bus after the fatal crash last year.The school district employee confirmed that the children fear riding the bus to and from school. “Are the kids safe on those school buses?” Rosas asked.“If you put in all the factors, the outside factors, no,” the employee replied.The school district did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Thousands of voters in the capital city of Madison, Wisconsin, received duplicate absentee ballots in the mail recently, a "blunder" officials attribute to a "human error" while at least one area Republican suggested more nefarious motives.Late last week, the Madison clerk's office sent out the duplicate ballots after officials attempting to merge two separate data files apparently accidentally copied them instead, deputy clerk Jim Verbick told WKOW.According to city spokesperson Dylan Brogan, the clerk's office already has several "fail-safe" measures in place to prevent voters from casting more than one ballot.The city is contacting each individual who received a duplicate ballot and instructing voters to destroy one of them. Should they miss or ignore the message, a unique barcode affiliated with the absentee ballot material sent to voters should prevent them from casting more than one ballot each.Finally, Brogan explained to the AP, registered voters who have cast absentee ballots are marked in the system. If they attempt to cast another ballot, the records will reflect that the voter is ineligible to cast another one."This was a mistake," Brogan said. "The clerk’s office moved to rectify it as quickly as possible."'Your office’s ... persistent efforts to scrub your website, and your personal links to a controversial "Zuckerbucks"-financed group, will only fuel growing public doubts about your ability and willingness to administer a free and fair election.'While officials like Verbick and Brogan rushed out to insist that the threat of possible voting shenanigans had been contained, at least one Republican is not satisfied with their explanations.U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, an ardent Trump supporter whose district does not include Madison, demanded further answers since this apparent mistake occurred in one of the most heavily Democratic areas of the state. Plus, city officials keep changing their story, he said.Citing Verbick, Tiffany claimed in a letter addressed to Madison clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl that absentee ballots themselves actually do not have a unique barcode but only the return envelope, casting doubt on whether a second ballot from the same voter would be rejected. He tweeted an image of an absentee ballot to buttress his claim.Moreover, officials initially claimed that the issue affected "up to 2,000" voters in only one ward, but just 24 hours later they revised those numbers to at least 2,215 voters in at least 10 wards. As such, Tiffany said, some affected voters may not have received the message from the city, especially since "the Clerk’s office was not yet even fully aware of how widespread the 'error' was."Tiffany has since demanded that a third party investigate the incident, but so far, city officials have rebuffed those demands."Your office’s continued resistance to allowing for a third-party investigation of what transpired, persistent efforts to scrub your website, and your personal links to a controversial 'Zuckerbucks'-financed group, will only fuel growing public doubts about your ability and willingness to administer a free and fair election," Tiffany wrote.Tiffany also accused the city of having a "history of controversial and legally dubious election practices."In response to that accusation, Verbick told WKOW, "No comment."Verbick did, however, respond to Tiffany's letter in general: "I would just say that [the clerk's office] is very transparent about anything we do with elections, and I would just leave it at that."In response to questions about the exact number of duplicate ballots and wards involved, Brogan confirmed to Blaze News that "2,215 duplicate absentee ballots were issued to voters" located in 10 wards: "1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, [and] 15." While any instance of voting irregularities is a problem, this issue is particularly significant in Wisconsin, a swing state that Joe Biden officially carried by fewer than 21,000 votes four years ago. In 2016, Trump won Wisconsin by about 28,000.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The development of Stalker 2 has been extremely complicated, but we're nearing the end, and to celebrate, MSI has revealed a special Stalker 2 graphics card. While only a short teaser has been revealed, the design looks great from what we've seen so far. As the Stalker 2 release date nears, it's expected that we'll start to see more of the game's marketing pick up. Doing a deal with MSI makes total sense as special editions of the best graphics cards can prove very popular with players who are in need of an update, but have been holding out until a highly anticipated title is released. Continue reading MSI just teased a new Stalker 2 graphics card, with an Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU MORE FROM PCGAMESN: MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC review, MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio review, Best gaming motherboard